Gay to mayor: Show some respect
By George P. Hassett

   A simple crack going up the side of an abandoned School Street building caused a deeper crack in the relationship of the past two Somerville mayors this week.

                 Donald Gay looks up at the building he hates.

   The building at the corner of Avon and School Streets is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and has fallen into disrepair since it was closed thirty years ago. The building sports a visible crack on its side, and a broken fa√ßade overhead. In the 1980‚Äôs it was used as a ‚Äúshooting gallery‚Äù for heroin addicts.
In October the MBTA promised they would demolish the building. Little has happened since, said the Superintendent of Inspectional Services George Landers.

Mayor announces new parking rates

By George P. Hassett

   Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that the city of Somerville would revert to charging 25 cents for 30 minutes of parking at meters throughout the city.  In addition, one-hour meters along the entire Broadway corridor will be reprogrammed to permit parkers to pay for up to two hours at a time, and, beginning July 1, meters in off-street lots in Davis Square will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. instead of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
    In August, the cost of parking in Somerville for 30 minutes doubled, while meters along Broadway were shortened to one hour. The changes, made by Curtatone and the Traffic and Parking Commission, were met with unanimous disapproval from the business owners and patrons of Somerville. In January, the Board of Alderman voted 11-0 to advocate for a return to the original prices. Today Curtatone admitted the attempt to increase fees had not been successful.

Smiles brighten along Mystic Ave.
By George P. Hassett

  Forty children from the Mystic Ave. Housing Development filled the Winchester waiting room of dentist Janis Moriarty with smiles and laughter early Friday morning.
  They came in vans driven by local youth workers after Moriarty, a dentist, told Housing Authority Police Chief Karen Jenner she would provide free dental care to economically disadvantaged youth as part of the American Dental Association‚Äôs Give Kids a Smile Day. Over 42,000 dentists and dental team members at more than 2,500 sites across the country volunteered to help underserved children Friday.

Reality Bites by James Norton for the week of February 1

My glowing review of Brokeback Mountain – everyone should see this movie!

I‚Äôm just kidding, I haven‚Äôt seen it – yet.  But, in the immortal words of Detective Robert Goren from Law and Order ‚Äì Criminal Intent:  ‚Äúmade you look.‚Äù

Newstalk for the week February 1

Sorry bloggers, this is the abridged version of Newstalk. To read your favorite column in its entirety, you will have to pick up the print edition on the streets tomorrow morning.

We thought you’d want to know that your cell phone numbers are going public this week. All cell numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. You will be charged for these calls as well, telemarketers will eat up your minutes with the cost going to you. So you need to call 888-382-1222, the National Do Not Call list, taking up a minute of your time but saving you a lot of money. This will block them from calling you for 5 years. We thought you should know if you didn’t already.
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Seems like there is an uprising all around the city regarding the meter increases and the aggressive behavior of the meter Nazi‚Äôs. It almost seems like they are stalking people around the city giving them tickets the second the meter is up. Did you notice the ticket for expired meter has gone to $20.00 as well? Apparently all prices went up, we‚Äôre not surprised. All along Somerville Avenue seems like the businesses want meters installed so as to block out-of-towner‚Äôs from parking there and heading into town. A lot of the businesses are upset over these cars being left there all day. This should be good news for the administration and an easy fix, take the meters out of the squares and install them along Somerville Avenue.   
One alderman this week said the mayor will be making an announcement concerning the new parking meter fees very soon. The alderman added that the announcement should please the business community and the customers they serve. We hope the mayor has listened to the numerous complaints lodged against the new fees and rolls the price of parking in Somerville back.

Aldermen reject possible Green Line delay
By Catherine Rogers

On top of proposed delays to the Green Line extension project, Somerville and Medford residents will wait for action as the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection compiles input from a public discussion period regarding changes to public transit.

The View From Prospect Hill for the week of Jan. 25

What do we want from municipal government? We want of course, the major city services we pay for – safe streets, excellent schools and public works that work for us.

But we also want to be able to walk into City Hall and feel like we can be heard. We want a voice in the decision making process. If our voice is one of dissent we especially hope the mayor and aldermen can listen, if not help.

Nurse’s office closed one hour each day for paperwork
By Catherine Rogers

The effects of a nationwide shortage of registered nurses has many hospitals and healthcare facilities – and now Somerville public schools – straining to provide adequate care for patients.

In spite of the public school system filling its nursing staff quota Jan. 23 the nurses at Somerville High School still shutter the office during the school day to tend to administrative duties such as paperwork, physician follow-ups, follow-up visits and parent conferences.