Op-Ed from State Representative Denise Provost

Many
people were shocked last week to read media reports that the state
proposes scaling back the Green Line extension. Most of us in
Somerville were feeling fairly confident about our hard-won commitment
to build this long overdue project. It wasn't just the Green Line,
either. The state, through its Executive office of Transportation (EOT)
also proposes to cut Somerville (and Medford) from the Urban Ring
project, and to delay construction of the Community Path.

Although
EOT says that it is still "committed" to building the Green Line
extension to Route 16, its official plans call for a scaled-back
project, and is conditioned on federal grant funding. Other communities
have seen their projects cut, both transit and highway. What could have
happened? Were these grim headlines just another sign of the world wide
economic collapse?

The answer is that transportation funding in
Massachusetts has been in a long, slow collapse of its own, that long
predates the current crisis in the wider economy. It's a story that
goes back for decades. For the sake of simplicity, I'll start telling
this tale from the beginning of a recent chapter.

2007: The Sad State of Transportation Finance in Massachusetts

In
January 2007, Massachusetts greeted a new Democratic Governor into
office. Many had high hopes for fundamental changes in state policies
and priorities. Those concerned about the state's transportation system
looked for action on the new administration's theme of "fixing what was
broken" in our Commonwealth.

The Governor had inherited a
transportation system which was, by 2007, in a sorry state. Most
investment in public transit had gone for years into expanding commuter
rail service, at great expense, to a relatively low number of riders.
The soaring cost of the Central Artery Tunnel project (CA/T or "Big
Dig") absorbed most available federal highway funding; the state
covered its growing share of Big Dig costs by issuing debt in the form
of bonds.

The state did have a strategy for repaying principal
and interest (the latter is called "debt service") on the billions it
was borrowing. Part of its plan was to use future federal grants as a
revenue stream – a kind of collateral – to repay this debt. As
Secretary of Administration and Finance for Governor Paul Cellucci,
Charlie Baker – now a Republican candidate for governor – promised to
forego $1.5 billion in federal transportation funds which Massachusetts
had not yet received, an obligation of about $150 million a year until
2015
[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/17/bakers_role_in_big_dig_financing_may_test_for_his_campaign/]

Another
state tactic for avoiding Big Dig costs was to transfer this debt to
the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) and to the MBTA. In
refinancing its CA/T debt, the MTA in 2001 entered into an unfortunate
"credit default swap" agreement with the firm UBS. The collapse of that
deal reduced the Turnpike Authority's bonds almost to "junk bond"
status, putting the Authority into precarious financial condition.

The
MBTA, by the start of FY 2007, was bearing $8.1 billion in debt, $2.9
billion in interest alone. Much of this amount was Central Artery debt
transferred by the state to the MBTA. The MBTA's debt service costs for
2009 consequently reached $436 million, requiring MBTA to spend a
higher proportion of its operating budget for debt service than does
any other transit authority in the nation http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/17/bakers_role_in_big_dig_financing_may_test_for_his_campaign/.

Complicating
the picture, the Governor had made a campaign promise to bring a new
rail line to New Bedford and Fall River. He had also taken a position
against increasing the gasoline tax. The administration clearly had
challenges ahead.

According to Carlene Campbell, this project has been in the works for about two years. Arn Franzen, the Director of Parks and Open Space for the City of Somerville explained that this project wants to succeed in turning this abandoned property into an asset to the community. Franzen also stated that this project with hopefully begin construction late this fall, with a target opening in the late spring or early summer of 2010.

Among the project spearheads of the project was the man who is controlling the design itself, as well as presenting great options for the utilities that will fill the park. Andrew Leonard of Leonard Design Associates in Arlington is running the landscape development aspect of this project.

According to Leonard the bulk of this park will be the off-leash dog area. In the Schematic Plan that the heads of this meeting had laid out, the community space will be located to the far eastern corner of the long strip shaped park, and will be filled with tables, garbage disposals, and the like. Also, a big mission is to make this area as green as possible with extensive tree-plantings and other botany enrichment.

