Jason Pramas explains why he's shutting down Somerville Wire (in part because he's now working on a statewide news source), but says Somerville is no longer in danger of becoming the news desert he once thought, because the city now has a growing list of news sources, including Cambridge Day and even a newspaper from across the river, which has a "Camberville" newsletter.
CommonWealth Beacon takes a look at the intersection of old-school Somerville politics and new-school marijuana licensing next door in Medford - in a story that will culminate next month when a former Somerville alderman is sentenced for attempting to bribe the Medford police chief to get his client's dispensary approved in that city.
Newhouse Wildlife Rescue recounts how a Somerville police officer and a pair of animal rescuers teamed up to save a coyote with a broken leg in a ditch near the Mystic that ran into the river when they approached:
Thankfully, it was only about two feet deep. The river was cold enough that we were worried about the coyote getting hypothermia. We got him back to the rescue, as soon as possible, and warmed him up. Jonny was also drenched but he didn’t complain.
The day on the brand new Green Line Extension started bright and early and full of buses: The MBTA announced at 5 a.m. it couldn't run trains on the tracks, not because they were out of gauge again but because the signals weren't working near East Somerville. But the bustitution only lasted until 5:17 a.m., when the T updated those darn signals were signaling again.
The T-Rex nativity at 61 Putnam.
How many different ways can you decorate your yard for the holidays? You might opt for the classy, minimal look with classic winter colors. You might choose a whimsical aesthetic with bright and multicolored lights, or you might prefer an over-the-top look with giant inflatables. Or, if you're 61 Putnam St. in Somerville, you might decide to create a portal to a prehistoric hellscape featuring a T‑Rex nativity and elves being torn to shreds by the skeletons of demon hellhounds while a raptor skeleton in a Santa hat flies overhead. Read more.
Boston Restaurant Talk reports on the foamy marriage of Dorchester Brewing Co. and Aeronaut Brewing.
Work to "regauge" most of the Green Line Extension that was supposed to be done by Monday instead will take another week to finish, the MBTA announced yesterday. Read more.
The cast of T: An MBTA Musical. Photo by Dan Fox.
Loving to hate the absurd incompetence of the T is a time-honored Boston tradition as old as the train itself. The cathartic experience of venting about the T is a bonding and a uniting force of frustration in a diverse city, as easy to spark a conversation with as talking about the weather.
T: An MBTA Musical proudly carries on this tradition. Read more.
The MBTA reports it's started running trolleys to and from Union Square again, but that service on the stubbier end of the Green Line Extension remains slow because of a signal issue near Lechmere.
A California man with a long history of making bogus hostage calls to women police officers on two continents was sentenced last week for a series of calls to Tufts University police officers in 2021 that sparked an hours-long room-by-room search of several dormitories, by both officers and dogs, for a supposed woman being held hostage by an ex-special services specialist with a taser. Read more.
WBZ reports that well over half the tracks on the Green Line Extension will have to be rebuilt - and that GM Phil Eng says previous management knew about the problem as early as 2021, but decided not to stop the already frequently delayed construction to fix the problem.
Photo by Sasha Patkin.
A ring had formed in Davis Square. In its center, a woman sang into a bullhorn while a row of trombones behind her seemed to lean into their music, taking steps forward as they played. They closed the gap with members of the surrounding crowd, who were also banging their heads, dancing to the music, and unconsciously marching closer to the musicians, until it became hard to tell who was who. Read more.
The Globe reports on new wicked slooooow zones on the Green Line Extension, in particular in spots where the rails have gotten slightly closer to each other, an issue that left at least one expert with 40 years of experience scratching his head because rails in use generally widen in distance, not narrow.
Organizers of the annual What the Fluff? celebration of Somerville's contribution to the culinary world have moved it from tomorrow, when we're expected to be inundated again, to Sunday - 3 to 7 p.m. in Union Square.
A Suffolk Superior Court judge today granted the state Department of Revenue authority to seize Opa Greek Yeeros, 378 Highland Ave. in Somerville for non-payment of nearly $1.6 million in back taxes, interest and penalties. Read more.
Dan Kennedy gets the scoop: The Globe is planning to bolster its coverage of Boston suburbs in general, with two editors and four reporters - and with one of those editors and reporters assigned specifically to what the honchos call "Cambridge and Somerville - Camberville if you will." Or Cambridge Day turf.
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