Mayor Joseph Curtatone's
Youth Somerville Advisory Group (YSAG) held its annual report and
recommendation meeting at the Armory, as part of its ongoing efforts to
involve and give voice to Somervillians aged 25-42.

"Somerville
is a great place to live, with a great location, great restaurants,
great people, and a mayor who cares about our point of view," said
James Stark, 31, YSAG's co-chair. "We want to ensure that we keep it
that way."

And it's not news to anyone that Somerville's young
population is growing. The Ville is often touted as the new "hip" burb
of Boston, admired for its diversity, creativity, affordability, and
proximity to the highway. In fact, 42.6 percent of Somerville's
population is aged 25-42-the highest concentration in the Boston area
(see box below), according to 2000 census figures compiled by the city
(the most recent youth stats data).

YSAG, which formed two
years ago, is comprised of 20-30 members at any given time and meets
with city officials twice each month. The group's mission is to learn
more about ongoing and new efforts to improve city services, and to
give voice to an age group that is typically not so active with town
government.

The group's recommendations were gleaned from
routinely surveying the city's young population via Google surveys and
during community events like ArtBeat and Riverfest. A few highlights of
the top priorities are as follows:

o Continue to work to
implement a single-stream recycling program in Somerville. This means
allowing people the flexibility to lump paper and canned goods into one
recycling tub to make it more convenient for everyone to recycle. The
city should also include recycling information and the benefits of
doing so in resident tax billings.

o Use code enforcements as
a tool to increase revenue, while keeping Somerville clean and safe.
Such efforts might be directed at rental residents and those property
owners (often absentee landlords) who are not maintaining the upkeep of
their property; including those who don't shovel their sidewalks in the
winter.

o Encourage developers to increase the number of
affordable sale and rental properties, as well as discouraging them
from converting properties into condos in order to retail sufficient
affordable rental units.

o Develop a first-time homebuyers course for young residents.

o Increase the basic requirements for Shape Up Somerville-approved restaurants to improve the health of residents.

o
Create long-term off-street parking lots or spaces where residents
without driveways can safely leave their cars for one to two weeks, at
a reasonable fee.

Establishing a strong presence in the community will be a primary focus in the upcoming year, YSAG members say.

Some
other issues posed by members include adding more bike lanes, bike
paths, and bike parking areas, said Jon Pettit, 30, who works in alumni
relations for Harvard University. "I'm interested in alternative forms
of transportation," he said.

Pettit heard about YSAG shortly
after buying a condo here two years ago. He grew up in Amherst, a
community that was active in local government, including "involved town
meetings," he said with a chuckle. It was only natural for him to join
YSAG.

"Engaging people in our age group is often difficult to
do," said Matt Hartman, 28, a first-year law student at Suffolk
University. "As a group, we have progressed to all sorts of issues that
have come up, like improving communications with the city."

YSAG
co-chair Lauren Tulp, 25, who works for a philanthropic consulting
firm, said young people do want to get involved with politics, but
oftentimes don't know how to go about it.

"This has been a great
learning experience," she said. "I've learned about the structure of
city government, how it works, what to take advantage of. There are so
many opportunities for us out there."

YSAG would also like to
reach out to the community and work with organizations that serve the
homeless, for example, said Stark, a project coordinator for the
state's Executive Office of Public Safety.

Members are really
excited about the possibility of creating a first-time homebuyers
class. Carrie English, 28, who works for WGBH, ended up buying a condo
in Somerville after learning through being a part of YSAG about the
resources available to young people like herself.

"Somerville has progressive affordable housing programs that many people do not know of," Pettit said.

YSAG
members acknowledged that membership was mainly reflected in the
college-educated, Caucasian, working professional. They are working to
become more diverse by printing flyers in Creole and Portuguese and
increasing their outreach into the immigrant population.

Visit www.somervillema.gov/youngsomerville for more information about YSAG.

The motorist, Syed Hague, shakes hands
and offers an apology to accident victim Ray Carre with passenger Syeda
Akater in background. All three exchanged phone numbers and made plans
to go for coffee before the holidays!

Buonomo,
57, plead guilty in October to 39 charges relating to both misuse of
campaign funds and stealing from the coin operated copy machines in the
Registry of Deeds basement, where he worked as the Middlesex County
register of probate.

Buonomo had served in the position since
2000, and while prosecutors saying it is unknown how much he may have
stolen security cameras filmed him breaking into the Cambridge
building's machines in 2008.

At the 2 p.m. sentencing Judge
Bruce Henry said he had considered appeals made by Buonomo's friends
for leniency, his admission of guilt and his lack of a criminal record.

