Good evening. President White and Vice President Ballantyne; Chairman Sweeting and Vice Chairwoman Normand; Honorable members of the Board of Aldermen, School Committee and members of our Delegation; Superintendent Pierantozzi; Honored guests, friends, family and fellow citizens:

Through some recent resignations from original members, as well as the desire to expand and broaden the committee, the City of Somerville seeks community members, local advocates and business owners with a range of skill sets and perspectives to fill vacancies on the Union Square Civic Advisory Committee (CAC) and represent the public throughout the planning process for revitalization of the square. Attributes and skills desired by the City and the CAC might include understanding of local population diversity; green, blue, and open space advocacy; emerging economic sectors expertise; fiscal analytics; or other applicable experiences.

The Mayor’s annual State of the City address, and mid-term addresses by the President of the Board of Aldermen (BOA) and the Chairperson of the School Committee will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 19 in the Aldermanic Chambers at City Hall, 93 Highland Ave. Members of the public are invited to come for this look back at the past year’s efforts as well as a look forward to city and school initiatives in the coming year. Light refreshments will be served.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan has announced that a man has suffered serious injuries after being stabbed in Somerville early this morning.

City of Somerville offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 19 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Trash and recycling collection will be on a one-day delay all week and parking meters will not be in effect on Monday.

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration event, entitled, “Music: Our MLK Jr. Dream by Song” to be held on Monday, Jan. 19, in observance of national Martin Luther King Day. The 2015 event will be held at the East Somerville Community School auditorium (50 Cross St.) beginning at 11 a.m., and will include performances by the Somerville High School World Percussion Ensemble, El Sistema Somerville Youth Orchestra, MLK Jr. Somerville Interfaith Choir, SheBoom, the Center for Arabic Culture Children’s Choir, the Somerville High School Dance Club, and the first official appearance by Somerville’s first-ever Poet Laureate, Nicole Terez Dutton. The event is free and open to the public.

Looking for a fight? You’ll be in the right place at Sityodtong Muay Thai Academy on Broadway, where the elite meet to beat — their opponents, that is.

By Ted Bodenrader

Sityodtong. In Thailand, it translates to “student of the master.” In Somerville, it means the ultimate haven for combat of the hand-to-hand variety.

The three adult arrested suspects (L to R): Jatquan Hyman, age 20; Jarrell Inge, age 26; and Jose Lopez, age 22.

On Thursday, January 15, Somerville Police received a call from Billerica Police relating that a Billerica resident had reported that he had bought counterfeit Patriots tickets (for the AFC championship game on January 17) from a person via Craigslist. This transaction had taken place at the Holiday Inn in Somerville earlier in the day. He had paid $900 for the four counterfeit tickets.

Play Popular Piano by ear! – A ”hands on” non-technical (no music reading necessary) approach to playing your favorite songs. Lifelong musician and published songwriter, Jimmy Del Ponte, teaches you how to pick a song off your iPod and figure out how to play it. Practice keyboard included for enrolled students to take home during course. Ages 12 and up. Meets Mondays from 3 to 4 p.m. starting Monday, January 19 through Monday, March 16. Class to be held in the Student Recording Studio, room 205 , Edgerly School, 8 Bonair St. Limited to 6. jdelponte@somervillema.gov 617-625-6600 ext. 2616 for info.

Commencing January 19th and continuing through the end of May 2015 it will be
necessary for the GLX Contractor, White Skanska Kiewit (WSK) to close the South
bound travel/bike lane and West side sidewalk between Boston Avenue and
Cedar Street to vehicular, bike, and pedestrian traffic for the purposes of erecting
a temporary utility bridge. Residents will be able to cross Broadway Street over to
the East side sidewalk to cross over the bridge and the north bound lane will be
re-configured to allow for 2-way vehicular and bike traffic.