Kelsey K. Heebink, a City Analyst, welcomed the crowd of
about 50 residents. Heebink began the meeting with a note of good news
– Somerville has been named an All-American City for the year 2009. The
city has not been awarded this title since 1972. "We won it for a lot
of specific things," Heebink explained "For our Shape-Up Health
programs battling obesity and for city maintenance, putting up so many
more trees."

After this announcement the meeting turned to more
dubious matters concerning Somerville's $12.1 million budget shortfall
and how the city plans to cope with this gap for fiscal year 2010. "A
lot of spending reductions come off the backs of the city employees,"
said Heebink.

City spending reductions will come from cutbacks
in state employee health insurance. Pension relocation, hiring freezes,
and employ furloughs will also help reduce spending.

"We are
also being very aggressive about people who are not paying their bills"
Heebkin said. Extra enforcement for paying parking fines and meters is
predicted to bring in approximately $1.9 million in revenue this year.

"The
silver lining here is the federal stimulus funding" explained Heebkin.
"When they said 'who has a shovel ready project ready to go' we said we
had a lot."

Somerville will receive over $21.9 million in
federal stimulus funding. Approximately 91% of this stimulus money will
be used towards transportation and infrastructure projects. Over one
million dollars will be used for foreclosure prevention. Even $25,000
has been allotted for the arts.

Alderman Heuston spoke briefly
at the meeting, saying, "Somerville has managed to keep moving forward.
In this city, I say we leave no stone unturned. We've come through this
financial crisis without firings. We said its better for all of us to
take furloughs than reduce city resources."

The meeting then
broke into Discussion Groups where City Project Managers and Department
Heads were available to answer any questions. Representatives from
Traffic & Parking, Strategic Planning & Community Development,
Community Policing, and City Services & Quality of Life Issues were
all in attendance.

Traffic & Parking representatives
explained that on January 4th 2010, the City of Somerville will expand
permit parking to the remaining 1/3 of the city currently excluded from
the program. This will ensure that street parking is reserved for
residents and their guests.

Community Policing was happy to
report that crime is down 20% from last year. The Police have also
instituted several plans to keep crime rates low including a new
anonymous "Tip" line whereby concerned residents can notify police of
suspicious activity by texting their concern to "TIP411" (847411).

The
Police have also been involved in an operation entitled "Project Jingle
Bells," where officers tail known criminals throughout the day. In a
recent incident, an officer followed one known burglar as he tried to
open 22 locked doors. Upon finding an unlocked door and trying to
enter, the suspect was arrested.

The police reminded everyone
that while Somerville is a safer community each year, everyone should
always lock their doors and windows.

Mayor Curtatone concluded
the meeting by encouraging the residents of Somerville to stay involved
with these ResiStat meetings throughout the year. "You are driving
these meetings. It is not a static format. This agenda is driven by
your comments."

SOMERVILLE
– The fall meetings will focus on City updates to issues and goals
identified by residents during spring meetings, and on the City's
budget outlook. Residents who have already subscribed to their ward
ResiStat alert lists will receive updates with additional information
prior to each meeting. Residents who have not already done so may
subscribe by contacting 311.

"Since its inception, ResiStat has
provided a unique and critical opportunity for residents to be directly
involved in City government, and hold us accountable for the issues and
concerns specific to their own neighborhoods, or the City as a whole,"
Mayor Curtatone said. "Over the last two years, we've seen attendance
at each of these meetings more than double, and subscriptions to and
participation in the ResiStat e-mail dialogues, in addition to
attendance at these meetings, has been extremely important in
influencing policy decisions in the City of Somerville."

ResiStat
is a subset of the City's SomerStat data-driven management program.
ResiStat brings data on City operations and policies in the
neighborhoods and solicitors input and ideas from residents. The
program was piloted in 2007 and was funded through grants from the
Boston Foundation and the National Center for Civic Innovation.
Currently, there are 12 ResiStat groups: one per ward and a number of
groups geared towards specific constituencies, and the City will be
expanding the number of groups in the coming months to including
additional special interest groups.

The remaining schedule for the fall ResiStat meetings is as follows:

* Ward 5: Tuesday, December 1st, 7:00 p.m., Kennedy Elementary School cafeteria, 5 Cherry St.

* Ward 1: Monday, December 7th, 7:30 p.m., Capuano Early Childhood Center cafeteria, 150 Glen St.

* Ward 4: Tuesday, December 8th, 7:00 p.m., Healey School cafeteria, 5 Meacham St.

* Ward 7: Thursday, December 10th, 5:30 p.m., TAB cafeteria, 167 Holland St.

The
Kheer recipe that Shrestha introduced to the class bubbled on the
stove, while a simple version of a German dish, Bratwurst with ketchup
and grape jelly, was baking in the oven.

Welcome to "Cultural
Kitchen," an after-school program that Hostelling International USA,
Eastern New England Council offers to cultivate global awareness
through examining the connection between food and culture. Shrestha was
joined by a dozen other classmates at the Winter Hill Community School
last Wednesday afternoon.

Hostelling International also offers the class at schools in Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, and Roxbury.

"I like cooking food," Shrestha said. "It's great to come here and make food, while hearing about other cultures and countries."

She
walked over to the bubbling pot and stirred the porridge. Kheer is an
essential dish in many Hindu and Muslim feasts and celebrations. While
the dish is typically made of rice, it can also be made with other
ingredients, such as vermicelli. The recipe that Shrestha brought in
featured rice, milk, cardamom seeds, saffron threads, pistachio nuts,
sugar, and slivered almonds.

