On August 22, members of the Somerville Fire Department conducted a joint confined space rescue drill with members of Mass Bay Commuter Rail (MBCR) at their maintenance facility located at 70R Third Avenue.

On The Silly Side 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 conducted my own little poll of what stores people would like to see go into the new Assembly Row area.

Here are some suggestions I received. Bass Pro Shop, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chico’s “chic” clothing store for women. Wegmans food store (I’m not familiar with it) and a Stein Mart department store, along with Mary Lou’s Coffee and  Newbury Comics. An Alamo Drafthouse was a choice for a theatre. A friend threw out the idea of an Irish pub but I think we have plenty of those already. A re-vamped Blarney Stone Pub would work though. Then of course we would get Jim Plunkett to perform there. Speaking of music, how about a Guitar Center to cater to all the aspiring musicians that we have in the area? The Darden family of restaurants have some offerings such as Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Capital Grille, and Bahama Breeze. Don’t you hate seeing those delicious TV commercials advertising restaurants that aren’t anywhere near us? How about a CiCis Pizza, Long John Silver’s or Arby’s?

Getting the highways set for the holiday weekend, a sound barrier panel  is replaced Friday afternoon on Route 93 over Temple Rd and Bailey Rd.

– Photos by Donald Norton

By Jim Clark

A Somerville Ave. resident returned to her apartment last week to find that her two bicycles had been stolen, after having their lock and chain cut.

The victim searched Craigslist online, hoping to spot the bikes for sale, and did indeed find bicycles listed matching hers by description. She emailed the seller to set up a meeting.

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.)

By now I’m sure everyone has noticed that we’ve rolled out a boatload of new initiatives this past spring and summer. Our city’s ever-expanding agenda includes: strategies for transit-oriented development in Union Square; Phase One construction at Assembly Square; a proposal for a new Central Library; a call for a Community Preservation Act ballot proposal; the staffing and rollout of the SomerPromise youth development program; the East Broadway streetscape development; new parks; an urban agriculture ordinance, the arrival of the Hubway bike-sharing program, the soon-to-be public online Socrata data portal and much, much more.

Secretary Hartein, DTA Commissioner Curley, Rachael Plitch, Lisa Damon.

On Thursday, August 23, Ann Hartstein Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs taped two of her shows, Senior Scene, a program for and about Massachusetts seniors at Ralph & Jenny Center and at Holland Street Center.

Several City databases, including 311 work order tracking, now available to all residents; Mayor Curtatone to participate in September 20th webinar on municipal applications of open data model 

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.)

Two weeks ago the mayor’s staff submitted an updated Union Square Revitalization Plan to the Board of Aldermen. It would commit the city to hundreds of millions in property acquisition and public-improvements investments over the next twenty years.

The Somerville Alibrandis have successfully taken their regular season winning momentum into the playoffs.

By Benjamin Klein

The Somerville Alibrandis have had a very successful season and that success has translated into postseason victories. Somerville won their first series with ease and recently won a best-of-five series over the Stoneham Sabers in order to advance into the Yawkey Baseball League championship series against the Malden Bulldogs.

– Photos by Kristen Hale