Voters cast their ballots for the presidential primaries in Somerville’s City Council Chambers on February 28.

By Rachel Sharples

Somerville residents of all ages flowed in and out of City Hall last week to vote early in the presidential primaries. Although early voting was available in the 2016 presidential election, this year was the first that people could vote ahead of time for a primary election.

Post Animal is set to perform at ONCE Ballroom on Thursday, March 12. – Photo by Alexa Viscius

By Blake Maddux

One would be forgiven for presuming that a progressive rock group from the 1970s was responsible for albums with titles like Post Animal Perform the Most Curious Water Activities, When I Think of You in a Castle, and Forward Motion Godyssey.

The annual Somerville Maple Syrup Project has returned for its 17th season. It began with a local maple tree tapping on the Tufts University’s Somerville/Medford campus. The project will culminate in the Maple Syrup Boil Down at the Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave., just outside Union Square, this weekend on Saturday, March 7, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Rain date March 14, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) If you are interested in learning more or volunteering for the project, email volunteer@thegrowingcenter.org.

Type designer June Shin of Occupant Fonts spoke at the Katherine Small Gallery on February 28.

By Shira Laucharoen

What does it mean to be an occupant? This is the question that Cyrus Highsmith, type designer of Occupant Fonts, poses. Occupant is an open-ended word, he says. To be an occupant, one must be present and open-minded. It implies a temporary stay, but the place of occupancy can be “as much of a home as a permanent one,” he states. “Typefaces occupy, engage, and express within spaces often structured by others.”

Eagle Feathers #198 – The First of March

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

On March 1, 1945, in the twilight of World War II in Europe, four-term elected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made his last speech before Congress. The President, a polio victim, spoke officially for the first time while seated, setting aside his heavy leg braces. He would succumb to the disease within the following month.

Who thought this thing up anyway? Spring forward, fall back. Or is that fall forward, spring back? The only way we can ever be sure is if we’re early or late for church Sunday morning, or whatever it is you do on Sunday morning.

To be fair, there’s usually someone around smart enough to know the difference, if it isn’t you yourself.

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Inside the Combat Zone: The Stripped Down Story of Boston’s Most Notorious Neighborhood

“Upscale restaurants, majestic theaters, and luxury condos line the streets of downtown Boston today. Students, office workers, doctors, and shoppers navigate the busy sidewalks along Washington and Boylston Streets, giving little thought to the historical significance of their surroundings. The bustle distracts passersby from what may be the city’s dirtiest little secret: these blocks were once home to Boston’s most notorious neighborhood. The Combat Zone, a five-plus-acre, city-sanctioned adult entertainment district, was as sordid and alluring as anything found in Amsterdam or Vegas. Indeed, Boston’s now toney neighborhood once resembled the set of HBO’s The Deuce, all with the blessing of city officials.”

— From the author’s website

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Scott Ruescher is the author of Waiting for the Light to Change, a collection of poems published by Prolific Press in 2017, and the winner of annual prizes from Able Muse, Poetry Quarterly, and the New England Poetry Club. This is his second contribution to Lyrical Somerville.

These are the unofficial results in Massachusetts.

After a close Democratic race, Joe Biden wins Massachusetts.

Democratic candidates
Joe Biden 33.90%
Bernie Sanders 27.28%
Elizabeth Warren 20.36%
Mike Bloomberg 11.62%
Tulsi Gabbard 0.77%

Arrests:

Carmen Polito, February 26, 6:54 p.m., arrested at Somerville Ave. on warrant charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery.

Vladimir Lora, of 449 Canal St., February 28, 3:42 a.m., arrested at Tower St. on warrant charges of marked lanes violation, failure to notify RMV of name or address change, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor second offense, speeding, and operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license.