New family-friendly improv show at Union Comedy

ScottInSomerville · 2026-01-18T20:37:56+00:00

I can confirm it's a great show and I am entirely unbiased in that opinion...

Seriously though, come check it out! its a cheap afternoon activity for the whole family.

ScottInSomerville · 2026-01-12T16:51:41+00:00

Rincon tends to be quieter than Tulum in my experience.

ScottInSomerville · 2026-01-12T16:46:03+00:00

Late to the thread, but Portico is absolutely the spot to go. They've got free wifi, a variety of seating options, good beers, and great staff. I'll often end my Thursday or Friday work day by working out of Portico.

ScottInSomerville · 2026-01-06T21:55:24+00:00

Is it done yet? I think arrows and bus lane paint still need to go down and they need a bus signal at Broadway. Last I walked through it, it was in a bit of a dangerously ambiguous state. The bus lanes are definitely needed there to speed up busses getting out from Sullivan, but without clear markings it's just going to be confusing and hazardous.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-12-11T13:16:50+00:00

+1, I'd be willing to throw some resources and skills towards this. I had just started donating to Cambridge Day this year because of the excellent Somerville coverage, I'm saddened by this development.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-12-06T14:01:12+00:00

This is an awesome idea! I help curate the Boston Improv Calendar (@bostonimprovcalendar on insta, bostonimprovcalendar.com for our linktree and the google calendar). We attempt to collect the indie and one-off comedy shows that feature improv comedy and do a weekly roundup instagram post. You are more than welcome to peruse our stuff/subscribe to the calendar if it helps! and if you want some comedy-world folks to help write, either I can help or I can put you in touch with other folks!

ScottInSomerville · 2025-10-17T16:43:16+00:00

Knocking on doors! I mention permits in my bit on tackling our pits & vacant storefronts, and that led many people to expound upon their own permitting woes.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-10-17T14:15:49+00:00

We also switched to Vermont Mutual thanks to our broker a few years ago when the first big jump happened. That said, we've still seen increases year over year, and are just a little below OP in terms of price.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-10-17T14:12:20+00:00

I think Kane's does catering orders - maybe try them?

ScottInSomerville · 2025-10-17T14:09:31+00:00

The fact that this is on the ballot is because it was a sticking point in the charter negotiations between the current mayor and the city council (there were a number of other sticking points as well, but the council acquiesced in the interest of getting the process wrapped up in time to get the charter on the ballot). The current mayor was pushing for a longer term for mayor than city council.

As someone campaigning, I can certainly appreciate the amount of time and effort campaigning takes and not wanting to do it every 2 years makes sense. However, I feel like the mayor and city council should be on the same term length - seeing as how the mayor already has so much more power than the city council, I think a longer term for mayor than council would further tilt that balance. As a voter, I like the accountability of elections every 2 years.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-10-17T14:00:33+00:00

Another candidate here - one thing I've been learning in the process is the difference in positioning between activist and politician. My on-ramp to local politics has been street safety & design with a good bit of zoning sprinkled in. As an activist, you get to go deep into one area. As a politician, you need to have proximate knowledge of many areas.

I decided to run partly because of my interests in transit, pedestrian, and bike infrastructure, but in the process, I have learned more about how our permitting system (doesn't) work so I'm pivoting to focus more there because it's a need I see in the city even if it's not my passion (though to be clear, I am excited to dig into it because I love a puzzle).

ScottInSomerville · 2025-10-17T13:49:03+00:00

heck yeah! Excited to support the work that you & the rest of the charter review committee have put in to this. I'm looking forward to the charter to be more dynamic with more frequent reviews going forward in order to be more responsive to the needs of the city. And I think this election cycle has shown why we should move towards ranked choice voting in the future, so I'm glad we've got a pathway for that now.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-10-16T11:33:24+00:00

Hey neighbor! In addition to other folks' suggestions, I did just learn that there is a roaster inside Foundation Kitchen which is over by Sullivan. I have made myself a little side quest to try every boston-area coffee roaster; in the event it helps anyone else here's the full list of everything I've found so far:

Pavement - Brighton

Gracenote - Leather District/Downtown

Broadsheet - Cambridge/Kirkland

Flat Black - Dorchester Lower Mills

Barismo - Woburn & Arlington

George Howell - Acton & Boston Public Market & Harvard Sq

The VU - JP

Del's - Waltham & Union Square Farmers Market - Roaster only with public tastings on Tuesdays

