El Sistema Somerville commissioned its first original work and established a Composer-in-Residence program for the 2013-2014 school year, a project made possible through grant funding support from the Somerville Arts Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The scope of the project includes collaborative sessions with Somerville-based composer Oliver Caplan (ASCAP), rehearsals of the original, multi-layered orchestral work, and a world premiere scheduled for May 20, 2014, at the East Somerville Community School Auditorium.

Mayor Curtatone and Ward 1 Alderman Matt McLaughlin invite all interested residents to a community meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Capuano Early Childhood Center, 150 Glen St., to discuss new lighting plans for the Capuano School / James McCarthy Field. The city is proposing to install new lighting at the Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center Turf Soccer Field in the fall of 2014, but is seeking community input prior to finalizing design plans. For more information, contact Arn Franzen in the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development at 617-625-6600 ext. 2545 orAFranzen@somervillema.gov.

C.J. Chenier brings his Zydeco mastery to Johnny D’s on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Somerville music fans have a rare treat in store for them as famed Zydeco star C.J. Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band rolls into Johnny D’s next week, Feb. 11.

Clayton Joseph Chenier was born September 28, 1957 – the son of the great King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier. C.J.’s father was the first Creole musician to win a Grammy Award. C.J. spent his childhood in the tough tenement housing projects of Port Arthur, Texas. His earliest musical influences were an eclectic mix of funk, soul, jazz and Motown, and his first musical instruments were piano, tenor saxophone and flute. It wasn’t until his 21st birthday, after winning a scholarship and studying music at Texas Southern University, that C.J. first performed with his famous father and the legendary Red Hot Louisiana band.

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)

Remember that bright orange roof? I think they made it bright orange so you could see it when you were coming home early in the morning from a bar…in a fog. Howard Johnson’s at Wellington Circle was a very popular spot for after-hours meeting and eating.

Cookbooks are one thing some people tend to collect. This Saturday, Feb 8, over 1,000 cookbooks will be displayed and available to you at the Somerville Winter Farmer’s Market. The Friends of the Somerville Public Library will be at The Armory from 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. that day with a huge selection of cookbooks from 1950’s to current day. Buy a cookbook and proceeds benefit the Friends of the Somerville Public Library and also support the farmer’s market SNAP Match Initiative. SNAP payments (the “Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program” formerly known as Food Stamps) are accepted and welcomed at the market in an effort to promote healthy food choices. See you there! 191 Highland Ave: bus #88 or #90.

Mrs. Mahoney and Ms. Vozella’s sixth-grade classes at the East Somerville Community School have completed a unit in ancient Egypt in their social studies classes. Upon completion of the unit of study, students had to create a project based on an important part of Egyptian history. Students worked in small groups, and their projects consisted of a handmade visual model, as well as a poster board displaying their written work. Parents and guardians were invited to see the final oral presentations Jan. 17. There were a variety of topics discussed such as the pyramids, canopic jars, the mummification process, Nile River, hieroglyphics and Hatshepsut.

The Community Budgeting meeting originally scheduled for Monday, Feb. 10, has been rescheduled to Thursday, Feb. 27. The meeting will still be held at the West Somerville Neighborhood School, 177 Powderhouse Blvd., at 6:30 p.m.

By Nidhi Mathson

Caesar’s Pizza on Somerville Avenue, Leone’s on Broadway and Prospect Hill tower are just some of the well-known Somerville hot spots featured in the Robert Richardson’s debut novel, Penny Hike.

“[The novel] shines a great light on the city of Somerville,” Richardson, who spent the first 33 years of his life in Somerville, said. “You get all of these books now that are about Whitey Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang, which shines a negative light on Somerville. I wanted to shine a good light on it, and I think this novel does.”

Evaluation of developers will identify finalists to be interviewed prior to final proposals

The City of Somerville received 10 responses to the Somerville Redevelopment Authority’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a Union Square and Boynton Yards master developer partner, with several respondents displaying previous experience of working within existing urban neighborhoods to create new mixed-use, transit-oriented developments.

By Jim Clark

Police were summoned to Rockland Trust Bank on Highland Ave. last week on reports of vandalism at that location.

Investigating officers were briefed on the situation by the reporting party, the bank’s branch manager. They were shown a section of the building’s wall in the front ATM vestibule that had been severely damaged. A section of the wall underneath a table built into the wall reportedly had a hole in it approximately two feet square.