Over 100 people attended Monday night’s community meeting for the Powder House School location. Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 7 Alderman Katjana Ballantyne and the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development hosted the meeting for residents to discuss the future of the former Powder House Community School site. One development proposal we heard of was for 40 units there at the old school. We hope that no development goes there and that the property is used for housing. Time will tell. What do you think the school property should be used for?

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Happy Birthday this week to just some of our friends still here and some here in spirit, but who are fans of The Somerville Times. Big Time Happy Birthday to Ricky Hart, formerly of Somerville and a member of the huge Hart family. He and his lovely wife have three kids and by all accounts continue the Hart Family tradition. We wish Ricky a great day and best wishes. Happy Birthday to Anthony Fedele, who was from here and still keeps an interest here in the city. We wish him a good day. To Cheryl Chaille Horan, from another well-known and popular family here in Somerville. We wish a big Happy Birthday to her and hope she has a good one. To a good guy and newbie here in the Ville, John Serpico, a new family-man-taxpayer, and we hear quite the guy who loves to dabble in the arts. We wish John, who we know is a good guy, a Happy Birthday.

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Guess the who-is-the-Chief is still up for grabs. The mayor’s office set up a special committee and each of the two candidates for Chief were to have several people (maybe 10) come before the committee members, starting on Monday. Maybe the selection will be eminent and we will have a new Police Chief soon. We’re still hoping it’s Dave Fallon here at The Times, and we know a lot of people in the community feel the same way.

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Prices everywhere are going up, from food to gas to just about everything, except for Albrandi’s Barber Shop on Holland Street between Teele and Davis. You can’t beat the price. Tony has been doing this for decades and Paul, his associate, is one of the best around. Why pay $30/$50 or $75 for a hair cut when you can spend less then $20.00 for one? And if your elderly it’s $10. How do you beat that?

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Shopping at Market Basket this week was not so crowded because of the workers protest. By the way, some of us here support their protest. On the other end, Stop & Shop on McGrath was crowded this week and we noticed prices down almost to Market Basket prices. We wish the employees of Market Basket the best of luck in their protest.

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The representative fight for the vacant seat is getting pretty busy this summer. Two candidates for the office so far have been walking around in the Ten Hills.

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Well, it looks like the Sylvester Baxter Park Bridge will open officially soon. It’s open now for those crossing from Ten Hills over to Assembly Square. Nice bridge, but we’re still wondering why the state gets to pick the name of a park here in Somerville after no one from Somerville.

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District Attorney Marian Ryan dropped by our office on Monday and stayed awhile and talked about her career and her beginnings right here in Somerville. Marian went to St. Joseph in Union Square, grew up here for many years while she worked over at the District Attorney’s Office in Cambridge as an Assistant District Attorney. Marian Ryan was appointed by Gov. Patrick last year to fill the vacant spot left by Leone. It’s the first time a woman from Somerville was named District Attorney and we can tell you, she’s more than qualified for the job, and she’s a nice person to boot. Her campaign coordinator here in Somerville is Alderman Rob McWatters, so you know she’s going to win with McWatters support.

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Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 4 Alderman Tony Lafuente, and the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) invite all interested community members to an informational community meeting to discuss upcoming renovations to the Marshall Street Playground. The meeting will be held in the conference room at the Central Library, 79 Highland Avenue, on Thursday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Luisa Oliveira at 617-625-6600 ext. 2529.

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Fascinated by Katie Smith Milway’s inspiring book, One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, classical chamber group Vento Chiaro, with funding from The Free for All Concert Fund, commissioned Justin Casinghino to set the tale to music. One Hen tells the true story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana who, with one small loan, a great idea, and hard work, brings work and hope to his village. Join Vento Chiaro for this special performance with composer Justin Casinghino narrating. July 30, at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Avenue, Somerville MA. Free admission.

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For the second straight year, the City of Somerville has earned the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting in North America for its comprehensive annual financial report. The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting recognizes the City for going beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles in preparing a CAFR that achieves a “spirit of transparency and full disclosure,” according to awarding nonprofit Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA). The city earned the same award last year for its fiscal 2012 CAFR and, in April, the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its fiscal 2014 budget. The program’s high standards mandate, among other requirements, that the CAFR includes an independent auditor’s report on the city’s financial statements, and that it describes the relationship between the city’s financial statements and the data reported for governmental activities, with analysis focusing on the reasons for changes in the city’scfinancial statements rather than only the amount of change. The citycmust also clearly distinguish expenses by function instead of lumpingcall expenses together in a single line item, making it clear to readerscwhat exactly is being spent and where, among the other 220-plus requirements included on GFOA’s checklist. The city’s CAFR, complements the annual city budget by presenting a complete accounting of all government funds, investments and operating activities, more detailed demographic and statistical information, and annual budget comparisons to help the reader better understand the financial condition of the City. The CAFR also has the potential to improve the City’s bond rating and earn lower interest rates for the City. The City currently has the highest bond ratings in its history-AA+ from Standard & Poor’s and Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service.