The Somerville News

Happy New Year!

From everyone at The Somerville News - the Norton's, the Tauro's, Bob Publicover, George Hassett, Cam Toner, Bobbie Toner and the rest of the family here at The News - have a safe and happy New Year!

The year in crime

Crime was down in Somerville in 2007. But there was still plenty to keep the police busy. Here are the biggest crime stories in Somerville as we see it in 2007.

Women use 4-year-old to help steal
And the award for the worst parent of 2007 has to go to Tarshesha Ross, 26, of 96 Heath St. who allegedly used her four-year-old daughter to help steal $61 worth of items from Kmart in September. Ross was arrested and charged with shoplifting. Let’s hope Ross puts shoplifting behind her, or at the very least, leaves her toddler out of her future schemes.

More loss in 2007

By George P. Hassett

The past continued to slip away from Somerville in 2007 as the city lost many of the people and landmarks that until this year had helped shape its character and identity for decades.

The longest serving officer in the police department – Acting Chief Robert R. Bradley — resigned after 38 years. A coffee shop credited with jumpstarting the renaissance of Davis Square in the 1990s was replaced with a crepe shop. And history itself was lost when Isobel Cheney, the city’s unofficial historian and author of “A Brief History of Somerville” died at 99.

Poetry, community and the small press

Off The Shelf by Doug Holder

I am not an academic poet. I am not a part of a faculty of a major university, nor on the board of a     prestigious literary organization. I always have been a part of that great eclectic sea of the small press. In fact my activities have mostly been outside of the gated communities of the academy. I started the Ibbetson Street Press with my wife Dianne Robitaille and my good friend Richard Wilhelm in 1998. For years I had been published in small presses, and I came to realize without a vibrant small press community talented poets would not see the light of day. A student of literary history will realize that many of our great poets from Whitman to Frost to Ginsberg got their start in little magazines and small presses.

The View From Prospect Hill

Dear Santa Claus (or God, Abraham, Mohammed, Allah – whomever will listen) –
thank you for 2007 – a year that seemed to start slow, but picked up the pace as the months passed by.

For us at The Somerville News, it started off with the “excommunication” of a certain self-destructive former editor and rolled right into the Barack Obama “ticket-gate.”

In the middle part of the year, there seemed to be a bit of a lull, with only the “will he get it or won’t he get it” Bradley magical mystery tour keeping us entertained.

Somerville 2007: The year in news

From alleged death threats to unpaid parking tickets, Somerville had a busy and quirky news year in 2007. Here are the top five news stories of the year as we see it.

“We’re going to bury him”

Rick Scirocco’s campaign for mayor had a difficult day on Friday, Aug. 24. That day, the Boston Herald ran a full page story on Scirocco’s multiple domestic violence arrests and the four restraining orders taken out against him by four different women. Later in the day the Somerville News reported Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone was being guarded by a police officer on paid detail after his office learned a Scirocco supporter – Lenny DiCicco – had told a Curtatone volunteer, “We’re going to bury him.” DiCicco insisted his remark was in reference to election results and not a threat to do bodily harm to Curtatone. However, either Curtatone or his staff took the threat seriously enough to demand an armed guard at the cost of $1,034 to protect Curtatone from the elderly DiCicco.

10 Teamsters arrested at Russell labor dispute

by James Norton and Donald Norton

Beginning at 3 a.m. this morning, more than 30 members of Teamsters Local 25 padlocked the entrance of Russel Disposal  and parked a large tractor trailer in fron of the business to block access to the waste businesses' yard.

Witnesses on scene said the union attempted to intimidate everyone in sight, including police and media, with curse-laden threats. A fracas erupted between Teamsters, police and Russell employees. At one point during the confrontation Russell owner Chuck Russell stood in McGrath Highway with a sombrero on and stomped on discarded picket signs.

Holding our breath

By William C. Shelton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Last month, Taeko Minigishi and Wig Zamore were setting up nitrogen dioxide monitors at the corner of Vermont and Michigan Avenues. Three neighbors out for a walk stopped to chat. When Wig and Taeko explained what they were doing, the passersby began pointing out surrounding homes where their neighbors had died from lung cancer.

Newstalk for Wednesday December 26th 2007

Christmas is over and now the rush to ring in the New Year - we here at Newstalk wish all our family and friends in Somerville a Happy New Year in 2008 – may health, happiness and prosperity be with us all this New Year.

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Comedian Jimmy Tingle is saying his final farewell to Somerville. Last week he threw a farewell party at the Burren to celebrate his past five years here in Somerville - we wish him the best of luck and thank him for all he has done locally in the past.

Merry Christmas from The Somerville News

Have a happy, safe and enjoyable holiday today!

From the Norton Family, the Tauro Family, Bob Publicover and the entire staff at the paper.

