We were at the caucus last Wednesday night in Waltham. Some of us were there covering it as a news story, one of us was there as a voting delegate. None of us were working for a candidate that evening (full disclosure – the one person who was a delegate did vote for Sean O’Donovan).

It was an experience being there – to watch a vital part of the democratic process – in full swing. There were people from all over the county ready to vote and stump for one of 13 candidates for Democratic Nomination for Middlesex County Register of Probate.

There was a story born that night, which has taken on a life of its own – a story that has been told and retold with several variations by people with their own personal and political agendas. When you read the Lowell Sun version, you can understand their sense of pride for their hometown candidate Maria Sheehy. Fair enough, but it’s when you start digging into the nominal and fringe weblogs and supposed ‚Äúnews‚Äù type online outlets that have twisted the story into something bizarre, you have to wonder why they go through all the trouble.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Federal Realty Investment Trust this week announced that the first annual ‚ÄúFireworks on the Mystic‚Äù will take place Saturday October 4 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. along the Mystic River waterfront across from the Assembly Square Marketplace.  Beginning at 4 p.m., the event will include food catered by Redbones, family- and kid-friendly games and entertainment, and will conclude with a major fireworks display at 7:30 p.m. The event marks the beginning of the next phase of Assembly on the Mystic,  the new mixed-use Assembly Square development. Demolition to clear the way for new construction began last week.

Fluff festival sweetens Union Square

By Jack Nicas

Archibald Query’s 1917 creation in his Union Square kitchen has passed the test of time.

Somervillians and Fluff enthusiasts from across the country gathered to celebrate his white fluffy concoction Sunday, 91 years later, in the place where it all started.

Despite the gloomy weather, hundreds turned out for the third annual “What the Fluff?” Festival, a Union Square Main Streets and ArtsUnion collaboration. Some festival goers showed their love by dressing up as dollops of Fluff, eating unlikely Fluff concoctions and styling Fluff hairdos. But one Fluff-lover topped them all.

By Patrick Connolly

“Nowadays…it becomes more obvious to me that we need leaders. We need an individual that has a certain binding connection and vision,” said the Sakyong, a member of a panel of world leaders who spoke in Somerville Thursday.

The panel included Queen Noor of Jordan, Rabbi Irwin Kula and the Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, an incarnate lama and leader in Shambhala Buddhism.

By Jack Nicas

Boys Soccer

After a 4-1 defeat to Everett Tuesday, Sept. 23, Somerville boys soccer bounced back Thursday, shutting out Cambridge 4-0. The momentum couldn’t last past the weekend though, as the team was blanked Monday by Bedford 1-0. Head coach George Scarpelli’s squad now stands even at 3-3-1.

Sophomore Homero Morais was at it again Thursday, scoring two of the team’s four goals and assisting the others. The performance gives him nine goals on the season, accounting for exactly half the amount that have come from Somerville players all season.

By George P. Hassett

When a proposal to regulate the condo conversion process returned to aldermen this summer after being roundly rejected by an outraged public in 2006, supporters stressed that the Greater Boston Real Estate Board participated in drafting the new version.

However, earlier this month the board clearly expressed that it “does not support [the ordinance] and made it clear to all parties involved in the creation of the ordinance that as an organization, GBREB can not support it.”

Federal Realty Investment Trust and Mayor Joe Curtatone are sponsoring the first annual “Fireworks on the Mystic” this Saturday, Oct. 4 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the bank of the Mystic River across from the Assembly Square Marketplace – there will be food, games and fun for the entire family with a large fireworks display starting around 7:15 p.m. This is the first of hopefully a long time tradition.

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Also on Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Holiday Inn on Washington Street, The Somerville Democratic City Committee Picnic will be held from noon to 4:00 p.m. – there will be complimentary food and a cash bar Рall Democrats are welcome. Contact Lauren@somdems.org for further information.

Pentecostal Church will replace notorious gang’s headquarters

By George P. Hassett

It was once the home of a brutal band of gangsters and thugs. But within months, if one preacher has his way, the building on Marshall Street will be filled with believers praising God.

The building at 12-14 Marshall Street, a landmark in the history of 20th Century organized crime as the headquarters for the Winter Hill Gang, will be reborn in January as a Pentecostal Church devoted to “uplifting and winning the lost at any cost,” said new owner Collin Greene.