Somerville Voices

Thursday night, amid the sounds of the stock market crashing down around us, there was an oasis of optimism in a most unusual place—a school committee meeting! The Committee was getting an overall update on progress toward our 5 long-term goals…

Somerville Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan was defeated in last night’s Democratic Caucus for Register of Probate of Middlesex County despite his supporters’ attempts to deceive other delegates into believing that he had been endorsed by third-place candidate Maria Sheehy. O’Donovan finished in second place to Medford attorney Tara DeChristofaro…

Food, music, and raffle, rain or shine - everyone is invited!

201 Central Street, Somerville (near the corner of Broadway). Services continue Tuesday and Wednesday: see full schedule at www.templebnaibrith.org. All welcome.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Somerville Youth Soccer League invite all to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new James McCarthy Field located at the Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center on 150 Glenn Street / Wednesday September 24th from 3:30-4:30pm.

The ceremony will include a brief speaking agenda, ribbon cutting, and special guest New…

From the homepage of the Somerville Democratic City Committee www.SomDems.org :
Our first annual Somerville Democratic City Committee Picnic has been rescheduled to Saturday, October 4th, from noon to 4:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 30 Washington Street. All Somerville Democrats are welcome…

On September 16th, our campaign made history, winning an incredibly challenging write-in campaign. To the many campaign volunteers and supporters, and to the hard-working wardens, police officers, and other elections officials and staff, I would like to say thank you. I also want to thank my challenger, Alderman Bob Trane, for running a spirited campaign. But most of all, I want to thank all of you who cast your vote on September 16th.

Last week, I described Centro Presente, who we are, what services we provide, and how we work. This week I want to write about what we are trying to accomplish in the broader Somerville community. Our first priority is to detoxify the political rhetoric around us, to really clean that up so that you have a cleansed environment, a cleansed earth, where we can start planting good policies.

At 7:30 this evening I was out knocking on doors in Medford, although at that point I had to stop under street lights to read the list of Sciortino supporters that I was supposed to be encouraging to get to the polls.  At one of my last doors, I was grateful to hear a woman…

I’m new to Somerville and am looking for a food cooperative or buyers club near Davis Square. The only thing that I’ve heard of so far is Harvest Coop, which is great, but I’d like to find something closer to Davis that focuses on local produce and building community.

Regional news media continues to report on communities around the Commonwealth which are faced with financial squeezes that negatively impact local education. One way some communities manage the squeeze is by instituting or driving up extracurricular activity fees. In the Somerville Public Schools the commitment to providing equal access to important enrichment activities remains strong.

I submitted the following letter on behalf of several individuals to the initial public comment period of the Somerville Charter Advisory Committee advocating the use of Instant Runoff Voting for municipal elections in Somerville.

Come to Union Square September 28 27 to celebrate Somerville’s own sweet, gooey, and utterly unique contribution to American cuisine, Marshmallow Fluff!  From 4 to 7 PM (rain date Sunday September 28) come participate in the Fluff cooking contest, find out about Somerville superhero Fluff Boy, and hear the dulcet tones of the…

There are several noteworthy events happening in the Somerville Public Schools in the upcoming weeks.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I am part of a group of Somerville and Cambridge residents organizing the third Honk! Festival of activist street bands, and I wanted to extend an invitation to all of you to take part in the Honk Parade from Davis Square to Harvard Square on Sunday, October 12. It’s a…

I would like to introduce my organization, Centro Presente, to this great city, which is our new home. Actually, we’re not new to Somerville—we’ve worked here for many years, and we have hundreds of Somerville members, but we recently moved our headquarters to 17 Inner Belt Road.

Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Urban Country Fair

sponsored by Truth Serum, Somerville Arts Council and ArtsUnion
(raindate: September 21)
3-7pm FREE and open to the public
Union Square, Somerville in the square!

Truth Serum’s Urban Country Fair will combine Exhibitors, Craft and Art Sellers, free Boston SkillShare workshops and old time countrified musical entertainment. Country Fairs are about showing…

Somerville Plant Sale 2008
Perennial and House Plant Sale

The annual SGC Perennial and House Plant Sale is planned for Saturday, September 20th, 2008 from 9:00am-1:00pm in Davis Square (rain or shine), in the park at the intersection of College Ave and Holland St (across from…

With test scores so low and not improving in so many schools, our drop out rates going up not down, and compassion and sustainability seemingly weak or hidden traits in American society (if not in the global community on a whole), it might be time to re-look the United States’ school system’s focus on standardized testing and the classroom climate and teaching styles which it necessitates.

Does anyone know what, if anything, the city is doing about the tremendous increase in airplanes roaring overhead day and night? It’s often as frequent as every 30 seconds for hours on end, and sometimes the planes are extremely low.

Committee Urges Residents to Submit Comments on City Charter Beginning September 1st through September 8th; Comments Accepted Via Email, Mail and Voicemail

Looking for a vibrant, egalitarian, and welcoming Jewish community? Temple B’nai Brith is an independent Jewish congregation serving Somerville and surrounding communities for over 100 years. We offer regular Shabbat and alternative worship services, High Holiday services, and other Jewish holiday services; non-members are welcome!

The Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) is seeking an Executive Director to start January 1, 2009. Please refer to our website for more information: www.caasomerville.org.