Free Taxi Rides, Boynton Yard Concerts, and More!
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CITY, STATE PLANNING SAFETY OVERHAUL FOR ROUTES 28 & 38
Officials hope to slow traffic, reduce crashes around high-traffic intersection
Utilizing federal and state funding, the city and state are moving forward together with plans to improve safety on Routes 28 and 38, including raised crosswalks, separated bike lanes, and additional traffic signals.
OPINION: MY PRIDE IS A RIOT AGAINST WHITE SUPREMACY
“As a Black and queer person, I know that when a person’s very existence is criminalized it inevitably results in fear, hate crimes, and death.”
Across the nation more than 130 laws have been filed demonizing transgender folks, including those preventing trans youth from accessing gender-affirming healthcare at the risk of incarceration or having their families ripped apart. It has been horrible to watch.
Shorts
Free Taxi Rides to Food and Health Services
The Taxi to Health Program provides Somerville residents with free cab rides to grocery stores, food pantries, farmers markets, and pharmacies in Somerville, as well as to non-emergency medical appointments in Somerville, Arlington, Boston, Cambridge, Everett, and Medford.
With funding from the federal ARPA program, the City has contracted with Green & Yellow Cab to provide the free rides. Once you fill out the form at the City’s website, they will send you 12 vouchers for one-way trips. The vouchers are accepted only by Green & Yellow Cab of Somerville. You can book the rides whenever you need them and use your vouchers to pay.
The paper voucher is your full payment, including a tip and cleaning fee. If you are making a round trip, you will need two vouchers. If you use the vouchers up after three months, you can request more as long as there is funding. The current vouchers expire Feb. 28, 2023.
For questions, contact Lisa Robinson, Director of the Office of Food Access and Healthy Communities, at 781-747-8502, or visit: tinyurl.com/somervillecab.
Boynton Yards Concerts Starting June 11
ONCE and Boynton Yards are teaming up again this summer for a series of events featuring local music, food, and art vendors. From June 11 to Sept. 17, eight all-day festivals will take place in the Boynton Yards neighborhood, in the 0 Windsor Place parking lot.
The first show, SomerPride!, will take place this Saturday, June 11 (rain date Sunday, June 12). Celebrate Pride with a day and night of live music. Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys headline and have curated an entire day of entertainment for you.
The series continues through Sept. 17. The all-day outdoor programs are designed for people of all ages. Children 13 and under are free with an accompanying guardian. Lightweight folding chairs are allowed; please be mindful of not sitting in dancing space or blocking walkways. Dogs are not encouraged. The organizers ask that unvaccinated people please wear a mask when you are close to other people.
Individual tickets are $17. Festival passes for all eight events are $60 and can be purchased online from ONCE Somerville.
Relaxation for Frazzled Teens
To help high school students survive exam season, the Somerville Public Library is offering several special events next week.
Students are invited to chill out on the library lawn with baby farm animals from Animal Affair, at an outdoor petting zoo, next Monday, June 13 at 11 a.m. on the Central Library Lawn. Pet, brush, and feed baby goats, baby bunnies, piglets, and Silkie chickens. An Animal Affair attendant will be present at all times to supervise, answer questions, and share information about the animals. No registration is needed.
The library will host a Relaxation Café for Exam-Frazzled Teens next Tuesday, June 14 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Central Library Lawn. Stop by to make your own de-stress toy, color, listen to relaxing music, or sip some calming herbal tea.
And when finals are over, it’s time to play! Enjoy cornhole, dodge tag, Twister, giant checkers, Frisbee, and more, on the lawn between the high school and the library, on Wednesday, June 15, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Photo Credit: Theater@First performance of Shakespeare’s Henry V at Nathan Tufts/Powderhouse Park on June 5. Photo by Jason Pramas. Copyright 2022 Jason Pramas.
This article is syndicated by the Somerville Wire municipal news service of the Somerville News Garden project of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.
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Linda Pinkow is a reporter for the Somerville Wire. She is also a development consultant for the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.
