News Talk for the week of May 3rd

When the aldermen voted against Mayor Joe’s plan to institute a sort-of reverse 311 that would allow the city to quickly call residents, some of Mayor Joe’s top allies on the board voted against him. Most surprising was Ward 3 Alderman Tom Taylor’s vote. Taylor has been one of Mayor Joe’s most reliable lieutenants in the past and even used Joe’s old campaign sticks and signs (with Taylor logos taped over old Curtatone ones) in the last election. Taylor was also the swing vote Curtatone needed to win approval for his Assembly Square development plans. So why did Taylor vote against the mayor’s proposal? Maybe the crystal ballers on the web can clue us in.

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News Talk heard this week that a local challenger for a county wide seat once sued her 90 year old neighbor over a petty land dispute. Well, the 90 year old couldn’t handle the stress and strain of a law suit and died. Death by litigation. That’s a new one, even for local politics.

Reality Bites by James Norton for the week of May 3

“A Day Without Immigrants” should have been named “A Day Without Brains”

    Like most things in life, you can‚Äôt have it both ways.  You can‚Äôt on one hand say it‚Äôs a peaceful rally then call it a protest against the system.  What system do you mean?  The one which gives benefits to those of us who pay the taxes to FUND those benefits?
    Whose bright idea was ‚Äútoday, we won‚Äôt work to show you that you can‚Äôt exist without us.‚Äù  Yeah, that‚Äôs a great idea, make your point by making everyone‚Äôs life a little more aggravating by not showing up for work.  Knowing the Unemployment Insurance system, you can probably collect for being ‚Äúlaid off‚Äù for stupidity.  Frigging liberals.

Hundreds gather at Foss Park in support of fair immigration reform
Mayor Curtatone: This is your city. It doesn’t matter where you come from

By Benjamin Witte

    Hundreds of people collected in Foss Park Monday in a show of local support for a one-day, nationwide protest dubbed ‚ÄúA day without Immigrants.‚Äù Like other demonstrations across the country ‚Äì there were some 30 in Massachusetts alone ‚Äì the Foss Park gathering provided participants a public opportunity to demand fair and humane immigration reform, and to protest against proposals in Congress that call for criminalizing all undocumented, foreign-born workers.
    Waving and wearing American flags as well as banners from their native countries, participants in the predominantly immigrant crowd also hoisted placards with messages such as ‚ÄúToday we march, tomorrow we vote‚Äù and ‚ÄúE.T. is an alien, immigrants = humans.‚Äù Organizers led the crowd in trilingual (English, Spanish and Portuguese) chants of ‚Äúyes we can,‚Äù and ‚Äúthe people united will never be defeated.‚Äù And participants were treated to several musical performances, including a moving rendition of ‚ÄúGod Bless America,‚Äù plus short speeches by local community leaders and political representatives.

Aldermen shoot down mayor’s proposal
By George P. Hassett

   The Board of Aldermen refused to appropriate money to fund a project proposed by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone at Thursday‚Äôs meeting.
   The project has been described as ‚Äúreverse 311,‚Äù and would allow the city to send communications to 1,000 residents per minute. With the technology, the city could notify the entire city of snow emergencies, train closings and school closings in under an hour. Curtatone asked the board to spend $29,199 on the service this year. For a full year, the service would cost $103,800, he said.

Venezuelan oil flows into Somerville

By Benjamin Witte

    A controversial heating program that‚Äôs raised shackles among some conservative politicians in Washington is being well received here in Somerville, where despite a mild winter, high oil prices make keeping warm a luxury some simply can‚Äôt afford.
    Since November, the CITGO oil company, working in collaboration with two Boston-based non-profits, Citizens Energy Corporation and Mass Energy, has been offering low-income Massachusetts residents and qualifying organizations major discounts on heating oil.

Keeping it reel: The Independent Film Festival hits Davis Square
By Julian Peterson

   The 4th annual Independent Film Festival shuttered April 23 after six days of films, galas, and workshops. The Festival grows steadily each year as evidenced by the round-the-block lines at the Somerville Theater and an array of corporate sponsors.  But the festival is refreshingly free of the corporate definition of "independent," which in other festivals have threatened a truly independent agenda. The hard work of this festival’s all-volunteer staff and enthusiasm of its audience capture the spirit of the IFFB as much as the film lineup.

Local unicyclist “joggles” way into record books
By Benjamin Witte

    Last week, 24-year-old Zach Warren, a Harvard Divinity School (HDS) student and one-time Somerville resident ‚Äì he still frequents the city on his unicycle ‚Äì finished the Boston Marathon in just under three hours. Not bad at all for an amateur participating in just his fourth full marathon. What‚Äôs even more impressive is that during all 26.2 miles of the grueling event, Warren steadily juggled three yellow balls. In fact, with a final time of 2:58:23, Warren broke the old world record ‚Äì his own ‚Äì for ‚Äújoggling,‚Äù which is exactly what it sounds like: jogging while juggling.

No complaints for Galluccio

Anthony Galluccio won his legal battle today when a Boston Municipal Court clerk refused to issue a drunk driving complaint against him which originated in December when Galluccio caused a three car accident in Boston. If Galluccio stays out of trouble for one year the case will then be dismissed.

Galluccio hearing still in session

According to a legal source inside the Boston Municipal Court, the clerk’s hearing for a drunk driving complaint against state Senate candidate Anthony Galluccio is still in session. The source said it was extremely unusual for a hearing to go as long as this one has, estimated at almost two hours.

Developing…

Galluccio hearing in session

By George P. Hassett

The state Senate candidate accused by eye witnesses of causing a three car accident and driving drunk is in court today for a hearing to determine the future of the case.

Anthony Galluccio, D-Cambridge, is currently in a clerk’s hearing in Boston Municipal Court. He has admitted to causing the December crash but denies eye witness reports that he was intoxicated. He was not arrested at the scene of the accident but the case was re-opened when the other drivers involved in the crash said Galluccio appeared to be drunk.

The hearing is not open to the press, but the Somerville News has a contributor on location and will report the clerk’s decision as soon as it is announced.

Developing…