July 2021 - Neighbors - lists.buenavistasocialclub.org

Fwd: as the world turns
by RUTH RYALS 08 Jul '21

08 Jul '21

> ---------- Original Message ---------- > From: Margot Welch <margotwelch77(a)comcast.net> > To: Alan Harwood <alan.harwood(a)umb.edu> > Date: 07/08/2021 4:46 PM > Subject: as the world turns > > > AND WE CAN BEGIN TO KNOW THAT THIS SUMMER IS DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHERS TO DATE AND THAT SUMMER WILL NOT BE ETERNAL, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO REMIND ALL YOU GOOD SOULS OF NORAH’S DREAM OFNICE HOUSING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD — OR THE FRESH POND AREA. AND WE SEEM MAYBE TO BE ENTERING THE NEXT PHASES OF COVID WHICH EITHER MEANS WE WILL CONTINUE TO NEED OUR VACCINATIONS AS WE SETTLE INTO LIVING WITH COVID OR DISCOVER AN AS YET UNDISCOVERABLE POSSIBILITY, THAT IT WILL GO AWAY. WHICH EVER WAY YOUR SPIRITS TURN, YOU MAY BE BRAVER NOW ABOUT HELPING THIS WISE WOMAN FIND A LOVELY ‘GARDEN APARTMENT’ SORT OF SOLUTION TO HER HOUSING NEEDS. DO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH HER. THANKS, > > MARGOT > >

1 0

Fwd: News you can use
by RUTH RYALS 08 Jul '21

08 Jul '21

> > From Senator Pat Jehlen, some interesting news items. > > Jim and I played an early version of one of Nick's game, with my son and his wife, talking about our life and our death. Believe it or not, it was great fun. > > But there is a lot of other news here that you might find useful. > > Ruth > > > > ---------- Original Message ---------- > > From: Senator Pat Jehlen <pat(a)electpatjehlen.org> > > To: Ruth <rryals(a)comcast.net> > > Date: 07/08/2021 1:06 PM > > Subject: News you can use > > > > > > > > > > View this email in your browser https://mailchi.mp/electpatjehlen/news-you-can-use-2686377?e=5195d574ca > > > > Dear Neighbor, > > > > Here are some news items you may find useful, or want to pass on to others. > > 1. tonight, July 8, join me to play Hi, a conversation about living, dying, and what matters most > > 2. Sunday, July 11, is Somerville's Vaccine Day > > 3. Monday, July 12 is a virtual hearing on redistricting in the 7th Congressional District > > 4. Democratic caucuses are scheduled for each ward beginning July 15 > > 5. Paid caregiver leave has started > > 6. If you've qualified for unemployment insurance benefits anytime in 2021, you can get free health insurance for the rest of the year > > 7. Have you fallen behind on your mortgage? The American Rescue Plan may help > > > > 1. Play "Hi" on Thursday evening > > > > A few years ago, I invited people to play "Hello" at an event at Century Bank. "Hello" is a game that helps people start conversations about living, dying, and what matters most. Participants found it both valuable and surprisingly fun. "Hello" was designed by our son Nick to be played by families at home or colleagues at health providers. (You can find the game here https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… , and watch a talk Nick gave about it at the Mayo Clinic here https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… .) > > > > During the pandemic, he made a free, short version that can be played online, and he's organized a one-hour session for this evening at 7pm. Here's a link to learn more https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… or join. > > > > 2. Sunday, July 11, is Somerville's Vaccine Day > > > > 3. Monday, July 12: virtual hearing on redistricting in the 7th CD > > > > 10:00 AM-11:59 PM > > > > The Special Joint Committee on Redistricting will hold a virtual hearing for residents of the 7th Congressional District (CD7), now represented by Ayanna Pressley. This hearing provides an opportunity for area residents to offer their opinions on local and community interests that the Committee should consider on the division of the Commonwealth into 9 Congressional Districts, 40 Senatorial Districts, 160 Representative Districts, and 8 Councillor Districts. If you want to only view the hearing, it will be broadcast on malegislature.gov https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… . > > If you want to provide oral testimony,  please click here https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a…  to sign up. You may contact committee staff with any questions at (617) 722-1280. > > > > 4. Democratic caucuses are scheduled beginning July 15 > > > > Democratic caucuses will choose delegates to the party's platform convention starting next week. Any registered or pre-registered Democrat can vote and be a candidate for delegate. Here' https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… s https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… where to find your ward's caucus date and time (and location, though most are virtual). > > > > 5. Paid caregiver leave has started > > > > Thanks to a 2018 law championed by Raise Up Massachusetts, workers now can take paid family and medical leave of up to 12 weeks of job-protected, paid family leave, up to 20 weeks of job-protected, paid medical leave, or up 26 weeks of combined family and medical leave in a benefit year. Here's a news article https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… , and a link to more information https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… . > > > > 6. If you've received unemployment insurance benefits in 2021, you can get free health insurance > > > > As a new benefit due to the American Rescue Plan (ARP), if you are currently receiving or have received unemployment benefits during 2021, you may now qualify for a no- or low-monthly cost ConnectorCare health insurance plan from the Health Connector—even if you wouldn’t otherwise qualify based on your household income. Find out details and how to apply here https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… . > > > > 7. Help for mortgage holders in arrears > > > > More than 20% of Massachusetts homeowners aren't totally confident they can pay their mortgages. Nation-wide, 3 million are behind on payments, and 2 million of them have forbearance, which doesn't go on forever. The federal Homeowner Assistance Fund is another part of the ARP, and will bring $180 million in funds to Massachusetts to help those behind on mortgages. But the process is likely to be complex and hard, so it would be important to start applying soon. (I'll have more about tenants' problems soon: we've learned that 90% of rental assistance applications have been denied.). > > > > I haven't found a link to apply yet, but this Globe article https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… suggests contacting your mortgage servicer (not always easy), and offers a list https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… of housing counseling services. > > > > Stay safe, and stay in touch! > > > > > > > > [Twitter] https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… > > [Facebook] https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… > > [Campaign Website] https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… > > > > > > Please donate! https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… > > Copyright © 2017 CTE Pat Jehlen > > Our mailing address is: > > 67 Dane St, Somerville MA 02143 > > > > > > > > >

