Consultant: new Magoun Square plan is best

By George P. Hassett

     The mayor’s consultant on the Magoun Square revitalization project said this week a better plan to beautify and improve the square will be ready by November.
    David Giangrande, President of Design Consultants, said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone was traveling down the right path in choosing to hold off on the initial beautification project.
    “When the mayor first came into office he was reviewing the old projects. He asked us the appropriate questions and came to the conclusion that he wanted additional funding,” said Giangrande.

Are You Hiding in Plain Sight?

By Franklin W. Liu             

     Art expressed as a clash of fashion. Blurring the distinction of deadly military combat pragmatism with whimsy civilian pop culture is a sprawling installation by Paris-based artist Thomas Hirschhorn. “Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One dress,” is a provocative exhibition currently at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. 
     The Pentagon never dreamt that camouflage gear would become such a sought-after urban street-fashion, flaunting the expression of individuality frowned upon by the military.

Lyrical Somerville

Cam Toner, our executive assistant at "The Somerville News," not only keeps the office running smoothly, but she also writes a mean poem. Cam talked about her poem "The Big Four Show,": "This poem is a stroll down memory lane for those of you that enjoyed listening to the radio and the music of the Fifties, and are of the sixty-plus age group. I wrote this poem in 1955. W.O.R.L. was a new radio station at the time, and they had four great disc jockeys, good music and plenty of laughs. They read this poem on the air." Cam is a long-time resident of Somerville, raised nine children here, and as she puts it: "I enjoy all kinds of music, poetry, and a good laugh." To have your work considered for the "Lyrical" send it to: Doug Holder 25 School St. Somerville, Mass. 02143 dougholder@post.harvard.edu

Off the Shelf: Davidson brings Holocaust tale of survival to Somerville

By Doug Holder

   On Nov. 13, at 7PM, Susie Davidson  will read  at the “Somerville News
Writers Festival.”  In her introduction to her book: “I Refused to Die:
Stories of Boston Area Holocaust Survivors and Soldiers Who Liberated the
Concentration Camps of World War ll,” Susie Davidson writes: “ The darkest
chapter in Modern Jewish began long before and extends far beyond late
April, 1945 in the minds of those who lived through the horrors of the Nazi
Holocaust. For these survivors, the pain has never changed, diminished,
never ended. Endured long ago, yet forever feeling like yesterday, it
defines their existence like a gray shroud of gloom that indelibly drapes
every waking moment.” (17)   In this book the words of the Holocaust
survivors and their liberators capture the horror, despair, and the
salvation of those who survived this nefarious time in history.  In a
project three years in the making and partially funded by the Mass. Cultural
Council, Davidson has compiled a collection of testimony, poetry, and essays
of Boston-area Holocaust survivors and liberators that should be in the
classroom, as well as in the home. Hillel Newman, Consul of Israel to New
England wrote of Davidson: “In writing this book Susie Davidson advances the
eternal message of the most significant event in Jewish history. In doing
so, she is fulfilling a most important service to the entire community.”

Doug Holder: What was the germ of the idea for this project?

13 violations found in Somerville jails
By Andrea Gregory

Jail is not supposed to be a pretty place, but it is supposed to meet state regulations. The Somerville holding facility is not up to par with state regulations. As the city tries to remedy the situation, it knows it is working behind schedule.

On June 17, the lockup facilities at the Somerville police station were inspected by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. A letter addressed to Acting Police Chief Robert Bradley cited 13 violations. The city had 21 days to respond to the letter dated June 24. The letter warned that failure to respond or come up with a satisfactory plan to fix the problems could result in a hearing or even closure of the facility.

