Although controversial, John Shea’s The Painter has passed inspection by the Somerville Human Rights Commission and others. - Photo by Andrew Firestone

By Andrew Firestone

While the controversy surrounding Somerville resident John Shea’s new play The Painter appeared to reach fever pitch, those who sat and watched the performance came away with a very different attitude. Members of the Somerville Human Rights Commission attended a recent performance of the one-act, starring Jered Wright and Michael Nurse, and came away without complaint.

“I thought it was very interesting in terms of talking about subject matter that, frankly, we don’t really talk in terms of race relations,” said Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, LGBT liaison for the City, who is of Dominican descent. “I don’t think it was problematic; I think it was very “in-your-face” in a way, and that sometimes makes people uncomfortable, but for me it wasn’t as much.”

By Jim Clark

Somerville police responded to witness reports that a man was jumping up and down on a car, causing it damage, at the corner of School and Montrose Streets last Thursday. Police said that he had managed to smash the vehicle’s windshield and broke a side view mirror.
Julio Dejesus, 31, was detained and handcuffed by officers on the scene. While seated on the ground, police said that he threw a lighter at an approaching officer and then attempted to escape. The officer gave chase and, while attempting to subdue the man, took a punch to the mouth by him, as reported by the officer on the scene.

A greiving mother comes one step nearer to closure following the sentencing of her son’s murderer. - Photo by Andrew Firestone

By Andrew Firestone

It has been two years since Denise Cosby heard the devastating news about her son Justin’s death. Found shot and bleeding on Dunster Street, May 18, 2009, Justin died a few days later, the victim of a marijuana trade gone bad. At the April 22 sentencing, Denise Cosby stood up and delivered a speech of indignation and grief towards her son’s murderer, Jabrai Copney of New York City.

“I hope you think about what you did to Justin each and every day for the rest of your life, as I do,” said Cosby. “May the rest of your life be a continuous hell on earth.”

Six Somerville police officers were recognized at the Irish American Police Officer’s Association, Twelfth Annual Awards Dinner, which was held Saturday evening, April 23, in Newton. 

By Jim Clark

A police officer was summoned into On The Hill Tavern, 499 Broadway, Saturday night when a customer reported that a fight was underway inside.
Upon entering the officer found that the altercation had been broken up, but a number of female patrons singled out a woman, Colleen Beattie, 27, of Medford, stating that she had smashed another woman in the mouth with a bottle. The alleged victim complained of a chipped tooth, and a broken bottle was found on the floor where the attack was said to have taken place.

By William Tauro

Somerville resident and student at the West Somerville Neighborhood School Brooke Metivier is shown here with The Matty in the Morning Crew, from Kiss 108 at the annual Walk for Hunger on Sunday May 1st. Pictured left to right: Lisa Matty, Bill Costa, Brooke Metivier and her cousin Michael Metivier. Brooke won the Heart and Soul Walkers title because she collected over $500.00 for Project Bread.

The vote to post bonds for the DIF was nine to one at the full Board of Aldermen vote.- Photo by Andrew Firestone

By Ashley Taylor and Andrew Firestone

In what one alderman called a “historic vote,” the Board of Aldermen voted at a special meeting on Monday, May 2, to post $25,750,000 in bonds for the Assembly Row District Improvement Financing (DIF) project, allowing the City to proceed with infrastructure improvements in Assembly Square. This development will be crowned by the Assembly Square Orange Line stop, provided by State and private funds, which depended directly on the City’s approval of the DIF project.

– Photos by Andrew Firestone

Take a look inside the Museum of Modern Renaissance on College Ave. The private home of Russian ex-pats Nicholas Shaplyko and his wife Ekaterina Sorokina, the museum opened to the public for Somerville Open Studios.

It looks like the Edgerly School that’s located on Bonair Street in East Somerville is the place to be on Wednesday nights at 6p.m. for its ever popular “Zumba Classes”! We hear that Somerville’s own Michelle Bowler, Donna Amenta, and, believe it or not, Jim Halloran are among the top ten “Zumbas Champs” here in the Ville, with their fancy footwork and funky moves.  Head down and check it out for yourself!

**********************

First Thursday of the month is The Chamber of Commerce Business after Hours get together. B2Green Expo promises to be full of free appetizers, excellent networking, green invocations, and talk about what’s going on in the city and elsewhere, local economic development news. Running from 4 to 7p.m. this Thursday the 5th at the Holiday Inn. Contact the local chamber office for more information and for RSVP to smackey@somervillechamber.org. The 3rd annual B2Green Expo will be sponsored by Mayor Joe Curtatone and the Somerville Chamber of Commerce.

It’s been said that what’s good for the body is also good for the soul. This concept is debatable, of course, but we couldn’t agree more in the case of the annual Somerville Spring Clean-Up, which took place this past weekend throughout our city.
People of all ages and backgrounds came together to participate in an annual tradition that unites them in the common goal of making the town a cleaner and less cluttered place to live. As trash and random debris was gathered and disposed of, volunteer workers cheerfully created a holiday-like atmosphere as they labored unselfishly for the good of the community.