Not Necessarily the News

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.) It's hot. No surprises there: after some of the coolest, dampest summer weather in years, it's finally, brutally hot. But do you know what has become one of the "hottest" spots in town this week? It's our cooling center at the Council on Aging: Channel 5, Channel 7. WBZ radio and our local media have all shown up for pictures and interviews. Council Director Cindy Hickey is getting a lot more than fifteen minutes of fame - and she deserves it. Of course, if I got to pick what she should be famous for, I would have chosen all of the wonderful programs she runs for seniors, but she's also a great spokesperson to advise the public on keeping cool and watching out for friends and family members who might show signs of heat-related problems. So I have no complaints. But this latest episode of media attention reminded me of one of the unavoidable realities of city government: no matter how hard you try, you can't always pick what the media decides is news. Overall, we've been lucky here in Somerville that some of our biggest successes - SomerStat, Shape Up Somerville and Assembly Square - have gotten so much media attention both locally and nationally. We have also been lucky that some of our quirkier local stories - the "What the Fluff" festival, U2 dropping in on the Somerville Theatre, and even that piece on NPR about the resident who created a techno-pop remix out of one of our snow alert calls - have helped build the image of Somerville as a fun and exciting place to live, work and raise a family. We haven't always been so lucky: when our Police Department accidentally and uncharacteristically threw out an old desk that still had some stored evidence inside, the story traveled far and wide almost instantaneously, and a lot of people had a good laugh at our expense. And it turns out that, despite five press releases and multiple handouts, folks are just beginning to focus on changes to our parking policies - and much of the information they've picked up is either outdated or just plain wrong. (Please visit the city's website, www.somervillema.gov, for the latest and most accurate information.) So what I'd like to do in the balance of this column is talk about a program that I really hope will get a lot more publicity and participation. It's the comprehensive community planning effort that we're calling "SomerVision." We kicked off this effort back in April with an open house at the Argenziano School in which we highlighted the resources available for the public, and asked them to join us in developing a shared vision of our city's future, along with the many aspects of future development that we need to address. Some of the topics we touched on that day, and which continue to shape our discussions, include the Green Line Extension, the status of the Assembly Square Development, the future of Union Square, Broadway rezoning, the Community Path, the hotel project in Davis Square, and our long-term efforts to build a sustainable community and economy built on Smart Growth principles. Throughout the summer, our Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development has gone on to sponsor a series of public "trends meetings" to cover individual topics that include current and projected changes in demographics, housing, employment industries, transportation, infrastructure, and land use patterns. Six of these meetings have already been held (and the News has done a good job of covering them), but there are four more left: August 25, 2009 at the TAB Building, 167 Holland Street; September 14, 2009 at Capuano Early Education Center, 150 Glen Street; September 22, 2009, also at Capuano; and September 28, 2009 back at the TAB Building. (All meetings start at 6:30; for more information, please check the website or call 311.) We would truly welcome the public's full participation in these events. The whole point is to tap into the creativity, energy and knowledge of our residents to come up with a comprehensive plan that represents all of us and can inform our development decisions and initiatives for the next 20 years. And, speaking of planning and development policy, it was an eye-opening experience to visit California last month to look at development programs and strategies in Oakland, Redwood City and San Jose. I led a delegation there for two reasons. The first reason was that we wanted to learn from California communities about their experience with that state's successful, 40-year-old Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program, which is designed to spur economic development in targeted areas. The second was that our OSPCD Director Monica Lamboy is a former City of Oakland official with good contacts in the region. We ended up with a packed program of meetings and tours that was both intense and fascinating. We learned a tremendous amount about how to get state dollars to underwrite local projects, even in tough economic times. (Massachusetts adopted a similar program called District Improvement Financing - DIF - in 2003, and it's something we want to tap into.) I was therefore very grateful not only to the organizers of the trip but to Thomas Bent of the Somerville Chamber of Commerce, transit advocate Wig Zamore and Aldermen Jack Connolly, Bruce Desmond, Sean O'Donovan, Walter Perot, and Dennis Sullivan for joining me. Come to think of it, we put out a press release on that trip, too - but what the media most wanted to know was how much it cost ($18,000) and who paid for it (business-donated community benefits funds, a federal grant; we all paid for our meals and incidentals; no local tax dollars were used to finance the trip). Like I said, you don't always get to pick what the "news" will be.