RESIDENTS RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT PLANS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING
An increased police presence does not necessarily make people feel safer (Somerville Wire) – The City of Somerville, together with the Capital Projects Division of its Department of Infrastructure and Assets Management that oversees construction of all City-owned buildings, is advancing a Public Safety Building project, an idea that has been in discussion for a […]
A WIN FOR TRANSPARENCY AND POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY IN MASS
“We don’t go into things looking to file lawsuits, but when we feel like people have not followed the law, we challenge them.” A judge excoriated Worcester for its unlawful three-year campaign to keep police misconduct records secret from a local newspaper, writing in a recent ruling that a city lawyer attempted to mislead the […]
ONCE, THE ROCK VENUE, HOPES TO LEASE OBERON, FILLING IT WITH DIVERSE SHOWS AND ALL-DAY USE
“You can’t just slide a rock club into any room.” Somerville’s famed music club, Once Lounge and Ballroom, is in the running to rent the space formerly occupied by American Repertory Theater’s Oberon. Harvard, which listed the space Oct. 28, is trying to fill the Harvard Square location by April. According to an art collective […]
AMERICAN FLATBREAD FUNDRAISER
Benefits go to the Science Club for Girls American Flatbread on Day Street is known for its eclectic pizza options and indoor bowling. On Feb. 8, they will be teaming up with the Science Club for Girls, a free after school science program for Somerville and Cambridge public schools. From 4-10 p.m., they will host […]
SOMERVILLE WIRE: FEBRUARY 1, 2022 WEEKLY ROUNDUP
“Church and State, Somerville/Cambridge Line, 2/1/22” by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2022 Jason Pramas. Used with permission. A local bar returns, the Sidewalk Snow Clearing Pilot, and the Brickbottom Vision Plan Draft Articles ADDRESSING WAGE THEFT IN SOMERVILLE How can we continue to combat this persistent problem? ARTIST PROFILE: AROUND HEAR Bringing music to the community […]
ADDRESSING WAGE THEFT IN SOMERVILLE
How can we continue to combat this persistent problem? (Somerville Wire) – The problem of wage theft in Somerville has persisted long enough that in late 2019, the City Council passed a new Wage Theft Ordinance. This law also created a Wage Theft Advisory Board, a group that has given workers hope but that could […]
ARTIST PROFILE: AROUND HEAR
Bringing music to the community in an affordable way (Somerville Wire) – Violinist Marji Gere and pianist Dan Sedgwick are the co-directors of Around Hear, an organization that aims to accessibly enrich the city of Somerville with the art of music. They bring free concerts and music lessons to low-income residents, inviting people to “gather, […]
A NEW AMERICAN PROJECT
In the nationwide bipartisan blitz to privatize public housing, Boston’s giving billions worth of benefits to some of America’s largest developers, financiers, and property management firms. Politicians are applauding, but for many residents caught in the transition, their housing future is unclear BY CHRIS FARAONE with research and reporting by ZACK HUFFMAN New rules “Sidewalks, […]
PANDEMIC HOUSING RELIEF: END OF AN ERA
Governor Charlie Baker tours the new Heights at Haverhill apartment community on Nov. 5, 2020. Joshua Qualls/Governor’s Press Office Mass diverts eviction relief funds to investigate fraudulent applications As thousands of Massachusetts residents face eviction, the administration of Gov. Charlie Baker is cutting back aid payments designed to keep people in their homes, saying the […]
GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL SIGNALS LANDMARK COMMUTATION LOOMS
Tom Koonce (left) and his son, Thomas Andrews, circa 2018, taken at MCI Norfolk “You had one really horrible day and you paid dearly but I think you paid enough.” On Jan. 26, 54-year-old prisoner Thomas Koonce, a former US Marine who was born in Brockton, spent nine-and-a-half hours at the Massachusetts State House offering […]