So, like, now there's a GoFundMe to support Somerville city staff who've been suddenly laid off, people who weren't protected by the union that city staff haven't finished officially organizing.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/unjustly-laidoff-somerville-public-workers
Please contribute if you can?
I sure wish we were living our values by selling cookies to fund police bikes instead of cookie sales to feed and house our laid off BIPOC city staffers. #SomervilleMA #SomerPoli #MAPoli
So lmk if I got this right:
1. Somerville staff ineligible for union memberships start to organize a new union.
2. Wilson announces we will have a $5M budget deficit this yr.
3. We can't eliminate any of $4M EXTRA police budget from last year to make up most of this predicted shortfall...?
4. Wilson eliminates 29 city jobs, half of them vacant, but all of the already-hired-now-eliminated positions were nonunionized & organizing for the new union...
5. ???
Most other World Cup host cities are pedestrianizing streets to accommodate World Cup crowds, but Mayor Wu's administration is resisting the idea in Boston.
Important update on #ShotSpotter in Cambridge: at council meeting on May 11th there was an agenda item to vote to remove the ShotSpotter microphones, but Councilor Burhan exercised charter right to delay the vote for the week.
He note that emotions were running high following the highly disturbing shooting on Memorial Drive, although it should be noted that (regardless of how it is discussed in the press) that incident was unrelated to ShotSpotter.
Yes, people in the Greater Boston area are douchebags. But the MBTA needs to staff and monitor stations better, period.
--
Fight for the Future has some good ideas here:
https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-05-05-fight-for-the-future-releases-draft-of-proposed-social-media-legislation-that-protects-all-kids-from-big-tech/
Massachusetts-based digital rights group Fight for the Future has released a working draft of a model bill they are offering as an alternative to the well-intentioned legislation put forth by Governor Maura Healey and the Massachusetts House addressing harms of social media for young people. “We agree with Massachusetts lawmakers that we need to rein […]
Auto insurance - one of the biggest nightmares we’re forced to deal with in the U.S. [Provider name here] will ask if you have a mole on your left butt cheek. What’s your favorite cuisine. Anything it seems they can log and possibly sell to a third party.
Have you had any success shopping around for quotes without having to share intimate personal information that even doesn’t lower premiums?
Hey, it's Teacher Appreciation Week! Just wanted to say that Community Action Agency of Somerville is looking down the barrel of a potential $2M federal cut this year. CAAS provides free preschool to 275 low-income families of Somerville and Cambridge. If every person in those two cities donated $2 a month, we'd more than make up the difference in the Trump funding cuts.
Can you help these kids? #SomervilleMA #CambridgeMA #MAPoli #SomerPoli #schools #education
Crystal Huff (they/them)
Jesse again
StreetsblogMASS
Alexandra Thorn
Deb Nam-Krane
nonelvis
ts 🚇