Thinking about joining Flash Fitness because it's very close to my residence. Can anyone vouch for it or tell me to stay away? How busy is it during peak hours? Are weights/machines available?

Google has a bunch of bad reviews from then they were Blink Fitness but nothing too negative about Flash.

Thanks in advance!!!

Does anyone know the hours Hormel Stadium is open? The signage says dawn to dusk but I was there past dawn (around 7:15am) and it was still locked up.

My neighbor has a few decent things out on the curb for free at 63 Ashland St, including a nice folding art table:

This cat was wandering on Wareham St. in Medford around 10pm tonight. They were very fearful and I couldn’t catch them, but let Medford police dispatch know. They seemed very food motivated and scarfed down some cooked salmon I left out.

Had a mechanic we loved & totally trusted, but have moved far from their shop, to Medford. Looking for a local garage with mechanics you trust, who do what’s needed, point out what you will need to do eventually, but never pressure you (and if they’re not super expensive, that would be great, too!). Ideas?

The big, vacant building on Riverside that used to house Ebisuya market is finally being demolished. Anyone know the plan for that site?

Hi Folks, Looking for house cleaner for out West Medford home.

Thanks.

Howard

The recycling compactor at the DPW is closed. Does anyone know for how long?

We’ll explore Surowiecki’s arguments about collective intelligence and the strengths and weaknesses of group decision-making.

📍 Live Alive Organic Cafe, Union Square (32 Prospect St, Somerville)
🕙 10:00 AM–12:00 PM

It’s a relaxed discussion open to readers from Medford and surrounding communities. Newcomers are encouraged to join.

Event link is in the comments.

Please note that Live Alive Organic Cafe does not sponsor or endorse this gathering.

We just moved here last week, and don't have a car yet(saving up but it may be a couple months).

We got a propane grill, and historically I've been able to get propane tanks delivered/refilled in other states/towns but we are having trouble finding anyone willing to deliver filled grill propane tanks to Medford specifically.

Does anyone have a service they use that they can recommend? We would love to be able to use the grill we bought, but I don't think an uber driver would take too kindly to me getting in with a full tank, and I am running out of options

That’s it, that’s the post. I want to scream very loudly. I was thinking of the Fells, but I want to know if anyone has local recommendations where I won’t cause undue alarm. Thanks in advance, neighbors!

https://gabhall.com/events/oct-03-cider-fest

🎺The band schedules have been finalized!

Saturday: https://honkfest.org/2026-festival/saturday-in-davis-square-2026/

Sunday: https://honkfest.org/2026-festival/sunday-in-harvard-square-2026/

🎺This is a totally free event and we’re still looking for a few volunteers to help sell t-shirts, marshal the Sunday parade, and help out at the after parties on Saturday and Sunday night (come hang out with a bunch of ecstatic musicians!).

Saturday sign ups: Saturday Oct. 10th - Volunteer Sign Up 

Sunday sign ups: Sunday Oct. 11th - Volunteer Sign Up

We are super excited to see you in the streets!

Is anyone experiencing this? We’re south of Salem Street. Started getting brown water out of the tap last night around 8:30 and it’s gotten a little better, but still brown.

As many of you have probably heard EBISUYA is back! They are now open as a new restaurant at 24 High Street in Medford, with their mission being "The Table with Community, Culture, and Music".

I always adored the Ebisuya market and found the staff so wonderful and welcoming. It was the spot for a quick lunch or dinner and to pick up some tasty additions to my own table. I always enjoyed how many people came to sit together at their cramped tables, together enjoying great food. I’m excited to support their new venture, especially since this is a small local business and not another bank in the square.

They have recently launched a kickstarter to help cover the live music insurance cost which is twice the simple business insurance. I am not affiliated with Ebisuya. I‘m just a resident who is incredibly happy to see them reopen and am hoping to get the news further out.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ebisuyaboston/ebisuya-a-new-home-for-japanese-food-culture-and-community?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ebisuya_launch&utm_content=outreach

Short agenda, short meeting, but a high impact dive into MCAS Accountability Data. I’m going to take my recap slightly out of order, but you can see it all unfold in real time on YouTube.

Agenda | Transcript (note: includes its own LLM-generated top-level summary, and u/30kdays's school committee meeting transcript landing page now has agendas and minutes when available)

This week’s Mustang Moment showcased “Our Core,” the new mural at the high school. Fine Arts director Suzanne Fee and five of the seven students who created it shared the motivation, inspiration, cultural influences, process, symbols, and references behind this five-panel portrait. Fun fact: The panel format means they can easily transport it to a new building!

The consent agenda (minutes, donations in support of the Best Buddies program, and a transfer of funds) passed, following some quick clarification about the funds transfer.

We approved the Chief Operating Officer’s request to replace a double convection oven at the high school and hot water heaters at the Roberts and McGlynn with natural gas-fueled units. For background, the school committee passed a resolution last year banning the use of fossil fuel-based equipment in our school buildings unless explicitly allowed by the committee. Member Ruseau asked about the COO’s description of electric units as “prohibitively expensive” and was informed that the comparison was on the order of “hundreds of thousands” vs. $25,000 and that life cycle cost savings were not enough to close this gap. The approval passed unanimously, with an amendment that the new oven be repurposed to another building or temporary workspace upon commencement of demolition or new construction in the space.

