Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Why do people contact Somerville's 311 constituent services hotline? Pothole complaints are a top-ten reason. Rodent complaints barely make the top 20. You may be surprised by the leading reason.
Potholes, missed trash pickups and illegal parking: All three are some of the top ten reasons Somerville residents contact the city's 311 constituent services hotline. But the number one reason is something you might not have thought about. Or, judging by the numbers, I'm the only one in the entire city who hasn't thought about it; almost everyone else has. Calling to get a TV or computer monitor picked up is the number one reason people get in touch with 311 in Somerville, according to data available on Somerville's new Socrata data portal, which you can access here. The data portal provided information about 311 cases from the beginning of 2009 through July of 2012, and we organized the data to see the main reasons people contact 311. …
Thursday, August 30, 2012
The city will host a webinar on Sept. 20 to talk about the new Socrata OpenData portal.
Somerville has launched its Socrata-powered OpenData portal, according to an announcement from the city. The portal is designed to provide residents with data about the city's 311 system, city budget, the departments of Public Works, Traffic and Parking, and Inspectional Services, the 2011 Wellbeing Survey and the most recent ACE (Accurate, Courteous, Easy) Service Scorecard, according to the announcement. It's the first Socrata-based open-data portal in New England, the announcement says. Other cities, like Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and New York use the system. You can visit the portal at https://data.somervillema.gov/. Somerville has also scheduled a webinar for Sept. 20, at 11 a.m., to talk about the portal. You can sign up for …
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Residents will be able to look at 311, Department of Public Works and other data using an online portal. A software issue delayed its launch.
Somerville planned to launch it's "OpenData" cloud-based portal in July, but that launch has been delayed because the portal's developer and host, Socrata, Inc., has been dealing with a software licensing issue, according to Jaclyn Rossetti, a spokesperson for the city. It sounds like that issue is now resolved, and the portal will be launching very soon, Rossetti said. She said the city's data is ready to go and the portal could launch in a matter of days. Once launched, residents will be able to create an account and look at a variety of city data. At first, most of the data will come from the city's 311 system and Department of Public Works, Rossetti said. Eventually, residents will be able to look at Somerville crime statistics, …
Monday, August 20, 2012
The Community Preservation Act puts aside money—raised by a tax surcharge and matching state funds—for open space, historic preservation and affordable housing.
In November, Somerville voters will decide whether or not to adopt the state's Community Preservation Act. The Community Preservation Act, known as the CPA, is a tool cities and towns use to fund open space, historic preservation and affordable housing projects. The Somerville Board of Aldermen voted Thursday to put an initiative about joining the CPA on November's ballot. Communities that adopt the CPA raise money through a surcharge on property taxes. The surcharge can be up to 3 percent of the real estate tax levy, but Somerville is proposing a surcharge of 1.5 percent. As stated above, the money raised must be used for open space protection, historic preservation and affordable housing, and communities that join the program receive …
Friday, August 17, 2012
The ordinance allows for raising hens, keeping bees, selling eggs and growing produce.
The Somerville Board of Aldermen Thursday approved an ordinance that allows for urban farming and agriculture, such as raising chickens, keeping bees and growing produce for sale. In expressly allowing certain types of urban agriculture, the ordinance also outlines permitting, public health and best-practices requirements associated with farming in the city. If you want to keep bees or raise chickens in Somerville, you'll need to get a permit to do so. If you want to grow produce to sell, you don't need a permit, but you will need to get your soil tested for lead and other contaminants, and you'll only be able to sell fresh, unprocessed produce. The ordinance does not apply to people who garden and grow fruits and vegetables for their own …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
The ordinance would govern things like raising chickens, keeping bees and growing fruits and vegetables.
The Somerville Board of Aldermen may vote Thursday night on an ordinance that would govern urban agriculture and farming in the city—we're talking about things like raising chickens, keeping bees, growing produce and starting hydroponics and aquaponics operations. Aldermen and city staffers have been drafting the proposed ordinance, and it's been in the Board of Aldermen's Land Use Committee since April. Members of the Land Use Committee kept the matter in committee after an Aug. 8 meeting, but they were scheduled to take up the ordinance again on Wednesday. There was some scuttlebutt before Wednesday's committee meeting that the whole Board of Aldermen would vote on the matter Thursday. Somerville Patch will provide an update after …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Plans could bring artificial turf and a seasonal ice rink to the park.
The city is looking at ways to rehabilitate Lincoln Park, near the Argenziano School outside Union Square, and initial plans include converting much of the existing field to artificial turf, adding basketball courts that could be converted into a seasonal ice rink, building a field house and conducting landscaping and drainage improvements. The cost to the city for all these changes would be around $2.5 to $2.7 million, according to Hayes Morrison, director of transportation and infrastructure with the city. Morrison said the city is still investigating some of these options. The city held a community meeting about the plans Monday night at the Argenziano School, and it has two more meetings planed, on Sept. 12 and Sept. 24, according to …
42.37759
-71.101147
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Pkwy & Perry St, Somerville, MA
/articles/city-considers-2-7-million-rehab-of-lincoln-park
1301636
/locations/7588809
Friday, July 13, 2012
Approval of the bond nearly failed when one aldermen voted against it.
A $2 million bond request, intended mostly to fund repairs at school buildings, also contained line items for a few non-school-related things, including $200,000 for a covered walkway at the city's new ice rink and another $200,000 for a police shooting range. The bond request frustrated some aldermen, who felt it came at the last minute from the mayor's office. When the matter came to a vote at the Board of Aldermen's meeting Thursday night, Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz voted against it. Because three aldermen were absent from the meeting, her lone dissenting vote meant the bond didn't receive the two-thirds approval necessary to pass. After a recess, the Board of Aldermen voted on the matter again. This time around, Gewirtz changed …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Urban agriculture fans voiced support for a proposed ordinance that would allow farming in Somerville.
Khrysti Smyth, who lives near Porter Square, has eight chickens in her back yard. They live in a chicken coop she built herself, and she raises them for the eggs. "I have a huge waiting list, just amongst my friends, of people who want eggs, locally grown eggs," Smyth told the Somerville Planning Board and the Somerville Board of Aldermen's land use committee Thursday night. Chickens are becoming her life's work, she said, joking that "I've sort of become a chicken concierge" because she provides chicken-raising advice to others in Somerville and around Boston. (She blogs at thechickeness.blogspot.com.) Smyth spoke at a public hearing about a proposed zoning ordinance that would allow urban farming in Somerville. Yes, Somerville: the most …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The city is holding a public hearing about a proposal to allow community farms and other forms of urban agriculture in Somerville.
Somerville is considering an ordinance that would promote urban agriculture in the city, and it's holding a public hearing on the matter Thursday. The ordinance would "create a framework for residential, community and commercial farming within city limits," according to an annoucement released by the city in April. The announcement said it would encourage things like hydroponics and aquaponics, which allow urban farmers to raise things like vegetables and fish in warehouse space. The public is invited to attend Thursday's hearing and comment on the proposed ordinance. The hearing is being held by a joint meeting of the Somerville Planning Board and the Somerville Board of Aldermen's land use committee. A description of the ordinance says …
42.38671
-71.09836
Somerville City Hall
93 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA
/articles/speak-out-urban-agriculture-in-somerville-public-hearing-on-thursday
787420
/locations/7029009
FRED
4:01 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
SOME ONE GET OUT SIDE ON TRASH DAY LL PAST FINES I SEE NO FROM CITY IM TAX PAY I WANT SOME DO THEY JOB KILL RATS THEY ALL OVER SOMERVILLE GUSS THEY NOT PAY RENT OUT SUDE GO RT more ›