Dan Sklar.

I once saw a hilarious skit on Saturday Night Live. A deranged counselor talking to a student said: “So you want to be a writer, huh? Well- La-De-Freakin’-da.” Now my colleague at Endicott College Professor Dan Sklar is a serious writer but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Here is a poem to explain his point of view to you.

Mystic River Yacht and Boat Club Commodores with Father Joe Forster, Rep Paul Donato, Former Mayor Gene Brune, and WHYC Commodore Bill Rogers. – Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

This past Saturday the Winter Hill Yacht Club of Somerville along with the Mystic Wellington Yacht Club and the Riverside Boat Club of Medford, invited former Somerville Mayor and current Middlesex Registrar of Deeds Gene Brune to represent The City of Somerville, and Medford State Representative Paul Donato representing The City of Medford, to be part of the over thirty year old tradition of the “Blessing of the Fleet” on The Mystic River for its 2012 boating season.

Arrests:
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Ellenmarie McCann, 25, of 167 Pearl St., June 11, 3:18 p.m., arrested at 249 Pearl St. on a warrant charge of assault and battery.

Gary Forestier, 47, of 27 Beacon St., Burlington, June 12, 8:27 a.m., arrested at Elm St. on a charge of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region announced earlier this month that the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries was awarding $1,126,315 in grants for 2012.  The Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School at Lincoln Park was selected as one of 238 recipients from throughout the United States. The Argenziano School was awarded a $5,000 grant to expand and diversify its library book collections.  Argenziano is one of only four schools in Massachusetts to receive the award.  The School plans to expand its collection of reading materials with a collection of Graphic Novels and a selection of Nonfiction Titles to serve the varied interests and reading levels of students in grades K-8.

Trash & recycling on regular schedule
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Due to the Bunker Hill Holiday on Monday, June 18, all City offices except schools will be closed. Also, there will be no street sweeping, and parking meter enforcement will not be in effect. However, trash and recycling pickup will be on the regular schedule.

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.)

My dad considered being a dad the most important thing in the world. One of his favorite sayings was “You just tell them your daddy said so.” And I did. I had a guitar on layaway at a sleazy music store formerly in Medford and it was all paid up. The owner kept saying it was coming in, it was coming in. Finally I brought my dad down there. Dad says firmly, “Do you have this kid’s guitar?” The crumb said “No.” So dad says,”Give him his money!” And he did. That was dad.

Somerville’s own Swinging Singing Moonlighters performed at the VNA at Capen Street on June 6, led by Jimmy Del Ponte. All are welcome to join the Moonlighters. They meet every Monday at Holland Street Center 167 Holland Street. Singing time is 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.  All singing levels are welcome.

Magazine collecting opens a world of possibilities for enthusiasts of the medium.

By Kenneth Gloss

The last issue of the classic Life Magazine hit the stands in 2000 and though there is now a slimmer, less exciting version that gets inserted into some newspapers such as the Boston Herald, there are collectors who still seek that last issue of a magazine that has been around, with a couple of fits and starts and makeovers, since the 1870s. Life has always been popular among collectors and people interested in general memorabilia.

By Jim Clark

Police responded to reports of a seemingly disturbed man causing trouble at the Twin City Plaza area last Sunday afternoon.

When approached by police he was immediately combative and reportedly shouted obscenities and challenged the authority of the investigating officers.

City data to be posted on innovative “OpenData” cloud-based service to provide easier access for residents, including 311, DPW stats and more
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Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone  announced that the City of Somerville has partnered with Socrata, Inc to use the Seattle-based company’s hosted OpenData service to provide direct public access to large amounts of municipal data covering a variety of departments.   With the cloud-based service, the City of Somerville will be able to share data collected through its 311 constituent service system directly with the general public in an interactive format.  When the new data portal site goes live sometime in July, the web address will be data.somervillema.gov.  Although Socrata supplies similar services to a number of communities across the nation, including Seattle, Chicago, New York, New Orleans and Baltimore, Somerville is the first city in New England to adopt the OpenData application.