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Truthsayer gives gratitude to Villens on Lady Liberty’s Day

At the end of the school year, it seems, people find themselves inclined to reflect on what they like about their kid’s school.  You might suspect that the following five cheerleaders were paid for their comments, but I know that they are not (with the exception of Joe B., whom I’m pretty sure they don’t [...]

[ June 21, 2010 to July 23, 2010. ] All citizens of Somerville and Medford should evaluate this document and give feedback, because this is one of the final steps before the project begins implementation. There will be a public meeting on June 30. Written comments will be accepted until July 23 at holly.s.johnson@state.ma.us.

Steve Clift is one of the most successful community media advocates in the nation. His e-Democracy is both a standard and a clarion call for more participatory journalism. In part this is a response to the failure of traditional media to cover what we need-to-know, and their inept response to the medium of the internet. [...]

[ May 8, 2010; ] Somerville, MA May 3rd 2010 – Somerville “mompreneur” Kerri Friedlander and husband Lucas today announced their intention to hold a Grand Opening sale at the Upland Road location of “TwinkleStar Boutique” in Porter Square on May 8th, 2010.

The couple originally established retail presence in Ball Square Somerville but took a chance to co-locate with a [...]

[ May 3, 2010; ] The Somerville Public Schools are OPEN all day tomorrow, May 3rd – and expect to be open throughout the water emergency. Students and staff are asked, if able, to bring their own safe, packaged beverages. Food service will be offering breakfast, lunch and snacks; the menu may be limited by the availability of [...]

[ May 10, 2010; May 11, 2010; May 12, 2010; July 16, 2010; July 17, 2010; July 18, 2010; July 22, 2010; July 23, 2010; July 24, 2010; ] Shake Up Shakespeare with Theatre@First! Auditions May 10-12 for performances July 16-18 and July 22-24.

Tuesday’s Special Democratic Primary for the State Senate race was a clear-cut example of the need for Instant Runoff. Unofficial results put Sal DiDomenico about 135 votes above the runner-up, Tim Flaherty. The Massachusetts Election 2010 blog has the rough percentage breakdown:

Sal DiDomenico 30%
Tim Flaherty 29%
Denise Simmons 20%
Mike Albano 10%
Dennis Benzan 8%
Dan Hill 1%

Vote-splitting appears [...]

Excited to get your own vegetable garden growing this spring, but don’t know where/when to start??

In May/June this year, MOVE (the Massachusetts Outdoor Volunteer Experience) and SCA (Somerville Climate Action) will team up to launch “community garden-raisings” all over the city.  Please let us know if you’d like a garden at your [...]

[ April 8, 2010; 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Susan McLucas, longtime Somerville resident and social change activist, hosts the Boston premiere of “Secret of the Dawn,” a film about the movement to end female excision (FGM, aka female genital mutilation) in the Muslim country of Mali, West Africa. Learn about the cultural taboos, and the exciting impetus for change.

7 [...]

[ April 14, 2010; ] Well, she doesn’t scare this citizen and I doubt she scares you, dear reader, but her sojourn into the birthplace of this here nation sure calls for a strong non-violent response.

We’re looking for musicians, performance artists, dancers, visual artists, storytellers and all creative people to participate in one of the area’s largest public arts festivals.
ArtBeat 2010
Dates: July 16 (evening) and 17 (day)
Location: Throughout Davis Square, Somerville
Theme: Water
APPLICATION DEADLINE: FRIDAY, APRIL 16
ABOUT THE THEME
If applicable, send in proposals using Water as an overarching
theme. Although bands, for [...]

From Mass. Jobs with Justice:
Shaw Workers at the Metuen Warehouse went out on strike on March 7th.  They need your support!  Please join their facebook page for updates (http://www.facebook.com/pages/If-Shaws-Workers-are-forced-to-strike-Shaws-loses-my-business/326904559823?ref=share)
Join them on the line at 14 McGrath Highway in Somerville (Cambridge line)  from 7AM-7PM.

[ March 8, 2010; 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. ] Representative Denise Provost, Somerville Climate Action, the Initiating Committee of Transition Somerville and Somerville-Medford United for Justice with Peace invite you to a showing of

Escape from Suburbia
Monday, March 8
6:30 to 8:30pm
Somerville Public Library
79 Highland Ave 02143 (map).  See attached flyer, below.

