The crowd by all
accounts was very respectful, much more so then the other town hall
meetings within the Commonwealth and in other states over the past few
months. The vast majority of the crowd seemed to be in support of the
health care reform laid out by Senator Kerry his staff.

The
most boisterous of the crowd proved to be the quarrelling Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) and the followers of Lyndon
LaRouche. The two opposing groups set up shop right in front of the
doors to the High School, at the front of the line to enter. A shouting
match ensued, the SEIU chanting lines like "50 million uninsured – got
to get this system cured" and "we want you – to have health care too."
The LaRouche group countered with familiar melodies; a cappella and
opera styled renditions of famous songs from composers like Wolfgang
Mozart and Bernhard Heiden with original lyrics like "Doctor easy kill
a man from hell."

This proved to be a good form of
entertainment for the crowd waiting on the other side of the gate to
get into the meeting. Still, they were like sitting ducks to the
emphatic groups of outspoken picketers, with a nearly full moon to boot.

Among
them was Catherine Farrell a 64-year-old out of Newton, Massachusetts.
She stated that she "supports single payer health care" and that
"Massachusetts is not a state in doubt, most of the state is in
agreement on the idea of health care reform, but we need to get the 46
million uninsured insured now." Bobby O'Neill, 23 of Somerville and a
fellow supporter of health care reform came to "see how it goes…T.V.
shows the dramatic battles, we want to see the actual substance."

Eric
Anthony, 60, from Brighton MA was among the opposition in the crowd.
Mr. Anthony was deeply concerned with the bill; "When I took the Marine
Oath I swore to defend the country from all threats, foreign and
domestic," he said, "this bill is one of the biggest domestic enemies
of our time." Although Mr. Anthony is against this particular bill, he
made it clear that he was for health care reform, just not this way,
and that this means is a "direct attack on freedom."

After
overhearing Mr. Anthony's statement, Lynn William, 67, of Cambridge MA,
who was standing right behind him in line, countered by saying
"Medicare is amazing, it covers the cost off almost everything." Fern
Gibbons, 27 of Somerville and a little further down the line said that,
"people in support need to show up, their voices get phased out by the
fringe." On the other side of the gate, however, Dave Funnell, 62 of
Medford, MA stood with his wife Chris with signs against the reform.
Mr. Funnell believes that "so few are representing the private sector,
and if the bill gets passed our country is in worse trouble…it can't
spend trillions more, tax revenue will be diminished from the roll-out
over the future." He also added that "this is all a collusion between
the upper and lower classes, and the middle class will get squeezed
out."

Kaspar Kasparian, 61 of Arlington, seemed to be very
passionate about this reform solidifying. "Two years ago I lost a
friend," he said, "he had fallen ill, was jobless and disabled and ran
out of money. He took his own life because of all of this…the health
care industry is full of vampires, looking for profits rather than
helping."

At around 8:00 p.m. the crowds outside had diminished
to just sixty-five, the rest being within the building that was then at
capacity. The authorities admitted the last 65 into the gymnasium,
where the over 1,500 who hadn't gotten into the Auditorium were sitting
on bleachers and watching a s large screen with video of the hearing.
Many tried to still get into the auditorium, mostly in hopes of getting
their voices heard.

Two physicians from the Lemuel-Shattuck
Hospital were among this group of anxious wanderers, one a psychiatrist
and the other a neurologist. They explained, "90% of all physicians
want single payer health care, yet no one asks us, no one wants to hear
from the physicians." The two doctors went on to describe how the
insurance companies suck money away from the funding mechanism, and
that they look for the most simple and equitable means of going about
their business. "Medicare attempts to ration health care to cut costs,
while the private companies do anything to maximize profits."

Of
vast importance to these physicians was the fact that the primary care
physicians are forced to run a large variety of tests to insure that
they are catching whatever problems a patient is having, rather then
recommending them to a specialist. This is caused by differing coverage
from health insurance companies, and ends up costing the patient not
only more money, but also serious risks of complications and
mistreatment. "The major function of primary care physicians is to
recognize if or there is or is not a problem," one of the physicians
stated, "as well as knowing what they do know personally and what they
don't. The restraints from health care providers impede on their
readiness to take advantage of specialists' specific expertise."

