June
was one of the most challenging months that anybody around here can
remember. Between, on the one hand, the state's fiscal crisis and some
very hard local budget choices and, on the other hand, taking
Somerville home to victory in the All America City competition down in
Tampa, you might think that the City was ready for a little down time.
But while the weather may be cooler than normal, this has been a hot
summer for governmental news and action.

On July 20th, Governor
Patrick, Senator Kerry, Congressman Capuano and state Economic
Development Secretary Gregory Bialecki all came to Somerville to
announce that Assembly Square will be receiving a total of $65 million
in state and federal money to underwrite fast-track construction of the
public roadway, water and sewer infrastructure that must precede the
next phase of privately-funded construction. $50 million of that amount
will come from the state's Infrastructure Investment Incentive
(I-Cubed) program, with the other $15 million coming direct from the
federal government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
Highway Transportation Fund.

Assembly Square has been moving
along steadily despite the economic downturn, but this timely infusion
of public dollars will accelerate activity at the site and allow the
private developers to put their private dollars to work on the actual
retail, housing and office development that will transform the Mystic
waterfront into Somerville's newest neighborhood.

In the short
term, that means hundreds, and even thousands, of construction jobs and
a boost for local property values. In the long run, it means thousands
of permanent jobs and an increased commercial tax base to help ease the
squeeze on Somerville's hard-pressed residential property taxpayers.

The
news didn't come as a complete surprise. The Governor has been saying
for some time that he wants to support Smart Growth, transit-oriented,
sustainable projects like Assembly Square – and a when he visited
Assembly Square back in February, Senator Kerry pointed out that this
project is more than "shovel-ready;" it's shovel-active. Besides, with
Congressman Capuano working effectively to secure $25 million in
federal funding for a new Assembly Square Orange Line Station, all the
moving parts of this project were falling into place, making it the
perfect location to get the most bang for the stimulus buck.

Until
yesterday, however, we had no idea how generous the state and federal
support would be. This level of backing at this crucial time is
incredibly valuable to our city and our entire region, and we have
every reason to be thankful – and hopeful – as Assembly Square moves
forward.

When it comes to keeping this project on track to
realize its full potential for our city and region, it's impossible to
overstate the roles played by Governor Patrick, Senator Kerry and
Congressman Capuano. Not only have they grasped the value of what we're
doing along the Mystic riverfront, but they have invested their vision,
clout and political capital in helping make it happen. In this, as in
so many other ways, they have earned our thanks and our support – as
have the members of our statehouse delegation and our energetic Board
of Aldermen.

The news on Assembly Square isn't the only reminder
that Somerville enjoys the strong support of effective allies at every
level of government: A story in the July 21st issue of the Boston Globe
raises questions about the state's ability to finance the next
generation of regional transit improvements – including the Green Line
Extension. But if you look past the misleading headline ("Green Line
extension funding in question"), what you learn is that the Green Line
from Lechmere to Tufts at College Ave may be the only major new transit
project that the state remains firmly committed to building on
schedule. True, there are rumblings that the state might be slow in
finishing the final leg of the project – from Tufts to Route 16. But
nobody is talking about curtailing Somerville's stretch of the Green
Line – even at a time when, according to the Globe, "the Urban Ring,
the Silver Line bus tunnel, and the Blue Line extension to Lynn [may
all be] excluded from the group of projects eligible for federal
funding."

Somerville has earned a reputation as a dynamic,
forward-looking and creative city that knows how to plan and is worth
investing in. As we continue our efforts to emerge even stronger and
better from a down economy, we're going to depend on that reputation,
and we're going to need all the support we can muster – but the signs
are good that we have the key backing we need on Beacon Hill and
Capitol Hill.

And, speaking of Beacon Hill, there's a
legislative hearing this week on the latest bill to help Verizon
undermine local cable franchising and gain an unfair advantage over its
competitors. A statewide coalition of local governments, cable access
groups and just plain folks beat down the first version of this
legislation back in 2007, but it's back again for another go.

We
have said publicly that the City would be happy to work with Verizon to
bring its FiOS cable and data service to Somerville residents. But it's
wrong to create an unequal playing field in which Verizon gets to enter
new markets under terms that are very different than those applied to
the current cable providers. It's also wrong to take away the authority
of local communities to enforce basic license requirements, such as
mandating that cable providers serve the whole community or help pay
the cost of public access and educational programming. That's why, as
chairman of the Massachusetts Mayors Association's Telecommunications
Task Force, I have led my colleagues in opposing this type of
legislation in the past – and why I continue to oppose it now.

Will
the pace ever wind down at city hall this summer? The answer is
"Probably not." But that's part of the fun of living and working in a
truly exciting community like Somerville. I wouldn't want it any other
way.