Meet ordinary people making extraordinary choices as they tackle the key issues facing us today [...]

I need intense help figuring out which oil heating company to pick. Some give discounts and then free service and insurance. Some give no discounts but come up with a good price, but I’m not sure if that price is competitive.

Aldermen will hear from City Solicitor John Gannon tonight (Tuesday, March 2 at 8pm in City Hall) about the City’s options for terminating the new five year contract with Russell Disposal, in the wake of the Attorney General’s announced settlement agreement “… to resolve allegations that the company violated the Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws.”

[ April 5, 2010; ] The Somerville Public Schools invites you to tell your stories about learning and teaching in Somerville in our Spring 2010 Digital Photography contest. Complete submissions received by April 5th will have the chance to win a $50 gift card from Tufts University and the opportunity to have their photos printed in the Somerville News [...]

[ March 7, 2010; 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm. ] Our neighbors are being evicted and our communities destabilized by the foreclosure crisis.

The Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) in collaboration with Cambridge & Somerville Legal Services (CASLS) is initiating a post-foreclosure outreach and organizing campaign in Somerville (based on City Life/ Vida Urbana’s model).

We are asking YOU to join us as we go door-to-door [...]

Somebody took the picture of my house from the car early in the morning today, is there anything for me to worry about? What should I do? I am a new somerville resident.

The City of Somerville, with it’s clear mandates and civil rights obligations from Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, continues to be really , truly, obviously unskilled at inclusive community-building.

Why does the city census office send to “current resident” a form that includes personal information about whoever lived at an address a year ago? Are there other alternatives?

[ January 19, 2010; ] In this close race, your vote counts more than ever!

Find your polling place here and then go vote while you can before 8pm.

I attended the BRA public hearing on the Sully Square project at the Shraffts Center. Overall, I am impressed with the design work that has been delivered so far. I asked the BRA to keep the following considerations in mind as they embark on the next design phase: (1) more detail should be [...]

The House version of the education bill that’s headed for conference committee could open the door to a second charter school in Somerville.
Under current law, no more than 9 percent of a school district’s funds (state and local) can go to charter schools. Prospect Hill Academy gets close to 7 percent, so there’s not much [...]

[ February 5, 2010; February 13, 2010; 2:30 pm; ] GET YOUR BEARD ON
STOP SHAVING AND START GROWING
ALL AMERICA CITY BEARD AND MOUSTACHE CONTEST
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH, 2010, 3pm
PRECINCT, 70 UNION SQUARE, SOMERVILLE

A contest sure to tickle your chin. We need all those facial hair growers to strut their mugs-and register.
This public spectacle will take place in Union Square, Somerville. Previous contests have been held in [...]

[ January 21, 2010; ] Mystic River Watershed Association “DoughRaiser” Event

Thurs. Jan. 21, All Day

Porter Square Pizzeria Uno
820 Somerville Avenue
Cambridge MA (map)

Print and Bring Coupons (PDF)

This event is a fundraiser for the Mystic River Watershed Association. Upon presentation of a coupon, up to 20% of your bill will be donated to the Mystic River Watershed Association to help with their [...]

[ January 8, 2010; ] End of Comment Period on Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on Green Line Extension

Comments End: 1/8/10

Submit written comments at the project’s Share Your Opinion e-mail site.

The Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) has posted the Draft EIR on the Green Line Extension into Somerville and Medford. It is important that all citizens of Somerville and [...]

[ January 3, 2010; ] This post came today from Cambridge-Somerville for Change:
The Elections Team held their first meeting Monday night, and we’re working on a bunch of initiatives. We’ll be holding our first phone bank on January 3rd. In addition, we’ll also be working on GOTV (Get Out The Vote) locally and state-wide. And, finally, we’re planning a local [...]

[ December 24, 2009; 7:00 pm; ] You are cordially invited to our Christmas Eve service tonight at First Church Somerville. The service begins at 7. Our children will be with us in the service. Your children are entirely welcome. Your moms and dads, your partner, your brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, all are welcome.

Our building is accessible.

Rev. Laura Ruth Jarrett
Minister [...]

