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 disappointment in the room was tangible last Wednesday night. Greg Karczewski, president of the Somerville Redevelopment Authority’s chosen Master Developer Partner US2, had just told Somerville residents that his firm intended to build 525 housing units for affluent young professionals on Union Square’s most strategic block.

Jovan Tanasijevic shows off the drone that was used recently to help assess snow accumulation on rooftops throughout the city. — Photo by Douglas Yu

By Douglas Yu

A once cool gadget for cinematographers to shoot impeccable 360-degree birds-eye views of natural landscapes now has been put into use to identify at-risk collapsing rooftops in Somerville due to excessive snow.

Somerville residents gave members of the Board of Alderman a collective earful last week as they voiced their grievances concerning the city’s current snow removal ordinance. — Photo by Claudia Ferro

By Douglas Yu

Somerville residents expressed their complaints about the city’s snow removal ordinance last Wednesday as the Board of Alderman held a public meeting at Somerville City Hall to crowd source ideas from the community for the improvement of the ordinance.

Alderman at Large Jack Connolly had high praise for the job that the mayor and his administration has done in dealing with the extraordinarily severe winter storms.

By Jim Clark

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and his administration was once again commended by the Board of Alderman for their leadership and hard work during the latest spate of snow emergencies taking place over recent weeks.

The Somerville Chamber of Commerce “Business After Hours” get-together is 5-7 p.m., Thursday, March 5, at Olde Magoun’s Saloon, 518 Medford St., Magoun Square. No cover, free appetizers, excellent networking, gift certificate drawing. RSVP with the name(s) and affiliation(s) for you and your guest(s) to smackey@somervillechamber.org.

(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 is overhauling its zoning code. The current one dates back to 1926, with several revisions since. This is a rare opportunity for people concerned about the lack of green space in Somerville to make a difference. We need your help.

Theater@First’s production of the classic whodunit, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, is set to confound and confusticate audiences during its all too brief run at Unity Somerville.

By Laura Stiffler

On a dreadfully snowy evening, much like the ones we have experienced in Somerville lately, newlyweds Mollie and Giles Ralston welcome a group of strangers into their guesthouse. Instead of a routine night for the cast of characters, the radio warns of a murderer on the loose in the snowed-in town. As the story unfolds and characters are met and dissected, there’s reason to suspect everyone in Theater@First’s beautifully adapted version of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap.

Once the snow has melted – or has been “eaten” by the dragon – a long laborious process still awaits those who care for the functioning of our city’s infrastructure.

Potholes in our streets and other types of damage caused by all the scraping, digging, and shoveling will have to be dealt with. Public buildings will need shoring up, their roofs checked and repaired where necessary, etc.

Eagle Feathers #73 – Hidden Henry Hansen

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

It has been seventy years since the United States landing on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945.

At an appalling cost of nearly 6,800 lives and 17,000 injured, the month-long struggle proved to be the toughest in Marine Corp’s history. The battle was highlighted by the early American flag raisings on the island’s highest peak, Mt. Suribachi. It was a photo of the second and larger flag raising by Associated Press photographer, Joe Rosenthal, that became a national, iconic image. Two American flags would be flown on that day. First, a small flag was raised under fire and combat. Hours later, a larger, more visible flag was raised after the elevation had been secured.

By Tom Bannister

Even though there’s still snow on the ground it’s not too early to start thinking baseball! Somerville Little League and the Tufts University Varsity Baseball Team welcome all baseball players registered with Somerville Little League to a free one day baseball clinic on Saturday, March 7.