The most wonderful time of the year

On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

What ever happened to Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol? They used to run it every year when I was growing up - Jack Cassidy was the voice of Bob Crochet, and of course Jim Backus was Mr. Magoo. It was one of those traditions that I wanted to pass on to my kids…”with razzle berry dressing”! I think it used to be televised on Channel 38.  Anyway, I finally found “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” online - now it is in that dusty pile of DVD’s that we never watch – most of them were gifts from Christmas past – you know, watched it once and it didn’t catch on with the kids.

A Tale of two snowstorms

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

There may be no topic in Somerville more explosive and emotional than how to manage cars, streets and sidewalks during and after snowstorms. No matter what our policies are and how well they are communicated and implemented, people are going to be upset.

If you had asked me last Saturday, Dec. 15 how I thought we were doing on snow procedures, I would have said “Somerville rocks!”  Based on good forecasts, we declared a snow emergency to go into effect at 10 a.m. on Thursday.  We notified even earlier, sending out a news release, a Connect CTY call and an email blast at 7 a.m. as well as posting the information on the web, on our cable stations and on our info hotline (617-628-SNOW).  For the first time ever, we even activated some of our flashing blue light indicators at entry intersections around the city. (There are twenty-two of them, but not all of them are powered up yet – including the one in Davis Square.)  As always, we gave people four hours to move their cars (seven if you count from when we announced the emergency) and we deployed for aggressive plowing, salting and sanding.

Little League president wants to bring more kids onto the diamond

By George P. Hassett

The number of children participating in Somerville Little League baseball has been steadily declining for years but new President Joe Janiero said he has an idea to reverse that trend.

“We have an opportunity here in Somerville to tap into the Spanish-speaking and immigrant communities to get more kids playing baseball,” he said. “Baseball is huge in Latin American countries. Getting those kids involved, I think, is a way to turn around urban leagues like ours.”

What happened to toys?

On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

My kids Christmas lists include Playstations, Wiis, Game Boys, I-Pods, I-Books and laptop computers. As my friend comedian Bob Marley noted - when we were kids, we had an Etch-a-Sketch instead of a laptop.

What happened to just plain old toys?

My cousin Carol had a Chatty Cathy, which was great until the pull-string broke - then it was just another doll. I remember toys like the Kenners Girder and Panel building set. Lincoln Logs and Erector Sets were also cool toys. Those Aurora racecar sets were awesome!

The View From Prospect Hill

After the July 10 question and answer session for the three police chief candidates one police officer told us he wanted to see Florida cop Anthony Holloway get the job because “Holloway seems like a real cop.”

Beyond the credibility Holloway may have with cops on the street, he seems to be qualified for the job in all areas. He has experience in internal investigations, major investigations, budgets and media relations. We’re satisfied he can do the job.

Mayor wants to bring hotel to Davis Square

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone has requested the Board of Aldermen declare three city-owned properties in Davis Square surplus in order to move ahead with plans to develop a hotel and public parking garage on one or more of the parcels.

“Declaring these lots surplus is the first step in bringing a much needed hotel to the thriving Davis Square business district,” he said. “This area is not only a local draw but has become a regional dining and shopping destination. There’s ample demand to support the right kind of specialty hotel in this area.”

School Committee approves superintendent's job performance

By George P. Hassett

For the second year in a row the top official in the Somerville public school system was rated by the School Committee as exceeding the requirements of his job.

Anthony Pierantozzi, superintendent of schools, faced his second formal evaluation since taking the job in July 2005. The evaluation was conducted by the school committee’s seven members and Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.

After fire, East Somerville students back in class

By George P. Hassett

Ten days after a fire decimated their school, all the students from the East Somerville Community School are scheduled to be back in class learning with their teachers this week.

The 120,000 square foot elementary school was destroyed in a Dec. 9 blaze after an electrical problem in a room heater caused a fiery explosion on the school’s first floor.

This train could change your life

Green Line expected to up real-estate values, further gentrification

By George P. Hassett

After almost two decades of stops and starts, the  long awaited Green Line extension through Somerville is coming closer to becoming a reality. The project received its biggest boost to date this month when Governor Deval Patrick fully funded the $600 million venture in his transportation bill. In October he stood in Gilman Square and pledged his administration would meet, and try to beat, the 2014 deadline for the extension.

Newstalk for Wednesday December 19th 2007

Near miss on Broadway – it seems that one of our police officers was hit by accident Sunday at 5 a.m. by a city plow that couldn’t stop going down Broadway - the officer pulled out on the right side and if it wasn’t for the quick thinking of the plow driver, the accident could have been much worse. Both drivers were taken to the hospital and we’re pleased to hear that only the vehicles were injured and not the drivers. 

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Last Thursday and Sunday the streets here in Somerville were plowed better then our neighbors in Cambridge, Medford and Boston - the absolute “go to guy” for DPW Commissioner Stan Koty was none other than Tom Barry, who is credited with doing a spectacular job and Stan was heard to say during both storms: “if I only had 20 Tom Barrys.”