Some of the greener options this team is looking at are very new and improved to the other community dog parks around Somerville like the newest at Nunziato Field. Of course, nothing is certain yet because of the constant battle to make the budget, but some of the gadgets being looked at are solar powered LED light posts and Big Belly solar powered garbage disposal units.

The off-leash area of the park will be composed of stone-dust, much like the grounds of Nunziato Field. This arose some concern amongst not only the dog owners in attendance, but the citizens of Cobble Hill as well. One of the major complaints of Nunziato Field is just how dusty it gets after not too long of a time. Franzen and Campbell explained how because it is a long and thin layout, instead of the big open space that is Nunziato Field, this dust would be much easier to keep in check.

For one, there will be sprinkler systems to contain it along the sides of the park, as well as a different drainage system then that of Nunziato Field. They also illustrated that the DPW will be frequenting this park to keep it replenished of plastic bags, the garbage disposals empty, landscaping and keeping the grounds in good shape.

Another move that the city is taking to prevent another major concern, the traffic on New Washington St., as well as Washington St., is to make the entire city permitted parking starting on August 1st. That is, only residents of Somerville will be able to attend this park. This didn't seem to sell certain Cobble Hill residents that were in attendance, who were not only worried about the traffic itself, but also the noise and the like that would come with a new park. 'Cut-through' was also brought up, but Somerville's finest, as well as the heads of this project assured the Cobble Hill residents that they would be taking multiple measures to prevent these problems.

One of Somerville's finest explained his concern about the crosswalks around the area, and that there would be no way that an increased pedestrian-on-foot population attempting to cross certain roads like Washington St. would be impossible. This also raises the safety concern that seemed apparent in multiple people at this meeting. Discussions of high-speed UPS trucks and even bigger trucks going even faster hung around the room for a while. Once again though, Mr. Franzen, Ms. Campbell and Mr. Leonard assured the attendees that these concerns would all be addressed to the city, and solved one way or another before the park opens.

For anymore information on this topic contact city hall at 311, or visit www.somdog.org to keep up with this project as well as others.

***************

A
very happy birthday to three of our own here at The Somerville News.
Marisa Tauro, Patricia Norton and grandson Corey Norton are all
celebrating their birthdays today – the 29th of July. A very special
Happy Birthday to all three and best wishes.

***************

Seems
in Ward 5 the opponent running for the School Committee seat is out
there knocking on doors and getting a great response we hear. Anna
Lavanga has been showing that she really wants to knock out the
Progressive candidate Mr. Niedergang – isn't he the one that wants to
do away with Good Friday and also thinks that Bunker Hill day is an
"annoying" holiday? In Ward 4, Jamie Norton isn't taking it for granted
either – he has been hitting the streets as well with a group of people
every night.

***************

Don't miss Mayor Joe's fifth
annual Boston Harbor Cruise coming up Wednesday night August 5th (week
from tonight) this years theme is a "70's Disco Cruise" so come decked
out in your 70's attire and have a blast, cause it's going to be
"groovy." For tickets and/or info, contact our own Billy Tauro at
617-293-2016.

***************

Coming up on August 20th is
a night at the races to be held at Wonderland Park in Revere. The
Somerville Lion's Club has rented out the clubhouse lounge for
Somervillians to enjoy the evening over dinner and even race named
after the Somerville All America City – tickets are only $35.00 pp and
all proceeds go to various local charities here in Somerville that the
Lions support. For reservations, tickets and info contact Somerville
Lion's President – our own Billy Tauro at 617-293-2016. Wow is he busy
with tickets or what?

***************

On a sad note,
former City of Somerville Chief Assessor Dick Brescia, also a long time
CASPAR Board member and former President of the CASPAR board, died
early Sunday morning at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. His family is
requesting that donations in Dick's memory be made to CASPAR. Dick was
a great guy and will be missed by everyone that knew him.

