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.

As an exercise in my poetry class at Endicott College I asked students to create a fictional Dad modeled after Sylvia Plath’s caustic but brilliant poem Daddy.  My student Kyle Giroux came up with this one.

Ordinance to curb late night disturbances

New rule holds landlords and underage drinkers responsible for rowdy gatherings

Alderman Robert Trane today praised passage of an ordinance that gives the City of Somerville renewed authority to directly hold absentee landlords responsible for late night parties and illegal drinking. Alderman Trane was the lead sponsor of the ordinance.

The seven candidates fielded questions and challenged one another at Monday’s debate at The Somerville Theater. - Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

The 2011 Alderman At Large debate took place on Monday evening at the historical Somerville Theater in Davis Square. Somerville’s four incumbent Aldermen-at-Large and three new candidates for that office were all on stage to earn your vote and to battle the right to occupy the four Aldermen At Large seats for the upcoming November 8 election.

By Sanjeev Selvarajah

So why is Kirsten Opstad asking for 5,000 dollars? She feels compelled to do so for the very reason she is also being whisked away to record her first full-length album in a studio: her music. Because of her music, a filmmaker named Whit Scott wishes her to compose a song for the soundtrack of his upcoming documentary Rolled. Afterwards, he is leaving her alone in the studio, for however long or short it takes to produce an album.

Everyone is welcome to attend the Somerville Alderman At Large Debate at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square on Monday, October 17, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. The debate is sponsored by SCATV and the program “Greater Somerville with Joe Lynch and KyAnn Anderson.” Admission is free, and the program will be videotaped for cablecast on Channel 3 later in the week.

Pitching in to clean up Somerville’s forgotten spaces, volunteers shared a sense of accomplishment and duty to community.

On Friday, September 23, Groundwork Somerville engaged Tufts University Volunteers in an effort to clean up Somerville in our second annual Green-a-thon.  Students volunteering through “Repair the World Service Day” met Groundwork Somerville representatives at two sites in the city that have been flagged “dirty” by community members.  The event was made possible thanks to the support of Apex Green Roofs,  www.raymondzonghetti.com, and Somerville’s Department of Public Works.

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.)

I would like to present a great story written by one of my friends, Anthony Accardi. Like me, he grew up in Somerville and has seen the city’s many exciting changes.  This is the second story Anthony has shared with us. He is also a fan of  “the old days.”  I hope you enjoy this special guest feature.

Holidays and common sense

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

Today Somerville got caught up in the national game of who can take the most offense. The Boston Herald got a hold of an email sent by the principal of the Kennedy School to school staff raising the question of how to teach the history of the European discovery of the Americas, and decided to make it as sensational as possible.