By George P. Hassett

The blue boxes used to hold the city’s voting machines usually get shipped back to the Department of Public Works after Election Day. However this year, Election Commissioner Nicholas P. Salerno decided to keep the boxes at City Hall, where they could be available for the inevitable upcoming special election.

“Now the boxes stay {at City Hall} because we have been staring at one special election after another for the past two years,” he said.

Since the April 2005 death of state Senator Charles E. Shannon, Somerville has had three special elections and six special election days. The rash of voting has burdened the elections department, cost the city $290,000 and seen the rise of two, and by next week possibly three, politicians who are closely aligned with one another.

Jean Roy, 24,  was arrested yesterday for the murder of a Boston man on Walnut Street Sunday morning. 

John Micelin, 23, was shot and killed at 4 a.m. in front of 57 Walnut Street last week.

By George P.  Hassett

The city is undergoing an extensive, multi-step process and paying $21,000 to a Texas  consulting firm to find its next top cop. However, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone is already on the record as saying his mind is made up. In a Sept. 2005 interview with the Somerville News, Curtatone said Acting Chief Robert R. Bradley would be his pick.

‚ÄúHe’ll be my first choice based on his capabilities,‚Äù he said of Bradley in the interview. Bradley is one of the candidates for the permanent post.

reality bites  by James Norton

Political advertisements and mailers are meant to make an impact on voters ‚Äì to get  them interested enough in issues to get them to actually go and vote, which is difficult to do these days, especially in a special election.  They are created to make statements ‚Äì about one‚Äôs own record and ideas/ideals and then there are those that point out the shortcomings of their opponents.  That‚Äôs the nature of the beast – get over it.

Is it right that Marty Martinez‚Äôs recent mailer made it seem like the entire police union voted to endorse him and not just the executive board of the union, as I have come to understand happened?  One would think not.

Is it right that Connolly‚Äôs recent mailer attacked Martinez‚Äôs stance on the anti-gang ordinance and referenced the Boston Globe article from 2003 that stated that he invited members of a local gang into the Youth Center when he was Director of Youth Services?  At first glance, one would think not, but maybe if you took a minute to understand the bigger picture, you might agree.  I‚Äôll explain later on‚Ķ

The end of the series of Special Elections is near – next Tuesday May 15th – go out and vote for either Marty Martinez or Jack Connolly for Alderman-At-Large‚Ķlets not have a small minority of voters here in Somerville do all the work and lets all be part of the process – make your vote count and bring out your family as well‚Ķalmost 40,000 voters in this city and hopefully more than 10% of them will go out and vote on Tuesday.   

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Some interesting literature flowing out of both camps this past week or so, and one piece has a few of us here at Newstalk looking twice and can‚Äôt believe what we saw.    Candidate Marty Martinez puts out a puff piece of endorsements/supporters, which caught our eye.  At first glance it looks like the Somerville Police were supporting the candidate who was against the ‚ÄúGang Ordinance‚Äù but look at it closer and you see its worded differently‚Ķinstead of ‚ÄúThe Somerville Police Patrolmen‚Äôs Association‚Äù endorsement it turns out to be just the endorsement of the Executive Board members (calling themselves Somerville Police Employees Union) we asked several Patrolmen and they said it wasn‚Äôt the rank and file that voted to endorse anyone‚Ķbut it sure looks like it from that piece when you first look at it.  We thought it was weird at first, but then politics is politics, right?  Is this a case of the so-called Progressives doing EXACTLY what they accuse everyone else of doing?

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By George P. Hassett

A man accused of five attacks on women in the area surrounding Tufts University was arraigned in Somerville District Court Monday.
  Nicolas R. Chacon, 19, of 268C Powderhouse Boulevard, admitted to sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents April 20 and 26 and also confessed to three to five recent indecent assaults in the Medford and Somerville area, police said.

By Franklin W. Liu

Jabbing his finger in the air, Desimone emphasizes that is now all available here in Davis Square: delicious fine food at an affordable price.

With his brother and two other friends joining in partnership, Ristorante Sagra was recently launched.

With two months under its belt, the new Italian restaurant is creating quite a buzz.

The word Sagra refers to a long-standing festival observed throughout Italy when lively historical pageantry is re-enacted with sporting events like jousting on horseback while plenty of food is spread out, offering a variety of olive oil, delicious wine, robust cheese, freshly baked bread, pasta and pastry.   

By George P. Hassett

Two men were shot and one killed Sunday morning at approximately 4 a.m. on Walnut Street. Police responded to a call of a man shot who had run to 67 Walnut Street for help. When they arrived, police found one man in front of 67 Walnut Street suffering from a gunshot wound and another man inside a vehicle parked in front of 57 Walnut Street also suffering from gunshots. The man in front of 57 Walnut Street did not survive the attack and died.  Police said no arrests have been made in the case.

By George P. Hassett

In anticipation of the warmer days of spring and summer, Somerville Police are expecting an increase in residential break-ins.  Every year, Somerville, like every other city and town, experiences an increase in residential breaks as soon as the warm weather arrives, according to Acting Chief Robert R. Bradley. Protecting your home and family from criminal intrusion should be high on everyone‚Äôs priority list.  Becoming a victim of a burglary can leave a family feeling vulnerable and violated, Bradley said. 

The Somerville Police Department is urging residents to take some simple precautions that will reduce your chances of becoming a victim of a home burglary. In the United States, a home burglary occurs every 15.4 seconds.