Somerville
Transit Police report an outbound commuter-rail train hit and killed a man on the Fitchburg Line tracks near Beacon Street, around 1 p.m.
Police say the man was "intentionally on the right of way" and that foul play is not suspected.
Somerville announced today there'll be no health-club or theater openings there until at least Aug. 3, due to what Mayor Joe Curtatone says is a "modest" rise in new Covid-19 cases in the Boston area and because of problems with the state's contact-tracing system, which is supposed to help tamp down new cases by getting contacts of people who test positive to stay at home. Read more.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that the state does not have to print Rayla Campbell's name on the Republican ballot for the 7th District congressional seat, because she failed to collect even the reduced number of signatures the court had earlier allowed due to Covid-19 issues. Read more.
Although Gov. Baker gave the go-ahead for movie theaters to begin re-opening this week (next week in Boston and Somerville), operators of the Somerville Theatre and the Capitol Theatre in Arlington say they will remain closed. Read more.
Somerville announced yesterday it's pushing back its version of Gov. Baker's phase-3 reopening until at least July 13 - and might wait even longer to relax restrictions on health clubs, outdoor gatherings and movie theaters because of the continued escalation of Covid-19 in much of the country. Read more.
Cambridge Police report arresting three Cambridge residents on gun charges following a shooting that sent four to the hospital, one with life-threatening injuries, in a Somerville apartment complex off Mystic Avenue around 10 p.m. on Thursday. Read more.
Wicked Local Somerville reports Somerville may have just become the first city in the country to formally recognize domestic partnerships of more than two people. It potentially matters for such things as hospital visitation rights, sick leave and health-insurance coverage.
The owner of Assembly Sports Club in Somerville yesterday sued Gov. Baker over the state's continued ban on health clubs, arguing the ban deprives it of its Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights and besides, Baker's just wrong because, as everybody knows, fitness clubs are too "essential," or at least as essential as the big-box stores Baker let stay open, except that it's even worse than that because all businesses are essential in our free-enterprise system. Read more.
The Ballot Law Commission has rejected a claim from the Catia Sharp campaign alleging her opponent, Erika Uyterhoeven, did not fulfill the residency requirement to run for the State seat being left vacant by Denise Provost. The challenge, filed on June 5, claimed that Uyterhoeven purchased a home in Union Square, but did not update campaign filings or her voter registration to that address. The Ballot Law Commission rejected the challenge 20 days later.
Bus shuttles starting up between Harvard and Alewife.
On Friday, a man was hit and killed by a Red Line train at Porter Square.
The person was eventually extricated and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Across greater Boston, thousands of people participated in Black Lives Matter events today. Read more.
An alleged Cambridge resident threatened to stage protests outside the house of state Rep. Michael Connolly (D-Somerville, Cambridge) and then a minute later posted a photo of a rifle and told him to change his mind in replies on Sunday to a post Connolly wrote urging Gov. Baker to keep stay-at-home regulations in place. Read more.
JK21 spotted this fancy birdhouse above the Somerville bike lane between Willow Avenue and Davis Square today (look carefully on the lower level in the rear; looks like somebody's already moved in). No word if it comes with a deeded parking space.
Update: Cambridge jumps in.
Somerville announced this morning that everybody 2 or older in Somerville will have to wear a mask "at all times in public" starting Wednesday. People will have a week's grace period to find a mask; after that, they could be subject to a stern talking to by police or a fine of up to $300. Read more.
The City of Somerville has officially canceled all city-sponsored or city-permitted public events through the end of June. Read more.
Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone and the city Board of Health today ordered a moratorium on both residential and commercial evictions during the Covid-19 state of emergency - and barred real-estate brokers from showing apartments that are still occupied. Read more.