Arrests

Oscar Garcia, 25, of 38 Oliver St., April 18, 3:53 p.m., arrested at Dell St. on a warrant charge.

Mauricio Zepada, 28, of 180 Bennington St., Boston, April 18, 4:52 p.m., arrested at Franklin St. on a warrant charge.

Joseph Estralle, 18, of 133 Rock Glen Road, Medford, April 18, 5:35 p.m., arrested at 1 Davis Sq. on a charge of receiving stolen property.

Edwin Lopez, 27, of 36 Franklin St., April 19, 12:20 a.m., arrested at 77 Cross St. on a charge of assault and battery and attempted murder.

Bob Woodward will be coming to Tufts as the speaker in the Richard E. Snyder President’s Lecture Series. The lecture is set to take place April 25 at 4:30 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center on Tufts University ‘s Medford/Somerville campus.

Woodard has been described by The Wall Street Journal as “the most celebrated journalist of our age.” Winner with Carl Bernstein of a 1973 Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the Watergate scandal, Woodward has received almost every prestigious award in journalism. His role as the main reporter for the Post’s coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks helped the newspaper win the National Affairs Pulitzer Prize in 2002.

New locations added for 2011; Community BBQ to be held at Blessing of the Bay Boat House
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The annual Somerville Spring Clean-Up will be held on Saturday, April 30  from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at locations throughout the City.  The annual cleanup, sponsored by Xfinity, will be held in partnership with Groundwork Somerville. A rain date has been set for Sunday, May 1.

Additionally, the community BBQ following the Cleanup will be held at the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse on Shore Drive, instead of at Nunziato Field and the Community Growing Center as in recent years.

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 dedicate this story to my friend Brian Spingel. When we lost Brian, we lost a great father, friend and coach.

I have baseball cards with my two sons pictures on them, glossy photographs, and refrigerator magnets. It shows the boys smiling in their little league uniforms just like little major leaguers.

By Andrew Firestone

A Somerville man is now in custody after precipitating an early morning car-crash, Friday, April 22, that left one person dead.

21-year-old Kenneth Belew of Somerville along with five others had left a house party, and were on their way back to Somerville on McGrath Highway when operator Kenneth Brelew of 11 Fiske Ave. lost control of the vehicle and smashed into a concrete barrier.

By George P. Hassett

A Medford man was arrested three times in three days last week in Somerville, police said.

John Gogos, 47, of 81 Magoun Ave., was charged with assault and battery April 14, destruction of property over $250 April 15 and carrying a dangerous weapon and failure to stop for police April 16.

By 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.)

After a particularly brutal winter, at last we’re starting to see some of the tell-tale signs of spring:  leaves budding on trees; birds building nests; residents of all ages out and about in the City, enjoying the Community Path and playgrounds; and the imminent arrival of the Citywide Spring Cleanup, followed by some of our most popular spring and summer programming.

By Carrie Stanziola

This upcoming Saturday marks the Somerville Housing Coalition’s sixth annual benefit for the homeless, and the third time the event will be held at the Arts at the Armory.  This year, the benefit will honor retiring Tufts president Larry Bacow, as well as Tufts University itself, as the Coalition has enjoyed a wonderful relationship with Tufts since the its inception in 1985, according to Coalition director Mark Alston-Follansbee.  The Amethyst Center, an alternative healing center in Davis Square has also been a tremendous support to the Coalition, Alston-Follansbee adds.

By George P. Hassett

A Boston man who used a Dana Street home to sell crack cocaine in the East Somerville area was arrested this week, police said

Franklyn McLaughlin, 23, of 25 Theodore St., Boston, was arrested April 16 on Perkins Street and charged with possession to distribute a class B drug, assault and battery on a police officer, drug violation near a school or park and resisting arrest.

- Photo by Andrew Firestone

By Ashley Taylor

This past Wednesday, April 13, Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz challenged the core of Mayor Joseph Curtatone’s Assembly Square District Improvement Financing (DIF) plan, arguing that Somerville taxpayers cannot afford to shell out for the project.

At a public hearing with the Board of Aldermen, Gewirtz said the city can’t afford to post $25 million in bonds for new infrastructure in Assembly Square.  She was retorted by Mayor Curtatone who said that without the city’s commitment to build the infrastructure, the Tri-Party Agreement between the state, the city and the developer to fund the Assembly Square Orange Line station would fall apart, ending the city’s bid to attract new businesses.