Keith Tornheim

Keith Tornheim is a biochemistry professor at Boston University School of Medicine.  He was a co-winner of a Great Lakes College Association poetry contest in 1967 and is now a relapsed poet, especially for the last eleven years.  Some poems have recently been published in Ibbetson Street,Poetica, and Spare Change News, as well as previously in Lyrical Somerville. His poems have been a part of High Holiday and other services of his congregation (see www.shirhadash-ma.org/poetry.html).

President Barack Obama has been projected as having won his re-election bid for a second term, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney. In the Massachusetts Senate race, Elizabeth Warren is projected as having beaten incumbent Scott Brown.

Your Vote is Important!

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– Photos by Donald Norton, Bobbie Toner and Terence Clarey

Chief Thomas Pasquarello announced that starting today, persons calling 911 to report a sick or injured person, will receive additional telephone support while medical help is on the way.  The program, called Emergency Medical Dispatch, is a State 911 mandated program that requires all 911 centers to provide medical and pre-arrival instructions to callers who are with sick or injured persons while help is being dispatched.   The service is being provided by Cataldo Ambulance Service, the emergency medical service provider for Somerville.

Firefighters raise a ladder during a house fire at 84 Wheatland Street on November 3, 2012. – Photo by Ed Morrissey.

On Saturday, November 3 at 4:47 p.m., the Somerville Fire Department responded to a reported house fire at 84 Wheatland Street. Fire companies arrived to find flames coming out of a first floor bedroom window of an occupied, three unit dwelling.

Participation in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6, is projected to be at least as high as in 2008, which was a modern record for Somerville.

Because this year’s ballot lists seven ballot questions as well as the usual elected offices, the city anticipates long lines, and will work to keep voting as quick and easy as possible.

By William Tauro & April Terrio

Somerville Animal Control Officer April Terrio and Rachel Taylor responded to a call regarding a coyote sighting in the Assembly Square area Friday.

Mayor selected as result of unanimous vote by Board of Directors
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Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that he has received notification from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) Board of Directors that they have unanimously voted to award him their 2012 All-State School Committee Award for Urban Districts.  The award is presented to individuals every year to honor their contributions to the lives of children within their district.  Mayor Curtatone was chosen from nominees from 57 urban districts across the Commonwealth.

By William Tauro

A fire erupted on a utility pole late Friday afternoon at the intersection of Garfield and Broadway in Somerville.

Primary electric wires shorted out and caused a fire high above the street.

Somerville Fire Department units were dispatched immediately to battle and extinguish the high wire flames.

Utility crews were also on scene immediately to clear away the burned wires, correct the problem, and restore any lost power.

Tom Hanks and Halle Berry head up a top-notch cast in “Cloud Atlas,” a tremendously complex study in storytelling, now playing at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square.

Review by Maria A. Cortes

Ever wondered who were you in the past life? Have karma and the idea of reincarnation ever sparked your interest? The directors of The Matrix trilogy, Lana and Andy Wachowski, in collaboration with German director Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run) are presenting their new movie Cloud Atlas, a film that would definitely make you think about past life experiences and its relation to the present and the future. Based on David Mitchell’s bestseller, Cloud Atlas opened last Friday at The Somerville Theatre.