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 can’t let the summer go by without doing a blurb on my favorite spot in Somerville.

We in the Davis and Ball Square areas have been blessed with a gem known as Powder House Park. Many of us have memories of sledding, picnics, playing on the rocks, snowball fights and first kisses at the park. A friend of mine was a recreation leader many years ago and he has remained friends with a lot of the kids, who are now grown up. How many of us made “gimp” key chains at Powder House Park? Remember when the draft board was in that building on the lower part of the park? I sure do because thankfully my number was a few digits off.

Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary Richard A. Davey, MBTA Acting General Manager Jonathan R. Davis and Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that the City of Somerville, MassDOT and the MBTA have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that describes how land will be acquired by the City, or by the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA) acting as the City’s agent, to be transferred to the MBTA in exchange for a firm commitment by the MBTA and MassDOT to construct a transit station in Union Square as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX).  For a symbolic payment of one dollar, the MBTA will be given a temporary easement for pickup/drop-off area and construction staging areas.  Under the agreement, the MBTA will also receive a permanent easement for the station building, which will be sited near the intersection of Prospect Street and Webster Avenue.  The City/SRA will acquire and retain long-term control over adjacent parcels and air rights on the same block until it concludes development and sales agreements with one or more developers.

The 9th Annual National Night Out takes place Tuesday, August 7 at Foss Park.

By Cathleen Twardzik

At Foss Park on August 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. partake in the 9th Annual National Night Out (NNO), which will be America’s Night Out Against Crime.

The event is a distinctive drug abuse and crime prevention initiative, which is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and Target Inc.

A car crashed into tree in Union Square behind the SCATV building. The car lost control while traveling down Bonner. – Photos by William Tauro

By William Tauro

Chaos was the scene Friday morning when a motor vehicle lost control  in Union Square and hit a tree.

The vehicle’s air bags deployed after the freak collision causing the  driver to be treated at the scene for minor injuries.

By William Tauro

The Eastern Bank located on Elm Street in Davis Square was robbed around 9:30 Friday morning.

The suspect made off with an undetermined amount of cash and is still on the run.

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.)

Democracy doesn’t work without an informed and participatory citizenry. That’s why Thomas Jefferson said that if he had to choose between a government without newspapers and newspapers without a government, he’d prefer the latter. It’s why Justice Hugo Black wrote that, “a free press is a condition of a free society.”

Alene Ross.

UPDATE: Ms. Ross has been found and is safe in the care of the Lexington Police Department.

Part of the group enjoying the Dr. Seus Memorial Garden

Fun Fridays continued with a great trip to the Springfield Museums last week.  There are four museums and a Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden.  They  had a great time walking through Whoville and meeting Dr. Seuss, Thing One and ThingTwo.  One of the museums had a beautiful Tiffany Lamp/Glass Exhibit and another museum had ancient artifacts from Japan and China.  Lots more trips planned for the rest of the summer.

Jim Buckley with a new friend!

Peter Asher sings and tells his tales at Johnny D’s on Wednesday, August 8 at 8 p.m. – Photo by Michael Weintrob

‘Peter Asher: A Musical Memoir of the 60s and Beyond’ comes to town

By Jim Clark

Pop music royalty includes many in its numbers, but few can match the gravitas embodied in the person of Peter Asher. A bona fide superstar of the great musical British Invasion of the 60s as one half of the wildly popular duo Peter & Gordon, he was also a friend of and collaborator with such luminaries as The Beatles (he later went on to head the group’s Apple Records A&R division), The Rolling Stones, and practically every other major player on the scene at the time. Asher would later become one of the most successful record producers and talent managers in the business.

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.)

I got a call last weekend from Elizabeth Warren’s campaign office.  She and her campaign team were rolling out a pro-investment, pro-infrastructure initiative called “Rebuild Now” and they were wondering whether I would be willing to give the candidate a tour of Assembly Square.  They wanted to use that tour as a backdrop for a discussion about how public investment in basic infrastructure – roads, bridges, transit, water and sewer lines, schools and more – can help to jumpstart economic recovery, provide middle-class jobs and – best of all – leverage private investment in long-term, money-making, private-sector business activity.