The city’s police chief selection committee has recommended three finalists to be the city’s next top cop. They are  Acting Somerville Police Chief Robert Bradley, Miami-Dade Police Department Major Ruben Galindo, and Clearwater, Florida Police Captain Anthony Holloway.

Our friend Bob Publicover has several tickets still available for the July 12th Red Sox-Toronto Blue Jays game – ticket proceeds go to the Committee for a Response to Aids here in Somerville.  Call Bob at 617-290-6842 before they‚Äôre all gone.

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Did you Google the potential candidates for office yet?  We think it‚Äôs the greatest thing since ice cream.

By George P. Hassett

Tony Lafuente has his eyes on Somerville public office. But the 2003 mayoral candidate is not going after Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone’s job, he is planning a run for alderman-at-large, in order bring a pro-active voice to a “lackluster” board.

Lafuente lost the 2003 mayoral race to Curtatone by 700 votes but he said his campaign for alderman “will not be a bash Joe campaign.”

“The main reason I’m running is I want to participate in city government and help bring Somerville forward,” he said. Lafuente said his concerns with the city include public safety issues, city finances, and the dilapidated police building.

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.)

Somerville‚Äôs favor/relationship-based political culture has outlived the social institutions and the rich fabric of relationships that once gave it vitality and effectiveness.  These same forces that dissolved our social institutions have changed the city‚Äôs population make-up.  But the populations that replaced those who once wove a strong community fabric have not, in turn, changed the political culture in ways that effectively respond to these new economic and social forces.

The former mayoral candidate who lost to Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone in 2003 pulled papers today to run for office again.

Tony Lafuente took out the necessary forms to run for alderman-at-large today, according to the city’s elections department. He needs to gather 150 signatures by Wednesday at 5 p.m. to qualify as a candidate.

By Elizabeth Bernardi

Driving through Somerville, you might have noticed the engraved plaques marking historical sites and scattered throughout the city. But if you are behind the wheel, you probably haven’t stopped to read them. Turns out, the best way to sample historic Somerville is on the two wheels of a bicycle, and at Saturday’s Historic Bicycle Tour of Somerville and Medford, nearly 100 people discovered just that.

The tour, in its sixth year, took riders through Somerville with stops at some of the historic houses, parks and businesses along the way. Historic properties and landmarks are given that designation based a combination of factors. The Preservation Commission works with architectural historians to identify homes and parcels that are
significant to the community and its history. This might mean that a property was involved in an important historical event, or simply that its architecture is historically notable. Historic properties are also determined based on how well-maintained they are with respect to the property’s original state. Raising awareness and appreciation of  these properties is one of the goals of the bicycle tour.

By Doug Holder

The Hunter‚Äôs Trance: Nature, Spirit & Ecology. Carl Von Essen. (Lindisfarne Books. 610 Main St.  Great Barrington, Mass.) $25

In “The Hunter’s Trance: Nature, Spirit & Ecology,” (Lindisfarne Books 2007) Carl Von Essen writes that ever since he was a child he has been beguiled by the sights and sounds of nature. He realized early the importance of the natural world and the primal, spiritual and physical value it brings to a life. Von Essen also realized that he was not alone. Many people have ecstatic experiences in the wild, he writes, be they scientists, fishermen or mountaineers.

Regarding the negative impact civilization has had on the environment Von Essen writes:  ‚ÄúA vision evolved that a spiritual bond with the natural world can be a potent path toward environmental healing. That vision, undoubtedly shared by many, has taken shape in this book.‚Äù

A shooting at 1:40 a.m. this morning ended with a 26 year old Dorchester man in the hospital and a 28 year old Somerville man in cuffs.

Police received calls for shots fired on Cross Street near Alston Street at 1:40 a.m.  Upon arrival, officers found ballistic evidence at the scene, but no victim, police said.  A short time later, Somerville Police were informed that a shooting victim had arrived at a local hospital reporting that he had been shot in Somerville.  The victim, a 26 year old male from Dorchester, was shot multiple times, but is expected to survive, police said.

  It‚Äôs almost humorous how the so-called ‚ÄúProgressives‚Äù have turned into the very people they supposedly despise.  They have, collectively, become smarmy and smug and it‚Äôs becoming obnoxious quite frankly. 

It‚Äôs been simmering ever since Pat and Denise did the George Jefferson shuffle and got downright nasty at the end of the Marty/Jack dance.  Now they‚Äôre just being rude about it.

By George P. Hassett

Neighborhood complaints led to Somerville police seizing 941 grams of pure heroin last night and arresting two men and two women.

Ricardo L. Gomez, 38, of Providence, Rhode Island, Fiorlenis Jimenez, 22, of Mattapan, Xiomara A. Ortiz, of Jamaica Plain and Raymundo Baez, 31, address unknown, were arrested after a six month investigation.