A series of ten
sessions will be held around the country before Labor Day, all designed
to help state and local health organizations develop a voluntary fall
vaccination program for the H1N1 flu virus. Public discussion at
strategy sessions will focus on the following questions:

• Should the CDC create a mass vaccination program against H1N1?

• What are the particulars of a mass vaccination program?

•
How does the federal prioritization guidance (developed for all
scenarios) apply in light of this real outbreak? If there are elements
that don't apply, what's different and why?

• Are there particular/unique strategies that this pandemic will require?.

"In
choosing Somerville as one of ten locations around the country for
these public forums, the CDC acknowledged value that the ethnic,
cultural, and economic diversity of our City offers a unique and
important opportunity to gauge the very wide range of views the public
holds around how local, state, and federal public health agencies
should move forward in dealing with H1N1. We look forward to having the
chance to listen to our constituents on this important issue," said
Renault-Caragianes.

To register for the event or for more information,, contact the Somerville Health Department at 617-625-6600 x4300.

Energy Star is a program founded by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of
Energy that focuses on creating energy efficient homes and buildings
that will help protect the environment while also saving money for home
owners and businesses. Homes constructed under the Energy Star program
must meet a series of energy efficiency guidelines established by the
EPA. Compared to homes that meet only the standard 2004 International
Residential Code requirements, Energy Star qualified homes are at least
15 percent more energy efficient and can be operated at substantially
lower costs.

Greater efficiency in Energy Star homes can be
attributed to several different physical features, including tight
construction and ducts, effective insulation, efficient heating and
cooling equipment, high performance windows, and efficient home
products. According to the Energy Star website, American households and
businesses that met Energy Star qualifications avoided greenhouse
emissions equivalent to those from 29 million cars while saving $19
billion in utility bills in 2008 alone. About 750,000 Energy Star homes
exist to date, and Energy Star expects more than 2 million homes to
become Energy Star qualified by the end of 2010.

Rashkin's
presentation was an in field follow up to a classroom presentation at
Middlesex Community College that took place on Friday Morning. On
Thursday, August 6th, Rashkin gave a similar classroom presentation at
Stonehill College in Easton, followed by an in field training at
Wayside Farm in East Bridgewater. The Beacon Courtyard Townhouses,
which opened construction in November of last year, are set to be
finished sometime in September.

The Beacon Courtyard location
was chosen for the demonstration mostly because the stage of
construction it was under provided for an effective look at the
building's energy systems, but after the training ended, Rashkin noted
that the townhouses were an "outstanding project." He was especially
impressed by what he described as "impeccable installation,"
particularly regarding the attic areas of the building. Effectively
airtight windows and vents were another standout feature that made the
townhouses an impressive complex.

Developers George Dedic and
Stephen Andrade, and Realtor Mark Roderick, stated that "we are pleased
to have been chosen as a model for Energy Star Homes Training Program.
Beacon Courtyard is an example of our commitment to building high
quality, energy efficient homes. In addition to reducing greenhouse
emissions, the homeowner will benefit with increased property value and
lower utility bills." When finished, the complex will consist of 8
townhouses, one of which will belong to the city's affordable housing
program. Each townhouse will consist of 3 bedrooms, two to three
bathrooms, and two garage spaces in the impressive 18 spot parking
garage located beneath the complex. For more information on Energy
Star, visit www.energystar.gov. For more information on the Beacon
Courtyard Townhouses, contact Realtor Mark Roderick at 617-230-3674

Few
Somerville residents realize Assembly Square's scale. The distance
between its North and South ends is the same as that between North and
South Stations. But while the downtown area has 12 T stops, Assembly
Square will have only one, so it should serve the site as well as
possible.

MBTA officials expect to begin construction next fall.
At a recent community meeting regarding the station's design, nearly
every Somerville resident who spoke asked T officials to add a second
head house.

A head house is not the little structure that one
found behind homes before the arrival of indoor plumbing. It is a
T-station entrance and exit. And building the Assembly Square station
with only one head house, as is now planned, can have a significantly
negative impact on East Somerville and Ten Hills residents, on
Somerville drivers, and on breathers.

The reasons begin with the
333,000+ autos that daily travel on the five roads surrounding Assembly
Square. Most Somerville drivers are acquainted with the congestion that
daily plagues Route 28 in particular for long periods.

Assembly
Square's planned developments will greatly increase traffic, but not by
nearly as much as the 100,000 auto trips that were forecast by the
developers' traffic engineers before the settlement agreement
negotiated between the Mystic View Task, Federal Realty Investment
Trust, and IKEA.

Working together, the parties found creative
ways to halve the number of required trips. By comparison 50,000 trips
per day was the increase in I-93 capacity created by the $15-billion
Big Dig.

An essential element in this plan was finding every
means possible to encourage Orange Line use. The developers pledged $15
million to build the station, and Congressman Capuano obtained a $25
million Department of Transportation commitment.

At the outset
of settlement discussions, IKEA negotiators promised that at Assembly
Square they would create a whole new model for IKEAs in urban areas.
Ultimately, they proposed, and the Planning Board approved, the same
old blue box. Including its parking structure, it will be six times the
size of the Home Depot. IKEA officials conservatively forecast that
their Somerville store will generate 6,180 new car trips on weekdays
and 10,510 on Saturdays.

