news Archives

UNPRECEDENTED TESTIMONY

Prisoners Are Front And Center At Historic Legislative Hearing “It has been proven that these life without parole sentences aren’t improving anything in our communities and continue to cause harm to families as people are incarcerated.” The packed room at the State House on Tuesday, July 25, was not unusual.

JEAN TROUNSTINE July 31, 2023

THE AFTERMATH

Addressing February’s Clean Harbors Chemical Fire State’s response follows long history of environmental injustice around the Fore River Basin On the evening of Feb. 16 earlier this year, a tractor trailer filled with paints, epoxies, oil filters, and other flammable liquids spontaneously ignited at Clean Harbors, the largest waste disposal

JON LAMSON April 4, 2023

COMMUTER COMMUNICATION

Amid Multiple Crises, MBTA Fields Pitches For New Agency Marketing Campaign “You don’t want to be too rosy but I actually think they can do a better job of highlighting the work they have done.” After paying a politically-connected consulting firm more than $4 million to come up with slogans

DAN ATKINSON March 30, 2023

SO MUCH FOR CONTRACTS

State Report Blasts MBTA Contractor Company hired to run Transit Police dispatch service under-delivered, charged extra, and kept inadequate records, according to inspector general’s report Ed. note: This article has been updated to reflect comments from IXP that were received after publication The private company hired to run the MBTA’s

DAN ATKINSON February 7, 2023

SOMERVILLIANS DONATE $5,000 TO RESTART SOMERVILLE WIRE

Municipal news service can run for another few months, now accepting applications for a reporter gig Great news! Thanks to the 40 Somerville residents who donated the $5,000 we needed, the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism has met our goal to restart publication of the Somerville Wire news service for

JASON PRAMAS February 2, 2023

DEBATABLE DATA

Shortcomings in the state’s greenhouse gas inventory pose issues for energy planning While Massachusetts has mandated major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades, its greenhouse gas inventory may be underestimating the true level of emissions in the state. As government officials plan for the transition to a

JON LAMSON January 17, 2023

EDITORIAL: SOMERVILLE WIRE ON HIATUS UNTIL SPRING

BINJ Needs $15,000 to Pay a Quarter-Time Staff Reporter for a Year It has been almost four years since the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism held a well-attended community forum in the big room at (the sadly shuttered) ONCE club on Highland Ave. that led to the launch of our

JASON PRAMAS January 13, 2023

ON THE WAY HOME

A New Beginning For Formerly Incarcerated Women “Stepping into this house made me feel better … She has a way of transforming pain into passion.” When Stacey Borden exited MCI-Framingham for the final time in 2010, she was done with more than three decades of jail stints and drug use

JEAN TROUNSTINE January 11, 2023

"Night Dogs. Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts, December 2022.” Photo by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2022 Jason Pramas.

SOMERVILLE WIRE: DECEMBER 21, 2022 WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Snow Rules, City Funds for Small Businesses and Nonprofits, and More! ARTICLES HOW TO CONTROL SEWAGE OVERFLOWS Somerville, Cambridge, MWRA jointly update communities on long-term environmental planning to protect waterways from wastewater (ICYMI) EDITORIAL: DONATE TO THE SOMERVILLE MEDIA FUND! A holiday appeal to help support professional journalism from local

LINDA PINKOW December 21, 2022

The mouth of Alewife Brook at the Mystic River. The bridge carries the Mystic Valley Parkway bewtween Somerville and Arlington, Massachusetts. Photo by Magicpiano. GNU Free Documentation License 2017 Magicpiano.

HOW TO CONTROL SEWAGE OVERFLOWS

Somerville, Cambridge, MWRA jointly update communities on long-term environmental planning to protect waterways from wastewater (Somerville Wire) – Most sewer systems in the United States have two dedicated, separated networks of pipes—one for sewage and one for stormwater. But many parts of Cambridge and Somerville have combined sewer systems, with

LINDA PINKOW December 21, 2022