News Talk for the week of Dec. 6

It sometimes pays to be cancelled – take for instance the Mayor‚Äôs fundraiser that was cancelled by the Rack in Boston over the threat of the Union‚Äôs picketing.  The Mayor‚Äôs people got right on it and didn‚Äôt miss a beat – same day, same time, just about the same location‚Ķthis time at Boston Rocks – a place over the Quincy Market in Boston.  The event was totally jam-packed ‚Äì at one point it was literally wall-to-wall with people.  Mayor Joe was excited and he should be  – it seemed like it was successful in many ways.  Some Aldermen were missing from the event, but one of his strongest supporters on the Board, the current President – Maryann Heuston, gave a rousing speech on the good things happening within our city because of Joe Curtatone being Mayor.  By the way, he made it perfectly clear to everyone that he‚Äôs not going anywhere anytime soon ‚Äì that he enjoys being the Mayor of Somerville and he made a statement saying he has a lot more to accomplish.

Christmas comes early for Boys and Girls Club
By George P. Hassett

A crew of real life Santa’s came to the rescue of the Somerville Boys and Girls Club this week after crooks swiped four computers and other new, high-tech equipment from the club’s Teen Room Sunday, Nov. 26.
  ‚ÄúThe most touching part of this story is the way so many parties — from senior citizens living on fixed incomes to large, million dollar corporations — have given whatever they can to help. It‚Äôs just as meaningful to see an elderly woman write a check for $5 as it is to see a big company donate four computers,‚Äù said Chile Eng, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County.

Build the new Union Square for the people
A commentary by Matthew McLaughlin

(The commentaries of The Somerville News do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

City officials unveiled an artists rendition of their hopes for the future of Union Square during a Nov. 20 community meeting.  The picture featured tall condominiums and characters straight from an episode of ‚ÄúFriends,‚Äù that were slightly transparent, to symbolize what the square can be.
If the smiling see-through faces were meant to display the spirit of things to come, why am I the one who feels like a ghost?

$119K for election day

By Andrea Gregory

The city is looking at a $119,100 bill for hosting its upcoming special election. The hefty price tag could have been avoided had former Alderman-at-Large Denise Provost resigned one day later.
Provost simultaneously held down her local role with her newly elected state representative position for eight months. Officially, she left her alderman post on Oct. 31, which ultimately will force the city to eat the cost of a special election.

Maintenance of Davis Square garage ‘slipped through the cracks’
By Andrea Gregory

The city will spend $150,000 to fix up the Buena Vista Parking Garage in Davis Square. The garage has suffered damage and severe wear and tear due to lack of regular maintenance, say officials.
  To follow through with all the needed repairs would cost the city more than $600,000.  However, the first stage of cleaning up the space should make the structure safer and buy the city some time before tackling the entire project.

Firefighters reclaim seized property
By George P. Hassett

Somerville firefighter Jim Keenan had been storing his grandfather’s wooden bureau in the basement of Engine 7 on Highland Ave. since his divorce. But, on Monday, Nov. 20, the wooden piece of furniture was caught in the middle of an ongoing labor dispute between the fire union and Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone’s office.

News Talk for the week of Nov. 29

Anybody see the latest union picketing development last Tuesday? The fire and patrol union faithful were protesting the mayor and the stalled contract negotiations in front of the entrance to City Hall, when none other than that star of stage and screen himself — Police Chief Bob Bradley — drove aggressively towards the picketers, nearly hitting one firefighter. Apparently Bob Brando, oops, we mean Bradley, was angry the union folks were picketing in the crosswalk. Well, he let some of the guys and gals have it and they started yelling right back. A chant of ‚ÄúNo more commercials‚Äù began and, for a moment, it looked like we were going to get a good old fashioned street fight. But luckily, cooler heads prevailed and the Chief drove calmly into the parking lot. Oh well.

What lies beneath Tufts Street?
By George P. Hassett

The soil at 50 Tufts St. is contaminated with harmful chemicals spreading to the surrounding East Somerville homes, according to a consulting firm hired to investigate the land.
  The pollutants most likely stem from the days when the address was used as a warehouse for the storage and transfer of tetrachloroethylene, a chemical used in the dry cleaning industry, said Ileen S. Gladstone, vice president of GEI, a Winchester-based environmental firm.

The View From Prospect Hill for the week of Nov. 22

Most local newspapers today are owned by large, publicly traded corporations. In this very city, there is a news organ belonging to a corporation located 1,005 miles away in Illinois.
  The Somerville News is not one of these papers. The strengths, weaknesses, triumphs and failures of the paper take place solely in the community it covers. The News has been locally owned for 5 decades and the publishers are themselves members of the community — an undeniable benefit to a local paper.