So when you
fall on your keester like I saw some poor middle aged 9 to 5'er do last
week, you're wet, embarrassed, hopefully not hurt, dirty and cold .
Let's give these poor worker bees a break. There are a few of those
huge multi-family apartment "houses" on College Ave that are never
shoveled. I have a friend who uses a cane and he was out after one of
the recent snow storms and it was more difficult than usual for him to
walk.

Let me tell you, if I ever fell in front of your apartment
"house," I would own your house. What's the problem here? The city
gives fines for un-shoveled walkways, right? Do you just pay the fine
and continue to put Somerville's citizens at risk? Do you "absentee
landlords" live so far off in a snobby suburb that you can't make it
back to the place that is financing your uppity lifestyle – to ensure
public safety?

Hey Mr. Landlord, here is an idea for you – pick
a couple of your tenants, and take some money off their rent and make
them the "official" shovel brigade. I always pass two of my friends
houses on College Ave that ARE cleared, then it's back to Antarctica.
If they can shovel, why can't we all? I have two senior citizen friends
who still walk to St. Clements every week for Mass. Even when it is a
clear warm day it is difficult for them to make the trek. When you
slackers don't shovel the snow, you are adding an extra element of
extreme danger to my friends.

If they were my aunts or uncles or
parents and they slipped in front of your house, I'd call Jim Sokolove,
Dane Shulman and Barry Feinstein – and I'd get what's rightfully mine –
and THAT's THAT! While I am ranting, when I walk my dog, I have to get
out of the way of the "spandex sprinters" who use our sidewalks for
their own private race track. Maybe if you slender jaunters shoveled
some snow, you wouldn't have to parade your designer jogging outfits
(that often times look silly) like the sidewalk was your own private
fashion runway.

I pay decent money for my gym membership because
I no longer choose to compete in the fashion show that is jogging in
public. Plus, I don't want to have a heart attack on College Ave. Look
at me! I'm exercising! OOHH! When I did jog outside, I used Fresh Pond
or Dilboy Field. Anyway, some of you are getting too skinny. Stay in
once in a while and have a sandwich. How skinny do you want to get? I
do, however, like the little flashing lights that some of you wear.

Onward
and upward with another rant – I thought some guy was going to beat my
head in the other day…I'm walking the dog and I see this guy and he
says something like "…blah, blah, what the hell do you
want…(curse)!" Followed by more swear-words, more arms waving, louder
yelling with some psychotic gibberish thrown in – and then a very loud
expletive!

He was looking right at me and getting closer and
closer. I figured I had a confrontation on my hands – it was go time! I
thought it was some dude I ticked off, or some old girlfriend's brother
or something…Nope. Just some nut walking down the street apparently
screaming at someone on his hands-free bluetooth cell phone thing. In
the old days they had a place that they would send you for walking down
the street yelling to yourself!

And all this is going on over a
filthy, slippery, slushy, un-shoveled sidewalk that some inconsiderate
absentee landlord is responsible for. I'll tell you, if you leave your
car without money in the meter, or in the wrong zone, you promptly get
a ticket…So I hope these non-shovelers also get fined quickly and
heftily. It's not rocket science. The City does a very good job at
clearing the streets, so let's take care of our end.

By Saturday
the sidewalk is down to bare cement thanks to the weather and the
trudging of the commuters, not the shoveling of the landlords. That's
what happens when hundreds of people walk a beaten path all day, every
day. It goes from snow, to slush, to ice, to gone. But the transition
is a cold, wet, slippery and treacherous one. I know because I walk the
dog there. I realize some people are not physically up to shoveling
their walk , so what do you do? Call 311 or e-mail me. We will get the
sidewalk clear so we don't have any hips, heads, legs, ankles or wrists
knocked out of commission. I'm serious. We also don't want anyone
slipping and having to go through their work day with a dirty spot on
their butt, or a dried white salty stain on their outfit.

