The Somerville News Blog

Robert R. Bradley: Somerville cop for 38 years wants to be permanent chief

By George P. Hassett

Acting Police Chief   Robert R. Bradley says he wants to finish what he started.

“I want the Somerville Police Department to be a better place when I leave than when I got here. Right now it isn’t,” he said at the July 10  question and answer session between the public and the three finalists for chief of police.

At the meeting, Bradley stressed his deep roots in the community and his accomplishments as acting chief.

“I’m uniquely qualified for the job because of my knowledge of the community,” he said. “I understand the culture of the Somerville Police Department.

 

Miami officer wants a match with Somerville job

By George P.  Hassett

Ruben Galindo, one of three finalists hoping to be the city’s next chief of police, believes he is perfect for Somerville.

“My wife and I already planned on relocating to the Boston area, and when I read the ad for this job,  I felt like it was a match made in heaven,” he said at the July 10 question and answer session between the candidates and the public.

Galindo has been an officer in the Miami-Dade Police Department since 1982. He is now a major supervising 135 cops at Miami International Airport, working with a budget of $24.4 million. 

Chief candidate stresses community

By George P. Hassett

Anthony Holloway considers himself married to two partners --- his wife and the community he patrols. As a newlywed with only two days of marriage behind him, Holloway said he lost his wedding band during a “mini-riot” while on the job in Clearwater, Fla. He spread the word around the neighborhood that he wanted his ring back. Within 24 hours it had been returned and was back on his finger, he said.

“Ever since then I’ve considered myself married to my wife and the community I work in,” he said at the July 10 public question and answer session for the three final candidates for the job of police chief.

Ball Square breakfast-serving competition heats up

By Andrea Gregory

The windows that once led into a popular breakfast spot have been covered up with large posters  and a sign that the competition for diner customers is about to heat up. “Same cook, new look!” is the first message Ball Square Café & Breakfast is sending out to the public with its version of an opening-soon sign.

The new establishment will be run by Mike Moccia. Moccia’s family has run Victor’s Deli for the past 25 years. Moccia said he has always had the dream of creating his own breakfast café and is excited about the opportunity.

“I want to open yesterday. Is the food ready back there?” he yelled with a laugh back to the area where construction workers were plugging away this week.

Moccia’s new restaurant is slated to open at the end of the summer at 708 Broadway.

Newstalk for Wednesday July 18th 2007

All around nice guy Peter Forcellese was trying to retire from his job as Clerk for the Board of Aldermen, but it appears he needs to work some more hours for his retirement.    We’re big fans of Peter, who has been organizing for the “John T. Forcellese Memorial Fundraiser” for seven years - this year it will be on September 8th - we wish him success again this year.   

   
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Our sympathies go out to the Lynch family - Joseph Lynch, Sr. passed away on Monday and the wake will be at Doherty’s on Wednesday and Funeral Mass at St. Ann’s on Thursday.  Mr. Lynch led a long and full life - he was 95 years of age.  Joseph Lynch, Jr. - his son - is a candidate for Ward 5 Alderman…Joe was very close to his father and we extend our condolences to him and his family.   

Time to change the game

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.)

Somerville faces some serious challenges in the near future.  Setting aside the question of whether our city government has the capacity to craft creative responses, the greatest constraint on implementing such solutions will be our ability to pay for them, or more accurately, our ability to pay for them without greatly increasing property taxes.  The prospect is not encouraging.

On the expense side, we see large Argenziano School construction cost overruns.  City government has conveniently postponed that project’s debt service until a year from now, when elected officials are not facing the voters.  We’re also paying debt service on recent DPW capital expenses, which some describe as lard. 

Dead man found on Broadway identified

Corey Welford, spokesman, for Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr., confirmed that authorities now know the identity of a man found lying dead between two apartment buildings Thursday morning.

John Joseph Meaney, 49, died July 12 and was found lying between 431 and 433 Broadway.

Bank robber makes off with cash, police ask public for help

By George P. Hassett

Somerville Police are asking the public to help them identify a man who robbed the Citizens Bank at 212 Elm St. in Davis Square Saturday.

