VOX POP Opening Week has finally arrived and we are super excited to share many upcoming events and activities with you. VOX POP is a pop up community, media & arts space that is the result of a collaboration between Federal Investment Realty Trust (FRIT) the property developer and owner of Assembly Row and SMC the non-profit community media center based out of Union Square. We are very honored to have such overwhelming support for this first of its kind space and SMC is thrilled to curate the best experiences for our community. Some of these events are co-organized by our members and community partners!

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone & City Council President and Ward 7 Councilor Katjana Ballantyne, in partnership with MarKa, LLC, invite you to an Informational Meeting on Powderhouse School Park on Monday, May 6, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the West Somerville Neighborhood School Cafeteria, 177 Powder House Blvd. Project staff will provide an update and construction schedule for the new park that is being constructed as part of the redevelopment of the former Powder House Community School site.

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By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

Right now, we’re in the middle of SustainaVille Week – Somerville’s weeklong Earth Day. Now in its third year, the week’s activities focus on concrete actions we can take to reduce our carbon footprint and ways to make our city a greener place to live. Already this week we’ve planted trees, had an early celebration for the start of Bike Month in May, and toured homes where residents have made both big and small energy saving changes.

With all of the police activity going on in the area because of the manhunt for the bank robbery suspect,  Officer Mark McLaughlin knew some of the students in after school programs would be nervous after the incident yesterday morning. He joined students from the Kennedy school for a game of hoops to ease some of the tension felt yesterday.

Thank you Officer McLaughlin, for looking out for our Somerville students. We are sure the students appreciated your presence on the court.

— Photo by Jon Seamans

Seven-year-olds Natalia Villareal and Brynn Barker of Somerville work on their creation at the annual Fairy House Building event held April 18 by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department at Schoolmaster Hill in Franklin Park.  Children are provided with natural materials and encouraged to make homes for magical woodland creatures at the whimsical family event.

Bank surveillance image of robbery suspect.

Update: The FBI Boston Violent Crimes Task Force and the City of Somerville are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of a suspect in yesterday’s bank robbery in Davis Square. Anyone with information should call the FBI Boston Division’s Violent Crimes Task Force at 857-386-2000. Tips can also be electronically submitted at tips.fbi.gov.

By Jim Clark

State and local police, as well as FBI personnel, are searching for a  suspect who reportedly fired gunshots while engaged in an attempted robbery at Middlesex Federal Savings in Somerville. Authorities are urging area residents to stay indoors and exercise caution as the search for the suspect continues.

The robbery took place at 9:57 a.m. on Wednesday. Witnesses said that the suspect fired a shot in the air as he entered the bank and later shot at a police officer who engaged the suspect. The officer was uninjured, according to police, and the suspect immediately fled the scene on foot.

By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to the Home Depot on Mystic Ave. on reports of a possible shoplifter in the store.

The Loss Prevention Officer notified the officers while en route that a man, later identified by police as Steven Garcia, of Boston, who had been previously trespassed for shoplifting was inside the store.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

We recently watched the Ball Square Bowling Alley come down to make way for the new Green Line station. As Somerville has gone through many changes in my lifetime, I’m happy that some of old Somerville became part of a new Somerville.

On May 3, 4 and 5, Somerville Open Studios celebrates its 21st year as more than 300 artists across the city open their studios during one of the largest single weekend open studio events in the nation.

Somerville bursts at the seams with art. From fashion to film to interactive art, there is something for everyone. The annual SOS weekend continues to inspire and enchant the art-loving public as artists open their doors in this family friendly event. Visit home studios and commercial buildings to see a wide range of artists, artwork and creative space. Some participating artists show in the community space at Arts at the Armory, Saturday and Sunday at 191 Highland Avenue. Organized entirely by participating artists and their loyal supporters, this citywide event showcases both established and emerging artists working across a broad range of fine art and craft – painting, sculpture, photography, fiber, jewelry, clay, glass, furniture, and installation art – anything you might want to explore is here in the ‘Ville.

A group of 60 Boy Scouts hiked the Minutemen’s Pursuit Trail to Prospect Hill Tower on April 19.

By Judy Carlson

Shortly after sunrise on Friday, April 19, as predictions of rainy weather gave way to a pleasantly overcast, breezy day, some 60 Boy Scouts and adult leaders met to hike in the historic pathway of events of April 19, 1775.