This
health care reform, according to what they say are the opinions of the
vast majority of physicians, will foster relationships between the
primary care physicians and that of the specialists, which is a much
more efficient and effective way of tackling both minor and major
health issues. Also, that it would enable primary care physicians to
act as the front-line, with access to the specific fields that may be
necessary to solve problems.

At around 9 p.m., those in the
gymnasium began to file out, and a short while after the Town Hall
meeting came to an end. Those who didn't get to ask questions or voice
their opinions were handed slips that they could write their contact
information and their questions. The questions were then to be handed
into Senator Kerry's staff, which will be answering all of them in as
timely a fashion as possible.

So Joe will continue his work with Citizen's Energy and
enjoy life in obscurity – something Kennedy's really aren't all that
used to. He won't have to jump back into the political bumping and
grinding and overall frenzy the race to fill Ted's seat will bring.
It's a shame, because he would have been a great Senator – but now that
he is out, the floodgates are opening – and we will still win in
Somerville, because Congressman (and Former Mayor) Mike Capuano will
now make his move up.

Senator Mike Capuano has a good ring to
it. This will be his opportunity to take that explosively passionate
personality and stand out – it really is difficult to be a Congressman
– there are 434 other people to contend with every day and an election
to run every two years. In the Senate, he will only have to deal with
99 other people and an election every six years. Much better work
environment, for sure.

So what happens next? Well, here's a
scenario for you, that isn't too far fetched…just keep in mind what
happened when State Senator Charlie Shannon passed away a few years
back, and that will hopefully keep your attention.

The special
election gets underway and all Hell breaks loose. Everyone and his
grandmother gets the call to help Mike Capuano and people scatter to
the four ends of the Commonwealth. Capuano gets elected and takes the
Senate seat, leaving now a hole in the House of Representatives, which
will cause another special election for that seat.

Echoes of the year of the never-ending elections already, don't you think?

So
then a special is called for the open seat in the 8th District. Then
the fur really starts to fly. Mayors, State Senators and anyone with
more than 15 seconds of fame and a couple of million burning a hole in
their pockets will jump into the fray, including our own Mayor Joe
Curtatone.

So then Mayor Joe gets elected and takes over the
Congressional seat, of course it's a double win-win with Capuano in the
Senate. Now, you guessed it, there has to be a special election for
Mayor of Somerville. We don't even want to begin to speculate about the
horror show that would ensue, but the thought sure makes us chuckle.

At 265 Medford Street in Somerville, this is a common
goal that is infused into everyday work and compassion for the
Somerville foster care community. Dare Family Services is an
organization that represents family, community, and a second chance for
children in need of a loving and safe home environment.

To date,
the Somerville Dare office has 48 foster parents and 54 foster children
in placement. This number reflects the significant amount of peoples'
lives that Dare is positively affecting everyday. Having been around
for 45 years, Dare is one of the oldest child placement agencies in New
England. Dare's office in Somerville offers many helpful services to
the Somerville community and beyond, reaching 70 towns in Massachusetts.

The
most common identifiers for children needing foster care is a presence
of substance abuse, domestic violence, and/or mental illness in the
household. Dare makes it a point to state that foster children are not
to be blamed for the situation that they may be in, as there are always
multiple contributing factors involved.

Dare's services range
from Adult Mental Retardation Services to Pregnant and Parenting Teen
Programs. The most prominent programs in the Somerville office are the
Intensive Foster Care program and the Counseling program. Intensive
Foster care is different from the Department of Children and Families'
foster care program, as it is for children who may need more attention
and care than a foster child in a DCF placement. Dare works very
closely with the Department of Children and Families to make sure that
foster children receive the necessary attention they deserve when
placing them with a foster family. When a child is in need of an
appropriate foster care family setting, Dare steps in to make that
possible. They match the child with the family that best fits both the
child's and the family's needs. The main goal at this level is to find
a stable environment in which the child is going to flourish and grow.
Dare then continues with weekly visits to ensure stability and to show
that both the child and the family are not alone in this process. Dare
also offers monthly support and training sessions available for foster
parents.

Having worked with so many inspiring people, Dare
stressed that these foster parents are heroes. "This is a way of life
for them. This is who they are, not just what they do," said Janelle
Moore, the marketing coordinator for Dare Family Services. Foster
parents were sometimes foster children themselves, which brings them a
great deal of satisfaction in being able to give back while knowing
they're changing a child's life.

