Saturday, September 3, 2011
Plus, home sales increased, students are back on campus, a Fluff contest and other top stories from the week.
Capuano not running for Senate The week ended with news that U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano had decided not to run for Senate in 2012. Irene cleanup The week began with a cleanup effort. Tropical Storm Irene knocked down trees, branches and power lines Sunday, and work crews spent Monday cleaning up the mess. Home sales increased According to figures released by The Warren Group, for the first time in months Somerville saw an increase in home sales—for the month of July, as compared to July, 2010. Over the course of the year, through July, home sales were still down, as compared to 2010. School Committee meetings broadcast live The School Committee held its first regular meeting of the school year and announced that, this year, committee …
Monday, August 29, 2011
Work crews in Somerville cleaned up downed branches and trees after Tropical Storm Irene.
Somerville was mostly back to normal Monday after Tropical Storm Irene knocked down branches, trees and power lines Sunday. Workers from the department of public works spent the morning collecting debris from streets. At the department's building, off Broadway and Cedar Street, behind Trum Field, all those branches were turned into a large pile of woodchips and mulch. On Monday afternoon, one area still affected by the storm was along Washington Street outside Union Square, near the intersection of Bowdoin Street. There, Octavio Jose sat on Washington Street, watching work crews clear away a tree that almost landed on his house in the storm. The cleanup crew used a large crane to hold the tree upright while a worker in a cherry picker …
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Washington St & Bowdoin St, Somerville, MA
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Planes, trains and automobiles are moving a little more freely, though most transportation services are not yet back to normal.
Irene is gone, but transportation agencies are still feeling the storm’s after-effects. Here’s a rundown of transportation services in and around Greater Boston: Washington Street between the Argenziano School and Perry Street was closed Monday afternoon as work crews, working with a crane, cut down a large tree that fell at the intersection of Washington and Bowdoin streets. The MBTA 86 bus is being diverted around this work and is not making pickups on Washington Street between Union Square and Dane Street. The MBTA has returned to its normal Monday operations. The T had shut down almost all service Sunday. The only weather-related disruption reported on the T website concerned Riverside on the Green Line. The parking lot there is closed…
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-71.1008
Washington St & Bowdoin St, Somerville, MA
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Sunday, August 28, 2011
"Whack, Boom": Residents describe what happened when a tree fell over during Tropical Storm Irene, taking down a utility pole, landing on a car and shutting power to the street.
Trees and branches fell throughout Somerville Sunday as Tropical Storm Irene moved through the Boston area. In many places they knocked down power lines, landed on cars, ripped up sidewalks and caused streets to be closed. On Rose Street, a tree did all of the above. It uprooted, fell into electric wires, knocked over a pole, landed on a car and shut down the road as city authorities and utility companies assessed the damage. Residents, without electricity, sat on their porches to watch the scene. Some of them describe what happened.
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Rose St & Lewis St, Somerville, MA
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What's Irene doing in your part of Somerville? Take a photo from your window and share it with your neighbors.
There are fallen branches, downed wires and isolated flooding in parts of Somerville as a result of Tropical Storm Irene. What's happening on your block? Stick a camera out your window and take a snapshot of your street. Then, you can upload your photo below by using the link "Add photos & video." Or, you can send the photo to chris.orchard@patch.com. Please take photos from the safety of your home. There are fallen branches throughout Somerville, and public safety radio transmissions report "hazardous" conditions in parts of Somerville.
The city of Somerville's constituent services issued a statement Sunday afternoon asking residents to stay indoors.
The following is a message from the city of Somerville, sent Sunday afternoon, in regard to Tropical Storm Irene: "Hello, this is Jackie Rossetti from the City of Somerville with important storm-related information. We have received reports of many downed power lines and branches, and uprooted trees due to the high winds. Crews are responding immediately to these reports, however we want to reiterate that residents should remain in your homes. High winds are expected to continue throughout the afternoon, and live wires and loose trees and branches can be dangerous in these situations. If you experience any wind-related damage in your neighborhood, please report it to 311 and crews will be dispatched immediately. Remember to call 911 with…
Stick with Patch as we report on the hurricane's toll , and your neighbors check in with localized damage reports.
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Sunday, August 28, 2011
With Irene bearing down on the area, Patch will live blog throughout Sunday to keep residents up to date with new alerts, warnings and other news from local officials, the state's emergency management agency, the National Weather Service and more. More importantly, we'll receive reports from Patch editors in our neighborhoods as we all weather the storm. Most of all, we want to hear from you. Tell us about any damage in your neighborhood. Are there trees down? Is the street flooded? What are you doing while you wait out the storm. Your reports and your stories are critical information for your neighbors. Keep 'em coming! If you can't see our live blog, please go to http://www.coveritlive.com/ and keep up with Patch updates there (or …
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Public transportation expected to resume Monday.
All MBTA services will be closed on Sunday starting at 8 a.m. due to Hurricane Irene, the MBTA announced. Subway, bus, commuter rail and ferry servies will be suspended for the entire day as heavy rain and high winds are expected to continue. The RIDE will only make trips of a "necessary medical nature." Service is expected to resume on Monday. "The MBTA apologizes for any inconvenience, and asks for the public's patience and understanding as we combat the effects of this storm," read a statement posted on the MBTA's website. The suspension of service will allow MBTA personnel to focus all efforts on making sure the transit system is "up and running" at the start of Monday's commute, the statement said. Buses will be on stand-by to assist…
The city of Somerville tells people to stock up on non-perishable food, water, flashlights and batteries, to secure outdoor belongings and to shelter at home.
The city of Somerville sent emails and made phone calls to residents Saturday morning with a message about preparing for Irene. To receive messages from the city, you need to provide your contact information. You may add your contact information here to receive messages. You may listen to the city's pre-recorded phone call here. Below is the message sent Saturday morning by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone. "Hello, this is Mayor Joe Curtatone with important information related to potential impacts of Hurricane Irene. Based on current weather projections, Irene is expected to make impact on Massachusetts as a strong Tropical Storm or Category 1 hurricane beginning early Sunday morning. Severe wind damage is expected in our area, so we are …
Friday, August 26, 2011
Large motor boats from Lynn and Dorchester come to Winter Hill Yacht Club in Somerville to weather Hurricane Irene.
They're rafting up and squeezing into spare dock space at Winter Hill Yacht Club: Large motor boats more accustomed to cruising Boston Harbor and coastal New England than navigating the Mystic River. To escape the potential wrath of Hurricane Irene—high winds, monster tides, punishing waves and storm surges—boats from the Volunteer Yacht Club in Lynn and Old Colony Yacht Club in Dorchester have found a friendly safe haven in Somerville. On Friday, the docks were full and Bill Rogers, commodore of the Somerville yacht club, was directing large boats, most about 40 feet long, into tight spaces where they were rafting up. The yacht club is providing the space to about "30 outsiders that would normally be out in harm's way, out in the ocean," …
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Winter Hill Yacht Club
85 Foley St, Somerville, MA
/articles/winter-hill-yacht-club-provides-neighborly-safe-haven
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Susan Bratton
11:28 am on Monday, August 29, 2011
Do we know if the city of Medford (the tree city) will be sending trucks around to pick up the fallen branches and leaves from their trees or do we have to wait until September for a leaf pick up day and hope our pile passes inspection to be taken? more ›