The Somerville News Blog

McGrath Highway underpass goes disco

By George P. Hassett

A gritty stretch of concrete typically home to traffic jams and highway noise became the site of a funky retro dance party last Saturday night. Project MUM (Meet Under McGrath) brought two turntables, a microphone and a disco ball to the rugged underpass of McGrath Highway on Washington Street and turned the neglected stretch of land into a 1970s-themed party for one evening.

More than 200 revelers danced the night away to sounds of the 70s as a giant screen flashed vintage pictures from the era, complete with peace signs, polyester and sideburns. Tom Walsh and Marna Eckels said the occasion was a perfect opportunity to wear their bellbottoms.

First Italian-American alderman-at-large speaks to the News

By George P. Hassett

The city’s first Italian-American alderman-at-large was the guest at the Aug. 17 contributors meeting for The Somerville News. Vinny LoPresti was an alderman from 1971 until 1975 and garnered the most votes of any at-large candidate in the city’s history, he said.

“Back then you had more people running for office and more people involved,” he said. “These days, I hear, there aren’t even primaries.”

LoPresti was one of 29 candidates in 1971, he said.

Home break-ins fall, car breaks skyrocket

Police see a possible connection

By George P. Hassett

House break-ins in Somerville are on the decline because thieves are turning to cars as an easier way to score valuable electronic devices such as GPS devices and iPods, according to Police.

There were 465 larcenies from motor vehicles between Jan. 1 and Aug. 5. During the same eight months in 2006, 242 vehicle break-ins were reported. Both years are hefty jumps compared to 143 during the same time period in 2005, according to official Somerville Police Department crime statistics. From 2005 to now, that is a 225 percent increase and is possibly connected to a 34 percent decrease in residential burglaries over the same time span, according to Somerville Police Capt. Paul Upton.

Somerville shopper buys $500,000 bottle of beer online

By George P. Hassett

This week, an eBay shopper from Somerville bought the world’s most expensive bottle of beer for more than $500,000. And now the bottle is on its way to the city, bringing with it a story steeped in history.

An eBay shopper going by the name of “v00d004sc0re” bought the bottle, brewed in 1852, for the hefty price of $503,300 in the online auction. The buyer’s information is private, but he does say he lives in Somerville according to eBay profile. An email was sent to the auction winner through eBay’s Web site, but there was no response by The Somerville News presstime.

Report: Holloway next top cop

By George P. Hassett

Multiple sources inside the Somerville Police Dept. tell The Somerville News, that Mayor Joseph Curtatone has selected Anthony Holloway as the city's next police chief.

Curtatone's spokesman Tom Champion could not confirm any details but said there would be an announcement tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Governor may backtrack on Green Line commitment

By George P. Hassett

Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to delay the extension of the Green Line through Somerville and into Medford by two years has sparked outrage throughout the city.

State Rep. Denise Provost, D-Somerville, said she was “appalled,” and Board of Aldermen President Robert C. Trane said he was “extremely disappointed” by Patrick’s plan to delay the completion date of the project from 2014 to 2016 to seek federal funding to pay for half of the $608 million project.

Youth drugging and drinking down, other concerns rise

By George P. Hassett

Young people in Somerville are drinking alcohol and using drugs at lower rates than in previous years, but experiences with violence are on the rise, and kids are struggling with their weight and overall physical health, according to a recently released study conducted by the Somerville Health Department and the Cambridge Health Alliance.

The study was funded by state grants. It examined how today’s youth between the ages of 6 and 24 is handling five different types of health issues. The categories looked at were sexual activity, nutrition and physical activity, substance abuse and mental health and violence.

Jessica Collins, of the Cambridge Health Alliance, and Noreen Burke, Somerville health director, both said the results pertaining to violence and physical health are alarming.

DiPaola: Jail could benefit city

By George P. Hassett

A week after Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said bringing a jail to the city is not a high priority, Middlesex County Sheriff James V. DiPaola, who proposed the idea, said he is still hopeful a deal can be made.

“A lot of partnerships can be built, and there are mutual benefits to be gained” by building a new Middlesex County jail in Somerville, DiPaola said.

He said if he is allowed to build a jail, the city could get funding from the state to construct a new police building to replace its current dilapidated facility. State Rep. Carl M. Sciortino, D-Somerville, has questioned if the state would be willing to pay for a city building, but DiPaola said there is a precedent. In Hampden County, a new public safety building was built for the town of Chicopee when the town agreed to host a new jail, he said.

Firefighter unearths city history

By George P. Hassett

Bob Doherty, a local firefighter with an extensive knowledge of the city’s past, said it was like an electrocution. Everybody in the audience sat up straight and listened intently to his speech on local history the first time he shared his knowledge and audiences today act the same, he said.

“For every story I had about Somerville history, people in the audience had two more. It really sparked something, they wouldn’t let me go. It made people reflect on their own lives in the city,” he said more than 25 years after his first public oratory on Somerville’s long history.

Doherty said digging up bits of forgotten city history has become his passion. And Somerville, he said, is rich ground for a local historian.

Homeless by the highway

By George P. Hassett

The path is littered with trash, including human waste and empty liquor bottles. At the top, two tents are clearly visible. A homeless man sleeps in one of the tents. The scene is the wooded area next to a Route 93 off ramp in East Somerville. Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche said as many as 12 homeless people have been living there since the spring.

“At dusk they come out and start robbing people,” Roche said at a July 26 Board of Aldermen meeting. He said one neighborhood resident told him she found her lawn furniture in the makeshift homeless community after it had disappeared from her property. At the meeting, Roche submitted an order asking the chief of police to disperse the group.

Somerville MS-13 members now face deportation

By George P. Hassett

Five alleged MS-13 members were arrested in the middle of a gang meeting July 13 by federal and local law enforcement officials. A sixth reputed MS-13 member was arrested walking down Broadway the same day, according to police. Of the six men arrested that day, five live in Somerville and two hold leadership positions within the gang, police said.

Boston Police Department investigators had noted a spike in MS-13 gang activity in the region, said Somerville Police Capt. Paul Upton, and planned the joint operation with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Everett, Chelsea, Revere and Somerville police. The operation eventually yielded the arrests of the six men on federal immigration law violations.

Miami cop most recommended for chief by citizens

By George P. Hassett

If Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone takes the advice of the Somerville residents who submitted their preference for the next police chief, Major Ruben Galindo, of the Miami-Dade Police Department, will be the city’s top cop.

Out of the 14 public comments submitted to Curtatone in July, 10 residents feel Curtatone should hire Galindo for the job. Three citizens suggested he hire Acting Police Chief Robert R. Bradley and one recommended the other finalist, Capt. Anthony Holloway, of Clearwater, Fla.. Curtatone said the responses are a testimony to the transparency and effectiveness of his method of selecting a permanent chief and the remarks will be part of his final decision. 

Driver in killer crash arraigned

By George P. Hassett

The man allegedly responsible for the May 27 car crash that claimed two lives and left a third victim seriously injured was arraigned in Superior Court Monday, July 30, and charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and failure to stop for a police officer.

Javier Morales, 29, of Somerville, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Judge Wendie Gershengorn ordered him held on $500,000 cash bail. Prosecutors say Morales committed a marked lanes violation May 27, and when police tried to pull him over, fled at high speed through Somerville and drove through traffic lights and stop signs. The chase ended at Highland Road and Kidder Avenue when Morales slammed into a taxicab and killed its driver Walid Chahine, of Methuen, and Paul V. Farris of Medford.

Mayor: ‘The city never said, hey build a jail here.’

By George P. Hassett

A proposal from Sheriff James V. DiPaola to build a new county jail in Somerville has received outright opposition from State Rep. Carl M. Sciortino and little support from Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.

Curtatone said this week that bringing a jail to the city is not a priority and the project ranks far behind the development of Innerbelt Road, Union Square and Assembly Square on the city’s to-do list. He said he has not met with DiPaola to discuss the issue in more than a year.

“The city never said, ‘Hey build a jail here.’ Our priority is to maximize the city’s development potential, create jobs and increase the tax base,” he said. “We don’t want to take up a valuable development site with a jail.”

Coming to a neighborhood near you: solutions

By George P. Hassett

Daily life in New England’s most densely populated city can have its share of headaches and frustrations.  However, perennial urban nuisances such as noise, traffic and unleashed dogs can be solved with cooperation and interaction between residents and city officials, according to Stephanie Hirsch, director of the city’s new ResiStat program, an offshoot of the SomerStat program.

SomerStat, which is modeled off of Baltimore’s CitiStat program, is a database-driven management tool that requires city departments to track information about all of their activities and to examine that information aggressively. City officials gather and process raw information such as financial records and departmental reports. This information is entered into a database, which allows the departments and city staff to track the details of municipal operations from the time it takes to fill a pothole to how much money is being spent on overtime pay. The SomerStat staff then analyzes the data and presents trends and statistics at regular meetings of the department heads.

Next arrival in Davis Square T stop, art

By George P. Hassett

Commuters staring at the walls of the Davis Square train station will soon have something new to look at courtesy of local artists and collaboration between city officials, Tufts University and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Large art panels representing the Somerville and Tufts communities will be displayed throughout the station this year after being judged by a local jury.

Art event bring new smell to Union Square

By George P.  Hassett

Have you ever watched “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and thought you could actually smell the tasty treats? On Saturday in Union Square, you will be able to watch Gene Wilder onscreen and actually smell his candy confections at Som-R-ville in Smell-O-Vision, the first event in this year’s ArtsUnion series.

Megan Dickerson came up with the idea for the event and is organizing each of its segments focusing on scent: “Willy Wonka in Smell-O-Vision” and a “Carnival of the Nose.”

Planes flying over Somerville believed to have tripled

Residents on hills feel it most 

By George P. Hassett

Three times as many planes have flown over Somerville in the first 6 months of 2007, compared to  the same time period last year and residents say they can hear and feel the difference.

Dwight Lancaster, of Winter Hill, said he is considering moving from his home after 20 years of living in Somerville because of the increase in planes in Somerville skies.

“The quiet times I had in my home are now interrupted by these planes. It’s an incredible difference compared to the past. Sometimes when one plane is gone, I can see the next one coming,” he said.

Local aid continues to rise three years in a row

By George P. Hassett

Somerville’s state delegation successfully increased local aid for the third straight year and secured funding for local programs such as Teen Empowerment in this year’s state budget passed earlier this month.

The $26.8 billion budget, passed July 2, will fund the Shannon anti-gang initiative, Teen Empowerment, a study of Mystic River flooding, the mediation course at Somerville High School, after school programs and organizations fighting substance abuse and homelessness in Somerville. The delegation also secured an extra $440,238 in local aid for the city in the Fiscal Year 2008, which began July 1.

Bremer: My chances are phenomenal

By George P. Hassett

The Tufts University librarian challenging Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone for the city’s executive office was the guest at the July 12 The Somerville News  contributors meeting.

“I’m running because I’m concerned about Somerville. Property values have never been higher, median family income has never been higher. We’re doing well no question, but are we squandering our wealth?” said Suzanne L. Bremer, of the Prospect Hill neighborhood.

Bremer will face Curtatone and fellow challenger Richard Scirocco in the Sept. 25 primary.