By Katie Willis Morton

- Photo by Trevor Failor

(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.)

The Massachusetts chapter of Surfrider Foundation held their annual Surfing To Teach Kids Environmental Education event last Saturday at Nahant Beach.

For the last four years Surfrider MA has teamed up with Big Brothers Little Brothers of Boston to bring kids, many of them for the first time, for a day at the beach to help them make the connection to a great sport usually not accessible to them and to the fact that the cities they live in are connected to the ocean and how they care for the environment in their own neighborhoods has a big impact on the world. Everything that goes down a household drain or into a city gutter ends up having an effect on the ocean.

The Somerville Home's semiformal annual masquerade dinner dance will take

By Cathleen Twardzik

The Somerville Home’s semi-formal annual masquerade dinner dance will take place on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Holiday Inn in Somerville at 30 Washington St. from 6:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Prizes will be awarded for best and most creative masks. Some masks will be available on the night of the event for a small donation.

A cash raffle will round out the fun-filled evening.  Raffle tickets cost $5 each or three for $10.  Further, the cash pot will continue to “build” until the Masquerade Dinner Dance begins, at which time, the lucky winner will be chosen.

By George P. Hassett

A Malden drug dealer with an unlimited supply of heroin told investigators he was just a small time pusher selling drugs to pay his bills, police said this week.

Reynaldo Cuevas, 31, was caught delivering 19 grams of heroin to the Holiday Inn on Washington Street Sept. 7, police said. He was allegedly set up by a drug-dealing underling – Michael Robertson, 56, of Exeter, New Hampshire.

Union says city tactics ‘unprecedented’

By George P. Hassett

Mayor Joe Curtatone is facing allegations of union busting after a state labor investigator issued a complaint against the city last month.

The allegations include failing to notify the Somerville Municipal Employees Association about proposed cuts,  assigning new tasks without bargaining, failing to give them time to make their own reductions  and giving work to non-union employees. The association includes most city employees aside from police, fire and teachers.

Alan McDonald, an attorney for the employees association said the efforts of city officials add up to “disrespecting and marginalizing the union.”

By Rose Scherlis

Audrey Ryan will be hosting the fifth annual Viva La Vinal

The fifth annual Viva La Vinal Festival, hosted by Audrey Ryan of Somerville, is soon approaching.

On Friday and Saturday, there will be a celebration of live music and independent film in the Somerville Community Growing Center. It is a free, all ages event to benefit the Growing Center.

The event starts Friday with an open-air film festival featuring four new independent films. Saturday, 12 talented and diverse musicians will take the stage, ranging from global jazz to old-time Gothicana. Children’s Hour, 12-1, will feature Argentinean bassist Mariana Iranzi.

By George P. Hassett

Police arrested an Everett man last week for a stabbing in Davis Square that left a man with lacerations from his ear to his throat.

Nardeep Singh, 22, confessed to the stabbing after he told a detective several different versions of what happened, said Deputy Chief Paul Upton.

“[Singh] admits he was the one with the knife who did the stabbing,” Upton said.

By William Tauro

Under tight security, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is scheduled to visit Harvard Square Wednesday to promote his new book “A Journey.”

Alderman Sean O'Donovan is mad at NStar. - Photo by Andrew Firestone

O’Donovan: Outages more than a nuisance

By Andrew Firestone

After 16 power outages in Ball Square and East Somerville since April, aldermen last week lit into an electrical company they say has treated the city unfairly.

“They aren’t investing the money in their infrastructure that is required to keep the power running in Somerville,” said Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond. “I think they are in other communities, I don’t think  they are in Somerville.”

Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan organized the meeting, one night after he proposed a possible lawsuit against NStar for the string of outages.

Congratulations to state senator Sal DiDomenico on his victory last night over challenger Tim Flaherty. We endorsed Sal and expect him to do right by his Somerville constituents – it’s only two precincts but there are a lot of issues in the Somerville part of his district.

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

Happy Birthday to Alderman Bob Trane of Ward 7 this week and School Committee woman Maureen Cuff-Bastardi of Ward 1, both very popular here in the city and both great people.

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

Best wishes to one of our biggest fans down at Cobble Hill Apartments, Ms. Helen Boliver has been laid up and is recuperating at the Santa Maria in North Cambridge. Helen is a wonderful person and we wish her all the best as well as for a speedy recovery. Hopefully she’s getting her Somerville News delivered to her.

If the state had fulfilled its legal obligation, the Green Line would be rolling through Somerville sometime next year bringing jobs and environmental justice to Somerville. Instead, two delays in one month and cost hikes have the troubled project once again jumping off the rails.

It is particularly insulting that the extension – a legal remedy to increased air pollution caused by the Big Dig – is again delayed because of a no-bid deal with Big Dig bad guy Parsons Brinckerhoff.

In Ten Hills and East Somerville, where residents have to wipe grime from the nearby highway off their windows each morning – the pain is sharper. Residents in those neighborhoods suffer from significantly higher rates of asthma and lung cancer than the rest of the state.