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Poet Afaa Weaver was a long-time resident of Somerville, MA. until he defected to the hinterlands of Connecticut. I hear he is very happy in the said environs. He has a new collection of poetry out– and the noted critic Dennis Daly was on it like the proverbial hornet:

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Gary Rainford lives year-round on Swan’s Island with his wife and daughter. He is the author of the poetry collection, Salty Liquor, founder of Island Verse, a creative writing literacy enterprise, editor-in-chief for The Island Reader, and an adjunct Professor of English at Monroe Community College. Summer 2016 Gary’s suite of poems called We Are Here was an honorable mention selected by Betsy Sholl for The Gabriel Zimpritch Memorial Poetry Prize at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth, ME. Gary’s next collection of poetry, Liner Notes – 64 ekphrasic poems describing 64 musicians as artists making music – is forthcoming.

Residents may sign up for no-cost Mass Save Home Energy Assessment and a variety of energy upgrades

Both Somerville residents and the city stand to benefit if 1,500 Somerville households sign up for a no-cost Mass Save® Home Energy Assessment in 2017 as part of the city’s Be SEEN! program (Be Somerville Energy Efficient Now!). The home energy assessments help residents save on energy costs and include free energy saving equipment such as LED and CFL light bulbs, programmable thermostats, and smart power strips. Meanwhile, if 1,500 households complete assessments and a cumulative 743 energy upgrades, the City can receive up to $40,000 in grants from the National Grid Community Initiative.

Donald Norton, of The Norton Group Real Estate, invited Alderman at Large and president of the Somerville Board of Aldermen, Bill White, into the studio. They discussed their perspectives on Somerville’s past, present and future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHGkxwN-XuM&feature=youtu.be

The City of Somerville’s Urban Agriculture Ambassador Program (UAAP) is now accepting applications for the 2017 class. The UAAP, which is taught by Somerville-based Green City Growers, offers free training around urban growing techniques to 20 residents each year in exchange for 30 hours of volunteer service in garden projects throughout the city.

Eighth grade students at the Winter Hill Community Innovation School had an opportunity to find out how a little bit of olive oil affects waves, how we learn what smaller and smaller particles are made of, and other “mind-blowing physics” from Greg Kestin, a theoretical physicist and Harvard faculty member who is also hosting a new NOVA web video series called What the Physics?! Mr. Kestin also shared a little bit about CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and discussed with students some of the theoretical questions that scientists are pondering now, such as “Is there an alternate universe?” and “What is consciousness?”

Somerville Neighborhood News is a production of Somerville Community Access Television, made by professional journalists, volunteers and staff. The half-hour news show has as its mission to provide a lively, informative newscast focusing on the events, issues and information impacting Somerville residents. Below are our latest news segments from SNN #78.

Tufts University is among the country’s top producers of Fulbright scholarship winners, with 10 Tufts students earning Fulbright awards for the 2016-17 academic year.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Top-producing institutions are highlighted annually in The Chronicle of Higher Education, which today published the list of top-producing colleges and universities, compiled from data provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

A friend and a part-time collectibles dealer kept telling me to be on the lookout for modern furniture, lamps and smalls (things you can carry in one hand). I looked online at photos of misshapen furniture, odd looking lamps and other “collectibles” from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. I couldn’t believe the prices that these things were getting.

The Somerville Police Department has received numerous reports from residents regarding IRS Phone Scams. The calls indicate that there is a “lawsuit filed against you”, and leaves a message for a return phone call number. Please do not call this number. Do not answer unknown phone numbers, since these might be robocalls. Do not speak or touch any buttons during the call, since this might enable more calls in the future. Lastly, report this incident to the IRS. Follow this link provided by the IRS for more information: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0037-imposter-scams?utm_source=govdelivery