Because
he once lived here, President Obama has announced that he will set up a
Somerville White House in the Brickbottom section of the city.

Mayor
Joe Curtatone has announced the formation of his new a cappella singing
group comprised of all city officials. Members will be from the School
Committee and Board of Alderman. The group will be called Joe and the
Curta-Tones. Tom Champion, with his resounding pipes, will be the main
vocalist. Frank Santangelo joins as the group's booking agent, George
Landers will run sound and Michael Browne will be the road manager. The
group will make their debut at the Mayor's Annual Senior Citizens
Picnic – Gene Brune will be the first featured guest soloist.

The
former traffic and parking officers will soon be ready to debut their
new positions as "The Roving Somerville City Singers." This will be
because the city has agreed to remove all parking meters and lift most
restrictions throughout the city. The 'Singers' will still wear their
uniforms, but will now merely pleasantly serenade motorists throughout
the city.

13 new restaurants will soon open in Davis square.

Joggers wearing spandex will now be banned from the bike trail during daylight hours.

George
Wood, Senior Program Director of Somerville City Cable TV, will be
hosting a show called "25 Years Of My Favorite Bloopers." It will be an
uncensored collection of outtakes, slips of the tongue and political
embarrassments from city cable's vast archives.

Somerville will institute a new 4 hour school day and add 2 months to summer vacation.

MCAS
testing will be replaced by honor system grading. Each student will be
able to give themselves the score they feel they deserve.

Somerville property taxes will be reduced by 50% in the next fiscal year.

Legendary
submarine sandwich maker Ross Blouin has agreed to return to McKinnon's
Market to resume his illustrious hoagie-making career. Davis Square
eateries are nervous speculating a rush the humongous heroes that Ross
creates.

Citing the success of the new solar powered trash cans
throughout the city, soon we will see solar powered robot crossing
guards in some school zones. They work much like the robot sweepers you
see on TV commercials. These new robot crossing guards will in fact be
able to cross people safely and sweep the streets at the same time. A
all-new model next year will include the ability to ticket and tow cars
as well.

A statue of Somerville's favorite bar singer Jimmy
Plunkett will be erected in the courtyard of Ciampa Manor. As you know,
the Manor is the former site of the Woodbridge Inn that housed The
Blarney Stone Pub. The statue will have the song "Charlie On The MTA"
piped into it.

That new cupcake place on Highland Ave will soon
take over the entire block. New offerings will be cupcakes for
breakfast, lunch and dinner – alone with veggie cupcakes and a new
prototype "on the go" cupcake.

Kay and Chips, The Venice Café,
and Frascatti's have announced they will be re-opening in Davis Square.
They are still waiting to hear plans from Butler's Music and Goff's
Auto. A management representative of the A&P was quoted as saying,
"we are looking for a suitable spot in the Davis Square area with a
concrete floor."

Back on the immense Somerville music front,
disco bands will make their triumphant return to the club behind the
Rosebud Diner in Davis Square. The Surrey Room will feature live
dancing with bands such as Mason Dixon and The Line, Marie Michaels and
The Dream Machine and a group featuring Vinnie Scrima.

Johnny D's will go back to an all country western musical line-up, except on Sundays, when lip-synch groups will return.

A
concert in the newly renovated Armory on Highland Ave will feature a
rock music festival of old retro city bands. Here is a list of bands
already on the roster: The Tools, Shadowfax, The Bill Connors Blues
Band, The Ellington Alley Band, The PJ Five, ETC., Indescribably
Delicious, The Boize, The Huns, The Echoes, The Works, Zenophon, Fire
Dept., Del Fusion, The Sled Dogs, The New Friendship Band, The
Wildcats, Radio Stench, Davis Square Goons, The McCain Brothers,
Electric Smile, Sudden Urge, Splash, CRT Band, Fly By Night, Upper
Crust, Hobbit, K Kiely Band, Solid Gold, The Fabulous Pharaohs, The
Great Pretenders, The Amazing Sensations, The Mini-Squirts, Ritchie and
the Rockets featuring Del Sonic Blast, The Nek, The Premieres, and
Dillinger.