Paula Levitt, the Cultural
Kitchen coordinator for Hostelling International, explained to the
class how saffron threads are a delicacy, and very expensive-about $25
per pound. (Saffron is actually considered the world's most valuable
spice because a pound of this exotic flavoring requires the use of 60
to 100 thousand flowers).

The children in the class-fourth and
fifth graders from the Winter Hill school-were instructed to research
the foods native to their country. In Levitt's class alone the students
represented Germany, El Salvador, Nepal, Senegal, Uganda, Jamaica, and
Haiti, among other countries. Then each student came to class with a
recipe that they would share. They created a collage for their
presentation to highlight interesting facts and phrases about their
country.

Some other recipes include pupusas from El Salvador,
fried plantains from Haiti, meat patties from Jamaica, mango lassi from
India, and peanut butter candy from Uganda. The rule is that students
must try everything, unless they have food restrictions.

"It's a
time for them to deepen their cultural understanding while they have
fun with cooking," Levitt said. "They learn about what is cultural,
what are cultural norms. It starts a cultural sensitivity at an early
age."

"The presentations help me to learn more about my friends," Alyvia Baker added. "I also like eating the food."

Alejandro
Perez's favorite dish thus far was the Senegal-influenced salad of
avocados, shrimp, lettuce, onions, vinegar, and mayonnaise.

Haley
Senn favored the mango lassi, a drink made of yogurt, milk, fresh
mango, sugar, and ground cardamom. She learned how Indian weddings are
an elaborate affair and that the women paint themselves with henna. She
admired their traditional wear, the flowing saris. Equally important,
Senn learned how to respect others.

The class lasts for 10
weeks. Hostelling International has introduced the class to 200
students. This is their second year teaching in the Somerville schools.

"In today's world, it is important for young people to interact
with those of other cultures," said Deborah Ruhe, the executive
director of Hostelling International. "The schools are already diverse,
but classes like this offer a deeper appreciation of similarities and
differences among people, which is really important."

O'Regan
rushed for 146 yards and three touchdowns, as the Highlanders cruised
to a 42-12 win over Matignon in Thursday's highly anticipated
Thanksgiving Day showdown at Dilboy Stadium.

The Highlanders,
who were once 2-6, finished the season with momentum on their side, en
route to a two game winning streak at 4-6.

"It was a great way
to end the season, especially for the senior class," said coach Harry
Marchetti. "They came out and played with a lot of heart and
inspiration. We had a great crowd behind us, and we were really able to
take advantage of that."

Also contributing to the scoring was
Elston Delpe, who hauled in a pass for a touchdown, along with Jeff
Guzman and Kelly Perez, who also managed to find the end zone.

Early
in the first quarter, the Highlanders managed to execute a short
scoring drive en route to an 8-0 lead. Quarterback Rob Pratt scrambled
to his right, completed a bubble screen pass to Elston Delpe. Delpe
broke through a pair of tacklers and dashed into the end zone. On the
two point conversion attempt, Alejandro Cabrera hauled in a completion
from Pratt in the end zone.

"It was important that we were able
to get off to that fast start," said Marchetti. "We were able to see
some openings and we were able to take advantage. Our defense did an
outstanding job, and we were able to capitalize on a number of
opportunities."

Following a quick defensive stop, the
Highlanders struck again later in the quarter en route to a 16-0
advantage. After several rushes by O'Regan and Jeff Guzman, the
Highlanders capped the drive as O'Regan recorded his first touchdown of
the afternoon. On a toss right, O'Regan maneuvered through a pair of
tacklers at the line of scrimmage and bolted to the end zone on a
19-yard touchdown run. O'Regan also added a two point conversion as the
Highlanders cruised to the early lead.

As the Highlander
defensive line continued to stymie the Warrior offense, O'Regan added
to the scoring punch. After O'Regan muscled through several short gains
into Warrior territory, the Highlanders increased the lead to 24-0
early in the third quarter. Pushing past a pair of Warrior tackles,
O'Regan broke through with an 11-yard touchdown run.

Securing
the first half scoring surge, the Highlanders paved the way for a
commanding 30-0 halftime lead as Guzman scored on a 24-yard touchdown
run. On a toss left, Guzman blitzed down the sideline and waltzed into
the end zone in the final seconds of the second quarter.

"We
really came out and dominated the first half," said Marchetti. "We
established control on our running game, and we managed the game very
well. We were able to play our style of football."

In the second
half, the Warriors quickly averted any shutout following a kickoff
return for a touchdown. Kicking off the third quarter, Owen Bullock
received the ball at his 15-yard line, dodged through a pair of
Highlander tacklers at the 30-yard line, and broke through down the
middle of the field. Bullock then blasted into the end zone, trimming
the lead to 30-6.

O'Regan once again found the end zone,
notching his third touchdown of the contest. Following several blockers
at the line of scrimmage, O'Regan outfoxed a pair of defenders and
scurried down the field into the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown run,
increasing the lead to 36-6 midway through the third quarter.

With
the contest well in hand, the Highlanders added another score en route
to a 42-6 lead. After a pair of rushes by Guzman and O'Regan, Kelly
Perez connected on a two-yard plunge into the end zone in the final
seconds of the third quarter.

Matignon added a score midway
through the fourth quarter as quarterback Ron Slager spotted Mike
Nicholson in the end zone, cutting the lead to 42-12.

"It's a
great way to end the season," said Marchetti. "We worked so hard from
the first day of training camp until the last day. It's just great to
see the seniors go out with a great win."