Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City of Somerville Department of Veterans’ Services invite residents to a pair of events to mark National Suicide Prevention Week and the anniversary of 9/11. 

Come sing along at “Strike up the Bands,” the next installment of Somerville’s SomerStreets festival series on Sunday, September 11, from 2 to 6 p.m. Programming will extend along Highland Avenue between Central Street and Lowell Street, including:

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 1 City Councilor Matt McLaughlin, and City of Somerville staff invite you to a virtual public meeting about expanding the Glen Street Community Garden in East Somerville. The City is finalizing plans to expand the existing community garden into an adjacent vacant lot at 5 Palmer Avenue, more than doubling its current size and adding approximately 15 new, appropriately sized plots that will be manageable for gardeners of all skill levels.

In recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day on Wednesday, August 31, and Recovery Month in September, the City of Somerville will plant 15 purple flags on the City Hall lawn in memory of the 15 Somerville residents who died of an opioid-related overdose in 2021. A larger flag will also be on display in recognition of all Somerville residents who have died of an overdose. City Hall will be illuminated with purple lights through September to bring awareness to Recovery Month.

The City of Somerville is convening a Participatory Budgeting Working Group to help plan what participatory budgeting will look like in Somerville, and all residents are invited to apply. “Participatory budgeting” means members of the public decide how to spend money in a public budget. Earlier this year, for the first time in Somerville, Mayor Ballantyne earmarked $1 million in the City’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget for participatory budgeting.

The following is an update from the MBTA:

We suspended Orange Line service from August 19 through September 18, 2022. This shutdown gave crews full, uninterrupted access to the tracks, allowing them to complete multiple projects more than five years faster than originally planned. 

Open Positions: Five
Term: Three years 

The City of Somerville seeks five members for the Mayor’s Appointments Advisory Committee (AAC), and all Somerville residents are invited to apply. Boards and commissions offer an opportunity for residents with a range of experience, skills, expertise, and perspectives to share their talents and insights with their community.