David Tack is living proof. The
Program Director of the Somerville office,Tack, is an adoptee himself.
He has been involved in social services for most of his career. He has
been the director of Dare for over one year now, and prior was wit h
the Department of Child and Family Services for 20 years. His
commitment to the foster care system is demonstrated through his
passion for the work. "I really enjoy working with Dare. Everyday is a
learning experience. We have a great staff who support the social
workers and in return we receive great support from the larger social
service organizations," said Tack. The people who become foster parents
continue to impress Tack everyday. "There are a lot of courageous
people out there."

Foster care is not always the answer. Dare
supports families going through difficult times with their children by
providing intensive counseling before they are removed from the home.
The goal here is to mediate and intervene in order to keep the child in
their home environment.

Genuine
innovation is often only recognized in hindsight. The media eventually
notice the results and declare them to be innovation at work.

Although
not yet widely noticed, Somerville's school system is becoming one of
the more innovative in the nation. But not so long ago it was producing
extraordinary and widely noticed results that, in hindsight, were an
illusion. And the "innovation" behind that illusion, while in plain
sight, went unnoticed.

Standard and Poors are the folks who
placed high credit ratings on CDOs, those worthless bundles of home
mortgages that tanked last year. Under contract with the Gates
Foundation, they also developed a scale for evaluating schools and
school systems on "gain score." That's how students' performance on
standardized tests improves or worsens between grades, particularly
between the seventh and tenth grades.

During the Argenziano
administration, Somerville Public Schools had the highest gain scores
in the Commonwealth, and among the highest in the nation. Even more
noteworthy, this occurred as Somerville's school population was
decreasing, while the number of immigrant children for whom English was
a second language was increasing.

Without questioning what lay
behind such a remarkable accomplishment, many city officials took
pleasure in boasting about it. What lay behind it was this: a little
under 100 sophomores who took the test had received an entire year of
"test preparation" by having been held back in the ninth grade for a
year. As the proportion of bilingual and special needs students
entering the ninth grade had increased, more freshmen failed to meet
the high school's standards for promotion to the tenth grade. They were
required to repeat the year. So the ninth-grade population grew to be
25% more that that of the other grades.

One consequence was
that those tenth graders taking the test who had taken the same classes
twice boosted the average gain score. There were other consequences as
well. Kids held back were separated from a supportive network of peers
and friends, but received no focused help from teachers, tutors, or
parents. Feeling isolated, often persuaded that they were stupid, more
kids dropped out. Another consequence was that putting 100 kids through
an extra year of school cost about $1.5 million per year.

The
greatest consequence, however, was that the causes for students'
learning difficulties were never identified and dealt with. When asked
about the high retention rate, a former School Committee member said
that, "you can't blame the schools if the kids don't test well,"
expressing the general attitude of many school officials.

The
most common explanation offered for the high retention rate was to
blame the kids and their parents. Preoccupied with survival concerns,
disproportionately poor, immigrant, or parents of kids with real
learning disabilities, they were in scant position to argue back.

The
blamers didn't ask what problems the schools themselves could cure. Or
how they should adjust the curriculum to more effectively educate the
changing population. Or how to provide better guidance. Or which
elementary schools most needed help in preparing their students for
ninth grade. But why ask questions when you have the highest gain
scores in the state?

Grade retention was justified with
arguments against "social promotion." Indeed, promoting students who
have not learned the fundamentals in order to keep them with their
social peers sets them up for continued failure and produces illiterate
graduates. But there are alternatives other than obligating them to
repeat the same experience that didn't work the first time.

In
Chicago, where Obama's Secretary of Education made his name, school
leaders realized decades ago that retaining kids year-to-year was
tantamount to giving up on those who most needed help. In the 1970s,
they made principals responsible for the failure or success of their
schools. Evaluating both required clear and simple grade, retention,
and dropout-rate data, and those data revealed that 90% of middle
school students who were held back with poor grades didn't graduate
high school. If you're told you're stupid often enough, you'll begin to
believe it.

Back in Somerville, a new Schools administration,
new high school principal, and new guidance department produced real
innovation. A straightforward "redirect" program now offers timely
tutoring, counseling, and instruction before vulnerable kids fail so
many tests that they have to repeat an entire course. It works better
for the students, their families, their schools, and the taxpayers.

