I was looking at plans for a house that’s going to be built behind mine, and just got it’s ZBA stamp of approval, and realized that they hadn’t fixed the stairway.  For the first three…

Black Swallowwort (AKA “dog-strangling vine”) is one of the most aggressive invasive weeds, and has spread throughout Somerville.

The Somerville Museum is counting down the remaining days left of the matching grant for the new roof and window repair.

Somehow, like magic, the tax cut will only cut funding for things we don’t like. We have been hearing this message since 1979, when Ronald Reagan was running for office. I was a lie thirty years ago, and it remains a lie today. Cutting taxes does not create more effective government.

The 2010 Somerville Open Studios is coming up soon!  This Friday, April 16, is the opening reception for the Artists’ Choice Exhibit at the Somerville Museum, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Approximately 200 artists…

Fueled by a growing dissatisfaction with the city’s zoning review and approval process for development projects, a group of concerned residents have joined together to initiate what they are describing as “much-needed and long-overdue reforms of the zoning ordinance aimed at making the key decision-makers more responsible for their actions.”

Senator Jehlen’s state budget forums have been terrific in the past.  On a local level, the Progressive Democrats are apparently planning a community forum on budget issues in May.  I haven’t heard a specific date…

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…

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…

A couple weeks shy of a year since I first heard it, I checked in to Dipdive.com to listen to will i. am’s “Yes We Can Song,” and must report with mild embarrassment that it…

Registration has opened for the 2009 Somerville Open Studios.  This year the event will be on May 2 and 3 from noon to 6:00pm.  Registration for participating artists is only open until January 30. You can register here: http://2009.somervilleopenstudios.org/membership/

If you buy your electrical power from NStar and can afford an additional 1.389 cents per kilowatt hour, you can sign up for the “NStar Green” program,  which promotes the development of wind energy as an alternative power source.…

I just got a robo-call from the “Small Property Owners Association” telling me that I should email my alderman and demand that all condo conversion controls be eliminated. It also urged me to attend the BOA meeting on November 18. We’ve had some discussion on this site about gentrification. Well, I can’t think of a better way to promote gentrification than to wipe out large numbers of rental units via condo conversion.

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…

At a fundraiser for his reelection campaign at Sabur Restaurant this evening, Representative Carl Sciortino got some strongly worded support from Governor Deval Patrick, and announced that an upcoming environmental bond bill would include two million dollars for improvements to Somerville’s largest open space, Foss Park.…

Just a heads up: the Somerville Garden Club is presenting a self guided garden tour  “Urban Gardens  Revealed,” TOMORROW June 21, from noon to five.  Be aware that tickets ($12) have been selling out, indicating more interest than the Garden Club may have anticipated.  As I write this they are still available at Pemberton and…

You can’t walk down the street nowadays without someone measuring your carbon footprint. But Somerville residents (who don’t drive much anyway) may be thinking that there isn’t much they’ll be able to do about it, assuming they’ve already screwed in all those compact fluorescents.…

I’m frequently seeing the word “gentrification” employed to describe the demographic change taking place in Somerville since the late 1990s. We’re certainly seeing changes, but I question how much of it is gentrification.

When the term came into general use it described a revival of old and run-down neighborhoods by well-to-do…