By Jim Clark

Last Wednesday morning, an individual entered the Somerville Police station to report that their vehicle had been broken into the night before.

The victim told police that he had parked his vehicle in front of his house on Electric Ave. at 6:00 p.m. the that evening.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

At the first mumblings of snow, us kids went into “snow day mode.” We watched Don Kent on Channel 4 and waited to see “Somerville” flash across the screen during the no school warnings. If Sudbury flashed, no dice! But eventually when we saw Somerville scroll across, we became jubilant! No school!

Event to be held on January 25 at the Historic Sheraton Commander
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By Francine C. LaChance

2019 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the Grolier Poetry Foundation and Forums Trust. The first in a series of events, planned to raise financial support and celebrate the Grolier legacy, features Peter Balakian, Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet and Grolier Board Member, and Susan Barba, Poet and Senior Editor for New York Review Books. They will read from their poetry, discuss their work, sign books, and take questions from the audience. This event will be held on Friday, January 25, at 7pm, at the historic Sheraton Commander, coincidentally, also established in 1927, the same year as the Groler. Afterwards, there will be a reception with generous amounts of delicious hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Although the reading starts at 7pm, doors will open at 6:15pm to welcome guests who would like to enjoy food and a drink before the reading.

City officials are taking proactive measures to help lessen the strain on neighborhoods that will be affected by the Ball Square Broadway Bridge closure this spring.

Easing the pain as the Ball Sq. Bridge closure unfolds
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By Jim Clark

With the Ball Square Broadway Bridge closure due to take place sometime in March, many are wondering just how badly traffic congestion throughout the immediate vicinity and neighboring areas will be.

By Marshall Collins

Union Square’s small businesses are enjoying increased attention lately, from established spots like Machu Picchu Restaurant to more recent arrivals like Union Square Donuts – not to mention an entirely new small business marketplace on Bow Street.

Residents and business owners already know much of what Union Square has to offer – arts, culture, music, artisanal foods, ethnic restaurants, a vibrant community and a strong identity. Somerville has always been innovative (it’s the birthplace of Fluff!) and independent (it was the first to raise the U.S. flag!). but more and more visitors and residents are coming out to taste, shop and explore all that Union Square has to offer.

Somerville’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration has been rescheduled to Monday, January 28 due to last weekend’s snowstorm. The celebration will take place at the East Somerville Community School auditorium, 50 Cross St., from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The event will feature musical performances, readings by winners of the student essay contest, and more. This year, the Somerville Human Rights Commission is also holding a Winter Clothing Drive during the event. Donations of gently used or new winter clothing for school-aged children are welcome, and will be distributed to the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative’s Clothing Closet.

Even Samuel L. Jackson’s powerhouse performance is not enough to save “Glass” from itself.

By Michael LoPilato

Glass is a troubled movie. It’s a mixed bag of entertainment and utter goofiness. It’s a part magnificent, part pretentious ordeal, but ultimately, Glass is unable to hold the weight of the two films (Unbreakable, Split) that precede it.

We open on David Dunn, the man who survived a train crash without a scratch, played in a stoic yet restrained fashion by Bruce Willis. He’s embraced his heroism, gallivanting around Philadelphia in his signature green poncho, beating the living daylights out of petty criminals. We move on to Kevin Wendell Crumb, played magnificently again by James McAvoy. He’s still abducting and mutilating teenage girls. Dunn and Crumb meet, and this is where the fun and brilliance of Glass begins.

L to R: Somerville Public Schools volunteers Dr. Sylvia ‘Siva’ Fine and Dr. Albert Fine.

By Jen Capuano
SPS Volunteer Program

Somerville Public Schools are lucky to have in their midst some treasures of the human kind. At one of their elementary schools, two retired doctors (with the same last name but unrelated), have been volunteering every week for more than four years to read one-on-one with students. Recently Dr. Sylvia Fine and Dr. Albert Fine spoke about why they chose to volunteer in a school, how their volunteering is going, and what they believe students gain when paired with an adult for individualized reading.

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It’s that time of year when a substantial number of people bail on their New Year resolutions of exercising and eating healthy. However, there are still about 40% of people who do follow through with those resolutions for at least six months. https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/2019/01/08/saturday-jan-12-day-most-people-give-up-new-years-resolution/2483512002/ Regardless of where you fit into the above mentioned statistics, this smoothie is delicious and packed with protein without making you feel as though you’re on a diet. I find this to be quite satisfying and can also be made completely dairy free.

The tension is mounting in certain circles as we all await what doom may befall us once the Ball Square Broadway Bridge closing takes place.

What is already not the most ideal traffic situation will surely become a snarl of some measurable magnitude once the big event becomes a fact of our daily life. How bad it can be is anyone’s guess, but we can surely hope for the best, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable frustration.