The Somerville News Blog

Alderman hopefuls pull papers

by David Taber

As of Jan. 29 two candidates have taken out nomination papers to run in the special election for alderman-at-large.

“We are going to have a race,” said Nicholas A. Salerno, chairman of the Board of Election Commissioners.

The first day candidates could take out papers was Friday, but former Provost campaign field coordinator Marty Martinez and former Ward 6 Alderman John M. Connolly, who had previously declared their intentions to run, are the only two to have begun the process of getting their names on the ballot so far, he said. 

The board of aldermen set the date for the special election Thursday, ratifying a recommendation made by the board’s legislative matters subcommittee on Tuesday. Salerno presented the sub-committee with three timeline options.

A fast-track option would have citizens casting their votes May 10 and a drawn-out version would set the general election date for June 26, he said. The third option held the preliminary election April 10 and the general election May 22, he said.

Sullivan Square MBTA station closed

Dozens of public safety officers have gathered at Sullivan Square's T-stop to respond to the report of a suspicious device or package.

Developing...

Making waves

by John M. O’Hara Jr.

Black clad paddlers sit poolside and paddle for 30 minutes. Paddles flail like the legs of a giant centipede, pulling water to the point where it whirlpools. The only thing missing is a drummer.   

“Our drummer just moved to New York,” said Rachel Zucker, a history teacher at Burlington High School.  Zucker, along with a battalion of enthusiastic paddlers, practices for the Living Root Dragon Boat Club of Greater Boston twice weekly at the JFK middle school on Elm Street half the year, she said.

When the weather is warm, the team moves to the Charles for practice, said Zucker.

“Out on the river you can see the sun setting over the city. The river practices are amazing,” she said.

“It’s great exercise,” said Margo Mungovan, a Montessori teacher from Beverly.

Coach Bob Lee said he begins each practice with a twenty minute warm-up, drawing points from martial arts and yoga.

“It helps you build mental and physical strength,” Mungovan said.   

Security camera shot of robber

This photo was taken by Target Store of Watertown Saturday at 2:40 p.m. during an attempted armed robbery. 

The same suspect is believed to have committing a spree of armed robberies in Somerville, Medford & Arlington in the past three days.

Please call the Somerville Police at (617) 625-1600 with any information to capturing this thief.

MBTA vows clean-up

by Nuria Chantre

The Somerville News called the MBTA today  for clarification on a pile of trash outside the Davis Square T station.

“I oversee the contracts in maintenance.  It’s my responsibility,” said Rich Hart, assistant superintendent of MBTA station support services.

Rich Hart

Hart said he oversees grounds clean-up.

The pile, which included furniture pieces, debris and token collection boxes, was inexplicably dumped by a sidewalk outside the Red Line station in Davis Square.  “I think this is where they pick it up from; those are from the toll trash.  I don’t know what they’re doing here,” said Brian Holland, an MBTA inspector.

Construction debris is not picked up along with regular trash, Holland said.  It must be from when they did re-did the station and added the new equipment, he said.

“I will have to check with Porter Square to see,” Holland said.  The city does not pick up the MBTA trash.  MBTA has its own contractors who may have left the trash behind for a later pick-up, he said. 

Hart, an MBTA employee for six years, said he would work on getting the trash removed right away.

Davis Square T-stop a shame

Old furniture pieces, ripped bags of trash and discarded token collection machines mar the grounds of the Davis Square MBTA station.

Police to public: Have you seen this man?

by George P. Hassett

Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a man suspected of breaking and entering into a local woman’s home.

The man, described as a well groomed and black, 5-foot 10-inches tall and wearing a dark coat, allegedly followed the female victim from the Davis Square train station up College Avenue and tried to strike up a conversation. Police said the victim walked away but the suspect continued to follow and watched the victim as she entered her Ball Square home.

Two hours later, the victim heard noises from inside her home. Police said it was her back door being forced open. 

Download Burglary_Suspect_01092007.pdf

Farm Team checks out News

The Farm Team paper from IP Address: 204.137.15#  checked on The Somerville News Web site at 7:43 p.m. to read up on our breaking story on local robberies.

What else did they read? Find out Thursday.

Developing...

City sees six robberies in five hours

Police: Three committed by one man

by George P. Hassett

Police are looking for a white, heavyset male who they say committed four armed robberies in less than five hours Monday night. The robbery spree was part of a day in which six armed robberies or attempted armed robberies were committed in Somerville, said Capt. Paul Upton.

“The robbery detectives are up to their eyeballs in work,” Upton said.

The day of theft began at 3:30 p.m. when a man walked into Shaw’s Supermarket in Twin Cities Plaza and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. At 5:00 p.m. the Dunkin Donuts at Somerville Avenue and Central Street was hit, possibly by the same individual, police said. Just fifteen minutes later the Union Square Food Market at 18 Bow St. was robbed, allegedly by the same heavyset man who committed the previous crimes.

City police searching for multiple robber

A source close to the city's police force told The Somerville News a suspect in eight armed robberies, three in Somerville today, is sought by Somerville police.

He is described as middle-aged, heavy-set wearing fleece coat, a wool hat and a scarf. 

The paper is awaiting official confirmation.

Developing...

School Committee conducts strategic planning

By William C. Shelton

When Tony Pierantozzi became Somerville Public Schools Superintendent in July 2005, he brought the practice of preparing detailed, one-year improvement plans.  To enable effective management, the plans to identify the individuals responsible for carrying out each objective.  To ensure accountability, the objectives are measurable, quantifiable, and have completion dates.  Two examples are on the SPS’s Web site under departments, click on School Committee and then goals.

