Save our Somerville (SOS) united with local
supporters in a vigil to reflect on the loss of Somerville residents
who lost battles to depression, drugs, and violence.

"Tough
times call for tough people," said Matt McLaughlin, SOS founder, in a
call to action urging the community to be more proactive in finding
solutions for the drug addictions and deaths impacting the city.

McLaughlin
addressed the "Somerville slump," a stance when youth realize that
dreams of starring in competitive sports is not as easy as expected,
when jobs seem more competitive to attain, and when a college degree
does not guarantee success. At this realization, many turn to drugs as
a medium of escape.

"We have lost friends to drugs and not
only physically," said Anna Rodriguez in a reflective reading about her
personal encounter with substance abuse. Rodriguez narrated how at some
point drinking and drugs defined the Somerville youth lifestyle.

Half
a dozen tables from Cambridge Health Alliance and other supporters
containing brochures and contact information for residents seeking drug
rehabilitation or help coping with loss were displayed throughout the
ceremony.

A series of residents read letters and poems to
deliver their story, their loss, and their tragedy. "I'm filled with a
shattered heart…hoping to heal," said Renae Lister mourning the loss
of friends but stating her desire for a better future.

"Remembering
the past to change the future" themed the event- a banner with this
slogan was spread out for anyone who wanted to write a message to a
lost one and T-shirts with the same statement were offered for free.

Sandra
Milton fought back tears remembering her son Stephen Pacheco who
accidentally overdosed last August and the difficulties he encountered
trying to get medical help. "It's not easy to get help for heroin
addicts," said Milton. Friends and family of Pacheco wore black shirts
in his remembrance, in the back, his last name served as an acronym for
the cause: Public Awareness Can Help Every Child Overcome.

Among
the speakers, Leon David categorized loss as a common denominator
between residents but labeled SOS as the "collective voice and shaker"
of Somerville.

McLaughlin encouraged the community to
accompany him June 10 to the State House to advocate fund increases for
rehabilitation centers. "In the struggle we find purpose in our lives,"
said McLaughlin.

***************

The
deadline for pulling papers for local office this year is Monday the
8th at 5p.m. and the deadline to turn them in is Wednesday the 10th at
5p.m. So far (as of Tuesday the 2nd), Alderwoman Gewirtz from Ward 6
has an opponent with Jim Campano of the "The Somerville Pundits" TV
show. Ward Four/Winter Hill School Committeeman, our own James Norton
has an opponent with a PDSer supported candidate Christine Rafal (oh
come on now, you know exactly what the PDSers endorsements will be –
Gewirtz in Ward 6 and Ms. Rafal in Ward 4 – how much you want to bet?)
Remember the PDSers are "reformers." Ms. Rafal, a PDSer herself, pulled
papers last time around but didn't turn them in, but if her buddy from
Ward 5 Mr. Neidergang has anything to say about it, she'll hand them in
this time. Should be interesting in Ward 4, since Christine is telling
everyone that she is taking the low road and going negative – again
that's the PDSers for you!

***************

Another very
nice man passed away recently, our condolences go out to the family of
Joseph Silva. Joe was the electrical inspector for Lights & Lines
here in Somerville for many years; he came into contact with a lot of
people here. He was a gentleman and an all around just plain nice guy
who never had a bad thing to say about anyone. Recently Joe was an
active member of the Somerville Lion's – he will be missed all over the
city by a lot of people.

***************

Big city cuts
with a lot of concern – according to sources, four Somerville police
officers will be laid off as well as four more vacant positions will
not be filled! Also, eight Somerville Fire Fighters and we hear at
least ten DPW workers are slated for layoffs. It's unfortunate for all
concerned and we feel for anyone that loses their job and hopefully it
won't be permanent.

***************

The Sunsetters
audition to find new talent was held this past Monday night – our own
Jimmy Del Ponte held the talent search – which was up at the West
Somerville Neighborhood School Cafeteria. All talent contestants had to
be between 12 & 17 years and about 20 were chosen out of 40 very
talented young people. We're sure Jimmy selected a good group of
performing and wish them all the best, both the ones that were selected
and not selected.

***************

Mayor Joseph A.
Curtatone and Recreation Superintendent Jim Halloran announced that the
88th annual All City Track Meet will be held on Friday, June 5th at
Dilboy Stadium, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The meet is the culmination of
ongoing elementary school sports competitions, including basketball,
flag football, indoor soccer, indoor volleyball, and a swim meet. The
school with the most points following the final track meet will take
home the "Mackey Trophy." The scoring system is based on the number of
students attending the program, practices, games, sportsmanship, and
win-loss records.