Somerville's unofficial motto is "Somerville Rocks,"
which will be changed to "Somerville Rocks, why, it don't?" You can
email Jimmy directly with comments at jimmydel@rcn.com

Somerville Local First
Executive Director and 10 % Shift committee member Joe Grafton was on
hand with business representatives from throughout the city to receive
recognition from both the Aldermen and Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

"This
is going to support our local character and diversity," Curtatone said.
"I think that's what makes Somerville unique. In these economic times,
it's good that our dollars are staying here within our business
districts."

The 10% Shift is a coalition of businesses
throughout New England that has seen 277 people sign a pledge to spend
that amount of their budget locally since forming last fall. The group
claims that if five million households in New England signed the pledge
it would generate $5 billion and create 48,000 jobs.

Somerville
Local First, an alliance of business owners, formed in March 2008 to
create awareness of the support needed form the community in competing
against large chain stores.

"The 10 % Shift and Somerville
Local First first is one of the more exciting things happening now in
this city," Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz said at the board's March
25 meeting. "I think far too often we've seen what happens in other
areas when chains come in and take over, and the fabric and the nature
of that community is lost. And it's really lost for good."

Gewirtz
and Curtatone recently became the first elected officials to sign on to
the pledge, joining 45 Somerville residents who had signed up by the
end of March.

More information can be found at www.somervillelocalfirst.org and www.10percentshift.org.

In April 2008, the Office of Campaign and Political Finance
(OCPF) began an initial investigation into suspected violations of
campaign finance laws by Buonomo. In November 2008, OCPF referred the
matter to the Attorney General's Office for further investigation.
Authorities believe that on various dates between December 2004 and
July 2008, Buonomo withdrew funds from the Committee to Elect John
Buonomo for his personal use. Buonomo allegedly stole these funds using
two methods. First, investigators discovered that Buonomo allegedly
wrote checks to himself from the Committee's account, falsely stating
on the checks that he was reimbursing himself for postage he had bought
with cash. Second, investigators discovered that Buonomo also allegedly
stole funds from his campaign account by writing checks from the
Committee to Piro Printing for fictitious print jobs. Authorities
believe that Buonomo wanted to make it appear as though the printing
company was printing materials for the campaign, when in actuality
these services were never rendered. Investigators discovered that after
receiving the money from the Committee, Piro would allegedly refund the
funds back to Buonomo immediately, minus approximately $500 for each
transaction. Authorities believe that Piro also allegedly participated
in the creation of fake invoices for these transactions, so that it
would appear as if Buonomo had indeed used the company's printing
services. All of these fake invoices were created on the same day, and
were entered into Piro's accounting system in an effort to make the
transactions appear legitimate.

During the course of their
initial investigation, OCPF found that Buonomo allegedly submitted to
OCPF forged and altered bank records, forged and altered printing
invoices, as well as false written statements he had obtained from
postal employees. Investigators believe this was an effort by Buonomo
to mislead OCPF and to justify the taking of funds from his Committee.
Investigators from OCPF and the Attorney General's Office believe that
Buonomo stole approximately $100,000 from the Committee.

A
Middlesex Grand Jury returned indictments against Buonomo and Piro
today. Both men will be arraigned at a later date in Middlesex Superior
Court.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney
General Marc Jones of Attorney General Martha Coakley's Corruption and
Fraud Division, with assistance from Financial Investigator Jessie
Julian Dean and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney
General's Office. Sarah Hartry, Legal Counsel for the Office of
Campaign and Political Finance also investigated and assisted with this
case.

"The
MBTA should not be able to place freestanding billboards wherever
they'd like and without input from the communities affected. We all
recognize how desperate the MBTA is for new revenue. This amendment
allows for ample commercial advertising opportunities while striking a
balance by involving communities in discussions about the construction
and placement of these potentially towering structures," Senator
Galluccio said. "Billboards have gone up rapidly in Charlestown and
Somerville. Unfortunately, this amendment was not adopted, but local
communities should have some say and this conversation has to take
place. I expect this issue will be revisited as the legislative session
proceeds."

The transportation reform legislation passed by the
Senate consolidates multiple agencies into an independent authority
known as the Massachusetts Surface Transportation Authority (MSTA). The
reform package will potentially save the Commonwealth up to $6.5
billion over 20 years.

