By George P. Hassett

Ask about diversity in Somerville and you might hear about the city’s established Brazilian, Salvadoran or Haitian communities. Less visible but still thriving is a Punjabi community which worships, gathers and does business in Somerville neighborhoods.

On Friday, local Punjabi culture is celebrated with a festival featuring Indian food, music and film. Utsav! A Festival of Punjabi Culture, organized by the Somerville Arts Council and Somerville Community Access Television, kicks off Friday at 6 p.m.

- Photo by Donald Norton

By William Tauro

Police have two bank robbery suspects in custody. After allegedly robbing the Winter Hill Bank in Somerville the alleged suspects robbed a bank in Malden and were apprehended.

Somerville Police and the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force are seeking to identify the subject pictured above for robbery of the Winter Hill Savings Bank at 342 Broadway.  At about 1:00 p.m. September 8^th, the suspect entered the bank, passed a note to a teller demanding money and threatened that he had a weapon.  Suspect then fled the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.  This Suspect is believed to be responsible for other bank robberies in the area.  Suspect described as a white male, 6-0 feet tall, thin build, age in the mid to late 20’s.  He was wearing a dark color cap, white tee shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers.

The Board of Aldermen met for more than two hours Tuesday with all members present and voting.

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By George P. Hassett
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O’Donovan calls out Nstar

Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan urged the public to attend a community meeting with Nstar engineers Wednesday, Sept. 8 in response to a string of power outages.

Tonight Wednesday, Sept. 8 at City Hall at 7 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers, Ward Alderman 5 Sean O’Donovan, who is also chair of the committee on Public Utilities, will host a public meeting with NSTAR present to explain recent outages here in Somerville that affected a lot of people in their homes as well as in many businesses for hours at a time.  The meeting is open to the public and Alderman O’Donovan is hoping a lot of people show up.

By Lauren C. Ostberg

A Somerville resident has been tapped to head the state’s leading gay advocacy group.

Kara Suffredini is the new executive director of MassEquality, a non-profit organization committed to marriage equality and the advancement of gay, lesbian and transgender  rights. Suffredini has been a queer activist for more than 16 years, ever since she came out in college.  Today, she believes that Massachusetts is uniquely positioned to lead the nation in the pursuit of full equality, not just marriage equality, for gay citizens.

By Andrew Firestone

Fred Lund knows Somerville as well as anyone. The oldest and longest serving city employee travels down every Somerville street in his work as the city cartographer and draftsman, designing maps of the city by hand.

In a city of aspiring artists, the artistry of Lund, 90, is hidden in plain sight.

By Mike Rubin

In just the fourth season of existence, the St. Clement girls soccer team is aiming for a shot in the MIAA tournament. Despite just three seniors returning, the Anchorwomen will aim to overcome the odds en route to a successful campaign.

While just three seniors return, 11 juniors are on the varsity squad followed by several sophomores and underclassmen.