NEWS STORIES:
•Students at Somerville’s John F. Kennedy School are raising $5,000 to build a library at their Ethiopian Sister School, the Gordama School, and fill it with books. Students have already raised over $450 that was used to buy new desks and chairs for the Ethiopian K-8 school of over 1,800 students. The [...]

Sitting in my Inbox right now is an e-mail from a woman who works with the Somerville/Medford branch of United for Justice with Peace (UJP), an organization officially dedicated to “peace and justice” in the world.
I’m all for peace and justice and I wanted to know more about the war in Afghanistan, so last week [...]

This idea of the whole city reading the same book is interesting.  What book would you recommend?  The Glass Castle?  The Audacity of Hope?
This spring Somerville will launch its first “one city, one book” reading campaign – a community read project in which we will try to get as many people as possible to read [...]

2 changes in Somerville Climate Action’s Calendar:
> Tonight’s (Nov. 18th) Forum on Green Roofs in Somerville has been postponed due to expected low-attendance resulting from the concurrent Green Line Extension community meeting.  We will be rescheduling this meeting very soon!
> Monday, Nov. 23rd screening of The End of Suburbia has been moved to MONDAY, DECEMBER [...]

From Bill Barrell at SCAT: In an effort to cut through all the media hype the “Somerville Producers Group” created a show about the facts of H1N1 and the seasonal flu.

The Somerville Producers Group is based right here at SCATV and has the longest continuously running cable access program in the country (35 plus [...]

Groundwork Somerville is holding its first “Doughraiser” at Pizzeria Uno’s in Porter Square on Friday November 6th.  Uno’s will donate 20% of the check to Groundwork, if you write “Groundwork” on your check!
Groundwork Somerville works to improve the environment through community-based partnerships which empower people, businesses and organizations.  They can be reached at (617) 628-9988.  [...]

[ November 1, 2009; 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm. ] Our neighbors are being evicted and our community destabilized by the foreclosure crisis.

The Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) in collaboration with Cambridge & Somerville Legal Services (CASLS) is initiating a post-foreclosure outreach and organizing campaign in Somerville.
We are asking YOU to join us as we go door-to-door to foreclosed properties in Somerville to talk [...]

On October 24th Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians will gather around the Dead Sea to form giant human numbers: Israelis will form a 3, Palestinians a 5, and Jordanians a 0.  An aerial photograph will link them together to form the number 350.  25,000 people are expected in the streets of Bujumbura, Burundi to call for [...]

Hi Gang,
My hat is off to all the Alderman and School Committee Candidates for giving their time to appear on our Somerville Community Access Television “Candidate Forums 2009″.  Every Candidate in all the contested races appeared in half hour forums, broken down by race and Moderated by Joe Lynch, Host of SCATV’s “Greater Somerville” program [...]

[ October 24, 2009; 3:00 pm to 5:50 pm. ] Saturday October 24, 3:00-5:50 PM Somerville Climate Action has joined with 350.org, Greenpeace, Mass Council of Churches and others to create the Boston Under Water Festival. The bicyclists among us may participate in Somerville’s contingent of the ’350 Bike Ride’ organized by Somerville Climate Action, one of 60 local chapters of Massachusetts Climate Action Network [...]

Here’s an issue to unite all the factions of our diverse city–double-pole utility poles! The Globe says we have 192 of them in Somerville. And there may be something we can do about it. In fact, two things.
First thing: There’s a state law that says utility companies have to replace them within 90 days. But apparently [...]

[ October 15, 2009; 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] The debate on expanded gambling in Massachusetts is heating up, with hearings scheduled this month, and a vote likely early next year.  One of the first public discussions this session will be held on Thursday, October 15.

Please come, and please spread the word.

I’m inviting you to a debate on the issue on Thursday October 15 [...]

State Rep. Denise Provost provides constituents with an informative e-newsletter from time to time.  In case you’re not on her mailing list, here’s what she wrote recently about the Green Line project:
What’s Up With the Green Line?
1. Higher Costs, More Delay Proposed
On July 3, 2009 the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) submitted a
draft amendment to [...]

Approximately a third of Somerville High School students could not meet MCAS English test standards in 2008. Cuba, which has the highest literacy rate in the world according to the United Nations, might have some lessons to teach us about how to model our educational system.

