On Wednesday of May 21, 2007 around 12:30 P.M, I decided to skip school and go home. It had been the worst day for me.…

I interviewed my father about why he left his country, El Salvador. After I interviewed him, I found the reason why: “I wanted a better future for my sons and there was a civil war going on so it was dangerous to be there.” He also told me he came here to earn money.

The following writings were submitted today by students in a media class at Somerville High School.…

Students learn concepts in their classes and learn from practicing the concepts in their communities. The concepts guide and inform the practice; the practice illuminates and tests the concepts.

Come talk about what you read on our blog—and what you’d like to read but don’t!

At the Somerville Visiting Nurses Assisted Living Facility (we meet in the small dining room), 259 Lowell Street…

My progressive, arts-loving church started talking a lot about race and racism, after the Jeremiah Wright kerfuffle in the press last spring (Jeremiah Wright is UCC, like us). We haven’t stopped talking about it yet, and this winter and spring are running a multifaceted “Sacred Conversation on Race,” both for our own community’s learning, and the wider Somerville community.

We are hosting an arts and entertainment evening as a centerpiece of the project, and are soliciting participants. Will you be one of them? See the invitation below.…

On March 3rd, the Somerville Board of Aldermen will hold its hearing on the proposed Condo Conversion Ordinance. If you are a Somerville homeowner, you know that the Libertarian, Cambridge-based Small Property Owners Association (SPOA) — which mailed letters to every Somerville homeowner — is seeking to derail that legislation by disseminating inflammatory and baseless claims about how passage will result in plummeting property values and escalating property taxes.

While Somerville stands to lose up to $5 million in state aid over the next 17 months , it has requested hundreds of millions of federal stimulus dollars through Gov. Patrick’s economic recovery infrastructure program. Mayor Curtatone sits on the program’s Municipal Facilities Task Force.

Somerville writer Doug Holder presents a workshop on the Small Press and Independent Publishing to Books of Hope youth and the community on Monday, Feb 23rd, 7-9 pm at the Mystic Activity Center, 530 Mystic…

What is going on with our economy? How is the economic crisis affecting local issues? What can we do? This Sunday, February 22 at 7pm, come to the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) in…

What is going on with our economy? How is the economic crisis affecting local issues? What can we do? This Sunday, February 22 at 7pm, come to the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) in the heart of Union Square (in the old police building above Precinct 116) to participate in a discussion about the economic crisis and how it is affecting affordable housing. …

Hey PDSers…

Its time for another great PDS meeting. Come out and see what exciting things PDS is up to this month. Our agenda includes:

• Update on our March Candidate and Campaign

Will your child be 3 by August 31, 2009? Are you interested in having your child be a typically developing peer in the Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECIP?)…

This was just sent to me by a Garden Club member: A Tree Preservation Ordinance has been proposed in the Board of Aldermen to protect healthy street trees throughout Somerville. The Tree Preservation Ordinance will…

They wanted to publish under pseudonyms, so the following stories are by “Gori” and “Hector.”

Temple B’nai Brith Spring Open House: March 29th, 11am-1pm

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…

Do you find it a challenge to juggle all your roles and responsibilities, and meet all
the demands on your time and energy?
In this workshop, Joan Celebi, Ed.M. shares a life coach’s approach to…

Over the last couple of months I witnessed Somerville government inability to deal with simple city issues which could potentially have dire consequences.

After purchasing a home in Somerville in 2008 I have began using the community path (from Cedar St) to commute daily to Davis Square where I catch the Red Line. Since then I’ve noticed that the community path, especially between Morrison and Cedar streets have become a free-for-all doggy park, where owners turn their dogs loose.…

Last night at a meeting of the Somerville Garden Club, an audience of about forty club members got a progress report from Brad Arndt, the Coordinator for the Somerville Urban Forest Initiative.

Following up…

Do any of these issues concern you?

At the Visiting Nurses assisted living facility, small dining room, 259 Lowell St. Come talk about the blog–what’s good, what’s not so good, how we can improve it…

The Foreign Language Study Committee Report will be presented to the School Committee this Wednesday, February 11th, at 7:00 PM in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of the SPS Administrative Headquarters, 181 Washington Street (in…

So far, all we’ve been told by the city about the people appointed by Mayor Curtatone to serve on Somerville’s new Financial Advisory Committee is their names and titles. But, the residents of this city deserve to know more about these advisors who will have such big influence on how we cope with massive budget cuts.

If you drive northwest on Mystic Avenue, not far past the Medford line you’ll pass a modest office building. One of its tenants is LEAP, an organization that is influencing opinion on drug policy across North America. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition’s members—current and retired law officers—propose a different way.

The Jesus fish kissing the Darwin fish? Why not? Our church is celebrating the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the…

$80 for four days of fun! Breakfast and pizza included.

$65 for spay/neuter and a rabies shot! Phone/email for details and to reserve a space for your cat.

PDS Vice Chair Rachel Heller sent around information about the Democratic Party Caucuses scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5th (see below). Readers may be wondering “Why bother to go to an “issues” convention … or to the Caucus where delegates are elected? Here are my thoughts on why it’s worth our time.

According to “Latest News” on the website of the Somerville Democratic City Committee www.SomDems.org :
The Ward Caucuses to elect delegates to the 2009 State Convention in Springfield will be held on…