***************

This
candidate for Alderman at Large is out there campaigning, but rumors
still swirl around his candidacy. Does he live here in the city, and if
so where, since he has several properties we are told both in Ten Hills
and the Avenues. He has a great web site, we checked it out –
www.luisforsomerville.org – he's a busy man, not only the pastor of the
church on Winter Hill, but owns a couple of restaurants on lower
Broadway. We wish him well. We're sure the present incumbents are all
going to be working hard to get re-elected – Bill White, Jack Connolly,
Dennis Sullivan and Bruce Desmond have been very good aldermen. We
still wonder who the PDSers and SCC want to defeat in order to get
their candidate elected. Maybe we'll find out with their so-called
impartial endorsements that they will be handing out to their fellow
PDSers coming up soon. Don't you just love the PDSers – who espouse
transparency and open government?

***************

For
those curious as to who was the first person to respond with the
correct names of the people in the recent Mystery Photo – it was none
other than the Election Commissioner himself – Nicholas Salerno – who
responded very quickly and accurately. Great work Nick!

***************

Kudos
to Senator Anthony Galluccio for being the first, most vocal, local
politician to call for some rational thinking in the now infamous
Obama-Crowley-Gates fiasco last week. Senator Galluccio is one of the
more rational thinking politicians on Beacon Hill and we wish he
represented the entire city of Somerville in the State Senate.

***************

The
Resistat "Wrap Up" meeting is this Thursday evening (July 30th) from
6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Argenziano School. There will be a full
agenda, including an award for community contributors, a small
workshop, comments from the Mayor on the budget process and other
informative items as well.

Was
it because Professor Gates is an old friend? Was it a racially
motivated? Was it a momentary lapse of rational thinking and just meant
to be a snippy little comment thrown towards the city where he had to
pay his parking tickets – 17 years later – before he could run for
President?

In an unabashed act of pure self-promotion, let's remind everyone of who broke that story: The Somerville News.

Typically,
when a politician does something so silly, it is to purposely distract
people and the press from another topic of discussion. That's an old
trick in politics. Unfortunately for the President, he definitely did
not want to distract anyone from his universal healthcare initiative.
You could see the uneasiness in his eyes and hear it in his voice when
he made that ridiculous statement about how he should have done a
better job "calibrating" his words more carefully.

President
Obama – you would have regained more respect back from the people you
insulted, had you just said "I never should have said anything, I am
sorry."

STEP has joined forces with
Groundwork Somerville, the Somerville Community Corporation, and the
Somerville Community Health Agenda to form the Community Corridor
Planning (CCP) group. CCP is providing the opportunity for continued
community involvement in the planning stages by organizing seven
meetings in Somerville neighborhoods with proposed stops on the Green
Line Extension. Meredith Levy, Director of Community Power and
Resources at the Somerville Community Corporation, says the CCP is
committed to involving community members in projects that will have an
impact on daily life for years to come. The hope is that these meetings
will engage people in the planning process who may not normally be
involved.

The Green Line Extension, planned to open in 2014,
includes a branch that will connect Union Square with a newly designed
Lechmere station. Saturday saw the fifth of the seven meetings, this
one to discuss the Union Square stop and its impact on the community.
Representatives from Save Our Somerville, Tufts University, STEP, and
residents from Union Square and neighboring areas of Somerville came
together to discuss what this change will mean for Union Square. A
thoughtful, if small, group discussed hopes for positive impact from
the Green Line Expansion and concerns that ranged from public safety to
increases in property taxes. The meeting included those new to the
Union Square area, and some residents who have lived nearby for over 40
years.

The group's ideal outcome of the Green Line Extension
included a vision of Union Square as a diverse center for residents and
a variety of businesses thriving, creating access to better jobs for
people of all income levels. Residents also expressed concerns about
the possibility of increased taxes, displacement of residents and local
businesses, and public safety and security around a new transit hub.
Overall, the vision encompassed an idea of reduced vehicle traffic and
improved access to the proposed location of the Union Square stop,
including coordination with buses, access to bike lanes and walking
paths, and accommodations for seniors and people with disabilities.