1 0

Who to contact re: Open Water Swimming at Walden Pond
by raryals 07 Jul '21

07 Jul '21

Passing on from the Boston Open Water Swimmers: Some notes on calls made/to make: Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, which oversees all matters concerning the Division of Conservation and Recreation. Their leaderships includes: Rebecca L. Rausch, Senate Chair, (617) 722 1555, Becca.Rausch(a)masenate.gov Eldridge, Senate Vice Chair, (617) 722-1120, James.Eldridge(a)masenate.gov Carolyn C. Dykema, House Chair, (617) 722-2680, Carolyn.Dykema(a)mahouse.gov PRESS OPTION 4, Leave VM for David.Molley(a)mahouse.gov (or email him, assistant to Rep Domb) Mindy Domb, House Vice Chair, (617) 722-2400, mindy.domb(a)mahouse.gov On to the GOVERNOR's Contacts: Governor Baker's Constituent Services by email or phone (617-725-4005). Olivia Dorrance, Press Secretary for the Baker-Polito Administration (listed on the press release), by email ( Olivia.K.Dorrance(a)mass.gov) or phone (617-626-4967) I'd suggest everyone email these folks. A personal email is always best, but you could copy/paste the content, or if you put all the addresses in BCC they won't see the other recipients...

1 0

Fwd: Local History
by raryals 07 Jul '21

07 Jul '21

Local History. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/06/opinion/bricks-new-ireland/ The bricks of New Ireland Why were the houses in a Cambridge neighborhood built so high off the ground? By Joan Wickersham Contributor,Updated July 6, 2021, 3:00 a.m. “I bet it has to do with water, and with flooding,” my husband said. We were stopped at a red light in Cambridge, at the intersection of Sherman Street and Rindge Avenue, and I had wondered aloud about something that had always intrigued me: Why were the houses in this neighborhood built so high off the ground? Nearly all of them — the oldest ones, anyway — have oddly tall foundations, lifting the front door 6 feet or so above the sidewalk. This cluster of small high-built houses is nowhere near the ocean or the Charles River. But the neighborhood is not far from the marshes still visible at the end of Route 2, a few hundred yards away. My husband had read somewhere that up until the mid-19th century this part of Cambridge was called the Great Swamp. The area was what we would now call a flood plain, where rainwater running down from the hills would meet tidal surges coming up the Mystic River and Alewife Brook. The builders had known how to configure these cottages so that the living quarters would stay dry even during the inevitable periods when the waters rose. The ingenuity of this adaptation to a challenging housing site made us curious about who these houses were built for. Immigrants, we learned when we got home and consulted a Cambridge architectural survey. People who came from Ireland in the 1840s to escape the potato famine and found work in the Cambridge brickyards. The Great Swamp held rich deposits of clay that were perfect for making bricks. The work was grueling. The Irish workers shoveled clay out of water-logged pits, which sprawled from the site of the current Alewife T-station all the way to Fresh Pond. They formed the bricks in burning kilns whose smoking chimneys polluted the air. They loaded the bricks onto trains that ran to the Boston docks. They also made the bricks for the sidewalks of Cambridge, for buildings at Harvard, and for much of the Back Bay, including the Trinity Church rectory. Anti-Catholic discrimination made it hard for these workers to find housing in Cambridge, so a canny developer created this enclave of workers cottages and boardinghouses. Built between the 1840s and the 1860s, the neighborhood was known as “Dublin” or “New Ireland.” St. Peter’s Church, about a mile away, was built to marry the workers and baptize their children. They were buried in the Catholic cemetery, adjacent to the clay pits, along what is now Rindge Avenue. In 1875, a tidal gate was built, significantly reducing the neighborhood’s tendency to flood. Building patterns changed, and the neighborhood expanded to include triple-deckers characteristic of Greater Boston, to accommodate the next waves of arrivals, French-Canadians from Quebec and Black people from the South. They too built their own churches, and they too suffered from discrimination. In his book “Reading the Forested Landscape,” ecologist Tom Wessels writes about how noticing odd details — what he calls “disturbances” within the pattern of the forest — can help us to decipher what we are seeing. “Through some knowledge of history and the broader view of seeing a forest and not just its trees, we begin to see the forces that shape a place. This new way of seeing creates reverence, respect, a sense of inclusion, and accountability.” Living in a city offers opportunities to read the built landscape with the same kind of curiosity. The oddly high-built cottages at that Cambridge intersection were built high off the ground to keep the mud and water out; and they were built on that particular site for people who weren’t allowed to live anywhere else. They are clues to a particular slice of history that touches on immigration, discrimination, architecture, economics, and ecology. Their foundations are made of brick. Joan Wickersham is the author of “The Suicide Index” and “The News from Spain.” Her column appears regularly in the Globe.--

1 0

Open Swimming at Walden Pond
by raryals 07 Jul '21

07 Jul '21

Please sign this petition to keep Walden Pond open water swimming, URGENT. If you haven't heard, Gov. Baker wants to shut down ALL open water public swimming in MA, including the one rare local spot, Walden Pond. This post is for supporters of OWS, not arguments against. Please sign and share this petition. We need to get to 10K signatures. Also, please contact your state reps and demand/request that they NOT support this draconian effort by Baker. If a mass protest or civiil disobedience action is planned (which would be, swimming), please support and share. Thanks! https://www.change.org/p/olivia-dorrance-and-the-massachusetts-dcr-reverse-…

1 0

Animal Cruelty suspect arrested
by raryals 01 Jul '21

01 Jul '21

https://www.cambridgeday.com/2021/07/01/man-is-arrested-and-charged-with-an… We can all breath a sigh of relier. -- Ruth Ryals raryals(a)gmail.com

1 0

Fwd: Register for the Vaccination lottery!
by raryals 01 Jul '21

01 Jul '21

If you are vaccinated, sign up! https://vaxmillionsgiveaway.com/home -- Ruth Ryals raryals(a)gmail.com

1 0

Fwd: Cambridge Participatory Budgeting & Neighborhood Nine
by RUTH RYALS 01 Jul '21

