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.)

(Editor‚Äôs Note:  Jimmy DelPonte is a well-known local radio personality and Somerville native who has always been more than generous with his time to help out our community and local organizations. His father was a dear friend of ours and we are lucky to have him as a regular guest commentator here. We know you will enjoy his stories and anecdotes about living in this great city of ours. Enjoy.)

Silly is my way of life.

I have earned a living being silly in the Boston radio scene since 1986. I have played in silly bands with silly names such as The Sled Dogs. Being silly is a way of life for me. It also comes in handy when you have two boys ages 9 and 11. (I am a big Sponge Bob and Nick at Nite fan!)      

When state voters overwhelmingly supported Deval Patrick last November, who could have imagined we would get Bugsy Siegel for governor? Patrick’s proposal for three casinos in the state takes what could be a good possibility for new revenues and wastes it.

The Commonwealth is in need of money, no doubt about it. But is it worth filling our communities with multiple casinos and all the social ills they bring with them? We say no.

A single casino in Western Massachusetts could balance the need for new income while maintaining the historic and cultural charm that attracts thousands of tourists each year.

By Kim Geronimo

Tiki music, Polynesian dance, Hawaiian shirts, and leis filled Union Square during last Friday’s “Hawaiian Nights” festival. Plastic palm trees graced the stage, along with colored paper lamps and two surfboards. Scenes of surfers and crashing waves played across a projection screen behind the performers.

But despite the décor and sounds of Hawaii, there was no forgetting the true location of the show. Cars zoomed by endlessly along Somerville Avenue – the four-lane road that tightly hugs one side of the square – and the white strips of the parking lot were still visible beneath the fold out chairs arranged in front of the stage. Swaying gracefully to the music, one of the Polynesian dancers had tattoos fully covering her bare forearms and stomach; a strange sort of metaphor for Union Square’s blend of cultural initiatives in its gritty landscape.

By George P. Hassett

Governor Deval Patrick‚Äôs proposal to build three casinos in different regions of the state could saturate the area with gambling, cut into existing lottery revenues and irreparably damage the state‚Äôs historic charm, according to two Somerville legislators who oppose the measure. 

State Representatives Carl M. Sciortino, D-Somerville, and Denise Provost, D-Somerville, both said they are skeptical of Patrick‚Äôs promise that casinos in the state will generate 20,000 new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenues annually.   

By George P. Hassett

Two women wanted on more than a dozen outstanding warrants used a four-year-old girl to help them shoplift items from Kmart in Assembly Square on Wednesday, Sept. 12, according to police.

Tarshesha Ross, 26, of 96 Heath St., and April Robinson, 26, of 150 Walnut St, Roxbury, allegedly walked into Kmart with two young children and stole 17 items, including kid’s jewelry, worth a total value of $61.

Elections for the Primary are this coming Tuesday, Sept. 25 ‚Äì the only citywide primary is for mayor. We don‚Äôt think we‚Äôre going too far out on a limb here, but we predict Joe Curtatone with about 65-70 percent and Suzanne Bremer in second and Rick Scirocco in third‚Ķyou think he will ask for a recount? The only other race is another slam-dunk with Rebekah Gewirtz (we can‚Äôt say Princess anyone, the Progressives get all upset with that moniker) and we predict candidate Charles Chisholm to nominate along with her easily in Ward 6. There will be a low turnout ‚Äì too bad there weren‚Äôt primaries elsewhere in the city.    

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Last Saturday morning, Ronaine Quigley Рlifelong resident of Winter Hill Рwas rushed to the Mt. Auburn Hospital and on Sunday was operated on. We hope she is home and mending real soon. Ronaine and John Quigley are very popular at St. Ann’s and in the Winter Hill neighborhood – they’re very nice people – and we are praying for her here at The News.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(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.)

Anyone who cares about Somerville’s future knows that ongoing investment in transportation improvements and infrastructure is essential – not just for economic reasons, but also for environmental and quality-of-life issues. If we want to ensure that Somerville thrives as a great place to live, work and play, we need to protect and upgrade the transportation resources we have, and we need to generate new transportation options for the future.

Obviously, transit is a big part of the overall transportation picture – in fact, it’s the crucial part. That’s why we’re continuing to fight for completion of the Green Line Extension by 2014, and why we’re working with Congressman Michael E. Capuano, our legislative delegation and concerned community groups to expedite construction of the new Orange Line station at Assembly Square. After all, transit not only provides an efficient, environmentally sound alternative to driving, but it also helps reduce congestion and speed up traffic for those who remain on the road. At the same time (and as Davis Square has so dramatically shown us) transit generates the kind of pedestrian activity that supports a wide array of businesses, and encourages development of new housing and office space – all of which adds to our tax base as well as the strength of the local economy.

By George P. Hassett

Somerville police are looking for a 16 to 19 year old clean cut black male in connection with a robbery and assault at 158 Broadway Sunday morning.

At about 7:15 a.m. a store clerk who was opening up a business for the day, was confronted by a suspect with a gun, police said. The suspect allegedly demanded cash and then physically assaulted the victim.  The suspect fled on foot toward Sullivan Square with an undisclosed amount of money, police said. 
 

By George P. Hassett

Elected officials and city residents voiced their anger over another delay to the long proposed Green Line extension through the city at a public meeting with state officials on Sept. 6.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said he was “shocked, saddened and frustrated” that Gov. Deval Patrick, who won wide support in Somerville during last year’s elections and campaigned on a platform of transit-oriented growth, would continue a long history of delays for the important project.

Off The Shelf by Doug Holder

Somerville poet Afaa Michael Weaver is a professor at Simmons College in Boston, and the author of several acclaimed poetry collections, the most recent titled “The Plum Flower Dance” ( University of Pittsburgh Press-2007). I invited him to contribute an article about his recent trip to Taiwan.

By Afaa Michael Weaver

Standing here on the top of Lion Mountain in southern Taiwan, you can see the area of Mei Nong, or beautiful farm.  As you look over to the other side of the valley, you will see the southern end of the mountain range that stretches along the eastern side of the country, forming beautiful seashore areas where, in some places, there is a sheer drop from the mountains to the Pacific ocean.  Here in Mei Nong the mountainsides are home to a variety of wildlife, including monkeys who shake the trees in the morning as they settle down to breakfast.  This farming area is now being turned into a haven for the newly rich, as the old farm houses built by a Chinese ethnic group known as the Hakka give way to hacienda style houses that look like encampments with large metal doors and surrounded by stone fencing.  Mei Nong includes a smaller area called Long Du, or Dragon‚Äôs Belly, an area where two hundred children were born who later went on to earn doctorates.  I was visiting friends who are nuns in a spiritual retreat in the area.  Our guide on a tour of the area was Ah Shan, an environmentalist, photographer, architect, and sculptor.