Big Sam Williams is a bona fide Jazz innovator from the heart of flavor country.

By Andrew Firestone

It is five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, and the music has not died. As Johnny D’s Uptown welcomes Jazz Trombonist Sam Williams, also known as Big Sam of Big Sam’s Funky Nation, on Saturday – the radical flavor of New Orleans arrives in Somerville.

Born  and raised in New Orleans, Williams looks back on his experience with some bitterness.

“Katrina happened, we saw how long it took for us to get a response from the government, and get people come down and save our city. It took forever,” says Williams. “For the oil spill, it took two or three months before we got any kind of real attention on it. It was taken lightly but it shouldn’t have been.”

By George P. Hassett

A Somerville man broke into his girlfriend’s apartment on Aug. 28 by pushing an air conditioner out of a window, police said.

Christian Perez, 34, of 1 Minnesota Ave., Aug. 28, 7:53 p.m., was arrested and charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime for a felony and witness intimidation.

(from the city of Somerville)

Street and Infrastructure Repairs Have been Made on City Streets; Public Safety Building and Schools Undergoing Preventative Measures

Anticipating potential effects as Hurricane Earl passes close to the Massachusetts shoreline, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that the City of Somerville and Somerville public safety officials are taking necessary precautions against heavy rains and potential flooding throughout the City.  Mayor Curtatone also advised residents, at the request of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), to take preventative measures in your own home as the Boston area may be affected by tropical storm-force winds and heavy rains.  Preparations are already underway at the City’s Public Safety Building and in public school buildings, and several streets have undergone repairs and testing over the last several weeks to alleviate flooding.  The City will work with the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) for the duration of this storm to minimize affects in low-lying areas, including the use of two additional pumps at the Public Safety Building on Friday night.

By William C.  Shelton

(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.)

Somerville’s economic golden age was driven by people who made useful things—automobiles, bricks, baked goods, brass tubes, garments, soap, ceramics, mattresses, machine tools, and many more.

Some people designed the products, the packaging they came in, the graphics used to sell them, and the buildings required to house their firms and workers. Others fabricated them.

By George P. Hassett

The city’s Planning Board voted tonight to reject a bid by a discount close-out store to open in a Broadway lot vacant since 2007, causing a lawyer for the property owner to cry foul over the city’s handling of the process.

After the Planning Board voted unanimously to accept city staff’s recommendation to deny Ocean State Job Lot the special permit they needed to open at 299 Broadway, Bob Allen, the attorney for property owner James Cohen, said his client may pursue a lawsuit against the city.

Sandbags were placed at the doors of the Somerville public safety building in preparation of the coming storm.- Photo by Bobbie Toner

By William Tauro

DPW crews built a barrier of over two thousand sandbags that were strategically placed around the rear of the Somerville Police Station while police personal evacuated the station’s rear parking lot and police garage. All the police vehicles are being parked on higher ground at the Target parking lot located on Somerville Avenue.

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.