Pages
Stay In Touch
More
© 2026 The Somerville Times. All rights reserved.
Ten pounds of marijuana confiscated
By George P. Hassett and Catherine Rogers
Three different law enforcement agencies worked together to seize a large shipment of marijuana today on Spring Street.
At approximately 11:00 a.m. the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with the assistance of the Medford Police and the Somerville Police, conducted a controlled delivery of a package allegedly containing ten pounds of marijuana.
Continue reading »
Somerville residents: No extension for Green Line extension
By Catherine Rogers
As Somerville residents see it, postponing construction of a new Green Line stop is postponing the welfare of the entire city.
At a hearing at the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Dec. 21 the public voiced its concerns regarding amendments to the language of the Ozone State Implementation Plan (OSIP).
“The health issues alone are enough for the DEP to make the right call,” said Somerville resident Peter Demasey, also a father of two children, ages 4 and 6.
Continue reading »
The View From Prospect Hill for the week of Dec. 28
If the Progressive Democrats of Somerville are as smart as we hope they are, they must realize they have just removed one of the most effective progressive leaders ever to work in Somerville.
For more than two decades Ward 6 Alderman Jack Connolly encouraged neighborhood involvement, increased transparency in city government and never promised his vote away.
And now he has been voted out of office.
Continue reading »
Lyrical Somerville for the week of Dec. 28
You can tell a lot about a person by just sitting with them in a coffee shop, or in the case of poet Rebecca Kaiser Gibson, in a local Dunkin’ Donuts. Here Gibson studies the man behind the cup. To have your work considered for the Lyrical send it to: Doug Holder 25 School St. Somerville, Mass. 02143 dougholder@post.harvard.edu
Dunkin’ Donuts – Somerville, Mass.
I was there with a guy whose uncles tossed him
into manhood and the shipyard in San Francisco
where men meant muscle
to hoist barrels, fists
for ropes and children’s tricks
with hard candy. It’s not like lawyers’
this wariness, or college politicians,’
no one talks. It goes without
saying. A woman, for instance,
was seen top to toe, stopping here and there,
didn’t matter what she was wearing He knew
when to look eye to eye, when to cut off.
I was there with a guy southwestern in the butt,
tight as a prairie hare’s, who knew
when to touch
me to say she’s mine.
I’d seen the fence thin thigh
twined in jewelweed, And the still beneath
the peaty soil hid by rhododendron
in a West Virginia wood. I saw the pride
of hawthorn, isolate, Its tender limbs gone hard
for a season without ceremony.
He held a coffee cup.
Rebecca Kaiser Gibson
Interview with the old guard: Avant- Garde artist Aldo Tambellini
by Doug Holder
I first met Aldo Tambelini about five years ago, when we were involved in a group that was putting out a poetry anthology: “City of Poets: 18 Boston Voices.” Tambellini is a poet who has been a longtime political activist, an avant-garde film and video maker, a sculptor, and painter. Tambellini was born in Syracuse, N.Y. 1930, and was taken to Italy to live shortly after. His neighborhood in the Italian village he resided in was bombed during World War ll, and he lost 21 neighbors and friends.
Continue reading »
Sheriff endorses Moroney
Middlesex Sheriff James V. DiPaola announced his endorsement of Elizabeth Moroney for state representative in the 27th Middlesex District special Democratic Primary today.
“When it comes to safer streets and neighborhoods for Somerville, Elizabeth Moroney is the candidate for State Representative who has the ability and the legislative experience to get results. As Sheriff, I trust Elizabeth Moroney to ensure Somerville receives the local aid and public safety resources it needs to support law enforcement in the community,” he said.
The Democratic Primary is Tuesday, January 10, 2006.
Caught: ‘The Baby Face Bank Robber’
By George P. Hassett
The “Baby Face Bank Robber,” who was allegedly responsible for bank robberies from Somerville to Saugus, was apprehended and charged by Somerville police today in connection with two recent heists.
Anthony Goffredo was christened with his nickname because of his rounded, immature facial features. Lt. Paul Upton said Goffredo turned himself in after he saw his own image during a local news story on a robbery at the Winter Hill Savings Bank Friday.
