Rent prices in neighborhoods surrounding Tufts are rising rapidly, raising concerns for Tufts students and local residents alike. In Massachusetts, a minimum wage worker must clock 120 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom rental home.
The Somerville Central Library resumed its regular weekday schedule on Oct. 2, following over a month of reduced hours aimed at combating violent and disruptive behavior by some patrons. Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne announced the reopening, along with “updated safety measures” put in place to create “a safe and supportive library environment.”
At least 200 residents gathered in the Somerville Community Baptist Church for a meeting on public safety in the Seven Hills and Davis Square area on Oct. 9. Amid rising concerns about homelessness and public drug use in these communities, Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, newly-appointed Police Chief Shumeane Benford and other city leaders tried to balance public safety concern with compassion for unhoused individuals struggling with addiction.
The Medford City Council is working to combat the city’s rodent problem with new ordinances and enforcement tactics, in partnership with the Medford Health Department. The efforts come amid a recent increase in rodents and wild animals such as rats and raccoons, causing concerns about sanitation issues and the spread of disease.
The Massachusetts state government provided $750,000 in funding for the expansion of City of Medford’s “Medford Connects” project, an environmental justice initiative introduced by Mayor Brianna Lungo-Koehn in 2020. The funding comes from the fourth round of Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness ...
Somerville officially launched its second-ever round of participatory budgeting on Sept. 20, allocating $1 million of the city’s budget toward city improvement projects that will be voted on by residents. Participatory budgeting, which Somerville first implemented in 2023, strives to involve more community members in the democratic process by giving them a voice in how the city’s budget is spent.
The City of Medford announced on Sept. 18 that it would move forward with the search for a new fire chief and deputy chief with “assessment center” examinations. Deputy Fire Chief Todd Evans has been the acting fire chief since March, when former Fire Chief John Freedman retired following a period of mass sick leaves by firefighters in February.
The City of Medford has received a $250,000 grant to expand and maintain Bluebikes stations within the city. The city announced it had received funding from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in an Aug. 14 press release.
Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven defeated Kathleen Hornbyin the Sept. 3 Democratic primary for Somerville’s 27th Middlesex District, winning 69% of the vote. Uyterhoven earned 5,705 votes, while Hornby earned 2,571 votes.
In an interview with the Daily, Terrell, a senior advisor to the Kamala Harris campaign and current Tisch College Visiting Fellow, highlighted the importance of building relationships across the aisle and how her experience as a Tufts student helped shape her career.
Somerville Public Library staff announced on Aug. 27 that, starting Sept. 3, the library’s Central branch would close in the hours surrounding the dismissal time of nearby Somerville High School. The move comes as a result of unsuccessful talks between library leadership and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s office after years of violent behavior from teenagers.
Somerville residents of all ages joined members of the city’s police and fire departments at the 9/11 Memorial in Davis Square as the city commemorated the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne joined Director of Veterans’ Services Jerome Thomas, Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven and City Councilor-at-Large Kristen Strezo to honor both victims and first responders.
Throughout the month of September, those passing by Somerville City Hall may notice the 14 purple flags flanking its front lawn. Each flag honors a Somerville resident lost to substance use disorder in 2023. Last year, 22 flags were placed, representing the 22 overdose deaths that occurred in Somerville in 2022. The city’s end goal is to have zero flags outside the city hall one day.September is National Recovery Month, and Somerville is regularly hosting naloxone distribution events and training sessions throughout the month. Naloxone, more commonly known by its brand name Narcan, is an easy-to-use nasal spray that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Tufts sent out an advisory to the university community on Aug. 27 warning about a rise in mosquito-borne illnesses throughout Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has reported three human cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and seven human cases of West Nile virus so far in 2024.
The Somerville City Council passed a resolution on July 11 to endorse the “Natural Psychedelic Substances Act,” an upcoming proposition on the November ballot that would legalize the usage of psychedelics in Massachusetts. If enough voters vote “yes” to the act, which will appear as Question 4 on their ballots, it would allow adults 21 and older to legally grow, possess and use specific amounts of psychedelics that have been shown to have therapeutic benefits for certain mental health conditions.
Undergraduate students at Tufts’ School of the Museum of Fine Arts will receive free, unlimited rides on local subways and buses beginning this fall. Tufts is the first school to partner with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for this two-year pilot program, called the “University Pass.”
Medford and Somerville have partnered to create a new Area Plan for the Broadway Corridor, a one-mile stretch of street along the border between Medford and Somerville. Created with the help of community feedback and support from the Horsley Witten Group, the plan will address zoning challenges that have made it a challenge to develop the corridor.
In the largest protest Tufts has seen this semester, over 300 students, faculty, nearby residents and Somerville High School students rallied on Friday in solidarity with Gaza. The demonstration, stretching from the Academic Quad to the front steps of the Mayer Campus Center, follows a wave of heightened student activism across the country.
A new branch of the beloved Asian supermarket, H Mart, is expected to open in Davis Square, according to employees of company locations in both Burlington and Cambridge. Over the phone, one worker told the Daily that although the opening has been continuously delayed, she believes its doors will open this summer.
The City of Medford has received a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s EmPower Massachusetts program to help low-income residents reduce their carbon emissions. Medford received $300,000, the maximum amount they could apply for, from MassCEC.