Wig
Zamore, an active member of STEP, talked about the environmental
benefits of the Green Line Extension with regard to traffic reduction.
Currently, Zamore says, Somerville has the highest vehicular traffic of
any city in the state. Three highways run through Somerville, carrying
200 to 250 thousand cars a day and there are 6 diesel rail lines that
carry 200 trains through Somerville each day. Somerville shoulders much
of the burden of air pollution due to commuter traffic, but receives
little of the benefit of transit with only one T stop in Somerville in
Davis Square.

Yesterday
was my birthday, but I am writing this on Monday night. So tomorrow is
actually my birthday. I hope I had fun. I also hope I survived, or this
article is posthumous, or post humorless, or something like that. I
can't believe I will celebrate birthday number 56.

My birthday
used to be an excuse to over-celebrate and make an ass of myself. One
year my good friend planned a surprise party for me. A lot of people
were waiting at his house, and his girlfriend was supposed to bring me
over later. Neither of us ever made it to the party. Me and my friends'
girlfriend decided to have our own party. I blamed it on the booze.
Thankfully I don't partake anymore. Now when I make an ass of myself, I
have nothing to blame it on.

When we were kids, mom would make
a Betty Crocker cake and a few friends and cousins would sit at the
kitchen table and party hearty with cone shaped hats on. Remember the
pain in the neck you got when those elastics snapped? I have some
photos up on my Facebook page of some of those pre-1960 parties. When
mom made the cake, I used to love to lick the beater blades. It was
more enjoyable when the beater was off. There would be the smell of
birthday candle smoke in the kitchen, and Winston cigarettes in the
parlor. I remember some of the cool stuff I got for my birthday. One
year I got a Mr. Machine – it was a walking, six or seven inch robot
whose gears were visible. It made weird sounds as it walked into walls.
It was made by Ideal. They now fetch at least a hundred bucks on eBay.
Another year, I got a Mattel Fanner Fifty cowboy pistol that used
"greenie stick-em caps." I still have that toy gun, and it's a good
eBay item also.

If I could have the perfect fantasy birthday
it would be something like this – I would pick up Michelle Pfeiffer in
my 1992 Camaro Convertible (that I had to trade in when the kids came
along). We would drive around Somerville honking the horn so everyone
would see me with her. We would have lunch at the Venice Café and go to
Friendly's on Cedar and Highland and share a sundae. Then I would do a
set at the Embassy Lounge with my band so I could show off in front of
Michelle. Okay, Earth to Jimmy, come back to reality.

My cell
phone rang on Sunday and it was my aunt Molly (my mother's sister) who
is a spry 94 years old. She said she would have mailed my card, but she
walked and walked and couldn't find a mailbox. For some reason there
are now fewer mailboxes in the Somerville Avenue area these days. She
told me she missed me and I told her I missed her, so I headed over to
her house. She had a nice religious card for me and a very thoughtful
gift. We had a nice little visit. I also saw my cousins Tom and Bonnie
and Mike who live upstairs from auntie. It was great seeing them,
because we don't get together as much as we would like to. I also got a
card from my aunt Olga. That one made me teary. The front read "You
stole my heart as a little guy, you've won my admiration as a man." The
message on the inside said, "You'll always be the nephew I love like a
son." I feel the same way about her. My cousin Carol sent me a card
that made me laugh like a nut. It said "One of us remembered your
birthday…and the other one just kinda lives in the house and doesn't
know what's going on." Too funny! I am so lucky to have my aunts and
cousins (and one uncle left) in my life. Very, very lucky.

I
will start my birthday at 9am with the kids from Project STAR. We are
rehearsing my original mini-musical, "Back In The 'Ville." Don't forget
(free plug) to come on Wednesday August 12th at 7pm in the Somerville
High School auditorium. It's free and it's going to be great! A special
thanks to the many friends who wished me happy birthday on Facebook.

