My
good friend Alan Nissenbaum of the re-cycled auto parts dynasty thinks
I have run out of topics to write about. The name of this column is "On
The Silly Side" so that gives me a lot of free territory to explore –
there is a lot of "silly" stuff just fermenting in my head. All I have
to do is censor/tone it down a bit and I have an article. Running out
of ideas, indeed! I can talk about the fact that Alan gave me an
unbelievable deal on a re-cycled air conditioner condenser for my gas
guzzling un-earth-friendly, yet very practical because I tote a lot of
musical and camping equipment and kids around on a daily basis, SUV.
Seems that the truck was "acting a lot like it's owner and blowing a
lot of hot air!"

Running out of stuff to write about? Are you kidding? Never, my friends, never.

How
about that ArtBeat? The annual gathering of all things artsy, creative,
musical, tasty, odd and interesting. This year I actually got to spend
some time in a shady spot. Doesn't it seem that ArtBeat is always the
most humid and sticky hot day of the summer? But it is always well
worth it. People came from all over to bask in Villicity. A friend came
from Arlington and just happened to catch the performance by my awesome
Sunsetters. Talk about a fashion show? Tie-dyed, dreadlocks, piercings,
tattoos, great hats, lots of kids, piercings, sandals, flip flops, more
tattoos, more piercings and an ample smattering of underarm shrubbery.
ArtBeat is a tradition that Somerville always pulls off successfully
and it gets better every year.

And on the serious side, it is
an honor for me to talk about SC Second Class Carl J. Lorenzo Square at
the corner of Morrison Ave and College Ave. Carl served bravely and was
decorated while in the Navy during World War II. Frank Senesi did a
great job as usual in putting together and emceeing the ceremony, which
included two color guards and a lot of Mr. Lorenzo's proud family
members. Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz was very helpful in making the
dedication a reality. Rebekah and Alderman at Large Dennis Sullivan
said some very nice words at the ceremony. I knew Carl, who left us way
too soon, as his son Phil put it so eloquently. Phil made the
dedication his heart's work and you can bet that his dad is proud of
his son. I sure am proud of Phil and I am glad I got to know his dad .
He was like my dad – the father of an aspiring rock musician. They put
up with a lot of crap from us Hall Ave rockers! Add Jake O'Neil – Pat's
dad into that mix also. Our dads should get also get a gold record for
being rock pops. Here's to you Carl!

This just in! Young
up-starts displaying careless and moronic behavior have moved onto my
street! Two creeps almost ran me and my dog over as they bombed into
their driveway. I was walking my small dog and he was sniffing around
the front yard close to the driveway. Then…heart attack time! Are you
kidding me? When I said rather calmly, considering I was still shaking,
"do you know you almost ran me and my dog over?" they laughed and said
I should have gotten out of the way. They jetted into the driveway
going about 25 mph. out of nowhere, obviously speeding at 9:30 pm. Good
thing the dog didn't use the plastic bag I was carrying because I
almost needed it for myself. One of the dopes laughingly says "at least
your dog had the sense to get out of the way." Well, I went all Jimmy
on them and went home. I forgot that I am a 55 year old adult and
responded like a 25 year old kid from Somerville and I will leave it at
that. No. One more thing. I AM from Somerville, born and bred, and this
means I was brought up the hard way – the street way. I have trouble
ignoring situations like the reckless, rude stoops in the junk box who
almost took me and the dog out. What if a senior citizen had been in
front of the driveway? Oh I forgot, I am one! But I did pretty good
considering. I pulled my nutty on them and they went in their house,
probably to drink more beers and hit the bong some more. I had had a
long hot satisfying day doing the right thing with Somerville's
talented kids and I guess I just wasn't expecting to be killed on my
own street at 9:30 pm walking my pooch. Silly me. That's not how I want
to go out. Serenity Now! Serenity Now! (quote from Seinfeld).

