Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

I remember trick or treating back in the day. There was no such thing as “fun size” candy. We got full size bars or “dentist’s delights.” At the height of our childhood Halloween fun, we’d have to go home to empty out our pillow cases and go to more houses for more candy. Remember looking at the lousy treat the neighbor would drop in your sack? The biggest rip-off would be the houses that plopped an apple into your bag. No one wanted a stupid apple for Halloween plus it would crush the good stuff! The only thing worse than fruit was the nut who would put a handful of loose popcorn in there.

If you’re planning to brave the storm excepted for this Halloween, please take a minute to review the safety tips below to make sure you have a frightfully good time trick or treating.

The City Election in Somerville is taking place next Tuesday, November 5. All registered voters are encouraged to get out and let their preferences be known by casting their votes for various city officials.

By The Times Staff

Registered voters of Somerville will be heading to the polls next Tuesday, November 5, to cast their votes for several seats in the city’s governmental body.

In contention are candidates for mayor, four City Councilors At-Large, and two members of the School Committee.

Here are our picks for the candidates who we feel would best serve the city in their respective upcoming terms:

Superchunk will be presenting a live acoustic show commemorating the 25th anniversary of the release of their album “Foolish.”— Photo by Lissa Gotwals

By Blake Maddux

As the cofounder of both the Chapel Hill quartet Superchunk and the venerated record label Merge, each with Laura Ballance, Mac MacCaughan’s credentials as the embodiment of American indie rock and its DIY ethos are beyond reproach.

Happy Halloween to everyone! We hope everyone out there is careful driving tomorrow night when children will be out trick or treating. Be safe!

Call to Arts, a newly formed grassroots effort to advocate for and advance the work of local artists, has launched a Create the Vote campaign for Somerville’s 2019 municipal elections. Create the Vote is a non-partisan, grassroots campaign to engage voters and candidates for office on the vital role that arts, culture and creative expression play in improving our schools, strengthening our economy, and building neighborhoods where people want to live, work, and play.

The SHS Highlanders improved to 2–6 with a victory over the Medford Mustangs last Friday night.

By Adam Parise

The Somerville High School Highlanders won last week’s football conference game vs. the Medford Mustangs with a final score of 21-16. The game was played last Friday, October 25 at Hormel Stadium.

By Michelle Hillman

Rolando Rojas, 24, is fulfilling the motto “Lift as You Climb” by returning to Guatemala for the first time in six years to deliver school supplies to children who lack the basics like shoes and books.

Rojas learned the motto while at Year Up, an educational nonprofit in Boston that helps young adults move from minimum wage jobs to professional careers in one year. Rojas graduated with honors from Year Up and is now using an $800 grant from the organization to lift up his community.

On Saturday, October 26, Somerville’s Deborah Mason Performing Arts Center hosted Scrooge’s Tricks and Treats – A Halloween Boogie Benefit to raise money for the eleventh annual Cambridge Youth Dance Company’s (CYDP) production of the holiday dance-theatre tradition What the Dickens! December 14. 15, 21, and 22 at John Hancock Hall.

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I met Evan Northrup at my unofficial office at the back of the Bloc 11 Cafe in Union Square, Somerville. Northrup certainly has a stage presence. He speaks in an upbeat cadence and flashes a winning smile. I have never interviewed a magician before, but from my childhood I remember some darkly attired men, pulling an unfortunate bunny out a top hat, or of the enigmatic smile of an attractive woman about to be in cut in half, and miraculously brought back to her whole state.