By Sharon Stentiford

Many people associate movie night with lighthearted laughter, buttery popcorn, and a cool stroll out on a starry night with friends -- headed for adventure on the big screen. On my recent night out, my solo venture into one Area 4 movie venue proved to be a night on the town that lingered and stirred on the back burner of my thoughts and emotions days and days after. read more...

About 30 attendees spent the evening of February 14th, Valentine’s Day, at the Area 4 Youth Center to discuss with heavy hearts the February 8th loss of 18-year-old Lucien Christalin. Christalin was by all accounts well loved and had bright future prospects for continuing success. He was a role model to younger kids and held two jobs, one at City Hall and one at the youth center. A teacher had already written him a college recommendation. As one attendee said, “Lucien was considered a success story, with distinct goals for his life.” However, continued the speaker, “peer pressure is hard to resist.”

Tonight clergy, police and residents tried to comprehend why this young man would find himself on a Friday night with friends playing with a gun. From his family members who are experiencing the unthinkable loss of their loved one; to fellow CRLS students, friends and neighbors who came out in droves to a candlelight vigil -- to new officers fresh out of the police academy who have been involved in the aftermath of the shooting incident -- the community has been profoundly affected. read more...

Temperatures were freezing but the cocoa was hot at the Central Square Holiday Fair on Friday, December 7th. The presentations were small-scale and heart warming. My first stop was to hear what sounded like singing angels at Carl Barron Plaza, at the crossroads of Mass. and Western Aves. The Peabody school "Early Bird Singers" lead by Ms. Silverberg spiced up the frigid air with renditions of holiday tunes as proud parents and enchanted passers-by circled the angelic voices with smiles of appreciation.

As the frosty darkness of nighttime advanced, I walked briskly along Mass. Ave. to the Salvation Army site where the Boy Scouts saved my fingers from frostbite by offering a steaming cup of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and a complimentary chocolate kiss. This was well worth the $1.50 their fundraiser charged per cup. read more...

Faces of Judaism Mural

Stimulates Dialog at CRLS

By Sharon Stentiford

What would cause an African American artist to want to create a mural about Jewish people?

Community muralist and teacher Jameel Parker admits that this project has sparked controversy and been full of challenges from the beginning. Parker’s inspiration for the project came from viewing the photography of James Van Der Zee of the Harlem Renaissance. One Van Der Zee’s photo shows a community of unlikely-looking American Jews: members of an African American synagogue standing under a Star of David and banner that reads: “The Moorish Zionist Temple of the Moorish Jews 127 W. 132” – complete with Hebrew lettering on the side. This fascinated Parker and made him ask, “What does being a Jew in America and in the world look like, and who defines that?” read more...

Jane Smillie Hirischi lights up when she talks about CitySprouts, a program that teaches children about plants. Inspired by the decades-long phenomenon of school gardens in California, Smillie Hirischi designed and wrote grants for teaching gardens to make their appearance in Cambridge. “Cambridge has a lot of unique things, but CitySprouts is a unique program in the country,” she says. CitySprouts is a program that is integrated with the schools, and the gardens are used by teachers as outdoor classrooms.

Youth interns numbered 34 last summer and 40 this summer. The school gardens are accessible after school to the students and families. Cambridge has 5 active gardens with 2 more in development. Last summer, thirty-four 11 to 14 year old participants assumed responsibility for caring for the gardens over the summer: watering, mulching, fertilizing, and weeding. They harvested food, learned how to prepare different delicious servings, and ate the fruits of their labor. And each participant earned $100 for their efforts, an appreciable sum to an 11 year old, and to some 14 year olds as well. read more...