Somerville Wire: February 12, 2022 Weekly Roundup

Boston MA

12 February, 2022

8:26 PM

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By Shira Laucharoen, Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism February 12, 2022 Articles RESIDENTS RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT PLANS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING An increased police presence does not necessarily make people feel safer ARTIST PROFILE: CHRISTINA TEDESCO Paintings, drawings, and illustrations that tell a story ONCE, THE ROCK VENUE, HOPES TO LEASE OBERON, FILLING IT WITH DIVERSE SHOWS AND ALL-DAY USE "You can't just slide a rock club into any room." Shorts Public Safety Building meeting Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the City of Somerville are inviting the community to a second meeting to discuss the 90 Washington Street site near the East Somerville Green Line, the space where a Public Safety Building may be built. It will take place on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held in English, with interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Nepali, and Mandarin. "The project team will present several options for future development based on feedback received at the first community meeting in December and provide updates about the Public Safety Building," reads a press release. According to a City website, the goals of creating the new building are: Deliver a modern building that can change and adapt to policing and fire administration day-to-day operations over the course of generations Help us achieve Somerville's sustainability goals by being net zero ready Use design to be welcoming to all members of the community The site also described how the space for the Public Safety Building was selected, "To find a new home for public safety, a thorough space needs assessment was conducted and the City initiated a site search process to identify potential sites for a new complex. The 90 Washington Street site was deemed to be the most viable option in Somerville after an analysis that identified six potential sites. The Somerville Redevelopment Authority acted to acquire the site in 2019 using the demonstration project plan approach. A Demonstration Project provides an opportunity to not only eliminate blight, but to meet a public need for a new public safety building and provide the opportunity for economic development at a transformative scale. The Capital Projects and Economic Development divisions are now working together to create a shared community vision for the site that will be the home to a new Public Safety Building and fulfill community needs identified through the public process." To learn more and register to attend, go to somervillema.gov/90washington. Preschool and child care financial assistance initiative The City of Somerville has created a new Child Care Access and Affordability Program. Applications for full day preschool and child care financial assistance are now being accepted. Children must be between 15 months and 4 years old by August 31, 2022, and families must also meet income eligibility requirements, as explained at somervillema.gov/somerpromise. Tuition assistance will be offered at programs that have partnered with the City. In March, partners for the 2022-2023 school year will be finalized. "The Child Care Access and Affordability Program is a new initiative launched as part of the City's first major allocation of American Rescue Plan Act dollars announced in December," reads a press release. "Somerville is dedicating an unprecedented $7 million into direct child care through mid-2025. This program will support 35 toddlers and preschoolers in the first year and grow to serve more than 100 children from infancy through school-age over the course of three years." Revolutionary Clinics donates to five nonprofits Revolutionary Clinics is one of the Commonwealth's leading providers of medical marijuana and is based in Somerville. They announced that they will be donating $28,000 to local and national organizations. Annually, they contribute $10,000 to Somerville organizations, and this year they will be giving to the Somerville Homeless Coalition, East Somerville Main Streets, the Somerville Center for Teen Empowerment, the Welcome Project, and the Somerville Community Corp. "Rev Clinics is extremely proud to support organizations doing critical work both locally in our communities and nationally to tackle large-scale challenges," said Keith Cooper, CEO of Revolutionary Clinics. "Giving back in a variety of ways to organizations in need is ingrained in our values and we look forward to continuing to support organizations for many years to come." The Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ) is a registered IRS 501(c)(3) charity that supports the development and production of independent news in Massachusetts. We work with professional journalists to cover a wide range of issues and syndicate our reporting to community outlets statewide. Check us out at binjonline.org!