By Erin Souza

McGrath Highway transformed from bustling commuter byway into outdoor urban art gallery last weekend, as a metal fish atop a recycled silver 1989 Dodge Omni sat next to a large-scale angelic marionette puppet, and the upbeat sounds of a live Brazilian band wafted through the concrete space.    

Project SUM (Sculpture Under McGrath) took over the underpass at Washington Street that typically serves as a walkway for pedestrians and a refuge for commuters waiting for the 86 bus and made it home to a month-long public art installation. SSP Somerville kicked off the exhibit with a block party and reception attended by hundreds over the course of last Saturday afternoon.

By Ethan Backer

The Boston Bruins Foundation worked with Alderman-at- Large Bruce Desmond, Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston and Teddy Menounes, from the Greek Orthodox Church, to bring a street hockey clinic to Somerville on Sept 7th. The clinic, which took place in the church parking lot, is part of NHL Street and run by the Bruins Community Development Program. Highlighting the day was the opportunity to scrimmage with Bruins center, Phil Kessel and get his autograph. All the equipment used during the clinic was provided by Franklin and donated to the Somerville Recreation Department after the clinic.

IKEA is known throughout the world as a responsible corporate citizen with a conscience. They pay more than fair wages, offer health care to all employees and present new workers with more of a career path than any other retailer.

But will IKEA be good for Somerville and its people? Do they have too big a footprint for an urban location? Will their famed traffic jams choke the life out of the lower Broadway business district? Will the good jobs they offer go to the people living in the neighborhoods the store will affect most?

All this remains to be seen.

IKEA could ease our worries by adding a lane to the proposed Assembly Square Drive. Currently there will be only one lane of traffic around the store. If two lanes can’t stop miles of traffic jams in Stoughton, why will one lane work in Somerville? Also, IKEA could prove their commitment to the city by guaranteeing Somerville residents priority in hiring for the new store. Without a doubt, there are more than enough Somerville residents qualified to staff an IKEA. Give them a chance. First chance.

By George P. Hassett

City officials and owners of Green Cab unveiled the city’s first hybrid taxi this week in Davis Square. Board of Aldermen President Robert C. Trane said the move is part of an initiative to “go green and save green” throughout the city.

“We have the highest asthma rates in the state, we have to do anything we can do to lower our carbon footprint,” he said.

And now, beginning at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning, Somerville residents can call Green Cab and get a hybrid taxi at their door. A hybrid Saturn sedan is the city’s first and, so far only, hybrid taxi on city streets.

Activists ask for jobs commitment and improved traffic patterns

By George P. Hassett

Local activists urged Swedish furniture retailer IKEA to guarantee jobs for city residents and improve traffic patterns for their Assembly Square store at a public hearing Sept. 4.

Assembly Square developers Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) applied for permits last Tuesday to begin construction on a new IKEA and an accompanying roadway in Assembly Square, described by IKEA officials as “the backbone of the entire development.”

We hear that the kickoff party for Joe Lynch, candidate for Ward 5 Alderman, last Saturday night on Richardson Street, was a huge success. Hundreds of Ward 5 voters, well-wishers and family members were treated to an old-fashioned outdoor campaign rally. Technology was also front and center with the launch of Joe‚Äôs website with wireless laptops on hand for making campaign contributions, a professional cameraman and even a few camera phones snapping away. Seems as though two guys (some say they were DPW workers) were concerned that they were not invited and from outside the fence used their camera phones to snap pictures of the event. Well technology works both ways, because the campaign‚Äôs cameraman swung into action and captured the two guys on film. We hear that footage is soon to appear on Joe‚Äôs website at www.lynchforalderman.com – check it out.   

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The primary is coming up soon – on the 25th of September – but for only two races here in the city – the Mayors race and in Ward 6 the Alderman‚Äôs race. We know that Joe is going to win huge throughout the city ‚Äì it‚Äôs anyone‚Äôs guess as to who will nominate with him. 

By Andrea Gregory

It’s Friday night, and Davis Square’s happening nightlife scene is just getting started. Couples walk hand-in-hand down the street. Groups of city dwellers travel in packs, heading out to a favorite bar or two.

Davis Square was not always such a lively hot spot for weekend recreation. And one little bar has seen all the changes.

Sligo‚Äôs Pub, a narrow, one-room watering hole on Elm Street, has been around for decades, before a T came to Davis Square and possibly before prohibition ended, according to the current owner. Going on 75 or more years in operation, there seems to be a mystical draw that has kept new crowds discovering and frequenting the old bar. Perhaps the $2 drafts have something to do with it.  According to the bartender, a few hundred of those are served on a typical Friday night.

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.)

I believe that we all have the capacity to be honest, but none of us has the capacity to be objective. To sustain effective promises, relationships, institutions and commerce, we need to be truthful with each other. But our understanding of what is true can be sincerely different from that of others. To do our best to be truthful, we can acknowledge all the available evidence on a matter and not exclude any that challenges our beliefs. 

Reality Bites by James Norton

(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’s note: OK, I am NOT being lazy. I just found this one from November 2003 and thought it would be cool to retread it. I think that Joe Curtatone is doing a great job as mayor, and it’s nice to look back and see what has happened since this time.)

I sometimes wonder what drives us to do the things that we do in everyday life. A combination of mutual lack of respect, no common courtesy and blatant rudeness pervades our lives daily. If we aren’t being bombarded by it on TV, then we hear about it on the radio, and when those two mediums aren’t available, it can creep up on us in the grocery store, the mall, even in our neighborhoods. There doesn’t seem to be a safe place from this type of insanity anymore.

Off The Shelf by Doug Holder

I was staring at my usual oatmeal scone at the Sherman Café in Union Square, Somerville last Sunday when I realized to some extent that : “I have measured out my life in coffee spoons,” as T.S. Eliot wrote. For as long as I can remember coffee shops have been a balm; a comforting presence in my life. My late father was a consummate New York City PR man from the 1950’s until his death several years ago. He wasn’t a coffee house sort of guy, but he did frequent the popular watering holes of the time like “P.J. Clark’s” and the “Twenty One Club.” And even in his 80’s he hopped onto the train into the city to met his old cronies from back in the day to down a few and chat. My late uncle Dave Kirschenbaum, a noted rare book dealer, and the owner of the Carnegie Bookstore on New York’s Book Row, had breakfast at the same hotel near Central Park for over 50 years. When he died they affixed a plaque to his table with his name on it.