The Somerville Health and Human Services (HHS) Department is offering free flu shots for students during December break! Please call 617-625-6600 ext. 4320 or ext. 6967 to schedule a time and day to come in. Vaccines will be offered Wednesday December 27th and Thursday December 28th from 9am – 3pm. Call with any questions!

Roughly a dozen volunteers convened in late December to assemble more than 500 gift bags for the Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services holiday bag program. The gift bags were decorated by local students, and were distributed to Meals on Wheels recipients in Cambridge and Somerville.

Meals on Wheels provided a special delivery for roughly 500 people in late December, thanks to local students and volunteers for the Somerville Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) holiday bag program.

Assembled by roughly a dozen volunteers on Dec. 20, each holiday bag included an assortment of snacks, a calendar and greeting card. It’s an SCES tradition that every Meals on Wheels client receives one of those bag during the holidays, explained SCES Community Meals Director Deborah McLean.

Somerville residents woke up to a white Christmas Monday morning. By afternoon the snow stopped falling, streets were cleared and travel resumed.

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On Monday, December 25, City offices will be closed for Christmas. There will be no street sweeping on Christmas and meters and parking permits will not be enforced. Trash and recycling collection will be on a one-day delay all week.

Donation earned through City’s Solarize Somerville initiative for exceeding home solar installation goal

Local non-profit CASPAR, Inc. (Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation) will soon expand its tremendously positive impact on the community. The organization was selected to receive a 5kW solar array donation that, once in place, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and lower utility bills. The 5kW array donation from SolarFlair, the City’s installation partner, is the result of resident participants exceeding the goal of the citywide Solarize Somerville initiative to install 400 kW of installed solar capacity.  So far, SolarFlair has installed 99 solar arrays, adding 531.34 kW of installed solar capacity to Somerville.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

The 242st Marine Corps Birthday was held on November 10, 2017 to benefit Toys for Tots. I would like to thank the following businesses, organizations and individuals that supported the fundraiser.

By  Tim Talun AIA, Seth Hoffman, in behalf of Union Square Neighbors
Renee Scott, Victoria Antonino, in behalf of Green and Open Somerville

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Four years ago, this season found city officials and advocates of wise development enthusiastically hopeful in anticipation of what Union Square’s redevelopment could bring. An overflow crowd packed the Somerville Theatre to see a film about planning for livable cities, and Mayor Curtatone affirmed our city’s “people-centered approach as the focus of city design” as he introduced the film.

A Cobble Hill resident celebrated the holiday season last week with a photo opp and breakfast with Santa at the Holiday Inn Boston-Bunker Hill.

A festive event took place last Wednesday, December 13, when the Holiday Inn Boston-Bunker Hill in Somerville hosted residents of Somerville’s Cobble Hill for a “Breakfast with Santa” event to celebrate the holiday season.