By George P. Hassett

On Friday morning Vinny Vicente opened his Gilman Square gas station for the day the same way he had six days a week since 1978 — waving to early-morning commuters who pass by his station each morning and honk hello. But this wasn‚Äôt a beginning it was an ending. After 30 years on Medford Street, the Vicente‚Äôs ‚Äì Tito, Vinny and Aderito ‚Äì have sold their business, a neighborhood landmark, and Friday was the last day the station was Vicente-owned.

Throughout the day, customers came into the station to say goodbye, exchanging hugs, well wishes and stories. Brian Langton said he would miss more than the gas. “I’m going to miss the conversation and the laughter and the banter.”

By William C. Shelton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

This summer represents something of a milestone for me. I’ve now been in Somerville longer than I lived in California, where I am ‚Äúfrom.‚Äù So, I’m thinking about the differences between there and here.

Just about every year when December arrives, I think that I must be self-destructive to live here. Decades ago, I stopped having the flashbacks and anxiety attacks associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. But depression is one of its legacies that I must regularly deal with. For some reason, the dark of Somerville’s winter gets it going.

Off The Shelf By Doug Holder

Blue Land by C.D. Collins (Polyho Press 10 Howard St. Somerville, Mass http://www.polyho.com).

In Somerville C.D. Collins, lives amidst the east coast literary establishment. The fiction that is produced in these parts is often first rate. It often deals with the young, the disaffected, the urbane and privileged. The characters often are jaded, over-educated, underemployed, and, in short, not reflective of the hinterlands south, west and even north of the Brahmin waters of the Charles River.
But in the west of Somerville, Collins writes about the folks who habituated the bygone tobacco farms of rural Kentucky, and other gone-to-seed burgs. Like William Faulkner or Flannery O’Connor she writes with a gothic and highly emotional acumen that is at times striking. Collins who moved to Somerville from Kentucky some years ago, is an accomplished singer/songwriter as well as poet, who now has written a collection of short stories titled ‚ÄúBlue Land.‚Äù  It examines the lives of mostly agrarian, poor white folks in an unsentimental, authentic, and even spiritual style.

By Mario Barros (Lenguaviva)

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

The positive feedback I got on a recent body modification article that I published in this paper has encouraged me to do two things: I’m getting my first tattoo (very soon, I promise), and I’m devoting a few lines to another type of drawing that I find equally inspiring: graffiti.

I have been a graffiti lover since I was a kid. I used to scribble all kinds of things on the walls of my Cuban high school and felt a huge adrenaline rush whenever I did it. Man, was it exciting! I never stopped doing it, even when my girlfriend urged me to knock it off one day. ‚ÄúWhat do you have to do that for, you idiot? It’s horrible!‚Äù she told me. Needless to say, I broke up with her right there. No unappreciative young lady was going to derail my artistic dreams at such an early stage.

On The Silly Side By Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Memorial Day is a solemn occasion – it is a day that we remember the men and women who gave their lives – the ultimate sacrifice – for our country. As we all kept that in mind, we also took time out to celebrate their memory and their honor – let’s not forget why we had the parade in the first place.

2.3 miles – that is what someone told me was the distance from City Hall to the reviewing stand at the Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery on Clarendon Hill. My day started out with a hello to Grand Marshall – Mr. James O’Donovan. I then marched, and waved with the Somerville Highlander Band, led by Rosemary Sears and Rick Saunders. These two wonderful teachers and mentors did a fabulous job rehearsing and preparing these kids for their big day – for many it was their first parade. This city is very lucky to have such dedicated and talented instructors sharing their talent with our kids. Congratulations also to my son Joey – who played the alto saxophone in his first parade.

By Matthew McLaughlin

Hundreds of high school students gathered in the State House Wednesday to voice their concern over standardized testing. Speakers, including teachers and elected officials, demanded changes to a test they claim is holding children back.

Stanley Pollack, director of Teen Empowerment, a non-profit organization in the Greater Boston area, called the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam an “abysmal failure” and called on the state to make broad sweeping changes to the way the test is run.

By George P. Hassett

The state’s Supreme Judicial Court reversed the decisions of two lower courts this week, allowing Frank Senesi, the city’s director of veterans services, to keep his job.

Paul Nelson, a veteran employed at the Somerville Public Library, had challenged Senesi’s appointment in Jan. 2004 saying the city, under its collective bargaining agreement, was required to hire a member of the Municipal Employees Association. The city contended state law gave the mayor exclusive authority to appoint the position.

By Matthew McLaughlin

Somerville teenagers recently had an encounter with police that resulted in some harsh words being exchanged.

“Racism!” one youth shouted.
“Gangs!” an officer yelled back.
“Respect!” another teen hollered.
“Graffiti!” Another cop proclaimed.

The verbal exchange was not part of a street fight, however. Both groups were shouting assumptions people make about cops and teens. This was one of many activities Teen Empowerment, a non-profit organization in Somerville, used in a three-day workshop to create greater dialogue between two groups that are often at odds with each other. Police from Somerville, Medford and Everett participated in the event.

By George P. Hassett

When aldermen submit their ethics reports this week, city lawyers with black pens will stymie the public’s ability to learn potential conflicts of interest by redacting nearly all information contained in the reports.

But last week four aldermen said they planned to make their ethics reports available to the public in full and some criticized the city solicitor’s redactions as an obstacle to transparent government.

City: Trant had man committed to make a profit

By George P. Hassett

Scott Trant joined the Somerville Police Department in December 1998. He received several commendations for on the job heroics, including one incident in 2004 when he rushed into a burning building on Flint Street to save an elderly couple.

But on Sept. 20, 2006 Trant was fired from the department, forced to surrender his badge and gun, after city officials alleged that he had a mentally-ill man involuntarily committed to a mental health facility to ease his purchase of a Vernon Street home at a deep discount.