How
am I doing? Want some more? I have been having a great summer since
resurrecting Project Star. The Recreation Commission, in conjunction
with the Mayor's office, gave me the honor of bringing back this
program – which started in 1967 and went until the 80's I believe (I
may be wrong and probably am). At any rate, it's back. We will be
presenting an original mini-musical that I wrote called "Back in The
'Ville" on Wednesday, August 12th at the Somerville High School
Auditorium. The show starts at 7:00 pm and we are adding some very
special surprises! We urge all former Project Star members to attend
and take the stage and tell us briefly about their shows. It will be a
blast from the past and thrill for the present. Admission is free. The
lovely and talented Sophia Carafotes is my assistant director. Any time
you can get a multi-talented member of the Carafotes family involved in
a show, you know it's going to be special.

See, I haven't run
out of material, unless you stopped reading already and there's a fresh
flounder or haddock wrapped in my page in the freezer. I could have
told you all the story of how my dad used to wear Bermuda shorts with
black socks, and black shoes, but I didn't. And about that dog almost
being run over by the idiots thing – I have already let that go – until
tomorrow.

So Alan Nissenbaum, my dear pal, if I ever really do
run out of ideas, I can always tell the story of our mutual friend, the
popular and successful comedian from Somerville who use to hop your
fence and steal tires! I'll run out of material the day you run out of
1967 Dodge Dart 225 slant-6-cylinder water pumps!

The meeting began Tuesday at
6:30pm and took place at the Capuano School. In attendance were about
25 concerned neighbors and representatives from the city, including
Alderman Bill Roche, as well as representatives from the Somerville
Police Department Traffic Enforcement Division.

The proposed
traffic restriction is designed to decrease the copious, daily traffic
Myrtle Street and Tufts Street have experienced for years during rush
hour. Many commuters use the small side streets as a cut-through to
Route 93, Mystic Avenue, and Medford. Consequently, residents in the
neighborhood have trouble with noise, parallel parking, and even
pulling out of their own driveways.

Alderman Bill Roche
mediated the meeting. "I don't have to tell anyone in this room about
the traffic at Myrtle Street," he said. "I have received 40 to 50
messages from people saying they were in favor of this change."

The
proposal, which will go into effect in the coming weeks, will station
traffic patrol officers on both Myrtle and Tuft Street during the hours
of 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm. Drivers will be required to show their licenses
to prove they live in the neighborhood and are not just cutting
through. For those who violate the new restrictions, there will be a
two-week educational period where officers will let them off with a
warning. After the initial two weeks, violators will be ticketed and
there will be a monetary penalty.

The Somerville Police seem
confident this new restriction will reduce traffic on the streets.
"Once you start writing tickets around Myrtle Street you will be amazed
how fast the word gets around," explained Officer Nick Stiles.

"There's
no doubt there will be arrests coming out of this," said Police Captain
Devereaux. "We won't be searching for them, but people will have
expired licenses, unregistered vehicles, and this will have a fast
effect on the area."

Roche also humorously added that with all
the tickets from potential violators "the city will probably be getting
rich the first month or so."

To prepare Somerville for the
change in traffic laws, the new restriction was advertised in the
Somerville Journal for three weeks as is required by city law. Signs
have also been made to notify drivers that only residents of Somerville
can pass through Myrtle Street and Tuft Street at those hours.

To
further reduce traffic, Roche promises there will soon be new signs
saying "Abutters Only." The belief is that changing the words from
"Residents Only" to "Abutters Only" will make it absolutely clear that
no one but those living in the neighborhood can use the streets at
those hours.

This ultimately caused some concern for residents
at the meeting. One young man explained his girlfriend liked to come
over to his house after work. He wanted to know if she would be
ticketed for driving down his street during the restricted hours.

"Yes,
she could be. There's no way to prove if what she's saying is true,"
answered one traffic officer. "But if the person was to give the name
and address of who she was visiting, being very specific, it would help
the officer in making his decision."

The new traffic
restrictions will be in effect for 90 days and then be evaluated for
efficiency in traffic reduction. At the 90 day mark Roche promises a
thorough assessment will be given: "We'll be looking at how many
citations have been given, see how many cars are passing through, find
out what the neighbors are seeing."

Six years ago a traffic
study was done on Myrtle Street. It found that around 3200 cars were
going down Myrtle Street every day. "What's being proposed tonight has
to help," said Roche. "The city, all the way up to the Mayor is
committed to making this work."

Towards the end of the meeting
one resident seemed to speak for everybody present saying, "This will
be a huge step to calm our neighborhood down. It's going to make all
our lives better and I just want to say thank you."