By the
by, it's good to see people holding their parking spaces with creative
blockages. Hi Holdies are back! Folks are using barrels, lawn
furniture, RCN and Edison work cones, recycling bins, kids toys,
bundled up grandparents in lounge chairs, shopping carts, armoires, old
stoves and other creative items to secure the spot they shoveled out. I
picked up a very nice end table for my living room last week (sorry).
And you kids thought "MySpace" was something new!

Many local artists and
supporters of the Armory's mission to create an artistic haven in
Somerville came to the hearing to support the administrators and
artists who defended their case for obtaining an entertainment license,
which is required by Massachusetts law to hold public shows and to be
able to charge admission.

According to their website, the Arts
at the Armory "seeks to galvanize the creative spirit by providing a
space where working artists and the community can come together." Now,
after many community meetings and a four-year restoration of the
building, the Arts at the Armory is ready to hold theatre productions,
dance shows, and concerts within the halls of the Armory.

The
entertainment license will allow the organization to host events from
7pm to 10 pm on weekdays and 7pm to 11pm on weekends. Already, the
organization plans to host a production of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus"
put on by the Actor's Shakespeare Project – one of many organizations
who rent space in the Armory to pursue their artistic vision.

The
Armory building itself is a well-known site in Somerville. It is hard
to miss when driving down Highland Avenue towards Union Square.
Resembling a white castle with big turrets and a grand front door, the
Armory sticks out remarkably well in this mostly residential
neighborhood.

Built in 1903 by George A. Moore, the Armory's
original purpose was to house the Somerville Light Infantry of the
Massachusetts' Volunteer Militia. For a good portion of the 20th
century it would also be home to the Massachusetts National Guard. The
building would then sit vacant for 30 years before the state would put
it up for auction.

In 2004 Joseph and Nabil Sater, owners of
Central Square's prominent 'Middle East' music club, bought the Armory
for $2.6 million. Joseph Sater had a vision of turning the run-down
Armory into a community arts center for the city of Somerville.

Over
four years later, the Armory has been completely restored and brought
up to code, and the Arts at the Armory is ready for their entertainment
license. "We want to do our job and fulfill our mission." Explained
Debra McLaughlin, manager of Arts at the Armory. McLaughlin believes
that to be an effective organization, the Armory must explore the "four
corners of the art world," meaning visual arts, music, dance and
theatre.

Not everybody in the community is happy about the
entertainment license though. While the crowd who attended Monday's
meeting was overwhelmingly in support of granting the license, there
were a few community members who spoke against it.

Most of the
community members' worries were about the issue of amplified music.
"The concern is that Mr. Sader owns the Middle East and we do not want
that sort of environment in the Armory," explained one opponent to the
license, referring to the rock and roll performances common to the
Middle East music club.

McLaughlin and other supporters were
quick to note the Arts at the Armory has spent thousands of dollars on
sound proofing the building and doing sound checks to make sure
potential noise from concerts would not disturb any residents.

In
addition, McLaughlin noted that the Arts at the Armory had several
professionally mediated meetings between the organization and the
community. At these meetings 41 conditions were agreed upon to gain the
community's consent to pursue an Entertainment License. Nine of these
41 conditions make stipulations concerning sound control. According to
McLaughlin the Arts at the Armory will comply with all 41 of these
conditions.

"We want to be a good neighbor." Said McLaughlin.
"We're taking every measure we can to do that very thing." McLaughlin
and other supporters went on to promise that an open dialogue would
continue between the community and the center via an Advisory board of
elected community members.

At the end of the meeting, one
member of the licensing committee commented that there seems to be "an
overwhelming public need for this project" – an opinion that was only
confirmed by the loud applause after the license application had
officially passed.

Surveillance
cameras reported to have been purchased with Department of Homeland
Security funds can be seen on top of the Somerville Community Access
Television building in Union Square and, according to Gewirtz, in Davis
Square.

"(The cameras) have now apparently been recording our actions and activities on public streets, and I

feel concerned very about this," Gewirtz said at last Thursday's Board of Aldermen meeting.

Eight
other Boston area communities were provided funds for surveillance
cameras in 2008, with the Brookline Selectmen allowing the cameras for
a trial period of 12 months after a contentious vote.

