John McCormack lost his thirteen-month-old
daughter, Taylor, when a shunt (a valve regulating the flow of
cerebrospinal fluid to and from the brain) placed in her head at birth
failed, and upon admittance to the emergency room, was given less than
proper treatment, largely because of neglect and carelessness by
doctors on call. Taylor died the next day, without once being seen by a
fully licensed physician.

Jen Tosca's son, Brian, was left
permanently disfigured when several surgeries to correct an
inward-turning eye resulted in the loss of the eye altogether. When
questioned, doctors said that Brian's eye "just gave up" and that there
was nothing she could do.

Robena Reid's mother, Marie, was
diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer. While in the
hospital, Marie contracted a "common hospital-acquired infection,"

MRSA
(a type of staph infection). The time it took for her to recover from
this infection interfered with her cancer treatment, and she passed
away shortly thereafter.

Lucilia and Joe Prates' father,
Antonio, also died in part from a hospital-acquired MRSA infection. He
had been admitted for kidney stone removal, but a MRSA infection and a
"medical adverse event" during surgery led to his death just eight
months later.

Quality healthcare can truly change lives. In
these cases, mistakes made during treatment resulted in death or
disfigurement. It is important for patients and their families to know
their rights, and to insist on second opinions and alternative methods
of treatment. The aim of both doctor and patient is to minimize any
chance of error. While this responsibility is and should be legally on
the doctors, patients can protect themselves by being informed and
involved in their own healthcare. In the worst cases, doctors keep the
whole truth from their patients when something begins to go wrong, for
fear of a malpractice suit. Doctors are advised never to admit direct
culpability, so while a doctor may regret having made a poor decision,
patients and their families often do not get the comfort and closure of
a simple apology. The result is lawsuits after the fact, and a deep
distrust of medical professionals.

The focus of the Consumer
Quality Health Council is to encourage a cooperative rather than
hostile doctor-patient relationship. The Council, made up of people
like these presenters who have all been directly affected by poor
healthcare, are galvanized to put legislation in place that will
tighten up the healthcare system and minimize the frequency of such
occurrences. In partnership with Healthcare For All, they are working
to pass four bills that will improve healthcare, two of which are
modeled after similar bills that have proven effective when passed in
other states. The first seeks to reduce medical errors and infections
in hospitals through the use of "checklists of care," a series of steps
to be regularly taken by teams of healthcare providers to decrease
patient harm for given procedures. The second, similarly, would have
healthcare facilities screen high-risk patients for MRSA and take
certain precautions if they test positive. Such an act was particularly
successful in Chicago-area hospitals, where MRSA infection rates were
reduced by 60 percent. The third would establish an expert panel to
determine the prevalence of medication errors in the Commonwealth, and
suggest ways to reduce them. The fourth supports the keeping of health
records electronically, and aims to clarify and enhance privacy
protections within the proposed new system.

Despite all the
presenters have been through, they work for change through the Council
in hopes of improving the healthcare system that failed them and their
loved ones. The consequences of neglect in this area are absolutely
real, as the Council members know too well.

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

Seems Mike
Buckley, former top aide to Mayor Joe Curtatone, has gone off to
greener pastures but not far. He is now Chief of Staff to Mayor Carlo
DeMaria, Jr. of Everett; we wish him the best of luck in his new job.
He did a good job here in Somerville and will be missed, but
Somerville's loss is Everett's gain in this loyal worker.

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

A
big get well soon goes out to the Ward 6 Community Police officer Neil
Collins who is recuperating at the MGH after being treated for blood
clots. Neil is a great guy and we wish a speedy recovery.

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

A
very quiet St. Patrick's day here in Somerville, but the day was
interrupted when a manhole exploded on Medford Street near Central
Street. The Police and Fire Departments soon put the situation under
control.

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

Condolences go out to the family
of Brian Cohn who sadly passed away this past Sunday; Brian grew up in
Somerville and graduated from SHS. He was a Junior at Coastal Carolina
University in South Carolina, where he was a member of the Phi Beta
Kappa Fraternity. Brian was a 10-year member of the Shriners, a great
guy, and will be greatly missed.

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

Happy
Anniversary to Victor and Rosa over at Victor's Deli – in business here
in Somerville now 27 years and popular as ever – the lunch crowd is
still huge and daughter Nancy is running the evening dinner crowds
later in the week. If you haven't been to Victor's Deli in Ball Square,
you should and everyone wish them another 27 years plus.

