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Seems Mike
Buckley, former top aide to Mayor Joe Curtatone, has gone off to
greener pastures but not far. He is now Chief of Staff to Mayor Carlo
DeMaria, Jr. of Everett; we wish him the best of luck in his new job.
He did a good job here in Somerville and will be missed, but
Somerville's loss is Everett's gain in this loyal worker.

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A
big get well soon goes out to the Ward 6 Community Police officer Neil
Collins who is recuperating at the MGH after being treated for blood
clots. Neil is a great guy and we wish a speedy recovery.

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A
very quiet St. Patrick's day here in Somerville, but the day was
interrupted when a manhole exploded on Medford Street near Central
Street. The Police and Fire Departments soon put the situation under
control.

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Condolences go out to the family
of Brian Cohn who sadly passed away this past Sunday; Brian grew up in
Somerville and graduated from SHS. He was a Junior at Coastal Carolina
University in South Carolina, where he was a member of the Phi Beta
Kappa Fraternity. Brian was a 10-year member of the Shriners, a great
guy, and will be greatly missed.

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Happy
Anniversary to Victor and Rosa over at Victor's Deli – in business here
in Somerville now 27 years and popular as ever – the lunch crowd is
still huge and daughter Nancy is running the evening dinner crowds
later in the week. If you haven't been to Victor's Deli in Ball Square,
you should and everyone wish them another 27 years plus.

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Speaking
of Anniversaries, The Somerville News is celebrating 40 years of
Community Service here in Somerville, the only locally owned and
operated and staffed paper here in Somerville. We don't have to stand
behind anyone and listen in on conversations to get news like some
others we know; we bring you only Somerville News – fresh news.

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Seems
that a so called regular columnist over at the Farm Team keeps calling
out one of the Publishers here at the News – this guy, even by the
standards of some of the progressives in this city, is whacked when he
opens his mouth. We want to thank KB for the free press, he thinks that
PDSers make up a majority here in Somerville, and they don't. For the
umpteenth time KB – this is a rumor column – we know you don't like it
when we say stuff about the PDSers, here but guess what, we will call
out anyone including the PDSers every time they do something stupid or
lame. Heck, we can't make up some of this stuff. For a guy that doesn't
like name-calling he sure can be creative with the names he uses
himself. But then we're not surprised they (PDSers) say one thing and
do another, you know they're not interested in working out solutions,
only in taking over – even if it means climbing over the backs of their
own supporters. Just ask Jack Connolly and the many others they have
used.

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The Somerville Fire Department won
an 11-4 victory over the Somerville Police in the annual Guns and Hoses
Hockey Tournament this past Saturday night – they raised over $5,000.00
for Somerville Youth Hockey. Lots of fun and action and in the end
everyone wins in this annual tournament.

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Over
4,200 runners wearing the Green on Sunday for the 6th Annual Ras na
hEireann road race here in Somerville, it has become a classic and much
anticipated event here – the money raised is estimated to be around
$25K, which will go to various local charities and scholarship programs
here in Somerville.

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You know those big
green solar trashcans in and around here in Somerville? Appears we have
about 50 of them with a cost of about $3K each – they are supposed to
be environmentally good for Somerville. We noticed a lot of them were
broken down, there was an interesting article in the New York Times on
the 17th regarding their use in Somerville.

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After
a year of cosmetic repairs, the McGrath Highway overpass seems to be
falling apart from the inside out – if you take a good look at the side
of the aging bridge by standing next to the intersection of Somerville
Avenue and Medford Streets, you can see the main support steel beams
rotted all the way through. Maybe this is a good spot to start dumping
some of that stimulus cash before it gets eaten up as well.

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The
Little Sisters of the Poor are holding a Fundraising Rummage Sale on
Friday, March 20th and Saturday, March 21st from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
each day. The Little Sisters is located at the Jeanne Jugan Residence,
186 Highland Avenue. All proceeds benefit the low-income elderly of the
Little Sisters of the Poor. Arts & Crafts, Clothes, Housewares,
Furniture and more – everything must go!

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