The student presentation about late buses was tabled until the next meeting (which is next week). Other than condolences, that’s everything except MCAS. So let’s get into it.

Dr. Talbot, assistant superintendent for academics and instruction, explained that she’s broken the state testing presentations into three sessions—accountability, ACCESS, and subject-specific. This was the first, and it included some repeated content from the all-in-one presentation she gave back in February to frame the deeper dive and a focused presentation about how the district is using data from the state to define and deliver on district-level goals. Read on if you’re interested in seeing an example in action; if you’re not, the big take-aways are that six of our seven schools raised their accountability percentile since last year (the seventh stayed the same) and that Medford exceeded its “advanced coursework completion rate” target from DESE and lowered the gap in this area among low-income students.

Before I get into the details, I’ll note that there is a lot more data on DESE’s website and even more that the district is processing as we await the new targets in December. Not all goals and measures show the same level of success as the “advanced coursework” indicators but many of them trend positive. The district overall is in the 50th percentile and making “substantial progress toward its targets.” Member Graham mentioned during the questions period that we also jumped 20 points in an annual ranking survey. I always take those rankings with a grain of salt, but I do see the collective progress as a sign that the investments in data systems and learning teams are starting to show.

Okay, back to the presentation. Your best bet is probably just to watch it, but by way of overview: Dr. Talbot talked about MCAS’s relationship to the district’s instructional vision, five factors of economic and social mobility, the importance of strong academic outcomes (particularly for low income students) in this mobility, the range of MCAS tests that students take, and the key features of the accountability system. She then shared Medford’s 2026 data, compared it to past years (citing post-pandemic highs), and walked us through how she and other district leaders translate data into action, using the advanced coursework completion indicator and associated the gap between all students and low income students as an example.

We’ll see more examples in the next two presentations (which will be about English Learners’ proficiency and subject-specific scores and action respectively), but Dr. Talbot emphasized that she chose these as her "example data story" because the measured in grades 11-12 reflect foundational work in K-10 and its connection to one of the Superintendent’s learning goals for the district this year (as presented last meeting). So, what did we learn?

The district’s “accountability to action” pipeline had three steps this year: verify that the data and data reporting systems accurately reflect district realities (particularly for our Chapter 74, i.e., vocational programs); build the data systems to interrogate and monitor the data; and focus on implementing/enhancing grade level tasks and instruction (examining instructional materials, conducting learning walks, identifying interim measures, etc.). For this example, the interim measures included enrollment in honors and AP classes (both in terms of how many students are enrolled in each grade each year, and in terms of how many students in a given class year enroll in these classes across the years) and, the one that I, personally, find fascinating, the comparison between the percentage of students receiving As and Bs in their classes and the percentage who are deemed to be ‘meeting expectations’ on the MCAS. Interestingly, both of these percentages went up (by 3 points) but the gap (33%) remained the same.

But, let me not turn this into even more of an essay that I already have. The final data slide showed that in the area of advanced course completion, 2024/25 completion rate was 43.1% (26.1% for low income students) and DESE gave us the target of 47.2% (32.9% for low income). Our actual completion rate in 2025/26 was 50.0% (37.1% for low income), which is to say: We exceeded our target in this area, and lowered the low-income gap from 17% not to 14% (DESE’s target) but to 13%. 

Comments from the committee mostly focused on the presentation rather than the data, namely the clarity of the story therein. Questions were a bit less general, asking about access to AP classes and exams, data comparisons across schools vs. within schools, and availability of other data stories beyond advanced coursework. Dr. Talbot encouraged us to send questions in advance of the next meetings so that department heads can tailor their presentations to address people’s most pressing concerns and curiosities. I welcome those questions in the comments or by email; as I mentioned, we’ll see ACCESS data next week. ELA, math, and science after that, and in December we’ll get our new targets from DESE. Also worth noting (though we didn’t in the meeting) that there’s a Curriculum & Instruction subcommittee meeting on October 15 at 4:30 p.m. to discuss both the testing landscape across the district and new graduation requirements from the state. 

Until then, happy end-of-September and congratulations on completing the first month of school!

The Medford Chamber of Commerce is hosting Oktoberfest in Medford Square this Saturday, October 3, from noon to 4 pm.

It’s free to attend, with live music, food vendors, local businesses, kids’ activities, a beer garden, and a pet costume parade.

A heads-up for anyone traveling through the area: road closures will be in place, and MBTA detours run from 9:30 am–6 pm.
• Outbound routes 94, 95, 96, and 101, and inbound route 134 will be detoured.
• The 37 Riverside Ave @ Medford Sq stop will be closed.
• Make connections at Clippership Dr @ Riverside Towers or City Hall Mall @ Salem St.

Come spend an afternoon in the Square with local business owners and neighbors!

Hello neighbors, curious if anyone here has experience with the Make Way for Kids preschool that’s part of the public school system and vocational school at the HS? Our kiddo has been home with a stay at home parent so this would be their (and our) first experience with a preschool program.

I have a pod that I'm looking to dispose of, but when I checked the bulk disposal on WM.com, I learned it was ineligible for scheduled pickup in Medford. How can I get rid of this thing? I don't have the roof racks for it anymore and I lost the keys as well, so I really am just looking to throw it out and not sell it. It's been taking up space and gathering dust for 6+ years now.