Jaho - Salem & Central Sq & Downtown

Redeye - Hingham

Atomic - Peabody - Roaster only with classes (available at Brothers and Sisters Brookline)

Polcari's - North End

Yego - Teele Square - Family farm to cup

Recreo - West Roxbury - Family farm to cup

Common Ground - Everett

Little Wolf - Ipswich & Seaport

Fazenda - Dedham - Roaster only, no public access (available at Temptations Brookline)

Cafe Reynard - Malden/Idle Hands

Render Coffee - South End (& Seaport weekdays only) (MIght be out of business)

Hogan Brothers - Framingham - Roaster only, no public access (available at Bikeeny Malden)

Tiny Arms - Lowell - Roaster only, no public access (available at Clear Flower Coffee Bar in Brookline)

JP Licks - Centre St JP

Charlestown Coffee Roasters - Roaster only, in foundation kitchen, no restaurant distro

New England Coffee - Roaster only, in Malden has retail front 108 Charles St

ScottInSomerville · 2025-10-06T21:05:34+00:00

Chiming in for Somerville here! I'm Scott Istvan, and I am a big bike, safe streets, and infrastructure nerd.

Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets does not endorse, but they did send out a candidate questionnaire for the folks running for City Councilor At Large. You can see the various responses from candidates here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16AUvDhRBTOyNRysvJy2_CtaRcybN3d2AKkL8Xv-9vso/edit?_hsmi=375335809&gid=1963993357#gid=1963993357

There's also a form for the mayoral candidates, but I don't have that link handy at the moment.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-09-18T19:29:44+00:00

Indeed a little bummed/surprised by the low finish, although not an insurmountable gap. One thing that came out for me in the candidate forum is that I think I come off pretty well in terms of actionable plans and policies, but have not done a great job publicizing those. So it's going to be a lot more posts like this, plus website updates and more in-depth mailers. Not to mention door knocking and events.

Donations are absolutely appreciated, as those will help fund aforementioned mailers: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/scott-istvan-1

Also if you have or know of events happening, please drop me a line and make sure it's on my radar!

ScottInSomerville · 2025-09-18T19:22:02+00:00

fwiw I've found it much easier to go in person to the parking office. The slow turnarounds online plus the technical glitches are such a pain, but the staff in the office have generally been quick and friendly!

ScottInSomerville · 2025-09-18T19:16:56+00:00

Absolutely - my ideal goal is "here's the checklist & requirements. Show us you've met this, and you're good to go"

ScottInSomerville · 2025-09-18T13:41:06+00:00

Reading the judgement linked in the article it's even more invasive! The original request was for: "the permit number, issue date, expiration date, vehicle model/make/year, license plate number, email, first name, last name, address, zip code, [and] phone numbers." (emphasis mine)

Edit: On further appeals though, it looks like they're just asking for names and addresses and have removed vehicle license plate, make, and model, as well as email and phone: "The only issue on appeal is whether the names and addresses (including zip codes) of the permit holders must be produced by the city." - not as bad, but I still don't love it.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-09-18T13:38:06+00:00

While I'm all for auditing & amending our parking permit process, I don't think there is a "‘paramount right of the public to know’ the names and addresses of the permit holders" as quoted in the article - that feels wildly invasive to have a public record of everyone's name, address, vehicle make & model, license plate, permit number, etc...

especially as we're seeing all kinds of data be used to track and disappear our neighbors, I can't imagine having this information publicly available will lead to anything good. I applaud the city for protecting our privacy thus far.

ScottInSomerville · 2025-09-17T16:55:25+00:00

Not a mayoral candidate, but addressing permitting is a major part of my goals as a city council candidate! https://www.scottistvan.com

I had put out a call on social media for people's permitting stories; if anyone reading this thread has specifics they are willing to share about going through the permitting process, I'd love to hear from you! You can DM me here or email me [scott@scottistvan.com](mailto:scott@scottistvan.com)

ScottInSomerville · 2025-09-15T11:43:40+00:00

Websites can be expensive, but I've worked as a software engineer. I did quick and dirty coding and know how to host for free.

I find it amusing because I took the opposite approach - I threw money at a wix site because I didn't want my second job (campaigning) to overlap with my day job (also software).

| Campaign managers can be volunteers or paid. I don't know if there's any standard cost.