Citing
information from the American Civil Liberties Union, Gewirtz suggested
such cameras could be used for racial profiling. "I want to know what
(the cameras are) recording, I want to know who

has access to
that information, what they're going to be doing with that information
(and) if people are being targeted as a result," Gewirtz said.

While
the resolution has been voted into the Public Heath and Public Safety
Committee, suggestions for finding more information included a study on
the camera's effectiveness and a series of public meetings. The
aldermen are waiting to hear from the city solicitor on whether

they can see the tapes for themselves. "From a safety point of view, cameras can be very effective,"

In
October, the Commonwealth saw over $900 million in cuts in state
spending, resulting in the loss of over 1,000 state jobs. So what is
there to do now but work toward a recovery? Governor Patrick now has
the autonomous power, given by the State Legislature, to decide how
much state aid will be cut from town to town and city to city.

The
day after the initial announcement of the cuts, he announced that he
will establish an Emergency Recovery Plan, which will include a series
of initiatives which he hopes and expects will both minimize the impact
this enormous cut will have on the towns and cities of the Commonwealth
and lessen the size of the 2010 cuts.

In a statement released by
Governor Patrick and his associates on January 23rd, they explained how
"The national and global recession has led to a steep and rapid decline
in state tax revenues. Unfortunately, cuts to local aid for
municipalities are unavoidable."

The initiatives as listed in
this statement include his filing of a bill that will increase the
statewide meals and hotel taxes by one-cent, which will help to
generate an estimated $150 million of the anticipated $375 million. On
top of this, the state will give towns and cities the option of raising
the meals and hotels taxes an additional one-cent locally, which would
lower the cuts for 2010 down to an estimated $20 million.

Another
important piece of this initiative is the property taxing of
telecommunications companies for above-ground-poles. This could be seen
as a long overdue action, considering up until now they never were,
while communications companies with alternative mediums were taxed on
property.

In addition, Governor Patrick will re-file parts of
the Municipal Partnership Act which is a "series of cost-savings
reforms including making it easier for communities to enroll in the
state's affordable health care plan, encouraging regionalization of
municipal services and other reforms around procurement and advertising
to save time and money." This could, of course, lead to the
consolidation of branches and loss of more jobs across both the private
and public sectors.

What does this mean for the good people of
the Commonwealth? The State House, as well as local cities' and town's
governments, have been riddled by difficult problems – as normal as
putting the people who occupied the now deceased positions out of jobs,
to the crucial and sometimes overlooked causes that the state funded
committees and organizations (that were eliminated) fought for.

As
for Somerville, Mayor Joseph Curtatone made a statement explaining how
Somerville could experience up to around a 9.7%, or $3 million, cut
from the $33 million it expected from the state.

As Mayor
Curtatone put in an interview, "Even leading into this fiscal crisis
there were sixty-four cities and towns that were receiving much less
local aid than they were in the fiscal year 2002 before Governor Romney
made his cuts."

Leading up to this specific crisis, the City of
Somerville had already been establishing a plan of action to defend
against the problems a cut in state issued aid like this one could have
had on the city. Mayor Curtatone stressed the fact that none of these
budget cut issues are necessarily new, and that the Commonwealth, along
with the rest of the nation, has been facing these problems for years
now.

"We've been making preparations internally with our
finance team and staff to identify any options for cost savings,
efficiencies and new revenues," he stated, "we're still exploring that
and we'll be finalizing our recovery plan to carry us through not only
this fiscal year, but through fiscal year 2010 as well."

Mayor
Curtatone also explained how certain areas of the states revenues, like
its property taxes, which have consistently risen since Romney's cuts
in 2002, are making the other areas of the state's revenues struggle by
putting more stress on them. This particular Commonwealth-wide strife
can be clearly identified by the rapid decline of new homeowners and
the sharp rise in the number of homes being subjected to foreclosure.

One
of the ways to lessen the blow this fiscal crisis will have on
Somerville and cities like it is to disseminate the strains that, for
the most part, are falling in very specific places. Mayor Curtatone
stated that "we need to spread the burden of who pays…right now it
goes too heavily on the property tax payer, both residential and
commercial."

