City examines Inner Belt and Brickbottom districts for development

By Jack Nicas 

A professional soccer stadium could be coming to Somerville to jumpstart commercial development in a long-underutilized business district. Last week city officials announced a study, funded by Herb Chambers and the Kraft Group, “designed to help the City promote economic development in both neighborhoods” of Inner Belt and Brickbottom according to the June 23 release.

Off The Shelf by Doug Holder

On a warm and humid morning in late June I jumped on the Red Line to go to UMass-Boston, to attend the William Joiner writers workshop’s tribute to Grace Paley.

The workshop is directed by poet Kevin Bowen, and is held every summer at the Boston campus.

The late Grace Paley is a renowned fiction writer and poet who passed away in 2007. Paley was an enthusiastic, and much admired and loved teacher at the William Joiner. She was born in 1922 in the Bronx to Russian-Jewish immigrants. She published three collections of short stories “The Little Disturbances of Man,” (1959), “Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1974), and “Later the Same Day” (1985), and her “Collected Stories”(1994) was a finalist for a Pulitzer and a National Book Award. She published several volumes of poetry, was elected the first New York State Writer, and the Vermont Poet Laureate in (2003).

Task Force debates pros and cons of future establishment

By Jack Nicas 

The city has officially initiated the process of obtaining a hotel in Davis Square, Rob May, Somerville’s Strategic Planning and Community Development Director, said at the Davis Square Task Force meeting on Monday.

Monica Lamboy, Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, said two phases must take place before a developer can be selected. The first is a request for qualifications, which determines if the developer has the means to carry out such a project, reducing the pool to three candidates. The second is a request for proposals, which involves the remaining developers sending detailed proposals on their project, including square footage and conceptual drawings, she said.

Residents worried about traffic from proposed single-lane roadway

By Jack Nicas

The hub of East Somerville is set for its makeover. Engineers and city officials say they have a plan to transform the eastern strip of Broadway into a “pedestrian-friendly, multi-modal, transit-oriented street,” rather than the two-lane speedway it is now.

At a community meeting on Wednesday, June 25, Kimo Griggs, an architect with Design Consultants Incorporated, said Broadway has the potential to become a “more identifiable and stronger central business district.” He said plans include creating five specific areas along the street as reference points for pedestrians. The distinct blocks will feature stylized pavement and distinct themes, including one for the arts.

On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

On Saturday, June 28th, Trum Field was transformed into Kids World. The newly (and beautifully) reconstructed Trum Field, that is. It was the Mayor’s Family Fun Day – and it was just that – fun. There were inflatable bouncy things, obstacle courses and watermelon eating contests. There was a dunk tank where Mayor Joe allowed himself to be drenched, all in the name of fun. You could even get your face painted. After their first shoeless bounce, my kids gave me their saturated (from wet grass) filthy socks to hold (yuck). They went shoeless for the rest of the afternoon.

Somerville landmark closes doors

By Matthew McLaughlin

As of 1 a.m. Tuesday, Somerville residents will have to find another place to play pool, watch sports and shoot at each other with lasers.

Good Time Emporium, the multi-use complex that has entertained the Greater Boston area for 17 years, had its last call. The building is making way for IKEA, the Swedish furniture store that will mark the symbolic beginning of a new era for Assembly Square.

Although it was the last day, the late afternoon crowd treated it like another day at Good Time. Families ate pizza and birthday cake, pool sharks played for hours and youths sunk dozens of gold coins into arcades. The closing was anticipated for more than a year, but the abrupt closing came to a surprise to some customers and, apparently, the Good Times itself.

By Matthew McLaughlin

City residents voiced concerns last week about cuts to the city’s human services commission in next year’s budget.

The city plans to combine three commissions: the multi-cultural, human rights, and women’s commissions. Melissa McWhinney, a Somerville resident and former director of the Human Rights commission, said the cuts will create “beleaguered departments” and diminish their ability to serve the community.

By Lisa Vise

With the price of gas increasing 36.7 percent in the last year alone, some drivers may believe gas station owners are gouging prices and lining their own pockets. But at Aris Auto on Somerville Avenue, where the price of a gallon is $3.97, owner George Varelis said gas station vendors are being hit just as hard as consumers.

“Of course, we have had a lot less business. In the last few years, the gas business has been unprofitable. If you follow the news, gas stations are closing,” he said.

Like every mayor since the beginning of time, Mayor Joe Curtatone has his supporters, his detractors and the people who don’t really care one way or another. We said it when he first got elected – if he does something wrong, screws up, or generally acts like a power hungry jackass – we will be the first to slam him. In the same vein, we also said that if he is a good mayor, does a great job, surrounds himself with effective department heads and builds bridges, we would be the first to praise him.

Thankfully, he has been better than a good mayor – probably the best anyone living can remember, especially given the enormous obstacles and situations he has to face on a daily basis and with the tax revenue he has. In this world full of political correctness, Mayor Curtatone has done much to improve city services, has made and followed through with commitments to the public schools, services to the elderly and low-income residents and done much to promote responsible long-term, multi-use development within the limited space available in this densely populated city.

Although the skies were cloudy and the weather was humid, Somerville residents came out in mass to celebrate Independence Day five days early at Trum Field on Broadway on Thursday, June 26. Sponsored by the City of Somerville, the Independence Day celebration included performances by the Somerville Sunsetters, Mary Flynn Murphy School of Dance, BOVA Productions, and the USO Metropolitan New York performers. Vendors selling cotton candy, hot dogs, and ice cream continuously fed the crowd throughout the night while friends and families enjoyed the music and show. Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone was present as he prepared the audience for the fireworks display, which was proclaimed the largest fireworks display to date.