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.)

My 40th high school reunion is this year (even though I haven’t heard any information about it yet). 40 years!  I was 17 on May 18th 1971, and excited about graduating from Somerville High School that June. I wrote the Class Day song back then, although I can’t recall one word of it. All I cared about was getting out of high school and turning 18, two months later in July. A simpler time you say? A cheaper time for sure. Gas was 40 cents a gallon and you could buy a new house for around  $25,000. In 1971 I paid $100.00 for a 1965 Rambler American, with a 3 speed on the column. That car lasted me two and a half years! Richard Nixon was president, Frank Sargent was the governor, and S Lester Ralph was the mayor of Somerville.

By Cathleen Twardzik

Mike Rivard, playing the Moroccan sintir in the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain. - Photo by Mark Wilson

The Moroccan Sintir and Trance Music of the Gnawa will occur on May 21 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Community Growing Center at 22 Vinal Ave. in Somerville.  It will showcase a demonstration, by Mike Rivard, Somerville resident, of the Moroccan sintir, which is a three-string bass lute that is used by the Gnawa people of Morocco in their trance-healing ceremonies.

The rain date for this free, all ages event is May 22.

Rivard will speak about his trip to Morocco, as well as the influence that Moroccan music has had on his band Club d’Elf.  They will also play selections from their new CD.

By Jim Clark

Somerville police responded to two separate reports of assaults with beer bottles last Friday night, both of which was apparently perpetrated by the same party.

One victim stated that as he was attempting to enter his apartment building at 109 Highland Avenue he was followed by a group of four men, one of whom allegedly hurled a beer bottle at the man’s head, shattering it to pieces.

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.)

This is supposed to be Bike to Work Week, but they plan these things ahead of time not knowing what the weather will be. It has been a little too cold, wet and miserable this week for many to consider riding a bike to work every day.

Yet this is why in Somerville we pay more attention to bicycling than just during just one week or month of the year.  We’ve all surely noticed the increasing number of cyclists on the roads these days. Even during this past January, one of the snowiest months in recorded history, you could find cyclists out on our streets.

By Sanjeev Selvarajah

Coming to a porch near you, the down-home atmosphere and eclectic stylings of PorchFest.

A map recently appeared on the Somerville Arts Council website. It’s not exactly a treasure map, but it does point to all the bands participating in PorchFest, a music festival which originated out of state that will begin in Somerville on Saturday May 21, noon time.

Bands and individuals will be singing and strumming away on their porches, a novelty once reserved for the days of yore and homes of the farmlands. The Somerville Arts Council will bring a little bit of the country to this city, thanks primarily to Nancy Goodman, who proposed the idea to the Council.

By Jim Clark

Police were summoned to 5 Linden Street last week as residents complained of an unwanted male occupying their backyard.

The residents of the building reportedly told police that the man, identified as Vanderlei Pereira, 38, had once lived on the first floor but no longer resided there. When asked to leave by the residents he allegedly refused and sat down in a chair in the backyard.

By William Tauro

Dozens of motorcycles of all shapes and sizes roared through the rain soaked streets of Somerville early  Thursday morning and assembled at 9 New Washington Street for “The Massachusetts Motorcycle Association’s 10th Annual Storm The Statehouse Legislative Lobbying Day.”

Congressman Mike Capuano keeps it real in the 'Ville. - Photo by Andrew Firestone

Calls labor unions healthcare amendment ‘un-American’

By Andrew Firestone

Congressman Mike Capuano is a world-traveled public figure in 2011, but he still remembers where he came from. Representing the eighth district of Massachusetts in U.S. Congress for twelve years, he continues to take an interest in his hometown of Somerville, where he was mayor for nine years during the booming ‘90s. Sitting down with the Somerville News, Capuano discussed his political philosophy, his plans for a possible Senate campaign, and his thoughts on current city policy.

By Andrew Firestone

Hathor the mighty, Egyptian goddess of war and wine. - Photo by Andrew Firestone

Skunk, real name unknown, of Somerville is a unique culture force in the ‘Ville. From his excursions on Saturday nights riding in his self-designed disco-ball  “Cloudbuster” bicycle, known as the leader of the “nerd biker gang” SCUL and his giant robot, which often startles individuals, perched atop his apartment. However, these brief instances of an individual only scratch the surface of Skunk’s artistic philosophical leanings, encouraging one and all to be “a superhero version of themselves.”

Skunk has been in the bike business for a while now, on hand to layout website and frame designs for custom bike-makers Seven Cycles of Watertown. As such, the graphic designer has taken some lessons from his peers in welding, and put his skills to use over the last eight years creating and developing his own style of robot art.

By Jim Clark

A patrolling Somerville police officer became suspicious of a man who attempted to crouch down and hide inside a vehicle he was occupying as the officer drove by at approximately 2:20 a.m. last Friday, the officer reported.

The vehicle, a gray Dodge Caravan, was parked at 105 Puritan Road. A radio dispatch confirmed that the vehicle had been stolen out of Chelsea the day before.