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At
noon on New Year's Day, the 233rd annual "Grand Union" flag raising
ceremony at Prospect Hill Park will be held. The annual ceremony will
begin at City Hall, with a procession to Prospect Hill, led by "General
Washington" on horseback. At Prospect Hill, there will be songs,
readings, and light refreshments. For more information, contact Brandon
Wilson at Bwilson@somervillema.gov or call 311.

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On
January 5th, the Mayor will review 2008 and present his goals for the
2009 calendar year as part of his mid-term address. The ceremony will
start at 6:00 p.m. with the Board of Alderman's organizational meeting,
followed soon after by addresses from several elected officials.

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Lots
of speculation and rumors going around already regarding the Mayor and
the possibility of him seeking higher office, there is a lot to happen
here or in the state for that possibility. We know heard a rumor that
Marty Martinez head of the PDS group here in Somerville is considering
running against Ward 5 Alderman Sean O'Donovan, we also hear that Sean
is looking forward to the possibility of having competition again.

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Rumor
has it that one of the locally popular SHA employees (MS) was planning
on hiring a 50 year old short person to serve drinks and sing "Winter
Wonderland" while dressed as the New Year baby in diaper for a New
Years Eve party that he was planning on having until he was reprimanded
by his supervisors at the SHA who heard about it and didn't like the
idea.

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Join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone,
Chief of Police Anthony Holloway and Ward 7 Alderman Bob Trane at the
official opening of the West Somerville Neighborhood Substation,
located at 1154 Broadway, on Tuesday, January 6th with a ribbon-cutting
ceremony and open house, beginning at 6:00 p.m. All residents and
community members are invited to attend and meet their Neighborhood
Police Officers and Substation Commander, Captain John O'Connor. A
short reception will follow the event.

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Our
condolences go out to the family of Theresa Crosby! Theresa passed away
early Christmas morning and will be missed by many who knew her! Many
folks in the Ville are more familiar with her daughter Joanne from
Pat's Auto Body Shop and her son Richard a Mass State Trooper!

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The
Board of Directors of the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS)
has organized a retirement party for former Executive Director Jack
Hamilton. The party will take place Friday, January 23, 2009, from 3:30
to 8:00 p.m. at the Dante Club – tickets are $15. Hamilton served as
Executive Director at CAAS for over 25 years until his retirement on
January 2. He previously directed CASCAP (originally the Cambridge and
Somerville Cooperative Apartment Program), and his human service career
in the Somerville/Cambridge area spans four decades. The mission of
CAAS is to reduce poverty among local families and individuals while
working to counteract, and whenever possible eliminate, the societal
conditions that cause and perpetuate poverty.

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Mayor
Joseph A. Curtatone and Purchasing Director Rositha Durham announced
today that the city has issued a "Request for Interest" document (RFI)
soliciting preliminary statements of interest in, or proposals for,
providing "Wireless Broadband Network Deployment & Management
Services." Interested entities can obtain an electronic copy of the
proposal from the city's website, or an electronic or printed copy from
the City's Purchasing Office.

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