government Archives

COORDINATED RESPONSE

Greater Boston bars and venues are grappling with a rise in involuntary drugged drinks, but procedures for addressing future incidents are in sight “When you raise awareness, if you even help prevent one person from getting drugged, then that’s a good thing.” Amidst a rash of incidents in which people

KENDALL POLIDORI May 24, 2023

“STATE OF GOOD REPAIR”

With the MBTA still very broken, agency lacks clarity in communications with contractors, commuters “We shouldn’t have to be backtracking and deciphering contract packages to figure out when the T will get work done.” The MBTA is preparing to pay contractors $72 million over the next two years to repair

DAN ATKINSON April 20, 2023

PARKS & CHECKS

Wasteful, Opaque Bookkeeping At Two City Of Boston Nonprofit Arms “The fund not only fails at being transparent and accountable in how it spends its revenue, it misses the opportunity to create financial reports to improve management of the fund.” Some improper accounting practices have been employed for a number

COLMAN HERMAN March 20, 2023

REDESIGNING UNION SQUARE’S SUBSTATION

Eversource hears from neighbors on future of electrical infrastructure within a changing urban landscape (Somerville Wire) – With its dazzling array of commercial and residential buildings currently under construction or in the pipeline, and its cutting-edge plans to rapidly decarbonize to address climate change, Somerville is going to need a

LINDA PINKOW December 14, 2022

"The New Digital Divide" by Free Press Pics is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Councilors consider how to improve internet access for all in Somerville (Somerville Wire) – Somerville’s leaders would like to ensure high-quality internet access for everyone in the city, but they’re unsure of how to get there. The City Council Public Utilities and Public Works Committee considered the question on Monday,

LINDA PINKOW December 7, 2022

"Pie" by Eric Ferdinand is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE: MAJOR FUNDERS NEED TO GIVE EQUALLY TO ALL NONPROFIT NEWS OUTLETS

Because the current practice of “every outlet for itself” is absolutely failing to rebuild local news in the US The original mandate of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism was to produce longform investigative reporting and syndicate it to independent community news outlets around Massachusetts that cannot afford to produce

JASON PRAMAS July 29, 2022

DETOXIFIED CONWAY PARK RETURNS TO SERVICE

Final ribbon-cutting to be held this Friday, 11 a.m. (Somerville Wire) – It’s been five years since Conway Park was discovered to be contaminated. In preparation for renovations to the 2.8-acre complex at 550 Somerville Avenue, a 2017 environmental site assessment found that chemicals had seeped into the soil, including

LINDA PINKOW May 24, 2022

Screenshot of Marc Levy and Jason Pramas video. Image by Jason Pramas.

VIDEO: JOURNALISTS DISCUSS PROBLEMS REPORTING RECENT DAVIS SQUARE DEATH

Share concerns about collapse of local news media and stonewalling by Somerville officials Early on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, a person died in the middle of Davis Square in Somerville, Mass., USA. No news outlet reported on it … and the City of Somerville and Somerville Police Department said nothing

MARC LEVY AND JASON PRAMAS May 13, 2022

OPINION: TYING UP SOME LOOSE ENDS

Reflecting on the “Curtatone era” and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s time, so far While I realize that it’s possible that no one thought twice about something I wrote about Joe Curtatone in my last column, I regretted it immediately after seeing it in print on December 22. And I am not

KEN BROCINER March 11, 2022

SOMERVILLE WIRE: FEBRUARY 22, 2022 WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Support local businesses, a plan for more inclusive City boards and commissions, and bicycle network planning workshops Articles SOMERVILLE YMCA CONTEMPLATES FUTURE IN NEW BUILDING The search for a new facility is on BUSINESS PROFILE: KOSHARI MAMA The restaurant brings the flavors of Egypt to Somerville Avenue Shorts Local business

SHIRA LAUCHAROEN February 22, 2022