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)

Soon you should see signs popping up around Somerville announcing that the citywide speed limit is 25 mph, unless otherwise posted. We are working to drop the speed limit from 30 to 25 on most roads for one simple reason: Because the data show that slowing down saves lives.

~Photos by Kevin Dickinson

On Saturday, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, the city’s SomerViva Immigrant Outreach & Service program and the Somerville Arts Council hosted a festival to mark “Día de la Raza.”

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

On Sunday som|dog took to historic Union Square in Somerville for their semi-annual Doggie 5k Fun Run. This year, they honored the late Tom Taylor, who served on the Somerville Board of Alderman from 1983 to 2013, and was an avid som|dog supporter. Tom’s family set up a special team for the event called Tom’s Pawsetters and they welcomed runners and walkers from across the city.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone continued to make the case for support of the Green Line Extension project as he addressed the most recent Regular Meeting of the City of Somerville Board of Alderman.

By Amy Swain

The Board of Alderman held a regular meeting last Thursday, October 13. The meeting began at 7:00 p.m. and carried on for roughly three hours.

Much of that time was spent listening, and then responding to Mayor Curtatone’s presentation on upcoming city projects. “It is a very complex but exciting time in our city,” Curtatone began. “We all know the commitments we highlighted in Somervision. We’ve made significant progress, but we still have a long way to go. The three key commitments we have to focus on now are the Green Line Extension, investing in our aging water and sewer infrastructure, and overhauling the broken zoning code.”

As residents voice concerns over the cost of the proposed high school renovation, officials emphasize the importance of updating the facility to modern standards.

By Olivia Costanzo

About 60 residents from Somerville’s Ward 5 attended a public meeting at the Visiting Nurses Association on October 5 to get informed and ask questions about the plan for a new Somerville High School.

This Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m., the city will rededicate the playground park at Otis Street. It will be renamed in memory of Deanna Cremin, who grew up in Winter Hill and was found murdered in 1995, at the age of 17. Her murderer has never been caught, but every year all her family and many friends still hold vigils in hopes that someday someone will offer a case-solving lead to the police. The park is just another opportunity to honor her life. Join Mayor Joe Curtatone, Alderman Matt McLaughlin, and other city officials at the corner of Otis and Dane Streets on Saturday.

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After a week of roaming around New York City eating pasta at Eataly, pastrami at Pastrami Queen and sneaking off to Ironbound, a neighborhood within Newark, New Jersey, dining at Fornos Spanish Cuisine for garlic pork chops, it was time to lighten things up a bit.

By Kevin Dickinson

Union United, a Coalition of Union Square stakeholders, won a big victory Thursday night as LOCUS Strategy Leaders voted in favor of a Neighborhood Council for Union Square to bargain Community Benefits Agreements with the developers. While the vote was close, strategy leaders overwhelmingly spoke in favor of establishing a neighborhood council for Union Square. Union United is so encouraged that Mayor Curtatone announced publicly that he too is moving towards supporting community participation in bargaining a Union Square Community Benefits Agreement.

Back in March of this year, a resolution was put forward at the City of Somerville Board of Aldermen’s regular meeting proposing that the city rename Otis St. Park to Deanna Cremin Playground, as a memorial to the Somerville resident who fell victim to murder 21 years ago.

Ward 1 Alderman Matthew McLaughlin sponsored the resolution, citing the fact that the park had only previously been named for a street running alongside the parcel, emphasized that renaming the public space in memory of Deanna Cremin would be a fitting honor to the victim of this yet-to-be-solved crime.

Accountability needed in zoning process
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By Union United

(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)

This week, the Planning Board and Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing on a new zoning proposal for Union Square. This proposal would make it easier for US2 to get special permits to proceed, while failing to assure that the important aspirations expressed in the Union Square neighborhood plan will ever be implemented.