According to police, a white man, possibly in his twenties, entered the bank shortly after noon and passed a note to a teller demanding cash.  He then fled the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

Capt. Paul Upton said most bank robbers in Somerville and the northeast United States use the same method the suspect used Saturday, pass a note to a teller.

“To enter a bank and pass a note demanding money does not involve a great deal of planning,” he said. A few years ago, he said, a man in Teele Square walked into a bank and handed an envelope to a teller with a note demanding money. The man walked out with the money but was soon found by police because the envelope had his name and address printed on it, Upton said.

Somerville poet participates in politics and writing panel at UMass-Boston

Off  The  Shelf  by Doug Holder

Every June the William Joiner Writers’ Workshop convenes at University of Massachusetts-Boston for two weeks of workshops, seminars and panel discussions. I attended the workshop in 2000 to 2001, and I found it an invaluable experience for anyone interested in enriching his writing life and the practice of his or her craft.  Michael Sullivan, the coordinator for the workshop and a Somerville native, invited me back to participate on a small press publishing panel and to attend a panel discussion on politics, writing and publishing.

Senate seat up for grabs Sept. 11

Galluccio picks up early endorsements from Roche and Sullivan

By George P. Hassett

A Cambridge democrat running for the state senate seat that represents two precincts in East Somerville was endorsed by two aldermen from the neighborhood this week.

Cambridge City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio picked up pledges of support from Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche and Alderman-At-Large Dennis Sullivan in his run for the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex counties senate seat vacated by Jarrett Barrios July 5.

Teens, thank TBS for your Summer jobs

By George P. Hassett

Fifty one teenagers are going to be working in city departments this summer because of a botched guerilla advertising campaign. Money the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) paid to Somerville as a result of costs incurred during the infamous “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”  scare on Jan. 31 will be used to fund jobs for city youth.   

On Jan. 31, devices were installed throughout the Boston area, including Sullivan Square in Somerville, by Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens as part of an elaborate national guerrilla marketing campaign. They were taken to be suspicious, prompting authorities to close down major road and waterways to investigate.
 

TBS admitted responsibility and apologized for the misunderstanding. As part of a settlement with the Attorney General’s office, TBS paid Somerville $69,000, all of which – plus another $11,000 from the city --- is going to fund part of Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone’s Summer Jobs program.

The View From Prospect Hill

   

Kudos to Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone for opening the process of selecting the next chief of police to the public. And a tip of the hat to Robert R. Bradley, Ruben Galindo and Anthony Holloway for meeting with the community and responding to their questions and concerns.

If community members do not agree with Curtatone’s selection, they will be armed with plenty of information and knowledge of the process and the candidates involved.

When the  job of chief of the Somerville Police Department was taken out of civil service, many thought the person in that position would become nothing more than the mayor’s lackey, a yes man without ideas of his own. The mayor and police chief should run for office as running mates and appear on the ballot together, said Jack Leutcher, president of the Patrolmen’s Union. The job will become so politicized, he said, we mine as well be honest about it.

Somerville schools singing to the tune of $100K

By Andrea Gregory

A shipment of shiny brass horns and everything needed to make a string quartet many times over is expected to reach the Somerville public schools before the end of the summer.

According to the city’s proposed capital projects budget for fiscal year 2008 – which began July 1, the city plans to buy $100,000 worth of new instruments to be played by elementary school students citywide.

The hefty investment in the music programs follows years of cutbacks to arts and music programs nationwide. Music and arts advisory groups say there is a direct connection between the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and the cutting of arts programs since test pressures have outweighed the importance of extras in curriculum activities. Couple that with state and federal funding cuts and school districts are still letting these programs fall to the wayside.

“I think people are forgetting what schools are supposed to be,” said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.

First city park could get a new life

By George P. Hassett

The meandering green space that stretches along Highland Ave. from School Street to Walnut Street  could be getting a $495,000 facelift.

