(Left to right) Attorney Philip Privitera, NFL Super Bowl Quarterback Matt Ryan, Payton Privitera, Boston College University President Father William Leahy in the President’s Box at Alumni Stadium.

By Donald Norton

Matt Ryan, the Super Bowl Quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, inspired Mystic Avenue residents to stand up against MassDOT bullying in Somerville. When Boston College Law School Dean, Vincent Rougeau, and BC University President Father William Leahy invited Somerville Attorney Philip Privitera to celebrate the retirement of Matt Ryan’s Football jersey during the BC vs. U-Conn game, no one imagined the celebration would inspire Somerville residents to stand up against MassDOT bullying tactics, and possibly even help save their lives.

By Charles Lane

Tim Kaine, the 2016 Vice Presidential nominee and U.S. Senator (D-Va.), visited Tufts University this past Monday morning, January 22.

Sen. Kaine participated in a conversation with Alan Solomont, dean of Jonathan M. Tisch College for Civic Life and former U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra, about the 2016 presidential campaign, his career in public service, and how he and his colleagues in the Senate will approach the next four years.

School Committee Chair Laura Pitone.

By Laura Pitone

The following is from School Committee Chair Pitone’s speech delivered at the Board of Aldermen Organizational Meeting on Monday, January 9, 2017 in the Aldermanic Chambers:

Mayor Curtatone, President White, fellow elected officials on the Board of Alderman and School Committee, Superintendent Skipper, family and friends. I am honored to share this night with you and for my new role as the Chair of the School Committee. I appreciate the confidence and trust you have placed in me to lead and collaborate with the talented people that represent the city of Somerville on the School Committee.

Eagle Feathers #121 – The Thespians

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” So wrote England’s most quoted writer and playwright, William Shakespeare. He died on April 23, 1616, four hundred years ago. It was a short time before the founding of the Massachusetts settlements of Plymouth in 1620, of Boston in 1630, and of Charlestown/Somerville a dozen years before in 1628.

It’s an old problem that never seems to find a solution … as unbelievable as that may be.

Once again the city is pressing to get some action from the state – or wherever it can – so that a sound wall can be put up along the stretch of Interstate 93 that runs into Somerville.

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Clea Simon is an accomplished writer of mystery/crime novels that feature the object of her affection: cats.

Cats play any number of roles with Simon’s human sleuths as they experience the unsettling of their worlds and then try to set them right again. Simon is a book reviewer, and often contributes to The Boston Globe, and has written several works of non-fiction including Mad House: Growing Up in the Shadow of Mentally Ill Siblings, that deals with the mental illness of her brother and sister and the impact it had on her family, as well as an exploration of the bonds that bind cats and women titled The Feline Mystique.

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Mr. Dua writes The Times:

“My name is Kevin Dua, a 29-year old African-American male that teaches 9th-grade high school history at Somerville High School, in Somerville, MA. This poem was inspired by the 1937 Abel Meeropl’s poem, Strange Fruit (that protested American racism, and lynching of African Americans).

Arrests:
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 Javier Rivera-Vasquez, of 103 Leydon St., E. Boston, January 16, 2:38 p.m., arrested at New Washington St. on charges of marked lanes violation, unsecured or uncovered load, unregistered motor vehicle, and operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

Albert Gaudreau, January 16, 8:44 p.m., arrested at Artisan Way on a charge of possession of a class A drug.

Susan M. (Franklin) Wallace, a 6 year resident of Burlington and former 30 year resident of Marshfield and longtime resident of Somerville, entered into eternal life suddenly on Thursday, January 19, 2017 at her home in Burlington. She was 60 years old.

Susan was born in Providence, Rhode Island on January 22, 1956, a daughter of the late Ralph Franklin and Elaine (Fournier) Franklin. She grew up in Somerville where she was educated in the Somerville Public School system and graduated from Somerville High School in 1974. Susan was a hairdresser for over 30 years and for 6 years she owned her own hair salon in the Brant Rock section of Marshfield. Susan enjoyed spending time at the beach and doing crafts and was always interested in her jewelry.

The City of Somerville’s Planning Department invites you to a series of meetings aimed at chartering the next steps in developing the great Davis Square neighborhood while preserving its character.

Whether you are a renter or owner; new to the neighborhood or a long time resident, a planning meeting veteran or never attended one: We want to hear from you!