A report came in early Sunday afternoon to the police station when a Murdock Street resident noticed a Mercedes Benz parked on the street was sprayed with bullet holes and had a flat tire. According to the luxury car’s owner, the car was a victim of a drive by shooting a couple of nights before. Guess someone doesn’t like Mercedes.

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Congratulations to Alderman Bob Trane for finally beating Alderman-at-Large Dennis Sullivan on the golf course. Dennis is quite the golfer we hear. Apparently this is the very first win for Bob. Maybe it‚Äôs because there was an alleged wager on the game that inspired Bob, we‚Äôre not sure. 

By George P. Hassett

Five alleged MS-13 members were arrested in the middle of a gang meeting July 13 by federal and local law enforcement officials. A sixth reputed MS-13 member was arrested walking down Broadway the same day, according to police. Of the six men arrested that day, five live in Somerville and two hold leadership positions within the gang, police said.

Boston Police Department investigators had noted a spike in MS-13 gang activity in the region, said Somerville Police Capt. Paul Upton, and planned the joint operation with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Everett, Chelsea, Revere and Somerville police. The operation eventually yielded the arrests of the six men on federal immigration law violations.

By Andrea Gregory

Supporters of a neo-Nazi organization recently made their way through the Winter Hill School neighborhood, leaving hate literature and offensive material on the porches of several residences.

According to Somerville police, flyers for a national white supremacist organization were folded and placed in plastic bags with rocks. The packages were then left on residential properties.

“It’s not a hate crime, but it’s a hate incident,” said Capt. Michael Devereaux.

Devereaux said the distribution of racist literature is not a hate crime, but police have clocked in the recent episode as a hate incident. He said the police department is now tracking these situations.

By Doug Holder

Luke Salisbury is an English professor at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. Salisbury, 60, is a man with a gift for gab and the well-turned phrase. With his signature rapid-fire cadence and disarming laugh, he can regale you with anecdotes, an impressive knowledge of baseball and his alternative universe of film, books and political intrigue that he has spent many years pondering and writing about. He is the author of a number of fiction titles including ‚ÄúThe Answer is Baseball‚Äù (Time Books, 1989), ‚ÄúThe Cleveland Indian‚Äù (Smith, 1992) and his novel about the great filmmaker D.W. Griffith ‚ÄúHollywood and Sunset‚Äù (2007). His writing has appeared in such publications as The Boston Globe, Ploughshares, Cooperstown Review, Pulp-smith and others.  Salisbury received his M.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University and lives in Chelsea with his wife Barbara. I interviewed Salisbury on my Somerville Community Access Television show ‚ÄúPoet to Poet/ Writer to Writer.‚Äù

By Mayor 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.)

Last week, WBUR reporter Martha Bebinger asked me to comment on whether instate casinos might help the commonwealth recapture state tax revenues that, courtesy of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, currently go to Connecticut.  I told her that Massachusetts municipal officials were extremely concerned about whether casino revenues might end up being used for purposes other than local aid. I said that we were also worried that the state‚Äôs casino-related revenues might not be as great as advertised ‚Äì and I reminded her that casinos bring significant social costs to the communities that host them. (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut were developed at a good distance from major urban areas.)

Some of my remarks ended up in her story, which did a good job of explaining how casinos in Massachusetts might undercut what is already a mature and stagnating state lottery – a crucial source of local aid. But she didn’t pick up on what I had to say about the mistake of focusing on gambling revenue as a way out of fiscal crisis. I told her that Massachusetts shouldn’t get distracted by the false glitter of gambling-generated tax revenue. In the long run, it’s nothing more than Fool’s Gold.

By Pam Rosenblatt

Somerville cartoonist Raul Gonzalez, at the request of the Somerville Arts Council, designed the posters, banners and T-shirts for ArtBeat 2007. The annual event took place last weekend, July 20 to 21, in Davis Square. 

Elaine Bay, Gonzalez‚Äôs wife, chose the color schemes of the designs made for the ArtBeat 2007 theme, ‚ÄúArtBeast,‚Äù said Gonzalez. 

Gonzalez has worked a lot for the Somerville Arts Council. He and Bay designed the set for UnionTube Рa new Somerville Arts Council television production, promoting Union Square events and businesses. The grant-funded program will air on SCAT, Channel 3, over six months, said Wendy Blom, SCAT’s executive director.

By George P. Hassett

If Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone takes the advice of the Somerville residents who submitted their preference for the next police chief, Major Ruben Galindo, of the Miami-Dade Police Department, will be the city’s top cop.

Out of the 14 public comments submitted to Curtatone in July, 10 residents feel Curtatone should hire Galindo for the job. Three citizens suggested he hire Acting Police Chief Robert R. Bradley and one recommended the other finalist, Capt. Anthony Holloway, of Clearwater, Fla.. Curtatone said the responses are a testimony to the transparency and effectiveness of his method of selecting a permanent chief and the remarks will be part of his final decision. 

Inviting a prison into the community is not a happy thought. Why would we ever want to house thousands of alleged criminals facing long stays during slow-moving and backlogged court proceedings?

The city has taken on so many initiatives to boost its image. More money is going toward school activities. Artwork is expected to help beautify our subway station. Roads are being redone and rezoning is preparing for a better city in the future. So how does building a new prison fit into all this?

By George P. Hassett

The man allegedly responsible for the May 27 car crash that claimed two lives and left a third victim seriously injured was arraigned in Superior Court Monday, July 30, and charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and failure to stop for a police officer.

Javier Morales, 29, of Somerville, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Judge Wendie Gershengorn ordered him held on $500,000 cash bail. Prosecutors say Morales committed a marked lanes violation May 27, and when police tried to pull him over, fled at high speed through Somerville and drove through traffic lights and stop signs. The chase ended at Highland Road and Kidder Avenue when Morales slammed into a taxicab and killed its driver Walid Chahine, of Methuen, and Paul V. Farris of Medford.

Somerville puts its plan to handle a health crisis to the test

By Andrea Gregory

Dee Dee Barnard was at the front of the line when the Somerville Health Department opened its doors Thursday evening for a mock emergency vaccination clinic.

It was 5 p.m. and Barnard was among the first to filter in to the Winter Hill Community School, doubling as if it were emergency vaccination center. City workers and health volunteers were prepared to take on 200 people and treat the situation as though it was a real emergency, perhaps a flu pandemic or an airborne disease outbreak. It was the city’s first test on how it would handle such health threats to the community.

Although it was only a test, the vaccinations were real. Barnard took advantage of both the tetanus and pneumonia vaccinations being offered.