Ward 4 Alderman Tony Lafuente will be hosting his Fourth Annual Cinco De Mayo celebration plus fundraiser next week on Wednesday, May 11. Tony’s choices are always good. This year it will be held at the newly opened Winter Hill Brewing Company, 329 Broadway in Winter Hill. The event will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tony knows how to throw an event and if you haven’t been to the new Winter Hill Brewing Co. then check it out.

Thirty-fourth Middlesex District State Rep. Christine Barber.

By Louise Carpenter

During the House budget debate this week, State Representative Christine P. Barber, who represents Somerville and Medford, successfully added an amendment to create a new commission to examine the costs and challenges of transporting homeless students in the Commonwealth. Currently, school districts provide and fund transportation services for homeless students through a federal requirement. This often comes as a struggle for school districts whose budgets are already stretched, as federal and state funds often do not cover the costs incurred to transport students from hotels and motels far from their original school district. And for children, this disjointed system can mean long bus rides and complicated schedules.

— Photos by Donald Norton

The annual Spring Cleanup and Community Barbecue took place on Saturday, April 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Established in 1852, our beloved and venerable institution known as Somerville High School has come to a crossroads, as most of us are well aware.

The current structure is no longer capable of providing the safety, security, and support required of a modern-day facility of its kind. The time is clearly here for major renovation and additions to the existing location.

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A staple in Union Square since 1995, Cantina La Mexicana, formerly known as Taqueria La Mexicana, where the typical street food of Mexico for fast takeout was served, expanded to serving drinks to accompany the food, creating a gathering place for people to meet and hang out together creating a more laid back atmosphere, a cantina. They offer many choices, including tamales, gorditas, burros, enchiladas, tostadas, empanadas, flautas, tacos and more.

Ward 3 Alderman Bob McWatters, this week at a business conference in Phonex AZ, decided to travel north to the Grand Canyon along with some of his colleagues. Pictured here on the glass bridge, he was very much in awe, like everyone else who visits the Canyon and beholds its majestic sites.

“One Flower Ceremony” – Florentine Codex, 16th Century, World Digital Library.

Ever wonder what life was like in an Aztec village? Well there are some very old and amazingly illustrated books called “Codices” that exist and give us a little window into the daily life that existed in ancient Mexico. And this year at the Cinco de Mayo festival in Union Square, Somerville Artist Fellowship awarded artist Johanna Finnegan-Topitzer will present a large version of a page from one of these books. The opposite page will be blank for festival attendees to add their own drawings of what daily life is like in Somerville.

Amy Elizabeth Gardner, age 58, passed away April of 2016. She was born in Long Beach, California; she spent her formative years in Winchester, MA and was active in Forum in the First Congregational Church of Winchester. For the last few years she has resided in South Boston and Somerville, Massachusetts.

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Mark Pawlak, a longtime editor at the acclaimed Hanging Loose Press has sent us a poem from his new collection, Reconnaissance.