City officials have applied for a state grant to renovate Central Hill Park for the first time since 1990. If approved, the grant will come from the Executive Office of Environment and Energy Affairs. The “urban self help grants” are designed to improve parks in the city, said Arn Franzen, the director of parks and open space for the city. On Monday night city leaders such as Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 3 Alderman Thomas F. Taylor met with neighborhood residents to discuss the park’s future. City officials will learn if the grant is approved by late Fall, he said.

Charles Chisholm is running again

Reality Bites by James Norton

(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.)

Charles Chisholm is a candidate for Ward 6 alderman this year, and he sat with us at our last contributors meeting, where some of us have known him almost our entire lives and to others he was a new face in a real race.  He is no stranger to local politics.  His professional and political careers started around the same time in the mid to late 1960s, and there seems no slowing down for him 40 years later.

A life-long resident of the city, Chisholm grew up in East Somerville where he lived until 1982, when he moved to College Avenue and still lives today.  That was the year he started working at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) as a math professor. When he retired from there in 2003, he was the head of the math department for the college.

Death on Broadway

By George P. Hassett

Police say they are investigating the "suspicious" discovery of a middle aged white man found around 431 Broadway at 5:00 a.m. this morning.

A source close to the investigation said the man's pants were pulled down when he was discovered lying dead between two apartment buildings this morning.

The circumstances surrounding the discovery and condition of the body are suspicious, said Capt. Paul Upton in a release.

The dead man has been tentatively identified, but his name is being withheld, police said.

The source close to the investigation said police suspect the body was moved from another location.

If anyone has information regarding this incident, police are asking them to contact Somerville Police detectives at 617 625-1600, extension 7220.   

Newstalk for Wednesday July 11th 2007

The repair work to McGrath Highway overpass is just about completed and it looks like the worst patch job that was ever done – we wonder if it was in Newton how it would look.  A lot of money wasted on what looks more like a temporary fix that the state just whipped together.

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Congratulations to Somerville Traffic and Parking’s own Donna Amenta for being voted Most Liked Person by all her friends and co-workers.

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Looks like Lt. Gov. Tim Murray has taken a special interest in Somerville and the way that Mayor Joe is carrying the torch, according to a conversation that he had with one of our Newstalkers.   

                                                       

Metal thefts on the rise

Three men arrested for trying to steal $15,000 of scrap metal

By George P. Hassett

Three men were arrested Friday in connection with an attempted heist of $15,000 worth of scrap metal.

Mandatory health insurance started last week

By Chloe Lutts

A statewide policy requiring all residents to have health insurance took effect on July 1. Under the new law, companies with 10 or more employees must offer coverage to employees working more than 35 hours per week.  But for some young people like Megan Anderson, the thought of being forced to by into healthcare is troublesome.

“It’s good that everyone has insurance,” she said, “(but) it makes it difficult for people that are trying to afford rent.”

Anderson, who was waiting for a bus at the Davis Square stop, said the health plan her employer offers is too expensive for her. She said she’ll purchase health insurance eventually” but right now it is too much on top of rent. She said the benefit just doesn’t justify the cost. Even though Anderson said she believes the new law makes life more difficult for her, she agrees with the concept in theory. She said ideally, “Everyone should be able to get it for free.”

Three finalists for city's next top cop

By Andrea Gregory

The city has announced the top three picks for the high-ranking job of running the Somerville Police Department. The city has been without a permanent police chief for more than two years. Robert R. Bradley has been filling the vacancy, serving as acting chief. Now, he will need to convince the mayor he is a better choice than two Florida-based candidates who join Bradley as finalists.

In addition to Bradley, Miami-Dade Police Maj. Ruben Galindo and Clearwater, Fla. Police Capt. Anthony Holloway are in the running.

Galindo has a 20-year history with the Miami-Dade Police Department. He is a graduate of the University of Miami with a Masters in Public Administration. He is also fluent in Spanish. He did not return a phone call before The Somerville News presstime this week.

Holloway has served in Clearwater for 21 years. Holloway was on vacation this week and could not be reached for comment.