VOL. 9 NO. 25 SOMERVILLE, MASS. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2021 TWENTY-FIVE CENTS Inside: Board of Health votes to extend eviction moratorium By Rachael Hines In a virtual meeting at on June 17, the Board of Health (BOH) voted to extend the end date of the eviction moratorium to Septem- ber 15, 2021. “We’re still in a state of emergency in Somer- ville, though the state of emergency in Massa- chusetts has been rescinded,” said Board mem- ber Robert Ciccia. “What's on the table is a Shut that sensible next step given the transition that the thing off! entire Commonwealth is in.” page 3 Director Doug Kress opened the meeting by addressing the issue of the moratorium, as well as vaccine accessibility and overcoming vaccine hesitation, as well as how the eviction legisla- tion could impact public health. “We know that housing stability is one of the greatest public The Somerville Board of Health has voted to extend the eviction moratorium through September 15 of health predictors,” Kress said. this year. Kress also emphasized that Continued on page 4 ArtBeat 2021 goes ‘Pop’ By Fernando Cervantes Jr. With the arrival of the summer, more events and festivals have been planned due to the eas- Outstanding math ing of Covid-19 restrictions imposed by Gover- scholars page 11 nor Baker. One of these events is ArtBeat. Organized by the Somerville Arts Council (SAC), ArtBeat is a festival celebrating Somer- ville’s local art community. In its thirtieth year, ArtBeat will be held on July 10 at 7 Hills Park, a few blocks away from Davis Square. According to the ArtBeat website, this festi- val's theme will revolve around “Pop”: “It’s been a long, rough year, yet things are getting better and we’re all emerging from hibernation. By summer, we expect things to pop – artistic ac- tivity, street life, and optimism! We’re looking forward to business bustle, backyard barbecues, and popping in to visit friends and neighbors.” Although most Covid-19 regulations will be Calls to extend lifted by July 10, ArtBeat will hold a slightly eviction moratorium modified version of their normal events. page 14 From the official ArtBeat website, “Now, as our safety guidelines have Continued on page 4 ArtBeat is back and will be popping up at 7 hills Park on July 10. — Design by Stephanie Vecellio 2••JUNE 23, 2021 Somerville Weather Forecast for the week of June 23 – June 30 as provided by the National Weather Service DAY CONDITIONS HIGH/LOW PRECIPITATION HUMIDITY WIND Wednesday Partly Cloudy 79°/56° 2% 1% WNW 10 mph June 23 The views and opinions expressed in Newstalk do not necessarily reflect those of The Somerville Times, its publisher or staff. The column has many contributors. Thursday Sunny 80°/59° 4% 2% SE 11 mph The City of Somerville will host its annual Fourth of July June 24 Fireworks Celebration at Trum Field on Wednesday, June Friday 30 (rain date July 1). Live entertainment at Trum Field will Partly Cloudy 76°/64° 22% 14% E 9 mph June 25 begin at 6:30 p.m. with DJ Brother Cleve playing pop, soul, funk, and other classic tunes followed by Booty Vortex taking Saturday Cloudy 86°/70° 19% 12% SSW 16 mph the stage at 8:00 p.m. Fireworks will begin at approximately June 26 9:15 p.m. While fireworks attendees are not required to wear masks, anyone who is not fully vaccinated is advised to wear Sunday Partly Cloudy 90°/71° 14% 9% SW 16 mph one whenever they are in a crowd. To ensure public safety and June 27 pedestrian access to events, traffic and parking restrictions will be in place. For more information, please call 311 (or 617-666- Monday Sunny 94°/72° 18% 11% SW 14 mph 3311), or visit www.somervillema.gov. June 28 ****************************** Tuesday All city buildings will reopen to the public on Monday, July Sunny 92°/71° 23% 16% SW 16 mph 12, with limited staffing. Both visitors to city buildings as well June 29 as staff will be required to wear face coverings while inside the NOTE: Conditions subject to change. Always check a daily forecast prior to activities that can be affected by the weather. buildings. Staff will be available on a walk-in basis in all de- partments for quick transactions like paying a bill or picking up a document. For matters that will take longer, residents will need to schedule an appointment with city staff. Many city ser- vices are also available online and, whenever possible, residents TheSomervilleTimes.com are encouraged to continue to use online services. Comments of the Week ****************************** The City of Somerville’s annual SomerMovie Fest returns Response to: Somerville candidates denounce Our this year with a series of seven family-friendly films being Revolution Somerville