By Joseph A. Curtatone

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

Next Tuesday, Nov. 3, may be the most important day of the year for Somerville. That’s because from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m., polling places will be open across the City for our local election, with voters casting ballots for candidates hoping to serve our community. There are 24 candidates for public office, and every registered voter in the City will have the opportunity to cast a ballot in a contested race. This has significant implications for the direction of our community over the next two years, but unfortunately, too often turnout in local elections falls short. In Somerville’s last municipal election two years ago, of the city’s more than 46,000 registered voters, only a little more than 10,000 cast ballots. That’s a 22 percent turnout. Given the importance of local elections, I believe we as a community can—and must—do better.

Groundwork Somerville’s antique press was put into service as participants contributed to the cider production on Cider Day, a prelude to the National Food Day observance.

By Haley ED Houseman

Celebrated on October 24, National Food Day is a national day of awareness of American eating habits. This year’s theme was “toward a greener diet.”

Observing Food Day is a chance to spark dialogue about our diet, especially as it relates to support sustainable and organic farms. Thinking about these issues is also an opportunity to make plans for reducing hunger and improving food access.

Somerville youth conduct compliance checks, sticker shock campaign as part of prevention, enforcement strategies.

Annual compliance checks at all licensed Somerville liquor outlets will take place from November 2015 through June 2016, conducted by Somerville Cares About Prevention (SCAP) and the Somerville Police Department, the Somerville Office of Prevention (SOP) announced today.

MarKa Communities presented their proposed plan for redevelopment of the Powder House Community School to the public at a meeting held last week. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Josie Grove

Cambridge-based developer MarKa Communities showed off their plan for redevelopment of the Powder House Community School (PHCS) building on Broadway last Wednesday. The structure will become a mixed-use building with 40 residential units and 15,000 square feet of retail space. A city park will emerge from the building’s courtyard, filled with a laundry list of amenities for the neighborhood.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2015, voters will cast their ballots for School Committee Members in Wards 1, 3 and 4. The Somerville Times asked each of the qualified candidates to answer six questions on their views relating to their possible tenure as Committee Members, as well as provide a brief biography of themselves. Their responses are presented here in alphabetical order based on their last names. As of our publication deadline, Vivaldo Meneses Jr., running for the Ward 3 seat, has not responded to the questionnaire.

Happy Halloween to all. This year in particular, be careful driving around the city and watch out for young kids darting in between cars. We hope all is well with everyone and the kids enjoy the fun of the night showing off their costumes, before the PC Police ban them because they offend a small group of people. Most of us growing up couldn’t wait for this holiday, dressed up in homemade costumes.

The Polyphonic Spree will be performing a special Halloween show at Johnny D’s this coming Saturday, October 31.

By Blake Maddux

The Polyphonic Spree is a self-described “choral symphonic rock” group that has included as many as two dozen-plus members at a time. Regularly garbed in matching (if sometimes differently colored) attire, the unusually large number of musicians allows the traditional guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards sound to be augmented by assorted string, brass, and woodwind instruments.

In the Ward 1 School Committee race, we endorse and hope you vote for School Committeeman Steve Roix, who was first appointed to the position after a long search by the School Board, and we think they got it right on picking Steve. He’s a family man, with his kids being in the system. Before being on the Board he was very active in the schools. Steve lives with his family on Pinckney Street, is a homeowner and someone who fits into the community. We have watched him on the Board and we hear nothing but positive comments regarding his tenure there. He listens to the concerns of both parents and homeowners alike. We think he deserves a chance at being re-elected and hope you see that as well.

By Donald Norton

Not forgetting about the elderly, Ward 3 Alderman Bob McWatters hosted a pizza party/Halloween celebration at the Little Sisters of the Poor this past Monday night, along with his associate and campaign manager Zachary “Zak” Zasloff, also a Ward 3 resident.

Reminding everyone its local election time, showing up and greeting everyone were Alderman at Large Dennis Sullivan, Alderman at Large Jack Connolly and Alderman at Large Bill White.

While walking across Somerville Ave. in Union Square I noticed that the old Elegant Furniture storefront was inhabited by a new concept. So I took a detour from my usual haunts, the Bloc 11 Cafe, Market Basket, etc., and walked right in. At the front desk was Anne Sholley – the freckled-face and friendly “Space and Community Manager ” of the WORKBAR. Like a grizzled reporter from the play The Front Page, I said, “Doug Holder, The Somerville Times.” Sholley proved to be a gracious host and explained to me that the WORKBAR is a “co-working space” founded by Bill Jacobson, a pioneer of this work space movement. Sholley explained that folks can rent space in this expansive venue on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.