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

Speaking
of Anniversaries, The Somerville News is celebrating 40 years of
Community Service here in Somerville, the only locally owned and
operated and staffed paper here in Somerville. We don't have to stand
behind anyone and listen in on conversations to get news like some
others we know; we bring you only Somerville News – fresh news.

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

Seems
that a so called regular columnist over at the Farm Team keeps calling
out one of the Publishers here at the News – this guy, even by the
standards of some of the progressives in this city, is whacked when he
opens his mouth. We want to thank KB for the free press, he thinks that
PDSers make up a majority here in Somerville, and they don't. For the
umpteenth time KB – this is a rumor column – we know you don't like it
when we say stuff about the PDSers, here but guess what, we will call
out anyone including the PDSers every time they do something stupid or
lame. Heck, we can't make up some of this stuff. For a guy that doesn't
like name-calling he sure can be creative with the names he uses
himself. But then we're not surprised they (PDSers) say one thing and
do another, you know they're not interested in working out solutions,
only in taking over – even if it means climbing over the backs of their
own supporters. Just ask Jack Connolly and the many others they have
used.

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

The Somerville Fire Department won
an 11-4 victory over the Somerville Police in the annual Guns and Hoses
Hockey Tournament this past Saturday night – they raised over $5,000.00
for Somerville Youth Hockey. Lots of fun and action and in the end
everyone wins in this annual tournament.

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

Over
4,200 runners wearing the Green on Sunday for the 6th Annual Ras na
hEireann road race here in Somerville, it has become a classic and much
anticipated event here – the money raised is estimated to be around
$25K, which will go to various local charities and scholarship programs
here in Somerville.

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

You know those big
green solar trashcans in and around here in Somerville? Appears we have
about 50 of them with a cost of about $3K each – they are supposed to
be environmentally good for Somerville. We noticed a lot of them were
broken down, there was an interesting article in the New York Times on
the 17th regarding their use in Somerville.

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

After
a year of cosmetic repairs, the McGrath Highway overpass seems to be
falling apart from the inside out – if you take a good look at the side
of the aging bridge by standing next to the intersection of Somerville
Avenue and Medford Streets, you can see the main support steel beams
rotted all the way through. Maybe this is a good spot to start dumping
some of that stimulus cash before it gets eaten up as well.

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

The
Little Sisters of the Poor are holding a Fundraising Rummage Sale on
Friday, March 20th and Saturday, March 21st from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
each day. The Little Sisters is located at the Jeanne Jugan Residence,
186 Highland Avenue. All proceeds benefit the low-income elderly of the
Little Sisters of the Poor. Arts & Crafts, Clothes, Housewares,
Furniture and more – everything must go!

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

In
my January 28th opinion piece ("Budget Situation: Tough but
Survivable"), I reported that I'd received some criticism for being too
optimistic about the City's fiscal situation.

I'm guilty as
charged, especially when it comes to our short-term budgeting. Let me
add a note of caution, however, by being more specific: FY2009 –
current budget year that ends June 30th – is going to be tight, but I
am confident we can cope without major structural adjustments. On the
other hand, FY2010 will require some very tough choices and a
willingness to embrace creative solutions, both one-time and permanent.
Our goal will continue to be avoiding cuts in core services. Over the
past five years, we've made real progress in improving service quality
and delivery, and it would be a shame to undercut that those
achievements by rolling back programs and personnel, especially in
public safety, education, public works or parks.

But, between
now and June 30th, we have to absorb nearly $3 million in state aid
cuts while coping with the added costs of a heavier-than-average winter
storm season and escalating health insurance costs. But the steps we
have already put in place – leaving some positions vacant; freezing
salaries; saving money where we can on energy and materials; delaying
or deferring some capital projects – will allow use to close the gap. I
want make special note of the fact that we have been working closely
with the School Committee and Superintendent Pierantozzi to put
together a similar austerity program for the School budget. I also want
to thank the Board of Aldermen for taking a proactive and collaborative
approach to revising this year's budget: they've paid close attention
to the details and helped make possible a year without layoffs,
furloughs or other major disruptions.

In fact, if we were
facing just one bad year, we'd be fine, which is more than you can say
for many other communities in Massachusetts. Some cities and towns have
already begun to lay off personnel and close facilities. If it seems as
if Somerville has been slower to take similarly harsh action, it's
because we really don't have to in this fiscal year. One big reason is
that we're careful to use conservative fiscal assumptions. So far in
FY2009, our revenues have been running two percent higher than
projected; and we have underspent our budget to date by two percent.
That gives us a little more room to maneuver than is available to many
cities and towns.

