Happy New Year to all Villens out there from the publisher and staff of The Somerville Times. Let’s hope that 2014 is a better year for all.

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Don’t forget Jan. 1 is the annual raising of the first flag over Prospect Hill. The ceremony will begin at noon at the tower, with a group of locals starting off at City Hall in a small parade marching to the monument. We have a new flagpole at the monument. From the weather forecast, it’s going to be a cold day. Still, for those of you who are new to Somerville, this annual ceremony is one not to miss.

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The Somerville Chamber of Commerce’s “Business After Hours” get together is 5 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 2) at the Foundry on Elm Street in Davis Square. The event is a great way to meet and network with businesses from across the city. For reservations, contact Steve Mackey at smackey@somervillechamber.org for reservations. Remember to bring your business cards.

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Happy Birthday this week to all Villens both here and spread around. Chris Kenny is celebrating this week. He’s a good friend of the Times. Formerly of East Somerville, Paul Peddle of the well-known Peddles is also celebrating. His family is now spread across New Hampshire, but they still have their hearts here in the Ville. And if he were still alive today, Archibald Query would celebrate his 97 birthday. He, of course, is the founder of “Fluff,” which we celebrate yearly with the “Fluff Festival.” Who doesn’t know and respect Danny Kallis, the general manager of the Armory on Highland? What a nice guy and true Villen here in Somerville. We wish him many more happy, happy birthdays. We also wish a happy birthday to Liza Ludwick and Adam Williams, a lifelong resident and all-around nice guy. A big happy birthday to Sean O’Brien of Winter Hill this week. To Christina DiShino from the Ville, we wish you a happy birthday. To all of the above and the many other fans of Somerville here in the Ville itself and elsewhere, we wish them a great day. And make sure when you see them, you give your greetings as well!

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Our condolences to the family of Ed Manzi of Somerville. Ed passed away recently from a long illness, and he was a well-known guy who, we were told by his brother Kenny, was the first altar boy at St. Anthony’s Church. His wake was held at Doherty’s Funeral Home this past weekend. He will be missed by all those who knew him and loved his sense of humor.

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This week marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of Somerville News publisher Robert JL Publicover. He was a good guy here in the Ville who loved our paper and was so very involved in various local charities. He is missed by many of us here in Somerville who knew him. He was a great guy who constantly gave back to the community. To those that never met him and now live here, he was part of the reason why Somerville is what it is today. As the longest living person with AIDS, he died quietly at his home in Spring Hill with his friend, confident and husband, David, at his side. We miss you, Bob, and wish you were here.

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Best wishes go out to five of our aldermen who are retiring from office this coming year. These individuals all served the city here with pride and distinction. We wish every one of these five the very best in the future and hope they all remain active with the city in some way. Bruce Desmond served our city well as an alderman-at-large for many years. Although sometimes quiet, his presence and input was felt throughout his years of service to our community. Bruce served previously on the School Board from Ward 3 before being elected alderman at large. He has done a great job representing all those here in the Ville. We wish him luck, and we know he’s not going away and will be actively involved on another level. Robert “Bob” Trane has been alderman for Ward 7. What a dedicated public official and community guy he proved himself to be, serving the residents of Ward 7, keeping on top of all the issues and keeping his constituents informed. We wish him the best of luck and thank him for years as alderman. Maureen Bastardi in Ward 1. Although she only served a year on the board after filling the shoes of Bill Roche, Maureen Bastardi is leaving office. What a great lady she is. Nice, pleasant and sincere, she served Ward 1 on the School Committee for many years with distinction. We wish her the best and hope for the residents of Ward 1 that she stays involved. Courtney O’Keefe, who is serving out former Alderman Sean O’Donovan’s term, is leaving office this week after only serving the residents of Ward 5 for little less than one year. We can’t think of anyone in Ward 5 who knew more about what was going on there than Courtney. She did a great job for her short time on the board. We wish her well and all the best. Tom Taylor is probably the most well known person politically here in Somerville and, especially, in his home of Ward 3. We salute Tom, who served his ward both on the School Committee and as alderman for more than three decades. For as far back as we can remember here at The Times, he’s been there for his constituents, representing them tirelessly, always on the forefront of the issues here in Somerville and particularly anything going on in Ward 3. We wish him nothing but the very best as he continues to go through some rough times with his health problems, but he has a strong constitution, and we know he will be home soon for good with his lovely wife, Celia, and family.

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Board of Alderman President-elect William White is going to serve two years in a row, which normally doesn’t happen, but he managed to get the votes to be re-elected, and Jack Connolly was re-elected vice president of the board. We hear that Courtney O’Keefe will replace Alderman-elect Bob McWatters as assistant clerk of committees serving the Board of Alderman. The inaugural will take place this coming Monday night with ceremonies at the new East Somerville Community School down on Cross Street.

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We wish all our public officials, Mayor Joe Curtatone, the Board of Alderman and School Committee the very best in 2014, and we hope they will work together to continue to build a great city of Somerville.