endorsement process shown in parks around Somerville. Screenings begin at sun- down and the schedule is as follows: Thursday, July 8, The Em- Biff says: pire Strikes Back, Seven Hills Park; Thursday, July 15, Mulan As much as I love seeing the ORS brats get bashed, I have to admit this is largely a BS story that’s (animated version), Nathan Tufts Park; Thursday, July 22, become a woke-wagon for all these candidates. Apparently (from the timeline they posted recent- Mrs. Doubtfire, Nunziato Park; Thursday, July 29, The Sand- ly) they gave this guy numerous reminders / breaks / extensions over 2+ months to get his form lot, Lincoln Park; Thursday, August 5, Coco, East Somerville in, which he ignored until well after the last extension expired. At most it’s a case of them deciding Community School; Thursday, August 12, Black Panther, to cut back on the amount of special treatment they gave the guy after realizing he was running Baxter State Park; Thursday, August 19, Guardians of the against one of their own. Standard issue sleaziness, but certainly not an act of racism. And as an Galaxy, Seven Hills Park. While attendees are not required to aside, do we really want councilors who can’t manage a simple process like this? wear masks, anyone who is not fully vaccinated is advised to wear one whenever they are in a crowd. Continued on page 7 Response to: City of Somerville Residential Eviction Morato- rium extended to September 15 Laura Mullen says: What about the landlords who still have to pay their mortgage? Is the mayor and the various pol- iticians going to pay their mortgage payments for them? This has to be unconstitutional! Cities 699 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144 can’t just take like this. I bet the number of rental properties in Somerville will quickly approach 0. [email protected] Response to: City Council candidates of color release www.thesomervilletimes.com statement to Our Revolution Somerville 617-666-4010 • Fax: 617-628-0422 Bill Shelton says: www.facebook.com/ This is what caring admonishment looks like. Righteous, nuanced, firm, and direct in calling on us @somervilletimes thesomervilletimes to create the beloved community. Publisher – Somerset Valley Publishing Inc. Villenous says: Editor – Jim Clark ORS decided to freeze out the challenger in Ward 2? Could have seen that coming from a thou- Assignment Editor – Bobbie Toner sand miles away. Advertising Director – Bobbie Toner Response to: Shining a light on law enforcement Arts Editor – Doug Holder Hmm says: Writers: Jim Clark, Denise Keniston, The police officers clearly escalated the situation. They could have simply left after the person was Isabel Sami, Rachel Berets, Elizabeth Long evaluated by EMTs. Contributors: Jimmy Del Ponte, Dorothy Dimarzo, Joe Creason, Bob Doherty, Ross Blouin Photographer: Claudia Ferro Response to: Somerville Museum’s ‘Access for All & More Campaign 2021 The Somerville Times is published every Wednesday Steve Keenan says: A proud member of the following newspaper organizations: This was a very informative story by Gene. I learned some things about Somerville that I was not aware of. Thank you, Gene. © 2020 The Somerville Times except where noted. All rights reserved. Log onto TheSomervilleTimes.com to leave your own comments JUNE 23, 2021••3 Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte Shut that thing off! When I was young, "Trying to keep it low so the other kids we didn't have cell wouldn’t hear it. They would want to phones or laptops hear it to. Then your mom would hear it but we sure loved BOOM it’s gone." our transistor radi- "OMG. 1967 August 5! I had one, but os! We took ours to those 9V batteries. My mom hated it bed and listened ev- ‘cause I'd sleep with the ear bud and kill ery night. the battery. My Grandfather noticed and One of my prized possessions as a pre- gave me a crystal set so it got AM without teen was my little transistor radio. I still batteries! My mom was so mad. She hat- remember the smell of the plastic and ed how I'd fall asleep with the earbud and connecting the earphone for the first now he made it possible every night! The time. In 1965 I was 12 years old. My sis- Great 68 WRKO!" ter was a year older and we both got tran- "I remember my mother listening to Jer- sistor radios for Christmas. Transistor ry Williams and Larry Glick to the tran- radios were sold at Radio Shack, Lech- sistor radios." mere Sales, Woolworth's and Grants. You "Nov 22, 1963, freshman year of high could probably get a slightly burnt and school. I had my transistor radio hidden Me, Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg and Bill Rossi. scorched one from Bargain Center.