The funding request, totaling $185,969, sparked
criticism from Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz for excluding other
departments which faced cuts as other Board members and Mayor Joseph
Curtatone defended the move.

Curtatone faced heavy criticism
from when two recreational department positions were cut from the
Fiscal Year 2010 budget, prompting a protest march to City Hall and
both Gewirtz and Ward 7 Alderman Bob Trane to vote against the budget.

Both
Curtatone and DPW Commissioner Stan Koty said keeping the four
positions would be necessary to maintain the department's level of
service.

"It's not about the people in these positions, it's
about the services," Curtatone said . "We're going to continue to
streamline and become more efficient."

"You would be costing people money if you did not bring them back in the long run," Koty added.

Gewirtz
challenged the administration's reasoning behind the restoration,
noting much of the justification for layoffs in the rec and library
departments revolved around providing high service with fewer
employees.

"I find it interesting that in these other
departments we've been talking about, the library and recreation
departments, we don't need more positions to maintain a high level of
service," Gewirtz said. "It just seems like a non-consistent argument."

"We're putting $185,000 back into a department when we're not sure it's actually needed," she added.

"Every department has a different employment structure," Curtatone responded. "I think we are taking the most prudent approach."

Alderman-at-Large Bill White stressed that it wouldn't be possible to leverage one department against another.

"I don't want to make a vote tonight that will result in laying people off."

Months before Somerville's Strategic
Planning Committee will begin the design process, the concerns of local
residents are being collected and will be presented to the City in the
next year. Mary Regan, of the SCC, spoke of her dialogue with residents
around the city, saying "I've had both positive and negative reactions
to the plans, but most people seem to see it as a chance to promote
healthier living and better access to transportation." At the July 14th
meeting outside of Ball Square, excitement was tempered by the worries
of residents who fear that the tight-knit ambiance of their
neighborhood could be compromised.

Bill Finnegan, a
neighborhood resident, worries most about parking implications. As
Somerville residents can park anywhere within the city, he envisions
commuters parking nearby the station, on their way into work in the
city. There won't be a commuter parking lot, Regan assured, but an
increase in traffic in the area is all but guaranteed. Another concern
of vital importance to those gathered was the preservation of the
existing small businesses in the area. Amy Thibeault, the co-owner of
one such business, True Grounds, is cautiously excited about the future
of the neighborhood. "I think it'll help business tremendously since
there will be much more of the Monday through Friday hustle and
bustle." On the other hand, she added, "There will be more of a threat
of gentrification."

In each location, from the neighborhood
surrounding the Lowell Street stop to College Avenue, general themes
have arisen to indicate the priorities of Somerville's residents. "The
common points," Regan said, "are wanting to make sure there is good
access to stations, a minimal effect on parking and a desire to protect
small businesses and low income housing."

Having seen the
monumental changes that have occurred since the Red Line was installed
in Davis in the '80s, Somervillians are all too aware of the potential
for gentrification, as well as for economic rebirth, through a healthy
transportation system. They have waited for thirty years for the Green
Line–and will wait another five before it is completed. With its
impending arrival, organizations like Groundwork Somerville and STEP,
local businesses and residents are trying to ensure sure that, after
all these years spent hypothesizing, it is everything they had hoped
for.

Ward
6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz proposed the order at the Board's July 9
meeting, saying a recent conference she had attended in Chicago had
inspired the idea of copying that city's use of roof tops as gardens.
The gardens save energy costs by reducing the "heat island effect"
which impacts densely populated areas.

"The benefit over time is
extraordinary in terms of impact on the environment and actual cost
savings," Gewirtz said, citing the West Somerville Neighborhood School
as a possible pilot location.

Alderman-at-Large Bill White also
suggested that the city could look into the use of an alternative
green-colored asphalt, which he said some communities to reduce the
heat retained by traditional black pavement — known as "heat sink."

"That
color asphalt actually contributes to a reduction in the heat sink,"
White said. "It would help consumers save on their electric bills."

The order was sent to the Legislative Matters and Environment and Energy Committees.

The total amount of the
grants is $200,000. Each ranges from $10,000 to $36,000 per district.
Because of the funds, educators will be equipped with the necessary
resources to begin to design new schools, according to a press release.

