EXTRA! EXTRA! EXTRA! The Somerville Journal office has left the city and moved to Danvers. Is that a sign of The Times? The long established Somerville Journal has been losing readers over the past 10 years or so and the only feature that people bought the paper for was Speak Out, but that ended late last year. The Cambridge Chronicle and Somerville Journal both were longtime local weeklies, many decades as community papers that have become regional papers, but now moved on. The Cambridge Chronicle has moved to Lexington, which is two towns away, but the Somerville Journal will be run out of the Danvers office. Are they trying to tell us something with that move? Guess this means we are now the only locally owned and operated paper, which by the way has significantly increased its readership in Somerville over the past several months. We are right here at 699 Broadway, in Ball Square, while the other so-called paper is a post office box, or you have to make an appointment to go to their office. We could go on, but our readers know the difference, don’t you?

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Where in the world is Joe Curtatone this week? He’s back from Spain. And where in the world is the Ward 4 Alderman Tony Lafuente?

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Happy Birthday to a lot of our friends and fellow Villens here this week: Happy birthday a great guy, Ed Bean, who works for the city. A nice guy very dedicated to the city and one of the city’s hardest workers. He’s certainly underpaid as well. We wish him the best of birthdays. Happy Birthday to Rachael Hart-Adams of the famous Hart family from Berkely Street. Amazing how the years as they fly by. We wish her the very best as well. A good old friend who used to work at the Norton Group years ago, Carolyn Caler, a truly nice and generous lady is having a great time in retirement. We always wish her the very best as well. And a big happy birthday to Quinto Bussolari, a lifelong Somerville resident, Purple Heart recipient and WWII veteran who turns 95 this week.

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This week President Obama visited Cuba and opened up relations even more so. What an event. It reminds us of President Nixon when he went to China back in he 70’s. We hope the people of Cuba are free to travel and enjoy more freedoms in the near future. Some of us remember when many Cubans settled down in Somerville back in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Great people.

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There’s a new website in town. Check it out at www.somervillema.com. The Somerville Times is on the site. Also check out www.medfordma.com.

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For those that might be interested in obtaining certification for firearms should look up the Lawrence Rod & Gun Club. They provide an extensive program at the end of which you receive certification for Massachusetts/NRA Certified Firearm Safety Classes. They run a class once a month, which is limited to 10 people and we hear that this is the place to go to learn safety when handling guns. Email gunclub@earthlink.net for more information and or go to their website at www.lawrencerodandgunclub.org and read up about the course. We’ve been told that the course has seen a major increase in people applying for it, especially women. We can tell you first hand here that it’s a great course and quite thorough.

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The East Somerville Reunion is being planned for this coming June 25 at the Somerville City Club, across from Holiday Inn. They have a Facebook page set up to take reservations: East Somerville Reunion 2016. The first reunion was very successful, with well over a 100 people attending, and lots of old friendships were restarted. If you grew up in East Somerville in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s you should set aside the date and make your plans to attend. You won’t be disappointed. The reunion people are looking for financial support, so go to their Facebook page and help if you can. This is an exciting event, sort of like a High School reunion, but different age groups are coming together with one purpose: to celebrate their youth growing up in East Somerville. Many thanks to the committee for doing this, the second reunion.

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The Somerville Democratic Ward and City committee will be meeting at the Cafeteria at Somerville High School on Sunday, April 3 at 1:00 p.m. for our 2016 Caucus to Elect delegates to the Democratic State Convention, and for our reorganizational meeting of our seven Ward Committees. All Democrats are invited to attend and run as delegates. All recently elected members of the Ward Committee are invited to participate and vote in the reorganization. All interested parties may attend.

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The Highland Masonic Building Association is once again hosting their annual “Giggles Comedy Nite” on Wednesday, April 20 at the Prince of Pizza on Rte. 1 in Saugus. The public is welcome. A private room with some of Boston’s finest comedians, great pizza and – best of all – a silent auction is being held afterwards. Everyone wins. Contact Donald Norton at 617-623-6600 x 11 for information. Tickets at the door or reserved are a $25 donation to the HMTA insurance fund (not a tax deduction).

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It seems that Senator Pat Jehlen has one opponent so far this election year. He is presently a city councilor from Cambridge, Leland Cheung (he ran for Lt. Governor last state election). We hear another person, this time from Medford, might be considering a run as well. Sen. Patricia Jehlen has over these many years been an elected official on the Somerville School Board, State Representative and now Senator since early 1970’s. We wonder if the leftist progressives are scurrying around to make sure that the line of succession is not in danger. After all, Councilor Cheung was a very popular vote getter over there in Cambridge last election. We hear he might have at one time been a Republican, but converted once he moved to progressive Cambridge. We think it’s going to be hard to beat Sen. Jehlen in Somerville, never mind in Medford.

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The Police vs. Firefighters Benefit Hockey Game takes place on Saturday, March 26. Enjoy a great game of hockey between the Somerville Police and Somerville Firefighters at the Somerville Veterans Memorial Rink, and help raise funds for Somerville Youth Hockey.

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The 3rd annual Christ The King Somerville Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt takes place this Saturday, March 26, 11:00 a.m. at Nathan Tufts Park, Powder House Square.