A little dose of joy for you today: a monarch on the asters in our backyard.

Mmm... I guess anyone can be a violent leftist extremist these days. Especially since none of these are explicitly defined? Not enough prison cells in America to fit this many potential terrorists.

Hey Somervillens! AWESOME opportunity to turn your paved-over driveway or yard into green space! Green & Open Somerville has teamed up w/ MRWA to depave a site and plant it with native species. Learn more: www.greenopensomerville.org/depave Eligible area: mysticriver.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/in...

Whatever you do, don't put any responsibility on drivers or traffic engineers. Sure, some people do dumb things, but the overwhelming majority of pedestrian and cyclist deaths could only be prevented by never entering a road. The streets belong to ALL of us!

"Common decency stigmatizes people that do not participate in it—removes them from voluntary association. We indeed have to live with one another, but terms and conditions apply." me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...

It's been a rough several days, and this was the perfect book for me right now: a darkly funny, warm, sad, joyful novel about death. Or living? zibbymedia.com/blogs/our-bo... #Booksky

Wow. This includes 7 of our 9 members of Congress from Massachusetts, by the way. @pressley.house.gov and @moulton.house.gov voted nay, while all others voted yea (not even "present"). To be clear, Dems had strongly supported an alternative measure that condemned violence without lionizing Kirk.

Yes, exactly this. Our country is changing rapidly into a terrifying place. One with many echoes of our ugliest history, but still. A stark warning, or lament, by M. Guessed. Gift link. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/21/o...

Love flowers? Cool houseplants? Pollinator-friendly species? All this and more will be available TOMORROW, Sunday, Sept. 21, for dirt-cheap prices, at the annual Somerville Garden Club plant sale, 10am-1pm at 331 Summer St. The best part? Free expert advice! www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville...

I knew it would be bad if Minerva won. Criminals in the city are now out of control, even in full daylight.

The free speech champion, model Christian and patriot was also a fierce advocate for U.S. energy supremacy built on fossil fuels. The latest Heated newsletter highlights links between debunking the climate myth and defending American values. It's all connected. open.substack.com/pub/heated/p...

We’re excited to be doing walk audits in this program in the next year+ in Danvers, Salem, Wakefield, Melrose, and Stoneham! Through those walk audits, we’ll be working with community members to help find short term actions that advance bigger climate resilience goals they’ve already identified.

Hey Boston-area folks! I have two tickets to see Garbage tomorrow at Roadrunner ($60 each, paper tickets so no junk fees!) that, to my great sadness, I can no longer use. Selling at face value. Pick up in Somerville or if it's not too far, I will bike them over to you. DM if interested!

Battle doomscrolling by posting 5 small pleasures in life: 1) cats 2) flowers 3) bees, butterflies and other garden bugs 4) sci-fi books 5) fresh fruit

Hey Somervillens! Mimi says 'Go vote!" and she doesn't mean in the bike path election won by her twin. My own choices were based on leadership style, housing and affordability, truly "getting" the concept of complete streets, and incumbents' record in responding to constituents. #somervillema

I'm glad that in today's media landscape, there are alternatives for those whom major outlets silence. But most Americans barely even read major newspapers. I support several newsletters, but it's not enough. We need principled editors and producers to keep bringing voices to broader audiences.

This is the very best gift anyone could've given me today. 😍😍😍

Scary times.

Now available for pre-order, by @sashaabramsky.bsky.social: American Carnage, a look at the destruction of the federal government through the eyes of 11 workers. Sasha is brilliant and unsparing; I expect this to be excellent. orbooks.com/catalog/amer... #BookSky

This Murderbot + Witch King and more Humble Bundle from @torbooks.bsky.social has raised nearly $80,000 for @wck.org World Central Kitchen -- Can we get that up higher before time runs out? #booksky www.humblebundle.com/books/martha...

The best. And applicable, on a less histrionic note, to @wutrain.bsky.social as well. Bostonians, go cause some trauma!

Oh great. SCOTUS says it's fine to indiscriminately terrorize brown people in LA, at least for now. But I do have a question for @mattcameron.bsky.social: Is the 100-mile exception a factor here, and could that affect us here in Mass. as well? www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

Who wouldn't want to be surveiled constantly by a device that's also clueless, abusive, and technologically crap?

This.Is.Overwhelming. But it did help me very quickly dismiss several City Council candidates, and it provided useful insights all around. The clock is ticking to get informed! The #SomervilleMA primary is 9/16, and it very much *does* matter which candidates make the short list for November!

So apparently the most attractive dispenser for RatX is a plastic kefir bottle that's been lightly rinsed, top cut off, with some tomato thrown in with the pellets. Upside-down berry containers with door holes cut out, baited with sunflower bits... nah.

