The Somerville News Blog

Somerville photographers exhibit at Toast

Somerville photographers Nicole Tammaro and Christopher Banda will exhibit their photos at Union Square's Toast Lounge. The Sept. 10 opening night party starts at 5 p.m., and the show continues through Oct. 10. Photo Courtesy of Nicole Tammaro

The Somerville News Endorsements

Read the endorsements by The Somerville News for the Sept. 14 Primary when the paper hits the streets tomorrow! We will make endorsements for the state representative races in the 26th and 34th Middlesex Districts and for Middlesex County Sheriff.

Goldstein creates exhibit of Somerville artists at Diesel Cafe

by Neil W. McCabe

A local art impresario is presenting an exhibit of Somerville artists at Diesel Café in Davis Square.

“At the heart of it, there is so little exhibit space in the city and so few places that have as much wall space and foot traffic at Diesel,” said Seth H. Goldstein, the exhibit’s creator.

FOX25 and Steve Buckley in Davis Square

Lt. Gov. Healy signs anti-gang ordinance at Foss Park

by Neil W. McCabe

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healy, as acting governor, joined the mayor and other public officials Aug. 26 at Foss Park to sign into law the home rule petition authorizing the city’s anti-gang ordinance.

Sickday a case of burnout

By Lindsay J. Patterson and Neil W. McCabe

Firefighters responded twice to a 26-foot motor boat ablaze as it was parked on a trailer on Charles Ryan Street, which is next to the DPW building Aug. 21, first shortly after 4 a.m., then an roughly an hour later.

A note attached to a cobblestone, which was found on the scene, led firefighters to believe that the fire was set, and it is now under investigation by the fire department’s both Lt. Christopher Major and the department’s arson investigator, Lt. Daniel Dipalma, said Lt. Thomas Salemme, the department's administrative lieutenant. The motor boat is named Sickday.

Bornstein's bench strength

by Neil W. McCabe

The first justice of the Middlesex County Probate and Family Court spoke to The Somerville News in her chambers Aug. 16 about her job and her plans for the court.

“This is a specialized court. When people come here it is because they have problems that they can’t solve themselves,” said Hon. Beverly W. Bornstein, who was named to the bench in 1992 by then Gov. William Weld.

Mayor to remake Palmacci Park

by Neil W. McCabe

Members of the Palmacci family were joined by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone at the Aug. 9 groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of Staff Sgt. Charles “Pee Wee” Palmacci Park corner of Skehan and Hanson Streets.

“Since the park was last renovated in 1980-81, there was growing consensus at community meetings to renovate the park so that families with young children would have a safe place to play on a climbing structure, that older children and adults would have an open shady area to sit and chat, read or even play chess,” said the mayor.

“Pee Wee” was killed in 1944, while serving in the Pacific Theater.

“He got his nickname when we still lived in Cambridge. My older brother and I would take him in his stroller to the park and the girls who took care of the garden called him Pee Wee because he was so small, but he kept it even when he got bigger,” said Araldo “Tarzan” Palmacci, one of the surviving brothers at the ceremony.

Tarzan said he got his nickname because he was always climbing and sitting in trees, he said.

“Even my mother would open up the window and call out, ‘Tarzino! Tarzino!’” he said.

Brazilian works for net results

by Arielle R. Nelson

The center of Foss Park on a summer Sunday afternoon is transformed into a soccer showcase. Players compete with each other with passion and brutish athleticism common to that found for soccer in the metric-ruled nations.

Most of the players in the league, though, came from different parts of Central and South America and many have played professionally in their home countries, said Jose A. Palma, from Lynn, who plays in the league.

Currently the league only plays with Spanish and Portuguese speaking people, he said. “It’d be great for the next year if we could mix it up and bring in other people.”

Doortodoor.com makes moving pallet-able

by Jason L. Nielson

The September moving rush is on, with or without a moving truck. Door-to-Door Storage, in Haverhill, will provide the trucks, the containers and someone to haul it away.

The service tries to remove some of the stress in moving by eliminating a few of the steps, said Bert Smith, district manager of Door-to-Door storage in Haverhill.

Reality Bites

Politics – the quickest way to turn a peaceful summer into an autumn of malcontent.

by James Norton

At least we have one season of rest from the insanity that is local politics. After the longest day of my life, I and my family got to spend six great weeks with my kids while they were in town. Sure it wasn’t the usual nine weeks, but Corey and Kaitlin were here for the latter part of their summer, a part that we usually don’t get to spend with them.

