A tree landed on a SUV on Foley Street and  on Alewife Brook Parkway in Somerville during Wednesday’s rainstorm.

– Photos By William Tauro and Bobbie Toner

Self-propelled into a new role as front man and singer, Franchot Tone rises to the occasion. – Photo by Ben Moon.

By Max Sullivan

Four years ago, Franchot Tone was a guitarist in the reggae/surf/pop band Culver City Dub Collective. He was a producer and a composer by trade. However, it took an old friend from Boston to convince him to add one more tool to his repertoire.

An architect’s rendering of the building planned for 181 Washington Street. – Photo courtesy of Dimella Schaffer

Controversy surrounds affordable housing project

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Conflict over a planned Union Square affordable housing development has grown so heated, the mayor is enlisting professional mediators to cool things down.

At the center of the controversy is a proposed five-story, 40-unit apartment complex that the Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) plans to build at 181 Washington Street, the former Boys and Girls Club site. SCC Director Danny Leblanc said the project supports the non-profit’s mission to increase affordable housing options in Somerville.

The annual ArtBeat event is this weekend, starting Friday evening at Seven Hill Park at 6p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Davis Square starting at 11 a.m. going through to 6 p.m.  It’s our largest and most innovative arts festival, complete with two stages of music with over 15 bands, dance troupes, lots of crafts and food booths.

A food truck is present in Somerville from Davis Square’s Kickass Cupcakes. – Photo by Kristin Chalmers Photography

By Cathleen Twardzik

At a recent Legislative Matters Committee meeting in Somerville, the agenda included a discussion about allowing food trucks to be licensed in the city.

The Somerville Alibrandis are playing like their hair is on fire, as they maintain the top spot in the Ted Williams division.

By Benjamin Klein

The Somerville Alibrandis are on quite the hot-streak and it doesn’t seem like they’ll be letting up anytime soon. After closing out June with two wins, the Alibrandis have won five straight to start July and now ride a seven-game winning streak to close out the last half of their schedule.

By Jim Clark

A Gilman St. resident phoned police last Friday to report that his home had been forcibly entered and that he had been beaten on the previous day.

Patrick Coman with the Low-FI Angels will be performing at this week’s ArtBeat Festival on July 21. – Photo by Denise Maccaferi

By Sanjeev Selvarajah

Patrick Coman’s new EP Let it Ring will be featured in his performance with the Low-FI Angels at this week’s ArtBeat Festival on July 21, outdoors at Davis Square, 12:30 and 3:15 p.m. The folk and country of his previous album, Southern Storms is present with a new blues and rock influence. At a strikingly short five songs, the work here preserves his rich handle on American geography, a picture of Boston and city life against the grain and salt of country life.

Somerville enjoys a well-deserved reputation as being one of the most creatively diverse and active communities in the entire country. This coming weekend we celebrate this fact with ArtBeat, the Somerville Arts Council’s annual festival which spotlights the works of our locals artists, musicians, and others who help make the city a constant source of inspiration and pride of accomplishment for all of us.

The Fuller Brush salesman.

Eagle Feathers #5 – Knock Knock…Who’s There?

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

When I was a kid, Saturday was business day of the week.  Houses were bombarded by door-to-door delivery or salespeople. We would see a parade of professionals that would include the milkman, the bread man, the egg man, the paperboy and a host of other merchants. The most memorable of these characters for me was the one who would give free gifts before he made his sales pitch – the Fuller Brush man. In the year 1903, at the age of 18, Alfred Fuller moved from Nova Scotia, Canada, to Somerville, MA. The fifth of his siblings to migrate south because there was no future at home other than working on a farm, he moved in with his sister at 21 Windham Street, right outside of Davis Square.