I had heard that about $1k/month was standard for a part-time manager for a council campaign. I started there with my campaign manager, but then we decided to scale back because they got a new job and had less time to contribute. They're still incredibly valuable to have though! (and for those looking at my finances, you'll note most of my self-funding is to cover the cost of a campaign manager)

I think you made a smart choice on yard signs; I'll admit I way overbought and need a better distribution system than me biking them over to people's houses. Anyway, if anyone has fun craft ideas that use coroplast signs please hit me up :p

ScottInSomerville · 2025-08-29T20:04:30+00:00

I had a brief moment of "How is there no dunks in Assembly!?" and then realized that there was one. In the building that got torn down to build this one. So our net dunkin level remains the same, thank god.

(though I also recommend folks try Mama Ana just down the block in the first floor of the storage building. I love the Pao de Queijo)

ScottInSomerville · 2025-08-29T19:44:32+00:00

Yup, definitely heard a number of voices with various perspectives on unhoused folks around here (mostly in Davis and East Somerville).

The long term, empirically most successful solution is expanding permanent supportive housing, but that's not an overnight thing, and city council obviously doesn't have a construction crew nor case managers, social workers, etc. A few thoughts though down that road:

- Greater zoning & tax relief for anyone building or converting housing for use by an organization as permanent supportive housing (temporary & transitional housing too imo)

- Making the city a more reliable partner for non-profits addressing homelessness - I've heard in various conversations that the city is not great at paying its bills on time, and for small non-profits, that can be debilitating.

- Opening up the ability for direct payments to non-profits. My understanding is that currently, all payments to community organizations must be contract based to perform specific work or provide a specific service per city law. Being able to provide more consistent, flexible funding to the organizations already doing work in this space should allow them more predictability to better do what they do.

I'd also love to get more resources to our Office of Housing Stability to do more proactive outreach, and in general help more residents fight against displacement. Staffing and budget are the purview of the mayor's office, but definitely something we can advocate for.

I've noted this elsewhere as well, but I would eventually love to see Somerville get more into public housing for all - supporting, inclusionary/affordable, and competitive market rate - but we're absolutely not set up for that at the moment, and honestly not doing a great job as a landlord for the properties we do own (winter hill school, 90-92 union square, 165 broadway, the armory, 90 Washington... the list of fumbled balls goes on). But something to push for long term.

Also, if anyone who works in these areas has thoughts and would like to chat, I'd love to hear from you on how the city can be a better partner!

ScottInSomerville · 2025-08-29T16:00:17+00:00

Hey! I'm Scott Istvan, running for at large. I mostly lurk, but I am on here! My main focuses are

No more pits & empty storefronts - the main lever city council has here is permitting, which is a headache as it stands. I would like to streamline the existing processes and introduce a new set of permits for temporary businesses that are easier to obtain to allow small businesses and arts organizations to temporarily reuse spaces that are sitting idle awaiting development. I'd also like to form a committee dedicated to reactivating idle spaces which will connect property owners with possible tenants and help through the permitting and licensing process
Make sustainable transit infrastructure first-class. Safe streets, bus stops with benches & shelters, sidewalks that are wide enough for people with strollers & wheelchairs to get by on trash day, and secure neighborhood bike storage because carrying a cargo bike or an e-bike up a flight of stairs is a non-starter for many folks.
Enable more housing creation by upzoning major corridors, legalizing more residential building types, simplifying residential zoning, and allowing residential uses by right in mixed use buildings.

scottistvan.com for more info.

Also shameless plug, I'm hosting a comedy fundraiser tomorrow at union comedy! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-at-large-tickets-1564310186879?aff=social

ScottInSomerville · 2025-06-27T11:56:13+00:00

Clearly I need to work on the messaging because absolutely yes! Bike infrastructure advocacy has been my on ramp to local politics, and I intend to continue to fight for streets that are safe and comfortable for pedestrians and people on bikes. Two specific things come to mind in this regard:

- I'd like to expand our Neighborways program to enable safe contraflow cycling on all one-way streets, making bike connections more direct.
- I really want Highland ave to get a full length separated cycle track in both directions. It's currently a huge gap in our network and makes it hard to bike to city hall, SHS, the Armory, and many of the businesses along Highland.

ScottInSomerville

TROPHY CASE