***************

The Taste of Somerville
(a culinary tour and evening of fun to support SCM Community
Transportation) will be held on Tuesday, June 9th from 5:30 to 8:30
p.m. at the Somerville Holiday Inn (30 Washington Street). More than
twenty-five top restaurants and hundreds of supporters will be be
mixing it up and also joining in a silent auction, which will feature
items ranging from Red Sox tickets to a 50-inch plasma HD TV. The event
is coordinated by the Somerville Chamber of Commerce.

***************

Wow,
we just heard that Ms. Hickey (Ms. Frump to her old friends that got
stabbed in the back) from the Council on Aging, is holding a "Veterans
Dinner" on June 23rd at the Tab building and is charging a $30.00 per
person for a ticket – we also hear that its not on the Calendar of
Events for June for the council members. We're so glad she's gotten
over her dislike for Veterans Services Director Frank Senesi and is, we
assume, working so closely together to help raise some funds for
Veterans Services – at least that's what we hope is being done,
especially for $30.00 a plate to Honor our Veterans at a cafeteria in
the old Tab building!

***************

Remember the
Sovereign Bank employee that made front page headlines last month for
pushing the envelope with allegedly making threats and exposing a bank
customer's personal information for a pair of U2 tickets? We hear that
the court found sufficient evidence to proceed further with an
arraignment on June 19 at 9 a.m.

***************

Congratulations
to 10-year-old Haley Soares – who we heard will be one lucky student of
the month at the Winter Hill School for June. We wish her the best,
along with all the other students in the past year for Student of the
Month at the Winter Hill. By the way, most of us know her father and
mother and were not surprised – she's a smart student.

***************

Aside from the obvious person here at this
newspaper that knows firsthand what it is like to be under the kind of
pressure our elected officials are in this budget crisis, it is hard
for the rest of us here to wrap our minds around it. Sure, there are
plenty of other people to be much more concerned about – especially the
people that will lose their jobs – but this is supposed to be a
collaborative effort, working together to make sure that the pain will
be as minimal as possible and making sure we as a city don't have to go
through this year after year until the economy gets back on its feet.

An overflow crowd, mostly senior
citizens, attended the meeting to hear what was expected to be a vote
on whether retired employees would face increased health insurance
payments. Instead, they watched as the Board learned their approval
wasn't required and that only a "housekeeping amendment" stood in the
way of Curtatone increasing the payments from 10 to 25 percent for most
retirees starting July 1.

The day before the meeting, local
media outlets published an editorial by Curtatone stressing the need
for the Board's approval of his new plan.

"I understand that
this is a hard vote," he wrote. "We can all agree that dealing with
this crisis will require everyone to make some sacrifices … But when
that spirit of shared sacrifice is extended to our retirees, it's not
surprising that some aldermen are reluctant to make the call."

The
Board learned Thursday from City Solicitor John Gannon that after
speaking with state officials Wednesday he learned a vote was not
needed – the power to change the rates lies with the Mayor. The only
thing standing in the way of Curtatone raising the contribution for
retired city employees from 10 to 25 percent was a 1979 ordinance that
left the city open to lawsuits if it remained on the books.

Responding
to the Board's reluctance to put their indirect stamp of approval on
the rate increase, both Gannon and Curtatone warned the city could be
sued if the law remained.

"I should note strenuously that this
is just a housekeeping amendment," Gannon said. "The requested action
would bring intellectual honesty to the order."

"You leave
ourselves quite exposed if we don't fix it, and that's the bottom
line," Curtatone added. "Whether you agree on this or not, we're
exposed either way."

While acknowledging the vote's necessity, several Aldermen criticized the Mayor's administration for keeping them in the dark.

"(Health
care) is a problem that's been ignored for a long time,"
Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond said of the impending rate increase.
"It appears they're taking away the ability for the Board to make this
decision."

"I am a little disappointed we didn't know about this
before," Ward 3 Alderman Tom Taylor said. "It would've saved a lot of
heartache and grief."

Citing the need to discuss the
possibilities of litigation being filed against the city, the Board
voted to discuss the issues in executive session. The audience waited
as the Aldermen left the room and discussed the issue behind closed
doors for an hour.

Carl Stauffer, a retired Somerville High
School teacher, explained while waiting for their return that even a
slight increase could push some retirees over the edge.

"The (retirees) who have been out 20 years – for someone making $1,000 a month, a $50 increase would kill them," he said.

