God bless all of you bicyclists.

And you walkers and bus waiters and T riders.

Maybe you can’t afford a car, or maybe you could but don’t want to spend the money. Or maybe you are just really committed in a hardcore way to not having any sort of carbon footprint. Whatever your reasons and beliefs, you’ve been out there through this long, cold winter, day and night (the smarter among you with bike lights and reflective clothing), pedaling your butts off and making those off us in our salt-covered (though well-heated) cars feel both thankful and guilty for opting to choose the desire for creature comforts over concerns about climate change.

Former Ward 5 Alderman and long-time community advocate, Courtney O’Keefe.

By Courtney O’Keefe

Over 30 residents took to the West Somerville Neighborhood School Tuesday, March 11, to brainstorm ideas on how Somerville can best utilize its green spaces and community places with a concentration on playgrounds, community gardens, fields, plazas and streetscapes.

Eagle Feathers #48 –Seven Hills to Seven Seas

By Bob (Monty)

“From the seven hills to the seven seas” would be an appropriate description of the lives of thousands of Somerville men and women throughout the years. Long ago, the city’s location was a high-tide island called “Charlestown Beyond the Neck.” Its watery perimeter was made up of the Mystic River to the north, the Alewife Brook to the west, Tannery Brook and Miller’s River to the south, and the Charles River with its millponds, to the east.

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Somerville Bagel Bard Dennis Daly has a new collection of poetry out, Night Walking with Nathaniel, poems of Salem. This week I have Michael Todd Steffen, poet, critic, and author of the new poetry collection Partner, Orchard, Day Moon (Cervena Barva Press) as guest columnist and reviewer.

Ben Potrykus plays in the band Bent Shapes and puts out a zine called Cake Time. His writing has appeared in The Boston Counter Cultural Compass, and on Vice.com. By day, he works at a local non-profit, focusing on homelessness prevention.

Arrests:
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Michael Anderson, 58, of 4525 S. Trask St., Tampa, FL, March 7, 5:39 p.m., arrested at 15 Elm St. on a charge of operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor.

Bachir Ouchene, 50, March 8, 3:04 p.m., arrested at 239 Elm St. on warrant charges of possession of a burglarious instrument, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Local women, organization to be honored for service to women in Somerville

The Somerville Commission for Women will celebrate its 25th Anniversary with a special event to introduce the work of the commission and the active role of commissioners in the community along with present the “Woman of Excellence Award” and “Best Service Provider to Women Award” at the East Somerville Community School from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 19.

Superintendent Tony Pierantozzi will retire on July 5, 2015.

At tonight’s School Committee meeting, Superintendent Tony Pierantozzi announced his resignation for the purpose of retirement from his position as chief executive of the Somerville Public Schools. Pierantozzi will retire on July 5, 2015.

Books about Irish history, culture, and the Irish experience in America provide a rich field of interest for collectors.

By Kenneth Gloss

As with any other area of collecting, books dealing with Irish history subdivide into numerous categories that offer a multitude of collecting specialties.

The Boston area is particularly rich in books about Irish history, because many immigrants wanted to preserve their pasts and the story of their birth country. Many of these books were printed in New York and Boston by people who had come to America.

The City of Somerville Office of Assessors reminds all residential property owners that the deadline for filing statutory, residential or Community Preservation Act (CPA) exemption for Fiscal Year 2014 is April 1, 2014 at 4:30 p.m.