The Senate's bill must now go to the House for further action.

CO-SPONSORS:
Tapestry of Voices & Kaji Aso Studio in partnership with the Boston
Public Library, SAVE the DATE, Saturday, April 4th 10:00 A.M.- 4:45
P.M. OPEN MIKE: 1:30 to 4:00P.M. The Festival will be held at the
library's main branch in Copley Square. FREE ADMISSION

53 Major and Emerging poets will each do a ten minute reading; ALSO

Featuring
six extraordinarily talented prize winning high school students: Dianna
Willard & Joshua Mejia from Boston Latin High School; Yolanda Cruz,
Peter Li & Yamira Serret: Boston Arts Academy; Gabriella Fee:
Walnut Hill School for the Arts. These student stars will open the
Festival at 10:00 A.M. SAM CORNISH, Boston's current and first Poet
Laureate will open the formal part of the Festival at 11:00 A.M. 52
additional major and emerging poets will follow.

POETRY MARATHON

Some
of the many luminaries include SAM CORNISH, Diana Der Hovanessian,
Richard Wollman, Jennifer Barber, Afaa M. Weaver, Barbara
Helfgott-Hyett, Dan Tobin, Ellen Steinbaum, Charles Coe, Ryk McIntyre,
Elizabeth McKim, Regie O'Gibson, Kate Finnegan, Michael Bialis, Gary
Tucker, (Kaji Aso Studio), Marc Widershien, Sandee Story, CD Collins,
Marc Goldfinger, Diana Saenz, Stuart Peterfreund, Valerie Lawson,
Joseph DeRoche, Frannie Lindsay, Ifeanyi Menkiti, Dick Lourie , Mark
Pawlak, Lainie Senechal, Harris Gardner, Joanna Nealon, Susan Donnelly,
Irene Koronas, Doug Holder and a Plethora of other prize winning poets.

This Festival has it all: Professional published poets, celebrities, numerous prize winners, student participation, OPEN MIKE.

Even
more, it is about community, neighborhoods, diversity, Boston, and
Massachusetts. This popular tradition is one of the largest events in
Boston's Contribution to National Poetry Month. FREE ADMISSION!!!

FOR INFORMATION: Tapestry of Voices: 617-306-9484 or 617-723-3716

Library: 617-536-5400

Wheelchair
accessible. Assistive listening devices available. To request a sign
language interpreter, or for other special needs, call
617-536-7855(TTY) at least two weeks before the program date.

Abandoned Chair

A leaf-littered chair sits

in the woods behind

the school.

The deskless seat stares

at train tracks, nothing,

and wishes for an occupant,

oblivion, between trees

in autumn's fall.

Leaves weep and pool

beneath the abandoned,

drowning the lonely

in the forgotten dead.

They crunch in my booted tread.

I steal out

to learn the unteachable

lessons of decay,

to share the solitude

of noon.

Co-dependent cast-offs

supporting each other

in the certainty of a sharp

October afternoon.

–Cameron Mount

"Our goal is to
give Somerville youth an opportunity to use their own experiences,
their voices, and their unique talents to raise awareness about the
issues affecting their lives and the community and inspire their peers
to work together toward positive change" said Stephanie Berkowitz, the
Director of External Relations for Teen Empowerment.

At the
conference, themed "The Faces of Change: The Changes We Face,"
presentations by youth speakers will be used to foster dialogue among a
diverse group of participants. Using mediums such as rap, poetry, plays
and dance, youths will have a chance to express their perspectives on
issues that affect them, including teen pregnancy, gang violence,
immigration.

The conference will kick off with a "Jobs and
Services Fair" that will provide participants with information on local
services available to Somerville youths, and expose them to potential
employers. There will also be a fashion design workshop, an address
from Mayor Curtatone, and a speech by Terrel Walton, a former
Somerville High School student who was left partially paralyzed by a
gang-related shooting.

The conference will also highlight Teen
Empowerment's "successful efforts to improve youth outcomes in
Somerville over the past few years," according to Berkowitz. One such
successful effort came out of the 2007 conference, where teens
identified a lack of summer job opportunities for the city's teenagers,
and sent a letter to the Mayor's Youth Council. Their appeal led to
increased funding in the city's budget to create more jobs, and to the
appointment of a summer youth employment coordinator.

