New Listings
Best Real Estate Agency
156 Ivy Street, Brookline $6,350,000
This stunning historic Early Gothic Revival (c. 1851) single family sits on 8/10 acre and abuts conservation land in the Cottage Farm neighborhood, yet it is within walking distance of Fenway Park and Cambridge. The house offers 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, 3 studies, library, dining room, living room, 5 fireplaces, finished basement with media room, high ceilings, central air, beautiful architectural details, and 3-car garage with electric car outlet. Walk to Green Line B, C, and D trains as well as major hospitals and BU campus.
12 Spencer Avenue Unit 2, Somerville $949,000
A quick walk to both Davis and Porter Squares, this spacious 2-level condo has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, private front porch and back deck, in-unit laundry, large private basement storage area, and shared yard.
45 Tennyson Street, Somerville $1,495,000
Beautifully renovated but retaining its notable historical detail, this Winter Hill Italianate has 4 bedrooms, 3 full and 2 half baths, fireplace, high ceilings, cupola with sweeping views, rear deck off kitchen, fenced yard, and double-width driveway for 4 cars.
Best Real Estate Agent
24 Marshall Street, Unit 1 Somerville $799,000
Lovely contemporary TH with 3 beds, 2.5 baths, central air, and garage parking in the heart of Winter Hill. Three living levels with oak floors. Open layout on the first floor. Two bedrooms, full bath, and laundry on second level. Entire top floor is a stunning master suite with vaulted ceilings, fire place, skylit master bath with whirlpool tub and separate shower. Pet friendly association.
9 Auburn Avenue Unit 1, Somerville $349,000
Charming 1-bedroom, 1-bath condo with an off-street parking space on a cul-de-sac in East Somerville. Exclusive garden area, patio, and laundry/storage in basement; shared front porch.
Upcoming Events Somerville PorchFest saturday, may 11th
Enjoy free music outdoors on porches throughout Somerville between 12-6pm. Go to somervilleartscouncil.org/porchfest/2019 to view bands and locations across the city. Our office will be hosting The Sorry Honeys from 12-2pm in our driveway at 128 Willow Ave., next to the bike path. Stop by!
Coming Soon
Thalia Tringo
125 Montgomery Street Unit 2, Cambridge Lovely 2nd floor condo in a classic 3-decker with 3-beds, 2-bathes, 2 private porches, and 1 unobstructed parking space.
30 Bromfield Road Unit 2, Somerville Bright, beautiful Powderhouse neighborhood condo on upper 2 floors, with 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and entire private driveway. Walk to Davis Square subway and shops, Tufts U., and 2 future GLX stations.
President, Realtor ® 617.513.1967 cell/text Thalia@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Jennifer Rose
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.943.9581 cell/text Jennifer@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
34 Camp Street Unit 1, Cambridge On the Cambridge/Somerville border, this sweet, inviting first floor 2-bedroom, 1-bath condo is steps to the bike path, Mass. Ave.,and Davis and Teele Squares. Private back porch and lovely shared yard. Private storage and laundry in basement.
131 Morrison Avenue Unit 1, Somerville Large, light-filled, renovated 1-bedroom on corner lot with exclusive garage and driveway space, private side porch, shared yard, and private basement laundry and storage.
Free Classes
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.216.5244 cell/text Lynn@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Brendon Edwards
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.895.6267 cell/text Brendon@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
First Time Home Buyers:
an overview of the buying process Thursday, May 30TH
Lynn C. Graham
6:30 – 7:45 pm
If you’re considering buying your first home and want to understand what’s in store, this is a quick and helpful overview. Led by our agents and a loan officer from a local bank, it includes a 45-min presentation and 1/2 hour Q&A session. Handouts and refreshments provided.
How to Buy and Sell at the Same Time: for homeowners contemplating a move
Seth Kangley
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 315.382.2507 cell/text Seth@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
Wednesday, June 5TH 6:30 – 7:45 pm If trying to figure out the logistics of selling your home and buying a new one makes your head spin, this workshop will help make the process & your choices understandable. This workshop, led by our agents and a loan officer from a local bank, includes a 45-min presentation and 1/2 hour Q&A session. Handouts and refreshments provided.
Reading the Clues:
Sarasvati Lynn
Residential Sales Specialist, Realtor ® 617.702.4751 cell/text Sarasvati@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
recognizing the history of your old house Hosted by Architectural Historian, Sally Zimmerman Monday, June 10TH
6:30 – 7:45 pm
If you are a new owner of an old house, you may be wondering about how it’s changed over time and how you might go about bringing back some of its better attributes. Learn to read the clues about how old houses are frequently modified and how to uncover the history of your old house to reveal its best features in an illustrated 45-minute lecture on understanding how old houses evolve and why preserving them matters with architectural historian Sally Zimmerman, followed by Q&A on your old house projects.
To reserve space in any class, please email Adaria@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com. Admission is free, but we appreciate donations of canned goods for the Somerville Homeless Coalition.
Our Current Art Show:
Viktor Butko, Recent Paintings
Adaria Brooks
Executive Assistant to the President, Realtor ® 617.308.0064 cell/text Adaria@ThaliaTringoRealEstate.com
About our company... We are dedicated to representing our buyer and seller clients with integrity and professionalism. We are also commi ed to giving back to our community. Our agents donate $250 to a non-profit in honor of each transaction and Thalia Tringo & Associates Real Estate Inc. also gives $250 to a pre-selected group of local charities for each transaction. Visit our office, 128 Willow Avenue, on the bike path in Davis Square, Somerville.
MAY 13 - JULY 7, 2019 ::: VOLUME 57 ::: SCOUTSOMERVILLE.COM
contents 6 // EDITOR’S NOTE 8 // WINNERS & LOSERS The school committee’s limited homework for grades K-8 and the Encore casino is facing another scandal.
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10 // NEWS: UNION SQUARE RESIDENTS MOVE CLOSER TO AGREEMENT WITH MASTER PLAN DEVELOPER Resident priorities include affordable housing, union labor, green spaces, sustainability, and neighborhood funding. 14 // WHAT’S NEW? The Museum of Bad Art is looking for a new home, plus 16- and 17-year-olds might get to vote in local elections.
30 // SCOUT OUT: A JOURNEY THROUGH 60 ADVENTURES Meet the local mom and business owner who’s trying 60 new things before her 60th birthday. 32 // SOMETHING VENTURED: VILLESIDE CUSTOMS The VilleSide team plays to Somerville pride and prioritizes relationships with the people who walk in their door. 34 // DO-GOODERS, KEY PLAYERS, AND GAME CHANGERS: SOMERVILLE FAMILY LEARNING COLLABORATIVE The collaborative offers a litany of services for district families. 36 // CALENDAR
VOICES OF THE CITY 18 // RADIO DRAMA SEES A REVIVAL IN DAVIS SQUARE Just as silent film stars used overthe-top physical movements and facial expressions, radio players use exaggerated intonations to establish tone and mood. 20 // ‘KEEP IT KIND. KEEP IT CREATIVE’ Somerville-raised rapper Forté tells us about his art and his home city.
22 // OPEN KITCHENS, OPEN CONVERSATIONS The Open Kitchens Project is a “community marketplace” akin to Sofar Sounds or Airbnb. 24 // PRESERVING A FADING CULTURE A ’Ville native gets people talking about the city of his youth. 26 // LANGUAGE AND ART BUILD BRIDGES AT THE CENTER FOR ARABIC CULTURE The center fosters intercultural appreciation through Arabic language classes and community events.
Photo, top: The Center for Arabic Culture. Photo by Adrianne Mathiowetz. Photo, bottom: One of Deb Jacobs’s 60 adventures. Photo courtesy of Deb Jacobs. On the cover: Rap artist Forté. Photo by Adrianne Mathiowetz.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
T
his issue is all about letting your voices shine. Your voices are what make this city what it is, from the leaders you elect to the art you create to the conversations you spark. Highlighting local voices is always one of our main goals at Scout, but it’s been rewarding to really zero in on that objective in this edition. We talked to people who are honoring the past, whether by inspiring reminiscence about older Somerville culture (p.24) or reviving once-popular radio dramas (p.18). We interviewed people whose lives are inseparable from Somerville, including Photo by Bernie Birnbaum. a rapper who grew up here (p.20). And we took a look at projects that aim to celebrate the wonderful diversity of this city, such as the Open Kitchens Project (p.22) and the Center for Arabic Culture (p.26). We loved putting this issue together, and hope you love reading it.
Reena Karasin Reena Karasin, Editor-in-Chief rkarasin@scoutmagazines.com
PUBLISHER Holli Banks hbanks@scoutmagazines.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Reena Karasin rkarasin@scoutmagazines.com ART DIRECTOR Nicolle Renick design@scoutmagazines.com renickdesign.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jerry Allien jallien@scoutmagazines.com EDITORIAL FELLOW Alyssa Vaughn avaughn@scoutmagazines.com STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Adrianne Mathiowetz EDITORIAL INTERN Abbie Gruskin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Abigail Feldman, JM Lindsay, Lilly Milman, Joe Walsh COPY EDITOR Joe Palandrani BANKS PUBLICATIONS 519 Somerville Ave, #314 Somerville, MA 02143 FIND US ONLINE scoutsomerville.com somervillescout
scoutsomerville scoutmags
Office Phone: 617-996-2283 Advertising inquiries? Please contact hbanks@scoutmagazines.com. GET A COPY Scout Somerville is available for free at more than 220 drop spots throughout the city (and just beyond its borders). Additionally, thousands of Somerville homes receive a copy in their mailbox each edition, hitting every neighborhood in the city throughout the year ... sometimes twice! You can sign up for home delivery by visiting scoutsomerville.com/shop. 6 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
T
he flavors of Greece can be found in Davis Square at Opa Greek Yeeros. Traditional dishes are served up daily by George and his crew with ingredients imported straight from Greece to ensure the authenticity and quality of every item on the menu. It’s not only the menu that is steeped in tradition; Opa is a family affair. George’s mother has owned and run Sophia’s Greek Pantry for over 15 years and now she keeps Opa stocked with homemade fresh Greek yogurt, delicious desserts and pastries.
