The Mayor‚Äôs annual Boston Harbor cruise is next week on August 6 at Long Wharf, we hear its another sell out crowd, and why wouldn‚Äôt it be, we here at Newstalk think Joe is doing an outstanding job. We hope to see everyone there ‚Äì some of us will be on the back of the boat secured to the railing – so none of those department heads or board members can easily throw us off ‚Äì and some of us will be roaming the boat. 

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This Thursday evening candidate Bob Trane, the only candidate on the ballot for State Representative, will hold a get together for friends and supporters at PJ Ryan‚Äôs in Teele Square from 5 to 8 pm. We think he should have had a bigger place, but things are tight in the district – he didn‚Äôt want to go outside the district like Stickers Carl has done several times already. Bob has stated that he won‚Äôt accept any donations from special interest groups, like Stickers Carl has done in the past.    

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Speaking of Prince Carl, the secular progressive, a lot of out of state plates were parked in and around Teele Square during his ‚Äúfirst one in the district‚Äù fundraiser, with lots of folks getting out of those vehicles and going into his function. Well, if you can‚Äôt get support in your own district, maybe going outside like he does for money is the answer for Election Day. 

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Is it true that a well-known board member of the city who owns a commercial building had it sprayed clean and then spray-painted over the weekend? The two people he apparently hired to do the spraying didn’t wear masks while painting the property and paint got all over them. Sounds dangerous. We thought you needed a permit to do that stuff…oh well, maybe he doesn’t need those permits Рand what the heck Рit was the weekend and who would see that going on? We heard it was videotaped – we are trying to confirm that.

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Speaking of local business owners, last week we mentioned the building in Union Square owned by well-known Attorney FP – we hear that other buildings he owns have similar problems (in disrepair). Several of his tenants have called and made it known to ISD to see if anything can be done to correct all the code violations that we heard about.

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Our hearts and prayers go out to John Williams – long time resident and the father of well-known Mary Williams (the parking control officer). John is going into the hospital this week for surgery. John is a great guy and we wish him well and hope he has a speedy recovery.

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Happy Birthday wishes to Marisa Tauro and Patricia Norton Рboth wives of co-publisher’s Billy Tauro and Donald Norton Рboth are celebrating their 39th birthdays on the same day (the 29th) this week Рboth are great ladies and we of course wish them many more birthdays in the future. Also celebrating on the 29th is Corey Norton (Jamie’s son), who is 15 years old and is in England until next year.

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The Somerville police department is still on the lookout for a blue BMW sports car that hit and run a child near Benton Road at 7 a.m. on Saturday July 12.  Anyone with any information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Somerville Police Department.

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Some of us were reading the Sunday Globe this past Sunday, did you happen to notice page 67? They had an array of well-known people in their youth – one of them (#9) is a young Kerry Healey, Lt. Governor under Mitt Romney. Some of us at Newstalk thought that she looked very similar to Princess Rebekah of Ward 6, we could be wrong but they looked like sisters, what did you think?

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On August 8 the rest of the world may be tuned to the spectacle of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, but Somerville will be tuned into the Spectacle of VidFest: High Performance and Art in Union Square.  This event features video art installations and live music in the Square on Friday night, August 8 beginning at 7:30pm.   We think it will be one of our most popular events yet. And don’t forget another ArtsUnion event, Mixology is this Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.

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Last weekend more than 10,000 people — many of them children — enjoyed one of the best ArtBeat festivals ever. ArtBeat was brought to you by the Somerville Arts Council but the funding for it was made possible through the support of local businesses and people like you. However, to create such a large and dynamic festival –this year and in the future — it takes many thousands of dollars and the arts council could greatly use additional donations. They also need funding for their summer youth programming — namely the Art in a Garden program, Books of Hope, and the Mystic River Mural project. They‚Äôre asking that you help them serve the children who danced, sang, and created things at ArtBeat; many of these children depend on the Arts Council for providing ongoing summer programs. Donations are tax deductible and can be made easily online.

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The Somerville Arts Council has just added four more 2008 ethnic food market tours to their ever-popular list of excursions to Somerville’s diverse delicacies. Each tour will visit three markets. Tours are on Thursday evenings, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. To sign up for a tour, send an email to artsunionsomerville@yahoo.com or call 617-625-6600, x2985. Featured markets include Capone’s Foods, 14 Bow Street; Casa de Carnes, 38 Bow Street; Halal Market, 380 Somerville Avenue; La Internacional Market, 318 Somerville Avenue; Little India, 77A Bow Street; New Bombay Market, 359 Somerville Avenue; Pao de Acucar & Brazilian Buffet, 57 Union Square; Reliable Market, 45 Union Square.