As Obama stated in his Inaugural address, "it is
a time for a change in what we see as 'business as usual,'" Mayor
Curtatone voiced a similar opinion: "The present system, the overall
system of the state, needs to be reformed."

"The Commonwealth's
economy is linked by a chain of cities and towns and their economies,
and the deeper the cuts to the governments of the cities and towns, the
longer this recession could last. We, the cities and towns of this
state, fuel the economic engine of the Commonwealth…this is not a
problem that we can simply cut our way out of, we need creative
solutions for the long term."

While these past few days of
extreme and very publicized cuts seem to be dismal in respect to the
people of the Commonwealth, especially those who are (or were) employed
by the agencies and committees who are at risk of termination, Governor
Patrick came out with a slightly brighter announcement, stating how he
will protect the state's funding of schools. In the fiscal year of
2009, educational funding will not experience any cuts, and in 2010 it
will maintain level funding at $3.984 billion, which the statement
explains to be a "record high."

In a year that saw a State
Income Tax Repeal Initiative bill that made it onto the state election
ballots, one can but sit and wonder what would have happened if said
bill had passed. For now, although it seems that the people of the
Commonwealth can only hope that our elected officials are up to take on
the task at hand, and that the erratic nature of the nation's economy
will balance out, in reality, the people need to stand up and the face
these hardships.

Among
the changes proposed by Capuano is the addition of language to restrict
the distribution of "golden parachutes" by institutions participating
in TARP, as well as language to allow the government to recover bonuses
paid on the basis of false or exaggerated earnings.

The term
"golden parachute" refers to the generous compensation packages given
to high-ranking executives at many troubled financial institutions upon
the executives' departure.

"If entities receiving these funds
are using them in ways that do not directly provide economic relief,
they should not be able to continue using the funds," a press release
from his office quotes Capuano as saying.

"Now that the Senate
has voted to allow the use of the second $350 billion, it is more
important than ever to place conditions on its use."

Other
changes proposed by Capuano include the addition of a measure to
prevent banks from evicting tenants from foreclosed properties for a
period of 90 days, as well as modifications to the board that oversees
the Treasury Department's administration of TARP. These modifications
will grant the board greater autonomy, as well as the ability to
override decisions made by the Treasury Department, according to a
press release.

Further debate on the issues surrounding TARP
occurred at a roundtable discussion Capuano held last Thursday. The
participants, from both academia and the private sector, spent much of
the two-hour session debating whether TARP has been effective.

"Many
felt that it was too early to gauge the true impact of TARP, and some
felt that additional money may indeed be needed to stabilize our
financial system," explained Capuano in an email.

But "broad
agreement" was reached concerning both the need for an economic
stimulus package focused on "job creation and retention" rather than on
tax cuts, and the need for enhancements to the present system of
regulations on the financial industry.

"Far too many Americans
continue to live on the verge of foreclosure and not nearly enough has
been done to address that ongoing problem," Capuano asserted, adding
that "the debate over the use of TARP will continue in the months
ahead, as work continues to stabilize the economy."

The TARP Reform and Accountability Act is now before the Senate.

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

Here's
a good one, seems that the residents of Brickbottom are possibly going
to try and throw a monkey wrench into Somerville getting the Green Line
here in the 'Ville. We heard from sources down there that a lot of the
residents are not happy over the T's proposal to build their
Maintenance Facility right there in their back yard. Some were heard to
say that they should picket Governor Patrick's home in Milton, after
all they want him to be reminded that they helped him get elected. We
hear they already tried to corner the Mayor and Alderman Heuston and
give them the same line. We're not sure, it's all but definitely a
vocal group down at Brickbottom that is making noise. First of all, the
tracks have always been there next to the Brickbottom buildings – the
buildings used to be known as the A&P warehouse back 30-40 years
ago.

