The St. Clement Lady Anchors will be advancing to the State Tournament thanks to a great team effort.

St. Clement Lady Anchors secured a spot in the State Tournament for the first time in 11 years, after a nail-biting 3-2 victory over the Trinity Catholic Falcons. Leading the victory was Junior Captain Kristina Ofoedu (Somerville) with 23 service points, 7 kills, 5 aces and 12 digs. Sophomore Megan Berg (Medford) had 20 service points and Junior Captain Allison Caloggero (Medford) with 19 service points, 8 aces, 4 kills and 11 digs. The victory boosts the Lady Anchors to a 10-3 overall record.

A Somerville man has been indicted and arraigned on charges alleging he robbed three convenience stores while armed, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public today.

By Jim Clark

Somerville police officers were dispatched to Pennsylvania Avenue last Thursday night in response to a 911 call from a woman reporting that a man who tried to rob her at knifepoint two nights before had been spotted and was now being chased by her boyfriend, according to police.

Mayor Curtatone, shown here participating in last year's Halloween festivities with his family, said reports that Somerville is against holiday celebrations are completely unfounded. - Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

Officials say holiday controversy is much ado about nothing

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Nothing has changed.

That was the response from city officials to the media furor that rained down around the city last weekend, when what began as a two-paragraph email ended with Somerville cast in the role of the Grinch-who-stole-the-holidays.

The Alderman At Large debate went off well on Monday night at the Somerville Theatre. All seven candidates showed up and so far the overview is that it was a good debate but could have lasted a little longer. Even though it was intended to be a serious debate, the questions asked by one of the panelists was pretty lame, i.e., “What is your favorite Pizza here in Somerville?” Not the only lame question but surely the weirdest question of the night. Apparently that was more important to the person asking than the one being asked. Overall, outside of the opening remarks by a certain incumbent being so defensive over a rumor we were surprised, but then again this particular candidate thought he needed to say something. Just goes to show you, more than our fans read the paper out there! Again, we think it went well. Now you decide and watch it. SCATV is airing it many times over the next few weeks. Check The Somerville News for the SCATV programming (p.22) which The News has carried for free for about two years now. Our thanks to SCATV for allowing The News to be a part of it. It almost wasn’t. We want to thank the moderator Joe Lynch, who handled it very professionally.

Under current plans, M.S. Walker Wholesale Distribution, which employs over 180 people on Third Avenue, will be one of the businesses that will have to go to make way for the Green Line Extension transportation and maintenance facility. - Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

MBTA unveils site plans for GLX train yard

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Seventy-six vehicles. 17,000 yards of track. 130 workers. The MBTA’s latest plans for a Green Line transportation and maintenance facility in Somerville encompass a mind-boggling array of statistics. But the number that concerns some residents is this: four parcels of privately owned property that the T will take by eminent domain.

As Americans we cherish and hold dear our rights to free speech and the ability we have to challenge and even criticize our government and other powerful institutions. Many have fought and lost their lives defending these rights that all of us now enjoy.

The celebrated historian, Niall Ferguson, captured the attention and admiration of the audience at last week’s lecture at Tufts.

Historian Niall Ferguson spoke at Tufts University on The Financial Crisis and the Descent of the West on Thursday, October 13. A weekly columnist for Newsweek and a contributing editor for Bloomberg Television, Ferguson is a prolific commentator on contemporary politics and economics and writes and reviews regularly for the British and American press. Named one of the world’s most influential people by Time Magazine, he was one of a handful of economic writers who accurately predicted the financial crisis that began in 2007.

Somerville musician Jennifer Matthews was in the words of Willie Nelson, “on the road again” for the past several years, and she has brought home “tales of a salty sweetheart.” The sweetheart is not exactly flesh and blood, but her new album to be released in the spring of 2012 based on her experiences across the country, and in Europe. I met Matthews a number of years ago, and I was impressed not only with her musical acumen, but her strengths as a wordsmith. Later the Ibbetson Street Press published a chapbook of her poetry Fairytales and Misdemeanors that is in the library collections of Harvard and Brown Universities, among others. Matthews agrees with me that Somerville is great burg to be an artist, and I have had the privilege to interview some fine musicians like Audrey Ryan, Kristen Ford, Allegra Martin, Yani Batteau, Lucy Holdstedt (of the Women’s Musician Network), and others. So it was good to have dinner with Matthews recently in Union Square and see what she has been up to.

Arrests:
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Robert Thomas, 43, of 152 Jefferson Ave., Everett, October 10, 11:08 a.m., arrested at 77 Middlesex Ave. on charges of trespassing and shoplifting by concealing merchandise.

Victor Gandres, 45, October 10, 5:09 p.m., arrested at 149 Broadway on warrant charges of municipal by law ordinance and indecent exposure.

Robert Sanches, 44, October 10, 6:18 p.m., arrested at 67 Broadway on charges of assault and battery and assault with a dangerous weapon.