Arrests:
*

Raymond Valente, 54, of 450 Boston Post Rd., Marlboro, August 8, 6:18 a.m., arrested at Prospect St. on a charge of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

Jose Travanca, 78, of 3 Church St., August 8, 12:33 p.m., arrested at 220 Washington St. on a charge of indecent assault and battery.

Kevin Ortega, 22, of 34 Imrie Rd. Allston, August 8, 4:51 p.m., arrested on charges of defacing property, assault and battery, and destruction of property over $250.

– Photos by Harry Kane

Brattle Book Shop owner Ken Gloss knows his books, and openly shares his expertise with avid collectors and casual speculators alike.

By Kenneth Gloss

If you’re an avid fiction reader, you may spend a lot of time scrutinizing the best-seller lists before you select reading material. However, best-seller lists can also serve as a guide for book collectors. People intent on collecting the stories that have been loved by generations or that have had the most influence on popular culture will find collecting direction in these lists. If you have a penchant for the popular, bestsellers may be the collecting niche for you.

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.)

This article first ran in the July 1, 2009 edition of The Somerville News.

As I look at the 5-day forecast for Somerville online, it says scattered thunderstorms and showers. Don’t the powers that be know that Somerville’s Fourth of July celebration featuring the debut of the Sunsetters along with a lot of other great entertainment is slated for Thursday night? Don’t they know about the shopping cart vendors with all those lighted swords and spin around toys and illuminated teeth grilles? And what about all that fried dough? What have we done to deserve such crappy weather? What do I tell my anxious Sunsetters who are eager to perform as many numbers as Frank Senesi will allow us? Obviously we won’t be able to have any electrical equipment outdoors if there is a threat of rain. I am asking every citizen of Somerville to pray for sun! Mayor Joe has confidence that things will brighten up and the show will go on. I hope he is right.

By Andrew Firestone

Somerville might have found a solution to their education demographics problem with a new charter school. With 18 percent of public school students needing intensive studying in the English language, the proposed school would take up the work brought on by an incredible demand for basic English language services in the city education system.

Connecting individuals through imagery, People You May Know, photography by Sean Allen Fisher examines a world of its own.

By Cathleen Twardzik

Photography, a relatively new art form in the grander scheme of things, is a type that piques the interest of many individuals.

The exhibit, People You May Know, photography by Sean Allen Fisher, will be displayed at the Washington Street Art Center (WSAC) at 321 Washington Street in Somerville. Fisher, the sole artist in the show, resides in Somerville.

By Jim Clark

Somerville police received reports that a man was repeatedly making obscene and hate-filled calls to 911 operators last Thursday.

By matching audio recordings of prior incidents to the current caller, it was determined that Richard Killeen, 66, was the perpetrator of the offensive calls, according to police.

Photo by William Tauro

By William Tauro

Somerville and Cambridge firefighters practice rescuing passengers from a simulated flipped over motor vehicle at the Somerville fire station parking lot on Somerville Ave. late Thursday morning.

By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

(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.)

Usually I pick a single topic to concentrate on, but Somerville has too many important things going on at the moment to limit myself to one. Instead I am going to touch upon a number of the big issues that face us at this moment.

Entering the GIC – The Board of Aldermen meets tomorrow to vote on accepting entrance into the Group Insurance Commission (GIC). The GIC comprises nearly 400,000 state and municipal employees in Massachusetts. It is the biggest insurance pool in the state, which gives it buying power the City of Somerville cannot begin to match.

Bringing his poetic passion
to the Paris of New England
*

Somerville poet Harris Gardner is many things. This fairly recent transplant to our town is a substitute teacher at Somerville High, a real estate broker, and founder of the much lauded poetry organization “Tapestry of Voices” that has put on the Boston National Poetry Festival for the last decade at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.