We Cater
From roasted chicken and lamb to stuffed grape leaves and cheese platters, our comprehensive catering menu will wow your guests at any event. See our menu online at
opayeeros.com Check out our
NEW MENU
378 Highland Ave Somerville, MA 617-718-2900 www.opayeeros.com
Best Greek Food
We Deliver: Give us a call or find us on Foodler and Yelp Eat24
now with gluten-free items and
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Welcoming • Inclusive • Egalitarian LEARNING & SOCIAL EVENTS • Tot Shabbat at 10am Saturday, May 4 and Saturday, June 1 • Potluck Fridays May 10 and June 7 (Pride Shabbat) services 6-7pm followed by vegetarian potluck • Register for Shavuot June 8 study groups and dinner at templebnaibrith.org/shavuot (sign-up by deadline required) • 929: Learning Tanakh Together every other Saturday 8:45-9:45am • Shabbayit Group Dinners sign up at templebnaibrith.org • Reading with the Rabbi monthly book group, 7pm Wednesdays at Panera Porter Sq. May 15 The Ladies Auxilary, by Tova Mirvis. Check templebnaibrith.org for future titles and dates • Programs for Young Adults email TBB20s30s@gmail.com
WEEKLY SHABBAT SERVICES
Fridays at 6pm and Saturdays at 9:30am (10am May 18) 201 Central Street 02145 | 617-625-0333 | www.templebnaibrith.org | tbb@templebnaibrith.org
scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City
7
W&L
WINNERS
LOSERS
EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATORS Sometimes teachers deserve gold stars too. Amber Jackson, math teacher at Somerville High School, was nominated for the national “LifeChanger of the Year” award, which recognizes teachers who go above and beyond for their students, the Somerville Times reports. Jackson is known for her thoughtful approach to teaching—she inserts names from her students’ cultures into the word problems she assigns and learns key math terms in different languages. Jackson always has snacks on hand, and has even shared her own meals with students who didn’t have money for lunch, according to the Times.
THE CASINO THAT JUST CAN’T WYNN Last January, sexual assault allegations against Steve Wynn, then-CEO of Wynn Resorts, threatened to derail the Encore. Wynn was ousted, but a report this spring from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau said company executives were actively concealing allegations of sexual assault against Wynn, according to Boston Magazine: The company “did not train Wynn on its sexual harassment policy, did not properly document allegations made against him or report them to its board of directors, [and] fostered a culture in which employees were afraid to speak up about sexual harassment and misconduct.” After concerns about whether the casino would keep its license, however, the commission granted it permission (alongside a $35 million fine), the Boston Globe reports. The casino will open in late June, according to the Globe.
HOMEWORK HATERS The dogs of Somerville are going to need to find something new to eat. The school committee recently voted to enact a new homework policy that enforces a limit on the take-home workload in grades K-8, the Somerville Journal reports. For grades K-2, homework is optional and unrelated to grades. Students in grades 3-5 cannot be assigned more than one-and-a-half hours of homework per week, and students in grades 6-8 cannot be assigned more than three hours of homework per week. The icing on the cake for homework-hating students? Teachers cannot assign any work over weekends, holidays, or school vacations. TUFTS DINING HALL WORKERS After a multi-semester negotiation process, Tufts’ dining workers have avoided a strike and reached a tentative agreement with the university, the Tufts Daily reports. The university will reportedly raise base pay over four years and give dining workers the freedom to choose between Tufts’ health insurance and an alternative option offered by UNITE HERE Local 26, which represented the workers in negotiations. “For my family, the insurance was really high and it made it hard to save money and ever be comfortable,” Night Cook Supervisor Christine Tringale told the Daily.
THE GREEN LINE EXTENSION City Councilors and residents are unsatisfied with the accessibility of the forthcoming Union Square Green Line Station, the Somerville Times reports. Ward 3 Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, who sponsored a resolution addressing the matter at a City Council meeting this spring, noted that anyone approaching the station from Cambridge or Inman Square would need to take a staircase to enter the station—and those who can’t take stairs would need to travel an additional 850 feet (the length of almost three football fields) out of the way to enter the station. “This is really just a basic issue of accessibility and fairness,” Ewen-Campen said at the meeting. BRIDGES Yes, it finally happened: the dreaded Green Line Extension bridge closures. Ball Square’s Broadway Bridge is now a thing of the past (it was torn down in March), and the stretch will not reopen until March 2020, the Boston Globe reports. The Washington Street Bridge Underpass has also now closed for the twopart disassembly of a commuter rail bridge. It will reopen in the fall, then close again from the spring to the fall of 2020, according to Curbed Boston. What’s up next? The closure of the Medford Street Bridge in Gilman Square, scheduled for July.
SCOUT TO THE SOUTH Here’s just some of what you’ll find in the Voices of the City Issue of our sibling publication, Scout Cambridge.
JETPAC PROMOTES MUSLIM REPRESENTATION IN POLITICS The nonprofit trains Muslim candidates using the strategies of former City Councilor Nadeem Mazen’s 2015 campaign and everevolving grassroot approaches.
SURVIVORS AMPLIFY THEIR VOICES THROUGH BARCC The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center helps survivors tell their stories.
COLLECTING OLD STORIES AT MIT PROVIDES MAP FOR THE FUTURE The university has a vast collection of oral histories, including one project chronicling the women of MIT.
Someone rustle your jimmies or tickle your fancy?
Let us know at scoutsomerville.com/contact-us, and we just might crown them a winner or loser. 8 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
Amber Jackson photo courtesy of LifeChanger of the Year.
—BY ALYSSA VAUGHN
B A L L S Q U A R E H E A LT H & B E A U T Y
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Weekend Workshops coming in June
UPGRADE TO LOCAL Upgrade to East Cambridge Checking
Silkscreen Printing 101 With Boriana Kantcheva, Saturday, June 8th, 3-6pm Paint it Large – Keep it Fresh! With Emily Passman, Saturday, June 15th, 10am-3pm
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scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City
9
NEWS
UNION SQUARE RESIDENTS MOVE CLOSER TO AGREEMENT WITH MASTER PLAN DEVELOPER BY JOE WALSH
W
ith the long-awaited Union Square redevelopment expected to begin construction this fall, nearby residents are working to ensure that the wide-ranging project supports priorities like affordable housing, open space, and environmental sustainability. The Union Square Neighborhood Council and developer US2 offered updates on negotiations for a Community Benefits Agreement during a public meeting this spring. Dozens of community members attended to ask questions and raise concerns, frequently pushing the Neighborhood Council to extract more concessions from the developer. Bill Cavellini, a member of the council’s negotiating team, outlined five major areas where discussion is still ongoing: affordable housing, union labor, green spaces, sustainability, and
neighborhood funding. After an agreement is drafted, the Neighborhood Council members will need to approve it. “We think it will benefit fellow residents, business owners, workers, and visitors to Union Square for decades to come,” Cavellini said. US2 President Greg Karczewski says his team is committed to meeting the city’s goals. When completed, commercial and lab space will comprise about 60 percent of the project, generating thousands of new jobs, and the complex will include about 1,000 new residential units, 450 of which are slated for the first phase. He called this approach to development unique. “Normally, development happens one building at a time,” he explained. Robust affordable housing has become a major community priority. Karczewski noted that 20 percent—or 200—of the project’s units will be affordable, which is in line with the city’s zoning
requirement. This will include units available at various income levels, he said, and some threebedroom units sized for families. He added that the project will pay for even more affordable housing because of the city’s linkage fee, which requires large commercial developers to pay into a housing trust fund. Still, Cavellini and negotiator Mike Firestone say affordable housing is an active issue. Some residents were unimpressed by the share of affordable units currently offered, suggesting that the developer should exceed the 20 percent required by the city. Residents were also concerned that some renters cannot afford market-rate units but make too much money to qualify for affordable housing. “It seems like affordable housing is the biggest concern of folks in the neighborhood,” resident Shana Berger said. Meanwhile, the negotiators say they are pushing US2 to incorporate more green and civic spaces in their development.
US2 has tentatively agreed to add a second park to the complex, Firestone noted, but the team would like an even larger footprint. Several residents urged US2 to build a parking garage instead of a surface lot, leaving more space for parkland. Karczewski expressed hesitation, noting that US2 has studied the parking garage proposal and concluded that it would come at a substantial cost. “We’re willing to talk about solutions,” he said, “but it’s a significant amount of money.” The negotiators say they would like more concessions in the name of environmental sustainability. US2 has agreed to make its buildings’ roofs solar-ready and to adhere to other climate-conscious details, but Firestone suggested improvements like expanding the amount of solar energy generation on the site and committing to a “passive house” ultra-efficient building standard. The negotiating team is also focusing on support for Union Square-area businesses, Somerville job-seekers, and local unions. On the jobs front, Firestone noted that US2 will fund a staff position with the city’s First Source Jobs Program, part of an effort to help a broad share of city residents access the permanent jobs the project will create. Meanwhile, Firestone says the team has opened a dialogue between US2 and area labor groups, and he would like to see broad union participation in the project’s construction. “Maximizing organized labor participation will reflect our values as a community that believes in strong middle-class jobs, worker training, and career pathways,” Firestone said. Negotiators emphasized that they are working toward a Community Benefits Agreement with clear commitments, which will allow residents to monitor US2’s progress after the agreement is signed. “As we envision it, the CBA is a contract,” Firestone said. “Our goal is to have appropriate oversight and monitoring of the commitments.”
