A
crew from Cambridge Landscaping Company came to West Somerville
Wednesday morning to cut down a gargantuan weeping willow tree that had
hung over the neighborhood for more than 100 years. Four hours later,
with the tree still standing tall, all they had was proof that
Somerville loves its trees.

"It was the classic civil
disobedience confrontation," said Julia Prange, who lives at the corner
of Thorndike and Howard streets, where the tree sits on private
property. "The guys with chainsaws were yelling, 'Don't you have jobs?'
and 15 of us were just standing under the tree, protecting it."

In
Somerville, the densest city in New England with only 12 percent open
space, signs of the earth's natural beauty are especially cherished. A
controversial condominium development was halted in February when Mayor
Joseph A. Curtatone refused to allow a city tree to be cut down to
allow for construction.

And in June, a group of neighbors on
Craigie Street organized to oppose another condo plan that put a
90-year-old elm tree in jeopardy.

The sight of nature's beauty
in urban Somerville made Deborah Henson-Conant stop in her tracks one
night years ago on Thorndike Street. "It took my breath away," she said
of the old weeping willow at the center of last week's dispute. "Here
was this tree in the middle of the city and it was clear that someone
was protecting it. It's beautiful in its own right but the fact that it
was in Somerville, such an unexpected place, made it absolutely
beautiful to me. For me, the tree represented not only beauty but also
community."

Henson-Conant, an acclaimed harpist, was so moved
that she wrote a song about the tree, "Belinda." The song includes
lyrics such as: "Belinda, Belinda — the most beautiful tree in
town/Belinda, lean your lovely limbs down on me."

When someone
in the neighborhood told Henson-Conant, that they called the tree
Bertha, she wrote another tribute, this one titled, "Birth 'A Bertha"
with lyrics that go like this,

"Oh the Birth a Bertha was a
long time back/Down in Davis by the railroad track/Bertha, Bertha,
baby, don't you know/Bertha, Bertha – I love you so."

Henson-Conant
said when she performed the song in other states and in Europe, fans
would ask where the real Belinda (or Bertha) was.. And neighborhood
preschoolers, she said, sing the songs when they pass by the tree. "A
lot of people have a lot invested in that tree," she said..

The
four-hour standoff last week featured "verbal punches and a lot of
emotion," said Ellie Botshon who lives in the neighborhood and was part
of the group that saved the tree. Protesters, however, understand that
the tree sits on private property and if it is a danger should come
down.

The problem, they said, was the lack of communication from Joe Benoit who owns the property the tree hangs over.

Benoit
said after a rainstorm a few years ago in which tree branches fell and
smashed cars parked below, he pruned the tree to keep neighbors safe.
But the idea backfired, he said, when the pruning caused the willow to
grow taller but not stronger.

So when he hired Cambridge
Landscaping to cut the tree down last week, he said he was surprised at
the loyalty some neighbors had to the willow.

"I understand it
though," he said. "It's sort of heartwarming that people care for it
and appreciate it. Had I realized [cutting the tree down] was going to
be such a shock to people, I would have tried to get more information
out."

Still, he said, the tree is coming down. And despite their
initial reaction, neighbors understand. "Thousands of people have an
attachment to this tree," Botshon said. "If it is dangerous, take it
down. But the community is going to miss it."

Before any
chainsaws are taken to Belinda, Henson-Conant is planning to send the
old tree off right: with song. Today at approximately 3 p.m., she will
be joined at the corner of Thorndike Street by an Arlington High School
choir group to sing her tributes and say goodbye.

"I'm really
happy that [the standoff] allowed people to know the tree is coming
down and those of us who love it will have the chance to pay our
respects," she said.

The
12 new hires, in alphabetical order, are Patrick Casey, Michael Curtis,
Timothy Donovan, Jason Dorant, Barry Hamilton, Michael Jefferson,
Michael Khoury, Shaun Lyons, Brian MacMullin, Paul Moreira, Jocelyn
Velney, and Fernando Viveiros.

Each new firefighter was sworn
in at Thursday's Board of Aldermen meeting by City Clerk John Long, but
will need to complete academy training before entering full-time
employment with the fire department. The training will begin Jan. 5 at
the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow. Trainees are expected
to graduate in March.

Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche said most of the new hires were from Somerville.

The new hires were made possible by an $843,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"The
new personnel give us the flexibility to add a full-time pumper unit
and to bring Engine 4 back on line on a part-time basis," said Mayor
Joseph A. Curtatone. Eight more firefighters are expected to be added
to the force by 2009, according to city officials.

In another matter, aldermen also promoted four veteran firefighters Thursday.

Wallace Forrest was promoted to captain, and John Colbert, Vincent Lampley, and Thomas Tierney were promoted to lieutenant.