We did a lot of really cool things this year – and I personally spent more time with them away from work than I have in the last three years combined. That’s a good thing.

The Somerville News Cartoon

The Lyres to set Toast on fyre Aug. 20

by Nancy L. Foster

The area’s long time favorite garage band will defy the cellar dwellers of the low lit grotto not to dance when they rock Union Square’s Toast Aug. at 8 p.m., at free show sponsored by The Somerville News.

Rock ‘n’ Roll scribe, Brett Milano will get the stompers stomping with rare garage records from his private collection from 7-8 p.m.

“The first time that I saw Lyres was shortly after I moved to Boston in September in 1980. I don’t remember much about the show in particular except thinking that Jeff looked like Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople,” said Brett Milano the author of “Vinyl Junkies.”

Lyres had their first practice in Somerville in 1979 and have been favorites of area clubs like the Kirkland Café and the Abbey Lounge for many years since.

Starry, starry labs

by Abby Bielagus

When Philip Sadler took his seventh and eighth grade science class to the Boston Museum of Science Planetarium, he had no idea the field trip would be a life-changing event. The students of the Carol School in Lincoln were so impressed by the astronomy lesson that afternoon in the 1970’s that they returned to school asking for a planetarium of their own.

Sadler, an astronomer himself, immediately went to work with his students, brainstorming designs for a low cost planetarium they could build. The result a couple years later was the Star Lab, the first portable planetarium.

Today the Star Labs are manufactured in Somerville by the family owned and operated company Learning Technologies and sold worldwide.

“Essentially our company began as a school science project,” said Philip’s wife Jane Sadler, president of Learning Technologies.

Bowl Haven a celebration of candlestick pin bowling tradition

by Catherine Cramer

Entering Sacco’s Bowl Haven in Davis Square is like crossing through a time warp. Not only for the faded black and white photos on the walls, but for the number of patrons who crowd the lanes, like it was the old days.

The bowling alley witnessed a lot of bowling’s history as a sport and social institution. The candlepin bowling alley and billiards was established by a father, Joseph B. Sacco Sr., and his son, Ralph, in 1939.

Alma Linguae helping people learn English for a better future in America

by Lindsay J. Patterson

David Phillipo stands at the head of the classroom. Before him are 20 adult students sitting at their desks, copying the English grammar exercises written on the whiteboard behind Phillipo into their books. Phillipo is one of several unpaid volunteers working for Alma Linguae Academies, Inc. (ALAS), a 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) non-profit organization, teaching English to immigrants six nights a week.

His students have come from all over Boston to St. Benedict’s Little Flower in East Somerville this Monday night, and before that, they have traveled thousands of miles to live in America.

“We know that there is a tremendous need to help the community with English,” said Lavinia L. Lumbreras, founder and director of Alma Linguae.

Jehlen: Green Line's Somerville extension snub an outrage

by Laura A. Brodin

The only state representative for Somerville whose district does not include another city spoke at the Aug. 13 contributors meeting of The Somerville News.

“Most of my ideas come out of my experience being a mother, a grandmother, a school committee member,” said State Rep. Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville, who has lived in Somerville for 37 years and has served as a state rep. since 1991.

News Talk

Have you seen our web site? Since we launched it back in March, www.thesomervillenews.com has had more than 15,000 hits. The site averages more than 100 hits per day and spikes to more than 400 hits on the first and third Wednesdays of the month - when the paper hits the streets. Roughly half of our web traffic is from regular visitors to the site and the other half is from people all over the globe using search engines like Goggle and Yahoo to find information about the city we love and the stories we tell about her. What’s the number one search query? No question: IKEA.

OK - last issue we here at Newstalk made a small error in dates (hey it doesn’t happen that often), but we’re big enough to admit it and own up to our mistakes. Seems like we gave the date for Senator Charlie Shannon’s Annual Boston Harbor Cruise for the 4th of August – the correct date should have been tonight, August 18th at Rowes Wharf. We hear it’s another sell out for the ever-Popular Senator Shannon again this year.

Barrios, Toomey lead fire safety code reform

by Neil W. McCabe

Two members of the city’s Beacon Hill delegation announced Aug 4. the most radical fire safety legislation since the Coconut Grove holocaust was ready for the governor’s signature.

“We have never had a multi-death fire in a building equipped with sprinkler,” said State Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios, D-Somerville, who was joined by State Rep. Timothy J. Toomey Jr., D-Somerville.