01 Jul '21

Submit your ideas! How about an outdoors gym at Raymond Park? How about a public toliet and drinking fountain at Porter Square? How about a few mini forests, instead of a single tree, in appropriate spots? What are your ideas? Ruth > ---------- Original Message ---------- > From: "Price, Jackson" <jprice(a)cambridgema.gov> > To: "irallen(a)comcast.net" <irallen(a)comcast.net>, "neighbors(a)buenavistasocialclub.org" <neighbors(a)buenavistasocialclub.org>, "rryals(a)comcast.net" <rryals(a)comcast.net>, "hsolorzano(a)comcast.net" <hsolorzano(a)comcast.net>, "NorthCommons(a)yahoo.com" <NorthCommons(a)yahoo.com>, "richdale-ave-community(a)googlegroups.com" <richdale-ave-community(a)googlegroups.com>, "jlipshaw(a)gmail.com" <jlipshaw(a)gmail.com> > Date: 07/01/2021 3:30 PM > Subject: Cambridge PB & Neighborhood Nine > > > > Hello, > > > > My name is Jackson, I am the new Participatory Budgeting (PB) Coordinator for the City of Cambridge, and was wondering if you could forward the following information and flyer to your members to help create spaces for the Neighborhood Nine community to submit ideas and engage with PB. > > > > PB it is a democratic process in which Cambridge residents directly decide how to spend $1,000,000 of the City’s capital budget. After the public submits ideas in June and July, volunteer Budget Delegates work from August through November to research all submitted ideas and develop approximately 20 final proposals for the PB ballot. In December, Cambridge residents age 12+ (including non-US citizens) will vote to decide which projects are funded. > > > > Our goal is to involve all Cambridge community members, especially underrepresented communities on how the City of Cambridge can be improved. Because of this, we are trying to get as many ideas, volunteers, and diverse perspectives involved in our process as possible. I’d be happy to share more details and answer any questions you may have. > > > > If anyone who would like to submit ideas they can, > > * Visit: https://pb.cambridgema.gov/ https://pb.cambridgema.gov/ > * Call 617-349-4270 > * Drop them off in the white drop box behind City Hall > * Mail them to City of Cambridge Budget Office, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02139 > > > > If any members would like to volunteer in the PB process, please visit: https://pb.cambridgema.gov/volunteer2 > > > > Thank you so much for supporting this City initiative! > > > > Kind regards, > > Jackson > > > > > > --- > > Jackson Price > > Pronouns: he/him > > Budget Analyst & Participatory Budgeting Coordinator > > Office: 617-349-4302 | Email: jprice(a)cambridgema.gov mailto:jprice@cambridgema.gov > > City of Cambridge, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02139 > > >

1 0

Fwd: Interesting AHO info
by raryals 01 Jul '21

01 Jul '21

Interesting info on the AHO. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/what-can-we-expect-cambridges-new-afforda… -- Ruth Ryals raryals(a)gmail.com

