Public Health & Safety 
Posted by eila a 6:58 pm on June 24, 2009
This Somerville ARRA Funding Watch is gleaned from the Massachusetts Area Planning Council's Municipal Resource Guide on the Federal Economic Stimulus,
Pending all final approvals, Somerville is in line for…
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Posted in City Finances, Economy & Poverty, Public Health & Safety, Schools and Youth, Transportation | 14 Comments »
Posted by Joeb a 6:50 pm on June 21, 2009
In spite of the overwhelming cupidity of the Board of Aldermen, one or more may ask why or how the Mayor connects "access" to higher tickets across the board? ... The obvious conclusion is that he cares nothing about access, and everything about money. While that may be good for his budget, it is at real cost to citizens and businesses, and, ultimately, to the management system that justifies - or rationalizes - that cost.
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Posted in Accessibility, City Finances, Development and Zoning, Government Reform, Public Health & Safety, Transportation | 19 Comments »
Posted by Linda Haviland Conte a 9:41 pm on June 6, 2009
I thought it was strange that Boston was closing schools. I hadn't heard of any cases in Somerville since that first lady that got it a couple of months ago. So, then when I heard of many absences at the Brown School, I wondered "What could it be?" Now the scuttlebutt from…
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Posted in Public Health & Safety, Schools and Youth, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by respond a 1:31 pm on May 27, 2009
Music for Hope Concert to Benefit RESPOND
Saturday, May 30, 2009
7:30pm, Tufts University - Cohen Auditorium
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Posted in Arts and Culture, Events, Public Health & Safety | 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 11:24 pm on April 25, 2009
The City will be hosting our first annual Shape up the Old Somerville Road Race, a 2.7 mile race/walk beginning and ending on the City Hall concourse. A children's "Fun Run" will begin from the concourse at 10:00 a.m., with the 2.7 miler beginning at 11:00 a.m. Following the race, there will be a Health…
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Posted in Events, Health Care, Public Health & Safety, Schools and Youth | No Comments »
Posted by Columbine a 9:15 pm on April 15, 2009
The Mayor's Office recently announced that the City of Somerville will host a 2.7-mile "Shape Up the Old Somerville Road Race," combining an old tradition in the Recreation Department's "Old Somerville Road Race," and a new tradition with the Shape up Somerville component. The run will take place on Sunday, May 3rd at will start…
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Posted in Events, Health Care, Public Health & Safety, Sports | No Comments »
Posted by eila a 8:09 pm on April 8, 2009
Thanks to the interdependence of everything, Barry Rafkind's post
Keep Big Brother ouf of Somerville has morphed into a discussion about whether or not traffic cameras can induce more folks to obey traffic laws (see comments starting from # 7). I'm saying that, with regards to the specific pedestrian safety issues that Steve Roix has worked gallently to solve, this speaks to a deeper need to create a signal timing plan…
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Posted in Accessibility, Development and Zoning, Neighborhoods and Squares, Public Health & Safety, Transportation | 3 Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 10:20 pm on April 5, 2009
Dear Chairperson Bill White and distinguished aldermen, I strongly object to the installation of surveillance cameras in public spaces around our city and urge you to request their immediate removal. I believe this surveillance program, which was roundly rejected in Cambridge, MA, violates American ideals of freedom and liberty and the Constitutional right to privacy...
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Posted in Civil and Human Rights, Development and Zoning, Neighborhoods and Squares, Public Health & Safety, Transportation | 11 Comments »
Posted by Melissa McWhinney a 3:12 pm on March 31, 2009
Reminder: Tonight at 7:00 at City Hall is the hearing on surveillance cameras. Below is an op-ed that appeared in last week's Somerville Journal. Please come and give your opinion tonight! Thanks,
Melissa
______________________________________________________________________________________
Somerville —
On March 31, there will be
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Posted in Civil and Human Rights, Events, Public Health & Safety | No Comments »
Posted by Melissa McWhinney a 3:09 pm on
Reminder: Tonight at 7:00 at City Hall is the hearing on surveillance cameras. Below is an op-ed that appeared in last week's Somerville Journal. Please come and give your opinion tonight! Thanks,
Melissa…
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Posted in Civil and Human Rights, Public Health & Safety | 2 Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 10:32 pm on March 29, 2009
This past January, when my wife was 31 weeks pregnant with our baby, she slipped on an icy patch of sidewalk in Somerville, did a belly-flop, and ended up in the hospital with pre-term contractions as a result. A
group of residents is organizing to advocate for more effective snow removal policies and stronger enforcement.…
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Posted in Announcements, Public Health & Safety | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ashland St a 11:09 am on March 9, 2009
I got ticketed for not moving my car. The snow had melted, noone had complained. This rule is AWFUL…
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Posted in Public Health & Safety, Transportation | No Comments »
Posted by eila a 12:23 am on March 7, 2009
March 6, 2009: Today, President Obama and Attorney General Holder announced funding allocations for state and local law enforcement assistance. MA is allocated State joint funding, plus 148 MA cities will also receive local government individual shares. Somerville's allotment is only exceeded by 20 other cities in MA.
This program is called the
Edward Byrne JusticeRead More.>>
Posted in Crime, Public Health & Safety, Uncategorized | 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 Barry Rafkind a 2:24 pm on January 2, 2009
On my way down to the train at Davis Station around 8:30am this morning, I was about to pass through the gate when a transit officer asked me to submit to a bag inspection. There was a group of about 4 or 5 officers wearing yellow and black jackets standing next to a small folding table with a machine on top.
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Posted in Public Health & Safety | 9 Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 9:29 pm on November 15, 2008
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.
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Posted in Announcements, Public Health & Safety, Transportation | 30 Comments »
Posted by Barry Rafkind a 12:12 am on October 13, 2008
From an Oct 12th article on Boston.com: Romulo Santos of Somerville headed off to work Sept. 9 at a Wal-Mart in Walpole as usual. But that day he was electrocuted on the job. Some might consider the 47-year-old Brazilian native's death a freak accident, but local advocates say that for many immigrant workers, the risk of injury is all too real. Tufts University, Cambridge Health Alliance, and five Somerville community groups have come together to raise awareness of occupational health risks and to teach people their rights.
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Posted in Immigration, Public Health & Safety, Workers' Rights | No Comments »
Posted by Columbine a 8:42 pm on October 8, 2008
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…
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Posted in Announcements, Development and Zoning, Events, Public Health & Safety | No Comments »
Posted by sureshot a 11:33 pm on September 6, 2008
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.
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Posted in Public Health & Safety | 6 Comments »
Posted by Gretchen Kinder a 10:07 pm on August 26, 2008
Crossing guards are posted at the following corners every school day to make help students safely walk or bike to school. Each corner is staffed from approximately 7:30-8:30 AM and again from 2:25-3:00 PM.
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Posted in Public Health & Safety, Schools and Youth | 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 »
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