Environment and Open Space 
Posted by Karly Burke a 11:52 am on June 15, 2009
We campaigned, we won and now we want to hear from YOU about changes you want to see in our community. Please join us on Mon. June 22nd at 6:30pm for a Cambridge-Somerville for Change community meeting
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Posted in Announcements, Economy & Poverty, Environment and Open Space, Events, Health Care, Politics | 2 Comments »
Posted by thedawid a 9:24 am on May 8, 2009
~ Come energize your spring + summer at the...
Living Green Festival
Saturday May 16th – 10AM to 2PM
Somerville High School – 81 Highland Ave
Presented by Read More.>>
Posted in Announcements, Environment and Open Space, Events | No Comments »
Posted by Dennis Fischman a 3:18 pm on April 30, 2009
With summer just around the corner and tens of thousands of young people entering the workforce in Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick has proclaimed May "Safe Jobs for Youth Month" to focus attention on preventing workplace injuries and deaths.…
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Posted in Civil and Human Rights, Economy & Poverty, Environment and Open Space, Health Care, Public Health & Safety, Schools and Youth, Workers' Rights | No Comments »
Posted by Linda Haviland Conte a 11:20 pm on April 25, 2009
Mayor Curtatone and Ward 7 Alderman Trane invite all interested individuals to attend Somerville's Arbor Day celebration on Friday, May 1st at 10:00 a.m., at the West Somerville Neighborhood School, 177 Powderhouse Boulevard. The event will include two tree plantings in front of the school grounds, as well as a brief ceremony acknowledging the renewal…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Events, Schools and Youth | No Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 8:50 am on April 23, 2009
Last night, I attended a presentation about Transition Towns, a grassroots movement to catalyze community visioning processes with an aim towards local, sustainable, and environmentally friendly economies. The presenters admitted this was not meant as a panacea for the impending triangle emergency of peak oil, global climate change, and our economic crisis, but it was at least something concrete that people can do together with their neighbors.…
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Posted in Economy & Poverty, Environment and Open Space | 3 Comments »
Posted by Columbine a 9:24 pm on April 14, 2009
An all-ages fair of forward-thinking fun. Get your spirits up and your footprint down!
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Events, Schools and Youth, Transportation | No Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 10:26 am on April 8, 2009
Home Energy Savings for Renters to learn hands-on ways you can reduce home energy use and expenses. Refreshments provided.
April 14, 2009
6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.
Alderman's Chambers, Somerville City Hall
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Cost: FREE
For more information, contact: David Lutes, 617-625-6600 ext. 2106, dlutes(at)somervillema.gov , Office of Sustainability and Environment
Link to city's press release
Notes:
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Posted in Announcements, Environment and Open Space, Events | No Comments »
Posted by Marty Martinez a 9:28 am on April 7, 2009
Come out to the Progressive Democrats of Somerville (PDS) Annual Meeting. See what exciting things are happening with PDS as it celebrates the start of its 6th year.
When: Tuesday, April 21 - 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Where: Independent Restaurant - Union Square
The short program will include electionsRead More.>>
Posted in Announcements, Arts and Culture, Environment and Open Space, Events, Politics, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Linda Haviland Conte a 5:26 pm on April 6, 2009
What if the energy supplies, food systems and other foundations of our modern economy and lifestyle suddenly changed? How would Somerville cope? We invite you to join us in exploring how Somerville can respond to theses challenges and move toward a healthy future for all, including how we can seize the coming changes as an opportunity to transform racial and class inequities rather than deepen them.
