By William C. Shelton

(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.)

There are more artists per capita living in Somerville than in any other U.S. city. You can see their work in venues ranging from the Museum of Fine Arts to signal boxes in Somerville intersections.

The Wrap Around Project will be featured at the Nave Gallery from November 10 through December 16.

Wrap Around sale benefits homeless
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By Elizabeth Sheeran

Want to add an extra layer of warmth to your holiday season? By selecting a gift from the individually hand-made hats, scarves or mittens on sale at the Nave Gallery in Somerville over the next few weeks, you won’t just be keeping a loved one toasty through the winter months. You’ll also get that warm fuzzy feeling that comes with helping people in need.

Amendments proposed on Aug. 16 would require recipients of city-administered grant funds to adopt formal ethics codes; New law would extend city’s audit oversight to grantees and give city legal authority to suspend funding or demand repayment

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone today called on the Board of Aldermen to take up a proposal he submitted on August 16  that would expand the city’s abilities to require grant recipients to adopt conflict-of-interest codes similar to those that govern municipal officials.  The proposed changes to the city’s existing ordinance (Chapter 15) would also give the city direct audit oversight over grantees as well as explicit authority to suspend disbursements to, and recover funds from, organizations that violate the provisions of the ordinance.

By Jim Clark

Police responded to reports of a man making threats with a handgun on Washington St. last week.

Upon questioning, the alleged victims reportedly told officers that they had gotten into a road rage incident with a man, later identified as Taylor Grover, 37, of Wilmington, while driving along Washington St. Police were, at that time, called in to mediate the dispute and a report was taken. Grover reportedly claimed that he had been struck by one of the alleged victims. Police reportedly advised Grover to file a complaint for assault at Somerville District Court.

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.)

Within hours after Superstorm Sandy departed the area, some of the local papers were calling to ask how much the storm had cost the city in damage, in overtime, in supplies. We didn’t answer – and we still haven’t answered – because cities have to be very careful about compiling and verifying the costs of natural disasters that the state and federal government have declared emergencies. Some of those costs are reimbursable, and you want to make sure your calculations are watertight before submitting them for compensation.

Singer/songwriter Ben Gibbard wowed audiences at the Somerville Theatre last weekend as he fielded favorites from the Death Cab For Cutie catalog, as well as other projects from his musical past.

By Blake Maddux

By fronting the hugely popular Death Cab for Cutie and the beloved but short-lived Postal Service, singer/songwriter Ben Gibbard has maintained his visibility among fans of indie rock for more than a decade. Of course, his brief marriage to and recent divorce from actress Zooey Deschanel certainly did nothing to lower his profile.

U.S. President

Johnson / Gray  543

Obama/ Biden  28,467

Romney / Ryan 4,865

Stein / Honkala 747

write in 108

blank 332

William “Bill” Donovan sat as Mayor of Somerville from 1953–1959.

By Blake Maddux

On May 26, 1988, the obituary of former Somerville mayor and longtime city clerk William “Bill” Donovan ran in the local newspaper.

The obituary described Donovan as having “dominated the city’s political arena for the better part of the 1950s.”

The elections are finally over and normality quickly comes back as of today. All of those  TV commercials, mailings,  plus those hated robo calls are over. A few months to go before the local city elections start. It’s great that they won’t be able to pay for TV ads, although they can advertise in The News.

By Cathleen Twardzik

At a recent Ward 2 ResiStat Neighborhood Meeting, which was well attended, essential issues were discussed by those who attended. The meeting served as a forum for people to bring up points and for the mayor and department heads, among others, to hash out issues.