Kim Triedman is both an award-winning poet and a novelist. Her debut novel, The Other Room, and two full-length poetry collections, Plum(b) and Hadestown, will release in 2013. The Other Room was a finalist for the 2008 James Jones First Novel Fellowship, and Kim’s poetry has garnered many awards, including the 2008 Main Street Rag Chapbook Award and the 2010 Ibbetson Street Poetry Award. Kim’s poems have been published in numerous anthologies and literary journals including Prairie Schooner. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Kim co-organized and co-chaired a collaborative poetry reading at Harvard University to benefit Partners in Health and the people of Haiti. The reading was featured on NPR’s Here and Now with Robin Young and led to the publication of a Poets for Haiti anthology, which Kim developed and edited.

Arrests:
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A Juvenile, May 13, 7:32 p.m., arrested at Mystic Ave. on charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, uninsured motor vehicle, unregistered motor vehicle, registration sticker not displayed, and wrong vehicle attached.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 5 Alderman Courtney O’Keefe invite all residents to a ceremonial unveiling of the Magoun Square sign, located at the intersection of Broadway and Medford Street, on the CVS Plaza. A brief ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 23 at 6 p.m. The sign had been temporarily removed for renovations, and its reinstallation comes just one month before the city’s annual Fourth of July Fireworks celebration will bring thousands of visitors to the Magoun Square area on June 27.

All are welcome to attend the ceremony.

By William Tauro

The Somerville District Courthouse that’s located at 175 Fellsway in Somerville is receiving a new clock tower.

Barack Obama stands in the law library at Harvard University c.1989. Photo Courtesy of Harvard University.

By Clennon L. King

Two decades before 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue became his address, Barack Obama rented a basement apartment at a busy bus stop in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Michelle L. Robinson poses while at Harvard. Photo courtesy of Harvard University

By Clennon L. King

Ask current Harvard Law School students where Class of ’91 alumnus Barack Obama, lived during his three-year stint there, and most will blurt out “Somerville” without skipping a beat.

Dear Constituents,

It is with deep regret and sadness that I must inform you that I will not be seeking re-election in the 2013 City Election.  The past 31 years in public service has been rewarding and exciting.  I have had the good fortune to work with a number of talented and diverse individuals.  I am truly grateful that the voters of Ward 3 have continually placed their faith in my leadership and experience and have given me this opportunity to serve the City of Somerville.

The monthly Men’s Group that social worker Mitchell Krigest started back in February has become quite popular. We hear that while most of the meetings are educational there is still plenty of time for camaraderie and humor. Next meeting: June 5 at noon at Holland Street Center.

By Blake Maddux

Susan Ostrander is a Professor of Sociology at Tufts University. Among the classes that she teaches are “Wealth, Poverty and Inequality” and “Making Social Change Happen: Roots, Activism & Community Organizing.” She is also the author of several books, the most recent of which is this year’s Citizenship and Governance in a Changing City, Somerville, MA (Temple University Press).

On one hand, the book is a work of admirable academic research and dedicated scholarship. However, Ostrander’s interviews with numerous Somervillians of various classes, races, and ethnicities – as well as her discussions of familiar locations – make the book enjoyable and instructive to all who are interested in the past, present, and future of this two-time All-American City Award winner.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

I started writing this little column back in 2008. I thought I was going to write funny stories about Somerville. It then evolved into a sort of history of Somerville. I changed the name from On The Silly Side, to Life in the Ville, because that was what it was about, life in this great city of ours.