Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne spoke at Somerville High School on April 24 to discuss the Green New Deal and its local implications.
The Somerville City Council passed an ordinance on March 23 seeking to combat discrimination against polyamorous people in the workplace and in interactions with law enforcement. The bill is one of the first of its kind, and comes three years after Somerville passed an ordinance officially recognizing polyamorous relationships.
The Medford City Council recently passed an ordinance to create an affordable housing trust for the city. This trust would allow a selected board to buy small properties and secure land to turn into more affordable housing. Medford residents would be able to buy or rent property from the city, and that property would be kept under market rates.
City councilors and Tufts alums Judy Pineda Neufeld of Somerville and Kit Collins of Medford returned to Tufts to speak about their careers and paths to local government in the event “The Importance of Local Politics: Perspectives from Local City Councilors” held in Olin Center for Language and Cultural Studies on Monday, March 27. Nimah Mazaheri, chair of the political science department, moderated the event.
Somerville’s Housing Division plans to allocate $1.6 million in federal funds towards services including rental assistance and housing stabilization by 2030. The funds were awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnership American Rescue Plan Program, an initiative that provides funding to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability across the country.
A bill that would allow parents running for public office to use campaign funds for childcare was recently introduced by Massachusetts State Senator Patricia Jehlen, who represents Medford, Somerville, Cambridge and Winchester.
Massachusetts Democrats plan to use the 2023 legislative session to further gun control legislation in the state. The Democrats hold a majority in both the state House and the state Senate. Along with recently elected Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, state legislators and activists have high hopes for a major gun safety package.
The City of Somerville is requiring Somerville Media Center to relocate from its current home in Union Square by April 30. Formed in March 1983, SMC produces local radio shows and TV shows as well as youth programs that seek to educate children in the use of media tools to tell their own stories.
Somerville’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously on Feb. 1 to approve permit requests for a new Winter Hill building complex, representing a major step towards the area’s long-desired revitalization. Located at 299 Broadway, the site of a closed Star Market, the development would consist of two mixed-use buildings, multiple retail spaces and a civic plaza, in addition to a pocket park along Seawall Street.
The Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism raised $5,000 in three weeks to keep running the Somerville Wire, Editor Jason Pramas announced in a Feb. 2 editorial. The donations of 40 Somervillians allowed the Wire, an online, independent news service, to avoid a long-term spring hiatus.
The City of Somerville plans to launch a new consolidated rental waitlist in late 2023 to simplify the application process for reduced-cost housing opportunities as part of the city’s expanding inclusionary housing program.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu delivered her first State of the City Address on Jan. 25 at MGM Music Hall. It is the first State of the City Address held in person in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Somerville homeowner attempting to rent rooms in his house to Tufts students has faced unexpected resistance from the city government on the grounds that his request to house unrelated students is unlawful. The homeowner, who requested that the Daily not identify him by name, has been appealing to the Somerville City Council for months.
The Somerville City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Jan. 12 calling for the cancellation of Somerville residents’ medical debt. Headed by City Councilors At-Large Willie Burnley Jr. and Charlotte Kelly, the plan details the reappropriation of American Rescue Plan Act funds to buy medical debt portfolios in bulk for those residents who make up to 400% of the federal poverty rate, or those for whom debt is 5% or more of their annual income.
The Cambridge City Council held a special meeting on Jan. 18 to discuss the protocols of the Cambridge Police Department after police fatally shot Sayed Arif Faisal earlier this month. Faisal was a 20-year-old Cambridge resident and engineering student at UMass Boston.
Medford’s Community Fund announced on Jan. 6 that it awarded over $230,000 in grants to 25 local nonprofits.
The city of Somerville hosted its “Midterm Ceremonies” event on Jan. 3 featuring Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, City Council President Ben Ewen-Campen and School Committee Chair Andre Green. The three officials discussed the progress they made in the past year and their goals for 2023.
For the first time in the city’s history, Somerville will let its residents decide how to spend a portion of the city budget next year. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne has set aside $1 million of the city’s $293-million fiscal year 2023 budget for participatory budgeting, a method designed to fund small-scale community improvement projects while engaging locals — particularly those from historically marginalized communities — in the political process.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed funds for a public education campaign aimed at crisis pregnancy centers, or anti-abortion clinics that pose as authentic medical centers in order to deceive pregnant people into taking their advice, on Nov. 11. The funding had been part of a significant economic development bill passed unanimously by the state House of Representatives and the Senate on Nov. 3, much of which was devoted to supporting access to reproductive care.
Somerville has made the 2022 Carbon Disclosure Project’s cities A-List, an award for leadership on environmental action and transparency. Only 12% of the 1,002 cities evaluated worldwide received this designation based on commitment to long-term climate action plans, fossil fuel emission reduction targets and local climate risk assessments.
