Former Ward 1 Alderman James “Jim” McCarthy passed away suddenly from a heart attack today while being rushed to Somerville Hospital. Jim leaves behind his lovely wife Louise and three grown children and grandchildren. Our condolences to his family and many friends, he will be missed. Jim was very active locally in the politics, currently as the Treasurer of the Somerville Redevelopment Authority. Jim knew the city better than most and was the kind of guy you could have a conversation with and always walk away smiling. What a great and giving guy he was, for he truly loved Somerville, both past and present. He had a wonderful sense of humor and anytime you met up with him around the city he would always have something to say that would make you smile and feel good.

— Photos by Claudia Ferro

The Somerville High School Boys’ Basketball team was invited to participate in the TD Garden’s Good Sports High School Basketball Invitational on Saturday, January 10th.

This rare opportunity allowed some of the region’s best high school basketball  programs to show what they are made of.

By Jim Clark

A Somerville man was attacked with a knife on Marshall St. last week by an enraged motorist who was allegedly bothered by the victim’s temporary holdup of through traffic as he attempted to back his vehicle into his driveway.

By Union United

(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)

How can a community shape development according to its needs? For a coalition of local stakeholders in Somerville’s Union Square, this is the central question driving the effort to ensure that equity is the foundation of neighborhood revitalization, not an afterthought.

Who among us doesn’t dream of a time when cheap, environmentally friendly energy production becomes a reality?

It’s been discussed for decades, and many advancements have been made in this area throughout those years.

We have some interesting headlines for the latest Somerville Neighborhood News show, a community news production brought to you by the dedicated staff, volunteers and interns at Somerville Community Access TV.

Photographer Jim Baab is a man who sees the naked possibilities in both the human and vegetable form. This Prospect Hill Somerville resident met me at the Bloc11 Café in Union Square to discuss his unique brand of photography.

Every once in awhile I publish a piece of my own in the LYRICAL. Recently I have been writing a Lyrical memoir of my days living in Boston – right after I graduated college.  Here is an excerpt.

Jim McCarthy. — Photo by Donald Norton

By Donald Norton

Former Ward 1 Alderman James “Jim” McCarthy passed away suddenly from a heart attack today while being rushed to Somerville Hospital. Jim leaves behind his lovely wife Louise and three grown children and grandchildren. Our condolences to his family and many friends, he will be missed.

Superintendent of Schools, Tony Pierantozzi, was informed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) of an upcoming Coordinated Program Review that will be taking place this school year. As part of this Coordinated Program Review, Department staff will visit the Somerville Public Schools during the week of March 9, 2015. Such visits are routinely conducted by the Department to satisfy Federal and State requirements for the periodic review of specific education programs and services in schools throughout the Commonwealth.  The Department is reviewing several programs during a single visit in order to use Department and school staff’s time most efficiently and to encourage strong connections among the programs.