Last
year's conference drew a crowd of almost 700 young people, according to
organizers, and they expect a similar turnout this year. The conference
will run from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Somerville High School.
Tickets are $3, and the admission cost covers lunch. For more
information, you can visit Teen Empowerment's Web site,
http://www.teenempowerment.org/somerville/, or call them at
617-628-0710.

Whether
it's the stimulus bill, or the plan to flush "toxic" assets from the
financial system, or health care reform, or a sustainable approach to
transportation, or the adoption of better environmental policy, all
eyes are on Washington these days – including the eyes of municipal
officials across the country. After all, all of these issues, and a lot
more, are of immediate and compelling interest to local governments and
the residents they serve.

I have the privilege of serving on the
Board of Directors of the National League of Cities (NLC), the
Washington-based non-profit organization that provides advocacy and
policy analysis for America's urban communities. From Saturday March
14th through Wednesday the 18th, the NLC held its Congressional Cities
Conference, which is an annual event designed to highlight urban issues
and concerns for Congressional leaders and staff as well as for the
White House and Cabinet officials. I attended the conference in the
company of Alderman at Large Jack Connolly and Ward 2 Alderman Maryann
Heuston, who both serve on key NLC policy committees. (Maryann serves
on the Community and Economic Development steering committee and Jack
is on the steering committee for Transportation Infrastructure and
Services).

It was an extremely useful trip. We heard from the
Obama Administration about its plans to distribute $1 billion in new
Community Oriented Policing (COPS) Program funding – and you can bet
that we'll be pursuing a share of that money for Somerville, where we
have rolled out a comprehensive community policing strategy over the
past year. We heard from Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood,
who briefed us on DOT's efforts to pump transportation stimulus dollars
into local economies – which is especially gratifying for Somerville
when you consider how much transit development is occurring within our
borders (and how important transit improvements will be to our future
economic development and quality of life). We heard from Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson and Energy Secretary
Steven Chu about the commitment made by the Obama Administration to
support green jobs and clean tech with incentives and economic
development dollars.

If you live or work in Somerville, all of
these news items should be music to your ears: After years of neglect,
mistrust, and even open conflict, the federal government's agenda is at
last starting to align with the strategies and policies we've been
pursuing here in Somerville. Especially at a time of constrained
resources and economic uncertainty, it makes a huge difference to have
strong executive branch allies at the federal level to match the
support and leadership we've been getting from Governor Patrick and his
team.

We don't know yet how much stimulus funding and other
federal grant money we'll see here in Somerville over the next couple
of years, but at least we can expect a fair shake. What we are trying
to do here – build a sustainable future based on transit-oriented,
mixed use development; green- and clean-tech industrial activity and
constantly improving public education – is precisely the type of local
agenda that the federal government is trying to support.

But
perhaps the single most encouraging trend we noticed in Washington is
the reemergence of the Massachusetts congressional delegation as major
powerbrokers in all aspects of federal policy. I saw Senator John Kerry
only briefly, but you may recall that he visited Somerville at the
beginning of the month to voice his strong commitment to Assembly
Square. Anybody who saw the media coverage of that event will tell you
that Senator Kerry has a deep and detailed understanding of Assembly
Square's potential, the size of the positive economic impact it brings
to the city and the region, and the importance of federal support for
the transportation and utility infrastructure needed to make the
project work.

On this Washington trip, I had a much longer visit
with Mike Capuano, and it bodes very well for Somerville's future that
our Congressman has risen so high in the House Democratic leadership –
and become such a strong and effective advocate not just for Somerville
but for cities across the nation. Congressman Capuano is not only a
senior member of the House Financial Services Committee and the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, but – maybe more important
-a senior and trusted member of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Democratic
leadership team.

In these days of fiscal and economic
uncertainty for our city, state and nation, nobody should pretend that
our short-term future is looking very bright – but thanks to the
effective representation Somerville enjoys in Washington, we can be
confident of getting the attention and support we deserve.

