City Updates

Somerville residents and the City both stand to benefit if 230 Somerville households sign up for a no-cost Mass Save® Home Energy Assessment in 2019. The Mass Save Program can help Somerville property owners and tenants save on energy and maintenance costs, increase the home’s comfort and value, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, if 230 households complete no-cost Home Energy Assessments and a cumulative 300 energy upgrades, the City can receive up to $8,700 in grants from the National Grid Community Initiative.

Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced that the City filed suit today against opioid manufacturers and distributors, including the chain pharmacy Walgreens as a distributor, for their alleged deceptive and illegal promotion of opioids and failure to investigate, report, maintain effective control, and take steps to terminate suspicious orders of the highly addictive prescription drugs.

The Somerville Community Preservation Committee (CPC) invites residents to join a conservation about options for a dog park in West Somerville at their Wednesday, January 23 meeting. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Visiting Nurse Association 3rd floor community room (259 Lowell St), and seeks to receive community feedback if and where there is space for a dog park in West Somerville, and how dog parks can be effectively managed in a densely populated urban community.

SOMERVILLE — If you’re interested in big issues like housing, development, job creation, and open space we need your help in planning for the future of Somerville. As part of the launch of SomerVision 2040, the City of Somerville is seeking members for a steering committee that will help shape the community process and immediate goals.

Citing concerns over health impacts on youth, the Somerville Board of Health voted on December 13 to restrict the sale of electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes) and menthol cigarettes in Somerville. The new regulations will end the practice of allowing such products to be sold in retail establishments open to youth. Starting April 1, 2019, the sale of both menthol and e-cigarettes will be restricted to 21+, adult-only tobacco retail stores. Somerville is the first municipality in the Commonwealth to pass such regulations.

Please join the Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Ward 2 Alderman JT Scott, and Alderman at Large Stephanie Hirsch for a community meeting on Monday, December 17, for an update on remaining work to be completed at Lincoln Park in the Spring of 2019. The meeting is scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Argenziano School cafeteria, 290 Washington St. For more information or with any questions about the project, please contact Arn Franzen at [email protected].

Please join the Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Ward 2 Alderman JT Scott, and Alderman at Large Stephanie Hirsch for the third in a series of community meetings, on Tuesday, December 18, to review renovation plans and the proposed construction schedule for the new Allen Street Playground. The meeting is scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Academy Room at the Public Safety Building at 220 Washington St.

The City of Somerville’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) invites all interested community members to an information session on Wednesday, December 12, to discuss upcoming renovations to Foss Park, planned by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The meeting will be held at the East Somerville Community School, 50 Cross St., from 6 to 8 p.m.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that current Deputy Director of Libraries, Cathy Piantigini, has been appointed as the city’s newest Library Director, effective December 3, 2018. Piantigini has worked in the Somerville Public Libraries in various roles for 25 years, beginning as a Junior Assistant at the East Branch Library in 1993. Piantigini succeeds Glenn Ferdman as Library Director.