https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefsThe daily local brief for Davis Square, Somerville, MA.en-ushttps://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-09-02https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-09-02Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen won Tuesday's Democratic primary for the 27th Middlesex state House district, taking 7,116 votes to Olivia Gilligan-Corsetti's 3,068 with 90 percent of votes counted, according to the Associated Press. The seat is open because State Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven launched a state Senate campaign earlier this year. Ewen-Campen has served on the City Council since 2017 and twice as council president, focusing on housing affordability, transportation, surveillance technology and climate.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-09-01https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-09-01Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000In an Aug. 31 letter to the Davis Square Neighborhood Council, developer Copper Mill said it will not move forward with its proposed 502-unit tower of up to 26 stories, citing a lack of cooperation from city leadership. The site holds The Burren and Dragon Pizza, which are no longer facing demolition. Burren owner Tommy McCarthy said he was not surprised the project failed, pointing to feedback he had heard from residents; supporters had backed the plan for adding hundreds of apartments, a quarter of them income-restricted, while many neighbors objected to the tower's height and the disruption to local businesses.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-31https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-31Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Somerville Democratic City Committee has produced candidate debates for the 2nd Middlesex Senate, 27th Middlesex House and 34th Middlesex House districts, taped at Somerville High School. The Somerville Media Center recorded the events in partnership with the Somerville Dems, and the videos are now available to watch. Primary day is Tuesday, Sept. 1; additional details are on the Elections page of the city website.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-30https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-30Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The city's Public Space & Urban Forestry team designed the Davis Square improvements, which were installed with help from the Department of Public Works and marked with an Aug. 28 ribbon-cutting. The updates aim to make the square more welcoming and comfortable for residents, visitors, workers, and shoppers, and to support the small businesses, restaurants, arts venues, and gathering places there. Residents and business owners have worked to activate the area with musical performances, both planned and spontaneous.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-29https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-29Sat, 29 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has reported the state's first two human West Nile virus cases of the year, in men in their 60s and 90s who were exposed in Middlesex County. The state has raised Somerville's West Nile risk level to high.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-28https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-28Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Somerville's early in-person voting for the Sept. 1 State Primary closes today, Friday, Aug. 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the lower level of City Hall, 93 Highland Ave. Early voting has run since Saturday, Aug. 22. Voters who miss it can still cast a ballot by mail or in person at their polling location on Primary Election Day, when offices from governor and U.S. senator to state representative and register of probate are on the ballot.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-27https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-27Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Somerville Public Schools' 2026-27 calendar sets Monday, August 31, as the first day of classes for grades 1-12, with an early dismissal district-wide. Pre-K and Kindergarten students begin September 2. Staff are using August 27 and 28 for professional development.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-26https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-26Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Healey-Driscoll Administration awarded $1.1 million in Waste Reduction Innovation Grants to 13 businesses and organizations statewide, including two based in Somerville: Hera Materials, which received $100,000, and Second Structure, which received $50,000. The MassDEP-administered program, launched in spring 2025, funds pilot-scale projects with commercialization potential as well as larger infrastructure investments aimed at expanding recycling and reuse. State officials said the money will help manage bulky waste, improve waste reduction efficiency, and keep more material out of landfills.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-25https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-25Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Somerville High School welcomes rising ninth graders and other new students today from 6 to 8 p.m. at 81 Highland Ave., with one-hour tours of the building grouped by last name and SHS community, plus a chance to meet staff, the Parent Teacher Student Association, and community partners. Earlier the same afternoon, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the same address, the district holds its Back to School Fair for all Somerville Public Schools families, Pre-K through Grade 12, with school supplies, giveaways, frozen treats, and staff from all 11 schools. Both events are co-organized by the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative and Somerville High School.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-24https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-24Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The ArtBeat-themed 'Inside Out' gallery exhibit continues at CVS Davis Square through Sept. 2. Curated by New Impressions Print Studio, it features linoleum relief prints by 64 local artists.