Yes, we were assured that the Annual Mayor’s Senior Picnic is being held today, Wednesday, August 3, at Powder House Park in West Somerville. It was not advertised on the City of Somerville’s website like the other Council on Aging events are. Is the Director, Cindy Hickey, trying to keep it a secret? Maybe she decided not to invite those elderly that don’t live in elderly housing? We will be there to check it out this year. We think it’s at around noontime, but who knows?

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Coming up shortly, in September on the 13th, DISCOVER … East Somerville’s best-kept culinary secrets at 15+ restaurants. From 14 Broadway to 192, join the 2016 Participants: Maya Sol, Casey’s, Connexion,Fasika, Rincon Mexicano, Taco Loco, Los Paisanos, East End Grille, Vinny’s, Ola Cafe, La Brasa,Tapatio, Gauchao, Blanca’s, Deano’s Pasta, Joe’s Liquors, Amigos Market, and more!

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Happy birthday to a lot of our friends and fellow Villens here this week: Happy birthday to Alicia Lafuente who is celebrating this week. We hope she has a great day. Happy birthday to a successful and local guy who grew up here and has made it big in the real estate business, Michael Carucci, executive VP of Gibson Sotheby’s in Boston. Happy birthday to Pat and Donald’s granddaughter, Kaitlin Harrison, who was here visiting not too long ago with her two daughters. We hope Kate has a great day. A nice guy, Chris Just, who grew up here, is also celebrating this week. He’s self-employed in the security business in Ohio. Happy birthday to another nice guy, Alan Laurentano, formerly of Spring Hill. We wish Nick Lanzilli of Medford, who ran for State Rep. here not so long ago, a great day. A nice guy, from a great family.

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Think about it, it’s already August and the year is rushing by. Summer will be over in just about 30 days or so. School will be open and, alas, a primary election will be held on September 8.

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The 16th Annual Golf Tournament for the John T. Forcellese Memorial Fund will be held this year once again at the Falmouth Country Club in Falmouth, MA. Saturday, September 10. Tee time is 8:30 a.m. If you’d like to play or sponsor go online to www.johns-team.org for all the information regarding this excellent fundraiser for a worthy cause.

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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. Someone asked online why we keep these two websites in Newstalk. We guess it’s because we like them.

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Our condolences and sympathy to the family of Ida Azzolino of West Somerville. She passed away this week at 103 years old, and lived in Somerville her entire life. What a nice lady. All who knew her will tell you, she enjoyed a full life thanks to her daughter and son-in-law Diane and Ross Blouin, who took her on many cruises and trips over the years. They saw some interesting sights together. Ida will be waked Friday at Doherty’s Funeral Home.

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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 http://www.lawrencerodandgunclub.organd 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. The same goes for this in Newstalk. The club has informed us that many residents of Somerville have called or gone to the club to find out about certification.

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We’ve mentioned several weeks now about Demet’s Donuts on Mystic Avenue having the best coffee, donuts and fresh made real egg sandwiches. We still stand by it.

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Another email went out to the Democratic Ward & City Committee members from Diane Masters the Chair. She wrote: “Please vote in the poll of the Somerville Democratic City Committee survey in the State Senate Race. We would like to endorse a candidate in the race, citywide, not just at the Ward level. So please vote in the Google document below before August 1. Thank you in advance.” How democratic is this? At the last open meeting of the Ward & City about two months ago they didn’t vote to endorse because at that time the leadership said that in the state senate race they were both Democratic candidates and they wouldn’t at that time endorse. Now “THEY” or “WE” (whoever that is) has decided that instead of calling a citywide meeting to call for endorsement, they go and send out an email – by the way, there are some pretty interesting names on that email, including elected officials – asking to vote on which candidate to endorse. If we were gamblers here at The Times, we would bet huuuuuuge amount on who the winner would be. We predict that hands down Senator Pat Jehlen will win the endorsement and that the challenger, City Council Member Leland Cheung, will lose the endorsement. It used to be the Democratic Party was open and transparent. Oh, for the good old party days of Kennedy, O’Neil, etc. The Democratic Party has gone way left with the progressives in charge, hasn’t it? Next, you’ll see that the Progressive Democrats of Somerville will hurry up and send out endorsement email ballots.

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Some calls came in this past week over this WHYC for gangsters. Our latest revelation is that only about 6% or less of its members live in Somerville. One caller asked to print the names of those members who both live here or not. We won’t be doing that for now, but we suggest that the State might want to look into the lease agreement since it’s state on land. One reason might be that the club or its members have hosted political events and fundraisers on the property and we ask the question: is that legal? We know for a fact that the Mayor himself was hosted by particular members of the club under the assumption – we hear – that the mayor has control over the club. It’s not city-leased land, it’s state leased land. Let’s see if the state delegation here in the city will put pressure on DCR to investigate. We bet not. What do you think?

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Sally O’Brien’s on Somerville Avenue is a great place to stop in and visit with some friends and have a bite to eat and enjoy the variety of entertainment that Liam, the owner, brings in every night. Wednesday is poker night, with lots of fun. Come and enjoy. Say “Hi” to Liam, Zack and Rob.

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We heard that the City Treasurer, Peter Forcellese, has given his notice to leave his position. We wish him the very best of luck. Peter is a nice guy. We hope to still see him around the city.

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One name – possibly two – are looking at the Ward One alderman race, and we hear that a couple of other wards have interested people looking to see if the incumbents can be defeated. We think that it’s the pay raise that the alderman received is one major factor. Sounds pretty good, a part-time salary of $40K a year plus a few benefits. How many part-time jobs pay that kind of salary? Now, back to the Ward One alderman race: we’re told that after this year’s elections are over, one of these individuals won’t mind declaring. Ward One is now the largest ward in the city, all of East Somerville and Assembly Row, with all those new residents.