1 0

Fwd: saving lives with transportation solutions
by RUTH RYALS 01 Jul '21

01 Jul '21

> > > Some Somerville news important to all of us. > > > > ---------- Original Message ---------- > > From: Senator Pat Jehlen <pat(a)electpatjehlen.org> > > Date: 07/01/2021 11:49 AM > > Subject: saving lives with transportation solutions > > > > > > > > View this email in your browser https://mailchi.mp/electpatjehlen/saving-lives-with-transportation-solution… > > > > Dear Neighbors, > > > > Somerville residents and leaders have been very active recently in demanding action from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to save lives by improving pedestrian safety. There's also been a decades-long effort to save lives by providing barriers along I-93 that would block both noise and pollution. > > > > Yesterday evening (Wednesday, June 30) DOT gave us an update on the project to preserve the viaduct, https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… the raised portion of I-93. Thanks to all the work by advocates and colleagues in government, as well as a new receptivity by DOT, District 4 Director Paul Stedman presented many new commitments on both pedestrian safety and air/noise pollution, which are summarized below. > > > > The rest of this newsletter is about those two campaigns to save lives, as well as an update on the Green Line Extension. > > > > > > PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IN THE "CORRIDOR OF DEATH" > > > > In the past two years, three pedestrians - Cheryl Richards https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… , Kevin Dumont https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… , and Marshall Mac https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… - have been killed in the area where Mystic Avenue, McGrath Highway, and I-93 come together. For a comprehensive history of problems and activism in this area, see this post https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… by Rep. Mike Connolly. > > > > On May 26, a day almost as hot as this, hundreds of residents organized by Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… (SASS) rallied with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Representatives Mike Connolly, Christine Barber, and Erika Uyterhoeven to demand that the Department of Transportation (DOT) accelerate improvements along McGrath/Mystic, create a Blakeley Avenue crosswalk, enact traffic calming measures immediately, and erect sound barriers along I-93. The Globe story is here https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… . (I was attending formal Senate budget debate and couldn't attend, though I've joined our delegation in many letters, meetings, and hearings with DOT and with SASS and others.) > > > > UPDATE: Last night we learned that work on the signalized crossing at Blakeley Ave. is almost finished! By next spring, DOT plans to have constructed 3 raised crosswalks at Kensington and one at the Route 28/38 intersection, as well as other pedestrian safety and ADA compliance improvements, including reducing the number of lanes in some areas. We will be able to see these soon on the DOT website. In addition, DOT officials were receptive to many suggestions for additional improvements. > > Here's https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… the Journal's report before the meeting. > > > > SOUND AND POLLUTION BARRIERS > > > > For 60 years, traffic on I-93 has poured air pollution and noise onto residents along its path in the lowest income part of Somerville. For decades, activists have pushed for sound barriers along the highway to protect those residents. Researchers have documented the devastating damage and continuing danger to people who live along I-93 that runs through the part of Somerville with the lowest income, and the most Black and Latino people. They have also documented that that area has been most affected by COVID-19, for many reasons including lung damage from long-term exposure to pollution. (Illustration by Somerville Director of Transportation and Infrastructure Brad Rawson, showing environmental justice communities along I-93) > > > > This indispensable and engaging CAFEH report https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… by Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP), Tufts University Medical School, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), and