VOT E O N L I N E AT S C O U T S O M E RV I L L E . C O M
VOTING IS YOUR CIVIC DUTY. (But it’s also a lot of fun!)
Got opinions? Good. Nobody knows Somerville like the people that call it home— that’s why we’re once again asking you to shout out the best our city has to offer. Nominations are open through June 5. To submit your nominations, visit scoutsomerville.com/vote or mail this paper ballot to Banks Publications, 519 Somerville Ave. #314, Somerville, MA 02143. Finalists will be announced in our next issue, out in early July. Make your voice heard!
Best of Wellness HOLISTIC HEALTH SERVICE DENTIST DOCTOR MASSAGE OVERALL GYM YOGA STUDIO ACUPUNCTURE ORTHODONTIST
Best of Beauty HAIR SALON HAIR COLOR HAIRCUT BARBERSHOP EYEBROW SERVICES MANICURE SKIN CARE TATTOO OR PIERCING STUDIO
EYE DOCTOR DERMATOLOGIST PSYCHOTHERAPIST PHYSICAL THERAPY OR PHYSICAL THERAPIST
Best Shopping
Best Arts & Entertainment EVENTS SPACE MUSIC VENUE JEWELRY DESIGN COMEDY SHOW
BIKE SHOP
ART GALLERY
HOME DECOR
PRINT SHOP
GIFT SHOP
LOCAL (NON-SCOUT) MEDIA
THRIFT OR VINTAGE SHOP PET SUPPLIES KIDS’ SHOP FRAME SHOP
VISUAL ARTIST PERFORMING ARTS GROUP KID-FRIENDLY ENTERTAINMENT Continued on next page
VOT E O N L I N E AT S C O U T S O M E RV I L L E . C O M
Best Food
Best Drinks
RESTAURANT OVERALL
WINE SHOP
RESTAURANT IN BALL SQUARE
LIQUOR STORE
RESTAURANT IN DAVIS SQUARE
COCKTAILS
RESTAURANT IN TEELE SQUARE
BARTENDER
RESTAURANT IN MAGOUN SQUARE
BARISTA
RESTAURANT IN UNION SQUARE
BEER PROGRAM
RESTAURANT IN EAST SOMERVILLE
BREWERY OR DISTILLERY
RESTAURANT IN WINTER HILL RESTAURANT IN ASSEMBLY SQUARE
Best Services
RESTAURANT NOT IN A SQUARE
COMMUNITY CLASSES
KID-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT
MOVING COMPANY
VEGAN OR VEGETARIAN
INSURANCE AGENCY
BAR EATS
REAL ESTATE AGENCY
BAKERY
ARCHITECT OR ARCHITECTURE FIRM
MOBILE EATS CHEF SERVICE STAFF BUTCHER COFFEE SHOP OR CAFE
INTERIOR DESIGN REAL ESTATE AGENT BANK OR CREDIT UNION SHIPPING
OUTDOOR DINING
PHOTOGRAPHY OR VIDEOGRAPHY
BREAKFAST
LANDSCAPING
BRUNCH
FLORIST
SWEET TOOTH SATISFIER
DOG WALKING
SWEET TAKEOUT
VET
CATERING
MECHANIC
CHEAP EATS GOURMET OR SPECIALTY FOODS SHOP
Wildcards
PIZZA
NEIGHBORHOOD TO EAT IN
BURGER
NEIGHBORHOOD TO SHOP IN
TACOS
NEIGHBORHOOD TO WORK IN
SUSHI
NEIGHBORHOOD TO LIVE IN
ITALIAN FOOD
DATE NIGHT SPOT
AMERICAN FOOD
PLACE TO PEOPLE WATCH
ASIAN FOOD
NEW BUSINESS
GREEK FOOD
OLD FAVORITE
MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD
PLACE TO SPLURGE
LATIN AMERICAN FOOD
ECO-FRIENDLY BUSINESS LATE NIGHT HAUNT
YOUR DENTAL HEALTH IS PART OF YOUR OVERALL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. START THE NEW YEAR OFF RIGHT WITH A DENTAL VISIT. THE REST OF YOUR BODY WILL BENEFIT!
DR. KATIE TALMO received her DMD from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 2010. Upon graduation, she joined her father, Paul Talmo, in his practice located in the historic English Tudor house at 180 Highland Avenue on the corner of Highland Avenue and Benton Road. Dr. Talmo graduated first in her class from Tufts and continues to be involved in her alma mater where she teaches parttime as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Comprehensive Care.
Her patient-centered treatment philosophy focuses on prevention and conservative treatment modalities. She is a member of the American Dental Association and the Massachusetts Dental Society and is a fellow of the International College of Dentists. She is engaged in the community, serving as the Advisory Committee Chair to Somerville High School’s Dental Assisting Program. Dr. Talmo also travels to the Dominican Republic to provide dental care as part of a global outreach mission project. Schedule an appointment to visit Dr. Talmo in her newly renovated office space.
BEST DENTIST
• FAMILY AND COSMETIC DENTISTRY • TEETH WHITENING • CROWN AND BRIDGE WORK • RESTORATION OF DENTAL IMPLANTS • VENEERS • CLEAR ORTHODONTIC ALIGNERS
2018 WINNER
2017 WINNER
2016 WINNER
2015 NOMINEE
2014 WINNER
DR. KAT I E TALMO , D .M. D . • 6 1 7 . 8 6 4 . 6 1 1 1 • 1 8 0 HI G HL A ND AV E N U E
WHAT’S NEW
BY ALYSSA VAUGHN
POLICY WATCH SomerVision goal of establishing 125 acres of publicly accessible open space. As of this spring, the city has about 88 acres to go.
TEENS FIGHT FOR VOTING RIGHTS
LEGAL DEFENSE FUND IN PLACE FOR IMMIGRANTS
M
ayor Joseph A. Curtatone, together with Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern and the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF), established the United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants earlier this spring, according to a press release. The goal of the fund, the CCF’s website says, is to raise $500,000 for grants to support legal services for immigrants. “The generosity of our residents and businesses can change immigration case outcomes locally,” Curtatone said in the release. “With the greater access to legal counsel that we hope the United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants will provide, our immigrant residents will have a much better chance at the normalcy, dignity, and security they deserve.”
CONDOMINIUM CONVERSION ORDINANCE REVISITED AFTER 30 YEARS
The city’s Condominium Conversion Ordinance, originally drafted over 30 years ago, has finally been updated, the Somerville Journal reports. The ordinance was sharply criticized for being outdated in a Boston Globe article last spring after an Inner Belt/East Cambridge apartment complex displaced its tenants to convert their units into far pricier condos without paying tenants so much as a relocation stipend. The update was largely shaped by public discourse that called for increased protection for tenants 14 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
and resident homeowners in situations like these. Amendments that protect property owners’ rights to sell to family members before tenants and prevent conversions that cause tenant displacement were also approved, according to the Journal.
according to the Somerville Journal. City planners say the ordinance needs to be amended if the city is to achieve its
A home-rule petition to grant legal voting rights for 16- and 17-year-olds in local elections is in the works, the Somerville Journal reports. If the City Council votes in favor of this petition, it would still need to be approved by both the state legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker before going into effect— but teens have voiced their support for the measure. “I think we have seen that there has been a lot of turbulence at Somerville High and students don’t feel like it is being correctly handled by those that have the power,” high schooler Jack Torres said at a public City Council meeting, according to the Journal. “I think allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote gives them a voice in these issues that affect them at school and out of school that their parents, who can vote, don’t necessarily see.” The petition came in the wake of Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s proposed amendment in Washington, a push to lower the voting age to 16 in elections for the U.S. House, Senate, and president beginning in 2020. Pressley cited her district’s engaged youth, as well as the remarkable youth activism surrounding gun control and climate change, as evidence of teens’ civic engagement, Boston.com reports.
UPDATE TO SOMERVILLE ZONING ORDINANCE PROPOSED A proposed update to the Somerville Zoning Ordinance would require developers of “transform areas” in the city to pay fees or dedicate a percentage of their land to open space,
Photo, top left, courtesy of the Cambridge Mayor’s Office. Photo, bottom, by Irina M. / IM Creative Photography. Photo, top right, courtesy of Nano Lab, Tufts University.
CITY BEAT
TUFTS DEVELOPS GASSENSING THREAD
Tufts University engineers have officially nailed the balance between fashion and function. Researchers developed thread that changes color when it is exposed to certain gases, according to a press release, essentially allowing workers in medical, workplace, military, and rescue environments to use their clothing to detect volatile gases. While these threads are no substitute for the electronic equipment typically used to measure gases, gassensing clothing would allow the wearer to assess the atmosphere without referencing cumbersome, expensive devices and without specialized training. The textiles can even be washed and used underwater.
