The mouse that roared: WJIB FM is coming back soon

Bob Bittner is doing his bit to keep local radio alive and well, including devoting himself to an initiative to bring WJIB in Cambridge to the FM band, thus broadening the station’s reach to more listeners.

By Ross Blouin

Some of you might remember the wonderful instrumental music from years past that was played on WJIB FM in Boston. The Chelsea Clock chimes would ring out and peaceful melodies would come to you over the airwaves.

Those days are gone but the good music has come back to us on WJIB AM 740 thanks to one man, Bob Bittner. He is a career broadcaster with ideas that are etched in stone.

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The foundry has been serving brasserie-style gastropub food since 2010 in the heart of Davis Square. From the appetizers, small sharing plates, flatbreads and entrees, there is a large enough selection to satisfy everyone in the group. 

By Donald Norton

This week, our friend the Winter Hill Turkey waltzed down to our local friendly Century Bank branch here on Mystic and Fellsway. Apparently he wanted to open an account in the bank, but Lisa told him he needed two forms of ID. The fowl was apparently irate that Lisa had to ask security to keep him out of the bank and not make a fuss. Perhaps he’ll get those two forms of ID and will return. We’re sure Lisa or Jeannie will know how to handle it. They are both excellent bankers.

The man or woman who assumes the roll of Commander and Chief of our nation must be ready willing and able to rise to the occasion when called upon to do so. Each one of us, whoever we may be supporting in this year’s election, is searching our heart to determine whom we feel will best fill those shoes.

Most of us seem to be very confident that our favored candidate is up to the task. Others bemoan a lack of integrity or skills required to do the job well among those who are running.

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By Mary Buchinger
August 2016

Boats on the front and boats on the back (photography by Dianne Robitaille and painting by Bridget Galway, respectively), this summer issue of Ibbetson sails with poetry, opening with Kathleen Spivack’s poem, The Café, set in a dim French establishment where women “[clutch] small glasses of absinthe,/reproaches, and the waste of possibility” and Jennifer Barber’s poem Visiting Jerusalem asking “How long/have I been the enemy?/What god am I counting on?” and ending with Joyce Wilson’s The Envy of the Gods: “We … acted out in scenes/To trick the gods observing from afar/That they might praise what we had undertaken:/A quiet life, hardworking and soft-spoken.”

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Robert Knox is a Boston Globe correspondent, a poet and fiction writer, and the author of a recently published novel based on the Sacco and Vanzetti case, Suosso’s Lane. A resident of Quincy, Mass., Knox is a contributing editor for the online journal, Verse-Virtual. He lived in Somerville a long time ago, while attending graduate school at Boston University.

Join the City of Somerville and the Concussion Legacy Foundation for an exciting announcement about Somerville’s concussion education, policy and prevention Wednesday morning at Somerville City Hall.

Attending will be Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone; Concussion Legacy Foundation co-founder and CEO Chris Nowinski; Concussion Legacy Foundation education and research program manager Cliff Robbins; District Coordinator of Concussion Management and Somerville High School Athletic Trainer Michelle Kelly; Somerville High School students.

Arrests:
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 John Bennet, September 26, 3:25 p.m., arrested at Banks St. on a warrant charge of abuse prevention order violation.

Aneudy Castro, of 2 Neptune Rd. East Boston, September 27, 1:17 p.m., arrested at Memorial Rd. on charges of operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license and failure to stop or yield.

Residents encouraged to apply; Committee to identify funding priorities for ~$2 million per year in open space, affordable housing and historic preservation projects  

Do you have a passion for parks, affordable housing, and historic preservation? The City of Somerville wants your help and is now accepting applications for one public position on the Community Preservation Committee, which oversees the selection of projects to be recommended for funding by an estimated $2 million in annual Community Preservation Act (CPA) revenues. Residents are encouraged to apply and applications must be submitted by October 21, 2016.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Board of Aldermen invite residents to the Fall 2016 ResiStat Community Meetings, a twice-yearly effort to share the latest city news, data, and neighborhood updates directly with residents and gather their feedback. ResiStat is more than a great way to get an overview of what’s happening specifically in your neighborhood as well as citywide. The social time before and after the meetings also offer an easy opportunity to talk one-on-one to the mayor, your aldermen, and city staff and police—and to connect with your neighbors.