The National League of Cities (NLC) has recognized Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the City’s Shape Up Somerville strategy for recent completion of key health and wellness goals for Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties (LMCTC). LMCTC is a major component of First Lady Michelle Obama’s comprehensive Let’s Move! initiative, which is dedicated to solving the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and  do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff  or publishers)

All headlines, bulletins, small talk, chit-chat, gossip and any other news in any way shape or form is put on a back burner because of the really big news! On November 29 I became a grandpa.

Yes, my daughter Nikki had a 7 pound 6 ounce healthy little girl. Her name is Christiana Chanel. She is perfect. I got to hold her on Sunday when my sons (her new uncles) and I drove to Cranston Rhode Island to see her for the very first time.

Saturday, December 7,  the Somerville Winter Farmers Market will begin its season from  9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Avenue.  The seasonal market will run  every Saturday through the end of March. Opening day celebration includes lots of door prizes and special activities.

More merriment takes place on Saturday, Dec. 7 as the Union Square Winter Craft Market gets underway. Presented by Union Square Main Streets, a variety of handmade products including jewelry, pottery, housewares, knitwear, toys, ornaments, perfume and more is there for your holiday shopping pleasure. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Union Square Plaza and inside Precinct.

Federal Realty Investment Trust to build up to 1.1M sq. ft. mixed-use site on former IKEA parcel to serve 4,500 Partners employees

The state’s largest private employer, Partners HealthCare, will be the first major industry tenant to take up occupancy in Somerville’s new Assembly Row neighborhood. The nonprofit healthcare provider plans to build up to 1.1 million square feet of new mixed-use office space in several phases on the former IKEA parcel in Assembly Square. Approximately 4,500 administrative employees are scheduled to move by late 2016 into the first two buildings, which will follow Assembly Row’s active, urban streetscape design approach with retail on the ground floor and offices above.

On December 5, 2013 at approximately 1:10 p.m. a medium built, white male in his late 30’s, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark colored pants, entered the Santander Bank 403 Highland Avenue Somerville, Ma. 02144 and robbed the teller of an undetermined amount of cash. No weapon was shown.

Part 5:  Solutions
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By William C. Shelton

 (The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and  do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff  or publishers)

I was thinking of summarizing the series thus far. Then Pope Francis eloquently did so in last week’s Apostolic Exhortation:

While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control. A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules.

By Jim Clark

Police officers patrolling Temple St. last Friday night noticed several people milling around in the middle of the street arguing among themselves.

Upon questioning witnesses, police determined that a man, identified as Cory Bloom, 25, of Mattapan, along with some other individuals, had been arguing with and intimidating the apparent victim of a traffic accident involving Mr. Bloom, according to reports.

Online fundraiser for Mobile Farmers Market
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Locals are being asked to pitch in to help keep the Mobile Farmer’s Market rolling.

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Most Americans sat down last week to celebrate life in a land of plenty, with a holiday that usually involves so much food we think of leftovers as part of the tradition. But a growing number of locals are having a harder time putting any kind of meal on the table these days. And healthy food choices are even tougher to come by.

The city’s annual Christmas Tree and Menorah Lighting Ceremony will take place tonight, December 5 at 5:30 p.m. on the City Hall concourse, 93 Highland Ave. followed by a meet and greet with Santa Claus in the Somerville High School Highlander Cafe (atrium entrance).