Picked this up at an awesome bookstore in Montreal. So much fun. A Western like you've never read before, sexy, hilarious and exciting. @allshewrotebks.bsky.social check it out! renaissance-107765.square.site/product/mrs-... #Booksky

Brutal and well-deserved take on @corybooker.com, so easy to love but so disappointing! open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...

As my free Kindle book for August, I chose "The First Witch of Boston," based on the real-life story of Margaret Jones, the first woman hanged as a witch in Massachusetts, and her husband, Thomas. It's really well done, beautiful and disturbing. andreacatalanoauthor.com/the-first-wi... #Booksky

I am so grateful for @billmckibben.bsky.social. He puts in writing what I often feel, but can't even get myself to say, and yet he also finds ways to nurture hope and the will to fight. billmckibben.substack.com/p/an-eerie-l...

This week's Camberville newsletter examines why housing development in Assembly Row has stopped. In short, higher interest rates, higher return expectations from investors... and complaints about Somerville's affordability and sustainability requirements. mailchi.mp/bostonglobe....

This is a very nice bike path. With minimal road exposure, you can now bike a cool loop from Somerville to downtown Medford, then west to the path along Alewife Brook and onto the Community Path. Or if you like to bike/hike in the Middlesex Fells, you can now bike there pretty safely.

If you're looking for some great summer page-turners that feel fresh and stay with you long after you finish, I highly recommend @mrendon703.bsky.social's Cash Blackbear series, set in early-1970s MN/ND, with a kickass 19-year-old Native heroine. www.marcierendon.com/books/cash-s... #Booksky

I confess I like our mini-tent, especially on very hot days. But this is ridiculous. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/04/l...

“The Guardian is a left-wing mouthpiece that should be embarrassed to pass off deranged resistance leftists as ‘experts’... President Trump’s mental sharpness is second to none and he is working around the clock to secure amazing deals for the American people.” It's surreal.

If the ad ended after the first 20 seconds or so, I'd say it was a dumb joke. Or if they'd made a campaign that included several different super-attractive people. If she'd not explicitly talked about genes. But come on. They dug in hard. Did they want to be a brand just for the right?

Don't know how I missed this before, but WOW. Wealth inequality in Mass. is just shockingly high. It's particularly pronounced among 65+ households, and quite racialized, with 74% of nonwhite elders in the bottom income tercile. mcoaonline.org/wealth-gaps-...

The auto industry in the U.S. is so messed up. Just went to Woburn Toyota because of all the dealerships in the area, they seemed to have the most Priuses listed online. Should've called. They actually had a grand total of 2, both PHEVs priced at ~$40k and $50k, respectively. And dozens of trucks.

Lying about Epstein is the very least of this administration's misdeeds, but it *is* wild to see how hard MAGAs are trying to give them a pass. I like the WP's approach here. Lots of telling quotes. wapo.st/3HaN2hv

Monsters working for a monstrous regime.

“In Greater Boston, over half of all nursing assistants are immigrants. Over half. Who is going to be caring for you?” Health care advocates held a protest today to draw attention to this growing crisis. www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

If you're a #SomervilleMA voter wondering whom you should support for mayor, the USNC forum is a good start for understanding our 3 options vimeo.com/1103544916. What does it say about us that question #1 was about rats?

Nice spotlight on @willieburnleyjr.bsky.social in today's Politico Mass. Playbook, which concludes: "If any city in Massachusetts is primed to elect a socialist mayor, it’s Somerville." I'm not DSA myself, but like NYC, we've had a bad extreme corporate makeover. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Are you horrified by what ICE is doing in our communities? Feeling helpless to stop the abuses? You *can* actually do something. Support a local immigrant advocacy organization today. There are several in Mass. but today I'm going to focus on Haitian-led IFSI-USA. www.ifsi-usa.org/get-involved

A New England chain that still staffs its stores well, treats the staff with dignity, carries high-quality groceries, provides good value to customers without tracking our purchases or running deceptive and confusing sales, AND is the cheapest? Market Basket is a gem.

Today I learned why the @mbta.com Green Line doesn't have an A branch. It was discontinued in 1969 (actually before they introduced the letters, but they included it when they devised the lettering scheme) and replaced by the 57 bus. It went north to Watertown, as a streetcar, like the other lines.

You don't have to be rich to do meaningful things with your money. Pre-order a book from an author you love. Join a Patreon. Give $10 or $25 a month to your local NPR station. Support a nonprofit doing work you really value. There are millions of us. We can make a real impact.

If you read one thing today - make it this by @andrimagnason.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/07/19/o... gift share #climate change is everything change

Cool, if sad, story, with very different perspectives on both species. www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...