SOMERVILLE – It can be difficult for innovators to find opportunities to test new ideas or products, and likewise, existing tools can’t always address all the challenges cities face like climate change, affordable housing, or mobility changes. So the City of Somerville is proposing to team up with innovators to their mutual benefit. This week the City’s new Somerville Urban Lab Initiative issued a call to innovators for pilot proposals.

SOMERVILLE – Do you have a passion for affordable housing, historic preservation, and parks and open space? The City of Somerville wants your help and is now accepting applications for one public position on the Community Preservation Committee, which oversees the selection of projects to be recommended for funding by an estimated $2 million in annual Community Preservation Act (CPA) revenues. Residents are encouraged to apply and applications must be submitted by October 12, 2018.

SOMERVILLE – The City of Somerville is seeking candidates for its next Poet Laureate to enhance the profile of poets and poetry in Somerville and surrounding communities. The Poet Laureate is expected to help expand access to poetry in parts of the community that traditionally have less exposure to it like older adults and youth. The Poet Laureate, a position appointed by the mayor, will serve a two-year term beginning in January 2019 and will be provided an honorarium of $2,000 per year.

SOMERVILLE, MA – In Somerville, City and school staff recently teamed up to launch a pilot program to overcome some cafeteria recycling challenges and also add composting to the mix. Nearly two tons of paper materials are recycled each week across Somerville Public Schools, but recycling cafeteria waste is more challenging in a grade-school environment. No matter how well kids sort their materials, inevitably milk, juice, and food scraps find their way into the bins. Then the contaminated recyclables get rejected for pickup and land in the trash after all.

SOMERVILLE – The Somerville Public Library will soon introduce “Food for Thought,” a community gardening and cooking initiative, thanks in large part to a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant in the amount of $8,315 from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). The new initiative aims to promote health and wellness, teach practical life skills, build community, and introduce residents to related resources and opportunities citywide. 

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Board of Aldermen invite residents to the Fall 2018 ResiStat Community Meetings, a twice-yearly effort to share the latest City news, data, and neighborhood updates directly with residents and gather their feedback. ResiStat is both a great way to learn more about what’s happening in your neighborhood and around Somerville and a chance to talk with elected officials, City staff, and neighbors. A social half hour before the meeting and time after the meeting provide an easy opportunity for one-on-one chats.

Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Director of Veterans Services Bryan Bishop announce a brand new ceremony to honor our City’s and our nation’s Veterans. Please mark your calendars for Sunday, November 4, 2018, for the rescheduled Veterans Memorial Parade. Although the weather, unfortunately, did not cooperate for the May edition of the Parade, Somerville will host one of only two parades in the region in honor of Veterans Month in November (the second is the Veterans Day Parade currently planned in Boston for November 11).

Learn more at https://www.somervillema.govhttps://s3.amazonaws.com/somervillema.gov.if-us-east-1/s3fs-public/trustee-position-openin...

Join the Somerville Conservation Commission and the Mystic River Watershed Association to pick up trash at Draw Seven Park as part of the annual statewide COASTSWEEP cleanup. Draw Seven State Park, along the Mystic River next to Assembly Square, is Somerville’s only coastal property. This event will take place on Saturday, October 27, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (rain date Sunday, October 28). Please meet us near the picnic area at the end of the parking lot. We will be outside for two hours picking up litter, so please dress for the weather and wear close-toed shoes.