By William C. Shelton

(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)

Late on a hot and muggy July night in 1995, my girlfriend and I were returning from the Assembly Square Cinema to our Summit Avenue apartment. Flashing lights from a mass of police, fire, and EMS vehicles assaulted us as we turned onto Boston Street.

~Photos by Jason Corey
 

The Somerville High School Girls Varsity Basketball team played Notre Dame Academy – Hingham last Wednesday night, losing with a final score of 23 -51. They picked up a game at home against Malden on Friday, with a winning score of 48-36. This week they played Medford at SHS, Medford won 54 to 38, Friday, January 27  at 7 p.m., they will play Everett at Everett High School.

The Somerville Community Growing Center is looking at getting a makeover in the near future, thanks to efforts by generous volunteers and funding by the City of Somerville’s Community Preservation Act.

By Jessica Kenney

The Somerville Community Growing Center is a quarter-acre site located by Union Square. It was created twenty years ago as a means of educating people on the environment and hosting cultural performances. It is open to people of all ages and backgrounds, and allows chances to mingle with others, despite cultural or ecological differences. At the Growing Center, people are encouraged to develop ideas and learn through exploring the outdoors. It is also a center for arts and music, a spot people can go to for peace.

Senate approves pay hikes
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By Bob Katzen

The Senate today 31-9, approved the $18 million pay raise package for legislators, judges and constitutional officers. The House yesterday approved the package on a 116-44 vote.

Only final House and Senate approval are needed before the measure goes to Gov. Charlie Baker who is likely to veto it. The House and Senate each have the necessary two thirds vote to override a veto.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(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)

Twenty seconds: That figure represents the time within which our 311 customer service representatives strive to answer resident calls, and 79 percent of the time they achieve that goal. This is a notable feat considering that Somerville 311 is one of the smallest constituent service centers in the country, but nationally 78 percent of 311 calls take up to 30 seconds before they are answered. Perhaps this is made even more impressive when considering the more than 90,000 service and information requests 311 responded to and resolved in 2016.

By Bob Katzen

The House approved 116-44 and sent to the Senate a pay raise package including hiking the salaries of the two leaders who filed the bill, House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) and Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst), by $45,000 from $97,547 to $142,547. The measure also hikes the pay of the Legislature’s two Republican leaders, Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) and Rep. Bradley Jones (R-North Reading) by $37,500 from $85,047 to $122,547. Another provision hikes the salaries of the state’s judges.

Today Mayor Joe Curtatone spoke about Somerville’s commitment to remain a Sanctuary City.

By Donald Norton

Last Saturday, Little Sisters of the Poor on Highland Ave. celebrated Sister Rachel Ferdinand’s 100th birthday with a huge party.

Trains and T-stops were packed on Saturday as thousands poured in from neighboring cities like Somerville to participate in the Boston Women’s March.

By Joe Ruvido

Somerville residents joined an estimated 175,000 others at Boston Common on Saturday for the Boston Women’s March.

The march, which was billed as a protest against the anti-female rhetoric and policy proposals of President Donald Trump also served as a general protest against his presidency.

Speakers at the rally preceding the march included Massachusetts Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and State Attorney General Maura Healey.