Twitching whiskers and scurrying gray tails have chased dozens of residents to their phones. The calls have gone directly to Ward 2 Alderman Maryann M. Heuston.

“When I go home at night, I’ve got 10 calls about rats,” she said.

The problem is largely a result of the Somerville Avenue reconstruction project. As the ground gets shaken up, the rats seek out more settled corridors. The biggest problem is they don’t travel too far.

By George P.  Hassett

Have you ever watched “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and thought you could actually smell the tasty treats? On Saturday in Union Square, you will be able to watch Gene Wilder onscreen and actually smell his candy confections at Som-R-ville in Smell-O-Vision, the first event in this year’s ArtsUnion series.

Megan Dickerson came up with the idea for the event and is organizing each of its segments focusing on scent: “Willy Wonka in Smell-O-Vision” and a “Carnival of the Nose.”

By Andrea Gregory

It’s nightfall and Somerville Avenue construction crews have called it a day. There is no police detail directing traffic, but cars still need to make their way around the work in progress – a $20.7 million redo of one of Somerville’s busiest streets.

City and state officials have concerns about the after-dark construction area. The main concern is just how dark it is.

This week, city officials drafted a complaint to NStar. The letter expressed the concern for resident safety due to unsatisfactory lighting conditions that the city believes should have been taken care of months ago.

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.)

You know for a while there, I thought I was losing my mind. Every once in a while a jet would fly what seemed to be 30 feet above the house. It was so loud you would swear it was about to rip the roof off the house. So I would not think of it all that much because it, quite frankly, didn’t happen so often that you would notice it, really.

Then it started happening more and more. I started asking others if they heard it too, and they had.  I wasn‚Äôt alone, and I wasn‚Äôt crazy.  Well maybe I‚Äôm a little crazy, but I doubt it can be attributed to planes flying low overhead.  That‚Äôs a separate Reality Bites, thank you.

Residents on hills feel it most 

By George P. Hassett

Three times as many planes have flown over Somerville in the first 6 months of 2007, compared to  the same time period last year and residents say they can hear and feel the difference.

Dwight Lancaster, of Winter Hill, said he is considering moving from his home after 20 years of living in Somerville because of the increase in planes in Somerville skies.

“The quiet times I had in my home are now interrupted by these planes. It’s an incredible difference compared to the past. Sometimes when one plane is gone, I can see the next one coming,” he said.

Approximately 12,000 art lovers showed up in Davis Square on Friday night and into Saturday to help celebrate Art Beat.  Everybody seemed to be there, including many of the elected officials and a handful of political hopefuls that were working the crowd hard.  Everyone had a great time at this popular and successful annual event here in Somerville.

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Is it true the two challengers for the Mayors job aren‚Äôt even property owners?  Never paid a property tax bill?  Now we realize its not a priority for running for any office, never mind Mayor, we just thought it unusual – at least the mayor owns a property?

By Andrea Gregory

Somerville’s Web site is getting a complete facelift, and the changes begin with a new, easier-to-remember Web address. But the user-friendly upgrades won’t stop there.

Most of the changes will be rolled out this fall. However, finding the city’s homepage is already easier. Before this week, Web surfers needed to connect to www.ci.somerville.ma.us. Officials say the “ci” part made it hard to remember so the city has purchased www.somervillema.gov, hoping it will roll off the fingertips of residents typing at computers.

Although a pretty simple adjustment, many more are underway.

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.)

  In city hall, one of the best aspects of summertime in Somerville is that the summer help arrives.  I‚Äôm not talking about the teens working in the Mayor‚Äôs Summer Jobs Program, although I appreciate their enthusiasm and the very real contributions they make while they‚Äôre here. But I‚Äôm thinking of the college and graduate students who come to us as summer interns to gain experience in the way city government works ‚Äì and, more specifically, how a community like Somerville undertakes major service improvements and policy innovations in an era of fiscal austerity.

By George P. Hassett

Somerville’s state delegation successfully increased local aid for the third straight year and secured funding for local programs such as Teen Empowerment in this year’s state budget passed earlier this month.

The $26.8 billion budget, passed July 2, will fund the Shannon anti-gang initiative, Teen Empowerment, a study of Mystic River flooding, the mediation course at Somerville High School, after school programs and organizations fighting substance abuse and homelessness in Somerville. The delegation also secured an extra $440,238 in local aid for the city in the Fiscal Year 2008, which began July 1.

By George P. Hassett

The Tufts University librarian challenging Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone for the city‚Äôs executive office was the guest at the July 12 The Somerville News  contributors meeting.

“I’m running because I’m concerned about Somerville. Property values have never been higher, median family income has never been higher. We’re doing well no question, but are we squandering our wealth?” said Suzanne L. Bremer, of the Prospect Hill neighborhood.

Bremer will face Curtatone and fellow challenger Richard Scirocco in the Sept. 25 primary.