SOMERVILLE
– Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Executive Director of Strategic
Planning and Community Development Monica Lamboy today announced that
the City has begun work on an updated and comprehensive plan for
Somerville's future development. The Comprehensive Plan will outline a
shared vision for Somerville's future and the steps needed to achieve
that vision.

"Somerville is a city that has seen incredible
progress over the past decade," said Mayor Curtatone. "Today,
Somerville is not only a great place to live, work, play and raise a
family, but is becoming a regional arts and entertainment destination
and a regional center for new business development. But there is still
much work to be done – and we need a fresh public process to shape some
of the crucial decisions and choices we face over the nest few years. I
urge all members of the Somerville community to participate in this
planning process. One of our greatest strengths in Somerville is the
involvement, creativity, and commitment of our residents."

The
comprehensive planning process will begin with a series of
City-sponsored information sessions focusing on key trends in
Somerville. The trends include demographics, housing, employment
industries, transportation and infrastructure, and land use patterns.
In addition to an extensive community process, an advisory committee
composed of residents and businesses with diverse areas of expertise
will guide the planning process. The committee will be made up of
appointees by the Mayor and Board of Alderman, constituents with
expertise in relevant subjects, and residents/businesses from across
the city.

"The thoughts, feedback and participation of our
community members are essential to the success of this planning process
is," said Lamboy. "I look forward to working closely with the various
constituencies across the city over the coming months to ensure that
the comprehensive plan is something we can all unite behind."

The schedule of coming trends meetings is as follows:

Population Trends

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

Capuano Early Education Center, 150 Glen Street

Economic Development Trends

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

Visiting Nurses Association, 259 Lowell Street, 3rd floor

Population Trends

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

TAB Building (Senior Center), 167 Holland Street

Economic Development Trends

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

Argenziano School, 290 Washington Street, Cafetorium

Transportation & Infrastructure Trends

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

Capuano Early Education Center, 150 Glen Street

Transportation & Infrastructure Trends

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

TAB Building (Senior Center), 167 Holland Street

Housing Trends

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

TAB Building (Senior Center), 167 Holland Street

Land Use Trends

Monday, September 14, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

Capuano Early Education Center, 150 Glen Street

Housing Trends

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

Capuano Early Education Center, 150 Glen Street

Land Use Trends

Monday, September 28, 2009 6:30pm-8:30pm

TAB Building (Senior Center), 167 Holland Street

For more information about the comprehensive plan please contact Keith Craig at 617-625-6600 x 2500 or KCraig@somervillema.gov.

Senesi
served the United States in the Vietnam War. He enlisted voluntarily in
1965 and returned home in 1968. He was wounded, and received two Purple
Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service.

That is why it's
hard to think of anyone more qualified than Senesi to be Somerville's
Director of Veteran's Services, an office created in the wake of World
War II to keep returning veterans from standing in welfare lines.

Veteran's
Services cover a wide variety of programs to assist those who have
served our country: everything from widows' pension to health care and
VA benefits.

Most of these vital programs are funded by the
state; the remainder is picked up by the city. The office of Veteran's
Services is one of the only government programs not to experience cuts
due to the recent budget crisis.

Senesi explains that
Veteran's assistance is needed more than ever, because many veterans
are returning home and living with more serious injuries than ever. Had
they sustained such wounds in World War Two, they simply wouldn't have
lived. Recent wars have seen an increase in the number of
double-amputees, spinal cord injuries and Post Traumatic Stress
diagnoses. PTSD was not even medically recognized until ten years after
the Vietnam War.

Many soldiers are doing more tours of duty than
were customary in previous conflicts, due to the shortage of soldiers.
"Some are doing up to five tours," he said.

Senesi is grateful
that veterans have more support coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan
from the American people than they did coming home from Korea and
Vietnam. That, at least, makes his job easier. The GI Bill, which
helped so many WWII veterans, is more extensive now than it has ever
been.

Somerville has always given generously to the country:
over 400 Somerville residents were killed in action in WWII, 31 in
Korea and 33 of the 5800 who served in Vietnam.

The city has
had only one citizen wounded in action in the current wars, despite the
500 serving. Fortunately none have been killed in action.

When
asked why he still lives in Somerville after all these years and after
so many changes in the city, he replies, "We wouldn't want to live
anywhere else. This mayor is doing a fabulous job transforming the
city."

And one of the great traditions of the city is the
Memorial Day Parade. Fundraisers have been able to garner $11,400
dollars for this year's Memorial Day parade, which will be larger than
last year's parade. Senesi hopes to see all of Somerville come out to
see this great yearly event.

Somerville and Cambridge Detectives,
with assistance from the MBTA Transit Police have been investigating a
series of several armed robberies committed in both cities over the
past month. These robberies shared a number of similar characteristics,
and descriptions of the perpetrator also showed similarities.