SOMERVILLE HIGH STUDENTS JOIN SCIENCE JOURNALISM PROGRAM
Over the course of this school year, Somerville High’s resident science fans got to partake in a unique opportunity: multimedia science reporting alongside experts from WGBH. Somerville High was one of three Greater Boston area schools to pilot the Science Studio program, an interdisciplinary after school experience supported by WGBH’s NOVA Science Unit, the Somerville Journal reports. Participating SHS students are required to complete an article and video on any science topic of their choosing, using the new Macbook Pros, Canon 80D cameras, mics,
lighting, and terabyte hard drives the program donated to the school. UNION SQUARE
CHANGE ON THE HORIZON FOR UNION SQUARE
The Somerville Redevelopment Authority granted Skanska USA, one of Boston’s biggest developers, permission to pursue a redevelopment project in Union Square, the Boston Globe reports. The project, a joint venture from Skanska USA and Union Square Station Associates, is a seven-story lab space located near Union Square’s future MBTA station. If approved, this could be one of the first phases of the long-awaited, hotly debated redevelopment of Union Square.
ROOT AI REVOLUTIONIZES FARMING
Farming is changing, and local startup Root AI knows it. That’s why they’re trying to revolutionize agriculture by turning to “hyper efficient indoor farms,” where climate is controlled and the harvesting can be done by—you guessed it—robots. This spring, Root AI released its first robot, named Virgo, which is designed to pick tomatoes, the Boston Globe reports. Virgo relies on a combination of a camera, artificial intelligence, and an arm with gentle, fingerlike tongs that pluck the fruit directly from the vine. The robot has undergone testing in California, and Root AI hopes that Virgopicked tomatoes will be available by next year.
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WHAT’S NEW
CHANGING TASTES
UNION SQUARE
VINAL
A
Bagelsaurus alum is taking to Union Square to shine a COMING MOVED spotlightSOON on another beloved breakfast carb: the English muffin. Sarah Murphy’s Vinal Bakery, formerly a popup-only concept, has taken root in the former Pizza Palace space. The cafe features a menu of innovative English muffin sandwiches (built upon Murphy’s signature original, wheat, or anadama muffins), along with New England-inspired pastries and coffee.
DAVIS SQUARE
our time in Davis Square,” owner Matt D’Alessio wrote on Facebook.
Davis Square’s six-year-old falafel and fries spot has closed COMING its doors, Eater Boston reports. SOON Its closure marks the end of the Washington D.C.-based chain’s residency in Greater Boston after a Kenmore Square location closed in 2017. “We are off to new ventures with family and business and will never forget
DAVIS SQUARE
AMSTERDAM FALAFELSHOP
16 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
GRAINMAKER MOVED
COMING SOON
A new fast-casual eatery is set to open in the space Amsterdam Falafel vacated. Grainmaker, a “Southeast Asian street market” in downtown Boston, will open its second location in the now-vacant storefront, according to Eater Boston. The restaurant will start slinging dairy- and gluten-free
salads, tacos, and grain bowls as early as June.
RED 8
COMING There’s no better SOON place to eat a pre-slotmachine meal than a restaurant named after a lucky Chinese color and number. Red 8, due to open in the Encore casino this June, will serve upscale Chinese fare, like Peking duck and Sampan-style king crab, in an ornate, luxurious setting, Boston Magazine reports. This will be the fourth Red MOVED 8 location, joining others in Las Vegas and Macau.
Boston. Earlier this spring, the restaurant’s website announced the business had become financially unsustainable, citing the Broadway Bridge closure MOVED as a factor. Later, posts on the restaurant’s social media teased that Sassafras may continue to operate as a pop-up or a meal delivery service.
BALL SQUARE
SASSAFRAS
Sassafras, a vegetarian- and veganfocused restaurant, has fallen victim to GreenCOMING Line SOON Extension construction, according to Eater
MOVED
Photo, top, courtesy of Vinal Bakery. Photo, bottom left, courtesy of Amsterdam Falafel. Photo, bottom middle, courtesy of Sassafras. Photo, top right, by Justin Knight. Photo, bottom right, courtesy of the Museum of Bad Art.
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UNION SQUARE
UNION TAVERN LAUNCHES FEMALE-FRONTED RESIDENCY Susan Cattaneo, a “New England Americana” singer/songwriter, will be performing every third Thursday at Union Tavern (formerly PA’s Lounge). A female-fronted residency like this, Cattaneo tells Scout, is a rarity in the Boston music scene, which is dominated by male performers. Cattaneo aspires to bring other women to join her onstage as well, and she also hopes to involve her six-piece “Big Loud Band.” Her residency began in April. UNION SQUARE
THE JUNGLE
COMING SOON
Union Square’s nightlife is about to get a little more musical. The Jungle, an 85-seat music venue and restaurant, will operate out of a former storage space on Sanborn Court, according to Vanyaland. Owner and manager Sam Epstein told
Vanyaland that the venue will book local bands of all genres, and that other group activities, from cycling classes to music lessons to open mic nights, will take place in the early evenings on Sundays through Thursdays. The spot’s grand opening is set for May.
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MUSEUM OF BAD ART SEEKS NEW HOME
Know anyone who’s looking to acquire a gallery of mediocre cat paintings, discarded fan art, and disproportionate nudes? The Museum of Bad Art is in need of a new home, according to its Facebook page. The museum, which has been located in the MOVED Somerville Theatre for over 10 years, hopes to find a large space that’s close to public transit. “Some possibilities are a brewery, building lobby, underused event venue, or space in a movie theater,” the post reads. The collection will be offdisplay until a new location is found.
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17
VOICES OF THE CITY
Radio Drama Sees a Revival in Davis Square BY JM LINDSAY | PHOTOS BY ADRIANNE MATHIOWETZ
M
any historians will say that the “Golden Age” of radio drama ended almost 80 years ago. But for the Post-Meridian Radio Players (PMRP), it’s alive and well in Davis Square. At a live show, the sound effects are made on stage—we see the water poured slowly into a teacup, the envelope hastily ripped open, the tiny door built only for the sounds of its hinges and locks. One of the joys of watching a PMRP show is the actors’ commitment to the format and time period. Just as silent film stars used over-the-top physical movements and facial expressions, radio actors use exaggerated
18 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
intonations to establish tone and mood. Seeing fully costumed voice actors and Foley artists work together to create a narrative soundscape eliminates any kind of “fourth wall” separating the audience from the show. In many ways, the Foley artists, or the actors who make the live sounds, are the stars of the show. “We have everyone fill out a questionnaire when they come audition, and one of the questions is if they are interested in doing Foley work,” says Will Spreadbury, a voice actor and publicity director for PMRP. “And a lot of people who get those roles end up loving it.”
The troupe has been performing its own audio drama adaptations of classic radio plays, old films, and public domain stories all over the Boston area since 2005. With live sound effects artists and costumed voice actors, the group is taking part in what’s become a renaissance of the genre. “I grew up with radio dramas,” says Artistic Director Jeremy Holstein as he excitedly recalls listening to audio-only versions of “Star Wars” and “Sherlock Holmes” on Amherst’s National Public Radio affiliate in the 1980s. “I quickly learned that I couldn’t get away with reading in bed because of the light,” he remembers, “but I could listen
quietly to the radio … so it’s pretty cool to be able to do this now.” In the spirit of the early days of radio drama, PMRP performs a series of live shows in front of an audience for each title. Then they choose the best iteration of the series and drop in any edits or fixes or better takes from another show to create a version they put up for sale. PMRP’s first show was a fundraiser for a local filmmaker in 2005. The recreation of a 1937 classic radio horror was a success, and the group quickly developed a yearly schedule. “The stuff that people are familiar with usually does well,” says Spreadbury. Adaptations
of “Sherlock Holmes” (typically during the summer season when the group focuses on mysteries), short stories by Edgar Allen Poe (closer to Halloween, when horror is the genre of choice), and the annual Christmas show (a retelling of the 1964 film “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”) are always popular, Spreadbury says. According to one member of the group, PMRP has almost fully exhausted Poe’s work. Recordings of “The Raven,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” are all available on the group’s website. One of PMRP’s favorite recurring shows is a genderswapped “Star Trek,” featuring characters such as Captain Jane T. Kirk and Ms. Spock, which the troupe performs at Boston’s annual Arisia Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. “That’s not public domain,” Holstein is quick to point out. “We can take donations for those shows, but since it’s privately held intellectual property, we cannot charge admission for it.” Holstein says he’s particularly excited for 2022, the year when the classic Fritz Lang film, “Metropolis,” will enter the public domain. “The problem with a lot of these older, public domain titles is that they are very male-centric,” says Holstein. In order to have a more inclusive casting process, the group doesn’t differentiate between male and female roles during auditions. This spring, the group performed “Filibus: The Mysterious Sky Pirate,” and “Confidence Confidant” at Davis
Square’s Brunch Church. “Filibus” is writer Brian Kjersten’s adaptation of a 1915 silent film about a woman who is both a master thief and an expert disguise artist. “Confidence Confidant,” written by Eva C. Schegulla, tells the story of Kate Warne, the first woman to be a Pinkerton agent in the middle of the 19th century. In one memorable scene from the show, a character’s sarcastic clap is performed not by the actor playing the character, but by a one of the non-speaking Foley artists. The result is an unusually satisfying inside joke among the audience members and cast. Schegulla’s text also has a lot of fun approximating the language of the time, at one point referring to a criminal forger as, “an artist who has enough business acumen to profit from his skills.” In July, the PMRP will put on its ninth annual summer mystery show, returning to one of its old favorites of the public domain, “Sherlock Holmes.” “Mrs. Hudson Investigates,” written by Phoebe Roberts, tells the story of the detective’s landlady taking up a case when Sherlock is nowhere to be found. And “The Adventure of the Empty House,” adapted and directed by Holstein, has Doctor Watson trying to solve a murder three years after the death of his mentor. “Mrs. Hudson Investigates” and “The Adventure of the Empty House” will run July 19 through July 27 at the Brunch Church at 52 Russell St. Show recordings are available at the group’s live shows and on its website, pmrp.org.
