By Andrew Firestone

Commander Bill Hardy of VFW George Dilboy Post #529 smiles with a design of his new post. - Photo by Andrew Firestone

After over a year of planning the VFW Dilboy Post #529 has finally made a deal with developer Strategic Capital Partners LLC for a land swap which includes the construction of a brand new hall on currently unused land.

The Dilboy Post, which will be turning 90 this year has an illustrious history, including three Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients, particularly the expatriate George Dilboy of World War I. However it has fallen into disrepair recently, causing many of the approximately 676 members to hope for greener pastures.

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.)

Sometimes in my job I get handed a giant cardboard check while someone snaps a picture. Those are good moments. Usually it means we have some money coming from the federal or state government which enables us to do something good.

Our Shape Up Somerville program, which now serves as a model to the rest of the nation for how to foster a healthier lifestyle for our children, got rolling thanks to a giant cardboard check from the Centers for Disease Control. Federal stimulus money paid for much of the work being done on Somerville Avenue this summer.

Somerville aldermen are looking at dismal financial forecasts and trying to get a head start on future budget issues.

Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker are feuding over the Green Line extension.

By George P. Hassett

The long-delayed Green Line extension through Somerville became a potential political wedge issue this week after Republican challenger Charlie Baker criticized Gov. Deval Patrick for the project’s cost overruns.

The cost of the Green Line extension has risen from $560 million in 2007 to $954 million.

“This is how Governor Patrick has conducted business in Massachusetts during the past four years,” Baker said in a prepared statement. “Costs have gone up on his watch on everything from a cup of coffee to renewing your license to property taxes because Deval Patrick cannot manage state government. In Deval Patrick’s mind, it’s always easier to raise costs than make the tough decisions.”

Aldermen clashed over a reappointment to a city commission Thursday night, forcing a recess and talking over one another.

By Ashley Troutman

Radio Jarocho will play at the Fandango. ~Photo by Sergio Reyes

Celebrate Mexican son jarocho music, learn to dance, and participate in arts and crafts activities at the Fandango in Union Square on August 28. The festival will feature live performances by local band, La Tuza, and Radio Jarocho.

La Tuza, an acoustic trio, plays a lively blend of son jarocho, son huasteco, and son calentano. While strumming, plucking, and rattling to the beat, they put on an exciting performance and always engage the crowd. La Tuza has the reputation of being the best Mexican grassroots band in the greater Boston area.

By George P. Hassett

A Dorchester crack dealer with an “obvious dental issue” was arrested in the Burger King parking lot on Somerville Avenue Saturday with 35 bags of crack cocaine, police said.

Michael Johnson, 52, was identified to police as a crack cocaine dealer suffering from an acute dental issue, police said. During the investigation, he was contacted and an order was placed for crack cocaine, police said.

Somerville Police Officer Dante DiFronzo was cleared in the fatal July shooting of a woman who had stabbed him and two other officers after an investigation by the Middlesex DA's office.

New details emerge in death, triple stabbing

By George P. Hassett

A Somerville police officer who shot and killed a 33-year-old woman has been cleared in an investigation launched immediately after the shooting by Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone.

Dante DiFronzo shot and killed 33-year-old Carol Kingsley after Kingsley stabbed three officers and set a fire inside her home. Kingsley died from one gunshot to the head, according to the investigation.

By George P. Hassett

A 15-year-old Somerville boy was arrested for kicking down a basement door and stealing a $600 bicycle on Aug. 16.

The boy allegedly kicked down a door on Heath Street and stole a blue mountain bicycle, police said. As he fled from the owner, who heard his basement door being forced in, the boy took a big fall off the bike on to the pavement, police said.

By George P. Hassett

Two Somerville teens were arrested Aug. 20 for allegedly attacking an 18-year-old man with chains and a windshield wiper on McGrath Highway.

The boys, ages 14 and 15, allegedly ran towards the victim as he waited for a bus on Washington Street under the McGrath Highway underpass. The driver of the car, a gray sedan with the back window punched out, yelled to people on the porch of a nearby residence to get in their house.