Check out some of the latest headlines with Somerville Neighborhood News, a local journalism production of Somerville Media Center:

SNN on the Street: Marijuana Quiz

Marijuana has been legal in Massachusetts since November. SNN went to Davis Square to see what people know about the ruling and how they feel about the future of pot in our community.

~Photo by Donald Norton

The Mystic River Watershed Association is pleased to announce a regional photo contest, “Explore Your Mystic,” for professional and amateur photographers. As part of the Association’s 45^th Anniversary, the contest is open to photographers of all ages and provides an opportunity to document the great beauty and challenges of the urban watershed – which includes 22 communities in the greater Boston area.

Centro Presente and the City of Somerville will host a legal clinic to support immigrants protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Immigration lawyers will be on hand to provide free legal advice to participants regarding legal avenues to normalize their immigration status. TPS is a program of the U.S. government that grants temporary documentation to non-citizens from designated nations who are unable to return to their countries because of armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. The status allows TPS holders to legally live and work in the U.S. and for some nationals has been continually renewed for nearly twenty years. The current administration, through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will soon be deciding whether to extend designations of TPS for all nationals that currently hold this designation.

Owner of New Bombay, Jeetendra.

By JT Thompson

Jeetendra: owner of New Bombay, a tiny Nepalese market on the west side of Union Square. The market is nestled behind a chain link fence in the bottom floor of an old residential triple-decker, and looks like a throwback to a time when people would run businesses out of their homes. On Yelp, the growing clientele of white shoppers praise Jeetendra’s friendliness about welcoming them into the culture he brought with him when he became an American.

4^th annual festival moves to evening hours for the first time. Food, music, arts, kids’ activities and more bring two of Somerville’s largest communities together.

Join the Somerville Arts Council and SomerVIVA, the City’s immigrant outreach program, for the fourth annual “Haiti and Brazil Hit The ‘Ville Festival,”, an ArtsUnion festival. The festival will take place on Saturday, July 22, from 7-10pm in Union Square Plaza and include music, dance, food, family-friendly activities and more for the entire community. For the first time, this year the festival will be held in the evening rather than during afternoon hours, and will feature a Beer Garden with Haitian and Brazilian beverages for guests 21+.

By Jim Clark

Police were dispatched to a Main St. location for an alleged dispute that was taking place between a man, later identified as James Capobianco, and a cleanup crew that was present at the request of Inspectional Services.

Many of Union Square’s major stakeholders are finding it difficult to agree on the best way to approach finalization of the Community Benefits Ordinance.

By Jordan Deschenes

Although city officials have stressed that the Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO) is not meant to be exclusive to one area, residents and business owners in Union Square have become aware of the implications that the legislation will have on their neighborhood’s prosperity in the coming years. With official talks about the ordinance set to resume in early September, Union Square’s major stakeholders are still wary of the best way to draft it.

An open casting call was held at Canopy City in Somerville for the ABC TV show Shark Tank on Monday. Budding entrepreneurs were provided with the opportunity to pitch their business ideas, vying for a chance to get their proposal funded for further development. More information on Shark Tank can be found on their website at http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/about-the-show.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro