Help Plan Affordable Housing in Gilman Square

On March 12, Just-A-Start and the Somerville Community Land Trust will host a meeting for neighbors to discuss their plans to build a fully affordable building at 297 Medford Street in Gilman Square. They’ll go over the design and project timeline and answer questions from neighbors. If you live nearby, join them at 6:00 pm, in person in the cafeteria at Somerville High School.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/03/10/help-plan-affordable-housing-in-gilman-square/

No Vacancy

Have you had a landlord ask you to do something they’re supposed to handle, like shoveling snow or dealing with a rat infestation? Have they ever dragged their feet on important repairs or charged illegal fees? Have you ever shaken your fist and then given up because, although you’re in the right, you don’t have any leverage? In Somerville, both you and your landlord know two things: it would be hard for you to find a new apartment, and it would be easy for…

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/03/05/no-vacancy/

Is Somerville Full?

Everyone knows that Somerville is one of the densest cities in New England, with around 19,000 residents per square mile. Some folks use that number as a reason to say “we’re full, go away.” That’s not exactly welcoming to newcomers, especially not to those fleeing other states or countries who want to live in a sanctuary city like Somerville. It’s also not telling the whole story, because there are other ways of looking at density that tell us more…

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/02/17/is-somerville-full/

What Kinds of Housing Do We Need?

Somerville’s recent Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) is an analysis of the current state of housing in the city, and provides useful information about the types of housing Somerville needs to accommodate our changing demographics and population pressures. Home sizes Somerville is a city of old, large homes. 59% of occupied homes were built before 1940, while only about 9% were built from 2000 to 2020.

https://somervilleyimby.org/2026/01/06/what-kinds-of-housing-do-we-need/

App Store search is ineffective and primitive, and doesn't reliably show high-quality, relevant results for queries.

How can it be improved?

More advanced search algorithms, like the last two decades? Nope!

AI-assisted relevance and ranking, like this decade? Nope!

When all you have is an insatiable desire for more "services revenue", you can only see one solution…
https://mastodon.social/@jamesthomson/115743268704666181

Got a call with Caller ID saying it's from my Credit Union.

They told me there was an account breach. In a very Indian accent.

I asked if it was a breach or an incident.

He told me it was a breach.

I asked what of my data had been exfiltrated.

He said third parties had access to all of my personal info and that they needed to verify some of my information before resuming with the disclosures.

I told him I would call my credit union back to make sure there was a legit problem.

"Sir, you must read the caller ID, we are from your credit union!"

Yeah, Caller ID can be spoofed. Both number and name. AAMOF, I have an app I've done it with as a prank.

<click>

Just remember, folks, Caller ID name and number CAN be spoofed. Always tell someone who claims to be from a financial institution that you'll call them back.

Rolling back #health studies on women and people of color risks worsening health outcomes for everyone.

Thousands of NIH and NSF grants have been canceled, gutting studies on cancer, HIV, maternal health and more.

https://theconversation.com/how-stripping-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-from-health-care-may-make-americans-sicker-249674

The data is now reflecting an observation I’ve made anecdotally. The job market is now bad enough that you are likely to make less money than your current job by job hopping in tech which is counter to conventional wisdom of most of my career.

Seems this is now happening across the job market. This is why CEOs are showing out.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/08/22/wage-growth-2025-job-switcher-job-stayer.html