But as we start the planning process for the
new budget that will go into place on July 1, 2009, we are facing a
much more challenging situation. In addition to more local aid cuts,
the state budget will see reductions in other areas of spending that
directly support cities and towns, including library aid, police career
incentive salary supports, and more. To help compensate for the added
strain that all these changes will put on municipal budgets, Governor
Patrick has proposed local-option hotel and meal taxes, as well as the
closure of the 1913 telecommunications property tax loophole. The state
estimates that these changes could bring Somerville another $3.4
million per year – but these proposals have not yet been approved by
the legislature and, even if they become law, they will take time to
implement. Cities and towns will not see the added revenue until well
after the new fiscal year is underway.

And then there is the
problem of escalating health care costs. We are working hard to control
our health care expenditures, but restrictive state rules require us to
negotiate changes in plan design and co-pays with our collective
bargaining units. If current trends remain unchanged, the result will
be that, in FY2010, our projected increase in health care costs ($3.1
million) will – for the first time in our history – exceed the total
projected increase of our property tax revenues as allowed by
Proposition 2¬Ω ($2.3 million).

Even with added local option
revenues from the state, it's likely that we'll have to come up with
over $8.5 million in combined cuts and new revenues for FY2010. That's
equivalent to over seven percent of the city's non-School budget. $8.5
million is more than half the combined personnel budgets for our police
and firefighters: it's too much of a hit to be absorbed by cuts alone.

Of
course, budget cuts will be part of the solution, but a gap of that
size means that everything else is on the table. We'll need both to cut
costs and enhance revenues if we want to maintain our core services.

On
the cost-cutting side, we have to be ready to look at layoffs, wage
freezes, furloughs, hiring and overtime restrictions, added health care
contributions from union workers (non-union workers already pay 20
percent). It will also mean reducing consumption of energy and
materials, and any additional savings we can wring out of pooled or
restricted purchasing policies. And it will require us to look at our
work practices to become ever more efficient and cost-effective.

On
the revenue side, it means looking at every fee and fine in our books
to see if there's a better way to enforce and collect the charges we
impose – and whether or not any of them need to be increased.

The
budget discussion this year will be very public and very open, and we
will be seeking input not only from our Board of Aldermen, but from
residents and fiscal experts alike. Over the next few weeks, I will be
bringing a budget presentation to local ResiStat meetings, and we will
be setting up an online budget form to take comments and suggestions
from the public.

Can we get through FY2010 without major cuts to
core services? I continue to believe that the answer is "yes," – but
we'll need the help of the legislature, the cooperation of our unions,
at least some stabilization of the regional economy – and a
disciplined, unified approach to managing our finances. And – as my
critics will tell you – I'm an optimist. So stay tuned.

While it was tremendous publicity for Somerville, it
might have been better if it hadn't been so secret – there still would
have probably been the same preparation, probably the same amount of
people hoping to catch a glimpse of the band, probably no serious
incidents, probably a lot of the same things would have gone the way
they did. Probably.

One thing that would have most definitely
been better – local media and radio and VJ Sway might have been able to
remember the event was in Somerville and not Boston. That would have
been nice.

"When
I was a kid," used to be the beginning of statements made by our
parents, but I hear it coming out of my own mouth more and more lately.
I can't believe that I now qualify to talk about "the good old days."
When did that happen?

A recent reckoning came to me thanks to
Facebook – I got a chance to see old photos up close as I posted them
to the popular time consuming online site. I look at these photos and
say to myself "what the Hell happened to the last 30 years?" Well, it
went by in a flash. As David Bowie said: "Turn and face the strange, ch
ch changes!" I'm turning, and facing, and boy are they strange.

I
am in an okay place, despite watching every cent for the first time in
my life, but I am reminiscing a lot more lately for some reason. I know
I am not mellowing out, because I am still a hot headed big mouth blow
hard (sometimes). I am just doing a lot of looking back lately, and
here's what I see – I am almost 56 years old and I am basically a kid
stuck in an aging body. I think that goes for lot of my Somerville
friends as well. We are still kids at heart.