Last
evening, shortly before 11:30, Cambridge Detective Sergeant Pauline
Carter-Wells and Somerville Detective Michael Kiely were working
together in the Elm Street area when they observed a suspect approach a
male subject who was walking on Elm Street. The suspect displayed a
knife and held it near the victim's throat. Fearing for the safety of
the victim, Detectives immediately moved in, causing the suspect to
flee. A brief foot chase by Somerville and Cambridge Police ended
inside the Porter Square MBTA station with the apprehension of the
suspect by Cambridge Detective Michael Regal and Somerville Detective
Sean Sylvester.

The suspect has been identified as Jonas
Moses-Gilson, age 19, from Arlington. He has been charged with armed
assault with attempt to rob, assault with a dangerous weapon (knife)
and a city ordinance violation, carrying a dangerous weapon (knife). He
will be arraigned in Somerville District Court on Tuesday morning. No
photo of the suspect is available at this time.

The victim of
last night's attempted robbery left the scene before Somerville Police
were able to interview him. He is urged to contact Somerville Police at
617 625-1212 as soon as possible.

We
say that it takes village to raise a child. It also takes a village to
keep that child alive. And it takes a village to mourn and heal when
our child is taken from us.

Since the turn of the millennium,
Somerville has lost at least twenty of its young people to suicide,
murder, misadventure, or drug overdoses. Their passing has devastated
family and friends, leaving wounds that are slow to heal and scars that
fade only with the passing of years.

Recognizing that the more
we are connected with those who share our grief, the more effective the
healing seems to be, Save Our Somerville (SOS) will conduct a healing
vigil on Sunday May 31st, beginning at 6:30 PM in front of Somerville
High School. SOS wants to cast the net of community as widely as
possible, and anyone who has felt the pain of losing a loved one is
encouraged to participate.

When we see young lives ending at a
rate that is so disproportionate to our population, we must inevitably
ask, "Is this in some way systematic?"

SOS president Matthew
McLaughlin talks about the "Somerville slump." He sees a pattern of
young people who are about to leave high school or have recently left
and are facing the demands of adulthood. They realize that the life
that they had dreamed of will be much more difficult to achieve than
what they have been led to believe.

Matthew recalls that as a
child, options seemed limitless. But options have narrowed, and this is
not merely a matter of the changes in perception that come with aging.
He believes that demands on young people, including definitions of
"success," have increased significantly, while opportunities have
decreased.

Drugs become a means of managing despair. And one
gives little thought to reckless behavior if one is uncertain about
whether life is worth living.

Indeed, once embraced, drugs
undermine one's capacity to make life worth living. We grow when things
get hard and we have to develop new ways of thinking and acting to make
them better. If instead, we use a drug to numb the pain, we never learn
the skills required to change our circumstances, and we feel hopeless
when we try.

Drug-prevention educators often emphasize the
dangers of taking drugs. In fact, anyone who uses hard drugs is already
aware of those dangers. But they know that if they put their preferred
substance in their arm or up their nose, they will feel good for the
next few hours, and nothing else in their life offers that same promise
and certainty.

The incidence of drug use and suicide attempts
among Somerville's youth had been growing when, in late 2001, Matty
O'Brien's death from an overdose captured public attention. Some
informal leaders began coming together.

Stephanie Almeida, a
Somerville native who worked with Somerville Cares About Prevention
spent many long hours pouring over death records. Her labor of love
quantified a pattern that had gone unrecognized.

The official
response was less than effective. The mayor established a task force
and sent football coach John Hannah to…I don't know what. When
notices were posted at the high school to announce the task force's
first meeting, administrators insisted that the word "suicide" be
removed, because it might upset the students. Of course the students
were already upset, already knew well what the adults were discovering,
and needed reassurance that someone was doing something.

Tears
and rage are not hurt. They are the means by which we heal from the
hurt. When they are interrupted, healing becomes more difficult.

Local
community leader Alex Pirie participated in the task force. He observes
that those who were most affected were the last to be listened to. "As
with any community, it's difficult to face something that's seriously
wrong. You have to face the problem before you can deal with it.
Because we didn't, there were young people who died unnecessarily."

Many
friends and loved ones felt an impulse to create physical memorials for
those who died-photos, drawings, notes, flowers, artifacts, expressions
of grief. City officials and private property owners removed these
memorials. Instead of tidying things up, they would better serve us by
embracing them as an expression of community.

Intending to
create their own memorial, SOS encourages those who attend the vigil to
bring artifacts that remind them of their lost loves ones. They will
become part of a commemorative art project.

Those whom I know
who took their lives through intent or neglect did so because they felt
hopeless about making things better and they had become disconnected
from the network of relationships that holds us in this life. If we are
serious about creating a believable future for our young people, we
must change the objective conditions that produce despair. We must
reweave the fabric of community that hold us together, and we must
acquaint our youth with their own capacity to transform their lives.

SOS
is working to accomplish this. One of its many concerns is
gentrification. While Matthew McLaughlin hastens to say that
gentrification was not a reason why anyone took their life, he believes
that the increasing threat of being priced out of the community that
one has always been a part of contributes to the overall sense of
despair.