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Posted in Announcements, Environment and Open Space | No Comments »
Posted by Linda Haviland Conte a 5:13 pm on
What if the energy supplies, food systems and other foundations of our modern economy and lifestyle suddenly changed? How would Somerville cope? It's a notion more of us have been thinking about during the past year. We saw gasoline spike to $4 a gallon last summer, then watched our consumption-driven economy slide into a deep…
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Posted in Announcements, Environment and Open Space, Events | No Comments »
Posted by Jonathan Rich a 1:13 pm on February 17, 2009
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 be taken up before the Board of Aldermen's Legislative Matters Committee on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Events | No Comments »
Posted by Knut Dorker a 3:01 pm on February 12, 2009
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.…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Public Health & Safety | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jonathan Rich a 11:53 am on
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 on the Mayor's pledge in his last inaugural address to increase the number of trees in Somerville by twenty percent over four…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Neighborhoods and Squares | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jennifer Lawrence a 3:24 pm on January 29, 2009
The days are lengthening and the sap will soon begin flowing. That’s right, it’s Maple Syrup Time! The Somerville Maple Syrup Project will be kicking off the 2009 season this Saturday, January 31st at 12pm!
For more details read
It’s Time to TAP forRead More.>>
Posted in Environment and Open Space, Events, Schools and Youth | No Comments »
Posted by Jennifer Lawrence a 3:02 pm on
The days are lengthening and the sap will soon begin flowing. That's right, it's Maple Syrup Time! The Somerville Maple Syrup Project will be kicking off the 2009 season this Saturday, January 31st at 12pm!
We'll be tapping the trees on Tufts Campus. Meet at the corner of College Ave and Professor's Row on Tufts Campus…
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Posted in Announcements, Environment and Open Space | No Comments »
Posted by Columbine a 9:43 pm on January 23, 2009
Aldermen Gewirtz and Desmond, and simultaneously Aldermen White and Sullivan, have introduced measures to stem the flow of unwanted phone books (text below the cut). If you have an opinion about unwanted phone books, the
My Somerville page is a good way to find out who your aldermen are and let them know.…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space | 6 Comments »
Posted by Vanessa Rule a 10:02 am on January 13, 2009
Volunteer on National Service Day with Somerville Climate Action
MLK Day, Monday, January 19th
Spread the word on energy-efficiency in underserved communities!
On Monday, January 19th (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), we will be going door-to-door in poor and moderate-income communities of Somerville, to spread awareness about simple home improvements to save money, energy, and (well, yes) the
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Posted in Announcements, Environment and Open Space, Events | No Comments »
Posted by fberman a 11:37 pm on December 29, 2008
Madeleine Masters, Planning Director with the Somerville Office of Strategic Planning & Community Development emailed an announcement about the upcoming meeting on the Union Square Open Space and Recreation Plan, which will be held on Tuesday, January 6th at 6:30 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers at City Hall.
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Posted in Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Neighborhoods and Squares | No Comments »
Posted by Vanessa Rule a 5:27 pm on December 26, 2008
Somerville Climate Action fights global warming by helping Somerville residents, businesses, and the municipality to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We promote energy-conservation, energy-efficiency and the adoption of renewable sources of power through education, advocacy, and coalition building. We believe that this process will result in Somerville’s greater economic, social, and environmental sustainability, building…
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Posted in Announcements, Environment and Open Space, Events | No Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 10:01 pm on December 11, 2008
The following message was sent by Stephanie Hirsch to some ResiStat groups today. This is the park bounded by Holland Street, Simpson St., and Paulina St..
Hello ResiStat groups -
Please see below for an announcement of a planning meeting regarding Hodgkins Park:
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 7 Alderman Robert Trane invite all interested residents and…
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Posted in Announcements, Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Events, Neighborhoods and Squares | No Comments »
Posted by Jonathan Rich a 12:12 pm on December 7, 2008
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.…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space | 5 Comments »
Posted by Greg Nadeau a 9:37 pm on November 19, 2008
A few significant things to report from today: (1) At 3 today, Deborah Henson-Conant and 70 of her friends from the Arlington HS choir sang to the Belinda-Bertha-Tim tree. It was fantastic. Picture attached. A video is promised on YouTube soon. Check out the Bertha song in the link below. It would fit right in at Honk!:
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Posted in Environment and Open Space | 2 Comments »
Posted by Lynn McWhood a 7:05 pm on November 15, 2008
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
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Posted in Announcements, Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Events | No Comments »
Posted by Greg Nadeau a 9:47 pm on November 12, 2008
Friends, neighbors, tenants, and people passing by were aghast to see four massive trucks from Cambridge Landscape setting up to take down one of Somerville's grandest trees. Tenants complained that the landlords representative had told them only that "tree work" would be done, not that a tree which affects the entire neighborhood would come down.
