City Democratic Committee meets: Much Ado About Nothing
By John M. O’Hara

     A bevy of local politicos turned out for the Somerville Democratic City Committee’s (SDC) meeting October 26. 
     Despite rumors that the group’s executive committee had plans to censure four SDC members, the meeting, which saw higher-than-normal attendance, began and ended without any direct mention of the controversy.
     SDC leader Helen Corrigan had asked Alderman-at-Large Dennis L. Sullivan and Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche for their resignations from the Ward 1 Democratic Committee upon their endorsement of Republican Alderman William A. White, Jr. White ran against State Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville for the 2nd Middlesex District state Senate seat. Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston and Ward 4 Alderman Walter Pero also endorsed White.
      It was the first time in Corrigan’s ten year tenure as the group’s leader that she has asked for anyone’s resignation, she said.

Brune: Ward 6 needs Jack Connolly

Former mayor and Ward 6 Alderman Eugene C. Brune said Friday October 28, John M. Connolly is integral to the success of Ward 6.

Connolly, after 22 years on the Board of Alderman, is being challenged for his seat by Rebekah Gewirtz.

Gewirtz, co-founder of the Progressive Democrats of Somerville, has received endorsements from Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville and is very "energetic and determined to help the city," said Brune.

But the former maayor and current Register of Deeds said, "I don’t know if she truly knows Somerville like Jack does. She only knows Somerville how it is today, and Jack played a major part in taking Ward 6 from where it was then, which wasn’t always so nice, to where it is now," he said.

Off the Shelf for November 2

Edited by Doug Holder

Interview with Joan Houlihan: Founder of the Concord Poetry Center.

Joan Houlihan is a poet and critic, and founder of the “Concord Poetry Center” (http://www.concordpoetry.org ) located at the Emerson Umbrella building in Concord, Mass. The center was a joint inspiration of Houlihan and Richard Fahlander, program director of the arts organization “Emerson Umbrella.” The program has become quickly popular with Somerville area residents and beyond. The center offers poetry courses, workshops, seminars, publication consultation, readings and performances, as well as a physical center and poetry resources.

Houlihan is a poet and editor in her own right. She is the author of “Hand Held Executions: Poems and Essays,” is the editor-and-chief of the poetry magazine “Perihelion,” and is poetry editor for the “Del Sol Press.” I talked with Houlihan on my Somerville Community Access TV show ’Poet to Poet/Writer to Writer.”

Doug Holder: There are many venues that offer poetry readings, instruction, etc… in the area. What gave you the impetus to start yet another in Concord?

Will the real progressive please step forward?
Ward 6 candidates vie for a seat and a title

By George P. Hassett

   The Nov. 8 municipal elections are drawing closer and the two candidates in Ward 6 are not only fighting to win an alderman’s seat but also to win a label: most progressive.
   Rebekah Gewirtz, co-founder of the Progressive Democrats of Somerville, and John M. Connolly, Ward 6 Alderman for the past twenty-two years, are each touting their records of progress to the voters.
   “As a Progressive Democrat, I will always advocate for an open, community driven process of government. My opponent has not always done so,” said Gewirtz.

Local Non-Profit promotes cleaner heating fuel alternative
By Tom Szekely
      

      As the thermometers and leaves continue to fall in the city, Somerville residents are greeted with the familiar sounds of late fall: radiators pinging and furnaces grumbling. When furnaces spark to life this winter one local non-profit hopes some of Somerville’s homeowners choose to burn a cleaner heating fuel to stay warm – one that puts less pollution into the community’s air.

Union leaders quit

By Andrea Gregory

      The Patrolmen’s Union president and vice president both resigned Friday at midnight.
James Hyde, president, and Gerald Reardon, vice president, decided to leave their posts as union leaders. Currently, the jobs remain unfilled. Rico Isidoro and Dominic Pefine are still holding their union-leadership positions of secretary and treasure.
     Union members are expected to vote amongst themselves to elect new leadership for the vacancies that popped up at the end of last week.
     The Patrolmen’s Union and the Superior Officers’ Union contracts expired last June. New contract negotiations for police are still at the beginning stages, according to Mark Horan, spokesman for Mayor Joseph A. Cutatone.
     “The mayor certainly doesn’t have any comment on whether it was expected because it is union business,” said Mark Horan. “He looks forward to working with whoever the new leadership team is on reorganization negotiations and contract negations.”
      A plan to change the way Somerville polices the city was released last month. The reorganization would create two sub-police stations, take the chief’s job out of civil service, hire civilians for jobs that do not require police training and cost the city about $200,000 more per year, among other things.

One hand in the pocket equals two in the cash register for this crook

By Andrea Gregory

  The man kept one hand in his pocket. He allegedly lingered around the store waiting for the right opportunity. When the coast was clear and the door had closed behind the last customer, he made his move.
  On Oct. 18, Friendly Market, at 71 Springfield St., was robbed.
  The man who had been lingering down the isles, went right behind the counter once the store was empty. He pushed the woman who had been working behind the counter to the floor, and then grabbed her, pulling her toward the cash register, according to the police report.

The ghosts of Somerville tell all
By Andrea Gregory

    The wind will whistle as it blows a chilling breeze. The ground will crackle beneath the footsteps of visitors. Flashlights will illuminate aging gravestones. And a handful of ghosts will tell their stories above the very ground which they were laid to rest.
    Milk Row Cemetery, 439 Somerville Ave., will be haunted this Halloween season. But it is a group of local historians rising to the occasion, not the actual spirits of Somerville’s past.

Young authors make their voices heard in Somerville

By George P. Hassett

    Behind door 530 of the Mystic Valley Housing Development a dozen Somerville teens sit around a table and reach for the right words. They share the same creative spirit as every other writer to grasp the pen, from James Joyce to 2Pac.
    But their experiences are intensely unique – they live in Somerville in 2005. And each Monday night they learn how to express what that means through poetry and prose with the Books of Hope Program.
    “This program is an experience every kid should have. It allows you to put your voice out there and be heard,” said 15 year old Matthew Dell’ Isola, a three year veteran of BOH.
     Books of Hope (BOH) began in 1999 to help young people in Somerville realize their true potential through the process of putting words to paper, said BOH Director Manson Kennedy.

Sullivan opens his ears to Somerville

By Liesl Swogger

    Dennis M. Sullivan wants to hear from everybody in Somerville — even if it is through an interpreter. Sullivan, an alderman at large, spoke at The Somerville News’ October 21 Contributors Meeting.
    "My hallmark is accessibility," said Sullivan referring to the 30 mobile office hours he has hosted since he took office two years ago. "I have interpreters in Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian-Creole."