By Jim Clark

A police officer patrolling the Davis Square area on foot last week happened upon two men who were standing near the bushes by the MBTA station on Holland St.

According to reports, the men were observed handling a large plastic bag, which they reportedly walked away from as they noticed the officer approaching.

The Somerville Times’ photographer, Claudia Ferro, won second place for her photography at the Malden River Festival held at the Park at River’s Edge on Saturday, September 20. In addition to the art exhibit by local artists, there was food for purchase, children’s bicycle helmet giveaways and family fun activities. Congratulations, Claudia, from all of us here at The Times.

The past informs the present. And in the mystery novel based in Somerville Looking for Art by Bert Robbens, the ghost of Somerville’s past haunts the present day landscape. Robbens mines the milieu of the 60s and 70s Somerville, the very one that spawned the likes of Howie Winter and the Winter Hill Gang, and other assorted thugs. His story involves the men and women from that crowd and its ilk who remain around today, and the younger folks who heard the stories, the myths, the hype, and the brass tacks.

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Any veteran human service worker has seen this before, ( I can say this because I have worked in Human Services in one capacity or another since 1978)— this scenario, this kid, in clinics, hospitals, at colleges, etc… across the country.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Somerville Commission for Women announce the Annual Candlelight Vigil in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month on Wednesday, October 1 at 6 p.m. at the Somerville Public Safety Building, 220 Washington Street. The vigil walk begins at 6 p.m. through Union Square, concluding with a speaking agenda at the Public Safety Building at 6:30 p.m. City and local agencies will be available beginning at 5:30 p.m. with informational materials and to answer questions. The vigil is an annual event bringing the community together to remember those who have lost their lives over the last year to domestic violence. For more information about the Vigil, contact Director of Somerville Commissions, Sonja Darai, at 617-625-6600 x2406 or SDarai@somervillema.gov. For more information about domestic violence, contact RESPOND at their Hotline number (617) 623-5900 (TTY accessible for the hearing impaired) and for on-line information go to www.respondinc.org.

Arrests:
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Clifford Flynn, 29, September 15, 10:42 a.m., arrested at College Ave. on charges of drug possession to distribute and disorderly conduct.

Stephen Danca, 32, of 246 Albion St., Wakefield, September 15, 10:50 a.m., arrested at Buena Vista Rd. on a charge of violation of city ordinance open container.

There’ll be dancing … dancing in the streets … a guaranteed ingredient at HONK!, this year to include a total of 27 bands (www.honkfest.org/2014-festival/bands-2014), all with social and/or political activism as part of their charters, as well as individual local players who are inevitably inspired to run home, grab their respective unplugged sound makers, and dive right under the HONK! community umbrella.

District maintains upward trajectory on 2014 MCAS as state’s leading urban district in growth; West Somerville Neighborhood School advances to Level 1 state accountability designation

Somerville Public Schools maintained its phenomenal upward trajectory as the leading urban district in the state for student growth, breaking into the top 15% of all Massachusetts districts in combined growth in English-Language Arts (ELA) and Math, according to Spring 2014 MCAS results released today by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Somerville’s continuing improvement in student growth was coupled with more students scoring higher on English-Language Arts, Math and Science MCAS tests, and those results have catapulted nearly every school in the District to either the highest or second highest levels on the state’s accountability scale, showing that Somerville is making significant progress in addressing the needs of students at every level.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

I loved pouring thick, chocolaty Bosco chocolate syrup into an ice-cold glass of milk when I was a kid. Of course, the milk wasn’t in a cardboard or plastic container. It came in a thick glass bottle that the “milkman” delivered. Can’t you still hear the clinking of those empty milk bottles as the milkman picked them up? And what about those cool old milk trucks? You don’t see those anymore unless you are watching a rerun of Leave it To Beaver or some other old TV show.

— Photos by Claudia Ferro

In its 7th year, Riverfest is the culmination of a summer of activity at Assembly Row. Last Saturday, it celebrated all that is great about the property with live music, art, food, children’s activities and a fireworks show. Riverfest also marked the final installment of ASSEMBLED: The Handmade Arts Market at Assembly Row. In addition to the dozens of handmade artists, Riverfest also featured plenty of free children’s activities, live music all day long, and fireworks over the Mystic River.