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Neighborhoods and Squares | 3 Comments »
Posted by Bill@SCAT a 8:32 am on October 27, 2008
Hi Gang... lot going on since my last post. Later this week I will have a massive update, but, in the meantime I wanted to share the latest episode of the Progressive Voices TV program here at SCAT. Fred Berman and Bill Bumpus have as their guest: Harris Gruman to talk about Question one on the upcoming November Ballot. See the video below.
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Media, Politics | No Comments »
Posted by Ashland St a 3:15 pm on October 8, 2008
There is a simple state law that limits motor vehicle idling to 5 minutes max. Reefer trucks are an exception. This law is clearly ignored by both private citizens and public officials. Way too many cars idle. Way too many city cars idle. How can we stop this? It is a waste of gas and a pollutant.
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Transportation | No Comments »
Posted by Bill@SCAT a 1:14 pm on August 20, 2008
Either that or I am getting behind...not sure which. Fred Berman and Bill Bumpus have three more programs of interest to S'Villans. First: Disabilities with guest Eileen Feldman, 2'nd: The History and Community Importance of Community Television with guest Wendy Blom. Exec. Dir. of SCAT and 3'rd: All about Green Jobs with guests Mary Jo Connelly and Laurie Leyshon. Check out their
Video Blog to watch these and other Progressive Voices Programs. Progressive Voices... Mondays at 6pm on Somerville Community Access Television. Ch.3 on both the Comcast and RCN cable systems in Somerville.
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Posted in Accessibility, Environment and Open Space, Media | No Comments »
Posted by Abby a 4:15 pm on August 10, 2008
Folks,
Just a reminder about this meeting about a
proposed bio-lab in Cambridge. As residents of Somerville, we can speak to the danger of the materials going through our city to get to Cambridge.
The meeting is on August 12, at 7:00, at the Cambridge Kennedy School in East Cambridge.
158 Spring St…
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Posted in Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Events, Public Health & Safety | No Comments »
Posted by Abby a 3:44 pm on
You may not have heard, but a developer is planning a Level Three biotech lab in Cambridge , to test toxic gases and other intriguing Cantabridgian products. What's particularly interesting and notable to Somerville is that such items cannot be legally transported through tunnels, so, if they come from the airport, they come through Somerville . Nobody in Somerville seems to have noticed, but such a lab could kill your kids. Level Three labs are legitimate alternate testing sites for Level Four substances on occasion, and lack only the security conditions for that higher status.
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Posted in Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Public Health & Safety | 3 Comments »
Posted by Joeb a 3:39 pm on
Isn't it odd that there has been no discussion in Somerville at all about the Cambridge Biolab 3, pending in East Cambridge?? The requirements for transporting its contents mandate "no tunnels" so everything that goes to Logan goes through Somerville. And everything is virtually all that's in the Biolab 4 except fissionable materials!
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Posted in Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Public Health & Safety | 1 Comment »
Posted by Alain Jehlen a 10:10 pm on August 4, 2008
There's an interesting
story in the Sunday Globe's City Edition about Somerville residents (several of whom are part of the Somerville Voices group), who have taken down fences and built stronger ties with their neighbors.…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Neighborhoods and Squares | 1 Comment »
Posted by John Teves a 10:15 am on July 25, 2008
Please support our Somerville High School Soccer Team! Somerville Recreation Department is offering the following Soccer Clinics for the week of August 11th - August 15th @ Dilboy Stadium
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Schools and Youth, Sports | No Comments »
Posted by Jonathan Rich a 10:45 pm on July 22, 2008
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.…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Neighborhoods and Squares, Politics, Transportation | 1 Comment »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 6:03 pm on July 13, 2008
Just passing this along:
The city will be holding a meeting about Albion Park Monday, July 14th at 7:00 p.m. at the VNA Building, 259 Lowell Street.
