An independent, open forum for reports and opinions about life in our city.
Somerville Little League 2010 Registration is now open
by dshugrue on Tue, Mar 9, 2010
Somerville Little League
2010 online Registration is now open
Register today at:
www.somervillelittleleague.org
Don’t want to register online?…
YUM Restaurant Card Offers a Taste of Immigrant City
by Warren Goldstein-Gelb on Tue, Mar 9, 2010
Looking to spice up your winter, while saving money? The YUM Restaurant Card is your ticket!
This card is a wallet-sized miracle. It supports local businesses. It gets you a discount at thirteen immigrant-run Somerville restaurants. It’s only $12 online. And all the proceeds go to support The Welcome Project’s programs for Somerville’s immigrant families. …
Strike Alert – Shaw’s Supermarkets
by Bill Bumpus on Mon, Mar 8, 2010
From Mass. Jobs with Justice:
Shaw Workers at the Metuen Warehouse went out on strike on March 7th. They need your support! Please join their facebook page for updates (http://www.facebook.com/pages/If-Shaws-Workers-are-forced-to-strike-Shaws-loses-my-business/326904559823?ref=share)
Join them on the
“Somerville Reads” Together
by Melissa McWhinney on Fri, Mar 5, 2010
This spring, Somerville is launching its first “one city, one book” campaign, a community reading project in which people all over the City will be encouraged to read and discuss the same book.
The kickoff event will be on Sunday, March 28, 4:00 to 8:00 at the Somerville Armory on Highland Avenue. The book…
Oil Heating Company
by dipesh101 on Tue, Mar 2, 2010
I need intense help figuring out which oil heating company to pick. Some give discounts and then free service and insurance. Some give no discounts but come up with a good price, but I’m not sure if that price is competitive…
Spread the word! Photography contest launched by the Somerville Public Schools
by Gretchen Kinder on Mon, Mar 1, 2010
The Somerville Public Schools invites you to tell your stories about learning and teaching in Somerville in our Spring 2010 Digital Photography contest. Complete submissions received by April 5th will have the chance to win a $50 gift card from Tufts University and the opportunity to have their photos printed in the Somerville News and…
Canvass to Fight Foreclosure in Somerville
by edillo01 on Mon, Mar 1, 2010
Our neighbors are being evicted and our communities destabilized by the foreclosure crisis.
The Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) in collaboration with Cambridge & Somerville Legal Services (CASLS) is initiating a post-foreclosure outreach and organizing campaign in Somerville (based on City Life/ Vida Urbana’s model).
We are asking YOU to
Support Stop & Shop Workers – Fri., Feb. 26, 5:00 p.m.
by Bill Bumpus on Thu, Feb 25, 2010
You can show your support for workers at the Somerville Stop and Shop by joining Massachusetts Jobs with Justice in handing out fliers on Friday at 5:00 – corner of McGrath Highway and Mystic Avenue.…
Should I worry?
by dipesh101 on Thu, Feb 25, 2010
Somebody took the picture of my house from the car early in the morning today, is there anything for me to worry about? What should I do? I am a new somerville resident…
Haitian Coalition fundraiser for Haiti in Somerville!
by Melissa McWhinney on Wed, Feb 24, 2010
As Franklin Delambert, Executive Director of the Haitian Coalition, says, it will be an evening of solidarity.
Tuesday, March 2 at 8pm – BOA’s Legislative Matters Committee to Discuss Russell Contract
by fberman on Mon, Mar 1, 2010
Aldermen will hear from City Solicitor John Gannon tonight (Tuesday, March 2 at 8pm in City Hall) about the City’s options for terminating the new five year contract with Russell Disposal, in the wake of the Attorney General’s announced settlement agreement “… to resolve allegations that the company violated the Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws.”
Progress on the Parking Tickets Story
by Barry Rafkind on Thu, Feb 25, 2010
The New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University has taken an interest in our (Somerville Voices) proposed investigation of parking fines and has offered to analyze the ticket data for the amount of $500.…
It ain’t wicked smaht to exclude people
by eila on Tue, Feb 23, 2010
The City of Somerville, with it’s clear mandates and civil rights obligations from Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, continues to be really , truly, obviously unskilled at inclusive community-building.
Close out the Bad Accounts
by Joeb on Thu, Feb 11, 2010
Banks and Verizon need to be held to the kind of standards they use to torture their customers.
Petition to Oppose the Senior Housing Zoning Amendment
by Barry Rafkind on Sun, Feb 7, 2010
powered by Change.org
Start a Petition »
City census privacy
by LauraM on Tue, Feb 2, 2010
Why does the city census office send to “current resident” a form that includes personal information about whoever lived at an address a year ago? Are there other alternatives?
Hotel approval process leaves unanswered questions
by teri swartzel on Wed, Jan 27, 2010
Pizza Ring, the restaurant operated by the owner of 371 Beacon St. ~Photo by Tom Nash
By Tom Nash
City officials admitted this week a special permit application for a contentious hotel project nearing final approval is missing basic information about the developer’s identity and lacks any mention of the property’s lingering environmental issues.
our trash vendor
by davis76c on Thu, Jan 21, 2010
Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office has reached an agreement with five Somerville waste disposal companies, collectively known as Russell, and its corporate officers… to pay $70,000 to 352 current and former employees as well as a $20,000 penalty to the Commonwealth to resolve allegations that the company violated the Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws. In addition, Russell has agreed to a two-year monitoring and compliance plan.
Residents’ group aims for zoning changes
by Jonathan Rich on Thu, Jan 21, 2010
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.”
City Releases Powder House School Real Estate Analysis; Mayor Seeks Property Sale This Year
by Barry Rafkind on Mon, Jan 18, 2010
As the City prepares to sell the closed Powder House School building to private developers, the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) just posted an Aug 24, 2009 real estate analysis report (pdf) to its website .…
