News talk for the week of Feb. 15

Seems like the SHA Director Joe Macaluso, former board member Herb Foster and  a couple of employees recently traveled to Paradise Island in the Bahamas.  We hear it was a quick getaway, but also a fact finding mission. They brought along Warren Chalie and Alex Capobianco, two of Somerville‚Äôs finest, as body guards. Why would they need bodyguards? Maybe Joe was thinking he was going to win a lot of money. What we can‚Äôt understand is why Rob McWaters (clerk of committee for the Board of Alderman) went along. Was it to spy on the SHA guys for his bosses back at the Board of Alderman? We don‚Äôt know but we know it was on their own time, and the bar tender at the pool was well tipped, what does that mean?   
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Yes, its true former Ward 6 Alderman Jack Connolly was recently appointed as the City of Somerville’s Hearing Officer. He will hear appeals from the various departments in the city. The state mandated this position for all cities and towns in the commonwealth. We wish him luck at it…he certainly has the experience.

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Two weeks ago at a Board of Alderman meeting, a resolution was put forth to ban stickball playing in the playground of the Brown School. We believe this resolution is a good example of what is going wrong in this city these days. Neighborhood kids engaging in harmless recreational activities should be encouraged, not admonished. They shouldn’t be forced into the street to encounter the negativity that awaits there (drugs, gangs, etc.,). Sure, we sympathize with the homeowner who has to deal with a tennis ball hitting the side of their house every now and again, but why did they buy a home next to a schoolyard? This incident is only part of a larger pattern in this city where families with children are being pushed out.

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Here‚Äôs a prediction: the Democrats have their convention and Tom Reilly doesn‚Äôt do as well as expected, backs out of the Governor‚Äôs race and stays on as Attorney General (we can hear him now: ‚ÄúThere is work that remains to be done. I can not abandon the good people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at this point‚Ķ‚Äù). Then Martha Coakley would stay on as District Attorney in Middlesex County and Jarrett Barrios would have to continue serving as state Senator —  it would be like a reverse domino affect. Guess it all hangs on weather Reilly stays in the Governors race. We think Deval Patrick will win the convention endorsement by a big margin.
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Speaking of the race for District Attorney, state Rep. Michael Festa announced this week he was dropping out to lead a multimillion dollar project for the Council for State Governments. This leaves only Gerald Leone and Barrios in the race to replace Coakley. There is no telling yet who will benefit most from Festa’s defection.

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There was a meeting last week at the State House to discuss the status of several state owned skating rinks — including the Veterans Memorial Rink here in Somerville. Several Somerville politicians were in attendance, including Aldermen Bruce Desmond, Bill Roche and soon to be state Rep. Denise Provost. The state wants to lease out the rinks (and their responsibilities) to the cities and towns that use them. A Department of Conservation and Recreation representative said the state will not offer cities any help in maintaining the rinks. Desmond has organized a group to buy the rink and save it from the bureaucratic clutches of the state.

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Still no word on the missing money at the Traffic & Parking Dept. We are keeping track and waiting for an announcement from the mayor any day now regarding the missing money.
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We were just notified that the Somerville High class of 1966 will be holding its 40 Year High School reunion October 7th at the City Club. Damn was it 40 years ago that Mrs. Browns daughter was heard up at Somerville High? Or was that Sloopy??  Previous reunions were held jointly but the class of 1966 had over 900 graduates. We bet if you look at the school budget for 1966 and compare it with 2006, you will see a huge difference.
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Wow. Six years have gone by already and former Mayor Gene Brune is running for re-election for the Middlesex County Register of Deeds. He is having a kick off party on March 8th sponsored by the popular Secretary of State Bill Galvin, Mayor Joe Curtatone and State Auditor A. Joseph DeNucci. Kickoff to be held at Anthony’s, we wish Gene the best, no one no one doubts that he is the best Register of Deeds around.