Go behind the scenes to meet some people who decorate their homes for the Illuminations Tour, learn about Somerville’s bid for the Audi Urban Future Award, get the latest on the law that would limit overcrowding of Tufts student apartments, learn what kind of changes might be in store for the Brickbottom neighborhood and walk with the hundreds of students and neighbors in the December 5th march from Davis to Central Square that blocked traffic and said “Black Lives Matter!”

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)

Reprinted, revised and borrowed from articles of Christmas past.

For years I wrote Christmas parodies with my counterpart Tom Doyle formerly of WROR. My songs have graced the airwaves of Kiss 108, Eagle 93.7, and Oldies 103. It was a great run! You can see some of my silliness on A Very Seriously Somerville Christmas on city cable channels 13 and 22, and by following this link: youtube.com/somervillecitytv.

— Photos by Denise Cosby

The 5 Kilometer Marathon Sports “Somerville Jingle Bell Run” was held on Sunday, December 14.

For 1- to 4-family homes, new program aims to increase energy efficiency; Programs to be offered for owners and renters starting in early 2015.

Furthering its goal to reduce residential energy consumption by 20 percent by the year 2020, and in line with its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the City of Somerville announced today that it is seeking an Energy Management Partner (EMP) for a new, residential weatherization program for both renters and property owners in the city. A firm or team of firms is sought to implement a program of energy efficiency improvements to one- to four-family residences, working with the existing MassSave Program, to begin in spring 2015 according to a Request for Qualifications issued on Dec. 17, 2014.

Let’s face it we all need food to survive. That being said, why not enjoy your food?

Over the past 20-25 years eating habits have continued to evolve. Eating pre-packaged frozen meals, grabbing fast food or following the popular “fad” diet of the time has become our way of life.

— Photos by Claudia Ferro

Computers and tablets were humming with programming activity in classrooms and school libraries throughout the District last week, as nearly every student in the Somerville Public Schools (SPS) participated in the Somerville Hour of Code event. An estimated 4,600 students throughout the district learned the basics of computer science during Computer Science Week (December 8-14), each logging at least one hour of computer coding during the week, thanks to the tireless efforts of more than 100 volunteers and district library/media teachers. These 4,600+ Somerville students are among the more than 76 million students world-wide who have tried at least one hour of code so far this year in a global learning event movement.

 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)

In October, Mayor Curtatone announced “Sustainable Neighborhoods,” an initiative to maintain Somerville’s housing affordability and economic diversity. The good news for me is that the city will finally mobilize the full range of tactics that Mayor Capuano’s Affordable Housing Task Force recommended sixteen years ago.

(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)

Once again Somerville has surrendered a giant plot of prime real estate to luxury condos, in this case the property behind the Stop & Shop, between Garfield Ave and Cross Street. The city was supposedly obligated to reserve this parcel for commercial use, but after two and a half years of haggling, the planning board finally threw in the towel last Thursday. There will be NO commercial use at the Cross street site, none, zero. The lone dissenting vote was from Joseph Favaloro, and he prefaced it by emphasizing that many citizens of East Somerville still bitterly oppose this project, even after years of marketing and greenwash from the developers.

The Somerville Kiwanis Club held its annual Head Start Christmas Party on Tuesday, December 9 at the Holiday Inn. Santa Claus greeted and met with seventy Head Start children and their families. All children were provided a gift sponsored by individual Kiwanis Club members. Pizza was provided and a good time was held by all.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(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)

In September, I vetoed an ordinance that sought to set tough restrictions on campaign contributions from developers and others not because I disagreed with the intentions, but because I believed that as written the ordinance would be unenforceable. We should be grateful that Somerville has such a progressive Board of Aldermen that won’t wait for others to undertake the reforms that our state and nation so badly need. We share the same values: That elected officials should represent everyone, not only the biggest campaign contributors, and that even the appearance of influence can negatively impact our community.