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scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City 19
VOICES OF THE CITY
‘KEEP IT KIND. KEEP IT CREATIVE’ SOMERVILLE-RAISED RAPPER FORTÉ ON HIS ART AND HIS CITY BY LILLY MILMAN | PHOTO BY ADRIANNE MATHIOWETZ
F
orté never leaves the house without his crystals, which he wears around his wrists. Most are gifts, and they’re meant to promote creativity. While leaning back in his chair, the artist pulls a jagged Amethyst crystal out of his pocket and turns it over a few times before returning it. McSergio Estnay started going by the name Forté around 2015. The 28-year-old was struggling with his identity at the time, trying to figure out which part of his personality he wanted to highlight. “I hadn’t really known what my forte was, and I regarded myself as like a jack of all trades,” he says. “Then I started feeling like a master of nothing.” He also just didn’t want to be referred to as Pops anymore. He earned the name from his tendency to fall asleep frequently and from having “wisdom that was beyond my years, from being a knucklehead and learning.” 20 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
“I said Forté is cool because it was something that I felt comfortable in, almost like it was freeing to say, ‘This is my forte,’” he says. “I like to take pictures, I like to rap, I like to dance, I like to sing, I like to talk, I like to draw. Forté felt fitting, being an artist. I feel like a lot of people could connect with that in many ways, and find out what their forte is through listening to my music.” His most recent release, “Grumble Rap,” showcases his desire to leave a “positive carbon footprint as opposed to making people unhappy,” he says. “It’s cathartic for me to make music,” he explains. “It’s therapeutic. So when I make it, I make it to release and also to relate. It’s for people to have fun and not
to take life too seriously, but also to think about the things that they’ve been through, like I do myself when I’m creating my music. It’s to try to elevate, whether it’s their consciousness, their emotions, or just like their way of life. I’m just trying to give them a better option.” Forté tugs on the loose threads of the hole in his jeans when he is more focused on what he is saying than on his surroundings—like when he is describing the plot of a recent
movie he watched, an anime called “MFKZ,” or “The Black Jacobins,” a book about the Haitian Revolution. Forté has been deepening his connection with his Haitian heritage recently. As a child, he became involved with music through church choir. He credits that experience with teaching him to understand good vocals, but
admits he still doesn’t think he is the greatest singer. Haitian Gospel is what his parents listened to while he was growing up, although he gravitated more toward popular hip-hop music, citing Joe Budden’s self-titled debut and Chingy’s “Jackpot” as the first CDs he bought. Forté is no longer involved in the church, but he does try to incorporate kompa, a genre started in 1950s Haiti, into his performances as a way of paying
“I’VE BEEN IMPATIENT WITH MY OWN TIME / I’VE BEEN THE HERO AND THE VILLAIN IN MY OWN MIND.” - FAR 2 LONG
homage to his upbringing. He says that being born to Haitian immigrant parents informs some of his lyrics. In the past year, Forté has played at Cambridge’s Atwood’s Tavern, Allston’s The AERONAUT, the Somerville Armory, and Boston’s popup event series the Black Cotton Club. He points out that historically it has been challenging for hip-hop artists to get shows in Somerville and Cambridge. “We have a lot of underground hip-hop artists, but a lot of the time, I feel like there’s a disconnect,” he says. “I feel like the cities don’t know how to handle hip-hop, which is weird because it seems like a lot of other genres can get their foot in, as far as getting shows.” Rock ’n’ roll has had a storied history in Greater Boston, but Forté points out that hip-hop artists often haven’t gotten equal opportunities, in part due to misconceptions about the genre and the crowds it attracts. “It’s been real, like, tight and I don’t want to say hostile, but it almost feels that way sometimes,” he says. “I think that’s part of people not knowing what to expect from a lot of hip-hop shows, and going off of what they heard or what’s propagated in national media or certain isolated incidents where things go awry. People want to generalize it and make it a hip-hop thing, when it really could just be that one
person or that one show that that happened. A lot of people don’t say that about like heavy metal or rock concerts, where people are literally throwing ’bos and getting bloody noses.” He is hopeful, though, that the city is beginning to open up to hip-hop as it overtakes rock as the most popular music genre in the country. “I’ve been seeing more local artists getting more chances,” he says. “I think it really is a leap of faith on both sides. I’m sure there could be a culture out here where we hold a bunch of hip-hop shows and there is not anything wrong, which would promote more progressive and positive relationships between locals and venue owners, especially those of marginalized groups who mostly partake in hip-hop.” Forté doesn’t get nervous before he performs; he describes his pre-show feeling as being closer to anxiousness to get on stage. For him, music is a way of feeling free and out of his own head. “There’s this feeling,” he says. “There’s something brewing and I feel like staying consistent, persistent and compassionate towards each other is going to help bring about a whole new renaissance over here as far as music, especially hip-hop. I’ve been seeing a lot of collaboration lately, and I think we should just keep it up and keep it kind. Keep it creative.” To listen to Forté’s music, visit soundcloud.com/Forté1804.
scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City 21
VOICES OF THE CITY
OPEN KITCHENS,
Open Conversations
The Open Kitchens Project Aims to Promote Cultural Exchange Through Food 22 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
BY REENA KARASIN PHOTOS COURTESY OF OPEN KITCHENS
P
aul Castiglione has spent much of his life thinking about what it means to belong to a community. His father grew up in an Italian immigrant family in upstate New York, which in the 1930s meant facing blatant discrimination. Castiglione was always aware of his father’s pain, he says. “My father really struggled with being an immigrant,” Castiglione remembers. “On the one hand, I think he’s proud to be an Italian, on the other hand, I think there was a lot of pain, I think he felt really out of place. He’d tell stories about digging up dandelions in the school field and his friends making fun of him, and that was their dinner. They would go squirrel hunting. So it was a very different cultural experience than the kids’ that were in his neighborhood. So that helped forge how I think about the ‘outsider.’” It’s not surprising that Castiglione offers up examples of food to show how his father experienced otherness, as Castiglione now runs a marketplace devoted to helping immigrant cooks share and celebrate their dishes, cultures, and stories. The idea for the Open Kitchens Project began when Castiglione, a Somerville resident, was working with immigrants at a now-defunct nonprofit in Cambridge. From there, he began organizing home meal deliveries, where he would help the cooks get to and from a shared commercial kitchen so they could create dishes from their home countries of Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Brazil. The Open Kitchens Project, which got started in November, is a “community marketplace” akin to Sofar Sounds or Airbnb,
according to Castiglione. It begins with a host, who goes onto the platform and provides details about their home, what types of conversations and food they’d like to have at the event, and how many people they can accommodate. They’re paired with one of the five cooks Castiglione works with, who hail from Iraq, Syria, Venezuela, and Ethiopia. Guests apply to attend the event, and like on Airbnb, all parties (the guests, the cooks, and
The dinners also have a structured conversation component, which is run by a curator. The curators can be anyone from activists to writers to artists, and they offer questions based on their work that are meant to spark meaningful dialogue. Topics have included leadership, pursuing passions, and immigration. For example, a curator from Agencia ALPHA—a nonprofit dedicated to helping Latino
“My hope is to be able to lower the risk for people to be able to start food businesses.” the hosts) have ratings. The guests get to meet the chefs and learn about their lives and cultures, according to Castiglione. Meqdes Mesfin, one of the Open Kitchens Project cooks, emigrated from Ethiopia decades ago. She says she’s been drawn to the flexibility and creativity of entrepreneurship, and that she likes sharing Ethiopian dishes with people in part because of how much the cuisine can accommodate different dietary restrictions. “Many of them wanted to know, ‘What’s this bread made from? What makes this one spicy? Do you use other meats? Things like that, and then about the altitude of the capital city [of Ethiopia],” Mesfin says of the discussions she had at her first Open Kitchens Project event.
immigrants navigate social and legal spheres—posed a series of questions about community: What is community? How does community make you feel? Why would you leave that community? “The conclusion was there are 63 million people in migration around the world today, and … they’ve had to make really difficult decisions to leave the culture and community that they love,” Castiglione explains. The whole dinner and conversation experience takes about three hours, according to Castiglione. The Open Kitchens Project has hosted over a dozen events in Greater Boston. Part of the appeal of the setup for cooks is that it works within the confines of strict home cooking laws. The cooks are classified as personal chefs, which means they’re not subject to the
same kitchen requirements that they would be if they wanted to run a business out of their homes. “They’re overly onerous for small-volume operations,” Castiglione explains. “The law is really intended for very large organizations, to ensure they create food that’s safe for the general public—things like commercial refrigeration, fire suppressant systems. It can take half a million dollars to build out a commercial kitchen. It’s a really high risk endeavor, you have a large up-front investment, food margins are extremely tight. My hope is to be able to lower the risk for people to be able to start food businesses.” These rules get at something Mesfin underlines: “Sometimes there’s a narrative that develops … It’s not because you’re an immigrant that you need the help, it’s because you’re an entrepreneur. When the narrative includes a particular adjective such as ‘immigrant,’ used as an adjective, it just becomes this code for ‘They need that or else.’” The feedback from guests so far has reinforced the notion that Open Kitchens creates a dynamic that can’t be found elsewhere, according to Castiglione. “One couple said, ‘This is my husband’s birthday, and we were going to go to a nice restaurant, but we decided no, we would do this, and we wondered if we would have better memories from this than going to a nice restaurant,’” he says. “And that’s what ended up happening, like, ‘We’ll remember this for a really long time.’” For more information, visit openkitchensproject.com.
scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City 23
VOICES OF THE CITY
PRESERVING A FADING CULTURE ’Ville Native Gets People Talking About the City of His Youth BY REENA KARASIN PHOTOS COURTESY OF JASON FAULKNER
J
ason Faulkner likes to think Somerville grew up with him. He was raised in Spring Hill in the ’80s and ’90s, at a time when, as he puts it, the city was “a little rougher.” When he entered adulthood, artists started to pop up, taking advantage of the cheap rent, and the city began to become a more dynamic and attractive place to live. Now, he feels Somerville is the perfect family-oriented place for him to raise his two daughters. If Faulkner is nostalgic for the Somerville of his childhood, he doesn’t long for those days. Instead, he is matter-of-fact about the changes in the city, and is careful not rule them good or bad. But he does want to preserve the local identity he remembers, the one that he thinks remains only with his parents’ generation. His mother and father, both raised in the city themselves, were fully entrenched in the Somerville 24 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
that seems almost folkloric to newcomers. As Faulkner has dug into his city’s past, he’s realized the ways in which his own family was a part of it. What characterized the old Somerville personality? Toughness, in Faulkner’s experience. “There’s a whole personality, a whole identity that’s being washed out,” he says. “The way that people speak, the jobs that people do. Somerville was traditionally very working class, very blue collar, and so was a lot of the city of Boston. I think it’s really important to just catalogue it. It’s not saying it’s right, it’s not saying it’s wrong, it’s just saying this is an identity that is fading. And for me, it’s a really deep part of me, it’s what I grew up with, so I don’t want it to be forgotten.” Faulkner set out to preserve the voice of old Somerville through an alliance with Dirty Old Boston, an online community
where people post and share photos of Greater Boston from before the ’90s. Faulkner saw how the images sparked commenters’ memories, and it lined up with the storytelling he wanted to encourage in Somerville. On a photo of a woman outside Thurston Spa, a commenter posted a recent photo of the same spot. Another: “My aunt worked there for years!” A third: “My beautiful hometown.” One of Faulkner’s contributions to Dirty Old Boston is creating T-shirts with the logos of iconic but nowdefunct Somerville businesses. There’s Steve’s Ice Cream, which he claims was at the cutting edge of the artisanal ice cream trend. There’s Somerville Lumber, which he calls Home Depot before there was Home Depot. There’s Johnny D’s, whose inclusion can give more recent Somervillians a sense of how beloved these businesses were. “When people see the shirts, they say, ‘I remember my dad used to take me here for ice cream,’ things like that,” Faulkner explains. “They all trigger these memories and stories that people have. And that’s really the core of what I’m trying to get to.” Faulkner also created the Dirty Old Boston podcast (up on YouTube), where he interviews people to preserve their voices— both their ways of speaking and their stories. Earlier this year, he interviewed John Baino, who was raised in the Somerville Housing Authority Mystic River Development and is friends with Faulkner’s father. “I’m so happy I have that voice, because it’s the way he sees things, the way he describes things, that’s fully his identity, and the identity of a lot of other people,” Faulkner explains. Some highlights: “I got in a lot of fights.” “They couldn’t catch me.” “The best time of my life was growing up in the housing projects … That was the closeness of growing up in the housing projects: You did everything together, you shared everything.” Having traveled in his early adulthood, Faulkner sees reminiscing as uniquely prevalent in the Boston area.
“We would just sit around, especially with old friends, and it was always like ‘Remember the time that this happened, remember that time,’” he says. “And you’d go around the room, and everybody shares a funny story. It usually has to be funny, or crazy. In Somerville, it’s either about something that was totally crazy, wild, and violent, or it was something that was hilarious, or both.” While Faulkner’s focus is on the stories of the past, he also notes the benefit of sharing stories as they’re happening to you. That’s the driving idea behind another project, in which he hopes to install phone booths throughout the city. Each phone booth will have an iPad, and people can make messages that will be uploaded to an Instagram page. He doesn’t know what kinds of stories people will post, but to him, it’s like a confessional— the kind of confessional that would’ve been helpful for him as he dealt with a bad relationship. “People either have great stories or they have things that they’re carrying around that are heavy on them, and saying them out loud sometimes helps take that pressure off,” he says. “That triggers some personal stuff for me … I was always so afraid to say that or let that out. I thought that like the whole world would end, I couldn’t imagine my life after all that coming out. But then it did, and I actually feel a world better. I feel much happier, much more calm. I just want that to happen for some people through that.” And the stories of the past inform the lives we live today, Faulkner argues. As a thirdgeneration Somervillian, the more research he does and the more memories he hears, the better he understands how he and his family fit into the picture of the city. “There’s so much here in the city,” he says. “You can either go forward and talk about what’s going to happen in the future, talk about ideas and concepts, or you can go back, and really dig into what’s happened. Because if you can understand the past, you can usually get a really clear picture of what the future’s going to bring.”
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scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City 25
VOICES OF THE CITY
LANGUAGE AND ART BUILD BRIDGES AT THE CENTER FOR ARABIC CULTURE
BY ABIGAIL FELDMAN
“I
want the community to know what I know, because they will love it.” That’s what Alma Richeh says about her work at the Center for Arabic Culture (CAC), where she and others explore Arab and Arab-American cultures through art and education. For more than a decade, the center—headquartered at the Somerville Armory—has helped foster intercultural understanding through Arabic language classes and community events. Richeh, who is the executive director of CAC, said the center’s mission is best reflected in its slogan: “Building bridges, connecting cultures.” “We try to reach out to the entire community, not only ArabAmericans, to build knowledge and raise awareness, and also to break the stereotype,” she says. CAC was established in 2006 at MIT, according to Richeh. The organization became independent 26 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
and moved to Somerville a few years later once the Armory was restored and became a home for local nonprofits. In addition to running cultural programming, CAC focuses on its Arabic language school. Some 120 students attend language classes through the center, coming from as far as Worcester and Wilmington to attend cultural events and lessons. One family even drives weekly from Connecticut, according to Richeh. “To Arab people who want to find their community and something special, they’ll make the effort,” says Ruth Faris, secretary of CAC’s board of directors. CAC is the only nonreligious community organization of its kind in the state, according to its staff—while most Arabic schools are run through churches or mosques, CAC is not affiliated with any religious establishment. In this
way, the center helps fill an unmet need. “There are some Arabs who don’t want to go to the church or the mosque, and they’d rather have something secular,” Faris explains. The organization also eschews politics. While other groups focus on issues concerning Palestine or Syria, CAC avoids taking a hard stance on political matters or backing candidates, according to Faris. Political issues of course come up in films screened at the center, but they are not the focal point of the events, she adds. “It’s not that we don’t care or we don’t have our personal things, which we of course do, but this organization is separate and kind of a neutral zone for everybody,” Faris says. Language classes are held on Sundays at the Brimmer and May school in Chestnut Hill. Kids as young as 3 can attend the center’s playgroup, and classes ranging from elementary to advanced are
available for children and adults. Most of the classes teach Modern Standard Arabic, the type of Arabic generally used in formal speech and writing throughout the Arab world to communicate across dialects. CAC also holds some colloquial classes, where students can learn to communicate in particular dialects, such as Levantine (spoken in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, among other places) or Egyptian, Faris says. Many students speak Arabic at home but attend school to learn writing and grammar, according to Faris. A few are not of Arab descent, but simply enjoy learning the language. Richeh says the classes are particularly helpful in bringing community members together because they unite people with a shared desire to pass on their heritage. “They come together and do activities together, and the kids Photos, top, by Hala Jadallah.
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scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City 27
VOICES OF THE CITY
WHEN YOU WORK WITH SOMETHING RELATED TO YOUR CULTURE, IT’S PERSONAL. YOU WANT TO PRESENT IT IN THE BEST WAY AND LET EVERYONE KNOW.
