State’s Premier Urban Agriculture Ordinance Includes Regs for Farming on City and Private Land, Keeping of Chickens and Bees.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced that, following approvals by the City’s Board of Aldermen (Aug. 16), Planning Board (Aug. 16) and Board of Health (Sept. 20), ,  Somerville is now the first city in Massachusetts to pass an Urban Agriculture Ordinance that  establishes formal guidelines for urban farming and gardening, the keeping of chickens and bees, and other policies governing the growth and sale of agricultural products in an urban setting.  Residents, non-profit agencies or businesses seeking to obtain permits to begin farming or keeping bees or chickens should visit the City’s Urban Agriculture webpage:  www.somervillema.gov/urbanag. Information on the initiative and upcoming events can also be found on the Urban Agriculture blog: somervilleurbanag.tumblr.com.

The City of Somerville & Somerville Public Schools, in partnership with the El Sistema Somerville Advisory Council present: El Sistema Somerville’s Kick-Off Concert & Celebration, Thursday, September 27,  5:30-7:30 p.m. at the  East Somerville Community School
8 Bonair St., Somerville.

Early Sunday morning Somerville Fire Department Rescue Units were dispatched the intersection of McGrath Highway and Mystic Avenue for a two car motor vehicle accident.

Upon arrival to the scene rescue workers extracted two of the occupants of one of the motor vehicles involved in the accident.

The two victims were transported to local hospitals by ambulance.

What’s that strange, sticky substance showing up all over town? Why, it’s Fluff!

By Tatiana Kombo

The seventh annual “What the Fluff” festival will be held on Saturday, September 29, as part of the Somerville Arts Council’s Arts Union project. Funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the City of Somerville, the festival will be paying homage to Archibald Query, the man who first concocted Marshmallow Fluff in 1917.

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.)

65 Holland St., outside Davis Square is now the site of Orleans, and The Bull Pen before that, and maybe a few others. I can’t keep track of all the restaurants that have come and gone. Back in the day it was The Venice Café, where you could get spaghetti and (huge) meatballs, antipasto, veal parmesan, chicken (marsala) dinners, seafood and fantastic pizza, and of course beverages of all kinds. The red wine flowed freely there. The Venice Café is one of those historic old places that a lot of Somerville people remember with a smile. For many of us it was the first real restaurant our parents took us to, especially if you lived near Davis Square.

The Somerville Police Department has received limited information regarding a a sexual assault that occurred on Monday, between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon, in the vicinity of Ashland Street and Sartwell Avenue.  The only description of the suspect is that he is a white male, between 5’6” to 6-00 feet tall.  There is no further description of the suspect at this time.  Somerville Police Detectives and the Middlesex District Attorney’s office have been working jointly to develop further information.

By Jim Clark

Police responded to numerous reports of a fight occurring at the intersection of Pearl and Walnut Streets on Thursday afternoon. Alerts were given that weapons such as a baseball bat and a knife were involved in the altercation.

Sunday, September 23:

Union Square Walking Tour, 3:00 – 5:30pm. Ed Gordon, New England Chapter President of the Victorian Society of America, will lead a walking tour of the area, highlighting historic areas such as: the civic campus setting at Central Hill; Prospect Hill; Victorian homes; vintage commercial buildings in the heart of Union Square; Lincoln Park and the former Wyatt Brickyards; pre-Civil War-era homes and late 19^th century workers’ housing. The tour includes two interior viewings and refreshments. The tour steps off from City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue, and is free of charge.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(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.)

As a kid growing up in Somerville, as a candidate going door to door to talk to voters, and as a runner (usually pretty late at night or very early in the morning), I have always enjoyed spending time out on Somerville’s streets. We pack a lot of variety, diversity and activity into our 4.1 square miles. There is always a lot to see.

– Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

Somerville Police blocked off the intersection of Aldrich and Virginia Streets as part of an investigation to an earlier stabbing in Somerville.