"I'd like to see some transparency, not just sudden decisions," Stauffer added.

When
the aldermen returned, they voted unanimously to rescind the 1979 law,
leaving Curtatone open to increase the percentage retirees will pay for
their premiums.

Beyond the planned increase to a 25 percent
contribution, various options for Medicare plans remain on the table –
some of which could leave as many as 53 retirees unqualified for
coverage. Possible plans will be discussed in upcoming Finance
Committee meetings – although the final authority remains with
Curtatone.

The city
of Somerville has hired a consulting service to study the school site
and put together options for its future use. The focus of Tuesday's
meeting was to give an opportunity for Concord Square Planning and
Development to report its initial findings and hear from local
residents on their thoughts about the property and the benefits that it
can bring to Somerville in a different capacity. The charge set forth
by the city to Concord Square Planning is to balance the goals of
putting the site back into productive use, maximizing revenue for the
city, and mitigating the impact on the neighborhood. The main decision
that will have to be voted on by the Board of Aldermen is whether the
city will sell off the property for profit or if they will invest in
the facility and make it an asset to the community and its residents.
Use of the building in its current form, whether it is for city or
commercial purposes, is not an option as the facility is not up to
code. The building can not meet certain electrical standards and
seismic improvements must be made to pass current building codes. Past
tests have shown that a minimum of 5 million dollars must be put into
the Powder House building to simply get it up to code. If the city
decides to hold on to the property and open its doors for civic use,
construction will be necessary.

Concord Square Planning and
Development is in the process of interviewing real estate professionals
to obtain an understanding of the worth of the property and a potential
sale price if the City of Somerville decides to go that route. Possible
uses discussed by the consultants include residential apartments and
condominiums, office space centered around a rehabilitation center, and
a hybrid concept where a portion of the school will be retained by the
city while demolishing the remainder for construction use. Concord
Square Planning felt that with transportation and parking concerns, the
best option in terms of a sale of the property would be a high-end
apartment complex that would cater to graduate students.

This
is where the presentation quickly turned into a community discussion,
as the majority of the 50 local residents who attended the meeting
passionately advocated holding on to the property and turning the
facility into a community center of some sort. There was a general
feeling among residents, a sentiment that was echoed by Ward 7 Alderman
Bob Trane, that there is not enough public space for local children and
that there is a pressing need for a community center. Ideas put forward
by Somerville residents included both indoor and outdoor recreational
spaces for kids, classroom space for adult education, green space, and
offices for municipal use that would include a consolidation of
Somerville's recreation department. All of this would obviously come at
a cost to the city, as estimated budgets for a renovated or newly
constructed building would range from 12-20 million dollars, not to
mention the revenue that would not be created by the possible sale of
property.

Ward 7 Alderman Bob Trane feels that a community
center that is properly managed could actually save money for the city
in the long run though, as the open space could help consolidate youth
and recreation programs that are being run out of offices in which the
city currently pays rent. Alderman Trane also warns that if Somerville
decided to sell the building, now would not be the time. "With the
market being so depressed, a sale at this point would not bring back
the maximum amount of revenue that the city should see from that
property." Trane also feels that now would be the best time to invest
money into a much needed community center as construction costs are as
low as they have been in years.

The wild card in this situation
is the possibility of federal stimulus money that has been applied for
by the City of Somerville for this project, among others. If the
federal government offers monetary support, Alderman Trane feels that
the door should be closed on the possible sale of the Powder House
School building. "There is a possibility that we might receive federal
stimulus money," say Trane. "If that is the case than I think this
would be a no-brainer. West Somerville needs a place to call our own."

Concord
Square Planning has gathered all the feedback from local residents and
will come back to the city with a few different options to be discussed
within the next 30 days. Updates on future meetings will be posted on
the City of Somerville's website and residents can feel free to contact
Alderman Trane at RobertTrane@aol.com.

Man,
have times changed. My life has been so planned and regimented 'lo
these past 15 years. Were you as crazy as I was? I know some of you
were, but don't worry, I won't print your names. We always had fun, but
it was always on the edge. It couldn't be a normal, calm existence. It
was hectic, rushed and we lived as if it was our last days on earth. I
have been in the 'Ville for most of my life, except for a few jaunts to
some pretty far-out places. I always returned to Somerville, like a
baby bird to his nest. Or something like that.