Within hours of the broadcast, he turned himself in to Malden Police on unrelated warrants. Upton said the 23 year old Medford man has been charged with the Dec. 8th robbery of the Sovereign Bank at 125 Broadway and the Dec. 23rd robbery of Winter Hill Savings Bank at 342 Broadway. Goffredo is also being investigated by the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force, said Upton.
“Baby Face” Goffredo did not show a weapon in his Winter Hill Savings Bank job, allegedly only passing a note to an unsuspecting teller. Police arrived on the scene in less than one minute, but could not catch up to Baby Face until today.
Connolly: I lost an election not a reputation
By George P. Hassett
When John M. Connolly was growing up in Ward 6, Davis Square was full of nothing but wino’s and wise guys.
“It was just nasty. Gin mills and dens of iniquity were the only places to go if you were in Davis Square,” he said.
Fast forward almost forty years and Davis Square has gone from a center of sin to a haven of hip. For the last two decades, Connolly has been the alderman for the neighborhood, assisting in that transformation. But the Dec. 20 Board of Aldermen meeting was his last after a 157 vote defeat to 28 year-old Rebekah Gewirtz.
“I’ve had the opportunity to see what my wake would be like. People come by all the time now to tell me how bad they feel about the election. But I haven’t died and I’m not going anywhere. If anything, I’m re-energized,” he said.
Continue reading »
Tours illuminate city’s holiday spirit
By George P. Hassett
When winter rolls around to Somerville, Horacio Medeiros climbs up to his roof and begins his work. For the past 20 years Medeiros has worked tirelessly – sometimes up to 30 hours a week – on decorating his Mangus St. home in extravagant holiday fashion.
“I began decorating my home for my daughter when she was young. She loved how the house would light up. That was a long time ago now,” he said.
This year Medeiros’ home is part of the Somerville Arts Council’s annual Illuminations Tour – a 45 minute trolley ride through city streets, highlighting and celebrating the folk-artistry of residents who transform their homes into wild displays of holiday pomp. The tour began Saturday Dec. 17.
Continue reading »
as a special treat on this Holiday – a second look at Reality Bites by James Norton…
Reality Bites by James Norton for the week of December 21
A non-mysterious Christmas Tale
‘Twas the night before Christmas and the Mayor is afluster –
How will he win back the cops, to whom he’s been a ball-buster?
The deal has been struck with The Midget and his cohorts,
Another job in the family of the one whom they say extorts.
With labor conditions in the sick building at an all-time low-point,
Now would be the perfect time for another puppet to appoint.
Let’s not forget about the toys for the tots that had vanished,
Just what does it take for a member of the “team” to be banished?
Something seems odd, why won’t the Mayor admonish his puppets;
Maybe the rumors are true and he’s merely the Hogg’s Muppet.
Meanwhile, drivers have supposedly been trained in the Yard,
In the hopes that someday soon they’ll have their own CDL card.
On Gerwitz, on Jehlen, Provost and all manner of Progressive;
They have turned local politics around, it has become downright regressive.
Harking back to the days of SUN, SCEOC and other liberal organizations,
It is the death of the old-boy network, ignorance leading to their own political castrations.
Rumor has it that the Feds have been grazing in our own backyard;
Conspiracy theories running wild, people’s loyalties completely charred.
At a time when people should be trying to heal;
Wounds run deep, apologies unspoken, it’s very surreal.
In the year of the never-ending elections;
It’s a great time to piece the puzzle together – time to show the interconnections.
Of the people behind the scenes; they do nothing but watch the ‘blog
And wait their turn to post some nasty tidbit about some cog.
In the wheel of local political life that is known as “the dance”;
Comes many a Pod-Person, some even willing to finance.
Someone who will send the current administration home to pack;
It won’t matter much; the next one will be the next King of the Hacks.
So they say things will never change – to those I feel sorry;
If you don’t learn to mend the fences now, it will be your own folly.
In this time of holiday cheer, mirth and merry,
Why do we have to have so many people unwary?
In any case, this year we probably won’t see old Saint Nick,
It’s not Christmas anymore, it’s merely a carrot stick.
For us, it’s still called Christmas – nothing more, nothing less;
Not just some symbol of antiseptic excess.
From us here at The Somerville News, we wish all good night and be well;
And for those unwilling to laugh at themselves, then just go to Hell.
Reader Comments