Happy Valentine’s Day to all our readers and fans. We hope everyone has a great day with their significant other or with close family and friends. Enjoy the day!

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Happy birthday this week to the following: Happy birthday to Elaine Hill, formerly of Ball Square and now in Florida. We wish Elaine the very best on this, her birthday. You can easily find Elaine on Facebook. Happy birthday to Lou Ferrara, a lifelong resident and now retired from the Sheriff’s Department. We wish Lou the very best on his birthday. Happy birthday to Patricia Latham, formerly of Somerville, now of Somerville with trees: Billerica. We wish Patty the best on her birthday. Happy birthday to a great lady, the very popular Cheryle Snow, self-employed with her husband Wayne in accounting. We wish Cheryle the very best on her birthday. Happy birthday to a well-known commercial real estate agent, Bernard Gibbons of ABG Realty. We wish him the very best on his birthday. To the many others not mentioned here but in our thoughts, we wish you a very happy birthday!

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We were sad to hear that Phil Crane passed away recently. He was 95 years old and was the owner of Wedgwood/Crane insurance agency on College Ave. Phil was a nice man who was always good spirited, and well established in Somerville’s recent past. We extend our personal condolences to his family. We have great memories of Phil.

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Demets Donuts in Medford is getting very busy, but those donuts and the large variety are like the old Day’s Donuts, huge and tasty. Almost a sin facing you when you come in for just coffee. It’s hard to not get that jelly or lemon, not to mention the coconut donuts. The Somerville Times is available every Wednesday at the donut shop. Stop in, get a coffee and few of those delicious donuts, or maybe the real – and we mean real – egg sandwiches, from real eggs.

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Don’t forget, if you miss the Board of Aldermen meetings on Somerville City Cable (Comcast 22, RCN 13) or online at https://www.somervillema.gov/video every other Thursday night, you can view them in their entirety by going to http://somervillecityma.iqm2.com/Citizens. Watch your city at work and see how these dedicated members of our community are serving you, the public.

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Our condolences go out to the family of Lucy E. (Stoico) Davidio who passed away recently. For those that knew her she was a lovely lady. She is being waked out of Doherty’s Funeral Home. Her full obituary can be seen both in this week’s paper and on our website.

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The mayor wants to institute a transfer tax on those wishing to sell their homes, anywhere from 1% to 2%. which will go to the City Treasury (probably to buy some more city vehicles – doesn’t it seem like everyone working for the city has one?). Did you know the city already gets a piece of the sales tax? Check that DD slip next time you get a cup of coffee. We hear that the new current Board is excited to pass this tax on to us, the taxpayers. It seems like the city has never done a tax cut, not even once, but looks like it is in the hands of the Board of Aldermen. One wonders about the constitutionality of it.

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Another thing to watch and make sure your voice is heard is the new zoning proposal as this Board of Aldermen is taking another look at the proposed changes. They will affect everyone in the city in all parts of the city. You can go online to the city website and view the suggested changes. We will keep you notified of the public hearings. As of now, March 3 at City Hall is the next scheduled public hearing. Last week we ran a story on it, so go back and read it if you haven’t already.

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We’ll throw in our side on the issue of the recent neighborhood elections in Union Square. First of all, slates should not be allowed, should be open and above board. As a consequence, 13 of the 15 elected were slated candidates, and frankly not very many are known. In the end we elect city officials, the mayor and the Board of Aldermen who make the final decisions. If they make a decision based on an election that was a slate with one point of view, then the mayor and the aldermen will be held responsible and have to answer the public.

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The Shriners in Wilmington will be hosting the annual Kids Fun Fair and Petting Zoo, February 17, 18 and 19, this week. If you have a child between the ages of 2 and 13 years of age, we here at The Somerville Times have free tickets with paid adults. Go online at  www.KidsFunFair.com,  and come to 699 Broadway or call 617 666-4010 for free tickets, again for ages 2 to 13 years. We have about 20 of them.

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A new item in the paper this week to be run weekly is “Bobby’s Dad Joke Corner” by Bobbygeorge Potaris (see page 20). Every week he will submit a funny, silly dad joke. Bobby is a lifelong resident and is self-employed, doing masonry work. It’s meant to bring a smile to your face!

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The Somerville City Club is looking to expand its membership and for a limited time they are accepting applications. Phone 617-625-5730 and ask for membership. The club is presently located at 20 Inner Belt Road, directly across from the Holiday Inn. It has a beautiful function hall that is rented to the community and has been for many local events. The club is a social organization open to all residents of Somerville or with a Somerville connection. The club has been celebrating 50 years this past year.

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Over the next few weeks Somerville residents will be receiving the 2018 Annual City Census in the mail and the city urges everyone to fill out and return theirs. High census participation provides an accurate population count and helps the city plan municipal services and adapt as the population changes. Completed census forms can be returned via the postage paid return envelope included in the mailing, by scanning the form and emailing it to census@somervillema.gov, by dropping it off in a census box located in city buildings and libraries, or by faxing it to 617-625-5642. Contact 311 or 617-666-3311 with any questions.

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Non-profit organizations in Somerville are invited to apply for grants from the Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF). The TNSF collects donations from faculty and staff at Tufts University throughout the year and then awards small grants to community-based, charitable organizations that serve Tufts’ host communities. Interested organizations should contact the Government and Community Relations office at Tufts University at (617) 627-3780 or obtain an application at http://go.tufts.edu/TNSF. Individual grants will be made in amounts ranging from $250 to $2,000. Applications are due by Friday, March 2, and awards will be announced before April.