Major changes within a complex organization require multiple years to accomplish.  Examples in Somerville schools would be creation of a volunteer program, parental involvement initiatives, expanded foreign language instruction, and improvements to 7th and 8th grade instruction. 

The View from Prospect Hill

A communications office should be a conduit from which information flows to the people. But in Somerville, the vaudeville comedy team of Tom and Meaghan has chosen   to concentrate on trying to manage, and possibly even withhold, the news.

On too many occasions, the mayor’s press people have interfered with local news coverage. When news of an Assembly Square deal first started to stream out into the city, the Tom and Meaghan Traveling Vaudeville Show turned what should have been a triumphant moment for the entire city into a chance to manipulate the media. When The News asked if a deal had been reached at Assembly Square, Tom told us he didn’t know anything about it. Within five hours, the self and same sent a full press release proclaiming an Assembly Square agreement. And that morning, lo and behold, The Boston Globe reported on the story with the full cooperation of an office that did not know anything when The News asked. Coincidence? We don’t think so.

Ironworkers picket Davis Square

Members of the New England District Council of Ironworkers Local 7 are manning an informational picket at the construction site at 1 Davis Square. The picketers said the developer is using non-union workers.

Somerville News Photo by Neil W. McCabe

She's not a good mother, Joe

Sometimes the most bizarre overheard conversation can make the most bizarre poem. Just ask Somerville poet and publisher Gloria Mindock. Check out Gloria’s Cervena Barva Press at http://www.cervenabarvapress.com

SHE’S NOT A GOOD MOTHER, JOE

[AN OVERHEARD CONVERSATION IN A BOOKSTORE IN ARLINGTON]

When a baby bites you, forget it!
It’s dangerous cuz once a baby bites your
hand, you’re in trouble.  They can’t tell if your hurt.
If she lets that baby bite Joe—
forget it!  She’s not a good mother.
That’s dangerous cuz once that baby bites his
hand, infection will set in the skin.  That’s
dangerous cuz once that baby bites your hand,
you’re in trouble.
They can’t tell if your are hurt.

Once they get a hold of you, they bite you good.
It’s dangerous to have kids because they change.
They grow up ugly and mean.
They grow up with tempers and get mean.
The baby could turn around and hate your guts.
They get uglier all the time.
Them and their ways!

If she lets that baby bite Joe, forget it!
She’s not a good mother.
Babies are at the biting stage.
That’s dangerous cuz when a
baby bites you, forget it!

— Gloria Mindock

Alderman to propose change in special election process

by David Taber

Alderman-at-large William A. White today told The Somerville News he plans to submit a proposal to the Board of Aldermen that will systemitize the proccess of calling special elections when elected city officials vacate their posts.  While the language has not been set, White said the proposal would require that the Board set dates for special elections within a month of an officeholder's resignation.

Developing...

Leblang speaks to the News

by Nuria Chantre

A local writer, storyteller, teacher and on-air personality spoke at The Somerville News contributors meeting held Jan. 18 at the Mr. Crepe shop.

“Everyone has their own way of writing. For me, what draws me in is authenticity. It gives a sense of reality,”said Judah Leblang.

Born Bruce C. Leblang in Cleveland, Ohio, Leblang, said he writes about personal struggles such as letting go of youth, adopting a new name and dealing with skin cancer. “People seem to relate. They may have different personalities, but they can relate,”said Leblang of the creative process.

Before he made Somerville his home, Leblang, who holds a bachelor’s degree in deaf education and a master’s degree in administration, lived in Columbus, Ohio, he said.

Bike advocates meet

by David Taber

Mapping out priorities was at the top of the agenda for the city’s official bicycle advocacy committee Jan. 16, when they held their first meeting of the year in the basement of City Hall.

“There are always more things to do than we have time for,” said Somerville Bicycle Committee chairman, Alan T. Moore.

The committee plans to map out a cross-city, on-street bike route to run parallel to the future route of the proposed Community Bike Path extension, and to explore strategies to promote bicycle riding as a safe and healthy means for students to commute to and from school, he said.

Tentative date for special election

The board of aldermen's  legislative matters committee recommended at its Tuesday night meeting that the city hold its special election May 15 to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of State Rep. Denise M. Provost, D, Somerville.

The aldermen will vote on the final date Thursday at its regular meeting.

Developing...

The percs of Assembly Square

by George P. Hassett

Police broke up a drug deal between three women Jan. 16 in which 168 percocets were confiscated and a mother-daughter tandem arrested when they tried to buy the pills from a Dorchester woman.

Drug control unit cops were conducting a routine surveillance of the Assembly Square mall parking lot when they spotted Kimberly Savini, 28, of 11 Greenville St., and her mother, Carol Busa, 43, of 25 Juniper Place, Lowell, parked in a remote section of the lot.

News Talk for the week of Jan. 24

There is a new team at the helm of The Somerville News now that George has returned to Emerson College for more schooling.  Neil McCabe, our new/old Editor, has embarked on a solid campaign to capture more readers both in print and online. He has brought with him a talented band of journalists with more to be hired. The paper will grow with new sections and a new look plus lots of Somerville stories as always (unlike the city’s other paper which devotes equal space to Cambridge).  It’s going on four years now under the new (and local) ownership, who are totally committed to bringing the best in local news coverage to you — the readers of Somerville. One thing to watch is our daily updates online at www.TheSomervilleNews.com — every day we will be shouting out to Somerville and the whole world, what’s going on here in the city — and if you don’t like what you read, just respond in the comments section and let us have it.