Somerville may join the growing list of Commonwealth cities and towns that ban or restrict the use of plastic bags, and neither city officials nor most of those questioned in the streets recently oppose the idea. The proposal, promoted by Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz for years, was discussed at a May 27 meeting of the Environment and Energy Special Committee of the Board of Aldermen. Assistant City Solicitor Matthew Buckley told Gewirtz and Ward 7 Alderman Katjana Ballatyne, chair of the committee, that his office sees no problem with a ban. The full story is shown below.

I have known Susan Tepper for a number of years now, and she has not slowed down an iota. She is a consummate New Yorker–she moves fast, talks fast and thinks on her feet. I have read for her at the KGB FIZZ series in the lower east side of NYC, have been on a small press panel she organized for a literary festival at Hunter College and I have published her poetry in The Somerville Times and the Ibbetson Street magazine. Tepper will be in Somerville, Monday June 16 7PM, to read from her latest book The Merrill Diaries, which is a novel told in stories that link one to the next. She will be reading in Gloria Mindock’s Cervena Barva Press Art Space located in the Somerville Arts Armory building. It’s a gathering of writers and poets published by the Cervena Barva Press and the MadHat Press.

Cambridge Poet Populist Lo Galluccio sends us a poem about love. And it ain’t a Hallmark greeting card…if you know what I mean.

Drop in and help shape Somerville’s future through a series of Zoning Workshops this summer. Held each Thursday from June 12 through August 28 from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the community meeting room at 50 Middlesex Ave., behind Style Café in the Public Storage building at Assembly Square, the workshops seek to gather ideas, inform, and answer questions on the City’s new proposed zoning ordinance.

Arrests:
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Kourtney McLean, 23, of 364 Rindge Ave., Cambridge, June 3, 6:11 p.m., arrested at Broadway on warrant charges of being present where heroin is kept and larceny over $250.

Nicholas Evans, 26, of 980 Main St., Woburn, June 3, 6:11 p.m., arrested at Broadway on warrant charges of shoplifting by concealing merchandise and possession of a class A drug.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced that a Somerville man has been found guilty this afternoon of first degree murder for the 2009 homicide of Christopher Souza, 24, of Somerville.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 5 Alderman Mark Niedergang invite all community members to a public meeting on Wednesday, June 25 to discuss information and plans for the Lowell Street corridor from Highland Avenue to Medford Street, and to discuss possible plans to encourage safety. The meeting will be held in the Visiting Nurses Association’s community room on Lowell Street beginning at 6 p.m. The meeting is hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Traffic & Parking, and the Department of Public Works. For more information, contact Hayes Morrison at 617-625-6600 ext. 2522, or HMorrison@somervillema.gov.

The Wednesday, June 11 meeting of the Somerville Garden Club features three demonstrations with a horticultural/gardening theme. Join garden club members in a mini-workshop to write haiku capturing the beauty of the spring and summer garden, then enjoy a talk and slideshow about an art project pertaining to the flora of the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Next, participate in a hands-on demo on how to plant and maintain wildflowers. Participants will be able to plant seeds or seedlings in small containers to take home. The club meets 7-9  p.m., at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland Street, Somerville.

Food Truck Festivals of New England has announced the list of participating trucks in the first-ever Somerville Food Truck Festival, coming to Assembly Row on Saturday, June 7.

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)

“…Started in 1913 … the shop grew from carriage needs to auto needs and then in the 1940’s … the addition of electrical appliances came along … and the name was changed to Lechmere Tire and Sales Company.” The word “tire” would be dropped by 1950 … and most of us would fondly call the sprawling retailer located just over in East Cambridge … Lechmere’s.” From Shopping Days in Retro Boston.