Taking down the yuppie hater
By Andrea Gregory

   Police have caught a man believed to be responsible for spray painting a rash of hate speech at Dickerman Park on Cragie Street.
   Somerville Police filed criminal complaints against Jason Cutter last week. Cutter, 19, is facing four counts of tagging. If convicted, he could serve up to two years in prison or be forced to pay a fine of up to $1,500 or three times the amount of property damage for each offense. He would also be responsible for clean-up costs. And he could lose his driver’s license for one year.
    Lt. Paul Upton said the graffiti was taken very seriously. He called it more than just vandalism due to the content of the messages allegedly scripted by Cutter. Cutter is allegedly responsible for spray painting harsh slogans and threatening words targeting yuppies, said Upton.
    On Oct. 8, Cutter was arrested by Billerica police. He was handed over to Somerville Police Gang Unit Sergeant Steven Carrabino. Carrabino took the initiative and filed the criminal complaints.
   Upton said Somerville police do not think these incidents are necessarily part of gang related activity.
   “We don’t have any reason to believe this is part of a gang,” he said. “This is more of a personal agenda.”
    But Cutter could very well have had a partner or partners in crime. Police are still looking into who else may have played a role in the anti-yuppie graffiti.
    “The investigation is ongoing,” said Upton. “There may be others involved.”
    Anyone with information about these graffiti crimes or other acts of vandalism should contact the Somerville Police Department at (617) 625-1600.

Newstalk for Wednesday October 19th 2005

Ok with all the rumors flying around out there about the Somerville Police Department, we couldn’t pass this one up, and hopefully it’s not true.  Remember our Mayor saying there’s nothing wrong with the Public Safety Building – even on TV?  The latest rumor out of the “mill” is that the administration is moving the Police Department out of the building entirely and moving them to the proposed City Hall Annex (the closed Powerhouse School) very shortly as well as having satellite offices in three other places in the city.  Does this mean that the building is unsafe now?  Does this mean that the Mayor was wrong?  Does this mean anything or nothing at all?  We do know that the administration intends on moving all outside City Hall offices to that building when the renovations are done – including closing down the building on Evergreen Avenue and moving the offices from the old Western Junior High building.

The Mayor has been spending his nights out there campaigning for his buddy Sean O’D – who is being challenged by John L. Sullivan – who has his own little army of support as well.  We recently heard from Sean’s campaign manager, well known local political activist Rob McWatters, that they’re not stressed about the election or the opponent and that they feel very comfortable what the outcome will be.

Funny stuff going on and alliances in the Ward 6 Alderman race.  Not so long ago, those great, outspoken guys at the Tir na nOg in Union Square – Feargal and Robert – hosted a fundraiser for Rebekah Gerwitz and the event reportedly saw Helen Corrigan there.  Meanwhile, Jack Connolly has been out nightly all over Ward 6 and his fundraiser is tonight (Wednesday the 19th) at Orleans in Davis Square – in his district.  What surprises us is why would Feargal & Robert would be against Jack since they’re down in Union Square.  We know Jack might be in trouble, but honestly we think his record will ensure his re-election.

Reality Bites for October 12

The irony of the weather and where has our humility/humanity gone?

By James Norton

Here I sit, in my office, typing this and watching people scurry about the square because the power went out.  It doesn’t happen every day, but one would have to assume after all the rain over the past few days and those heavy winds this morning, something was bound to happen.
It’s a mixed blessing for me.
I walked outside my front door this morning, maybe fooling myself that it’s the same old neighborhood it used to be.  I expected others to walk out onto their front porches and verify that yes, the entire street is out of power and does anyone need anything?  That’s the kind of neighborhood I remember growing up.

Somerville’s Changing Politics:  The Portuguese

An editorial by William C. Shelton

Part 3 in a Series

From the 1950s, through the 1970s, well over half of Somerville’s long-term residents permanently left the city.  The first clearly identifiable group of newcomers who replaced them was Portuguese immigrants.

Portuguese people had been in Massachusetts since before the American Revolution, but until the 1960s, they did not represent sufficient concentration to create a potential for political influence. Nineteenth Century Portuguese immigrants were primarily from the Azores, drawn to New Bedford in the 1830s by commercial activity, Gloucester and Provincetown in the 1840s-1850s to earn their living from the sea, and Fall River in the 1890s to work in the cotton mills.