Government with a smile?
Mayor emphasizes customer service in city government

By Andrea Gregory

The major themes running through Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone’s State of the City Address were customer service and community involvement.

Curtatone said the city had a good year in 2006 and now is the time to take the city further down the right path. However, that doesn’t happen alone, he added.

 

Fire hits Vernon Street home
By Andrea Gregory

Steve Moreira stood behind the yellow, plastic banner that police had tacked up to secure the area. It was New Year’s Day. and it was not how Moreira imagined starting the year.
  ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs tough,‚Äù he said, watching firemen rush in and out of his house.

Rising to the occasion
By Andrea Gregory

George Washington tilted his head. The puddle of water that had collected inside the brim of his tri-corner hat poured out in a stream. The rain showed no sign of letting up, but Acting Police Chief Robert R. Bradley stayed in character.
  From up on his horse, Bradley said he has been playing the role of our country‚Äôs first president for seven years. Every New Year‚Äôs Day he saddles up his 19-year-old Wisperwon Mr. America, his beloved horse, and rides from city hall to Prospect Hill Park. It‚Äôs tradition and it is an important piece of Somerville‚Äôs history, he said from his post.

Happy New Year to Everyone!

From everyone at The Somerville News, we want to wish our readers and advertisers a Happy New Year with best wishes for 2007!

The 231st flag raising ceremony will be held at Prospect Hill Park at 12:00 noon on Monday, January 1st.  There will be a procession starting at 11:30 am at City Hall and lead down the street to the Tower for the flag raising, some singing/music, a few readings and light refreshments.

The elected officials of our city will be sworn in Monday, January 1st, at 6:00 pm at City Hall.  The Mayor will give the mid-term State of the City Address, along with the new President of the Board of Aldermen and the new Chairperson of the School Committee.  There will be a reception immediately after.

The View From Prospect Hill for the week of Dec. 27

The four Green Line stops on the way to Somerville will change us forever. Every inch of our city, not just “desirable West Somerville” will be in play for developers, speculators and opportunists of all kinds.

Barrios declares ‘small victory’ in sludge fight

Due to pressure from state and local officials, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) this week agreed to refile their proposal to move a sludge plant from Dorchester to Charlestown.    The BWSC will file a ‚ÄúNotice of Project Change‚Äù to the executive office of environmental affairs in the coming weeks.

A Christmas story in Somerville

City officials provided some much needed holiday cheer this week for two local famili es struck by recent tragedies.
  Clarendon Towers resident Joseph Baiungo‚Äôs insurance company had denied him a motorized wheelchair despite his immobility. However, the city‚Äôs 311 customer service center was able to provide a connection to another Somerville resident who donated a motorized wheelchair and bed lift after hearing about Baiungo‚Äôs problems on a recent television news report.  The Department of Public Works (DPW) got in on the holiday spirit as a DPW truck and crew picked up the donated items and delivered them to Baiungo the same day.

News Talk for the week of Dec. 27

Christmas is over and it was an enjoyable and quiet three-day weekend – very peaceful – isn‚Äôt that what it is supposed to be?  We want to wish a healthy and prosperous New Year to everyone‚Ķwe here at News Talk want to say ‚Äúthank you‚Äù for all the gossip this past year.  Although we found it hard to believe some of the things we heard, apparently some of the readers believed them – after all, this is among other things a gossip column.  We want to thank the thousands of readers every week that read The Somerville News, both the print and online editions – we appreciate everyone.  2006 has been a long year and we look forward to 2007 with some fresh new ideas for our readers and our advertisers.

Huge oil spill at high school

An estimated 700 gallon oil spill was discovered today at Somerville High School. The leak was traced back by officials to a faulty feeder line on the school’s underground 10,000 gallon tank.
The potential cost to Somerville for the remediation and repair work is $75,000, according to CommTank, the remediation team.  CommTank will be working around the clock to clean up the spill and have the heating system operational in two to four days, in time for students to return next Monday.

The building has been evacuated of the few staff who were still working during this holiday week and is being ventilated and negative air machines are being used to remove vapors.  City employees discovered the problem at 7 a.m. today.