Chief’s job removed from civil service

By George P. Hassett

  Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced Friday that Somerville‚Äôs November 2005 home rule petition on police chief hiring procedures has received final approval from the state. The new law, part of a larger reform package recommended in September 2005 by a special Police Independent Advisory Committee, allows Somerville to join nearly fifty other Massachusetts communities that over the past twenty years have shifted from civil service rules to a professional recruitment model in the hiring of their top police commanders.

The View From Prospect Hill for the week of July 26

Dennis Sullivan has done many good things in his years as an elected official, but his attempt to restrict city playgrounds is not one of them. Sullivan wants to ban teenagers from the swing sets and play areas of local parks after a recent trip to Chicago where he saw playgrounds that exclusively allowed children under 12 years of age to enjoy them.

Off the Shelf by Doug Holder for the week of July 26

A gutsy poet explores the waterfronts of life

Another Woman Who Looks Like Me. Poems by Lyn Lifshin. ( Black Sparrow Press David R. Godine, Publisher. POBOX 450 Jaffrey, NH. 03452
( http://www.blacksparrowbooks.com/ ) $19.

The famed Black Sparrow Press now owned by the venerable Boston-area publisher David R. Godine, has just released a collection by poet Lyn Lifshin: “Another Woman Who Looks Like Me.” Anyone who has had even minimal exposure to the small press knows Lifshin. Since the early 70’s she has graced the pages of poetry journals both obscure and prominent. I don’t think Lifshin can be grouped in any particular school. She has a unique voice that speaks to the independent woman, the carnal man, and the dutiful daughter. Her poetry is deeply personal, and peppered with beautiful, haunting and visceral images.

Who owns the parks?
By George P. Hassett

An alderman’s desire to place an age limit on who can utilize city parks has sparked opposition and outrage from local lawyers and activists.
   ‚ÄúThe way I understand it, this is just wrong,‚Äù said Matthew McLaughlin, president of the local advocacy group Save Our Somerville. ‚ÄúTo say an entire group of people are not welcome in a public place is simple discrimination. And where does this stop? Who are we going to exclude next?‚Äù

News Talk for the week of July 26

Is this possible?  All of us here at the Newstalk desk are finding this hard to believe, so we will throw it out there to see if anyone can confirm or deny this.  Supposedly, a young lady had gone to the Somerville Police station last week to reclaim her jewelry, which was worth approximately $5,000. It seems that it was being held in the evidence control room while her case was being tried in the courts. The case was over and she wanted her jewelry back. But, it appears that the jewelry is missing! We are wondering if this is true and we hope it wasn‚Äôt stored in that now well known ‚Äúmetal desk‚Äù that held the $31K.  We also heard that the State Police are investigating the situation, but can‚Äôt confirm this with anyone.  Speaking of the missing money, do you think the State Police are also investigating the Traffic & Parking missing money?  Maybe they should – it‚Äôs going on 8 months now.

Employees work to keep spirit of Someday alive
By David Taber

Mayor Joseph A. Curatone met with employees of the embattled Someday Café twice last week, and pledged his support for efforts to open an employee owned coffee shop in Davis Square.
  ‚ÄúWe want to do everything we can to keep the spirit of the Someday alive,‚Äù said Meghan Silverberg, Curtatone‚Äôs public information officer.

The View From Prospect Hill for the week of July 19

In George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, he creates the fictional language Newspeak – a language closely based on English but with a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary.
  Unfortunately, with each ruling in the Assembly Square land dispute, City Hall creates their own version of Newspeak ‚Äì releases lauding ‚Äúsmart growth‚Äù and relegating judgements against the city as ‚Äúfine print.‚Äù

Is Somerville losing?
By George P. Hassett

Somerville lost 2,642 residents in the first half of this decade, more than any other municipality in Massachusetts aside from Boston, according to US Census Bureau estimates released this month.
  The loss represented a 2.9 percent fall from the city‚Äôs 2000 population. But the population figures have drawn skepticism from Somerville officials and local census experts.