By Pam Rosenblatt

At the May 24th contributors meeting, the regular attendees were all abuzz, anxiously  awaiting the entrance of a man whose career and presence promised to fascinate them.  They weren‚Äôt disappointed.

In walked a clean cut, slightly salted, black haired man wearing dungarees, a two toned blue and white small-checkered shirt and a spring navy blue vest through the doorway of The Somerville News office.  He carried a white cardboard envelope, contents unknown.  Who was this man and what did he hold under his arm?

By George P. Hassett

Of the 271 appointed seats on the various boards, commissions and authorities in Somerville, 71 percent are vacant or filled by people whose terms have expired. Lawrence Paolella, Joe Beckmann and Barry Rifkind spoke about the power of the city’s 37 appointed boards and the dynamics surrounding them at the June 1
Somerville News contributors meeting.

Paolella, Beckmann and Rifkind are all part of an effort being led by the Progressive Democrats of Somerville (PDS) to identify the makeup of the boards and make them more accessible to the public. Paolella said most of the city’s boards are unknown to the city’s residents but PDS has compiled every board’s information on its Web site www.pdsomerville.org.

By George P. Hassett

State rep. Tim Toomey, D-Somerville, has been in the governor’s office more times in the last five months than he had been in the previous 14 years. State Senator Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville, has had a similar experience and said she has spoken to the governor’s staff more in the last five months than she did in her previous sixteen years as a legislator. And state Senator Jarrett Barrios said he is comfortable leaving his job now that a Democrat with comparable values is sitting in the corner office.

Despite some early missteps, Gov. Deval Patrick is receiving high marks from Somerville delegates, who are praising him for increased accessibility and reversing some of former governor Mitt Romney’s policies. And the legislators are excusing Patrick for his gaffes, such as the infamous Cadillac, the drapes for the office and a controversial bill that Toomey said would take away community input for large development projects.

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.)

Over the past few years, we have posted many of our print edition stories on our website and we have allowed comments to remain, for the most part, anonymous.  This has allowed for the exercise of free speech in a way and manner for local people to voice their opinions that hadn‚Äôt been seen or heard of before.

We are very proud of our website and have held off converting to another format to maintain the integrity of free commenting and as we reached the milestone of averaging 1,000 unique hits per day, it gave me an opportunity to reflect on the process since it began.

Comments have been consistent lately on almost every posted story, but historically the stories with the most ‚Äúlively‚Äù interaction have involved either political or tragic developments.  The most recent being the awful crash on Highland Road with over 140 comments at the time I wrote this column. 

First of all we want to wish Bob Publicover, our former Publisher and close friend, a speedy recovery ‚Äì he was recently in and out of the hospital with all sorts of tubes in him and him trying out new medication.  He still manages to hold his sense of humor up through it all and we wish him the best, as always, Bob has been a friend to many people here in Somerville.

                                                   **********

Coming up on the 24th of June is the ‚ÄúSecond Annual On the Hill Tavern Road Race‚Äù to benefit various Somerville youth & recreation organizations.  The race kicks off at 11:30 a.m. from 499 Broadway – at the Tavern – all those that would like further information please call 617 629-5302.  There was a great turnout last year for the first one and this year should be even better.

A Winter Street man has taken out the necessary forms to run against Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah L. Gewirtz in the November  municipal election.

Bob Adams has until June 27 to gather the signatures he needs to be on the ballot against Gewirtz. Gewirtz is currently in the midst of her first term as alderman.

A commentary 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.) 

Back in 2004, when the Somerville Police Advisory Group (often referred to as the “Harshbarger Commission”) came out with a comprehensive package of reforms and suggested improvements, one of the least controversial and least discussed recommendations called for a thorough overhaul of the department’s written policies and procedures.

By Doug Holder

If someone is artistically inclined, and he or she drives out to the campus of Endicott College in Beverly, they may very well be tempted to paint a picture or compose a poem. The stately old New England homes, the breathtaking view of Beverly Harbor, the waft of a bracing sea breeze, certainly can conjure up the muse. So it makes sense that Endicott College is focused on bringing on an ambitious program in the arts and writing to its hallowed halls.

Endicott College was founded in 1939 by Dr. Eleanor Tupper and her husband Dr. George O. Bierke, with the idea, (according to the official Endicott history):
“to educate women for greater independence professionally and socially.” Endicott then and now offers a solid classroom experience, as well as a link to the outside work-a-day world through a recognized internship program. From just 20 students in 1941, there are now over 1,800 daytime undergraduates, as well as 1,100 adult students in graduate and professional studies programs. This along with a 230 acre, well-appointed estate, completes a very pleasing picture.

By Franklin W. Liu

When travelers step out of the car and instead take a meandering walk through the neighborhood, hidden surprises can pop up along the way. Three years ago, Josh Michtom took his infant son Max out in a stroller for a leisure walk and he was instantly gripped by what he saw: Holy Mary, Jesus and Joseph yard shrines were all nestled throughout Somerville. He saw the religious monuments and  was hooked. 

With his digital camera in hand, Michtom has repeatedly snapped away since, capturing the yard shrines as religious iconography. This fun picture-taking endeavor soon developed into an amateur’s obsession, resulting in a collection of 241 photographs. In a period of three years, Michtom said he has, thus far, documented approximately only half of Somerville’s four square miles of territory.

Michtom is currently showing a selection of 28 of these photographs at the Paradise Lounge Gallery in Boston, in a show titled Somerville  Madonnas.