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

The Somerville Police were busy last
week ticketing and towing the many cars still left on the streets
buried under the most recent snowstorms. Just so you know, if you are
parked on a city street and you don't remove the snow, you risk
receiving a ticket for "Snow Birding" – so if you don't go out and
remove the snow from your car right away you will get a ticket and
possibility several tickets and then a tow…could be a costly mistake,
but definitely a great revenue stream for the city isn't it?

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

Special
thanks from us to our friend and guest contributor Will Pierce – he
attended the Presidential Inauguration and brought back great stories
and amazing pictures. We are lucky to have such talent pitching in here.

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

Shootings,
stabbings, drug dealer arrests – there's been a lot of activity by the
Somerville Police Department these days. We hope that with upcoming
budget issues, we will continue to enjoy the level of security our
local police officers are giving us on a daily basis without cutbacks
and layoffs.

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

Our hearts and prayers are
with Alderman Tom Taylor, who is currently in the hospital recovering
from surgery this past Friday. The popular Ward 3 Alderman is probably
taking it all in stride, we wish him nothing but the best – to him and
his lovely family.

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

Some more celebrities
sightings here in the Ville, we have it on reliable sources that Ben
Affleck has been seen having breakfast at the Neighborhood Restaurant
in Union Square not once, but a few times, the Neighborhood was one of
the "Best of Somerville 2008" readers choices.

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

You
know that new "Condo Conversion Ordinance" that the Alderwoman from
Ward 6 has been trying to get on track here? We can't wait until it
finally gets before the Board of Aldermen and hear the reasoning behind
pushing this through – especially now in this economy – again, how many
permits for conversion have there been? We bet the votes on the Board
of Alderman might not be there right now.

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

The
first live "Somerville News Talk Show" will be this Thursday the 29th
at 8pm with host Joe Lynch – the number to call in is 617-628-9876.

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

Condolences
go out to the family of Bridget Pacheco who passed away this past week
– many of us here in the 'Ville are pretty familiar with her brother
George Landers – Bridget was a very nice person and will be missed.

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

Welcome
to a new business that is opening its doors here – Broadway Babies:
"Childcare for your Little Star" is opening next week at 88 Broadway in
East Somerville. It's a new bilingual childcare facility determined to
bring out the star in your child through creative curriculum and
interactive play. Breakfast and afternoon snacks will be provided.
They're now accepting enrollment of children between the ages of
6-weeks up to 2.9 years old. Opening on February 5th with a
registration fee of $50.00 being waived if you register your child at
the open house, vouchers are accepted, call 617-440-7374 for more
information.

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

A total of 81 votes out of the 160 representatives in the House are needed to be elected speaker.

Rep.
John Rogers (D-Norwood), the other contender to lead the House, has
called for up to a one-month delay of the vote for a new speaker. The
vote is currently scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday of this week. In
an interview with the State House News Service, Rogers said, "It's an
important office in Massachusetts and it's not a coronation. It's a
public office and the citizens of Massachusetts should have a greater
say … and should have a greater opportunity to weigh in with their
respective representatives."

Seth Gitell, a spokesman for DeLeo,
released a statement by the Committee for Bob DeLeo in response to
Rogers' idea. The e-mail said, "We need to elect a Speaker who can work
with others to deal with our challenges as soon as possible, not play
political games."

Rogers also accused DiMasi of violating a
2004 agreement under which DiMasi would succeed former Speaker Tom
Finneran and eventually Rogers would succeed DiMasi. At the time, both
Rogers and DiMasi were attempting to succeed Finneran and Rogers said
that the agreement was struck as a compromise.

The list from DeLeo is as follows:

