Over the
past two months, almost every public hearing that the Traffic and
Parking Commission held has had very good turnouts, most likely because
of the vast changes being made to the Somerville's parking
infrastructure. However, the past two held seemed to dishearten
residents whom attended, the board not entertaining questions or
heeding concerns from residents and Aldermen, and going through with
the changes that they and their had mapped out.

Still, the
uneventful hearing went on. All five items on the agenda passed
unanimously, which were as follows: Item number one was the acceptance
of the minutes proposed at the July 30th Traffic Commission meeting.
Items two and three were requests for handicapped parking at 85 Hudson
Street and 8 Rhode Island Avenue. This wasn't quite as clear; the
Commission made it clear that 8 Rhode Island Avenue would definitely
get the approval and handicapped parking, from what sounded like a
request by a friend, but didn't say anything more than "this item has
been put on the table" in regard to 85 Hudson Street. Item four was a
request to re-locate an existing loading zone at 152 Highland Avenue
about twenty-five feet east, and was approved unanimously by the
Commission.

Item number five was the big one, the request for an
amendment to the citywide permit parking regulation. This amendment
would make about twenty streets, including all of Medford St., Broadway
and Beacon St., as well as portions of Boston Ave., College Ave., and
Holland St. two hour parking except by permit from 8 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.,
and exclusively permit parking between 2:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., except on
holidays and Sundays. This item passed, but proved to be the one of
great importance to the Commission, and Acting Director James Kotzuba.

Mr.
Kotzuba and Stan Koty discussed the concerns that were laid out at the
past meetings, including those of specific businesses and religious
establishments in respect to the way permit parking would affect them.
Mr. Kotzuba stated that he has had multiple meetings with many
different businesses to assess the specific requests, and that all of
these requests have been addressed successfully, and that business
permits have already begun to be issued. Mr. Koty then asked Mr.
Kotzuba if he was planning to work in a 'as-we-go' matter of sorts, and
Mr. Kotzuba answered by saying that any further requests will
absolutely be open to discussion with himself and the Commission. Mr.
Kotzuba stated that he "feels comfortable going along with it."

The
meeting lasted for all of about 15 minutes, with no questions or
concerns being voiced to the board. The Commission stressed that none
of these changes will be immediately enforced. Even after the signs are
all in place, the City will not begin ticketing until all of the
residents and local law enforcement are clear on the rules and
regulations.

The event was put on by the Boston Comics Round
Table to raise funds for the fourth edition of Inbound, their biannual
anthology of comics, which features a variety of styles and genres.
Boston Comics Round Table is an artist collective that started in 2006
when its founder, Dave Kender, posted an ad on Craigslist in the hopes
of finding a possible collaboration with comic illustrators. Within a
few months, he found dozens of others who were looking for an
opportunity to share ideas and connect over comics. "Finding ways to
collaborate can be one of the benefits of the group, but the core
purpose is to get people with the same passion together." Today, there
are over 100 members in the Boston Comics Round Table, with nearly 30
members meeting on a regular basis. The group meets each Thursday at
7:30 in the Democracy Center in Harvard Square, and meetings are open
to anyone with an interest in writing, illustrating, and reading
comics.

Members of the Boston Comics Round Table come from
diverse backgrounds. Some have formal training, like Joel Gill, who
received an MFA in Painting from Boston University and now works for
the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Others are self-taught, with most
saying they've been drawing their entire lives. Each member brings
their own expertise to the group, like Dirk, a freelance illustrator,
who says he joined the group as a way to plug in to the comic book
scene after moving to Boston. His experience being published has given
him the role of a mentor and while he enjoys acting as a resource for
the group, he says he gains the most from the exchange of ideas between
artists.

Wild Ink was a great introduction to a thriving comic
book culture in Somerville and throughout greater Boston. No longer
"underground," it's definitely a sub-culture that's rapidly breaching
the boundaries of pop culture. With the rise of the graphic novel and
the recent wave of comic-based movies, comics are entertaining a larger
audience. For those less familiar with comics, the Boston Comics Round
Table is reaching out with their fourth edition of Inbound. The
upcoming collection of comics is Boston-themed, and geared towards an
audience who may not usually read comics. Kender says they hope to
reach a wider audience by offering short-form comics that all connect
to the same thematic element.

Tony Davis, owner of the Harvard
Square comic book store, Millionaire Picnic, says the Boston Comics
Round Table is filling a void in the local art community. "Boston used
to have a vibrant local comic scene 10 years ago. Now with the Round
Table, that vibrancy is coming back and it's richer, because it's more
collaborative than in the past." James Welborn, owner of the
Somerville-based Hub Comics, agrees, and says, "Local artists are what
sets my store apart. Every store can carry the same
nationally-published comics, but books like Inbound give a local
perspective you don't find anywhere else."

On
August 10, Everett based Phunk Phenomenon Dance Complex announced that
one of its hip hop dance teams, Lil Phunk Boyz, received a gold medal
at the 2009 World Hip Hop Dance Championship. Barnes is one of the
eight boys on this team.

Despite his young age, Barnes' history of dancing goes back several years.

"A lot of my cousins and friends were always into dancing," he said. "I guess that's how I got interested in it at first."

Barnes says that he started really becoming involved in dancing when he was just four years old.

"I started dancing at home, teaching myself new moves," he explained.