"I've
had the pleasure of working with four dedicated, exceptional officers
who I am proud to be able to promote to captain and lieutenant. Their
hard work has led to an exceptional department, and I congratulate them
on their well-earned promotions," said Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher.

Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz said Bruce
Lam, of Golden Light Restaurant on College Avenue, is being "singled
out" for "no good reason" after aldermen last month ruled that he must
stop serving food at midnight on weeknights and 1 a.m. on weekends.

For
26 years, after a failed try at serving lunch, Lam ignored city
regulations that called for him to close by 1 a.m. and stayed open
until 3 a.m. Golden Light menus told customers, "We stay open the
latest in town."

"I never had a hassle from the police or City
Hall" for almost three decades, Lam said last month when the city first
began to crackdown. "They were ok with it so I was ok with it."

After
directed police patrols requested by Alderman-at-Large John M. Connolly
made sure Golden Light closed on time, Lam said he lost 30 percent of
his business.

On Thursday, Gewirtz advocated for extended hours
for Golden Light, going up against other aldermen who criticized the
business. She presented a petition with signatures from 22 residents of
Ciampa Manor and said Lam was willing to pay for a police detail if
allowed to stay open until 2 a.m.

"As the Ward 6 alderman, I
believe this will be a significant benefit to the community to have a
police presence right on College Ave.," she said.

Other
aldermen, however, disagreed with Gewirtz's view and her tactics.
Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond said Gewirtz was "bullying her way
through the process" by advocating for Golden Light at a full board
meeting instead of the License and Permits sub-Committee.

"We're setting standards for a citywide policy," Desmond said. "We're trying to be fair and equitable across the board."

Gewirtz pointed out that Moe's BBQ Trolley is allowed to serve food until 3 a.m. on Professors Row near Tufts.

Other
aldermen who spoke on the issue were against extending the embattled
restaurant's hours. "Given [Lam's] past history, I don't think he'll
hold to the letter of the law," said Ward 7 Alderman Bob Trane.

Ward
1 Alderman Bill Roche said he has never voted to allow a restaurant to
stay open past midnight and will continue to oppose such measures. "I
don't want Somerville to be known as a city that when the bars close in
Boston or Cambridge, you can shoot through here and get some Chinese
food. That's not the reputation I want for this city," he said.

Gewirtz
said she would introduce an order at the next aldermen's meeting asking
that Golden Light's hours be extended. "I don't think there's anything
wrong with people getting a bite to eat at 2 a.m.," she said.

As part of the
ceremony, Fedele's sister, Frances DiFria, pulled the flag down,
unveiling the words "Anthony V. Fedele Way." Six members of the high
school drum line played "Somerville Leads the Way," officially
commemorating the dedication of the concourse.

"This dedication
is a small piece of the community saying thank you and forever will
memorialize all [Fedele has] done for us," said Mayor Joseph A.
Curtatone.

Although the concourse formerly memorialized all veterans, Fedele also served in the armed service.

"He
received the Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, the National
Defense Service Medal, the United States Service Medal,"

Curtatone said. "Dedication to country, sacrifice to community, Tony Fedele embodied it all."

When
Fedele died on May 14, 2007, at age 70, he left a legacy at Somerville
High School. Fedele, a teacher and headmaster for over 40 years,
created a scholarship foundation, had the National Honor Society named
after him and shaped the minds of many Somerville residents, including
Curtatone and Regina Pisa, Somerville Museum president.

"Good
teachers help students develop their talents, but great teachers help
students discover talents they never knew they had," Pisa said.

"By that definition, Tony Fedele was a great teacher."

The speakers at the ceremony emphasized Fedele's way of mentoring students and colleagues throughout their lives.

"He
remembered so many people at 14, 15 and 16 years old even as they got
to be 40, 50 and 60," said Eve Shelton-Jones, who spoke on behalf of
High School Headmaster Anthony Ciccariello.

Fedele, friends
said, embodied the spirit of Somerville. He participated in community
organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, Kiwanis International
and the Historical Society. He also taught as an adjunct professor at
Bunker Hill Community College.

"I believe this sign, although a
simple memorial, is going to say an awful lot about the values of this
city and the values that we're teaching our children about how
important education is," said Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond. "That
would mean a lot to Tony Fedele."

At times, Fedele left
Somerville, like when he got his masters at Brown University or moved
to Scituate near the end of his life, but he always came back.

"The
words in the song 'Somerville Leads the Way' were not idle words to
him," said Shelton-Jones. "He wanted everybody to know about the city
of Somerville. He wanted them to know the pride in his community,the
history in his community, and to feel it the way he did."

Now, Fedele's commitment to the community will not only be remembered. It will be set in stone. Well, metal to be exact.

"His legacy will live on," Curtatone said.

