News Talk for the week of Dec. 6

It sometimes pays to be cancelled – take for instance the Mayor‚Äôs fundraiser that was cancelled by the Rack in Boston over the threat of the Union‚Äôs picketing.  The Mayor‚Äôs people got right on it and didn‚Äôt miss a beat – same day, same time, just about the same location‚Ķthis time at Boston Rocks – a place over the Quincy Market in Boston.  The event was totally jam-packed ‚Äì at one point it was literally wall-to-wall with people.  Mayor Joe was excited and he should be  – it seemed like it was successful in many ways.  Some Aldermen were missing from the event, but one of his strongest supporters on the Board, the current President – Maryann Heuston, gave a rousing speech on the good things happening within our city because of Joe Curtatone being Mayor.  By the way, he made it perfectly clear to everyone that he‚Äôs not going anywhere anytime soon ‚Äì that he enjoys being the Mayor of Somerville and he made a statement saying he has a lot more to accomplish.

   
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The new Middlesex County Clerk of Courts, Michael Sullivan, is having a fundraiser tonight – Wednesday the 6th – at the Sheraton Commander in Harvard Square.  We are sure lots of family, friends and his supporters will be in attendance.   
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Lots of comments on the weblog about Mike Buckley being ‚ÄúThe Mole‚Äù.  Although we may not know who The Mole is exactly, we can tell you that there is no one more loyal to Mayor Joe than Mike Buckley.  Mike is, in the words of someone who knows him well, a ‚Äútake a bullet for him‚Äù type of guy.  Mike is one of only a handful of us left who actually know the true meaning of ‚Äúloyalty‚Äù ‚Äì not one of the ‚Äúthrow everyone under the bus‚Äù type who seem to be growing in numbers lately ‚Äì especially in the political arena.  Not today‚Äôs Throw them under the bus attitude type of guy, which is prevalent throughout the city lately by a lot of politicians and there supporters.  In any case, we don‚Äôt think Mike is The Mole.
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Congratulations to former Somerville Police Officer Kerry Hogan, who recently won $100K a year for life in the Mass Lottery – she purchased the ticket right here in Somerville.   
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A dedicated Somerville Fireman recently passed away‚ĶLt. Kevin Hough passed away after being diagnosed with lung cancer ‚Äì and he insisted on working.  To his friends and family and everyone who knew him, especially his brothers in the SFD, our sympathies go out to you all from us at The Somerville News.  He will be missed.
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A 911 call was made called early this past Friday morning to take Bert Gay to Mt. Auburn Hospital – he‚Äôs resting at home now and we wish him a speedy recovery.  Also, Eddie Tauro was hospitalized on Friday for surgery ‚Äì he should be released this week and we also wish him a speedy recovery.
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The members of Somerville Lodge of Masons made a sizeable donation to the Somerville Boys & Girls Club to help them out with the recent theft of the computers at the club.  Somerville Lodge members have been very generous especially recently in many donations to local organizations.
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Congratulations to Patricia Ng ‚Äì the Broker/Owner of Century 21 here in Somerville and Cambridge – who recently merged her company with 11 other Century 21 offices in the Metro-Boston area to form the new Century 21 Commonwealth.  Pat Ng has been a powerhouse real estate broker here in the Somerville market for a number of years and we wish her luck.
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The Somerville News ‚ÄúBest of Somerville‚Äù for 2006 will be out in January, so look for it and don‚Äôt forget to nominate/vote for your favorites.  This year we‚Äôre going to be just a bit more creative in the categories and if you have one we haven‚Äôt thought of yet, then let us know so we can put it out there.
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In the last issue of the paper, the comment about the Post Office with new hours for pickup was correct – the new time frame is 1PM daily around the city, but we forgot to mention that the boxes in front as well as inside the Post Offices themselves still say 1PM and 5PM.  There will be no pickups anywhere else in the city other than at the Post Offices themselves.   
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