Tennessee
Ernie Ford sang "16 tons and what do you get, another year older and
deeper in debt." I don't care about my ever-increasing debt, I just
care about staying here and having as many birthdays as possible. My
awesomely, wonderful Sunsetters will perform in front of my house
(yesterday) and then we will have a party.

I am pretty healthy,
my kids are great, and I love what I am doing so that's all the gift I
need. I wish my parents, brother and sister were here to celebrate with
me, but Michelle Pfeiffer will have to do.

What is it? It is Wheel
Questions, a black, cylindrical structure about eight feet tall tented
by colored awning and hung with 238 small, squarish pieces of paper,
each one bearing a handwritten question. People ask: "Why am I here?
What should I do with the rest of my life? Why isn't Santa Claus real?
Turn the paper over to read the answer penned by John Monsarrat, the
project's founder. The Wheel has been on display in front of the
Tedeschi Food Shop at Davis Square since July 3 and will stay there
until the end of the month.

At the Wheel, signs instruct
visitors to note their questions on blank sheets of paper and leave
them in a wooden dropbox. Monsarrat, later picks up the questions,
answers them by hand, photographs all of the questions and answers and
posts all of them on his website, www.wheelquestions.org. He then posts
selected questions on the Wheel itself.

Since it opened in
Davis Square on July 3, John Monsarrat's installation has been very
popular. Visitors to the Wheel have posted an average of 127 questions
per day, with a high of 268 and a low of 15 questions. The questions
address themes of love and life, and the same ones arise again and
again, proving how universal people's questions are. Visitors find the
Wheel a refreshing alternative to on-line forums, such as blogs.

John
Monsarrat started the Wheel, formerly called the Abyss, in his yard at
123 Elm Street in June of 2008. It was so popular that he built a new
structure and took it on tour to Harvard and Davis Squares this summer.
Wheel Questions was at Harvard from June 14 to July 2 and has been at
Davis since July 3, where it will stay through the end of the month. In
August, the Wheel will be based at Harvard Square. Monsarrat says the
Wheel will stay open until the money runs out (according to him it
nearly has) or until he "goes insane" (also according to him he nearly
has). He is currently seeking corporate sponsors for the project.

A
common question for John Monsarrat is "Who are you?" and it's one that
many readers may have. John Monsarrat is about 40 years old with an
undergraduate computer engineering degree and an MBA from MIT. He
currently is currently CEO of the company Hard Data Factory, a data
mining service, and is the founder and former head of the computer game
company, Triton. But mostly, he is the guy who spends 6 hours a day
collecting, answering, and posting questions and answers..

To
the question "Why are you doing this?" Monsarrat replies: "I genuinely
like to help people. I'm desperate to escape an ordinary life." He
doesn't claim to have all the answers, and admits that things are
easier said than done. When people ask what authority he has to answer
these questions, Monsarrat replies: "I've made a lot of mistakes and I
like to think I've learned something."

So what are people
asking? A few questions are political ("Will Iran be free?"), some
trivial ("Snickers, Charleston Chew, or Heath bars?"). Most questions,
though, relate to universal and timeless themes, asking about love ("Is
Kevin in love with me?"), death ("What happens when we die?") sexuality
("When should I come out to my parents?"), religion ("Is there a God?")
and the meaning of life ("Why am I here?").

Monsarrat's
answers are both blunt and optimistic. To the question "Why am I here?"
he replies, "I'm sorry, but there's no reason," and "There's no hidden
purpose." He continues to say, "Thank goodness we get to decide our
purpose for ourselves." He advises people searching for a path in life
to get together with a friend and make a list of the experiences that
they find most meaningful and satisfying, then set some related goals,
and go after them.

Submitting an average of 127 questions
daily, people certainly value the Wheel. Daniel Fireside, of Teele
Square, commented that, "People sure seem to have a lot of questions,
so it seems like a good idea to solicit, to find out what's on people's
minds." In fact, people seem to value the chance to ask anonymous
questions and air their thoughts even more than they value Monsarrat's
answers. Jennifer Bellingham, a recent Emerson graduate caught perusing
the Wheel at Davis on a recent evening, has submitted many questions to
the Wheel, yet has never gone to the website to see the answers.
Another visitor to the Wheel, Marsha Walters, compared it to Frank
Warren's website of anonymous postcards, Post-Secret. She called
Post-Secret, "A way to get your secret out. And this is a way to get
your questions out."

