Crews clean up after tree fell on Auburn Ave. - Photo by Bobbie Toner

By William Tauro

A tree fell on a motor vehicle in front of 10 Auburn Avenue in Somerville during moderate winds late Thursday afternoon.

Photo of motor vehicle that was crushed by fallen tree on Auburn Ave Thursday evening. ~Photo by William Tauro

By George P. Hassett

After a summer of drug busts in Davis Square’s busy center plaza, the neighborhood aldermen is wondering if the area saw a surge in crime.

Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz submitted an order at Thursday’s meeting asking Acting Chief Mike Cabral to provide aldermen with an update on trouble in the square and a comparison of last year’s criminal activity to this year.

By George P.  Hassett

A 30-year-old Salem man tried to throw a rock through a Lowell Street family’s window early Saturday morning, according to police.

When officers found Stephen Lucas walking back to the home and told him he had to leave, he allegedly crouched on his knees and pleaded with Officer Marc DiFava to let him back into the house.

Hailing the project as “exactly the kind of development we're trying to encourage around the commonwealth,” Governor Patrick was guided through the construction site by Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Ted Tobin of KSS Realty. ~ Photo by Andrew Firestone

By Andrew Firestone

After years of neglect MaxPak, the blighted industrial site turned residential development was thrust back into the spotlight when Governor Deval Patrick arrived to tour the area. His visit followed an announcement of the approval of a $490,000 annuity from the Department of Transportation’s Transit Oriented Development (TOD) grant to be used for construction of the proposed community path running adjacent to the five and a half acre site.

The great outdoors have long been a source of inspiration for artists and musicians.

New exhibit explores Open Air

By Rose Scherlis

The great outdoors have long been a source of inspiration for artists and musicians – from Sept. 3 through Sept. 26, five artists will display works inspired by nature at the Nave Gallery in “Open Air.”

“A lot of people like the romantic notion of what nature is,” said Matthew Best, whose work will be exhibited. “I am more interested in ‘nature’ in quotation marks. Nature can overtake an area, like weeds growing over an abandoned parking lot. I’m intrigued by its different stages.”

As city officials began to move back into the police headquarters last week, a second flood struck the building. - Andrew Firestone

Station reopened after $1 million flood damage

By Andrew Firestone

While police headquarters might be back to business as usual, Mayor Joseph Curtatone was blunt about the prospects of the now twice-flooded building.

“I’ll tell you right now, I wish I could knock it down today. And if I could, I would,” he said at a Monday press conference to re-open the building after July 10 floods caused almost $1 million in damages.

Did you know that our Web site has the full paper in an easy to download format?  Also on our web site we have the SCATV and City Cable listings and the Beacon Hill Report on how our legislators are voting.  And the link to the Somerville News Writers festival is on our site and you can register for this years exciting festival at the Somerville Armory on Nov. 13.

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The vote of the planning board to ok or deny Ocean State Job Lot the permit to open their store at the vacant Winter Hill Star is expected Sept. 2 at City Hall.

We made it through another summer.
School starts on Wednesday, Sept. 8 and those who fled the city in the hot summer months will be back next week too.
It was a quiet summer – no elected officials caught stealing this year – but hopefully things get serious in the fall. With mounting budget troubles looming, this city’s elected officials need to think about ways to retain an acceptable level of service while cutting excess spending and building a real commercial tax base.
Welcome back, Somerville

Mark McLaughlin, known as MC Diatribe in local hip hop circles, released this album last year.

By Charles Tarabour

Mark McLaughin might be the first city activist to examine life in Somerville through rhymes and beats.

McLaughlin, a Bridge Over Troubled Waters caseworker and co-founder of the grassroots activist group Save Our Somerville, records and releases hip hop music as MC Diatribe. On his album, A Villen Story, McLaughlin raps about the city and its problems – political, social, and more.

McLaughlin said his music is shaped by his hometown, its working class immigrant communities and battles against heroin and Oxycontin abuse.

The Healey School is working to integrate two different communities into one school next September.

New plan will integrate both learning communities

By Samantha Hutt

As school officials prepare to unify the Healey School from a building with two learning programs into one school community, language issues are being raised.

At Monday’s School Committee meeting concerns were raised that parent participation may suffer due to language barriers.

Committee members cited the Mystic Avenue housing projects as one area for outreach. Principal Jason DeFalco of the Arthur D. Healey School and the committee discussed the importance of translators at meetings where crucial issues were to be discussed.