City announces 2025 yard waste schedule
The city’s Department of Public Works has announced its Yard Waste Schedule for 2025. Yard waste is collected curbside on your regular trash day. Community members can place loose leaves or yard bags in barrels, however, the city will not collect plastic bags or branches. To view the schedule online, visit www.chelseama.gov/dpw
2025 Yard Waste Collection Schedule
• April 7 – April 11
• April 28 – May 2
• May 19 – May 23
• June 9 – June 13
• July 7 – July 11
• August 11 – August 15
• Sept. 8 – Sept. 12
• October 6 – October 10
• October 27 – October 31
• Nov. 17 – Nov. 21
• December 1 – December 5
Yard waste can also be dropped off at the City Yard in approved yard bags. The City Yard is located at 380 Beacham Street. Drop off is accepted Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. and most Saturdays 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. For more information, contact Chelsea 311 (617-466-4209).
Assessor’s Department continues service at City Hall during office renovation
The city’s Assessor’s Department will continue to provide in-person customer service at City Hall’s Treasury window while its physical office undergoes renovations from February to April.
The renovations support the department’s goals of better serving the community with the addition of transaction windows that will enable the department to provide more direct customer service. Additional upgrades will result in energy efficiency and cost savings and include new windows, a new HVAC, and updated electrical and technology wiring.
The work is expected to be complete in April 2025.
Community members can call Chelsea 311 (617-466-4209 if outside of Chelsea) for more information.
International Women’s Day event March 8
The Chelsea Women’s Commission will host an event for International Women’s Day on Saturday, March 8, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Chelsea City Hall Lawn.
This special gathering is an opportunity for the women and girls of Chelsea to come together in community, celebrate their collective strength, and engage in meaningful conversations. The event will feature a brief speaking program, with a special keynote speaker, Allison Cartwright, from the Supreme Judicial Court for the County of Suffolk, a light breakfast, and a networking exercise—fostering connections and empowering participants to advocate for issues affecting women and girls in the city.
The Chelsea Women’s Commission was established to serve as a voice and advocate for the women and girls of Chelsea. As part of its commitment to understanding and addressing their needs, the Commission conducted a community-wide survey in 2024, engaging more than 100 residents to identify key concerns and opportunities for advocacy.
This International Women’s Day event marks the Commission’s official kickoff, setting the stage for future initiatives that will uplift and support Chelsea’s women and girls. I hope you can join us!
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La Comisión de Mujeres de Chelsea organizará un evento para el Día Internacional de la Mujer el sábado 8 de marzo, de 10 a. m. a 1 p.m. en el césped del City Hall de Chelsea.
Esta reunión especial es una oportunidad para que las mujeres y las niñas de Chelsea se reúnan en comunidad, celebren su fuerza colectiva y participen en conversaciones significativas. El evento contará con un breve programa de conferencias, con una oradora principal especial, Allison Cartwright, de la Corte Suprema Judicial del Condado de Suffolk, un desayuno ligero y un ejercicio de networking, que fomentará las conexiones y empoderará a las participantes para defender los problemas que afectan a las mujeres y las niñas en la ciudad.
La Comisión de Mujeres de Chelsea se creó para servir como voz y defensora de las mujeres y las niñas de Chelsea. Como parte de su compromiso de comprender y abordar sus necesidades, la Comisión realizó una encuesta a nivel comunitario en 2024, en la que participaron más de 100 residentes para identificar las principales preocupaciones y oportunidades de defensa.
Este evento del Día Internacional de la Mujer marca el inicio oficial de la Comisión y sienta las bases para futuras iniciativas que enaltecerán y apoyarán a las mujeres y niñas de Chelsea. ¡Espero que puedas unirte a nosotros!
Little Fat Four: Author Talk with Marsha Finely by Devra Sari Zabot
The Chelsea Book Club is thrilled to announce another “Author Talk” this time with Marsha Finley, a Chelsea local and long-time Chelsea Book Club member on Saturday, March 1st at a private residence.
Marsha has just published “Little Fat Four”, the memoirs of Eileen Kan, a Chinese woman Marsha met while teaching at a college in China. In 1989, to realize her long-time dream of traveling in Asia, Marsha interrupted her career as a technical writer and editor for publishing and tech companies in the Boston area, got rid of her possessions, packed a backpack and took off. She traveled to Japan, Hong, Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, and China. Fascinated by China, she resolved to try to stay there and secured a job teaching English at a college in Kunming.
While there, Marsha met Eileen Kan, who became her “Chinese mother,” and helped Marsha negotiate the challenges of living in China. During their visits, Eileen began sharing details of her shocking experiences as a younger woman. Unlike most Chinese women of that time, Eileen was alone, fleeing from one end of China to another to escape the turmoil of war. She sank from impossible wealth to slavery and the starvation that killed millions. Protected only by her wits and her fierce will to survive, she lived to witness the fall of Mao and the emergence of a new China.
Marsha recorded Eileen’s story in English and then transcribed it to a notebook – where it remained hidden for almost 30 years. Many of the events that Eileen described are forbidden knowledge in China today and exposing them could have led to her arrest. After Eileen was no longer in danger, Finley published her story as Little Fat Four: A Chinese Woman’s Memoir of Survival. To help readers understand some of the unique features of Chinese life, Marsha juxtaposed Eileen’s story with brief accounts of her own experiences living in China which are fascinating as well as she was there the year of Tiananmen Square protests.
During her time in China, Marsha married a Chinese man and eventually moved back to the US, settling in Chelsea. We hope you will consider joining us for this special “Author Talk”, join book club or read “Little Fat Four”. RSVP on our Facebook Group page, Chelsea Book Club.