Unlike Post-Secret, where postings are
displayed but not answered, at the Wheel, every question gets an
answer. People have mixed opinions of Monsarrat's answers. Daniel
Fireside liked the project but was "a little disappointed that the
answers weren't funnier." Bellingham appreciates the answers, but
cautions that "nobody should think of it as, you know, the word, but I
think it's a good opinion." Many people submit questions such as as
"What makes you think you have the right answers? Are omniscient?" and
seem to consider Monsarrat a know-it-all.

Also in contrast to
Post-Secret, the Wheel is not an on-line forum but a physical
structure. As Bellingham neatly put it: "It takes the anonymity of the
internet and puts it in the outdoors." Like a blog, the Wheel is open
for anyone to read, and postings are anonymous. It changes daily, so
people return again and again to see the latest posts. Unlike a blog,
the Wheel is a physical structure with a defined location, and the only
way to ask a question is to go to the Wheel, write it down, and drop it
in the box. Fireside commented that, "It's kind of nice, in this
electronic age, to have people write things down on actual pieces of
paper."

If
you don't know where you're going, any path will take you there. That
was too often the case in the past, when city officials did not set
clear goals for the city's future guided by an agreed-upon vision for
the future.

They approved developments that generate
relatively low city revenues on land that could support higher-value
uses. They approved conversions of commercial properties with high tax
rates and low municipal costs, to residential uses with low tax rates
and high costs. The result was a structural fiscal deficit.

Now,
the mayor wants to set destinations and define the paths that will take
us to them, and he wants to involve as many Somerville residents as
possible in doing so. Leading the effort are staff from his Strategic
Office of Planning and Community Development (SOPCD).

Keith
Craig, who is guiding the effort, explains that a provision in
Massachusetts General Law authorizes municipalities that wish to, to
prepare a comprehensive plan. It's comprehensive because it includes
plans for economic development, housing, open space, city services,
recreation, and transportation; and because it must account for how
each of those elements interacts; and because it must anticipate future
trends.

Imagine the nested Chinese boxes or carved Russian dolls
that are sold in gift shops. You open one to find another. You open the
next to find yet another, and so on through a dozen boxes.

Now
imagine that Somerville is the middle box. Within it are boxes that
represent the elements being planned for and conditions shaping them
within the city. Surrounding it, boxes range outward, from regional
dynamics to global economic forces. Finally, imagine that each box is
in a state of continual change, affecting and sometimes transforming
the boxes around and within it.

Understanding those dynamics is
quite a challenge in itself. And the comprehensive plan must provide
clear guidance for future decision makers while allowing sufficient
flexibility for trends and events that cannot now be foreseen.

Two events that can
be foreseen are the arrival of the Orange and Green Lines. There is a
finite amount of time in which to make plans that will maximize the
opportunities they bring, while minimizing such risks as
gentrification. What with conducting the comprehensive planning process
at the same time, SOPCD staff are busier that a one-legged planner in
an ass-kicking contest.

That planning process begins, as it
should, with exhaustively collecting and rigorously analyzing those
data that describe Somerville's economic, housing, population, and
transportation trends. Accurately understanding how they brought us to
this moment, while combining this information with regional and
national trends, creates a baseline for understanding where we are
going. While our city faces the same challenges confronting many
cities, we are only 4.2 square miles in scale. So as Keith Craig
explains, "Somerville is a microcosm of all the challenges going on the
in the world, but in a manageable space."

SOPCD staff are
conducting a series of open meetings to inform residents of their
research findings and solicit insights regarding their meaning. In the
next step residents will work together to set a vision for the city's
future. Much of the visioning will occur in large public forums in
which the price of admission is participation.

