Are you a local artist? Join City of Somerville staff for a forum for local artists as part of SomerVision2040 on Thursday, June 13 beginning at 6 p.m. We’ll discuss your concerns and ideas about how the City can better support our arts and creative economy. The forum will be held at the Lowell St. VNA, 259 Lowell St. (park on Lowell St.).

With the annual Historic Preservation Month (May) events behind us, the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission (SHPC) announced this week a revised schedule for spring events that were postponed due to inclement weather, as well as a revised schedule for Docent Tours of the Prospect Hill Tower, the Old Power House, and the Milk Row Cemetery. Rescheduled events will be held as follows:

The Somerville Sunsetters are coming to a street near you! The Sunsetters, a traveling youth performance troupe that performs classic show tunes and modern musicals in Somerville neighborhoods throughout July and August, is now booking shows for the summer 2019 season. Residents interested in hosting a performance in your neighborhood should contact Jackie Rossetti at 617-625-6600 ext. 2614, or JRossetti@somervillema.gov.

On June 4, 2019, the Somerville Police Department received state accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission.

Join the Somerville Arts Council and the Somerville Flea for a perfect summer day while supporting local businesses and artists in Ball Square. The annual Joe’s Jazz & Blue’s Festival will kick off the day from noon to 6 p.m., followed by the Somerville Arts Council’s Night Market from 5 to 10 p.m.

Somerville Ave. will reopen to eastbound traffic through Union Square starting Monday, June 10. A detour has been in place between Dane St. and the Somerville Ave./Washington St. intersection since February. Over the next few weeks, Barletta, the City’s contractor for the Somerville Ave. Utility and Streetscape Improvements Project, will gradually transition out of their current work zone and into the next phase of construction. They’ll move to Bow St. just west of Stone Ave. for approximately one month. Northbound traffic on Webster Ave.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD), in collaboration with Shree Ganesh Realty Trust & Darin Associates announce Affordable rental opportunities for two (2) rental apartments, at 1119-1133 Broadway and 38 Day Street, respectively. The apartments are available through the Inclusionary Housing Program via an application and lottery process for eligible households with a combined gross income at or below 50% of the Area Median Income (“AMI”).

Calling all Somerville youth! The Somerville Sunsetters, a singing and dancing youth group that performs throughout Somerville in July and August, is returning for Summer 2019! Auditions will be held for Somerville youth between the ages of 12 and 18 on Tuesday evening, May 28, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Argenziano School. All Somerville residents meeting the age eligibility may audition, and are asked to bring a song of your choice on your mobile device or on a CD to perform to.

Join the City of Somerville’s SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Somerville Arts Council, and local non-profit organization Haitians United in a celebration of Somerville’s Haitian community. Enjoy a night of art, music, dance, and food on Saturday, July 6, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave.

The City of Somerville is partnering with the Somerville Garden Club again in 2019 to raise awareness about black swallow-wort (BSW), a very aggressive and invasive, non-native weed that can be found throughout Somerville. It displaces native plants and habitats, threatens butterflies and songbirds, and is toxic to deer and livestock. BSW is especially harmful to the monarch butterfly population as BSW resembles milkweed, where monarchs lay their eggs, and once the monarch larvae hatch they die from eating the toxic BSW leaves.