Food For Free helps residents in need by gathering surplus food and distributing it where it is most needed.

Rescued food provides meals for Somerville residents
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By Sasha Purpura

Surplus food happens. It’s what we do with it that affects our environment, community and economy.

Food waste and food insecurity are both challenges in our society, whereas they could in fact, together, form a solution. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, more than 40 percent of all food produced in the United States goes to waste. That same produce could be supplying the emergency food system. Instead, it’s decomposing in landfills and producing methane gas – a leading cause of climate change.

There has been a lot of concern over airplane noise over the city when they reroute the planes. Alderman At Large Mary Jo Rossetti has been one of the aldermen who has been taking on this cause and trying to get some relief. There is currently a survey being conducted by MS Walker, Doctoral Candidate Dept. of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The survey was primarily set up for the city of Boston, but Somerville has been added to it. It might serve to assist the city’s argument with Massport about the impact of the air traffic. Rossetti is asking all those who are reading this to go online an take the survey: www.noiseandthecity.org/english . This Thursday night at the Board of Alderman meeting (on local access TV) Alderman Rossetti has asked for time to present an update on the city’s position.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan is working with Middlesex Partnerships for Youth in helping girls to identify their strengths and assets via their innovative “Empowering Girls 2015” conference held at The Broad Institute in Cambridge.

By Rebecca Danvers

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Middlesex Partnerships for Youth hosted more than 350 students from middle and high schools across Middlesex County at this year’s “Empowering Girls 2015” conferences held at The Broad Institute in Cambridge. This year’s conference focused on the theme “Curate Your Life: Creating Your Own Story,” encouraging girls to use curation to help identify their strengths and assets to determine their own trajectory to success – now and in the future.

By Jim Clark

Two brothers entered police headquarters last Friday to report that they had a lead on a stolen motor scooter that had been taken from one of them.

A ceremonial Menorah Lighting took place on Sunday, Dec. 6 at sundown. All members of the community were invited as Mayor Curtatone and city staff held a brief ceremony on the City Hall Concourse. The Menorah will be lit each night of Hanukkah.

Pounding The Door Into Gray
By James DeCrescentis

Richard Wilhelm, a resident of Ball Square, writes a review of local poet James De Crescentis’ recently published collection of poetry. Richard is an art consultant for Ibbetson Street magazine, and has been published in a number of small press literary journals. I had the pleasure to work with him for many years at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA.

Poet Philip Burnham, Jr. writes: “This poem Gardenias from my new book, Winter Dreams (Ibbetson Street Press), is about so many things. When I was asked by a neighbor to take care of her gardenia, it reminded me of my mother’s preference for them and of my own purchase of gardenias when, as an adolescent, I would buy a corsage of gardenia to give to the young lady I was escorting to a dance. The poem, like so many of my poems, is about love and memory and loss. I had not thought of Shirley Kay Morse in years; the woman who asked me to care for her plant has since died and my own efforts to keep it and others have not been successful. Not all of that is contained in this poem, but echoes of those events are and that is what created the poem in the first place.

Tomorrow, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone will join the mayors of Boston, Braintree, and Quincy and the city managers of Cambridge and Chelsea to make an announcement regarding regional economic development and cooperation in metro Boston.

Arrests:
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Ketra Tatum, of 15 Crescent St., Unit B, Medford, November 30, 1:37 p.m., arrested at McGrath Hwy. on a charge of shoplifting over $100 by concealing merchandise.

Jeremy Gillis, November 30, 6:33 p.m., arrested at Middlesex Ave. on a warrant charge of attempt to commit a crime.

All are invited to a Public Hearing before the Board of Aldermen on Thursday, December 10, at 7 p.m., in the Aldermanic Chambers, 2^nd Floor, City Hall, 93 Highland Ave. to provide public input on the issue of economic inequality. Please come share your concerns, suggestions, requests and ideas on how to address economic inequality in Somerville. This hearing is in response to a request for a public hearing on the subject submitted by 195 registered voters to the Board of Aldermen on October 22, 2015 (#200177).