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-23https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-23Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Opinion columns published Saturday argue the MBTA's plan to completely change the Route 96 bus, which runs between Harvard Square and Medford Square, would inflict unnecessary hardship on riders. Writers say the changes would force longer walks and multiple transfers for college students without cars, people with shopping carts, parents with strollers and riders headed to urgent medical appointments, and that cutting Harvard Square removes a major hub for hospital, cultural and shopping connections. A petition to save the route has gathered signatures.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-22https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-22Sat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Saturday, Aug. 22 is the deadline to register to vote in the Sept. 1 State Primary: midnight for online registration, 5 p.m. for in person, and postmarked by today if mailing a form. City Hall at 93 Highland Ave. is open today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for in-person registration. Early voting also begins today in the lower level of City Hall and runs through Aug. 28.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-21https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-21Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Rosebud Bar and Kitchen at 381 Summer Street closed abruptly about two months ago, and owner Babu Koganti told the Licensing Commission in July that the shutdown was to have some of the floor redone while he negotiates purchasing the building from his landlord. Koganti said the parties are already in legal negotiations and estimated in July that the matter would be resolved in two to three weeks; if he does not buy the building, the owner may seek a new tenant. His license is currently down to zero hours until negotiations conclude, leaving the restaurant closed for an indeterminate period. Koganti could not be reached for comment.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-20https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-20Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Curiosity Brewing Company plans to take over 49 Day Street, next to Sacco's Bowl Haven, with the team expecting to take possession of the property in September. Founder Nick DeFae said plans call for a 7- to 10-barrel brewhouse, an 80- to 100-seat taproom, an espresso bar and an outdoor patio, intended as a neighborhood "third space" for coffee in the morning and beer in the evening. The former auto body shop, later converted to office space, still needs significant construction and renovation; the project is working with architecture firm ASK+.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-19https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-19Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Somerville Public Schools holds its annual Back to School Fair on Tuesday, Aug. 25, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Somerville High School, with free school supplies, frozen treats, and a chance to meet principals and district department heads. Community organizations will be on hand with information about programs and services for students and families. Immediately after, from 6 to 8 p.m., the high school hosts Welcome to Somerville High for incoming ninth-graders and students new to the school.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-18https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-18Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Somerville School Committee met Monday night to decide whether to close the Benjamin G. Brown School in West Somerville and merge it into a larger school at Winter Hill's 115 Sycamore Street site. The merger option would create a 925-seat Pre-K-8 school, among the district's largest, and the Brown School's Willow Avenue building, which also faces structural challenges, would be decommissioned. The vote is the city's final recommendation to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which is funding the renovation project; Committee Chair Emily Ackman said that pending MSBA's acceptance, it represents a final decision.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-17https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-17Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The Somerville Condominium Review Board meets Monday at 6 p.m. to discuss condo conversions and city policies. Under Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025, the meeting will be held via remote participation and is open to the public; advance registration for the Zoom webinar is required, after which attendees receive a confirmation email with joining details. The meeting is free, and accommodation requests can be made in advance.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-16https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-16Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Liars, an eclectic bistro from the team behind Davis Square's James Beard Award semifinalist Spoke Wine Bar, opens August 20 at 1153 Broadway in Teele Square, in the space vacated when vegan restaurant True Bistro closed in 2023. Spoke's Paul Butler runs a kitchen roughly double the size of Spoke's, with a chef's counter overlooking it and a menu that includes a deconstructed beef-tongue steak bomb and squirt-gun-topped cocktails. Butler says he wants a no-frills spot paying "homage to great taverns, izakayas, and bistros" where neighbors will "come in and linger."https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-15https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-15Sat, 15 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Esh Circus Arts, which has taught trapeze and juggling at its 6,000-square-foot main building at 44 Park St. for more than a decade, is adding a satellite studio in former storage space at 38 Alston St., a few minutes' walk from the East Somerville T stop. Adult sessions begin Aug. 24 and kids' classes start Sept. 14. "We are in the lovely position of having more demand than we have space," co-owner and chief executive Ellen Waylonis said Friday, describing the main studio as full to bursting.https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-14https://nanopress.net/davis-square-somerville-ma/briefs/2026-08-14Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000MassDOT plans to install a raised crosswalk on Holland Street at the Davis Square MBTA station, with work beginning Sunday, Aug. 19 at about 2 a.m. and continuing through Wednesday, Aug. 22, weather permitting. No vehicular traffic will be allowed on Holland Street between Winter and Dover Streets during that window, though the Buena Vista parking lot stays open. The city asks drivers to follow posted detour and no-parking signs, and says 311 has more information, including temporary MBTA bus route changes.