Residents now can access online data concerning public works services
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Breaking new ground in customer service, the City has published the monthly performance statistics of its Department of Public Works. Available online through the City website, the first set of data posts the DPW performance numbers for the month of July.

The public now can see how the DPW service levels fared for 46 different services. Areas of coverage include school building repair, roadway services, trash removal and water/sewer repairs. The expected amount of time to complete the service request is listed next to each service type and each case of late service delivery is captured in the report. The City, through its SomerStat office and 311 Constituent Services Department, collects and evaluates this information on a constant basis in order to identify service inefficiencies and develop strategies to improve those service levels.

Somerville schedules multiple meetings to educate public about October zero-sort launch.
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During the month of September, City officials will be hosting meetings all over Somerville to educate the public about the October switch to zero-sort recycling.

Who is #1? When it comes to top-level Somerville spook rock, there can be only one answer: Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling springs new video on an unsuspecting world

By Jim Clark

Just when you thought it was safe to surf YouTube again, an aggressive-subversive phenomenon jumps up to bite you on the backside once more. This time it just might tickle.

Somerville’s own Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, a quirky, ultra-cool, and decidedly enigmatic artistic force has released yet another music video offering, First We Take Manhattan.

On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

This article first ran in the September 2, 2009 edition of The Somerville News.

(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.)

It’s that time of year again. Reading and writing and arithmetic. This time of year used to make me sick. When I heard those commercials like “before you go back to school, go to Zayres,” my stomach cringed. It also seemed that we always discovered something really cool right at the end of the summer that was now cut short by school. One year it was extending the forks on our bikes, another year it was hanging out with a new group of girls on the next street. Sometimes it was playing football or Frisbee, but school always goofed it up. I spoke to a few of my friends who, like me, still get a nervous ache in their stomach whenever the beginning of the school year starts.

By Jim Clark

Somerville police stopped a vehicle last week due to alleged suspicious activity. The driver reportedly identified himself as Hector Jesus Guzman-Oyola, but upon further investigation it was learned that his name is actually Luis Alejandro Cuello.

By William C. Shelton

(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 watch politicians and pundits pour over each new economic indicator like seers examining the entrails of sacrificial goats, and I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

I need only examine federal fiscal policy to offer this forecast: U.S. economic growth and employment will not significantly improve, and may well worsen, for years to come.

Centro Presente’s screening of The Invisibles brought interested parties from all sides together to examine some of the myths and realities of immigration to the United States by Central and South Americans. - Photo by Carrie Stanziola

By Carrie Stanziola

On August 25, Somerville residents were invited to a screening of The Invisibles, sponsored by Centro Presente as part of their “Somos-We Are” campaign. Somos is the brainchild of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), a two year-old initiative designed to fight xenophobic and anti-immigrant attitudes and laws which dehumanize migrant communities. Among Somos’ campaigns is to petition WBUR to stop using the word “illegal” to describe undocumented immigrants. As Somos argues, actions, not people are illegal. The word “illegal” adds nothing to the immigration debate and does not tell the stories of immigrants.

By Jim Clark

Loss prevention agents at Home Depot on Mystic Avenue followed a man last Thursday as he had allegedly grabbed some water filters off the shelves and walked past the cash registers without paying for them, according to police.

This map shows the current hotspots for rodent sightings in Somerville. (click to download a PDF copy)

By Harry Kane

The rat problem cannot be solved in one sweeping motion but the City of Somerville maintains their vigilant efforts to rid the city of the cunning rodents. To recap recent events, the city held a seminar in the Alderman’s chamber several weeks ago with rat specialist, Robert Corrigan from New York City, to review Somerville’s current strategies and educate the city on up-to-date methods for determining their whereabouts.