The city recently installed solar
panels on the roofs of Somerville High School and the Capuano School
and plans to install panels on the Argenziano School, the Central
Library and the Winter Hill School in a plan to save energy and money.

"We
are constantly looking for new opportunities to reduce our carbon
footprint and control energy costs," said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.
"By reducing the amount of energy used by City computers we are saving
both energy and money. This may seem like a relatively small step, but
$25,000 is real money, and this energy savings will bring us that much
closer to achieving our overall goal of a sustainable Somerville."

"The
implementation of this program not only reduces our energy usage as a
City, but sends an important message to our employees and our
residents. I would encourage all City employees to take additional
steps to reduce energy use both in the workplace and at home," said
David Lutes, director of the city's Office of Sustainability and
Environment.

And local activists and officials are not happy.

"Unless
there is a great deal of equity interjected into the…disproportionate
use of Somerville for maintenance and storage and other uses that don't
produce revenue for the city…how can you expect anyone to support
this plan?" asked State Rep. Denise Provost at a meeting on the issue
Wednesday. As she concluded, the audience of Somerville and Medford
residents erupted into applause.

In a recently released report
from the state, Yard 8 in the Inner Belt was recommended as the best
location for the maintenance and storage facility that would service
Green Line trains. The Inner Belt already hosts a maintenance facility
for commuter rail trains. Another facility there would block the area
off and end any hopes the city may have of commercial development that
could ease the burden on homeowners in the city, according to Chamber
of Commerce President Stephen Mackey.

At Wednesday's Green
Line Advisory Group meeting, some members voiced their disapproval of
the state's findings and were met with the public's thunderous applause.

"It
is not acceptable to hamstring development of the Inner Belt in order
to satisfy the MBTA's wish list," said city-appointed board member Jim
McGinnis.

Mackey tried to illustrate the transit office's bias
towards the Cambridge development NorthPoint. He quoted the state's
report: "By changing the original scope of the NorthPoint project,
there would be significant financial impacts to both the project
developer and the three municipalities."

"The only time you
let yourself be governed by a development plan is when NorthPoint is
involved," he said to state officials at the meeting. "All the other
schemes just involve Somerville. But the private interests, the public
interests, and the fiscal impact on the municipality are never raised."

The
entire facility would take up approximately 10 to 12 acres: an
estimated 5.5 acres for an 80-car storage yard, five acres for a 50,000
square foot maintenance facility, and one acre for employee parking.

Transit
office engineers examined 11 sites for the facility, seven of which
were located in Somerville, according to the report. Three of the 11
sites were deemed feasible and ten "schemes," or plans, were created
for those three sites.

Of the ten, engineers whittled the options down to three possible plans:

"Scheme
D2" would separate the storage yard and the support facility,
positioning the latter in "the least developable plot of land,"
according to project engineer John F. Burckardt. The plan would require
5.7 acres of privately owned land, including the entire 22 Water St.
planned-development site. It was determined as the most operationally
viable.

The city-proposed plan, "Scheme J," would not use Yard
8 and be "potentially compatible with Inner Belt development,"
according to the report. It would require 12.2 acres of privately owned
land, encompassing existing businesses within the J-shaped curve of
Inner Belt Road. The acquisition of this land would cost over $60
million and present a "very high risk" to delay the extension of the
Green Line through Somerville, according to the report.

The
report concluded that the state's initial recommendation, "Site 10,"
which is Yard 8 and an adjacent vacant lot referred to as "the grassy
knoll," is the best possible plan. It would require 6.2 acres of
privately owned land: the remaining two acres the MBTA does not own of
Yard 8 and all 4.2 acres of "the grassy knoll." The report lists it as
the least expensive plan and a low risk to delay the extension.

If
"Site 10" were chosen as the maintenance facility location, maybe the
most impacted Somerville residents would be those in the Brick Bottom
neighborhood. Several spoke at Wednesday's meeting.

"What struck
me about this whole discussion was the totally impersonal quality of
the analysis, the nonhuman analysis. There are 200 people living
there," said 77-year-old Brickbottom resident and artist George Gabin.
"For 20 years we created a community. Now, this tiny little place is
the center of all the development that you've planned. What will
happen? What will happen to our health? Maybe you're trying to get rid
of us."

The state transit office could not be reached for comment.

The
final decision rests with state officials, meaning Gov. Deval Patrick
will have the final say on the facility's location. The next step in
the process is the finalization of the yet-to-be-released Draft
Environmental Impact Report, a document originally scheduled for
September.

Some Advisory Group members requested the presence
of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development at the next
meeting. "If the state economic development board was part of this
process, I don't think we'd be at this problem at this late of a date,"
Mackey said.

The next Green Line Advisory Group meeting is
Wednesday, Dec. 1 at St. Clements High School (4 to 6 p.m., 579 Boston
Ave., Medford). Some members said they look to achieve more compromise
then.