The Somerville Swinging Moonlighters had the honor of singing the National Anthem at the Lowell Spinner’s baseball game July 20.  Jimmy Del Ponte conducted the group. It was a beautiful night with a great crowd cheering the singers on.

*
Poet Wendy Ranan Continues the Literary Tradition of McLean Hospital with her new poetry collection– The Quiet Room
*

The Quiet Room: Poems:Wendy Ranan (Deerbrook Editions POBOX 542 Cumberland, ME 04021 http://www.deerbrookeditions.com) $16.95

Wendy Ranan is a psychotherapist at McLean Hospital, and is an accomplished poet. Both Ranan and I have worked at McLean, (a psychiatric hospital that has been designated a national literary landmark) for decades. At McLean Anne Sexton lead her famed workshops, Robert Lowell paced the halls of Bowditch House, and Sylvia Plath got her inspiration for her novel The Bell Jar. Surprisingly Ranan and I have never met in the flesh and have not even heard of each other until recently. But Ranan connected with me through my friends at the Grolier Poetry Bookshop in Harvard Square. She sent me a new collection of her poetry The Quiet Room , and the book has a number of poems that concern McLean. Now a Quiet Room can be a room of one’s own as Virginia Woolf once wrote about, or it can an isolation room for psychotic and violent patients who are in danger of harming themselves and others. And in a sense many of Ranan’s McLean Hospital poems have a a quiet contemplative sense to them, but in the background there is the buzz of inner turmoil of the patients and even at times the poet herself.

A poem for one’s gallbladder – what gall! And poet Robin Stratton certainly has it.

Robin Stratton has been a writing coach in the Boston area for almost 20 years. She is the author of The Revision Process, A Guide for Those Months or Years Between Your First Draft and Your Last, and two chapbooks, Dealing with Men and Interference from an Unwitting Species. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee, she’s been published in Word Riot, 63 Channels, Antithesis Common, Poor Richards Almanac(k), Blink-Ink, Pig in a Poke, Chick Flicks, Up the Staircase, Shoots and Vines and many others. Her novel, On Air, (2011, Blue Mustang Press) was a finalist in the Indie Press Excellence Award. A second novel, Of Zen and Men, is now available from Big Table Publishing Company. She’d love to have you visit her at robinstratton.com.

Arrests:
*

Vivianne Barreto, 30, of 98 George St., Roxbury, July 16, 5:12 p.m., arrested at Broadway on warrant charges of improper turn, failure to wear seatbelt, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Paulo Neto, 47, of 418 Medford St., July 16, 10:35 p.m., arrested at 543 Broadway on a charge of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Promotes efficiency and performance management in state agencies
*

The Senate last Thursday unanimously passed a conference committee report on bipartisan legislation that makes fundamental changes in the operations of state government, updating antiquated finance laws and implementing performance measurement requirements for all government agencies and programs to improve efficiency, transparency and accountability.

– Photos by Bobbie Toner

On July 20 and 21, the city of Somerville presented one of the area’s largest and most innovative arts festivals, complete with two stages of music with over a dozen bands, dance troupes, 75 craft vendors, food and migration-themed activities.

Members of the Harris family, with Mayor Curatone and Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche, at the site of the future Chuckie Harris Park. – Photo by Jackie Rossetti

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche joined members of the Harris family – the park is named for son/brother Chuckie Harris – staff from the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Ground View Landscape Architects, and more than 50 East Somerville residents and community members for the groundbreaking on Cross Street on Friday, July 13. The park, named for a young Somerville resident who lost his life in an accident in 1970, currently consists of a concrete lot, but will incorporate design elements for residents of all ages when complete.  From months of community input, final design plans include a water feature which doubles as a movie screen, innovative play structures for all ages, cafe seating areas, community gardens, integrated lighting and 80 new trees.  It is slated to open in spring 2013.

– Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

Somerville’s Mayor Joseph Curtatone and his four sons Cosmo, Joseph, Patrick and James enjoyed this weekend’s fantastic weather with a Sunday morning canoe ride on the Mystic River.

Somerville Public Schools Superintendent Tony Pierantozzi (pictured here with Shalimar Quiles) volunteered, along with Bill McDonald, at Cradles to Crayons last month. The Superintendent and Mr. McDonald participated on Friday, June 22, as part of the School Leadership Celebration of Service at Cradle to Crayons’ Brighton warehouse. Pierantozzi, also a guest speaker at the event, worked alongside Quiles, of Lawrence Public Schools, to fill packages with everyday essentials for local children in need. Somerville and Cradles to Crayons have been working together for many years to ensure all children have backpacks and other back-to-school essentials for the first day of school. For more information about Cradles to Crayons, visit http://cradlestocrayons.org/.

By Allison Caloggero

The City of Somerville’s Recreation Department and parent volunteers will host their third annual urban campout on Saturday, July 28, through Sunday, July 29, at the Lincoln Park soccer field in Somerville. The event will feature campfire songs, s’mores, stories, and lots of other activities.