By Amy Swain

The Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance was once again reviewed by the Board of Aldermen’s Legislative Matters Committee at their meeting last week.

Somerville’s Legislative Matters Committee is continuing work on the Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance. The committee met on August 20 to review details regarding the impending plan. Assistant City Solicitor Matthew J. Buckley submitted the ordinance to a full room. Members of the committee and government gathered, as well as various concerned parties, including a representative from the Surfrider Foundation, a national non-profit focused on health risks associated with environmental threats.

By Haley ED Houseman

The #BlackLivesMatter banner hung at City Hall represents a commitment by the city to uphold the rights of African Americans, according to Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

The Black Lives Matter movement has been sweeping across the nation since the shooting death of an unarmed, black 18 year old in Ferguson, Missouri, at the hands of police.

The Somerville Pop Warner Football and cheer leading here in the Ville is having their 2015 Somerville Jamboree–Scrimmage on Sunday, August 30. Every year they participate with other local towns and play mini games that allow coaches to work with their teams in a real game time situation. Games start at 8:00 a.m. at Dilboy Stadium on Alewife Brook Parkway. Game Starts: E- Team 8:00 a.m. (need to be at the field at 7:00 a.m. for practice); D- Team 9:30 a.m. (need to be at the field at 8:30 a.m.); C- Team 11:00 a.m. (need to be at the field at 10:00 a.m.); B- Team 12:30 p.m. (need to be at the field at 11:30 a.m.); A- Team 2:00 p.m. (need to be at the field at 1:00 p.m.); F -team 3:30 p.m. (need to be at the field at 2:30 p.m.). They are encouraging families to enjoy the day and get to meet other Pop Warner families from other communities.

For the 6th season in a row and 16th time in franchise history, the Somerville Alibrandis are the Yawkey Baseball League Champions.

By Donald Norton

The 4th Annual Fight Night was held this past Friday night, sponsored by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, the Department of Recreation and the Somerville Boxing Club. Together they put on a great show at the Somerville High School gym.

It’s fig season and since I adore fresh figs I wanted to come up with a small bite that would incorporate the flavors I think go perfectly with them. For this recipe I used Black Mission figs. There are five types of figs, Adriatic, Black Mission, Brown Turkey, Calimyrna and Kadota.

When the “Black Lives Matter” banner was hung above the entrance to City Hall last week, something of a firestorm of controversy was set off.

While some regard this controversy as little more than a tempest in a teapot, others have expressed vehement opposition to the move, claiming that it was nothing more than political maneuvering, pandering to the left, and even representing a form of bigotry of its own kind. Cries of “All lives matter” were heard in the media, in discussion forums, and in some instances on the very streets where we live.

Left to right: Medford City Councilor Adam Knight, Somerville Ward 3 Alderman Bob McWatters, Candidate for Mayor Stephanie Muccini Burke, retiring Mayor Michael J. McGlynn and Medford City Councilor Paul Camuso.

By Donald Norton

At an outdoor fundraiser last week, Medford mayoral candidate Stephanie Muccini Burke was surrounded by many of her local friends and supporters, not to mention a dozen or so Somerville residents.

About 100 or so attended the fundraiser in West Medford. Our own Ward 3 Alderman Bob McWatters himself was present to show his support for the candidate.

There is something to be said about my unofficial office in the back of the Bloc 11 Café in Union Square in Somerville. There is a nice brick wall where I can rest my glasses, books and papers, and a fireplace rests on top of the brick, a perfect pick for a winter’s day. My space also provides a sense of intimacy where I can probe the minds of my subjects for my column in The Somerville Times. My subject in this week’s column is Julie Ann Otis, a poet, a writer, a personal coach, a motivational speaker, to name just a few roles she plays.

Local poet Julia Carlson writes The Times: “As a clinical social worker, my training cautioned me to pay close attention to ‘my own stuff’ and how that can unconsciously influence the direction of therapy. When this poem happened, I wasn’t 100% sure of where it was going. Reading it now, the poem reminds me that human relationships, as well as therapeutic ones, can be one-sided, and maybe for the best!”