USNC Council Election, PorchFest, and More!
FEATURE
LIFEGUARD SHORTAGES A PROBLEM FOR SOMERVILLE POOLS
The expense of certification may be a barrier to teens looking to step up
SHORTS
Union Square Neighborhood Council Election and Updates
The Union Square Neighborhood Council has released dates for its upcoming election. Residents will elect 15 candidates from a running pool of 20 to serve a two-year term on the board. Poll information:
- Saturday May 20, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., at Jack Hamilton Center, 29 Allen Street
- Tuesday May 23, 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., at Somerville Media Center, 90 Union Square
Learn more about the candidates here.
The Neighborhood Council is an advocacy group that bridges Somerville residents to developers in the Union Square area. Most recently, the Council obtained over 100 signatures on a petition demanding master developers, US2, develop a parcel of land into affordable housing, in accordance with a Community Benefits Agreement the developer signed with the Council.
The Council will deliver printed copies to Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and US2 President Greg Karczewski on Tuesday, May 16. The public is encouraged to attend.
- Petition delivery to Mayor’s office: 9 a.m. (event link)
- Petition delivery to US2 offices: 10:30 a.m. (event link)
PorchFest Returns
Somerville’s porches and streets will come alive with music this weekend as PorchFest makes its annual return. The performance schedule:
- 12-2 p.m.: Porches located West (west of Willow)
- 2-4 p.m.: Porches in Central (from Willow to Central)
- 4-6 p.m.: Porches East of Central
View the PorchFest map here.
Interesting event across the border …
Challenging History: On the Streets of Newtowne
What was Cambridge like back when it was called Newtowne and even before that? A new history book, ostensibly for kids, aims to paint a more multi-dimensional view of the area charting its cultural influences and history starting back 10,000 years ago, when indigenous people farmed, fished and built communities there. The Massachusett tribe were the first documented humans known to have lived on this land.
Art Historian Suzanne Preston Blier, Harvard Professor of Fine Arts and of African and African American Studies has just published “The Streets of Newtowne: A Story of Cambridge, MA.” Blier, a Cambridge civic activist, serves as President of the Harvard Square Neighborhood Association, a group she helped to found in 2017.
Join the conversation Live and on Zoom from First Parish in Harvard Square!
Sign up on Zoom!
Tuesday, May 16 at 5 p.m. ET
1446 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge
Free and open to the public
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Ryan DiLello is the staff reporter for the Somerville Wire.