It was not long after this that Barnes' dancing started getting attention.

"When
he was about five years old, at my brother's wedding, the DJ put on
some music and Dre was out on the floor dancing. The photographer was
filming him and everything," laughed Barnes mother, Aurora.

Barnes
has been on the professional dance team, Lil Phunk Boyz, for about one
year, and has been involved with Phunk Phenomenon Dance Complex for 3
years. His sister Xhane, 13, is also involved with the dance studio,
and is responsible for introducing him to the dance complex.

The
2009 World Hip Hop Championship was held in Las Vegas, Nevada and drew
over 1,500 dancers from 28 countries worldwide, as well as an audience
of thousands. The competition, which has inspired the popular MTV show
Randy Jackson Presents "America's Best Dance Crew," awards medals for
junior, varsity, and adult divisions. Lil Phunk Boyz brought home the
gold for the junior division, and was the only U.S. team to win a medal
this year.

"Successes like this one don't just happen. We worked
the boys very hard this summer and they never missed a beat," said
Chris Dinicola, Lil Phunk Boyz coach and choreographer in a press
release.

"We started out practicing two times a week, every
week," explained Barnes. "When it got closer to the competition, we
were practicing every day of the week for at least three hours."

Clearly,
all of the hard work and dedication exhibited by Barnes and the rest of
his team has paid off in a big way. Incredibly, the team managed to
persevere through the competition despite the last minute loss of
teammate Kyle Brooks, who fell ill with appendicitis following a first
place win in a preliminary round of the competition.

While
Brooks was hospitalized, the rest of the Lil Phunk Boyz had to change
their dance choreography to accommodate the missing teammate. The crew
managed to advance in two more rounds of the competition.

"The
boys are incredibly professional when it comes to their dancing," said
Barnes' mother. "You wouldn't believe they were as young as they are."

Brooks
was able to rejoin his team for the final competition, which meant yet
another change to their choreography. Incredibly, the boys still
managed to come out on top.

Despite the high pressure,
unexpected complications and the stiff international competition,
Barnes that he never feels anxiety before or during a performance, and
the world championship was no exception. The only time he mentioned
feeling anything but calm and collected was when he and his teammates
were awaiting the judges' final decision.

"We were really nervous before they announced the results," Barnes said. "We were really shocked when we won."

Despite
the notoriety of being a world champion, Barnes remains surprisingly
nonchalant about the win and speaks of it in a remarkably casual
manner.

"I don't think the win has really hit him yet," his mother commented. "But he's very humble about it."

Barnes plans to continue dancing in the future, saying that it's "a lot of fun."

Phunk
Phenomenon Dance Complex requires auditions to be on the team every
year. They are holding fall registrations on Aug. 30th and Sept. 13
from 4 -7pm at 1760 Rear Revere Beach Parkway (behind Boston Harley
Davidson) in Everett, MA.

Barnes plans to audition to be on
the team again, but is very levelheaded about his expectations. Despite
being having won the competition, he remains grounded and humble in his
understanding that nothing is guaranteed.

"When we found out that we won, everyone was like, 'we're dreaming,'" he commented. "Sometimes, it still feels that way."

When
we became teenagers, I can remember a few places we went to for fun
during the summer. One was the Sheepfold area of the Middlesex Fells
Reservation in Stoneham. We would arrive there in several carloads with
a guitar and a few coolers. We had a lot of fun, but if I remember
correctly, there were a couple of run-ins with the authorities as well.

Breakheart
Reservation in Saugus and Wakefield was a favorite spot for us also.
One year I tried to swim to the "island," only to be rescued by my
former girlfriend, who I was trying to impress. I dove in, swam like
Hell for 3 minutes, but somehow had managed to turn myself around
halfway to the island. So I was out of breath and yelling for help.
Good thing she was an avid swimmer and former member of the Medford
High School swim team. I learned a lesson about showing off.

We
popped into Sandy Beach in Medford every once in a while, as well as
Wrights Pond. At Wrights I believe you had to have a Medford Resident
sticker, but we still got in. My pal Bob is a Park Ranger up there.

Today,
the closest place I have found to Revere Beach is Old Orchard Beach in
Maine. We hit that fun spot a few times a year. They have a pier area,
a great beach and a decent amusement park. I call it Somerville with
water, because I always seem to see a familiar face from the "Ville" up
there.

We have our little trailer in New Hampshire, which is a lot of fun for a summer escape on weekends through October 15th.

Some
of you people are lucky enough to have a "cottage." They are usually
passed down from generation to generation. You kids are lucky! And if
its close to a lake or pond you are even luckier. We had one in Wareham
for a few years, but dad sold it when we stopped going down there. I
wish we had it now, that's for sure. My timing was all off. If my kids
had already been born he would never have sold it. Oh well, you can't
go back. I am happy with the options I have.

It's fun thinking
about the ways we kept cool in those summers of the 60's and 70's.
Driving our old clunkers packed with our friends to have a little fun.
Sure we were a bit careless, but somehow most of us made it. I think I
still have one of those matchbooks with the discount offer for Paragon
Park someplace in the cellar.

Thank you for the fantastic turn
out last Wednesday for the Project Star production of the mini-musical
"Back in the 'Ville." Keep your eyes and ears open for news about an
encore performance. You can email Jimmy directly at : jimmydel@rcn.com.