By George P. Hassett

Fifty one teenagers are going to be working in city departments this summer because of a botched guerilla advertising campaign. Money the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) paid to Somerville as a result of costs incurred during the infamous ‚ÄúAqua Teen Hunger Force‚Äù  scare on Jan. 31 will be used to fund jobs for city youth.   

On Jan. 31, devices were installed throughout the Boston area, including Sullivan Square in Somerville, by Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens as part of an elaborate national guerrilla marketing campaign. They were taken to be suspicious, prompting authorities to close down major road and waterways to investigate.
 

TBS admitted responsibility and apologized for the misunderstanding. As part of a settlement with the Attorney General‚Äôs office, TBS paid Somerville $69,000, all of which ‚Äì plus another $11,000 from the city — is going to fund part of Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone‚Äôs Summer Jobs program.

Beginning this week and running through August 24, the 2007 program will provide 128 students, ages 16 to 20, with positions in both the public and private sectors. Fifty-one students will work in seventeen city departments, including Traffic and Parking, Recreation, Department of Public Works and the Council on Aging.

Fifty-seven students will hold positions within a variety of private businesses and agencies such as Market Basket, Kmart, Triumvirate Environmental, Groundworks Somerville, and Pet Spa.   

In addition, 30 students will also participate in the grant-funded Byrne Grant Program, a program administered through the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety, which awarded Somerville with $35,000 to fund youth employment initiatives in the city.

Participants in the Byrne Grant programs will hold part-time positions in nonprofit agencies and businesses across the city. An additional twenty-one students were referred to the Counselor in Training Program funded through the Somerville YMCA.

Participants attended an orientation session June 25 that included interactive panel discussions between Curtatone and city staff, encouragement from motivational speaker Paul Lewis, and information sessions to guide participants through the job process and offering advice on how to prepare for joining the workforce. Each student also participated in a series of job interviews before being selected for the position.