"They are serious offenses," Henry said. "They are offenses which undermine the faith citizens have in their government."

"Somewhat to his credit, perhaps late in the game, he's taken responsibility for what he's done," Henry added.

In
addition to the prison term, Henry also ordered Buonomo to remain on
probation for 10 years and pay a fine of $102,792.15. Henry said the
"public humiliation" Buonomo faced from the ordeal was also a factor in
his decision.

Buonomo, who sat by himself before the sentencing,
displayed little emotion as he faced the judge and did not speak.
Immediately after the sentence was read, Buonomo was led away in
handcuffs.

Michael Natola, Buonomo's attorney, said outside the courtroom Buonomo will likely be eligible for parole in 15 months.

Buonomo is appealing a recent decision by the Somerville Retirement Board to repeal his $3,228.07 per month pension.

David McLean, the chain's
operations manager and Somerville location manager Mike Dunleavy told
the Board of Aldermen's Public Safety Committee that following the Oct.
11 assault and robbery of a woman in the store's parking lot,
surveillance cameras had been installed.

Ward 2 Alderman
Maryann Heuston had earlier criticized the store for letting chaos
reign in the perpetually full parking lot even as the store maintains
dozens of cameras inside.

Dunleavy explained that since the incident, high-resolution cameras had been installed to monitor the parking lot.

"I can look into Ceaser's [across the street] and see someone eating a slice of pizza," Dunleavy added.

Heuston
also pressed the representatives on the overcrowded lot and often
blocked fire lanes, which she said pose a safety hazard to anyone in
need of medical assistance – an assessment supported by a letter from
Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher at the Monday meeting.

"I'm hoping
there's a way we can come to an agreement here on making that parking
lot a more reasonable place," Heuston told the representatives.

McLean
said more lights would be installed in the lot and that they would
undergo a parking study to determine whether more spaces could be
added. The lot has an estimated 218 spaces, Dunleavy said.

"We've
got a $25 million road opening in the spring," Heuston said,
referencing the Somerville Avenue revitalization project. "Wouldn't it
be nice to have something more than a parking lot with carts and some
lighting in the middle?"

In the meantime, Alderman-at-Large Jack Connolly offered some shopping advice.

"We go early," he said. "I park on Church Street because I won't even attempt to go near the lot."

Committee
Chair Bill White asked the store to begin enforcing fire lane towing
and requesting a police detail to monitor the lot in addition to the
detail posted inside the store several days each week.

But why? She is, after all,
the leader of the House of Representatives, so that should mean
something. Pelosi may have no problem in her home district of San
Francisco, but she would find Massachusetts a bit less liberal-friendly
than most people assume.

And there is the rub – some say that
Pelosi transcends progressiveness and heads straight into the realm of
full-blown liberal. As progressive as Mike is and as progressive as Ted
was, they both know how to play to both sides of the aisle – full blown
liberalism wouldn't have played for either of them in the long-term.
Ever.

So she comes to town to give the nod to Mike. Political
proclivity and reality aside, for you and yours, that means that the
top of the leadership in the House has the faith in Mike Capuano to be
the next Senator from Massachusetts. There is a serious upside to this.

In
an era where political newcomers are still in vogue, the uphill battle
that Mike has in this election, outside of the shortness of time until
the Primary, is hammering into every voter's head that a Washington
insider is exactly what we need in our next Senator. Yes, you read that
right.

And that's why the voters of this Primary should be
impressed with Speaker Pelosi's endorsement of Mike Capuano for Senate
– because we need more than the regular flash in the pan candidate for
Senate – we need down in the trenches experience, period. Experience
that a hard working, intelligent and dedicated candidate who is already
way ahead of the others when it comes to political maneuvering in
Washington DC can deliver.

The
police will soon have six Ford Crown Victorias, four Ford Taurus
detective cars, a Ford Expedition for the traffic bureau and new
prisoner and animal control vans.

Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah
Gewirtz asked Holloway at the Board's Nov. 12 meeting if the department
had considered hybrid vehicles or sharing cars. The chief said neither
is a viable option since hybrids aren't certified for use with police
equipment and officers need to be able to split up at a moment's notice.

"I don't want them sitting in the station saying 'I can't go out because Tony Holloway has my car'" Holloway said.

"We're working right now at the bare minimum," he added.

Holloway
said the new vehicles, which will cost 40 percent of the city's
Capitalization fund, are meant to last 10 years. The old vehicles will
be sold at auction for an estimated $5,000 each.

