Somerville Voices

More than 35 student actors, musicians, stage and costume designers, and production engineers are working on the 2009 Somerville High School production of Bye Bye Birdie. Scheduled to launch its three day run on Friday, February 6th, Bye Bye Birdie tells the story of Conrad Birdie…

Please join the Affordable Housing Organizing Committee (AHOC) and Save Our Somerville (SOS) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. for the hearing of the Union Square Zoning Ordinance at City Hall. We are very concerned that the proposed Union Square zoning does little to protect affordability in the area.

The District is rich in activity throughout the early part of December. Highlights include…

“Klass Klownz” auditions are open to any Somerville resident in Grades 7 through 9, and will be held Wednesday, December 10th at 6:00 p.m. in West Somerville Neighborhood School at 177 Powderhouse Boulevard. Performers should prepare a one-minute skit that can take the form of a funny song, an impression, or a parody of a TV ad or character. A CD player will be provided for those auditioners that have their own music.

The tree is gone. Several of us confronted the arborist. Ellie and Kirsten went to court in Woburn where Joe Benoit mysteriously turned up and successfully challenged their request for a temporary restraining order. (with video)

Here is an opportunity to view the work of local artisans, purchase some
holiday decorations and gifts, and help support many student athletes at
SHS!

Each year Somerville attracts over 120 artisan and crafters from
throughout New England to this Holiday Crafts Fair at a very central
location, Somerville High School-Brune Field House at 81 Highland Ave.
This free event is…

A new exhibition, cosponsored by the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and the Chinese Historical Society of New England features material from the Chinese American Women Oral History Project. Exhibited are transcripts, audio, and video clips, artifacts, correspondence, and books that document the experiences of several women who…

And now, a meeting announcement from the Chair of the Progressive Democrats of Somerville…
HEY PDSers…

Come to our November meeting at the VNA at 259 Lowell Street on Tuesday, November 25th from 6:30 to 8:30.

Topics include:

• Celebrating the election of BARACK OBAMA!!!!
• Union Square Zoning Update
• Condo Conversion Endorsement Discussion
• Charter Committee Recommendation Update
• Election of Vacant Positions on the Steering Committee
• and

Spread Christmas cheer and support alternative education by buying a Christmas tree or wreath from Next Wave and Full Circle Alternative Schools, which provide high quality instruction in a therapeutic setting for up to 104 Somerville youth in Grades 6-12.

You’re invited to a Legislative Workshop I’ll be holding on Thursday, November 20 from 7PM to 8:30PM at the Somerville Public Library, at 79 Highland Ave, Somerville.

Two days ago, the City of Somerville announced it would start enforcing regulations prohibiting the use of bicycles on sidewalks with fines between $20 and $50… Given the city’s budget problems, I wonder whether this policy change is motivated more by a need to find new sources of revenue rather than by public safety concerns.

The Mystic View Task Force is holding its annual meeting on Wednesday, November 19, 2008. The focus of this year’s meeting will be reports on air pollution research. Taeko Minegishi, a scientist at Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc., will report on the results of measurements of

[Posted on behalf of Alisa Wind]

Dear friends at Somerville Voices,

We would like you to join us at a special “What’s Next?” event with Noam Chomsky next Wednesday, Nov 19th. We would also like to encourage your organization to advertise in our program book to share your work with hundreds of viewers (please see below).

Although this…

The Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP) and the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance (MGNA) are jointly hosting a community meeting to discuss the proposed extension of the Green Line service to the Medford/Somerville line at Mystic Valley Parkway.

The meeting, will be at 7 p.m. on Monday

Nearly a third of Somerville residents were born outside of the United States. Who are we in this immigrant city? What dreams and aspirations brought us here? How did we cope in a new community and in a new country? What brings us together - what pulls us apart - across generations of immigrants?

Saturday, November 22 at the Cambridge Senior Center in Central Square, United for Justice with Peace is holding a post-election conference to discuss how best to move the agenda for peace and justice forward in the Greater Boston area

This announcement appeared on the smujp(at)yahoogroups.com list on Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 11:28 AM

Wednesday, November 19, 7:30-9:30 PM

at the Middle School

FROM WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET - Watertown: A Community Speak-Out on the Economic Meltdown

Wednesday, November 19, from 7:30

The following message was sent by Jackie Rossetti to the ResiStatYoungSomerville Google group on Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Hi All,

If you live in the Grimmons Park area, you may be interested in the
following community meeting, to be held on Thursday, Nov. 20th:

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 4 Alderman Walter Pero…

I just received this invitation in the mail from the Somerville Community Corporation:

The Somerville Community Corporation

Cordially invites you to attend our

39th Annual Dinner and Meeting

“PATHWAYS TO PROGRESS”

Wed, Dec 3, 2008, 6-8:30pm

Holiday Inn Boston - Somerville

30 Washington St., Somerville

Please join us for dinner, program, and entertainment.

