The Somerville News Person of the Week - June 6

Meet Peggy Zullo, a lifelong resident and sort of a local celebrity. Peggy is a nice lady, and very active here in Somerville. She was married to her best friend for 36 years, Frank, who passed away several years back. Frank Zullo and her ran a small local real estate office on Highland Avenue.

Book Shop at Ball Square.

Gil Barbosa doesn’t look like a stereotypical bookseller. He is a burly man, with a plethora of tattoos on both of his muscled arms. His hands look like they have clashed with metal rather than a rarefied page in a brittle tome. Yet this former head of a towing business handles his new charges with great delicacy. Since June, 2011 he has been the proprietor of the Book Shop at Ball Square. And although he is not getting rich, he is getting by, not a small accomplishment in the indie book biz.

Gary Metras.

Gary Metras is the author of fifteen poetry chapbooks and books, most recently, Two Bloods: Fly Fishing Poems (winner of the Split Oak Press Chapbook Award 2010), with a new book, Captive in the Here, due in 2012 from Cervena Barva Press.  His poems, essays, and reviews have appeared in such journals as Poetry, Poetry East, Blueline, Yankee Magazine, New England Watershed, English Journal, Poetry Salzburg Review, Istanbul Literary Review, Small Press Review, Wild Earth, and Gray’s Sporting Journal. He is the editor and letterpress printer of Adastra Press in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

The City of Somerville would like to invite all interested vendors to participate in the “Summertime in Somerville” fireworks celebration on Thursday, June 28 (rain date is Thursday, July 5).  The city is planning to have up to five (5) concession stands and vendors selling items such as balloons, toys (no toy guns permitted), food and beverage etc. at the event.  The city will choose the location of these stands and will judge proposals on the following criteria:

Arrests:
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A juvenile, 17, May 29, 3:46 p.m., arrested at 19 Newbury St. on a warrant charge of disorderly conduct.

Matthew Marujo, 18, of 30 Linden St., May 29, 6:05 p.m., arrested at 24 Melvin St. on a charge of violation of city ordinance possession of a dangerous weapon.

SHS Class of 2012 Graduation has been rescheduled due to the weather. Graduation will now be Tuesday, June 5, at 6 p.m.

The Ceremony will be held indoors in the Tufts University – Gantcher Center, 161 College Ave., Medford

Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian announced that several Middlesex Sheriff’s Office employees received statewide recognition for their outstanding achievement at the 15th Annual Correctional Officer of the Year Awards ceremony.

The generous volunteers of the Elizabeth Stone House Wilderness Heals pledge hike.

By Tiffani M. Westbrook

Jessica Cook, a Somerville resident, is participating in the Elizabeth Stone House Wilderness Heals pledge hike.

Wilderness Heals is a unique, three-day event that raises vital funding for the Elizabeth Stone House of Roxbury. Through residential and non-residential services, the Stone House helps homeless individuals and families rebuild their lives after experiencing domestic violence, substance abuse and mental health issues.

On Sunday, June 3, 2012, (rain or shine) the City of Somerville will host the first of five SomerStreets events of the year, entitled “Carnaval,” along Broadway (from Temple Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.) The SomerStreets program encourages active living, walkability, and community involvement by closing a section or sections of road within the City, and conducting programming along the route for residents of all ages. The event will be from noon-4 p.m.and include a motion parade from the East Branch Library (at noon), Music and Entertainment on 3 stages, Foss Fest, SomerPeople Multicultural celebration, Food, Arts & Crafts, Kids activities and much more.

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.)

Every so often I have to be true to the name of this column, On The Silly Side. We chose that name because silly things are always happening around me, and to me. The column has morphed into a forum for telling stories about Somerville and its people, mostly from days gone by. Well, this week it’s about me and another Somerville person, namely, my son. It is set in the present.