A teenager in a hooded sweatshirt turned out to be one of the most powerful players in the recent election for alderman-at-large. Jack Connolly’s mailing depicting a hooded teenager helped him win Ward 1 so decisively (almost a four to one margin ) that it set the pace for his come from behind win.

Connolly’s campaign piece was sent to over 7,000 voters in the city and portrayed a sullen-looking teenaged, Latino boy with a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head on one side and Marty Martinez smiling on the other. In between was text describing Martinez’ opposition to an anti-gang ordinance and detailing his efforts to integrate MS-13 gang members into the city’s teen center when he was director of youth services. Before the mailing, Connolly lost the preliminary election by over 400 votes. After, he won by 558 votes in the general election.

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.)

The campaigns culminating in the recent special election offer a window through which to view the ongoing transformation of Somerville‚Äôs political culture.  For at least the last three decades, economic forces have been dissolving the city‚Äôs social institutions, producing politics of conflict and unfocused resistance.

Odd as it may seem, the election and what it illuminates have gotten me thinking about peasant wars of the 20th Century– Algeria, China, Cuba, Viet Nam.  Through the lens of cold War ideology, we saw these revolutions as communist threats, rather than as the essentially conservative movements that they were.

State Representative Carl Sciortino has been appointed by Speaker Salvatore DiMasi to serve as a member of the Council of State Governments’ Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC) Transportation Committee for 2007-08.

“I’ve focused a lot of energy on improving public transportation in my district,” said Sciortino. “As a member of this committee, I will be able to work with people from around the country on transportation issues that affect our entire region. I’m going to work for an economically competitive, integrated, and affordable system that will best serve communities throughout Massachusetts and beyond.

DA: Boston man perjured himself in front of Grand Jury

By George P. Hassett

A Boston man was arrested and charged with perjury Friday for allegedly not telling authorities the truth as a witness in the Good Time murder.

Shawn Jones, 24, of 85 Capen St., Boston, was arraigned Friday in Cambridge District Court on charges of perjury and suborning to perjury. Judge Dominic Paratore ordered Jones held on $7,500 cash bail.

District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr., said Jones did not answer questions truthfully under oath when he was asked about an April 21 shooting at Good Time Emporium that ended with Ferdinand Saintville, 25, of Everett, dead from a gunshot wound. Jones is also charged with trying to get another witness to lie to a Grand Jury.

Police source: Heist was a ‘big one,’ brought in over $200k

By George P. Hassett

A bank heist that began with the abduction of a female bank employee Friday night and ended with Somerville police finding the woman tied up in the basement of the bank Saturday morning, brought in over $200,000 for the suspect or suspects responsible for the job, a police source said.

The suspect or suspects abducted a female employee of the East Cambridge Savings Bank on Highland Ave. Friday night, drove around with her for 10 hours and brought her back to the bank early the next morning before it opened, said a police source. Gail Marcinkiewicz, spokeswoman for the FBI, confirmed to the media there had been an abduction prior to the robbery.

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.)

The main focus on this past holiday is to pay homage to the brave efforts of our servicemen and women over the years for our country and for our own personal freedoms as citizens of this great country.  It‚Äôs a day devoid of politics and filled with honor and respect ‚Äì I wish there were more days like that.

The secondary focus is obviously to enjoy the fantastic parade and come together as a community, as friends and as family.  Again, I wish there were more days like that.

Sitting watching the parade going by on Sunday was pretty impressive and big thanks goes to the Administration and in particular Frank Senesi of Veterans Services for another job well done.  By the way, was that the Acting Chief riding along side Rex Trailer in the parade?

   
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Tragic accident on Highland Road the other night – it shouldn‚Äôt have happened with the no-chase policy that the city has.  Seems like a lot of stuff going on throughout the city lately, hopefully the violence doesn‚Äôt get worse now that summer is here.

By Doug Holder

Last summer a well-regarded bimonthly magazine of literature and ideas moved to 35 Medford St. in Somerville. Somerville has been a home to many small magazines and presses and The Boston Review is a welcomed addition.

  I remember working at the said magazine at its Boston venue quite a few years ago. I worked as an editorial assistant in a cramped warren of offices; across the hall from a tailor shop. In a dark room I pored over a slush pile of manuscripts, both poetry and fiction, from all over the country. I used to write capsule reviews of the submission so the editors could decide what to read and what not to read. Although the environs were less than luxurious, I learned a great deal about what goes into producing a bimonthly magazine of the arts and ideas.

A Somerville man is being charged with motor vehicle homicide after leading State Police on a chase from Everett into Somerville that ended with him allegedly crashing into a taxicab and killing a Medord man.

Javier Morales, 29, of Somerville, was charged with motor vehicle homicide after  he crashed into a taxi cab in Somerville early this morning, killing Paul Farris, prosecutors said. Morales will be arraigned on Tuesday.