I don’t have a personal story on how Senator Kennedy’s office helped me but I’ve heard quite a few astonishing stories over the years that gave me an impression of a truly compassionate public servant.  For example, one person’s immigration papers got afu’d (as in SNAFU) and the situation was desperate (despite the fact that [...]

The clerk in the health inspection office/trash pick-up just told me that they had access to the system to abate citations up until a few months ago, but it was taken away from them.

Traffic Board Meeting and Hearing
Thurs. Aug. 13, 6 PM
Aldermanic Chamber
Somerville City Hall
93 Highland Ave.
Somerville MA (map)
Agenda (PDF)
This is a special meeting of the Traffic Board. It includes a public hearing on petitions challenging the decision to extend parking meter hours, increase parking meter rates, and extend residents-only parking throughout Somerville.
For background [...]

The message below was sent by Richard Saunders, Director of Music for the Somerville Public Schools. He is rightfully outraged by a bill currently being considered by the House of Representatives, (Bill H111)which would require school music department to sterilize instruments. Here’s a Globe article about it. The problem is that there’s no [...]

I thought it was strange that Boston was closing schools. I hadn’t heard of any cases in Somerville since that first lady that got it a couple of months ago. So, then when I heard of many absences at the Brown School, I wondered “What could it be?” Now the scuttlebutt from [...]

How many Somerville residents blog or tweet regularly about life in Somerville? Which blogs or Twitter accounts do you check regularly? I’m not into the Twitter scene yet, but here are some of the local blogs I’d recommend.
Note: for the purposes of this post, I would include any type of blog, publicly viewable Google or [...]

[ June 3, 2009; 7:00 pm; June 10, 2009; 7:30 pm; June 16, 2009; 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. 9:00 pm; June 18, 2009; 7:00 pm; ] From the SPS homepage, entitled “A message from Tony Pierantozzi, Superintendent of Schools”
… The extent of the impact of the current financial crisis on fiscal year 2010 remains unclear. We do know that the impact of the revenue decrease at the State level will require creative solutions and difficulty in maintaining our services. We are [...]

Twitter is a magnificent social website  where one can let people know what they are doing.  Many famous people have twitter and post on twitter. Twitter is a great place to show that famous people have social lives just like the rest of us. We find it amazing that we can interact with celebrities who we idol. [...]

Apropos of Barry’s belief that Somerville needs more and better investigative reporting, you can learn to do it yourself!  Northeastern University School of Journalism and the New England First Amendment Center are offering a May 1 workshop on investigative reporting and freedom of information.   http://www.neu.edu/firstamendment/news_and_announcements/workshop_registration

[ April 21, 2009; 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. ] Come out to the Progressive Democrats of Somerville (PDS) Annual Meeting. See what exciting things are happening with PDS as it celebrates the start of its 6th year.

When: Tuesday, April 21 – 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Where: Independent Restaurant – Union Square
The short program will include elections for new officers, a review of where PDS has been and [...]

This Sunday at 9a the West Somerville area churches invite y’all to our olde, olde tradition of recalling Jesus’ paradoxically humble entry into Roman-occupied Jerusalem amidst the poor and disenfranchised, the People! The original grassroots act of guerilla theatre against the forces of economic and political oppression.
Which is all to say: bring your kids or [...]

Thanks for Barry and Dave for setting up this blog and the Google group on this issue, and who ever got the Globe to provide some coverage of this issue on Sunday – good stuff!
I’ve been in a dialogue with my Alderman (I contacted the Mayor first), and Parking enforcement on this issue. I [...]

On Friday I was a guest at the high school’s Multicultural Fair. It was the most dramatic and most successful cultural event I’ve ever seen – beating everything from Lincoln Center to the MFA.
Dozens of cultures were brilliantly represented with music, dance, food and talk. The presentations were person-to-person, with teens talking with teens, reflecting [...]

March 6, 2009:  Today, President  Obama and Attorney General Holder announced funding allocations for state and local law enforcement assistance.  MA is allocated State joint funding, plus 148 MA cities will also receive local government individual shares.  Somerville’s allotment is only exceeded by 20 other cities in MA.
This program is called the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance [...]

