Tonight is the Mayor’s annual Boston Harbor cruise leaving Long Wharf at 7 p.m. but boarding is at 6:30, nothing like a night time cruise of Boston Harbor watching the city of Boston lights, food and entertainment.  Hopefully it’s George “just make a request” Landers doing the DJ’ing. Watch out though, news talkers will be on the boat…just say “off the record” before everything you say.

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Mayor Joe’s Annual Elderly  picnic is August 11 and another huge crowd is expected to come out to celebrate summer here in the city. This is the 30th anniversary since former Mayor Gene Brune started it way back in 1980, he will be on hand to say hi to everyone. The food, gifts and entertainment are always good for the hundreds of elderly that show up.

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Happy Birthday wish to Ron Newman this week, we here at the news wish him well even though he may not be a huge fan of our paper, we wish him well and a happy prosperous year for him.

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Thursday night is the monthly First Thursday Chamber of Commerce business after hours get together. This week it will be held at Redbones from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday night August 5 all businesses are encouraged to go and network. Call the chamber office for reservations.

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A get well goes out to Thelma Ciampa who just recently underwent shoulder surgery this past week. Thelma is a wonderful person and we wish her the best.

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Big huge welcome back from Brazil to Marisa Tauro who was visiting with her family back home, Marisa who is married to our own Billy had to eat out a lot for the past several weeks, we hear he’s anxious to get some home cooking.

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This coming Saturday is the public auction at Cataldo’s Funeral Home on the corner of Sycamore and Broadway, lots of stuff up for auction, should be very interesting to say the least.   Wonder what’s going to happen to the property now?  It was formerly the Fisher School of Music who sold it to the Cataldo family back in early 1950s. Huge lot of land, we’re sure a lot of interest from developers and maybe a few huge stores will try to get there, but we’re also sure that the residents and neighbors in the immediate area will be interested as well.

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Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan is working very hard to get recognition for Guy Glodis – the Worcester County sheriff is running for the vacant auditor’s seat.We met Glodis and he’s very nice guy and we wish him luck in the election. Apparently there are a few candidates running in the primary.

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The new Somerville News Web site is up and thanks to our layout and graphic designer Jim Clark we think it’s a nice site, so go and try it out. You can download the entire paper as a PDF from the site as well. Don’t forget this is like our older site Typepad, you can blog on it…be nice and don’t let Bobbie or Donald check you as doing bad, we want to publish all the remarks. That’s one of the things that make it nice.  Again, thanks to Jim Clark who’s the best and worked very hard for this.  Also, the entire SCATV and cable show schedule are on the site now as well…check out how our legislators voted last week, especially in the casino bill.

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Also celebrating her birthday this week is Susan Fontana, life long resident of East Somerville and very active in the city here, we wish her best and a happy year for her, she’s a great lady who has a smile for everyone. She’s also someone who knows East Somerville like the back of her hand.

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The public hearing on plans to put an Ocean State Job Lot in the old Star Market site is scheduled for August 19 at 6 p.m. A petition against the close-out bargain store is now circulating online. This is an important site for the local economy in Winter Hill and whatever goes there is an anchor for the entire neighborhood. City officials and Alderman Walter Pero have already raised concerns about if this the right fit for that spot. If you have an opinion, go to the meeting and voice it.

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Gargoyle’s on the Square chef Jason Santos is down to the final two after surviving two cuts on last night’s episode of the reality cooking show, Hell’s Kitchen. Jason and Holli beat out Beanjamin and Autumn on Tuesday’s episode of the hit Fox show. We’re definitely rooting for Jason, a local reality star that Somerville can be proud of.

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Somerville residents can learn how to keep their debt under control next week. Julie Bernick, from Money Management International, will cover topics such as how to identify a credit crisis, how to avoid overwhelming debt, options to repay creditors, and how to stay out of debt.The workshop will take place at SCC on August 10, 2010 at 6 p.m. Space is limited, so RSVP to Matt Shuman at mshuman@ somervillecdc.org or (617) 776-5931 x225 as soon as possible to guarantee your spot.

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Congratulations to Somerville teen drummer Alan DeSouza, who was awarded a Berklee City Music Scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program for high school students, which runs until August 13.

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The first annual Great Somerville Campout is fast approaching. Weather permitting, the campout will be held from 4:00 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7 until Sunday, Aug. 8. Join Somerville folks by the campfire for songs, skits, s’mores, and stories. Families and anyone else who likes to camp are welcome to come spend the night in Lincoln Park on the soccer field. Set up your tents any time after 4:00 p.m. and stay until the next morning. Bring food to grill. There will be a pancake breakfast for anyone who stays over. Families are also welcome to come by after 4:00 p.m. to join in the activities, even if they are not staying over this year. If rain is predicted, the campout will occur on Friday, Aug. 6. The event is being co-sponsored by the Recreation Department and parent volunteers. Contact Stephanie Hirsch. There will be two port-a-potties on site and, up until 11:00 p.m., participants can use nearby facilities. Campers  have permits for grills and chimeneas (portable fire pits), so feel free to bring food to grill and marshmallows to roast over the fire.