The Center for Arts at the Armory hosted an incredible group of talented vocalists this past Thursday, May 10th as we kicked off the first night of live auditions for Reaching for the Stars, our singing competition.  Our three esteemed judges have a combined 60 years of on-stage and on-air musical experience and really brought an element of professionalism and style to our contest.  Jimmy Del Ponte, Holli Banks and Gordon Michaels presided over the evening, as hopeful singers threw their hats in the ring for the opportunity to land on the big stage in our Finals on June 22. Winners from May 10th include Jamaal-Clark Turpin, Tavonna Miller and Hillary Simpson. Following please find the event listing. Registration is still open for May 17, 24, and 31.

Poet Robert Echevarria, a student at the Harvard Divinity School, sent us this poem that uses Greek myth to explore child abuse.

The City of Somerville is seeking craft vendors, musicians, performance artists, dancers, visual artists, storytellers and other creative artists to participate in SomerStreets, one of the area’s largest public events where we close the streets to cars and open them to residents for walking, cycling, running, etc.   The 2012 SomerStreets series schedule is:

Arrests:
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Craig Stewart, 33, of 149 Windsor St., Cambridge, May 7, 9:06 a.m., arrested at 14 McGrath Hwy. on warrant charges of destruction of property over $250, operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license, and assault and battery.

Jesse Robbins, 29, of 32 Baldpate Rd., Georgetown, May 7, 9:10 a.m., arrested at Blakeley Ave. on a warrant charge of operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

Is your yarn stash, fabric pile, button collection getting a little out of control?  Here’s your chance to do a little spring cleaning, find some hidden crafty gems, and support the work of the Somerville Homeless Coalition.

Somerville residents in grades 7 – 12 sought for summer performance group

Auditions for the 2012 Somerville Sunsetters will be held on Monday, May 14, beginning at 6 p.m., at Somerville High School, 81 Highland Ave.  All Somerville residents in grades 7 – 12 are eligible to audition, including students entering the 7th grade and graduating high school seniors. Students wishing to audition must come prepared to sing a song of your choosing, either with music on CD or a capella.  A CD player will be available.  The Sunsetters is a traveling performance troupe which performs classic show tunes and modern musicals in Somerville neighborhoods throughout July and August.

Comcast shifting Boston Metro Gov’t Access channels in FCC-mandated realignment: Education and SCAT channels unchanged: RCN lineup unaffected 

Director of Communications and Cable Thomas P. Champion announced that the City of Somerville’s “City Cable” government access channel, currently broadcast at Ch16 on the Comcast cable system, will be moving to Ch22 effective June 5, 2012.  The move is a result of adjustments Comcast is making to accommodate the FCC-mandated relocation of a Massachusetts-based shopping channel, WWDP.  The city’s Education Channel (Ch15) and Somerville Community Access Television (SCAT, Ch3) are unaffected by the change. RCN subscribers will see no changes in the current locations of any of their public access channels, with City Cable remaining at Ch13, SCAT at Ch3 and the Education Channel at Ch15 on the RCN system.

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.)

“Stop spinning that dial!” Remember when you had to actually get up and walk over to the TV to change the channel? I remember my little brother sitting in front of the new TV at 5 a.m. waiting for the programs to begin. Santa brought the family our first color TV and all that was on that early were test patterns. The TV came from Lechmere Sales in Cambridge and it replaced our big, old black and white Admiral television set.

Less is more in miniature book collecting, according to expert Kenneth Gloss.

By Kenneth Gloss

While miniature books are by their very definition smaller than other books, they are every bit as collectible as their larger counterparts. In fact, collecting miniature books has become so popular that enthusiasts have even formed a Miniature Book Society.

By Jim Clark

A complaint of an unwanted person at a Meacham Rd. residence last week brought police officers to the scene to investigate the situation. Police were also advised by the reporting party that an assault might have occurred.

Officers were led to a second floor bedroom where the unwanted person was located. The bedroom door was closed, but officers reportedly observed bloodstains on it.