Back in the early
80's, I was going out with a lovely lady from the 'Ville whose father
didn't like me (that's a shocker). He had a problem with long haired
rock musicians who partied too much. We were going hot and heavy, when
all of a sudden we broke up. So I did the logical thing – I left the
comfort of Somerville for the unknown San Fernando Valley of
California. I'll show her – I'll move 3,000 miles away, and become a
Hollywood star. After all, I had my theatre degree from Emerson
College! I got an apartment in the same apartment building where my
sister was living with her new baby girl – it was great! I lived
downstairs from my niece, sister and brother in law. We had a built-in
pool and she cooked for me. That's when I fell in love with avocados.
Life in Canoga Park was different, but I was getting used to it. I got
a job in a head shop (they sold bongs and stuff like that) – a place
that sold all sorts of drug paraphernalia. I met Jimi Hendrix's drummer
on the album band of Gypsies, Mr. Buddy Miles. I met an agent who lived
in Sammy Davis Jr's old house – Sammy had a room the size of my bedroom
just for shoes! I think Judy Garland lived there at one time also. I
also tracked down a couple of Somerville friends out there. You will
find Somerville people everywhere you go. I bumped into a guy from my
street in Disney World back in the 90's. Forget about Old Orchard
Beach, because as I have said before, it's Somerville with water. So
back to the California adventure. There I am, doing pretty well,
enjoying the sun, my sisters cooking, a crazy job and I get a phone
call from Somerville. It seems the gal I had broken up with had a
sudden change of heart – she wanted me back. So, I wanted to get back
to Somerville as fast as I could. I dumped the job, the apartment with
the pool, my sisters cooking, the weather and my dreams of becoming a
star in Hollywood – and headed home. But being the compulsive thick
headed guy that I am, I decided to take a Greyhound bus back to Boston.
Why would I wait another week and fly home? I really can't tell you
because I don't remember. Maybe it was a cash thing. I think I just
wanted to get back and wasn't in a clear mind. At any rate, I'm on a
bus for 5 days. I hooked up with some other passengers on the way home
who were quite the partiers. We all got tossed off of the bus in
Albuquerque New Mexico. We had to wait 6 hours for the next bus. The
really tough part about being on a bus for 5 days is personal hygiene.
I got real good at washing my feet in the restroom sinks. I was one of
the lucky ones who had plenty of clean socks. I wish I had some Febreze
and Lysol spray, because I would have sprayed a few passengers. When
you're on a long bus ride, you make friends with people, and then one
by one they get off at their destinations. I must say it was pretty
emotional saying goodbye to friends you spent 2, 3 and 4 days with in
such close conditions. We all took each other's phone numbers. I never
heard from any of them ever again.

So I finally make it home
to good old Somerville! I'll never forget the first time I went back
into my girlfriend's house since returning. Her dad gave me the usual
protective, smile-less, "I hate you" stern father's sneer. What her
uncle said made me feel very comfortable – he looks at me and says:
"Don't tell me you're back again." And he wasn't fooling. Yes it was
great to be home. What's so great about California? The heck with the
built-in pool, the freedom of my own pad, the cool job, the awesome
weather, the fun of being with my sister and her baby. I was finally
back with the love of my life. WRONG! The rekindled romance went down
in flames. But hey, I had gained a lot! I got to move back into my
little room on Hall Avenue with the psychedelic wallpaper and listen to
my dad snore while I was trying to watch TV. I was back to helping mom
with housework too. I had gone from Mr. Independent to Mr. Loser who
moves back in with his parents. I recovered, and was soon playing in
another band, and would soon start my radio career at Kiss 108 FM. I
was back in Somerville and back with my buds and the fam. You can
always go home when you live in Somerville. My friends were still on
the same bar stools they were on when I left, so I didn't miss a beat.
But I will never take a five day bus ride again. Oh, and there were a
few other women since then who had me jumping through hoops. Someday,
I'll tell you about the boy from Somerville who moved to Florida for a
year with a girl. So I will never again hop on a bus, Gus, unless it's
to visit my friend in Jersey, or if my truck breaks down.

On May 27th at approximately 11:00 p.m., a lone
man entered the store at 96 Highland Avenue, displayed a gun and
demanded money. After tying the clerk's hands using a plastic wire tie,
the robber proceeded to take cash from the registers. He then fled on
foot. Although shaken up, the clerk was not injured; no one else was in
the store at the time.

The suspect is described as a young,
dark-skinned black male in his early to mid twenties, and about 5 feet
six inches tall. He has corn rows in his hair and some facial hair. He
was wearing a black jacket with a hood that covered most of his hair,
and white sneakers.