By Mia Lamar

Sometimes Lucy Holstedt dreams of living in the country. Leaving the city behind for good, and taking a one-way trip up north. All rustic mountains and lazy days by the pond.

Holstedt, a 15-year resident of Somerville, even wrote a song about it. However, when writing the song, she found that while ‚Äúliving‚Äù in the country, she dreamed of life back in the city, where ‚Äúthe basement bars down the block/laundrys open ’til 12 o’clock.‚Äù

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.)

Kids today can wear just about anything they want to at school – when I was at Somerville High School in the late 60’s and early 70’s, we had a ‚Äúdress code.‚Äù No jeans, or dungarees, as we called them back then. We were at the height of the ‚Äúhippie‚Äù era – all the boys had long hair and all the girls wore mini-skirts. Some of us even wore beads‚Ķreally! Those that could grow sideburns grew them.

We also had many things to be angry about – and at the top of the list was the war in Vietnam. There was always the underlying threat of ‚Äúif you flunk out of high school, you will be drafted.‚Äù Today’s school kids have the threat of not graduating because of MCAS hanging over them.

By George P. Hassett

A 14-year-old boy was stabbed walking home from class at the Winter Hill Community School on Tuesday, the knife missing his lung by inches, according to the boy’s father.

Two weeks before the incident the boy found a threatening note on his desk at school that said, "I’ll kill you" and was signed "MS-13," the father said. School officials and a police officer assigned to the building were alerted to the threat but, according to the father, did little to prevent it.

By George P. Hassett

You may not know him but if you live in Somerville he has probably called your home as early as 6:45 a.m. to warn you of snow emergencies, street closings or busted sewer pipes under Somerville Avenue.

His voice has become part of the Somerville way of life and now a tribute to Tom Champion, director of communications for the city and the voice of 90 percent of the 268 mass notification calls known as Connect-CTY, has found its way into cyberspace.

By Walter Smelt

American punk was born in a dive bar and music club whose name stood for Country, Bluegrass and Blues, which is the kind of music the owner expected to book there. Instead, the Ramones started playing at CBGB’s and turned the music world upside down. So in an upside-down kind of way, it seems appropriate that Somerville’s own dive bar and music club should book bands whose members grew up on punk but found their way back to punk’s roots in older American music: music like rockabilly, rhythm and blues, and country. Of course it’s the Abbey Lounge we’re talking about, which last Saturday night hosted a sold-out show in which all these traditions were represented-and not just represented, but resuscitated.

By George P. Hassett

Three Somerville aldermen will serve on a national policy committee for the Washington-based National League of Cities.

Ward 7 Alderman Robert C. Trane will serve on the Steering Committee on Energy, Environment and National Resources, Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston will become a member of  the Steering Committee on Community and Economic Development and Alderman-at-Large  John M. Connolly was appointed to the Policy Committee on Transportation Infrastructure and Service. 

Whether you use it as a noun or an adjective, the word “progressive” means pretty much the same thing Рmovement forward with new ideas and in different directions than the “status quo.” We find the Progressive Democrats of Somerville, especially those behind it, lacking when it comes to truly progressive ideas in the community Рin fact, the PDS should not go by the moniker “progressive” at all.

Maybe it would be different if they as a group didn’t turn into the very people they originally set out to unseat politically – but they did. Too bad. Youth and liberal ideas do not a progressive group make, period.

By George P. Hassett

Neighbors angry about a sober house they say is anything but sober, will have a chance to air their complaints publicly at an upcoming Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, city officials said this week.

City spokeswoman Lesley Delaney Hawkins said Inspectional Services Director George Landers went to 31 Wilton St. and determined that owners Michael Cartolano and Russell Colombo did not have the necessary permits needed to operate the home as a sober house. Cartolano and Colombo will have to apply for the permits with the Zoning Board of Appeals which will hold a public hearing on the issue. The date of the public hearing has not yet been determined, she said.

Wow and we thought the Progressive Democrats of Somerville weren’t very open – now we find out that the Somerville Democratic City Committee, behind closed doors, is about to announce at their meeting this coming March 10th, a new slate of officers – ok, well maybe not so new‚Ķseems kind of funny that the Democratic Party here in Somerville behaves more and more like the Politburo. Some of us here at The News and Newstalk have been members of the Democratic Ward/City Committee for over 30 years – and quite frankly can’t recall an election for officers so underhanded and non-Democratic‚ĶThe proposed new chairperson is a Ms. Chang – and oh yeah, don’t worry, Helen isn’t retiring from the committee – she’s running for treasurer we hear. One off the record elected official made the remark to us that this was done to keep out the so-called ‚ÄúProgressives‚Äù – and before you get all huffy with us, we weren’t happy about that kind of remark either. Regardless of who wants in or not, in the end we think the process should be open and above-board – this meeting on the 10th could be interesting.

By George P. Hassett

Somerville Police drug unit detectives seized 196 grams of heroin and more than a pound of cocaine in three drug busts over two days last week in East Somerville.

Two of the busts were the result of a cooperating witness who identified Angel Enrique Moreno, 22, and Carlos Euelio Chavez, 38, both of Revere, as main suppliers of heroin and cocaine in the area, police said. Moreno and Chavez were arrested separately, seven hours apart on Friday.