by Nuria Chantre

A candidate for the position of Alderman at Large spoke at The Somerville News contributors meeting held Jan. 25 at the Mr. Crepe shop.

“I think I have the most credentials to be the person that’s needed to fill the seat that’s needed right now,” said John M. Connolly, former Ward 6 Alderman. “I think I can bring a lot of experience.”

Connolly said working for the city of Somerville is part of his family history; he has served as Ward Alderman since 1984.

‚ÄúA lot of my resume is right outside this room.  Saving the Somerville theatre was a very important part of our city‚Äôs history,‚Äù he said.

Focusing on public safety and education will maximize city dollars, and therefore his priorities lie in these areas, he said.

Connolly‚Äôs work with the city spans over twenty years and twenty-two city budgets, he said. Connolly said his community efforts include negotiating pilot efforts with Tufts University.  Under the pilot contract, the institution, in lieu of property taxes, pays one million dollars to the city, and, in addition, provides much needed community benefits, he said.   

As of today, the nomination papers for the special election are out and need to be completed and passed in by February 13th.  We wonder whose bright idea it was to have a special election primary set for April 10th – that‚Äôs six  months after Denise resigned and the final is another month later ‚Äì totaling seven months later – on May 15th‚Ķ  So far it‚Äôs just former Ward 6 Alderman Jack Connolly, who took out papers and progressive candidate Marty Martinez ‚Äì and both are out on the streets.  We‚Äôve been told Elio LoRusso has been away, but upon returning it remains to be seen if he pulls papers as well.  Anyone else???  It pays good ($25,000) and if elected chances are you‚Äôll be there until you resign or retire.

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We’re hearing from a lot of sources out there on the streets, Tony LaFuente has been calling people, especially his money people, who we hear he’s not getting a good reception from…we hear he’s been out talking to people trying to put something together to mount a direct effort against Mayor Joe.

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We’re still hearing rumblings in certain wards, some well known names and some not yet so well known names, considering running against some allies of Mayor Joe on the board.

by David Taber

Somerville will pursue a joint action to recover costs incurred yesterday when a guerilla marketing scheme was mistaken for a terrorist threat.

"There may be a tendency on the part of some people to laugh this off because it was a marketing stunt designed to promote a cartoon show on cable television.  But I guarantee that the taxpayers of Somerville and surrounding cities aren’t laughing ‚Äì and neither are the commuters and the public safety professionals who had to cope with the consequences, " Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said.

Curtatone said he will coordinate his actions with the City of Boston, the state Attorney General’s Office, and the Middlesex County District Attorney, but he did not rule out the possibility of the city taking unilateral legal action.

According to reports from City Hall, Somerville public safety units were dispatched at 8:30 on the morning of Jan. 31 to assist state police in managing traffic diversions required by the closure of Interstate 93 when an electrical device was reported at Sullivan Square.   

At approximately 2:30 this afternoon, Somerville had to respond to another of the devices when it was discovered under a McGrath Highway overpass just outside busy Union Square, the report stated.

In a statement released late yesterday afternoon, Cartoon Network’s corporate parent Turner Broadcasting announced that the devices found in multiple locations in Boston were part of a multi-city, outdoor marketing campaign for an adult cartoon.

by George P. Hassett

Police are looking for a white, heavyset male who they say committed four armed robberies in less than five hours Monday night. The robbery spree was part of a day in which six armed robberies or attempted armed robberies were committed in Somerville, said Capt. Paul Upton.

“The robbery detectives are up to their eyeballs in work,” Upton said.

The day of theft began at 3:30 p.m. when a man walked into Shaw’s Supermarket in Twin Cities Plaza and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.

At 5:00 p.m. the Dunkin Donuts at Somerville Avenue and Central Street was hit, possibly by the same individual, police said. Just fifteen minutes later the Union Square Food Market at 18 Bow St. was robbed, allegedly by the same heavyset man who committed the previous crimes.

Despite a long day of crime, police said the heavyset man was still not done.

by David Taber

As of Jan. 29 two candidates have taken out nomination papers to run in the special election for alderman-at-large.

“We are going to have a race,” said Nicholas A. Salerno, chairman of the Board of Election Commissioners.

The first day candidates could take out papers was Friday, but former Provost campaign field coordinator Marty Martinez and former Ward 6 Alderman John M. Connolly, who had previously declared their intentions to run, are the only two to have begun the process of getting their names on the ballot so far, he said. 

The board of aldermen set the date for the special election Thursday, ratifying a recommendation made by the board’s legislative matters subcommittee on Tuesday. Salerno presented the sub-committee with three timeline options.

A fast-track option would have citizens casting their votes May 10 and a drawn-out version would set the general election date for June 26, he said. The third option held the preliminary election April 10 and the general election May 22, he said.

by John M. O’Hara Jr.

Black clad paddlers sit poolside and paddle for 30 minutes. Paddles flail like the legs of a giant centipede, pulling water to the point where it whirlpools. The only thing missing is a drummer.   

‚ÄúOur drummer just moved to New York,‚Äù said Rachel Zucker, a history teacher at Burlington High School.  Zucker, along with a battalion of enthusiastic paddlers, practices for the Living Root Dragon Boat Club of Greater Boston twice weekly at the JFK middle school on Elm Street half the year, she said.

When the weather is warm, the team moves to the Charles for practice, said Zucker.

“Out on the river you can see the sun setting over the city. The river practices are amazing,” she said.

“It’s great exercise,” said Margo Mungovan, a Montessori teacher from Beverly.

Coach Bob Lee said he begins each practice with a twenty minute warm-up, drawing points from martial arts and yoga.

‚ÄúIt helps you build mental and physical strength,‚Äù Mungovan said.   

by Nuria Chantre

The Somerville News called the MBTA today  for clarification on a pile of trash outside the Davis Square T station.

‚ÄúI oversee the contracts in maintenance.  It‚Äôs my responsibility,‚Äù said Rich Hart, assistant superintendent of MBTA station support services.

Rich Hart

Hart said he oversees grounds clean-up.

The pile, which included furniture pieces, debris and token collection boxes, was inexplicably dumped by a sidewalk outside the Red Line station in Davis Square.  ‚ÄúI think this is where they pick it up from; those are from the toll trash.  I don‚Äôt know what they‚Äôre doing here,‚Äù said Brian Holland, an MBTA inspector.

Construction debris is not picked up along with regular trash,
Holland said.  It must be from when they did re-did the station and
added the new equipment, he said.

‚ÄúI will have to check with Porter Square to see,‚Äù Holland said.  The
city does not pick up the MBTA trash.  MBTA has its own contractors who
may have left the trash behind for a later pick-up, he said. 

Hart, an MBTA employee for six
years, said he would work on getting the trash removed right away.