Eagle Feathers #104 – Gypsy and the Brown Tails

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

The contrast between the birth of Somerville’s last century and now is startling. In its Annual Report of 1901, the city granted 25 petitions to keep 129 cows, 16 permits to keep pigs, and 4 permits to keep goats. Twenty-five diseased horses were put down, and 23 stables were built.

*
For years I heard about Gloria Mindock, the founder of the Cervena Barva Press, but I never met her in the flesh. She was the editor of the Boston Literary Review for a decade. She was involved in avant-garde theatre, (her theatre company won a Rockefeller Grant) as well as being an accomplished poet and a strong presence in the arts scene in these parts.

*
Jennifer Weigel is a multi-disciplinary mixed media conceptual artist living in Somerville, MA.  Much of her work touches on themes of beauty, identity, gender and self, focusing on how we relate and present ourselves to one another between realities, in real time, online and more.  She enjoys creating costume-based personas to further convey sense of self and belonging.  She also examines the role(s) that technology plays in how we relate to one another, as is the focus of some of her more humorous and/or cynical poetry.

6:00 p.m. Tuesday to approximately 6:00 a.m. Wednesday morning: Eversource will be on site conducting necessary utility work that is expected to impact the sidewalk and one travel lane (right lane) in front of 240 Elm St. Noise impacts will be reduced after 12 a.m.; however, crews will continue to work until the beginning of the Wednesday morning commute. This work will not be conducted during the business day. No detours or traffic delays are expected.

Looking through the store’s windows I saw a parade of leather shoes and boots, disembodied bronze female legs crossed seductively, a sexy, form- fitting floral dress on a one-armed mannequin, vintage vinyls,  and ephemera from the 70s to the 90s. It all caught my fancy…. So I interviewed Andrew Wiley–his shop on 429 Somerville Ave–in the midst of a hip Union Square.

The CPA Ribbon Cutting event at the Prospect Hill Tower, originally scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, has been postponed. A new date is TBD, and will be announced at a later date.

Join Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 3 Alderman Robert McWatters, the Community Preservation Committee and Community Preservation Act (CPA) project implementers on Tuesday, May 24, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. for a celebration to mark the reopening of Prospect Hill Tower.

Arrests:
*

Domingo Peters, of 240 Albany St., Cambridge, May 16, 12:45 p.m., arrested at Somerville Ave. on a warrant charge of criminal harassment.

Kassy Depina, of 32 Newtowne Ct., Cambridge, May 16, 1:31 p.m., arrested on warrant charges of identity fraud, receiving a stolen credit card, and attempt to commit a crime.

Tufts University provided Somerville’s youth soccer and lacrosse programs with access to more than 600 hours of playing time on its athletic fields this spring sports season in an effort to help address a shortage of city fields. The arrangement continues Tufts’ commitment to supporting the youth of the university’s host communities.

Nonprofit Human Service Agency Will Move to 291 Mystic Avenue  Due To MBTA Eminent Domain

Walnut Street Center, a premier nonprofit human service agency that provides comprehensive supports to adults with intellectual disabilities, is relocating to a new building, in Medford MA, at 291 Mystic Avenue. The new building, which is a 42,000 square foot, one-level, fully handicap accessible space, will be completely renovated into a state-of-the-art facility and will be a positive upgrade for the Walnut Street team and the individuals supported. The move will serve as an opportunity for Walnut Street Center to expand to the Metro North service area, and the new building renovations will provide a chance to integrate some exciting service opportunities. The ground-breaking for the building renovations will take place this month, on May 26, 2016 from 10am – 12pm at the new building location and is expected to be attended by Medford’s mayor Stephanie Burke, the Somerville ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) coordinator Betsy Allen, and more.