By Cate Blancard

Somerville’s voters head to the polls in less than three weeks to decide if the city should participate in the Community Preservation Act (CPA), a Massachusetts law that enables municipalities to impose a property tax surcharge and collect funds from the state’s CPA Trust Fund to support affordable housing, open space, historic preservation and recreational projects.

The Somerville News Person of the Week, Patricia Reardon.

Meet Patricia Reardon. “Pat” to her many friends and acquaintances throughout the city. She’s a lifelong resident of the city, married, and is very devoted to her husband and family. Pat’s now retired from her banking career. She was the branch manager at the old Somerset Bank on Broadway in East Somerville. People from all over Somerville, in particular, East Somerville, got to know Pat very well. With her big smile and professional attitude, she was always helpful to anyone who came into the bank. We first met her at that bank back in the 80’s and we know, along with a lot of old time residents, exactly how much of a nice person she is.

Arrests:
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Ryan Moran, 21, of 37A Dunstable St., Charlestown, October 8, 12:19 p.m., arrested at 5 Middlesex Ave. on warrant charges of misdemeanor breaking & entering and larceny under $250.

Rowena Golay, 56, of 11 Orrin White Dr., Randolph, October 8, 12:46 p.m., arrested at 775 McGrath Hwy. on charges of forgery/misuse of an RMV document, distribution of a class B drug, and conspiracy to violate drug law.

How cool is Somerville? Really, now. We ask you.

Not only was the ultimate Halloween song, Monster Mash, composed and performed by a native son, but many other illustrious personages have emerged from within our relatively diminutive borders to strike out and touch the world with their talent and ingenuity.

Freshman Katie Monestime serves for the Lady Anchors.

The St. Clement volleyball team clinched a spot in the State Tournament for a second year in a row by beating Cathedral High School, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School and Saint Joseph’s Prep. The team is now seeking to earn a bye when the playoffs begin.

Mayor Curtatone was among the attendees as Robert E. Invernizzi was honored with the dedication of a city square in his name on October 7.

The City of Somerville held a Veteran’s Square Dedication Ceremony for Mr. Robert E. Invernizzi on Sunday October 7 at the corner of Gussie Terrace and Porter St.  Mr. Invernizzi is a life-long resident of Somerville. He is a veteran of WWII and Korea.

Poet Wendy Ranan.

Some people are motivated by love; some are motivated by money, others by power. Poet Wendy Ranan is motivated by beauty. More specifically the beauty of nature.  And there are generous and evocative doses of nature in her work. Ranan has worked for years at a major psychiatric hospital just outside of Boston that at one time housed such poets as Robert Lowell, Anne Sexton, and Sylvia Plath.  I met with her at her office, a Spartan hole-in –the wall, to interview her in light of her new poetry collection “The Quiet Room.”  Ranan, like most writers is no trust fund baby and struggles to find time in her busy day to  manage work, raise a family, and keep the creative fires burning.

Anne Ardery.

Have you ever wondered about the homeless men or women you pass in the street? How did they get there? Could you wind up on the unforgiving pavement yourself?  Somerville poet Anne Ardery ponders this with her poem Mist.

Non-profit community organizations in Somerville are invited to apply for 2012 grants from the Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF).  TNSF collects donations from faculty and staff throughout the year and then awards small grants to community-based, charitable organizations that serve Tufts’ host communities (Somerville, Medford, Grafton and Boston’s Chinatown).

Initiative to launch with event at Armory on October 17
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Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced  the kickoff of a new initiative to implement the urban design and land use goals of the City’s SomerVision Comprehensive Plan. The program, called “Somerville by Design,” will officially launch with an event at the Center for Arts at the Armory on Wednesday, October 17.