SOS members will be at the event to support keeping activities for young adults and teenagers. There have been several parks such as Perry Park and the Kemp Nuts site…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Events, Schools and Youth | No Comments »
Posted by Josh Craft a 10:23 am on July 12, 2008
Come to the Somerville/Cambridge General Election Kick Off Event at Precinct in Union Square this coming Wednesday, July 16th! Have fun, get plugged in and learn how we're going to win!
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Events, Neighborhoods and Squares, Politics | No Comments »
Posted by Alain Jehlen a 3:55 pm on July 10, 2008
I'm passing on a message from
Welcome Project at the Mystic Housing Development. They're asking for volunteers to help rebuild the community garden over there. They've already put in two days of work, and the next is this Saturday, July 12, 9 to 3. After that, Wednesday, July 23, 5 to 8.…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Immigration, Neighborhoods and Squares | No Comments »
Posted by fberman a 7:43 am on July 4, 2008
Sustainable Somerville -- a nascent network of community organizations working to make/keep Somerville a great place to live, work, and play -- is sponsoring a Sustainability Scavenger Hunt at ArtBeat (Saturday, July 19th in Davis Square), to show how the common thread of sustainability connects the work of the
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Posted in Arts and Culture, Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Housing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 4:45 pm on June 9, 2008
This community meeting on the Mystic River Reservation Master Plan will include a presentation of the Draft Master Plan, followed by smaller group discussions on specific topics, including: Open Space and Recreation Programming, Conservation Plans, Pathways, and River and Riverfront Access.
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Posted in Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Events | No Comments »
Posted by John Teves a 12:21 pm on
For those of you who may not know, Governor Patrick filed the environmental bond bill (H.4446) this past December. Open space for outdoor recreation (as we all know) is extremely limited in Somerville. These funds can be used to develop Foss Park into the Urban Oasis we so desperately need in Somerville. There is tremendous potential to significantly upgrade the park for all who utilize the area. We must maximize this critical moment by taking advantage of these opportunities.
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Posted in Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Neighborhoods and Squares, Schools and Youth, Sports | 2 Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 5:26 pm on May 21, 2008
If you listen to a local NPR radio station like me, you’ve probably heard segments of Living on Earth with Steve Curwood, a program on the environment and environmental policy. After listening to this week’s show, I picked up on the fact that they broadcast from a studio in Davis Square, right down the hall from the office of the Somerville Journal, at 20 Holland Street Suite 408 to be exact.
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Media, Neighborhoods and Squares | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jonathan Rich a 10:52 am on May 15, 2008
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.…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space | 3 Comments »
Posted by Ashland St a 4:11 pm on May 14, 2008
It seems that a good deal of energy and money could be saved if these lights were turned off during off-hours. Particularly the one on Spring Hill at Summer St. Lots of these lights blink, even in the Summer. Small and simple, but helpful…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Schools and Youth | 1 Comment »
Posted by fberman a 2:00 am on April 30, 2008
Warren Goldstein-Gelb, director of the Welcome Project, has asked for help in getting the word out about the need for volunteers this Saturday (May 3) in rebuilding the community garden at Mystic Housing, which was a casualty of the Somerville Housing Authority's need for space for a maintenance shed.
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Posted in Environment and Open Space | No Comments »
Posted by Ashland St a 10:41 pm on April 23, 2008
New England Ford is sponsoring the festival and drove an SUV into the middle of the plaza in Davis. Thanks…
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Posted in Environment and Open Space, Neighborhoods and Squares | 1 Comment »
Posted by Wig Zamore a 7:35 pm on April 12, 2008
April 14, is the last day the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection will accept public comments on how to improve the proposed Assembly Square IKEA, and lessen its impact on the public’s right to freely travel to and enjoy our Mystic River waterfront.
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Posted in Development and Zoning, Environment and Open Space, Transportation | 1 Comment »
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