Growing up in
Somerville was a blast and we will always carry that sense of youthful
humor. We laugh over the same silly things that have been amusing us
for decades. We gather every so often and talk about our high school
days, the cool cars we drove, and tell the same funny stories that we
now have down to an art. We drive our kids to kung fu, hockey,
basketball and the mall.

Sometimes our kids roll their eyes when
we start talking about the old days, but I notice they also enjoy some
of the crazy tales. We limit the time they spend on the computer, but
increase our own surfing time. We see our bills going up and our cash
flow going down. And finally, we have officially become our parents.
And if I have become my father, I have the right to voice my opinion,
just like he did.

I now make silly comments to the cashiers at
Johnnie's and Shaw's about the amount my food purchase comes to. I say
dumb stuff like "Jeez, these kids have to eat EVERY day?" The cost of
eating is eating my heart out. They look at me like I am a deranged old
coot, which may not be too far fetched! If you've seen me lately, you
will agree that I am definitely not starving, so I am finding a way to
continue eating my share at least. I constantly have to watch my ch ch
changing…waistline. I wish that when I shop I could get back more ch
ch change!

I may have to call up the "boys" and see if anyone
wants to put the old band back together and go out and do some gigs for
some extra cash. I am pretty sure I can still rock, although I may have
to keep a chair and some ben-gay close to my piano. I have also
considered dusting off my real estate license and trying to do some
rentals. I was pretty good at that when I worked with Jackie Veri. I
even sold a condo! I have always lived beyond my means, and now I am in
the same flimsy mortgage boat that many of us are in.

Some
changes I don't like so much are out of state drivers on cell phones
speeding through pedestrian crosswalks, while said pedestrian is half
way across. Seems to be more of these banana heads all the time. And if
you beep at them to show your displeasure at their careless disregard
for law and safety, they usually flip you half a peace sign.

Another
not so wonderful change that has occurred is that my new mustache is
very grey. I wonder why it doesn't match my hair? I look like a cross
between Don Amece (Cocoon, Trading Places) and Tony Orlando (before he
went on the Slim Fast diet). But with the changing of the season, I
have vowed to take longer walks with the dog, hit the gym more and eat
less (ok, and try not to lie as much).

I wish we didn't have to
wait so long for the weekend. Thankfully Spring is right around the
corner, bringing with it a fresh new start, full of hope. As a matter
of fact, I'm full of it right now.

I guess I just want to be a
kid again – with no responsibilities, no bills, with parents who used
to fix everything for me. Yes, I have changed into my parents, and I am
quite happy about that. I am half mom and half dad. Today I will pay
bills, dust and cook a boiled dinner – later on I will slap on some Old
Spice, eat the boiled dinner and then watch TV. You can email Jimmy
directly with comments at jimmydel@rcn.com.

"It's hard to believe that it's all over," said Lynch
in reflecting on his successful high school hockey career. "I've had a
lot of great memories here on the team, and I've made a lot of friends
that I'm sure I'll have for the rest of my life. When I look back, I'll
have a lot of great memories I had with my coaches and teammates."

A
lifelong Somerville native, Lynch's passion for the sport developed at
the tender age of three where he would often watch various family
members compete at both the high school and collegiate levels.

"I
remember seeing my cousin and my dad skate around and play in leagues,"
said Lynch. "I just knew that playing hockey was just something I
always wanted to do. As soon as I started walking, I was anxious to
pick up some skates and hit the ice."

Only three years old,
Lynch's family enrolled him in a Learn to Skate Program, where he
slowly developed into a budding prospect. Following intense practices
with family and fellow friends, Lynch participated in the city's youth
hockey program, where he slowly emerged through the ranks and developed
into a solid forward.

Toiling through the Midgets, Mites and Pee
Wees, Lynch also learned valuable experience throughout his elementary
and middle school years as a member of various travel teams.

"It
was a lot of fun because I learned a lot from playing under my
coaches,' said Lynch "I made a ton of friends, and really experienced a
lot. It was just so much fun, and I just continued to fall in love with
hockey. It's something I did almost every day and I stuck with it, and
just tried to get better each and every day."

After completing
his middle school years, Lynch was faced with a decision to venture off
to preparatory and private schools. Following days of agonizing
uncertainty, Lynch decided to continue his high school education at
Somerville High, a move he hasn't regretted one bit.

"It was
tough because I had some offers from other local schools to play
hockey," said Lynch. "I probably could've played at either Matignon or
Malden Catholic, but I decided to stay here at Somerville and be with
all the friends I grew up and played hockey with. I'm happy I decided
to stay here at Somerville, and I never really thought twice about it."