Perhaps a SomervilleVoices.org blogger can be the next Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow?
The International Women’s Media Foundation announces the Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship for  full-time, part time or freelance journalists working (for at least 3 years) on human rights or social justice issues.  This fellowship will allow recipients to spend 9 months in a research program at MIT. [...]

Students learn concepts in their classes and learn from practicing the concepts in their communities. The concepts guide and inform the practice; the practice illuminates and tests the concepts.

The Jesus fish kissing the Darwin fish? Why not? Our church is celebrating the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species this weekend with a special worship service. John Olson, a very engaging, poetic and funny parishioner of ours, is going to preach the sermon: [...]

This sounds like a proactive and timely step on the part of the mayor, but is this “outside” panel of “experts” truly a good source of guidance for our city in these dire times?

[ January 20, 2009; 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. ] Rep. Denise Provost and I invite people to join us in a celebratory inauguration lunch at Orleans Restaurant in Davis Square on Jan. 20 at 11:30. There will be a large-screen TV tuned to the inauguration, and lunch will be Dutch treat.

A lot of people worked hard for our new president, and would like to [...]

I was looking for some general information about Portland, OR and went to their city website and there, right in full view(!), was a link labled “Request Public Records.” The link leads to a pretty amazing page considering the stonewall sometimes encountered in Somerville. There’s even a link from this to a standard fee schedule. [...]

ECIP is an integrated early childhood program with a mix of standard and special education children ages three and four. Classes meet four days per week for 5.25 hours per day. There is one teacher and one paraprofessional in each class for a maximum of 15 children.
There is always high demand for the “typically developing [...]

The Somerville Public Schools is looking for businesses, non-profit partners, volunteers and community experts to work with us planning and running afterschool activity clubs from 4:00-5:30 PM for students in Grades K-8 across the City. We know you have great experience helping students learn in innovative ways, enthusiasm for afterschool learning, and a desire to help students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to be successful throughout their lives.

This winter, the Somerville Homeless Coalition will serve hundreds of men, women, and children who would otherwise have no place to call home or enough food to feed their families. Jump to their website to learn how to donate, or read on.

Nearly a third of Somerville residents were born outside of the United States. Who are we in this immigrant city? What dreams and aspirations brought us here? How did we cope in a new community and in a new country? What brings us together – what pulls us apart – across generations of immigrants?

On November 1st, I submitted a grant proposal for $390,000 on behalf of the Somerville Voices team to the 2009 Knight News Challenge titled Transforming the News and Each Other. Please take a look. Your comments would be appreciated. We should find out if we make it past the first round on Nov 15th, so stay tuned for more details.

As promised here is the latest and greatest from Somerville Community Access Television. Check out the footage from the Community Arts Festival and from a Nepali Community Event. See a separate posting for the interview with Bill Shelton about Charter Reform on Fred Berman and Bill Bumpus’ Monday evening show, Progressive Voices.

This week’s Somerville Journal includes an Op-Ed regarding our rights as voters. Voting is a fun community activity, and no voters should be steered to vote absentee-unless they prefer it that way (or will be out of town on the 4th). Here are 2 photos showing a polling site that was entirely inaccessible (right at the entrance), for wheelchair using voters of Ward 7, Precinct 2, during the Primary, September 16, 2008:

Has anyone heard when Somerville Avenue, affectionately known to neighbors as The Little Dig, is supposed to be finished? It seems to be a really big job so I’m not complaining, but it would be good to know.

At 7:30 this evening I was out knocking on doors in Medford, although at that point I had to stop under street lights to read the list of Sciortino supporters that I was supposed to be encouraging to get to the polls.  At one of my last doors, I was grateful to hear a woman [...]

[ September 2, 2008; 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Come to a FREE screening of the award-winning documentary:
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash

Learn more about the film at www.oilcrashmovie.com

We are now reaching the end of the era of cheap, abundant oil,
but what will happen when oil production begins to decrease?

The last thing you expect to encounter is a lilting Southern accent when you walk into the Director’s office at the Central Branch of the Somerville Public Library. But that’s part of the package you get with the new Director Nancy Milnor. Milnor is a native of Tennessee and has run libraries in Galveston, Texas, St. Louis Missouri, to name just a few locales. Milnor’s last job was the relatively “genteel” position of director of the Connecticut Historical Library. She left those tony environs to work in the milieu that is her first love: the public library system.

