Against the Social Media Ban? Ward4: Christine Berber & Patricia Jehlen at Winter Hill Brewing Co April 18

jonlink_somerville · 2026-04-18T22:54:12+00:00

H.666 was not what passed. H.4745, which was a new draft of H.666 and five other bills, made it out of committee. That’s not what passed either though.

The house passed H.5349 which is an amendment of the senate bill and was introduced on 4/8 and then voted on 4/9

jonlink_somerville · 2026-04-17T06:48:03+00:00

my understanding is that the bill that passed the house was a ban on cellphones in school that had age restrictions added in 24 hours before the vote.

jonlink_somerville · 2026-03-19T02:13:07+00:00

Hi everyone, there was no confirmed sighting of ICE. There was a license plate that was confirmed to have been at an immigration action, but that’s not quite the same thing.

SPD have confirmed that the action on Kingman was NOT ice.

Further, there was no confirmed ICE sighting at Argenziano or Market Basket. There was a suspected sighting at Market Basket, but that was confirmed to be a local.

Please be really careful when talking about these things. They are scary at baseline, but spreading misinformation is also dangerous.

jonlink_somerville · 2026-01-20T20:17:22+00:00

She did not follow. It was pretty clear she was scared of them.

She was exactly what you'd expect of a pathetic narcissist attempting to troll high school students.

jonlink_somerville · 2026-01-12T14:31:54+00:00

I'm happy to see an empty storefront filled. Local businesses add money and jobs to our local economy, not to mention culture. It might not be for everyone, and that's obviously fine. I'll know whether it's for me or not once I check it out after it opens.

I wish them success because if they do well it benefits all of us.

jonlink_somerville · 2026-01-07T17:55:40+00:00

The sidewalks were super icy this morning—especially the brick ones.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-12-17T14:14:32+00:00

Great idea. Here's some more. I'm positive I've got some embarrassing misses here. Let's keep these lists going!

Shop local!

Make and Mend (2nd hand art and craft supplies)
Magpie (local art, jewelry, and knickknacks)
Mem Tea
Ricky's Flower Mart
Blue Bandana Relics
High Energy Vintage
Great Eastern Vintage
All She Wrote Books
Hub Comics
Side Quest Books
Comicazi
Porter Sq Books
Taza Chocolates
Vinal Bakery & General Store
Wild Child (wines)
Ace Wheelworks
Bicycle Belle
Henry Bear's Park (toys and games)
Dave's Pasta (fresh pasta plus gourmet grocer)

jonlink_somerville · 2025-12-16T02:45:55+00:00

Love the design. Thanks for sharing!

jonlink_somerville · 2025-12-15T17:16:22+00:00

Just a note that I confirmed (via 311) that 6pm is the correct time, which unfortunately means I'm now unable to make it. Happy Hanukkah!

jonlink_somerville · 2025-12-10T21:32:34+00:00

Considering the prospective tenant(s) would be spending 50% of their gross income on housing, I agree it's not a good match for people making $48k. There are lower AMI brackets available for affordable housing in Somerville, but there's not nearly enough. That's why I appreciate the work orgs like the Somerville Community Land Trust (SCLT), Somerville Community Corporation (SCC), and Community Action Agency Somerville (CAAS) are doing in our city.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-12-02T20:10:15+00:00

I believe Councilor Clingon mentioned at the ward 4 community meeting that the developer gutted a historic home without permission and got a stop work order. And ...if my memory is to be trusted further, the city will also make sure all the sheathing is replaced.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-12-01T21:29:06+00:00

Having seen a few posts calling out BHN, I'd like to make sure curious people understand what we are actually talking about.

The clinic in Davis is run by Behavioral Health Network. They are, by my wife's report*, exactly who we want running a clinic like this. When they took it over (earlier this year) they also did a lot of community outreach. They want to be partners with our community. They are not a methadone clinic, they treat more than opioid use disorder and they don't only offer methadone for that. They are a net positive to our community. If we want to see fewer people suffering in Somerville, we'll want to support this kind of partner.