Readers will be familiar with the
legendary traffic backups created by the Stoughton IKEA. The distance
between Route 24 and the Stoughton IKEA is 2 miles on a four-lane road,
while that between Somerville's I-93 Lombardi-Street exit and the IKEA
site will 1050 feet on a two-lane road. And IKEA projects that half its
vehicle trips will come from the North on I-93.

Many of IKEA's
Boston-area customers will be students and others beginning new
households, and many of those could come on the Orange Line. That's
where the second head house comes in.

To reach IKEA from the
proposed single head house, customers would have to walk a circuitous
quarter mile, climb or escalate up and down the equivalent of six
stories, and then return with their purchases. This will seriously
discourage those who would otherwise come by train. An additional head
house at the station's Southern end would allow for a level walkway
between the top of the T escalator and the IKEA, substantially
increasing train users and reducing car trips.

The
single-head-house station's price tag has now grown by almost $10
million. The Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization has agreed to
cover this increase by using some of its regional highway funds.

So
where would the money for a second head house come from? The obvious
answer for a good chunk of it is IKEA. The company is benefiting
greatly from $65 million in road improvements in front of its site,
financed with state and federal transportation funds.

IKEA has
made large contributions to local governments elsewhere to mitigate its
traffic impacts. It gave $10 million for a bike-friendly highway
project in College Park, Maryland, for example.

It's hard to
imagine that the world's largest furniture company's managers could
claim that they can't afford it, although IKEA's erstwhile CEO said
that worldwide sales had declined for the first time in the company's
history. He thinks that consumers' spending is shifting toward
electronics products.

Local activist Wig Zamore has an idea for
IKEA. It could recruit a high-volume computer/electronics store to
share its property. That store would have more frequent visitors, from
a smaller trade area. IKEA would have less-frequent visitors, but from
a larger trade area. Together, they would boost each other's sales. And
with a portion of this increase, plus rent from the electronics store,
IKEA could help pay for a second head house.

The Assembly
Square T station could better serve Somerville with two more important
improvements. Draw 7 park is a hidden jewel on the Mystic River. An
exit from the T station directly into the park would make it less
hidden and more accessible.

Finally, as now designed the station
will be visible from only a tiny portion of the site. It would be best
to increase visibility for both head houses by putting them at the ends
of Foley Street and IKEA Way.

With these changes, the T station would be a much better asset for Somerville and for visitors to Assembly Square.

Fellow Somerville High School alumni, Marshall M. Sloane, who is the Chairman and Founder of Century Bank, and Somerville High School Headmaster, Anthony Ciccariello, were among those who gathered at Century Bank Headquarters in Medford for the presentation of the checks earlier today.

Filipe Zamborlini of the Student Immigrant Movement spearheaded the presentation. Zamborlini, an immigrant from Brazil himself, has a very pertinent experience with the difficulties of being an undocumented student. He referred to this problem as "having a block on your life…there is nothing you can do to step over it." He, and the entire crowd of around twenty-five in attendance Monday night were in agreement that this Act is imperative in giving non-citizen students the capabilities to succeed.

The DREAM Act is not the first of its kind. According to Zamborlini, the act has gone through subtle changes, including to its label. It has been attempted four times, but to no avail as of yet. The act intends to repeal a law enacted in July of 1998 that inhibited any illegal alien to attain any post-secondary school benefits from the state, as well as to legalize about 65,000 students nationally within the first year. This act would permit the individual states to regulate their own immigration policies instead of the Federal Government having the only say.

To be eligible for this, the person would have to be enrolled in a college, have lived in the United States for at least five years before turning sixteen years of age, in good moral standing, and has never been under deportation order. After following the proposed procedures, eligible persons would then be informed by the Secretary of Homeland Security that they would get accepted into the program. If rejected, the person could petition for a second chance.

In basic terms, the act would give eligible students a temporary residency. This would be valid for six years, and after the completion of either two years of military service, acquisition of a bachelor degree or higher, or at least two years of post-secondary completion, the student would then be able to apply for permanent residency. Although it hasn't been discussed of yet, the six years enacted under the DREAM Act could count toward the current five years of United States residency that is required to apply for citizenship.

The Education Act of 1965 came up in the conversation, being very appropriate to this current movement. Although there is almost no chance of this Act passing this year, the advocates of it hope for it to be voted into law within the next year. The DREAM Act could possibly be voted together with a larger bill, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill, but that is not a certainty quite yet either. Congress is still discussing measures to fix immigration policies.

Regina Bertaholdo of Somerville's Public School District brought up the fact that for the most part, all of the students who would benefit from this are most likely bi-lingual, an imperative factor in the ever-expanding global economy. According to Zambolini, if this act were to be passed into law, it would "aid in the unification of families, promote a desire to stay in the United States and build a successful life, allow students to come out of their shadows, and act as a major step for the CIR. It would prove that immigration reform is needed and worth while."

In response to the question "what can we do to further this all," Zambolini stated that the next steps would be to push this Act into law. All of the representatives from Massachusetts are currently co-sponsors of the Act, so now it is important to convince the representatives of nearby New England states to push the bill as well.