- Photos by William Tauro

By William Tauro

A utility pole that once stood tall on Medford Street in Somerville at the city line on Gore Street in Cambridge fell to the ground on Friday at 5 p.m. during rush hour.

Howie Winter - undated booking photo.

Two men were arraigned today in connection with their involvement in an extortion scheme, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public today.

Howard Winter, aka “Howie”, 83, of Millbury and James Melvin, 70, of Braintree, were arraigned this morning in Somerville District Court on charges of attempted extortion and conspiracy.  Somerville District Court Judge Neil Walker released the defendants on $25,000 cash bail each, with conditions to have no contact and stay away from the victims, wear a GPS monitoring device, surrender their passport and remain in the Commonwealth.

Part 1:  Death in the dark

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.)

When I first heard about the controversy regarding Walmart’s plans to set up shop in the former Circuit City space at Assembly Square, I was not greatly concerned.

Somerville has been recognized and honored for 17 straight years as a tree-loving community. – Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

City wins Arbor Day Foundation Award

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Trees make good neighbors. And Somerville is welcoming more of them to the community all the time.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation recently honored Somerville with an Annual Tree City USA Award for the 17th straight year. While 84 Massachusetts cities and towns earned the 2012 award, which is sponsored by the National Arbor Day foundation, Somerville was only one of a handful of urban communities on the list.

– Photos by Bill Rogers

– Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

A bicyclist was hit by a motor vehicle in Union Square Wednesday.

The incident occurred at the intersection directly in front of the Union Square Post Office at Bonner Ave. around noon.

The bicyclist, after being thrown from his bike from the impact, picked up his bicycle and walked away from the scene.

The Alibrandis’ momentum momentarily stalled in games against the South Boston Saints and the East Boston Nights last week. The team looks to improve their record at home before taking on the Stoneham Sabers this coming weekend. – Photo by Benjamin Klein

By Benjamin Klein

After starting the season 3-1, the Somerville Alibrandis have recently dropped two of their last three games but still remain in second place in the Ted Williams division.

The Alibrandis started the second week of the season in impressive fashion, crushing the first-place Malden Bulldogs, 8-0. Somerville would waste no time in getting the scoring going as they plated four runs in the first inning. They would add two more runs in the second inning off of solo home runs by Mike Maguire and Ted Dziuba. The Alibrandis would add insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings, which was more than enough for starting pitcher Bryant Guilmette.

Many residents would rather see the McGrath Highway overpass demolished than repaired. – Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

Residents question state’s plans for McGrath

By Elizabeth Sheeran

It’s an unsightly concrete colossus that divides the city between East and West, and is despised by the locals. For Somerville residents, the Route 28 McCarthy Overpass might as well be the Berlin Wall. And it can’t come down soon enough.

By Francisco White

The 3rd Annual Carnaval@SomerStreets and FossFest celebration, held on Sunday, June 3, was the first of five SomerStreets events for this year. SomerStreets takes place one Sunday each month from June through October. Programming is provided by the City of Somerville, FossFest, East Somerville Main Streets, The Somerville Arts Council, and other collaborators in the community.