The fire department also slated to receive new vehicles, with three Toyota Priuses and a new $500,000 pump truck on the way.

The issue of whether to vote
for a new five-year contract came up at the Nov. 12 Board of Aldermen
meeting, where Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston said a decision was
necessary in order to keep the company's $10.9 million bid.

"I believe if we don't make decisions tonight, we'll have to go back to the drawing board," Heuston said.

Russell
principal, Kevin Douglas, who is a regular campaign contributor to
several Board members, came in at $1 million lower than the two other
companies considered.

Capitol Waste Services submitted a $11.9
million bid, while Waste Management submitted a bid for $12.7 million.
Cities are not required to take the lowest bid, which Gewirtz said
could be tied with the fact that it's a non-union operation.

Gewirtz
said she wanted answers about allegations of worker mistreatment,
including an attempt at union busting. In December 2007, a riot broke
out during an attempt to unionize the workers.

"Any finding that
goes against a contractor, we would immediately terminate our
relationship," Curtatone told the Board. "We would not do so on
innuendo and rumors."

Gewirtz maintained that while she doesn't
trust the company enough to approve a full five-year deal, she is
willing to withhold judgment until learning more about Russell's labor
practices.

"I'm willing to give them the benefit of a doubt," she said.

The
Board voted unanimously to remain with Russell for the next year, with
Gewirtz the sole dissenter on a 9-1 vote to renew the contract for five
additional years.

That's why the city of Somerville just entered into
a Sister Cities Civic Participation and Leadership Initiative with
Tiznit, Moracco; a cultural and professional exchange that entails
inviting 30 participants to travel there in December. The group said
while there are already several teachers and city officials attending
they are looking for artists to join the entourage.

"Somerville
and Tiznit are very similar; there are lots of artists and influences,"
said Omar Boukili, a Moroccan native and office administrator for the
University of the Middle East (UME), the Somerville-based organization
that promotes educational leadership and civic engagement through
cross-cultural understanding. "Tiznit is more progressive, and a very
special town, like Somerville."

Located near the Moroccan
Atlantic coast and the Tachila and Ouarzemimene mountains, Tiznit is
known for its handcrafted silver jewelry. More recently, Tiznit
(population of 55,000) has undergone an influx of both Moroccan and
international artists who have settled on the hills surrounding the
city in search of serenity and inspiration, Boukili said.

UME
brought the sister city partnership proposal to Mayor Joseph Curtatone
last summer. Curtatone and some of his staff will be travelling to
Tiznit. UME wants a cross-section of Somerville residents to attend,
which also includes doctors and public health experts, non-profit
administrators, city planners, and business owners, said Ray Matsumiya,
UME's executive director.

The sister city exchange is
facilitated by UME, which will provide the translation, and logistical
and cultural advisory services. The five-day professional development
and cultural experience is designed to set the stage for a productive
sister cities partnership, he added.

UME has a long-standing
relationship with Morocco. For the past 12 years, the UME has sought to
empower the most motivated and progressive secondary school teachers of
the Middle East, North Africa, and the US through professional
development and exchange programs that equip teachers with the skills
and knowledge to broaden their perspectives and horizons.

It
was six Moroccan teachers who came up with the sister cities idea and
to form a partnership with Somerville, with the hopes that this will be
an ongoing relationship, Matsumiya said.

Last summer, teachers
from Tiznit visited Somerville and came to the high school to spend
some time with teachers. From there, Somerville became interested in
gathering a group of teachers to go to Tiznit, said Dr. Vincent McKay,
the assistant superintendent of schools. It was a natural fit, he said.

Ten teachers from various schools in Somerville will attend in December.

"It's
about opening our doors to the world," McKay said. "Learning about
other cultures makes them better teachers who are sensitive to
diversity."

Talmadge Nardi, who teachers English at the Academy
of the Pacific Rim in Hyde Park, participated in a UME trip to Lebanon
last year. She said the trip opened her eyes in more ways than she ever
dreamed. For example, she worked on a collage project with Lebanese
teachers that looked at their life experiences. Their collages were
deeply influenced by political repression and conflict resolution,
while Nardi's was more "hearts and stars," she said.

"I thought I would learn about other cultures, but also ended up learning a lot about myself," she said.

The
trip's agenda includes a luncheon with the mayor of Tiznit, tour of the
city, presentations, cross-cultural community building activities, site
visits to schools and other applicable organizations, and group
discussions. The cost of the program is $1,150, which includes all
accommodations, food, and trip activities. It does not include air
travel. Those interested in traveling to Tiznit can download an
application at http://ume.org/programs/open-applications or call (617)
440-1636.