Yet SOS is not hostile to newcomers. The organization
is reaching out through the Immigrant Service Providers Group on Heath
to invite immigrants to participate in the healing vigil.

Jabrai Jordan Copney, 20, of New York City, New York,
turned himself in to authorities at the Cambridge Police Station
yesterday at approximately 7:10  p.m. He has been charged with murder,
accessory after the fact to murder, and possession of a firearm.  

At
today's arraignment, he was ordered held without bail in Cambridge
District Court. His next court appearance is scheduled for  July 15 for
a probable cause hearing.             

According to authorities,
on Monday, May 18, at approximately 4:48 p.m., the Harvard University
Police responded to the Kirkland House located on Dunster Street in
Cambridge on reports of shots fired. Cambridge Police were also
notified and responded to the scene.             

Cosby,
suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the abdomen, had left
the Kirkland House and stumbled to the intersection of Dunster Street
and Mount Auburn Street. He was transported to Beth Israel Hospital and
was pronounced dead  early on the morning of May 19.             

Massachusetts
State Police assigned  to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office,
Cambridge Police, and Harvard Police began an investigation into the 
circumstances of the shooting.             

Based on that
investigation, it was determined that the defendant, who is not
a student at Harvard University, was visiting friends at the campus. It
is alleged that the defendant, along with others,confronted Cosby in a
common area inside the Kirkland House. During the course of the
confrontation,multiple shots were fired. One of those shots struck
Cosby, resulting in his  death. It is believed that the defendant and
Cosby were known to one another.  

The defendant and others involved fled the scene. 

 This investigation
is ongoing into the circumstances of the shooting as well as into other
suspects who may have been involved.  

The prosecutor assigned
to the case is Assistant District Attorney and Senior Trial Counsel
Daniel Bennett. The victim witness advocate is Helena Clarke. The
case is being investigated by Harvard University Police, Cambridge
Police, and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex
District Attorney's Office.  

The
immediate and extended family of Justin Cosby is extremely grateful for
all of the love and support from friends, neighbors, childhood and
college friends, and everyone that has extended support in this trying
time. Justin was loved and respected by everyone that he came into
contact with, as there as there are so many that have a positive story
to tell when speaking of his kind heart, comical ways and loving
nature. "The boy with the smile that would always lend a hand" is how
so many have referred to him through the hundreds of people that have
been to visit with our family over the last couple days. We are still
in disbelief of the horror and shock of Justin's murder. He was not a
"hoodlum" or "gangster" – people actually laugh at the thought of him
being referred to in that manner.

Justin was a fashion
trendsetter, basketball player, student and self-admitted "mama's boy".
He was looking forward to picking up new studies, furthering his
aspirations to become successful and marrying his long-time girlfriend.
We know that Justin's wings will be on our shoulders to help us survive
God bringing him home for bigger tasks than he can do here on Earth.

In
support of the family, the Justin Cosby Memorial Fund has been
established and donations can be received at any Bank of America
nationwide.

The Wake will be held on Saturday, May 23 from 3:30
– 4:30pm at The Concord Baptist Church at 190 Warren Avenue (at West
Brookline St.) Boston, MA 02116. The Funeral service will immediately
follow the Wake at the same location. Justin will be buried in his
hometown of Richmond, VA.

Our angel Justin will be missed and will always be in our hearts and memories.

One
thing is for certain, based on his (emailed) response to a
constituent's email the week before – that "a discussion is something
that takes place either on the phone or in person. I don't blog and I
don't communicate through a listserve" – that he is 100% out of touch
with reality.

Welcome to the 21st Century, Lenny – welcome to
planet Earth. Hey, maybe he loves Newton and was born and raised there
and never left and yes, is part of an "old school" political
entrenchment that hearkens back to the days when local government
meetings weren't televised and elected officials made compromise by
either a hand to the throat in the hallway or a handshake and a Jameson
after the meetings.

Lord knows we have a few politicians in this
city that have been around for years and years and years. But so what?
What the Hell is so wrong with that? There's a little group that runs
around this city chanting for transparency and term limits and claims
that all the old school politicians who have been around for years are
crooks. Hey, not to rain on anyone's parade, but Senator Jehlen has
held elected office longer than anyone in Somerville – oh, but wait,
she's ok…she's the exception.

Right. Gotta love that "stare you in the face" double standard.

At
the other end of the spectrum, there are those out there, and
admittedly not very many of them in this particular instance, that
think Lenny might be misinformed somewhat, but not completely out of
line disparaging Somerville the way he did. After all, this city has
had it's share of mishaps and miscreants over the years…after all,
Newton is Newton – and well, Somerville is Somerville.

We will
take Somerville any day over Newton – and any jackass that is that far
gone should be voted right the Hell out of office – especially you,
Lenny Gentile – especially you.