During
his freshman season, Lynch saw limited action on the ice rotating
between forward and defense. As Lynch adapted to performing at the high
school level, the Highlanders struggled through a three-win season.

"It
was tough because we were losing a lot of games, and I was making some
adjustments between playing forward and defense," recalled Lynch. "We
had trouble clicking at times, and we went up against some tough teams
that season."

As a sophomore Lynch didn't see a lot of action, as the Highlanders continued to struggle through a six-win campaign.

"It's
tough sitting on the bench," said Lynch. "We had a lot of older guys on
the team, so all I could do is continue to work hard and learn from
them. There were times where I could've just walked away and quit the
team, but I just continued to hang in there because I loved the sport
and wanted to be with my teammates."

After experiencing a pair
of rough seasons, the Highlanders hired Mike Bertoni and the atmosphere
quickly changed on the ice and in the locker room.

"We knew that
when he (Bertoni) came on to coach us, there was just a different
feeling in the air," said Lynch. "He's (Bertoni) really motivated
everyone and brought out the best in the team. We just knew that things
were going to turn around and they did.

Led by goaltender Billy
Weiand, the Highlanders roared off to a 10-1-1 start before finishing
the season with an impressive 12-4-4 mark. Lynch was also shifted from
forward to defense, where he registered 12 points (2-10-12).

"I
just wanted to do anything to help the team win," said Lynch. "We all
bought into his (Bertoni's) philosophy and he was trying to experiment
with different things, and thought I would be a good fit on defense. It
was a lot of fun playing defense and I definitely enjoyed it."

Despite
posting a successful regular season, the Highlanders suffered a tough
1-0 shutout loss to Oliver Ames in the first round of the Division 2
South tournament.

"It was tough because we thought we could win
a couple of games and go pretty deep," said Lynch. "But we ran into a
hot goaltender, and we just couldn't find a way to get the puck by him."

While
the Highlanders finished the regular season off strong, Lynch suffered
the scare of his life when he was hospitalized at Children's Hospital
with double pneumonia for 18 days. For nearly three weeks, he was
incapacitated and breathing through a tube as doctors didn't think he
would be able to pull through.

"I had this cold and I was just
fighting through it,' said Lynch. "Then one day, I had these awful
pains in my chest and I almost collapsed. I was rushed to the hospital
and put through all these tubes. They (doctors) didn't think I was
going to make it, but I got a lot of support from my family, friends
and coaches. They came up to check on me almost every day, and I even
got a call from Cam Neely."

Even as Lynch missed the tournament, he managed to place all things in perspective.

"It
was a real scary experience and it really forced me to realize how
fortunate I am to have great family and friends and coaches," said
Lynch. "I'm just very grateful to be alive and be playing hockey again."

After
six weeks of rehabilitation, Lynch returned to school and was cleared
to play athletics, where he played the last four games of the baseball
season.

"I really didn't think I was going to play again,"
said Lynch. "After all I went through; to go back out and play sports
again was just a victory in itself. I just tried to enjoy every minute
of it while I was out there."

Despite losing an abundance of
seniors to the cap and gown from last year's hockey squad, the
Highlanders remained upbeat regarding their return to the tournament.
After winning the Greater Boston League holiday tournament, the
Highlanders were on course for another bid to the playoffs. Instead
injuries and other issues led to a losing streak midway through the
season.

Needing to win three out of their final four games to
qualify for the tournament, the Highlanders' bid for a return fell just
short after a 4-2 loss to Melrose in the first round of the Winthrop
tournament.

"It's tough to come that close to the tournament,
and to fall just short," said Lynch. "I was hoping we would be able to
qualify in my senior year and have that experience, but we just
couldn't."

A three sport athlete, Lynch served as a valuable
member of the golf team, earning league all-star status and is also
slated to be penciled in as the Highlanders starting second baseman
come this spring.

"I'm definitely looking forward to be playing
baseball in the spring," said Lynch. "We've been practicing the past
few weeks in the gym, just trying to get loose and get ready for the
season when it starts."

As for future plans, Lynch is uncertain,
but intends on continuing his hockey career at some level, either in
juniors in college or at post graduate school.

"It's really all
going to come down to the economics," said Lynch. "I'd definitely like
to play hockey in college, but we'll see what happens. Hopefully it'll
all work out."