grow up together to be friends,” she says. Like many of its neighbors at the Armory, much of CAC’s programming features art, music, and literature. “It’s part of our human nature,” Richeh says. “It makes whoever doesn’t know about this curious to learn more.” For example, Richeh runs CAC’s children’s choir—the first Arab-American youth choir in the state, according to the center’s website—where students ages 6 to 10 learn Arabic through contemporary and traditional songs. The choir was recently invited to sing at Berklee College of Music with well-known Palestinian singer Amal Murkus. CAC also hosts several free community events, such as monthly film screenings (run in collaboration with MIT’s Aga Khan Documentation Center) and Culture Club meetings. The Culture Club, which meets every 28 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
second Saturday of the month at the Armory, gives ArabAmericans and other community members an opportunity to gather and socialize. Richeh says the meetings were started to help seniors and people who struggle with language barriers find time to interact with others. Other events include language meet-up groups and a book reading at Porter Square Books. In the last few years, CAC has also arranged a few cooking classes, where participants learned to make appetizers such as tabbouleh, hummus, kibbeh, and Arabic sweets such as kanafeh and baklava. “We try to introduce authentic, traditional meals, because everybody loves them,” Richeh says. One of CAC’s biggest events, the annual Cultural Month, showcases Arabic art and music through weekly activities. The event kicked off in April with
a film screening about Syrian refugees arriving in the United States and culminates with the Arab Spring Cultural Festival, featuring dancers, singers, and art exhibits reflecting Arabic culture, including a “whirling dervish” dance performance. The dance, which involves spinning in a long skirt, is a part of Sufi religious tradition, but has become a secular form of entertainment in Egypt, Richeh says. Richeh hopes these types of events will help to introduce Arabic culture to members of the larger community so that Arabs and non-Arabs can celebrate together. “When you work with something related to your culture, it’s personal,” she says. “You want to present it in the best way and let everyone know.” Part of CAC’s goal in focusing on Arabic art and culture is that it presents the Arab community in a positive
light, according to Faris. “Some people only have very negative ideas,” she says. “There have been whole books and films written about the longstanding stereotypes and cartoons ... We know we’re always up against that.” Somerville, on the other hand, has been a welcoming place, Faris and Richeh say. City leaders have invited CAC to join them in a number of popular communitywide events, including the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration and ArtBeat. Those at the center believe a well-informed community that embraces diversity is a stronger community, Richeh says. “There won’t be any internal problems when people know each other and love each other and trust each other,” she says. The Center for Arabic Culture is located at 191 Highland Ave. For more information, call (617) 8931176 or visit cacboston.org. Photo by Adrianne Mathiowetz.
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SCOUT OUT!
6O ADVENTURES A JOURNEY THROUGH
BY REENA KARASIN
“I
f you told me a year, two years, five years ago, that I would ever, ever, ever put myself on the internet singing, I would have told you, ‘You’re out of your mind.’” And yet, this winter, Deb Jacobs found herself posting a video of herself singing on the internet. Jacobs, 59, describes her life as being “very rich and very full.” She has two daughters, one in high school and one in college, and has run a preschool, Children of the World, out of her West Somerville home for 18 years. But like many parents, she experienced a big shift in her life once she had children. “As a single mom by choice, I knew going in that I was the one who was going to be giving the baths and taking the trash out and doing all of it, but it’s very allconsuming, and so a lot of things I did pre-kids kind of dropped by the wayside. I used to ride my bicycle long distances, I used to ski a lot, even friendships,” she explains. “I realized that while my kids and my business in many ways expanded my life, in very joyful and wonderful ways, in other ways it contracted.” As her younger daughter approaches college, Jacobs has 30 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
Photos courtesy of Deb Jacobs.
come face-to-face with what life will be like with both kids out of the house. This reckoning has coincided with the leadup to her 60th birthday, inspiring a project that Jacobs hopes will re-expand her life. The concept behind 60to60 is simple: try something new every week. These aren’t globetrotting, big money adventures, for the most part, but rather ones that Jacobs can do in or near Somerville. Most of them are activities that could be a part of anyone’s life, but are new for her. Some ideas, like dogsledding, are things she always wanted to try but never got around to doing. Others, such as fencing, she never would’ve thought of without scrolling through Groupon. All of them are things she can do with at least one other person. “There have been a couple challenges, but for the most part, it’s just a blast,” Jacobs says. “I’m a bit of a homebody, and I’m perfectly happy to stay home and read a book, and it takes a little bit sometimes to get me out of the house. But once I’m out doing these things, I’m so glad I did it. It’s been really fun, and I’ve found that some of the most fun ones are getting together with friends to do things we wouldn’t normally do.” She brought her two daughters and a friend along for the dog sledding. The day began with meeting the dogs and “literally being hugged” by them, Jacobs explains. They learned how to hook the dogs up to the sled, helped feed them, and, of course, got pulled along in the snow, ducking as they whizzed under branches. While dog sledding checked off a long-dreamed-of activity, Jacobs’s list doesn’t stay within her comfort zone. In addition to learning to sing on-key (after being told she was a terrible singer her entire life), Jacobs is tackling other fears such as learning to swim a full mile. Plus she’s documenting herself on a blog, both to hold herself accountable and to face her disinclination to put herself on camera. “It definitely is stretching me a bit, and it’s showing me that I can do some things I didn’t think I could do,” she says. Jacobs’s birthday is in
December, which means she’s roughly midway through her journey. So far she’s loved mosaic making and swing dancing, and plans to continue both after she’s done with the project. She crowdsourced suggestions from her friends and family to come up with her list of activities, which still has space for more ideas. They’ve been supportive, Jacobs says, and many have joined her on some of her adventures, like the friends she doesn’t get to see often who went on a tour of the Connecticut Wine Trail with her. “Sometimes you need an excuse to get together, and my adventure quest offers a good one,” Jacobs writes in her Nov. 8 blog post about the wine trail. “It’s starting to pay off in terms of fun and community.” This stage of life seems to be the right time to test out and document these activities because she’s much less afraid of “looking like a fool” than she was when she was younger, Jacobs explains. And she hopes she can help others, especially other women, reexamine their age. “Sixty always sounded so old, it sounded like on the precipice into senior-citizen-dom,” she says. “It doesn’t feel old. I know my generation has pushed boundaries from the beginning, and we’re the generation now pushing the boundaries of what it means to get older and what’s possible as people get older.” What’s coming up for Jacobs? She’s looking forward to a 60mile bike ride and a juggling festival in September. “Some people my age are like, ‘Yay, the kids are out of the house and now we can do all the things we’ve talked about doing and have more free time!’ But for a lot of other people, including myself, it can be a little depressing when your kids leave,” she says. “It’s hard. So if I can also inspire some people going through that to see that getting out there can change your life, and you can meet new people, and you can try new things, and you can find new interests, then that would make me very happy.” For more information, visit 60to60.com.
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scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City 31
SOMETHING VENTURED
VILLESIDE CUSTOMS BY ABBIE GRUSKIN | PHOTOS COURTESY OF VILLESIDE CUSTOMS, LLC
V
illeSide’s owners have served the city for seven years from their storefront in Magoun Square, which started as a retail-only shop selling clothing, hats, and accessories from favorite brands including Silly Wabbit, Pretty Authentic People, and Villen. Now, alongside their selection of local Somerville and Boston brands—including a house brand named after the business—VilleSide offers shoppers the option to customize their apparel with in-house vinyl printing, screenprinting, or embroidery. “We try to cultivate a family environment,” explains Jabir Nadler Ducasse, one of the two owners. “We’ve built a very welcoming place. I try not to be robotic, not cutting to the chase of ‘OK, it’s all about money, what T-shirt do you want.’ That is what makes us different from any other shop where you can just 32 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
walk in and buy a T-shirt.” Ducasse and co-owner Marckendy Jean say they have taken direction from local customers asking for an individualized experience. “We wanted to give something back to our community, so we started a T-shirt brand, VilleSide Clothing, at first,” Ducasse explains. “Different types of customers started coming in and requesting different things, ‘Can you add my name, can you add a number to the back.’ I’d seen there was an opportunity.” The branded clothing and hats that deck the walls of VilleSide also convey Ducasse and Jean’s appreciation for design, and have been carefully selected for their special appeal to all customers with a love for the city. “Villen has always been a staple brand of Somerville,” Ducasse says. “I can have somebody who’s 50 years old
come in here and request a Villen T-shirt, and I also can have a high school kid who says ‘You know what, I like that VilleSide logo, let me have that on a hoodie.’” Ducasse and Jean say VilleSide works first and foremost on providing customer service that makes shoppers feel at ease the moment they walk through the door. Much of this work involves getting to know each customer on a first-name basis, even as VilleSide has grown from managing small, personal accounts, to taking on midsize and even corporate work “They’re all good people, so we show them love and they show us love back,” Jean explains. “We make sure the communication is on point with no issues. Overall, we emphasize the one-on-one with the customers, learning their names, giving them the opportunity to have options, making sure they’re satisfied. If they do leave, they come back
because of the conversation.” VilleSide also participates in local events with other vendors and organizations, like East Somerville’s Carnaval and Mystic Learning Center toy drives, setting up a booth with a selection of discounted merchandise from the shop. Community events help VilleSide to not only create connections within the city, but also sustain lasting local relationships, the owners say. Ducasse and Jean say that once locals get hooked on the friendly, laid back atmosphere of VilleSide, they return to the store time and time again. “It gives more value just knowing people,” Jean says. “We put a smile on people’s faces when they come in.” Villeside Customs is located at 491 Broadway. For more information, call (857) 251-8405 or visit villesidecustoms.com.
