This Friday night at the Somerville City Club starting at 7 p.m. is the fundraiser to help Det. Mario Oliviera and his family recover after Mario was shot in the line of duty Nov. 3. Tickets are available at the door and if you can’t make it you can still purchase raffle tickets. Mario has gone through a lot and he’s very well known here in the city. He’s a nice guy from a nice family and this is one good way to help out someone who has helped so many others in the community. Stop down, say hi and buy some raffle tickets. We hear its going to be wall to wall with friends. The City Club is off Washington Street directly across from the front door of Holiday Inn, lots of parking and easy to find.

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Here’s some good stuff, we heard, it appears that one of the Somerville Police officers was caught with his hands in the cookie jar! Or should we say candy jar? Rumor has it that back in October a generous Somerville citizen walked into the police station and donated bags of candy for the “Children’s Haunted House” on Broadway. Later that day, a police officer was allegedly caught on film red handed, we hear, hauling the Halloween treats to his personal car. When he was later confronted about the sweet tooth crime “denial” was the answer, so a choice of either a polygraph test or resignation was given to him and he took early leave, retirement. Now you’d think that with all the cameras nowadays a police officer would know to watch out.

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A big Happy Birthday to our good friend recently retired former Somerville Firefighter Cynthia Snow Murphy who is celebrating this week. Cindy is a very nice person and we wish her many more.

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Huge congratulations to our friends Gale and Ray Doane on their 40th wedding anniversary! Both are wonderful life long residents here in the city, as well as very involved in the community for many years, they have friends  all over Somerville, we wish them many more .

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Congratulations to Somerville’s own Michael Podymaitis who was elected Grand Worthy Patron of the Grand Chapter of Eastern Star here in Massachusetts. We wish Mike a great term of office he’s very qualified and a nice guy.

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Somerville High Adult Education classes are in progress, and some courses are still open to join in, if your interested go to the High School, main entrance to the office from 530 on any night…. One class that will start is the License Real Estate course which for now remains only 24 hours needed then you qualifiy for the exam, but after June of this year it goes to 40 hours…   if your interested you can still register for the class for 8 weeks on Tuesday  nights….     617-625-6600 ask for the evening school.

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We here at the News as well as VAVS Rep. Hazel Evans of the Bedford VA Hospital wish to send out a big thank you to Somerville Post 19 and the seniors of Somerville for holding their annual Christmas Workshop this past December for veterans and their families. After tallies came in, Somerville gave 196 gifts totaling $1,960 in which Somerville Seniors were responsible for raising three-quarters of the gifts and financial contributions. District American Legion Auxiliary Unit 19 Somerville came out on top as the biggest givers.

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A regular Ward Three Committee meeting will be held at 51 Berkeley St, on Sunday, January 30 at 11:00 a.m. All members of the Ward 3 Democratic Committee and registered Democrats are welcome.  The meeting will include a pot-lunch brunch. Please bring something to share. The meeting will conclude by 1:00 PM The agenda includes: Preparations for the Democratic Caucus to be held at Somerville High School on at 6:30 PM on Thursday, February 9, post-election review and discussion and planning for the political landscape ahead. City Committee membership dues of $7 will be due. Make checks out to the Somerville Democratic City Committee.

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The February 9 Democratic Caucus at Somerville High School will be a city-wide caucus to elect Delegates for the Democratic State Convention June 4 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell.  This year’s convention will be focusing on party building. Anyone who is a Somerville registered Democrat may run for delegate or alternate. The Democratic Party conducts an Affirmative Action and Outreach Program on behalf of groups that include Blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans and Cape Verdeans. Add-on delegate seats have been designated for these groups and Youth (age 18 to 35) as well as disabled individuals.

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Ward Three will elect four Female and four Male Delegates and one Female , one Male and one Female or Male Alternates. If you have any questions please call Ward Three Chair,  Michael Grunko, at 617/669-1945.

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The ball has dropped, 2011 is upon us, and we’ve shoveled more snow than most Alaskans will all year. DARBI feels your back pain and they have the perfect fix for those winter blahs: January Cocktail Hour! This month, they are exploring Diva Lounge at 246 Elm Street from 5:30-7:30 p.m. A perfect spot to warm up and forget about all that snow outside! DARBI, the Davis Area Resident and Business Initiative.

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A coalition that includes the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, City of Boston, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and anti-poverty agencies such as the Community Action Agency of Somerville are once again launching a statewide campaign to spread the word regarding the Earned Income Tax Credit and provide FREE tax filing assistance to help people access those credits. This is the coalition’s third year providing a coordinated, EITC outreach, information and service initiative in Massachusetts. EITC is the federal and state income tax credit available to low and moderate-income working families and individuals – it can put up to $6,516 in your pocket this tax season! If you are a working family with three or more qualifying children filing a joint return and your family earned less than $43,352 ($48,362 married filing jointly) in 2010, you are eligible for up to $6,516 in federal and state credits. A family with two qualifying children and earnings of $40,363 ($45,373 filing jointly) is eligible for credits totaling $5,791. A family with one qualifying child and earnings of $35,535 ($40,545 married filing jointly) is eligible for $3,508 in tax credits. For those without children, a single person earning up to $13,460 or a married couple filing jointly earning up to $18,470 are eligible for $526 in EITC credits. Don’t miss out! In the 2009 tax year, 20 to 25 percent of eligible working families in Massachusetts failed to apply for the EITC, leaving money on the table in Washington, DC, when it could have been helping working families. This year Massachusetts leaders and activists want to make sure all eligible persons apply for EITC when they file their 2010 tax returns. FREE tax preparation provided by IRS-trained EITC professional tax volunteers is available throughout Massachusetts for people of low and moderate income at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. In Somerville, call or email Robyn Leslie at rleslie@liftcommunities.org or 617-591-9400. Or, for a list of VITA sites throughout Massachusetts, see the CAAS web page, www.caasomerville.org/resources, under Tax Assistance.

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The Pat’s post season loss was a disappointment to locals but Redbones never disappoints and watching the Super Bowl with barbecue from Redbones is a win-win whatever teams are playing. On Feb. 6, Super Bowl Sunday, with a nod to the venue, Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Redbones special Game Day menu features Texas Beef Ribs along with Memphis, St.Louis and Baby Back ribs. Additional fan favorites include pulled pork, Buffalo wings and sides from cole slaw and beans to mac ‘n’ cheese as well as pies for dessert. Place your order by Saturday, February 5 by calling Redbones at 617.628.2200. Pick up your order on Sunday starting at 11 a.m.