As COVID-19 infection rates start to decline in Massachusetts, Tufts and other Boston-area universities have seen a relaxation of restrictions to academic and social activities.
A group of 20 tenants, organizers and local supporters holding signs reading “Somervillain” and “LaCourt Lies” marched from the Davis Square T stop to the office of Mouhab Rizkallah, owner of LaCourt Realty and The Braces Place in Somerville, on Feb. 3. The protesters, organized by the LaCourt Tenants Union, demanded Rizkallah withdraw his lawsuit against former LaCourt tenant Alona Brosh, whom he has sued for $28,875 of “unpaid rent,” according to a demand letter to LaCourt Realty. Brosh was not present at the protest and did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
For at least three years, concerned Somerville residents have urged city hall to repair and restore damaged walkways in Davis Square. The walkways, which are primarily made of brick, are rife with missing bricks, potholes and uneven ground.
A bill proposed last year in the Massachusetts state legislature would enact a five-year moratorium on the design and construction of prisons and jails in Massachusetts. The bill was reported out favorably from the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight on Jan. 24 and is now being considered by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, bringing it one step closer to Governor Charlie Baker's desk.
A proposal to amend the Massachusetts constitutionto impose a 4% surtax on earnings above $1 million would raise about $1.3 billion in 2023, the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts’ Tisch College said in a nonpartisan report released on Jan. 13. Massachusetts citizens will vote on the amendment on Nov. 8.
Tufts Children’s Hospital announced at a Jan. 20 press conference that it would convert its 41 pediatric inpatient beds to adult ICU medical and surgery beds in hopes of increasing adult critical care by 20%.
State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven of Somerville recently petitioned Bill H.4208 in a joint committee in the Massachusetts General Court. The bill, one of many recent Tenants’ Opportunity to Purchase Acts, would permit Somerville to create a program where tenants of a property would be given the chance to purchase it jointly before it is put on the market. Uyterhoeven’s petition comes after an earlier version of the bill previously passed through both chambers but was vetoed by Governor Baker.
The Baker-Polito administration announced a series of emergency orders to address waning hospital care capacity onJan. 14, following a surge of COVID-19 cases statewide. The measures focus on reducing unnecessary emergency room visits andincreasing the flexibility of hospital workers who have been subject to staffing shortages, given the rapid escalation of cases.
Somerville residents and visitors will not have to show proof of vaccination to enter businesses in the city — at least for now — a health panel said late last month.
The City of Medford released a statement on Jan. 10 announcing they will begin using body cameras across the police department, beginning tentatively in fall 2022. According to the statement, the city and police department signed a five-year deal with Motorola Solutions, a data communications company, for the cameras to equip Medford's 100-person police department. The contract is reported to have cost $330,000.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has begun testing trains along the Green Line Extension (GLX), which was originally stated to open by the end of 2021 and is now scheduled to open in summer 2022. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, along with Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and former Mayor Joe Curtatone, rode a part of the GLX on Dec. 30, 2021, reflecting the Somerville community's anticipation of the project's completion.
The city of Somerville, one of Tufts’ host communities, was recently recognized as a global leader in the fight against climate change. The Carbon Disclosure Project, a nonprofit, ranked Somerville as just one of 95 cities around the globe working transparently to stave off the effects of climate change in 2021.
While Tufts students were away over the break, local officials were enacting new policies — and reintroducing old ones — to govern vaccination proof and mask use in public settings.
More than 10 public school districts in the Greater Boston area, including Somerville Public Schools, either called snow days or had delayed openings during the week of Jan. 3 in order to catch up on COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) distribution.
Espresso Pizza, the Boston Ave. restaurant popular among Tufts students, announced in a Dec. 21 Facebook post that it was permanently closing its doors after over 40 years in business.In an earlier post from Dec. 17, Patty More, the owner of Espresso,wrote that she was retiring.
The Somerville Board of Healthsuspended a virtual public meeting Fridayafter dozens of protestors interrupted deliberations and prevented a vote on an order that would have required individuals 12 and older to show proof of vaccination before entering select indoor spaces in the city starting Monday.
Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne was inaugurated on Jan. 3 during a virtual ceremony and subsequently released her agenda for her first 100 days in office on Jan. 12. The reception that typically follows a mayoral inauguration was postponed to the spring, when a civic celebration will be held.