In
the next few columns we'll look at how it's often housing, economics,
law enforcement, health, and their chaotic interaction that undermine
school improvement, rather than factors that can be directly controlled
by schools themselves. We'll consider how teachers' unions are
educationally more progressive than self-described Progressives. And
we'll examine how Somerville schools are meeting challenges that
confound public educators throughout the nation by creating innovations
that remain invisible, unless one pays attention.

"Sometimes I think I could change my way of cooking," she said. "But I know I can never do that. I cook as we did in Haiti."

Laguerre,
who immigrated from Haiti 20 years ago, still cooks in the traditional
Haitian style, with the liberal use of spices, fresh vegetables, and
rice. Laguerre-who will be at the food table to talk about Haitian
cuisine-is one of the many local Haitians at this weekend's "La Grande
Fête: A Celebration of Haitian Culture" who helped the Somerville Arts
Council (SAC) make this event a true cultural celebration. The event is
sponsored by SAC as part of its ArtsUnion project series, and in
conjunction with the Haitian Coalition.

La Grande Fête will run
from 4 to 8:30 p.m. in the Union Square plaza (rain date September 13).
The program will commence with live drumming, followed by readings from
local writers and poets.

Laguerre said that people tend to
lump Haitian food with other Caribbean islands, but it is really quite
distinctive. Haitian food is full of flavor as nothing is cooked
without spices. Certain staples are included in all dishes, such as
onion, garlic, thyme, clove, black pepper, hot pepper, and parsley
(also sweet bell peppers and tomatoes). These ingredients are the base
for just about anything, whether it be chicken, beef, pork or rice and
beans.

Several dishes are specifically native to Haiti,
including rice djon-djon (jon-JON). It requires Haitian black
mushrooms, locally grown fungi. The stems of the mushrooms are used to
color the rice black, then the mushroom caps with lima beans are used
as a tasty topping. Calalou (kah-lah-LOO), consisting of crab meat,
salted pork, spinach, onion, okra, and peppers, and pain patate (pane
pah-TAT), a sweetened potato, fig, and banana pudding, are other native
dishes to Haiti. Soup jomou (pumpkin soup) is traditionally served for
lunch on Sundays.

Another popular dish is a porridge (moulin mais) made of a ground corn, sugar, and milk, cooked over a large fire.

In
general, the average Haitian diet is largely based on starch staples
such as rice (which is locally grown), corn, millet, yams, and beans.
However, wealthier residents can afford meats (usually pork and goat),
lobster, spiced shrimp, duck, and sweet desserts such as
French-influenced mousse and pastries.

Haitians traditionally
prepared food with a lot of salt, but in the United States people are
too health conscious to do so, Laguerre said. The meats are overcooked
in Haiti to kill bacteria.

In fact, a Haitian will feel sick
to his stomach if he sees rare meat, said William Pamphile, of Fiesta
Bakery in Union Square, as he put a fresh batch of Haitian meat patties
in the display case. "We don't want to see anything red," he said. "The
meat must be browned. Color is important, as well as the timing in the
oven."

La Fiesta will offer its fresh meat patties and passion mango guava juice at this weekend's festival.

Carbohydrates
are also an important staple in the Haitian diet, and particularly
taken in during breakfast and lunch, Laguerre said. In Haiti, the field
workers need to store up on their energy and dine of rice, beans and
plantains during the two main meals of the day. Legumes are only eaten
with meat, she said.

Haitians add a lot of vegetables to the
menu. Laguerre had a friend over for lunch the other day and used
eggplant to spice up a beef dish. She cut the eggplant and placed it on
top of the meat. The eggplant melted over the meat into one savory
mouthful.

Haitians also cook with a lot of oil for flavor.
They will use pork fat to fry their plantains. They also like to add
some acidity to their dishes, such as some vinegar and lemon to a
coleslaw.

Another traditional meal is squash (or pumpkin)
soup, Laguerre said. The meal is a celebration of the independence of
Haiti over the French, and consumed for good luck.

"On every
January 1 the Haitians will make their squash soup," Laguerre said. "I
will call people to wish them a Happy New Year and they will say, 'Have
you cooked your soup yet?'"

