Somerville High Senior Gabrielle Etienne placed third in the Shot Put at the New England  High School Track Championships held on Sunday, February 28 at the Reggie Lewis Center. Etienne’s best throw of 40’9.5″ came on her final throw in the competition and moved her into third place. Etienne holds the Somerville High Shot Put record with her throw of 40′ 11.5″ at the Massachusetts State Finals.

By Josie Grove

The Somerville Board of Aldermen is putting forward measures that would require 68% of development in the city to be zoned for commercial use.

Amid all the development in Somerville and the large-scale neighborhood planning projects, the Board of Aldermen has decided to take a stand. Last Thursday, the board took up discussion of a rule that would require all large developments in specific development districts neighborhoods to be 68% commercial. While the number is dramatic, “It really doesn’t affect much of the city,” said Alderman-at-Large William White, who proposed the rule.

By Haley ED Houseman

A very receptive audience turned out to view the screening of the climate change documentary “This Changes Everything” that played at Arts at the Armory last Sunday.

This Changes Everything, is a climate change documentary based on a book by Naomi Klein of the same name. Directed by Avi Lewis, the film sets up the same opposition in the book, that of positive climate action as directly in conflict with capitalism as it exists today. Telling the story in a series of vignettes set across the globe, the story captured the interest of attendees of the screening at Arts at the Armory on Sunday.

How long is long enough?
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By Leland Cheung
Cambridge City Councilor

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

First proposed in 1990, a quarter century has passed since the Green Line Extension (GLX) from Cambridge through Somerville and Medford was first proposed. Four decades to go four miles is a pretty pitiful pace, even by Beacon Hill standards.

Yesterday was Presidential Primary Election Day. There was a big turnout and was anyone surprised? Now we don’t have to see all those commercials for a few more months, and that’s always a good thing. According to an article in the Herald as well as from the Secretary of State’s office, more than 16,300 Democrats have shed their party’s affiliation and of that 3,500 moved to Republican affiliation. The city of Somerville has also seen a shift in Democratic affiliation as well.

Eagle Feathers #98 – The Monument

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

It lies on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Being the oldest military monument in America, it has a storied past. The memorial commemorates the American sailors who died in the Tripolitan War. It has been alternately referred to as the Tripoli Monument, the Naval Monument, or the Somers Monument, and honors Master Commandant Richard Somers.

— Photo by Claudia Ferro

Local Stop & Shop employees took a bus to go to a negotiation meeting at Lombardo’s in Randolph on Sunday. Their current contract ended on Saturday, so a negotiation meeting was arranged. While no strike is underway at the moment, the employees voted to authorize one if necessary.

Sometimes it seems like you can’t win for losing. Especially when the fight itself is fraught with controversy.

Take, for example, the case of the City of Somerville vs. the proposed Wynn Casino in the city of Everett. There seem to be plenty of people shouting pros and cons over both sides of the fence, with solid sounding arguments to back up their respective positions.

Somerville Middle School Team won their 2015-2016 Valley League Championship lead by Coaches Sergio Amaral and John Donovan over the Bedford Junior Bucks in Haverhill on Sunday night.  They ended the season with a 10-4-1 record.

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There has always been a cafe in my life, some haunt where I can read the paper, get my head on straight, maybe do some writing and then move on. T.S. Eliot wrote that he could measure his life in coffee spoons. I guess I can relate to that.