Please RSVP by: Wed, Nov 26th

617-776-5931 or AnnualMeetingRSVP(at)SomervilleCDC.org

Suggested Donation $25

We welcome…

No school on November 4th; Vocational Fair on November 8th; School Improvement Council Training on November 10th; Parent/Guardian Focus Group on Middle Grades Learning on November 13th; District-wide open house and information session on November 18th

The following is quoted from the City of Somerville Website PR of October 27, 2008:

The City of Somerville’s Charter Advisory Committee (CAC) will hold a public hearing to discuss the City’s municipal charter and the work of the CAC over the last…

Hi Gang, for those of you yearning for alternative media coverage of the big day November 4th … keep reading, we have the answer

Hi Gang, for those of you yearning for alternative media coverage of the big day November 4th …. keep reading, we have the answer.

Click here for the article with details.

SMUJP (Somerville-Medford United for Justice with Peace) invites you to a post-election dialogue: thoughts on the election results and implications for the Somerville and Medford progressive community. We hope to define three key areas to focus on going forward, relating to peace, economic justice and local issues. This open, nonpartisan conversation will start with brief presentations and move to lots of discussion. We hope you can join us!

As cold autumn weather approaches, Davis Square’s Amethyst Center announced today that it is hosting a “Get Healthy for the Holidays” open house offering refreshments and holistic health treatments. The short treatments—available in exchange for a suggested $10 donation to the Somerville Homeless Coalition—include: acupuncture; shiatsu; massage; craniosacral therapy; naturopathy consultations; reiki and other energy balancing sessions. Participants are also encouraged to bring gently-used or new blankets to donate to the Coalition.

Somerville Youth Hockey Association provides an instructional level program for youth from ages 3-8 years old at Somerville’s DCR Rink on Saturday mornings for the entire season. This is a great opportunity to put on a pair of skates and learn skating and hockey basics. There is no pressure to join a team, but children…

Join the Boston University Women’s Ice Hockey Team as they host a FREE hockey clinic for girls 8th
Grade and under (because of NCAA rules, they can not be in high school yet)

Save Our Somerville’s always reliable, Leon David, has been hard at work organizing a disaster relief march for Haiti. Haiti has been devastated by something like four hurricanes this year. Leon has asked that this message be shared with the SOS network to help all of Somerville become aware of this issue that has sent shockwaves through our Haitian community. On Sunday, let’s show that all of Somerville stands in solidarity with Haiti and her expatriates here in our city.

Read the main article March for Haiti on Sunday–Hurricane Relief for more details…

From a phone message received today, October 8:

Hello, this is an important message from the National Institutes of Health.

On October 14 we’ll be holding a meeting of the NIH Blue Ribbon Panel for the risk assessment of the national emerging infectious diseases laboratories at Boston University Medical Center.

The purpose of the meeting is to get…

Stand Up for Peace in the Middle East
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
Visit our website: http://oct11boston.org

Music at 11, Rally at noon, March at 2 pm
Boston Common Parade Grounds (Entrance on Beacon and Charles St.)

Join thousands of New England anti-war activists on Oct. 11th 2008 at noon on Boston Common for a rally with music, cultural performers…

Join Union Square Main Streets for our monthly ‘Second Wednesdays in Union Square’ community celebration.  October features a tour of Union Square’s drinking holes, complete with drink specials and new friends.

When: This Wednesday, October 8 from 6pm until whenever you want to leave.

Where: We will begin the night at 6pm at Taqueria La…

Charles River Alleycats is hosting a Low Cost Spay Neuter Clinic for Cats on Saturday, October 25th. The clinic will be held at the Somerville Department of Public Works city yard at 1 Franey Rd, Somerville.

Over the years and from various corners there’s been discussion about the need for a community foundation for Somerville. Some people have gone so far as to do research towards the idea of a foundation but nothing concrete has yet emerged. Since the needs that inspire the idea of Community Foundation continue to emerge a group of people gathered this past summer to articulate those needs and what a Somerville Foundation might be.

Join the Somerville Bicycle Committee for the 16th Annual Tour de Somerville on Saturday, October 18th.   We’ll meet at 10 am at Seven Hills Park, behind the Holland Street T entrance in Davis Square.    From there, we’ll trace the entire boundary of our city, from leafy Alewife Brook and Tufts University to gritty…

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…

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…

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…

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.