Of
particular interest to Somerville residents, the City has gotten a
piece of the grant pie. The $19,144 that has been allocated will
support the development of as many as two conversions, within grades K
to 8, including one, which was modeled after the Harlem Children's
Zone.

Boston scored $36,376 to support the development of two
Advantage High School conversions and a new Advantage School, within
the 6 to 12 grade range.

Additionally, grants were awarded to
school districts in other parts of the state, such as Fall River. That
city will use its $10,800 to support the development of as many as two
schools, in either the Advantage or Alliance categories.

"The
strong response to the Readiness Schools initiative shows that school
districts are enthusiastic about the opportunity to use greater
autonomy to improve their schools," said Governor Deval Patrick.
"Readiness Schools provide powerful opportunities to promote
innovation, close achievement gaps, and give students and families more
choices in public education."

How did the state decide how much
funding to allocate to each school system? "Decisions about funding
were made by the committee [which] reviewed the applications, based on
the information contained in said applications," said Jonathan Palumbo,
Communications Director of the Executive Office of Education in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Every district in the state were
eligible to apply for the funds, according to him.

More
specifically, "the preliminary information contained in [the City of
Somerville's] application for planning grant funding indicated a desire
to explore a model similar to that of the Harlem Children's Zone in
NYC," said Palumbo.

In that instance, "the school provides
wrap-around services including supports for parents, access to health
care and other outside of school assistance in addition to longer
school days, with a greater focus on core subjects and extra help and
tutoring for students," he said.

Readiness Schools will enjoy
greater flexibility and autonomy in curriculum, budget, staffing,
school schedule and calendar, as well as school district policies. They
may be developed as new schools, or as conversions of those, which are
already in existence. Each will operate under a performance contract,
which will set specific goals for student achievement, as well as
school improvement.

"We expect indicators of success to
include: student performance, grade advancement, graduation rates,
improving attendance rates, [or] lowering dropout rates.

The
implementation of the Readiness Schools initiative is a key part of the
Commonwealth's forthcoming application for federal "Race to the Top"
education funding, which will provide states with more than $4 billion
to promote education reform.

However, "The US Department of
Education has not released the specifics of the application for funds,
but [it] has indicated that states who work more aggressively to
address issues of under-performance (Acceleration Schools) and to
promote policies of innovation (Advantage and Alliance Schools) will be
looked upon favorably in the application process," said Palumbo.

There are three types of Readiness Schools: Advantage Schools, Alliance Schools, and Acceleration Schools.

The
first type, Advantage Schools, refers to those, in which faculty will
primarily be responsible for the development of the "innovation plan"
and performance contract, under which the school operates.

According
to Palumbo, the plan will [most likely] include "creative with
curriculum, school schedule, incorporation of outside resources, which
the external partner brings to the table."

The second type,
Alliance Schools, refers to those, in which external partners, such as
colleges, museums, and other organizations will play a central role in
development of the innovation plan and will be held accountable for
adhering to the terms of the performance contract.

Finally,
Acceleration Schools refer to those, in which conversions of
under-performing and chronically under-performing schools will occur.
They will be implemented through innovation plans and performance
contracts, which were developed by the Commissioner, with input from
local stakeholders.

The grants, which are funded through the
state's Targeted Assistance program, will allow districts to plan and
implement strategic reforms to improve student achievement during the
2009-10 school year, and leverage those reforms to establish Advantage
Schools and Alliance Schools, beginning in fall 2010. The Patrick
Administration plans to introduce legislation soon to authorize
Acceleration Schools, as well as some components of the first two
categories.

Presently, the number of Acceleration Schools is
not definitive. However, legislation is being drafted. "If the
legislation is passed, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
would promulgate the regulations in close collaboration with educators
and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with
additional input from our office," he said.

Other individuals are optimistic about the grants.

"These
16 districts are positioning themselves to be among the Commonwealth's
leaders in education reform and innovation," said Mitchell Chester,
Education Commissioner.

They "have a head start on one of the
most exciting education reforms in the past decade. By passing
Readiness School legislation quickly, we can give these districts even
more tools to work with, and provide Massachusetts with an advantage,
when applying for "Race to the Top" funding," said Paul Reville,
Massachusetts Secretary of Education.