Not enough kids in city to sustain PG business

By Matthew McLaughlin

When Renee Anderson speaks of the Somerville Theatre of her childhood, memories of eating popcorn and watching cartoons come to mind. So she was surprised when her two sons came home early after being denied entrance to the movies.

The early evening was due to the Somerville Theatre’s policy that children under 12 are not permitted to enter the theatre past 6 p.m. – another example of citywide anti-youth sentiments, according to some parents. But the theatre believes this policy protects the majority of customers who want to see a movie in peace.

Ian Judge, Director of Operations for F.E.I. Theatres, the company that owns the Somerville Theatre, said he instituted the policy 18 months ago after he had to give refunds to customers due to complaints about children’s noise.

Two men linked to bike path assault and armed robbery in same night

By Jack Nicas

Police are searching for two men who allegedly attacked a Somerville man on the community bike path Thursday evening. According to police, the victim ignored the men’s insults and requests for money until being struck in the head from behind. The victim then ran until he was caught behind Rite-Aid pharmacy and assaulted again, damaging his glasses, police said.

Eventually the victim broke free and fled to the Davis Square T station where his girlfriend was waiting. The two took shelter there and called the police, while the suspects allegedly hovered outside taunting the victim, police said.

By Jack Nicas

The name Alibrandi has come to mean many things in Somerville over the years, but most often it’s attributed to long-lasting success. Alibrandi’s Barber Shop has stood on Holland Street for 70 years, with Tony Alibrandi manning the clippers for the past 50. The Alibrandis baseball team has won the last nine Yawkey Baseball League titles, and 10 of the last 11.

However, a lesser-known Alibrandis has been making a name for itself at Trum Field for the past three years. The first-place Alibrandis softball team in the Somerville Recreation Commission Men’s Softball League defeated On the Hill Tavern 17-8 Sunday night to clinch their third consecutive appearance in the finals. They swept the three-game series after routing the Tavern team 16-4 on Thursday. Alibrandis coach Eddie Vallery Sr. said, ‚ÄúWe got our hitting shoes on.‚Äù

Development to receive $25 million in federal funds

By Jack Nicas

Standing by the Mystic River, the nation’s top transit officials made a commitment today to fund a new Orange Line train station at Assembly Square. On top of the $15 million contributed by developers Federal Realty, the federal government will contribute $25 million through a new federal transit plan.

What’s happening to the PDSers? First it was the secret meetings and then we hear more and more that Queen Pat has been practically begging the Governor for her former babysitter and best progressive buddy John Buonomo’s seat – should John be removed from office. Now we hear that another PDSer who is well known in Ward 7 recently tore down a Bob Trane sign from her neighbors yard Рis this the beginning of the sign wars?

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We also heard that one, maybe both, of the people recently arrested at Tufts for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars were contributors to Prince Carl‚Äôs campaign, so on top of all those thousands of dollars of special interest monies he‚Äôs amassed over the past four years, what could this mean? We heard that one of Stickers Carl‚Äôs special interest groups did a poll in the district recently; we also heard that they didn‚Äôt like the results.         

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone is urging Somerville residents to support troops overseas by donating old cell phones. The phones, he said, will be used to connect soldiers to their families back home.

“Many of us, myself included, take small conveniences like owning a cell phone for granted,” Curtatone said. “The more than 150,000 brave men and women overseas struggle daily to uphold the freedoms we enjoy today, and often do so without speaking to their loved ones. This is a small but meaningful way to enrich the lives of our soldiers, and we are proud to be contributing to through such a generous organization.”

By George P. Hassett

Three firefighters and one police officer were injured battling a three alarm fire yesterday on Flint Street.

Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher said initial investigation indicates the fire started when the flame from a lit candle caught onto a nearby drape. The home was being occupied by the adult children of the owner who does not live at the address, Kelleher said. The occupants were able to escape the home as the fire started, he said.

The third-term mayor of Somerville was the guest at the Aug. 8 Somerville News contributors meeting. Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone discussed the city’s future, its policies for parking tickets and who convinced IKEA to give priority to East Somerville residents when hiring for its new store in Assembly Square.

SN: What’s happening with the SCAT building in Union Square?

The building itself as a structure will stay; it has some history in it. SCAT we feel will be relocated, but somewhere as part of our development of the square, because we’re building an arts overlay in the square that the media arts are a big part of. So no matter what, SCAT is going to have a home in Union Square, and if it’s a new home, it’ll be more technologically advanced.

Library welcomes new director

Off The Shelf by Doug Holder

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, and St. Louis, Missouri, to name just a few locales. Milnor’s last job was the relatively ‚Äúgenteel‚Äù 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.

By Jack Nicas

Two new Somerville businesses debuted on Thursday, with the re-opening of Soleil Café under new ownership in Teele Square and the “soft opening” of Bowl & Board in Davis Square.

With the exception of its name, the new Soleil Café has little in common with the old. Its specialty is pastries, although they serve sandwiches as well. New owners, Teresa Morena and Fortunato Conte, hail from Salerno, Italy and are eager to bring some of that authentic Italian taste, including cannoli, tiramisu and gelato, to Somerville. Morena said Soleil has a lunch and dinner menu, and for breakfast, customers can enjoy Italian pastries with coffee or espresso.