Happy New Year to everyone! May the blessings be upon all of us Somervillens both here and wherever they may be spread across the country. May 2013 be an exciting year, prosperous and healthy for everyone.

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The 237th annual “Grand Union” flag-raising ceremony at Prospect Hill Park will be held next Tuesday, January 1, at 12:00 p.m. A processional led by a re-enactor portraying General George Washington on horseback will leave from the City Hall Concourse at 11:30 a.m. As always, members of the public are invited to participate, and are encouraged to wear traditional colonial clothing. The annual ceremony commemorates the raising of the nation’s first official flag, featuring thirteen red and white horizontal stripes, atop Prospect Hill on New Year’s Day, 1776. At the time, Prospect Hill was a key site in a string of fortifications created by Washington and the Continental Army in their siege of British troops in Boston during the first year of the American Revolution. For more information, or to receive a free, commemorative program, contact Brandon Wilson, Executive Director at the Historic Preservation Commission at 617-625-6600 ext. 2532 or Bwilson@somervillema.gov.

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Are you retired or semi-retired? Have time on your hands? If you’re looking for a unique learning experience, we hear there’s a wonderful program right here at Tufts University. Their Osher Lifelong Learning program offers dozens of peer-led study groups that give you an opportunity to learn, participate, and socialize. As a member, you can register for classes not only at the Medford campus, but also at Brookhaven at Lexington, the program’s satellite location. You’ll also get a weekly e-news bulletin, access to Tisch Library, invitations to events at Tufts and Brookhaven, admission to the Lunch & Learn lecture series in the fall and spring, participation in a variety of clubs (movie club, history club, dine-out club, you name it!) and more. Registration is going on now for the winter term. For more info, call 617-627-5699 or check out their website (http://ase.tufts.edu/lli). You won’t regret it!

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Word around the city is that the school committee’s recent denial of outgoing Ward One member Maureen Bastardi recommendation was all started by Ward Five School Committeeman Mark Niedergang and Ward Six Committeeman Paul Bockelman, along with Ward Seven Committeewomen Mary Jo Rossetti, were the main forces behind the scenes to sabotage Ms. Bastardi’s recommendation. It figures that it would Mark Niedergang leading the charge to slap the residents of Ward One. They want resumes submitted to the Superintendent of Schools and then they will vote on the recommendation. Who’s recommendation? And who are they to decide who represents Ward One? This is another attempt by elitist members to get another vote on the Club’s Board, probably to make sure that the Superintendent’s 200K plus contract renewal has enough votes to renew? Give it up, no matter what the process, a lot of people around the city, particularly in Ward One, are outraged that the School Board did this!

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Some shake ups at city hall are coming real soon, we hear. Maybe a few department heads, maybe not. But definitely some shake-ups. We’ll have more about it as the weeks run by.

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Working on some changes and a new look here at The Somerville News!

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We heard several names in Ward One are thinking seriously about considering a run against newly appointed alderman Maureen. Calls are being made, commitments secured and some are quietly (not that quietly) organizing behind the scenes. By the first of the year we will have more concrete news, so keep watching. So far Ward One, Two, Three, Five and Seven have potential candidates running for ward seats. Let’s see what shakes out of the tree come the first of the year. We even hear that Mark the Shark (as he was known in his Tufts DJ days) has been making calls to some people. You’d think he’d know we’re strong supporters of popular Ward Five Alderman Sean O’Donovan.

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Our thoughts and prayers are constantly with our and everyone’s good friend, former Publisher of this paper, Bob Publicover. He’s hanging in there. He’s a fighter, but this time we fear he can’t beat it. Hopefully he will last to see the New Year. His fantastic sister Marilyn is in from Arizona. She, along with Bob’s husband David, has been doing a great job staying on top of Bob’s needs. He’s a great guy and has been friends to many here in the city over the years. Say “Hi” to either him or David on Facebook.

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Happy Birthday this week to just a few of our fans here in the ‘Ville: A good friend and avid reader, Jim Henry. He does live in Cambridge and works for the state, but he’s a real fan of The News. Another good, friend Kevin Dickinson, who is relatively new to the ‘Ville from Kentucky. He’s a nice guy with a big positive attitude all the time. Also, another local who moved to NH, Paul Peddle. A nice guy, and a graduate of SHS 1981. Happy birthday to our good friend Terrissa Martin who has been celebrating her birthday since last week here in the ‘Ville! Other fans celebrating this week are Jennifer Lavallee, Diane Nazzaro Haley, Karen Buonopane and CH Michael Casey Jr. We wish all these and many others end of the year birthday good wishes.

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This coming Saturday at the Arts at the Armory, Jimmy Tingle live with a rare theatrical production, combining a screening of the acclaimed documentary film “Jimmy Tingle’s American Dream,” followed by a Q&A and live performance by Jimmy Tingle as he looks back on some of the hilarious high and low points of 2012, according to him. Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Avenue, starting at 7 p.m.