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SOMERVILLE FAMILY LEARNING COLLABORATIVE BY ABBIE GRUSKIN
A
mid growing income disparity in the city, the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative (SFLC) offers a slew of free programs and services with the intent of creating an inclusive, healthy environment for underserved children and families. Founded in 2011, SFLC is the Family and Community Engagement Department of the Somerville Public School system. The program receives referrals from the Parent
34 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
Information Center, the public school system, pediatricians, and other community programs to help it assist families from birth to adulthood. The SFLC also acts as a referral service for families who require additional or more specified care, contributing to the development of a network of community organizations in the area. Much of SFLC’s work is providing children and parents with essential resources for academic success and the tools
to safely and comfortably raise a family. “There is no clear eligibility, but some families are more in need,” Fernanda Villar, the Parent Child Home Visiting Program director, explains. “Some families have lower income, lover level of education, no access to other services, those are the families that we target.” Some programs, like the Clothing Closet, focus on basic necessities. But beyond making sure district families’ needs
are being met, SFLC builds a community in which all families can actively participate and grow. The collaborative’s slogan, “Diversity is Strength,” is echoed throughout its work within a city that’s home to so many immigrant communities. “Everything we do is translated into four languages,” SFLC Director Nomi Davidson says. “That’s a major piece of breaking down barriers for families so that everything is accessible. The language capacity Photo by Amy Bamforth and Silvia Travis.
of the staff means that we really can meet the needs of multiple populations.” Playgroups, during which children ages 0-5 are exposed to social interaction and receive developmental screening, serve as an entry point for families to explore the other services that SFLC has to offer and forge a community within the program. The Clothing Pantry, which offers free clothing to children, teenagers, and adults, is home to one of the most vibrant communities within SFLC. Volunteers, many of whom have used SFLC services themselves, oversee the Clothing Pantry and learn leadership skills through giving back to their community. “The volunteers feel a sense of ownership,” Davidson explains. “They came because they used the pantry, and now they’re really
SFLC has grown in recent years as community members have responded positively to their organization and requested more services, programs, and hours of operation. “Families are constantly asking for more hours of Playgroups, more days of the week, programs on the weekend, and they want evening programming,” Playgroup coordinator Michelle Laskey explains. “We were wary about expanding our services because of not having enough funding, but we’ve grown tremendously in the last five years,” Davidson says. “I think people just want more of our services. And, as Somerville has become a more activist community, there is programming happening throughout the city by multiple
“EVERYTHING WE DO IS TRANSLATED INTO FOUR LANGUAGES. THAT’S A MAJOR PIECE OF BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS FOR FAMILIES SO THAT EVERYTHING IS ACCESSIBLE.” involved in the leadership of it.” Francia Reyes, the Clothing Closet liaison, adds that she teaches and practices writing and reading in Spanish with some of the Clothing Pantry volunteers, strengthening the bond between staff members and the people they serve. Some of the collaborative’s other programs include SomerBaby, a welcome program for new parents and babies, and Parent/Guardian English classes, which allow community members to strengthen their communication skills to become more engaged in their child’s education. The ever-evolving range of programs reflects the needs and desires of the SFLC community. Davidson says she sees SFLC functioning as a streamlined center where any services a family may need can be accessed in one place. “We are universal and targeted, so we really are known as a center to help any family in need,” Davidson says. “Whatever the need is, we really try to build it in.”
organizations. So we never want to duplicate what’s already happening, we collaborate.” SFLC gets funding from grants, the public school department, and the City of Somerville, and also receives donations from community members who recognize the collaborative’s pivotal role in aiding Somerville families and making them feel at home. Davidson says she feels lucky to have the opportunity to give back to so many families in the Somerville community and feel their appreciation firsthand. “We’ve been really embraced,” Davidson says. “It feels like a gift to work in this community because whenever we’ve wanted to add a service because of the changing needs, it’s been embraced. I think we’ve inspired other groups.” The Somerville Family Learning Collaborative is located at 42 Prescott St. For more information, call (617) 625-6600 x6966.
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scoutsomerville.com | Voices of the City 35
CALENDAR
MAY 18 | FOOD & DRINKS
Photo by Irina M. / IM Creative Photography.
REMNANT BREWING ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY BEER FEST 5 to 9 p.m., $40 2 Bow Market Way, Somerville Somerville’s breweries like to support each other, and they’re coming together to celebrate Remnant Brewing’s first birthday. Sample brews from Remnant, Aeronaut, Winter Hill Brewing, Cambridge Brewing Co., and a handful of others from Massachusetts, Vermont, and Pennsylvania.
JUNE 1 | FESTIVAL
Photo courtesy of Cambridge Arts Council.
MERMAID PARADE 4 p.m., Free Central Square, Cambridge The Cambridge Arts River Festival is embracing the environment, merpeople, sea animals, and more in this new event. In addition to the parade, the festival will offer art-making, performances, art vendors, and food.
JUNE 2 | FESTIVAL MAY 18 | FOOD & DRINKS
Photo courtesy of Union Square Main Streets.
UNION SQUARE FARMERS MARKET OPENING DAY 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Free Union Square Plaza—66-70 Union Square, Somerville One of the area’s best farmers markets will be up and running for the season starting May 18. You can expect produce, seafood, cider, syrup, meat, music, and more every Saturday through Nov. 23.
Photo by Derek Kouyoumjian.
JUNE 14 | FOOD & DRINKS
MAY 19 | FESTIVAL
Photo courtesy of the East Cambridge Business Association.
INMAN EATS + CRAFTS 12 to 4 p.m., Craft fair is free; $15 for Inman Bucks for food Cambridge Street from Springfield Street to Prospect Street Celebrate all Inman Square has to offer with samples from local restaurants and breweries, browse crafts from over 30 makers, listen to music courtesy of the Lilypad, and more.
MAY 19 | FOOD & DRINKS
SECOND ANNUAL BAKED FESTIVAL 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Free 95 Prospect St., Cambridge Got a sweet tooth? You’re in luck. The BAKED Festival is back in Central this spring, and 40 dessertmakers will be slinging their sweets.
MAY 26-27 | FILM
TAIWAN FILM FESTIVAL Times vary, $30 for one day, $50 for both 60 Vassar St., Cambridge Take in Taiwanese film at this inaugural festival, where you can expect six documentaries and several post-screening discussions. Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Film Festival.
36 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
CARNAVAL 2 to 6 p.m., Free 3 Glen St., Somerville The much anticipated SomerStreets will light up East Somerville with international food, music, kids’ activities, performances, and more.
Photo courtesy of MEM Tea Imports.
SPRING TEAS OF THE WORLD 6:30 p.m., $30 196 Elm St., Somerville MEM Tea Imports has been scoping out teas from across the globe and is ready to present them to you at this tea seminar. “Learn all about the differences in spring processing from the tea producing regions in China, India, and Japan while you sip,” the event promises.
JUNE 14-16 | GAMES
NARRASCOPE 2019 Times and prices vary 32 Vassar St., Cambridge Board game fans, rejoice: There’s a new gaming convention in town. This one’s focused on narrative games, and is intended for “writers, designers, and players” alike. Standard admission is $85, but honorsystem “limited budget” admission is on offer for $35 and a community supporter admission, which offsets the “limited budget” admission, is $135.
JULY 13 | FESTIVAL
ARTBEAT 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Free Davis Square, Somerville The Somerville Arts Council’s annual festival featuring craft vendors, music, performances, activities, and food is back this July. This year’s theme is “Consumed,” and organizers anticipate the event will explore many interpretations of the word.
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LEONE’S SUB AND PIZZA
292 Broadway, Somerville 617-776-2511, leonessubandpizza.com Pizza and subs fit for a king since 1954. Now being delivered by Dash!
CHARLES CHERNEY REALTOR AT COMPASS
MIKE’S FOOD & SPIRITS
IRENE BREMIS THE IBREMIS TEAM
OPA GREEK YEEROS
CambridgeRealEstate.com 617-733-8937, cc@compass.com Helping You Buy the Right Home and Sell for the Best Price in Cambridge and Somerville, MA.
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RESTAURANT DIRECTORY
617-905-5232, irenebremis.com irenebremis@gmail.com Real Estate Consulting, Listing, Marketing, Sales & Rental Specialist.
THALIA TRINGO & ASSOCIATES REAL ESTATE
617-616-5091, thaliatringorealestate.com
Our agents strive to make your experience of buying and selling as smooth as possible. From start to finish, we are here to help you. Free classes.
9 Davis Square, Somerville 617-628-2379, mikesondavis.com Pizza, Pasta, Seafood, Burgers and more! Dine in our casual dining room open to Davis Square or watch a game at the bar!
378 Highland Ave., Somerville 617-718-2900, opayeeros.com Authentic Greek cuisine and a lively atmosphere. Expanding soon!
MASS AVE DINER
906 Mass. Ave., Cambridge 617-864-5301, massavediner.com Since 2010 Serving Killer Brunch and Diner Fare. Now Open Late and Serving Craft Beer and Wine!
HEALTH & WELLNESS DIRECTORY DR. KATIE TALMO, D.M.D.
180 Highland Ave., Somerville 617-864-6111 Dr. Talmo provides a personalize approach to dental care. Come enjoy a comfortable dental experience in her newly renovated office space.
BLISS BRAIN
64 Union Square, Somerville 617-821-5560, bliss-brain.com Learn how to utilize your brain’s natural neuroplastic abilities to create the life you strive for through NeuroSculpting and meditation.
SHOPPING DIRECTORY PORTER SQUARE BOOKS
25 White St., Cambridge 617-491-2220, portersquarebooks.com Porter Square Books is your fiercely independent source for great books, magazines, fun gifts and more.
MAGPIE
416 Highland Ave., Somerville 617-623-3330, magpie-store.com
Unique jewelry, apothecary, art, edibles, housewares and more!
YOUR AD
HERE
38 Voices of the City | scoutsomerville.com
LA POSADA RESTAURANT
505 Medford St., Somerville 617-776-2049, laposadasomerville.com Somerville’s spot for delicious, hand-crafted Latin American cuisine.
MAGPIE KIDS
95 Elm St., Somerville 617-764-4110, magpiekids.com Modern gifts for modern kids. Clothes, toys, books and more!
CrimsonBikes
We love bikes and the people that ride them. We think you might like us too!
1001 MASS AVE HARVARD SQUARE crimsonbikes.com (617) 958-1727
$10 OFF ANY PURCHASE With This Ad Exp. 5/31/19