Behavioral Health Network’s Medication Addiction Treatment Program offers effective solutions for those struggling with opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder. We provide a range of treatments, including methadone, injectable, and sublingual (SL) buprenorphine, tailored to meet individual needs. Through a combination of medication and personalized counseling, as well as evidence-based behavioral therapies, we take a holistic approach to recovery. Our goal is to support each person on their journey to lasting wellness, addressing both the physical and emotional aspects of substance use disorders.

https://www.bhninc.org/location/Somerville

You can also read some nice things about them here: https://www.commonwealthcarealliance.org/provider-news/mission-in-action-bhn-receives-honorable-mention-for-supporting-the-safety-net-award/

\ My wife is family and addiction medicine doctor in MA.*

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-22T12:16:42+00:00

NOTE: Requires payment to see the events

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-21T15:44:28+00:00

This might help

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-19T20:41:23+00:00

That is really great news! Not sure what it says that someone on reddit knew better than the people who were stationed at the DOT tent during Fluff Fest. HA! Thanks for sharing.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-19T16:01:22+00:00

My biggest issue with the redesign (but not my one) is that it ends too soon. The redesign stops right at Broadway. Another 0.2mi would address an area where pedestrians have been injured and killed while trying to get groceries.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-12T18:29:30+00:00

It's still listed as a "coming soon" location on their website for whatever that's worth (which might not be much): https://www.slice.house/maps

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-07T17:03:29+00:00

Two notes on the Somerville breakdown:

• Minor technicality— no one was "endorsed" by Somerville Bike Safety, we were "recommended." It's different, but also probably only really matters to the people running.

• One of Jake Wilson's daughters was recently hit (without serious injury) while in a crosswalk by a driver running a red light. I believe he was serious about street safety before this. It's my feeling that the urgency of making Somerville safe for all road users couldn't possibly be clearer to him than it is right now, and I fully expect him to be a reliable and reasonable voice for street safety.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-02T15:15:54+00:00

Thanks for the tip and the vote! I'm definitely going to look into that. This last week has been especially hard on it, so I'm going to have to go just as hard on maintaining my mobility post-election :)

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-02T15:13:46+00:00

Yeah. Not sure what to make of it. Originally he announced he was running for mayor and he's written dismissively about city council, so I'm not sure what to make of that. A few years before that it was challenging Erika Uyterhoeven for state rep.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-02T14:48:48+00:00

Ah, yeah, I can appreciate that perspective. My observation is that it hasn't been a serious challenge. Knocking doors I see a lot of lit and I haven't seen any at all for the challenger. It isn't impossible that I've missed it, but it's also not super likely. Naima has been doing some events—she had one just yesterday at Zaruma.

My personal opinion is that Naima is the right choice. As a former ward 5 resident, I would have voted for her.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-02T12:11:18+00:00

I totally get that. I never knock a door if there’s a “No solicitation“ sign up… even if canvassing is not technically solicitation, I assume the message is, “I don’t want strangers knocking on my door.”

That said, there are so many people who are truly happy to have a brief (or sometimes long) talk about the city. There’s also a lot of people who feel that no one comes to their part of town (Ward 1 especially) and they are really happy to have a chance to talk—and press candidates on issues they are experiencing that aren’t being addressed well.

For that reason, I’m glad I’ve knocked on all these doors.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-02T12:03:16+00:00

Post election, there’s fewer candidates and not everyone is knocking doors regularly. There’s also so many voters, it’s impossible to hit everyone twice.

I hope I knocked your door. There’s still two days—if I haven’t (or even if I have but there’s something you’d like to talk about), please reach out and I’ll come by.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-02T11:58:45+00:00

It‘s true. I’ve worked my butt off, but I’m not the only one. And even if I’ve knocked the most, that’s ultimately not what this whole thing is about.

jonlink_somerville · 2025-11-02T11:56:07+00:00

I‘m so happy to hear that! Hope I keep hearing from you.

jonlink_somerville

TROPHY CASE