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Somerville City Council passes measure to eliminate medical debt

By Layla Shaffer | January 26

The Somerville City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Jan. 12 calling for the cancellation of Somerville residents’ medical debt. Headed by City Councilors At-Large Willie Burnley Jr. and Charlotte Kelly, the plan details the reappropriation of American Rescue Plan Act funds to buy medical debt portfolios in bulk for those residents who make up to 400% of the federal poverty rate, or those for whom debt is 5% or more of their annual income.

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Somerville hosts ‘Midterm Ceremonies’ event

By Akisha Tokwe | January 18

The city of Somerville hosted its “Midterm Ceremonies” event on Jan. 3 featuring Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, City Council President Ben Ewen-Campen and School Committee Chair Andre Green. The three officials discussed the progress they made in the past year and their goals for 2023.

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Residents will decide how Somerville spends $1 million of its budget next year

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | December 8

For the first time in the city’s history, Somerville will let its residents decide how to spend a portion of the city budget next year. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne has set aside $1 million of the city’s $293-million fiscal year 2023 budget for participatory budgeting, a method designed to fund small-scale community improvement projects while engaging locals — particularly those from historically marginalized communities — in the political process. 

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Gov. Baker vetoes funds for education campaign about crisis pregnancy centers, disappoints reproductive rights advocates 

By Estelle Anderson | December 8

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed funds for a public education campaign aimed at crisis pregnancy centers, or anti-abortion clinics that pose as authentic medical centers in order to deceive pregnant people into taking their advice, on Nov. 11. The funding had been part of a significant economic development bill passed unanimously by the state House of Representatives and the Senate on Nov. 3, much of which was devoted to supporting access to reproductive care.

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Somerville named a leading global city for climate action

By Daniel Vos | December 7

Somerville has made the 2022 Carbon Disclosure Project’s cities A-List, an award for leadership on environmental action and transparency. Only 12% of the 1,002 cities evaluated worldwide received this designation based on commitment to long-term climate action plans, fossil fuel emission reduction targets and local climate risk assessments. 

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Students react to Massachusetts gubernatorial election, ballot questions 1, 4

By Zoe Kava | November 29

In an election night of historic firsts in Massachusetts, voters elected Democratic gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey as the state’s first female governor and one of the nation’s first openly lesbian governors. Several ballot measures also scored victories, including a tax on incomes above $1 million and a law allowing undocumented individuals to obtain state driver’s licenses. 

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Annual Men of COLOR Leadership Conference held in Boston

By Megan Reimer | November 14

On Nov. 8, COLOR Magazine and Tufts’ Chief Diversity Office sponsored the 12th annual Men of COLOR Leadership Conference. The event was part of Empower Week, a multi-day Boston-based conference focused on empowering professional men of color and leaders in diversity. 

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Public safety, immigrants' rights on the ballot with Question 4

By Aditya Acharya | November 8

This election day, Massachusetts voters will determine the fate of a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. On Nov. 8, Question 4 will ask voters to either accept or reject the Work and Family Mobility Act, a state law passed in June which would allow undocumented Massachussetts residents to apply for driver’s licenses, effective July 2023.

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Somerville School Committee, city councilors endorse millionaire tax ballot question

By Evelyn Altschuler | November 8

The Somerville School Committee has unanimously endorsed voting “Yes” on Question 1, a ballot initiative proposing the Fair Share Amendment. If passed, the Fair Share Amendment would apply to Massachusetts residents whose annual household income is above $1 million. The so-called “millionaire’s tax” would impose an additional 4% income tax on income above $1 million.

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Somerville gathers for annual domestic violence vigil, Ballantyne, advocates call for community action

By Estelle Anderson | October 28

Members of the Somerville community came together on Wednesday evening for the city’s annual Domestic Violence Vigil, mourning lives lost to domestic violence this year. Held at the West Branch of the Somerville Public Library, the vigil was organized by the Somerville Commission for Women and RESPOND, New England’s oldest domestic violence prevention agency. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne gave opening remarks at the vigil.

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'Evicted' exhibit in Somerville highlights housing crisis, cannabis laws

By Estelle Anderson | October 7

“Evicted,” an exhibit put on by the Community Action Agency of Somerville, is currently running at the Somerville Armory until Nov. 4. Based on sociologist Matthew Desmond’s novel “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City”,the interactive exhibit explores the reasons for the millions of evictions in the United States every year and their consequences. Somerville is one of the final stops on the exhibit’s national tour. The exhibit is open at the Armory Monday through Wednesday from 4 p.m.–8 p.m. and on weekends from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. 

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Families face eviction from property near GLX

By Daniel Vos | October 6

Five families in Somerville are facing eviction and potential displacement after their home was acquired by landlords seeking to raise rents on a property close to the Green Line Extension. The 182–184 Tremont Street home currently houses primarily Salvadoran and Haitian families, some of whom have lived there for more than 25 years. 

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Somerville city councilors introduce resolution to end Cuba blockade

By Ava Autry | October 6

Somerville City Councilor At-Large Willie Burnley Jr. introduced a resolution on Sept. 22 that calls upon President Biden to remove Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List and pressure Congress to end the “failed policy of regime change.” Similar resolutions have been introduced by Cambridge, Boston and the town of Brookline in the past year. 

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