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.

by George P. Hassett

Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a man suspected of breaking and entering into a local woman’s home.

The man, described as a well groomed and black, 5-foot 10-inches tall and wearing a dark coat, allegedly followed the female victim from the Davis Square train station up College Avenue and tried to strike up a conversation. Police said the victim walked away but the suspect continued to follow and watched the victim as she entered her Ball Square home.

Two hours later, the victim heard noises from inside her home. Police said it was her back door being forced open. 

Download Burglary_Suspect_01092007.pdf

Police: Three committed by one man

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.

By William C. Shelton

When Tony Pierantozzi became Somerville Public Schools Superintendent in July 2005, he brought the practice of preparing detailed, one-year improvement plans.  To enable effective management, the plans to identify the individuals responsible for carrying out each objective.  To ensure accountability, the objectives are measurable, quantifiable, and have completion dates.  Two examples are on the SPS‚Äôs Web site under departments, click on School Committee and then goals.

Major changes within a complex organization require multiple years to
accomplish.  Examples in Somerville schools would be creation of a
volunteer program, parental involvement initiatives, expanded foreign
language instruction, and improvements to 7th and 8th grade
instruction. 

A communications office should be a conduit from which information flows to the people. But in Somerville, the vaudeville comedy team of Tom and Meaghan has chosen   to concentrate on trying to manage, and possibly even withhold, the news.

On too many occasions, the mayor’s press people have interfered with local news coverage. When news of an Assembly Square deal first started to stream out into the city, the Tom and Meaghan Traveling Vaudeville Show turned what should have been a triumphant moment for the entire city into a chance to manipulate the media. When The News asked if a deal had been reached at Assembly Square, Tom told us he didn’t know anything about it. Within five hours, the self and same sent a full press release proclaiming an Assembly Square agreement. And that morning, lo and behold, The Boston Globe reported on the story with the full cooperation of an office that did not know anything when The News asked. Coincidence? We don’t think so.

Sometimes the most bizarre overheard conversation can make the most bizarre poem. Just ask Somerville poet and publisher Gloria Mindock. Check out Gloria’s Cervena Barva Press at http://www.cervenabarvapress.com

SHE’S NOT A GOOD MOTHER, JOE

[AN OVERHEARD CONVERSATION IN A BOOKSTORE IN ARLINGTON]

When a baby bites you, forget it!
It’s dangerous cuz once a baby bites your
hand, you‚Äôre in trouble.  They can‚Äôt tell if your hurt.
If she lets that baby bite Joe—
forget it!  She‚Äôs not a good mother.
That’s dangerous cuz once that baby bites his
hand, infection will set in the skin.  That‚Äôs
dangerous cuz once that baby bites your hand,
you’re in trouble.
They can’t tell if your are hurt.

Once they get a hold of you, they bite you good.
It’s dangerous to have kids because they change.
They grow up ugly and mean.
They grow up with tempers and get mean.
The baby could turn around and hate your guts.
They get uglier all the time.
Them and their ways!

If she lets that baby bite Joe, forget it!
She’s not a good mother.
Babies are at the biting stage.
That’s dangerous cuz when a
baby bites you, forget it!

— Gloria Mindock