Due to the inclement weather forecast, the June 1 morning SHS graduation rehearsal and evening graduation event at Dilboy Stadium have been cancelled.

Graduation will be held Tuesday, June 2, 6:00 pm at Tufts University’s Gantcher Sports and Convocation Center.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz, the Somerville Public Library, designLAB architects and Design Technique, Inc. invite all interested community members to a visioning meeting for upcoming renovations to the West Branch Library on College Ave. The meeting will be held at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland St., on June 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. For more information, contact Project Manager Steve Vitello at SVitello@somervillema.gov, or 617-625-6600 ext. 5124.

On Sunday, May 31, 2015, at 3:52 a.m., the Somerville Police responded to a report of two injured persons located outside 98 Professors Row. Upon arrival, police located two male victims suffering from apparent stab wounds to the neck. The first victim is a 20-year-old male from Boston who suffered serious injury and was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital. The second victim is a 19-year-old male from Boston who suffered apparent non-life-threatening injury and was also transported to MGH.

The Black Lillies, jumping at the chance to entertain you at Johnny D’s on June 3. — Photo by Missy Sprouse

Embracing the change and the challenge
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By Jim Clark

East Tennessee Americana never had a finer representative than the collective gathering of talent known as The Black Lillies, who will be performing at Johnny D’s Uptown Restaurant and Music Club on June 3.

Here is one featured news segment from the recent Somerville Neighborhood Newscast, a community service production of SCATV: Board of Aldermen Confronts City Hall on Zoning. Over 1,000 comments from residents and push-back from the Board of Aldermen have led City Hall to slow down its campaign to get a new zoning ordinance passed this summer, and have encouraged the aldermen to take a more proactive role in what eventually does get passed, when, and how.

RESPOND, Inc. Executive Director Jessica Brayden has been named as a finalist for the Mass Nonprofit Network’s Excellence in Leadership Award.

By Rebecca Danvers

Jessica Brayden, Executive Director of RESPOND, Inc., has been named a finalist for the Mass Nonprofit Network’s Excellence in Leadership Award.

Brayden has been at the helm of RESPOND, a Somerville-based domestic violence agency, for the past six years and has been committed to raising RESPOND’s visibility and reach within the community, enabling the organization to fulfill its important mission of supporting victims of domestic violence.

By Katjana Ballantyne
Alderman, Ward 7

(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)

Somerville needs a regular, open process to negotiate voluntary payments in-lieu of taxes (PILOTs), with our local multi-million dollar, non-profit institutions, so that these institutions pay their fair share for city services like police and fire departments, even snow removal.

By Jim Clark

Police were dispatched to the Home Depot store on Mystic Ave. last week on reports that a man who attempted to steal three air conditioners was threatening people in the store with a knife.

Somerville PD is looking to identify the suspect pictured here in relation to an unarmed robbery at the Davis Sq. Bank of America (406 Highland Ave) at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 28.

The suspect is described as a heavyset white male (approximately 240 lbs.), approximately 5’11”, most likely early- to mid-40s, bald with a mustache and goatee.

Anyone with information on this incident or the pictured suspect is asked to contact Det. Ernest Nadile (617-625-1600 x7235) or Det. John Oliveira at the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force (617-742-5533).

By William C. Shelton

(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)

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade and investment agreement being negotiated among the U.S. and eleven other Pacific Rim countries. It would be the largest trade deal in history, affecting 40% of the world economy.