the Welcome Project has history, data, visuals, maps of the area, and potential solutions. > > > > There's also recent Metropolitan Area Planning Council report https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… , which summarizes research on particulate matter and the estimated new cases of lung cancer, diabetes, stroke and other diseases among residents within 400 meters of the highway, as well as potential solutions. > > > > Rep. Connolly created this slide, which we shared in a recent meeting with Acting Transportation Secretary Jamie Tesler, where we asked for immediate action to install barriers. It shows a leafy suburb with sound barriers, which also protect against pollution, and Somerville's dense neighborhoods without them. > > > > > > > > The Mystic Housing project is within 50-100 m of Rtes 38 and 93. At those distances they have a 54% higher death rate from heart disease and a 60% higher rate of lung cancer. By definition, the people who live there are low-income (with less than 80% of the area’s median household income) and the proportion of Black and Latino people is twice as high as in the rest of Somerville and 3 times as high as in Massachusetts. (This CAFEH report image shows how close the buildings are to Route 38 and I-93.) > > > > > > > > > > > > The States Avenues section of East Somerville, where some houses are within less than 30 feet of highways with 7 or more lanes of traffic, is also an environmental justice community. The research helps us understand why people in that neighborhood have died of lung cancer who never smoked a cigarette. (Image from CAFEH report) > > > > In 2020, Rep. Connolly and I secured $2 million in a bond bill for East Somerville noise barriers, but that money still has to be released. We also added $30,000 to the FY 2022 budget (which isn't finally adopted yet) for a design study for sound walls in that area. The Senate version includes examining the possibility of reducing lanes in that section of Mystic Avenue, which would allow for more potential solutions. > > > > In 2020, Rep. Barber and I secured $2 million in a different bond bill for triple glazed windows in the Mystic Housing buildings to mitigate noise and air pollution, since sound walls may not be possible in that area. We are working with the Housing Authority, the city, and DHCD to release and spend those funds. > > > > Working with Ellin Reisner and Wig Zamore of the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership as well as many others, Representatives Barber and Connolly and I filed legislation (H2230 and S1447, An Act to Improve Outdoor and Indoor Air Quality for Communities Burdened by Transportation Pollution) which had a well-attended hearing last week. It's endorsed by the EJ Table and many other groups, shown in the graphic. You can watch the hearing here https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… . (Our delegation speaks at about 7:00 minutes in; other testimony, including Ellin and Wig, starts at about 2:50:00.) > > > > UPDATE: At last night's meeting, Paul Stedman announced that DOT has contracted for a comprehensive study of all options for reducing sound and particulate pollution in all the areas of I-93, from Medford to Boston. This study is an incredibly important step, which will allow us to choose which options will provide the greatest benefit in each area. It will give us a sense of the cost, so we can advocate more effectively. > > > > > > GREEN LINE EXTENSION NEWS > > > > The Somerville delegation met last week with John Dalton, Program Manager for the Green Line Extension (GLX), who told us that construction is 80% complete, with 65% of the track laid. > > > > However, COVID-related and other delays have led to later opening of GLX service. The Union Square branch is now expected to open this December, and the full line to Medford/Tufts will open in May 2022. > > > > In 2016, Gov. Baker required Cambridge and Somerville to contribute $25 million and $50 million respectively to keep the GLX alive. Manager Dalton told us good news: costs have been contained and most if not all those contributions will no longer be required. > > > > As always, stay in touch on these and other issues, > > > > > > https://electpatjehlen.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1afb18c1b75b287a2a… > > > > > > > > >

1 0