SOPCD Executive
Director Monica Lamboy anticipates that different participants will
inevitably be passionate about different issues. She hopes to conduct a
productive conversation-bounded by the finite realities defined in
SOPCD's real-world data analysis-through which participants can
understand how their issue fits into the whole that is greater than the
sum of its parts.

The forums' results will go to a 56-member
steering committee composed of representatives appointed by the mayor,
aldermen, superintendent of education, school committee, key
departments, and community organizations. They will prepare drafts of
what they've heard and how it has influenced their thinking.

The
drafts will go back to the public participants and form the basis of a
dialogue between them and the steering committee, from which the
committee will draft goals, policies, and action plans.

Once
finished, the plan will guide creation of an updated General (land use)
Plan, which has not been revised since 1989. It will attract investment
to the city by giving developers and commercial tenants comfort about
what they can expect within the districts in which they might locate.
And it will sensitize and position public and private city leaders to
take advantage of future opportunities.

This is a rare moment
when it is possible to shape Somerville's future for generations to
come. Everyone, who cares about our city should participate. You can
learn more, review research produced to date, and find out about
participation opportunities at the Comprehensive Plan's website. Go to www.somervillema.gov/,
click on "City Departments," and then link to SOPCD. On the right side
of the page will be the comprehensive plan link. You can send questions
and suggestions to Mr. Craig at kcraig@somervillema.gov.

Supreme Kitchen
has been a staple of Somerville since April 2001. Before that,
Sapochetti tells us he was the owner of a small grocery store near City
Hall called Portabella's, but decided to close it some years ago and
"do something different." With the current national and state-wide
recession going on, Mr. Sapochetti admits this financial crisis is
hurting his business, "It's definitely hurt…other than McDonald's, I
don't know many restaurants that have done well through the recession."
However to help his restaurant and hurting Somervillians too,
Sapochetti has added so-called recession specials; for $4.50 one can
order, for example, two eggs, home fries, bacon, toast and coffee. When
asked if these new additions sell well, Sapochetti is pleased to say
they do. "You can have two people come in for $10 and get two big
breakfasts," he says. The recession specials are currently only
available weekdays, Monday through Friday.

Supreme Kitchen
prides itself on its Eggs Benedict, Sapochetti says, telling us, "Not a
lot of places do Eggs Benedict." They have a Mexican and a Southwestern
Eggs Benedict, which come with chili and salsa, and reportedly sell
very well. Customers who want to eat healthier, Sapochetti, says
"…could do an egg white omelet," but admits his restaurant is not
geared toward the health-conscious crowd, saying "Bacon's bacon." While
there is a menu written up, Sapochetti is flexible with custom orders,
saying, "Whatever we have, you can have." Supreme Kitchen is mainly a
breakfast joint but the diner also does "a pretty good lunch,"
Sapochetti adds, with chicken, soups, salads and hamburgers. Somerville
Hospital is directly opposite of Supreme Kitchen and on the weekends,
customers can park in the hospital's lot for free. During the week,
there are few 30-minute parking spaces right outside the restaurant,
but most of the clientèle, Sapochetti tells us, are Somerville natives
and repeat customers who can simply walk to his restaurant.
Sapochetti's diner atmosphere is welcoming and low-key; he knows most
of his customers orders before they come inside the door. "You know
their names, you become friends with them."

Hanging from the
diner walls, in two spots, are abstract paintings from a local artist
and fellow restaurateur, Lola Riveras, who runs Café Lola, also on
Highland Ave. Sapochetti continually hangs up new paintings,
photographs or artwork to give his place a new and different feel. "I
had a whole wall up here of U2 stuff, because that's my favorite band,"
he comments.

Supreme Kitchen recently reopened its doors last
November after a being closed for four months in 2008 due to a traffic
accident; a van accidentally backed into the restaurant but as
Sapochetti tells us, no one was hurt; however it took a while to be
able to start everything up again. The diner is located on 233 Highland
Avenue, is open every day from 7 am – 3 pm, and accepts cash only.