With 75 percent voter approval on Nov. 6, Somerville to establish local ordinance, create local committee with power to recommend projects for funding by added annual revenues of $1.5 Million; Alderman must approve all CPA spending for historic preservation, recreation and open space, and affordable housing   

Ten days after Somerville voters overwhelmingly approved local ballot Question 4, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone today announced the city’s next steps in creating the local mechanisms to implement the Community Preservation Act (CPA).  As directed by the enabling state legislation, the Curtatone Administration will propose a local ordinance establishing a nine-member Community Preservation Committee to begin the process of developing recommendations to allocate additional revenues that the City will begin receiving under the terms of the state’s CPA law.  The total annual amount raised under the CPA will vary with the city’s total property tax revenues and the amount of money disbursed by the state’s CPA fund to participating communities.  Based on current property tax assessments in Somerville and on this year’s rate of disbursement from the state fund, Somerville’s Board of Assessors estimated that, had the CPA been in place this year, the city would have accrued over $1.5 million in additional funding for the three specific purposes covered by the CPA law: historic preservation; open space and recreation; and affordable housing.

On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

This article originally appeared in The Somerville News on February 25, 2009.

(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.)

Today there are plenty of places in Somerville where you can go to have a meal and an adult beverage. From one end of the city to the other, these mid to up-scale eateries offer an enticing menu and a wide array of inebriates. There was a time, not too long ago, when local barrooms were just that, barrooms. If you wanted to see what food was served, it was usually right in front of you, in a large glass jar or hanging on a display rack. The fare was simple, including bags of chips, peanuts, slim-jims and pickled eggs. The upscale joints offered beer nuts to their customers – bon apétit!

The Somerville Historic Preservation Commission (SHPC) has extended the deadline to submit nominations for the 2013 Preservation Awards.  Nominations will now be accepted through Monday, December 3rd.  The Awards will honor Somerville property owners that have performed significant restoration or maintenance efforts on either designated historic buildings, or on non-designated buildings erected before 1962.

Ryan Anthony Perez

A Somerville man pleaded guilty to charges he took video of women inside a YMCA locker room without their knowledge, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public today.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(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.)

One week later, it still feels good.

Governor Deval Patrick likes to say, “Hope for the best, and work for it.” There were three outcomes I hoped for – and worked for – in the November 6 election. The first was President Obama’s reelection. The second was Elizabeth Warren’s election to what Scott Brown had aptly named “the People’s Seat” in the U.S. Senate. The third was the passage here in Somerville of Question 4, the binding ballot question that would determine whether or not we joined the growing number of Massachusetts communities (post-November 6, it’s now 153) that benefit from the state’s Community Preservation Act.

The annual fall gathering for booklovers, the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, will return to the Hynes Convention Center in Boston’s beautiful Back Bay, November 16-18, 2012.  The offerings are wide and diverse from over 120 dealers located in the United States, England, Canada, France, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Argentina who will exhibit and sell rare, collectible and antiquarian books, illuminated manuscripts, autographs, maps, atlases, photographs, modern first editions, and a plethora of other literary ephemera.  Fine and decorative prints will also be featured.

By Jim Clark

Police responded to a report of a man threatening people with a shotgun at the Lechmere Car Wash on Washington St. last Friday afternoon.

Upon Arrival, officers detained the reported suspect, Raul Parra, 38.

Ward 4 Alderman Tony Lafuente has made a huge success of his flag and banner business, Flagraphics.

By Max Sullivan

If you need a banner, flag or awning that is going to last, Somerville’s Ward 4 Alderman Tony Lafuente is your man.

For the last thirty years, everyone from the Rouse Company to the Boston Red Sox and Celtics has called up his Somerville based flag and banner business, Flagraphics, when they needed a textile.

Somerville quarterback Phoenix Huertas calls out signals in the Highlander’s football game last Friday night against Medford. The Highlanders got their first win of the season, 35-28. – Photo by Terence Clarey

By Terence Clarey

The two teams that met Friday night were hoping to come away with their first win of the season and in an entertaining seesaw affair, the Somerville High School Highlanders outlasted the Medford High School Mustangs, 35-28 to notch their first victory this year.

Hawthorne Street residents (Left to right) Larry Bolt, Ralph De Amato, and Julius Bortone all served their country during World War II. – Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

WWII veterans still going strong
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By Elizabeth Sheeran

More than one in ten Somerville residents has served in the military, and one reason for the city’s substantial roster of veterans can be found in its history.