1.Aguiar, Kevin, (D) Fall River

2.Alicea, Geraldo, (D) Charlton

3.Allen, Willie Mae, (D) Boston

4.Arciero, James , (D) Westford

5.Atkins, Cory, (D) Concord

6.Balser, Ruth B., (D) Newton

7.Basile, Carlo P., (D) Boston

8.Benson, Jennifer, (D) Lunenburg

9.Binienda, John J., (D) Worcester

10.Bosley, Daniel E., (D) North Adams

11.Bowles, Bill, (D) Attleboro

12.Bradley, Garrett J., (D) Hingham

13.Brady, Michael, (D) Brockton

14.Brownsberger, William, (D) Belmont

15.Cabral, Antonio F. D., (D) New Bedford

16.Campbell, Linda Dean, (D) Methuen

17.Cantwell, James, (D) Marshfield

18.Clark, Katherine, (D) Melrose

19.Coakley-Rivera, Cheryl A., (D) Springfield

20.Conroy, Thomas, (D) Wayland

21.Costello, Michael A., (D) Newburyport

22.DeLeo, Robert A., (D) Winthrop

23.Dempsey, Brian S., (D) Haverhill

24.DiNatale, Stephen, (D) Fitchburg

25.Donato, Paul J., (D) Medford

26.Donelan, Christopher J., (D) Orange

27.Dwyer, James, (D) Woburn

28.Ehrlich, Lori, (D) Marblehead

29.Fernandes, John, (D) Milford

30.Ferrante, Ann-Margaret, (D) Gloucester

31.Finegold, Barry R., (D) Andover

32.Forry, Linda Dorcena, (D) Dorchester

33.Galvin, William C., (D) Canton

34.Gobi, Anne M., (D) Spencer

35.Grant, Mary E., (D) Beverly

36.Gregoire, Danielle, (D) Marlborough

37.Guyer, Denis E., (D) Dalton

38.Haddad, Patricia A., (D) Somerset

39.Hecht, Johnathan, (D) Watertown

40.Hogan, Kate, (D) Stow

41.Honan, Kevin G., (D) Brighton

42.Kafka, Louis L., (D) Stoughton

43.Kane, Michael F., (D) Holyoke

44.Kaufman, Jay R., (D) Lexington

45.Keenan, John, D., (D) Salem

46.Khan, Kay, (D) Newton

47.Kocot, Peter V., (D) Florence

48.Koutoujian, Peter J., (D) Waltham

49.Kulik, Stephen, (D) Worthington

50.Lantigua, William, (D) Lawrence

51.Lewis, Jason, (D) Winchester

52.Linsky, David P., (D) Natick

53.L'Italien, Barbara A., (D) Andover

54.Madden, Timothy, (D) Nantucket

55.Malia, Elizabeth A., (D) Jamaica Plain

56.Mariano, Ronald, (D) Quincy

57.McCarthy, Allen, (D) East Bridgewater

58.Moran, Michael, (D) Brighton

59.Murphy, Charles A., (D) Burlington

60.Murphy, James M., (D) Weymouth

61.Naughton, Harold P., Jr., (D) Clinton

62.O'Day, James J., (D) West Boylston

63.O'Flaherty, Eugene L., (D) Chelsea

64.Peake, Sarah K., (D) Provincetown

65.Pedone, Vincent A. (D) Worcester

66.Peisch, Alice H., (D) Wellesley

67.Petrolati, Thomas M., (D) Ludlow

68.Provost, Denise, (D) Somerville

69.Reinstein, Kathi-Anne, (D) Revere

70.Rice, Robert L, Jr., (D) Gardner

71.Rosa, Dennis, (D) Leominster

72.Rushing, Byron, (D) Boston

73.S√°nchez, Jeffrey, (D) Jamaica Plain

74.Sandlin, Rosemary, (D) Feeding Hills

75.Sannicandro, Tom, (D) Ashland

76.Scibak, John W., (D) South Hadley

77.Sciortino, Carl, (D) Medford

78.Smizik, Frank Israel, (D) Brookline

79.Speliotis, Theodore C., (D) Danvers

80.Spellane, Robert P., (D) Worcester

81.Speranzo, Christopher, (D) Pittsfield

82.Stanley, Harriett L., (D) West Newbury

83.Story, Ellen, (D) Amherst

84.Straus, William M., (D) Mattapoisett

85.Swan, Benjamin, (D) Springfield

86.Torrisi, David M., (D) North Andover

87.Vallee, James E. (D) Franklin

88.Wagner, Joseph F., (D) Chicopee

89.Walsh, Steven M., (D) Lynn

90.Walz, Martha M., (D) Boston

91.Welch, James T., (D) West Springfield