[ August 5, 2008; 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] This is an announcement to all Somerville residents about Somerville’s fifth annual National Night Out (NNO) against crime and drugs. Please pass on the message about this important community and crime prevention event.

[ August 2, 2008; 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. ] Come see the power of words and the power of girls join forces at Teen Voices’ annual Pens of Power Conference! Join over 100 Boston teens for a Saturday devoted to the power of the written word. Local female poets, novelists and journalists will lead exciting workshops and talk about what motivates them to write. Enjoy free lunch, prizes and beats from DJ D’hana.

Tired of getting ever higher energy bills? There are many ways you can reduce your energy consumption, save money and reduce your impact on the planet. Check out Somerville Climate Action for practical energy saving information and videos. Somerville Climate Action (SCA) is a group of volunteers working to reduce energy use and resulting global warming gases in Somerville homes and businesses.

Sustainable Somerville — a nascent network of community organizations working to make/keep Somerville a great place to live, work, and play — is sponsoring a Sustainability Scavenger Hunt at ArtBeat (Saturday, July 19th in Davis Square), to show how the common thread of sustainability connects the work of the

[ June 28, 2008; 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. ] Another of the city’s popular family events, Family Fun Day includes a variety of activities for residents of all ages. Obstacle courses, games, watermelon eating contests, dancing, and a dunk tank are only a few examples of the day’s events! Dunk the Mayor! Dunk your Alderman! Eat your weight in watermelon! Bring your children, your parents, and your friends.

When can I drop off hazardous household waste? When does school start? Now you can find out on Somerville Voices.…

Just a heads up: the Somerville Garden Club is presenting a self guided garden tour  “Urban Gardens  Revealed,” TOMORROW June 21, from noon to five.  Be aware that tickets ($12) have been selling out, indicating more interest than the Garden Club may have anticipated.  As I write this they are still available at Pemberton and…

What would you like to know that could help you live better in Somerville?

So far, we’ve put together on this web site information about summer activities for kids, and property tax breaks available to many residents.

We’d like to do more along those lines—offering useful information in an easy-to-use format. What shall we work on…

Here’s an idea for formulating one’s beneficial worth to a community:

If you have a job serving the public, and you’re not doing it, then take the number of people you are not serving adequately, divide it by 10, and place those zeros to the left of one. Then put a decimal point at…

Even though today I feel like words are ultimately meaningless, I’m gonna start a little idea train here, asking what makes a community:

I would like to invite you to the East Coast Theatrical Premiere of SOUR, which is screening with the upcoming Boston International Film Festival series mid-day on June 14th. Filmed in 2006 during the Second Lebanese War, SOUR presents a new look at the grassroots peace process begun by 9 young skaters from Israel and…

All are welcome to join our open meeting tomorrow, Sunday, June 1st, 6-8pm in the 3rd Floor Community Room at the VNA at 259 Lowell Street. We’ll be brainstorming stories for the blog and discussing ways to improve the website.  Please RSVP to info(at)SomervilleVoices.org if you plan to attend. If you’re not able to come…

Take a look at the strong article by Somerville veteran Matt McLaughlin in the Somerville News. It’s about the controversy over Sen. James Webb’s bill to restore the GI Bill to what it was when FDR signed it during World War II: a ticket to college for American veterans.…

I’m due to get some of this incentive money from the federal government. Perhaps some of you are too. Since it isn’t in my budget, I’d be happy to pool it with others for some good community cause.

We have been waiting for years to have a double pole — two utilitiy poles lashed together — turned back into a single pole in front of our house. The extra pole blocks visibility, obstructs strollers and impedes snow removal. Recently we stumbled upon someone who actually seems to know how the process works! …

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground.…

The mayor of Somerville, Joseph Curtatone, has courageously and accurately called casino revenues “fool’s gold,” while other mayors, such as Michael Bissonnette of Chicopee, are shilling for the casino industry—along with Governor Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray. The reality for Somervillians is that bringing a casino into the Greater Boston area will cost them money, eventually quite a bit of money.…

Save Our Somerville would like to welcome home Sargent Matthew McLaughlin…