For dessert, Haitians love anything
sweet, Pamphile said with a quick laugh. Many desserts have added
coconut milk, a fruit that is plentiful on the island. Laguerre said
popular desserts are a bread made with white sweet potato and rice
pudding with plenty of sugar and milk.

A favorite place for
local Haitians to shop is La Internacional market in Union Square,
located next to the Fiesta Bakery. Owner Nora Cabrera smiles broadly
when she said that she and her husband, Eduardo, opened the business to
cater to South Americans in the square. But, her first customer was
Haitian. And amazingly enough, Haitians comprise the majority of her
customers. People come for the dried djon mushrooms that a Haitian
woman picks herself and then delivers to the store every six months.
One can get a decent sized bag of this delicacy for $3.75.

Cabrera
also supplies djon in cube form-similar to a bullion cube-for 50 cents.
The store additionally carries the Haitian ńame and malanga roots.
People like to peel and then boil them, along with watercress, to make
a savory bullion, Cabrera said. At La Internactional one can also find
Acassar, a Haitian cornmeal-based drink (in a can) that has a
consistency of a milkshake.

The Cabreras often take requests for
hard-to-find items like taro and cassova; and travel to the produce
market in Chelsea to see if they can find them.

The Cabreras have learned enough Creole to carry a conversation, especially their son, Byron, Nora said.

Rachel
Strutt, SAC's program manager, is appreciative of all the help from the
Haitian Coalition and local business owners who will provide music,
food and dance. "We are not from Haiti and not pretending that we can
replicate the Haitian culture, so they are really sharing with us to
make this a wonderful event," she said.

"Over the years we
have highlighted Latino and Indian cultures, but we never featured the
Haitian culture, of which there is a large population here in
Somerville," Strutt added. "Whenever we (SAC) put on an event like
this, we learn so much about local culture."

The music lineup
includes Gifrants, who blends Haitian music, Brazilian music and jazz
and overlays it with warm vocals, and Watch Out!, a local Haitian band
that plays rollicking Haitian Kompa music. Jean Appolon and Nailah
Bellinger will be on hand to lead the crowd in Kompa (Haitian house
dance).

As nightfall descends, several short documentaries
will be shown, including "Belo's Song of Peace," a documentary by
Natasha del Toro about a Haitian pop icon and the attempt to stage a
large music festival in Jacmel, Haiti. During the festival, authentic
Haitian food will be able for purchase and artists will be selling
their wares; notably the Atis Fanm Matenwa, a female cooperative will
be selling their hand painted silk scarves.

Social service
organizations will share information about the services they provide
the community, both locally and in Haiti. The Wayside Youth &
Family Support Network will showcase recent paintings by Haitian teens;
there will be an on-site Haitian flag making project for youth; and
artist Valentin Iviquel and other painters will showcase his paintings.

Schedule of events

4:00 – Play recorded music

4:30 – Live drumming

4:45 – Poetry and literary readings by Somerville youth and Jean-Dany Joachim

5:15 – Gifrants

5:45 – Kompa dance demo with Jean Appolon and Nailah Bellinger

6:30 – Watch Out!

7:30 – Screening of several Haitian documentaries

On September 2nd, detectives followed both females as
they travelled to 449 Washington Street in Boston where they were
observed as they pawned items suspected of being stolen from Somerville
homes. The transaction was also recorded on video.

In the
course of their continuing investigation, detectives were able to
confirm that the items sold by Manning and Walsh had been stolen during
house breaks in Somerville. When Somerville and Boston Detectives and
one of the Somerville victims returned to the Boston pawn shop to
retrieve the stolen property, Manning and Walsh walked in behind them
carrying a bag. Upon seeing a Somerville Detective Michael Kiely, they
dropped the bag on the floor and attempted to leave but were stopped by
detectives. The bag was found to contain three laptops that were
recently stolen in Somerville. Danielle Walsh was also observed by the
victim, who was with the detectives, wearing a necklace that was stolen
from her home. During the continuing investigation, laptops valued at
approximately $10,000.00 and jewelry valued at $10,000.00 were
recovered.

Chief Anthony Holloway attributed the quick
solution to these crimes to timely crime analysis, diligent
professional investigative techniques and information received from the
community.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed.