The Somerville News Blog

STEP: City's mortality rates worst of 350 cities and towns in state

by Michaela A. Falls

A member of the Somerville Transportation for Equity Partnership (STEP) spoke at the Jan. 7  contributors meeting of The Somerville News about the possible evading by the state of its court-ordered obligation to extend the Green Line from Lechmere to West Medford.

Alibrandi's Barber Shop voted city's best shave, haircut by News readers

by Michaela A. Falls

In Alibrandi’s Barber Shop at 194 Holland St., one hears echoes of the same lighthearted banter over and between the scissors snips from when the family first started cutting hair in the city in 1938.

First and foremost, Alibrandi’s has more the feel of a gathering spot disguised as a business with the spotlight on the customer as opposed to the haircut, a tradition that was passed down by Tony J. Alibrandi’s father and one he said he is determined to keep.

Brune recalls T-stops start 20 years ago

by Michaela A. Falls

There was a time when one could find streetcars and train stations all over the city that connected the traveler by rail to the rest of the country.

Today, our only direct rail link is the Davis Square MBTA Station on the Red Line, which was opened 20 years ago in 1984 by the then mayor, Eugene C. Brune.

When Somerville became a city in 1872, Davis Square was already standing on its own as a commercial and retail center in West Somerville. It was fashioned out of farmland developed into one and two-family homes and the carriage trade.

Davis Square’s growth was further nourished by rail connections to Union Square by the Somerville Horse Railroad Company in 1863 and the extension of its Arlington and Lexington Line by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1871.

Until the 1950’s, Davis Square continued to bustle. But, like the rest of the city, the square was wracked by the socio-economic blows that hit Somerville in the 1960’s.

Davis Square, now a robust confluence of Elm, Day, Dover Streets and College and Highland Avenues, was a ghost town.

Alston-Follansbee: Still not enough support for Davis Square's homeless

by Michaela A. Falls

The director of the Somerville Homeless Coalition, located in Davis Square, spoke at the contributors meeting of the Somerville News July 2.

“The story that I love to tell about the Somerville Homeless Coalition is that most people in Somerville didn’t even realize there was a problem with homeless people in the city until the 80s,” said Mark Alston-Follansbee, who has been the director for three-and-a-half years.

The extension of the red line into Davis Square drew Somerville residents’ attention to the strangers who were hanging around Davis Square, he said. “The reality is that there had been homeless people long before that in Somerville, but there were no support services here so folks would tend to go to some place in Cambridge where services had existed for a lot longer time.”

Somerville National Guardsmen prepare to deploy to Iraq June 19

by Michaela Falls

Marching steadily toward their deployment to Iraq in the fall, the troops of 237 Chemical Company of the Massachusetts National Guard—also known as “The Dragons”—made final preparations at Camp Curtis Guild in Reading June 5 and 6. The unit, which performs nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance and decontamination, will mobilize at Fort Drum in New York, their final stop before departing Iraq, June 19.

“Leadership is making sure the troops are mentally prepared, and have their uniforms and combat equipment ready. They’re making sure that everyone’s personal life is taken care of; checking how bills will be paid; how their family is being taken care of; and, making sure they have wills. They are also being trained in the soldiering skills that will be needed to complete the mission in Iraq,” said Sgt. James M. Carbone, a Somerville resident.