The City of
Boston's transportation department and its consulting team, Tetra Tech
Rizzo and the Cecil Group, led the third community meeting at the
Knights of Columbus in Charlestown with a few dozen residents to ponder
design alternatives. Since the past two meetings had covered
neighborhood concerns with the area and plans for Sullivan Square, the
focus on Monday night was on the area south of Sullivan Square,
including Austin Street, Rutherford Avenue and City Square.

Organizers
have completed the planning phase and are now in the conceptual design
stage. This summer and fall planners will draw up a consensus design
for the whole corridor that stretches from Mishawum Street to City
Square.

The $100 million project was accepted as a major
infrastructure project in the state's long range plan. The good news
for the state is that $1 billion of stimulus dollars will go toward
funding projects such as this, with $20 million appropriated for
Federally-funded highways coming into Boston, said a representative
from Congressman Michael Capuano's office.

"The planning stage
is "where it all happens" and gives residents the opportunity for
input, said Boston Transportation Department Commissioner Tom Tinlan,
who added the city wants to ensure that project managers protect and
enhance Sullivan Square and Rutherford Avenue that serve as the
"jewels" of the city.

Mike Hall, the project manager for Tetra
Tech Rizzo, outlined the following issues that consultants working on
the project wanted to address:

o The lack of a crosswalk on Rutherford Avenue

o The lack of a direct connection to Paul Revere Park

o Rutherford Avenue is unnecessarily wide, encompassing nine lanes

o There are poor sight lines for pedestrians

o The crosswalk across Chelsea Street is not ADA compliant.

On
the outbound side of Rutherford Avenue toward the bridge, the road can
be narrowed by one lane. Filling in the unused left-hand lane will
create a 20-foot median to separate the north and southbound traffic. A
crosswalk across the eight lanes and modified light signs will allow
pedestrian access.

A continuous bike and pedestrian path will run alongside the corridor and cross over Rutherford Avenue alongside the crosswalk.

Landscaping
(hardy, drought-resilient plants) and a continuous linear park-like
edge will green the area and allow for meeting spaces and tot lots,
said Steven Cecil of The Cecil Group. It will also provide
opportunities to redevelop the land alongside the corridor that is
consistent with neighborhood plans, he said.

Residents were
generally receptive, but came up with questions and suggestions to
fine-tune the concepts. For example, they stressed that the wide
sidewalks are important, as that area sees heavy pedestrian traffic.

Some
were not too fond of on-street parking along Rutherford Avenue, while
others questioned the availability of parking in that area to
accommodate the retail businesses in City Square.

The medians must also be maintained, as other medians in the city have been neglected, a resident said.

Traffic
volume on Rutherford Avenue has decreased by 40% since 1997, according
to Tinlan, so planners will consider slowing traffic down with traffic
signals, while acknowledging that they can't create congestion that
would tempt motorists to cut through neighborhoods. Planners will also
look at how to accommodate the variety of traffic that includes MBTA
buses, trucks and cars.

The Rutherford Avenue underpass could
also be taken away and the streets graded at one level. Doing so would
also need to happen at Sullivan Square, Cecil said. If the underpass
remained, one lane of traffic would pass in either direction with a
grade separating the two lanes.

Regarding the Austin Street
area, planners would like to get rid of the strange U-turn there. Doing
so could allow for a more creative use of the space, such as erecting a
coffee shop for Bunker Hill community College students. If Bunker Hill
Community College changes its access from the Austin Street area, the
crosswalks could be shorter and allow for some landscaping, but the
city would need to talk to the college, Tinlan said.

The
72-foot-wide underpass at Austin Street could also be narrowed to about
58 feet, the retraining wall moved over, the sidewalks widened and a
bike connection installed, Cecil said.

Planners will post all project updates at www.cityofboston.gov/transportation/rutherford/ sometime next week.

Neighbors
at the first planning meeting in July voiced the following concerns
with the Rutherford Avenue/Sullivan and City Squares areas:

o Pedestrian access between the neighborhood and the Sullivan Square station

o Bus circulation and access at Sullivan Square station

o Main Street and cut-through traffic

o Truck impacts and traffic

o Traffic lanes and speed reduced on Rutherford Avenue

o Pedestrian access improvements at City Square

o Bike lanes are needed