The one and only original “Best of Somerville” ballot is out now and the winners will be announced on Wednesday, November 9, so hurry up and nominate in your favorite category. We also want best idea this year and worst idea this year for 2016 here in Somerville. You can email, mail, call in or just drop your votes in the mail slot at 699 Broadway, Somerville.

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One of our many favorite contributors here at The Somerville Times, Chris Haskell has his own radio podcast show which airs every Thursday night. He calls his show The Mix Of The Month and it airs live on bostonfreeradio.com and on the Boston Free Radio Facebook page. Join Chris in this week’s show. He’s a good guy.

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Due to forecasts of rain on Thursday, October 27, the city’s annual Haunted Hall event will be held inside the SHS atrium and gym, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

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On Saturday, November 12, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Brigham House Assisted Living, 341 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, invites you to their 5th Annual Holiday Craft Faire. Residents and their families are given the special opportunity to kick off their holiday shopping within the comfort of their own home. As always, the public is welcome and they encourage Watertown residents and surrounding communities to come in and support their local craft vendors. There will be plenty of holiday cheer, with complimentary sweet treats throughout the day, in addition to their huge raffle give-away. The Faire puts everyone in the holiday spirit, and Brigham House is looking forward to seeing everyone there. Local Somerville nice lady Lynne Lenoir, along with her partner Dorothy DiMarzo, have been busy preparing for this event, making things to sell, you can bet if these two lovely ladies are involved its got to be good.

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Beginning this week, for the first time ever right here in Somerville, early voting takes place at City Hall. Check the city’s website at www.somervillema.gov for details. Also, if you need an absentee ballot you can call 617-625-6600 for information about that. Next week we will have all the questions that will be on the ballot this year here in the city. Be sure to get your copy of The Times early.

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Happy birthday to a lot of our friends and fellow Villens here this week: First of all to Marie Civello who is celebrating this week. Happy birthday to Francine Spinale Bolduc, an East Somerville native. We wish her a happy birthday. Happy birthday to Barry Rollins, who is celebrating this week. Also, happy birthday to Charlie Houghton, a local fireman here in the city. Good guy and family man Clifton Verdieu is also celebrating this week. Clifton is a hard worker. He’s a local real estate agent at The Norton Group and has helped many local Haitians buy and sell homes over the years. Also celebrating is local guy Donald Norton, now off his diet after shedding a total of 45 pounds in 50 days and still losing (on phase 4 of the diet). He’s feeling great but no cake for him! Happy birthday to our good friend and great guy Richard “Dick” Hart, of the famous Hart family from Somerville. Nicest guy you’d ever want to meet. We know Mary his wife and many kids and over 20 grandkids will be celebrating all week with him. Happy birthday to Sal DiMarggio, who grew up here in the city in East Somerville. A nice guy and big time solid family man.

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Victor’s Deli of Ball Square now does deliveries. Check it out on Facebook and call them so you can have one of their famous Macaroni & Cheese dishes, or maybe you’d like the Chicken Parmagian with the great sauce that Victor’s is noted for. Call today to have your lunch delivered to you from Victor’s. And remember, you can get $2 off your order of $20 or more with the coupon we have on page 3 of our print edition.

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Don’t forget, you can still donate to WJIB to help ensure that the FM station will get up and running next year. Relaxing, commercial-free music on the FM band 24 hours a day. Send your (non-deductible) check to WJIB – PO Box 308 – Bath, Maine 04530 and tune in to Bob Bittner on WJIB AM 740 for all the details.

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There was a Halloween party at the Masonic Lodge in Arlington where local attorney here in Somerville Phil Privitera is the head member. He held what he calls the Lodge of Horror, Halloween Family Costume Party. Well attended by a large Somerville contingency, as well as Senator DiDomenico. What was interesting was that Phil invited a local mariachi band to play, Estampa De America. The band leader has a fantastic Mexican Restaurant in Union Square known as El Potro Mexican Bar & Grill at 61 Union Square. A great band, fantastic music and a great time.

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Too bad we can’t give Demet’s Donuts of Mystic Ave. in Medford the Best of Somerville award. Still, they offer the best donuts and even better fresh breakfast sandwiches – and we mean fresh!

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Donald Norton, local real estate broker owner, with his wife Patricia, is in phase 4 of his diet. He officially lost 45 pounds in 50 days and is still losing it until he reaches 190. He’s going to write about how he did it and how you too can lose anywhere from 20 to 40 plus pounds in 40 days without exercising and crazy foods or shakes or any of the dietary pills, directly working with a doctor who watches what you’re doing daily. Look for his article over the next two weeks starting next week on the diet that has successfully helped many people. Feel great, be healthier, and learn about the proper foods to eat and more.

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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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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. 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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Look in on the SCATV Channel 3 program The Real Estate Answers Show this Friday night as host Donald Norton of The Norton Group will be having as his guest Mayor Joe Curtatone. They will be discussing the upcoming ballot questions here in the city, in particular questions 2 and 5, which he strongly supports. The show will also be on YouTube on the paper’s website and The Norton Group RE site as well. Host Donald Norton of the Norton Group RE, right here in Somerville, has 39 years experience in the field.

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Congratulations on a year of service to the Middlesex Bar Association as President to attorney Damien Gillietti, a fantastic attorney who practices out of Somerville, Cambridge and Malden courts. His experience in criminal matters is his specialty. We think he’s the Perry Mason of the courtrooms here in the area today. A great mind, a fantastic attorney who knows the laws and hopefully someday will be a judge here in Massachusetts. He has earned it.

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The election is finally creeping up on us here in Somerville with the state and national elections and finally the end of debates, ads and just down and out nasty campaigning. Now just make sure you go out and vote on November 8, or better yet there’s no excuse for not going over to City Hall on the 2nd floor to vote early. We now have that available to the public. You don’t have to wait in line on a cold dreary Election Day. We predict an 80/20 win for the democrats and, if you think about it, that’s not such a hard bet, is it?

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Rumor has it that at the local city and ward Democratic Committee meeting recently, some that were present from the beginning to end never heard a vote to endorse the questions on the ballot, never mind a vote total of those for and against the questions. But it appears that the secretary posted a vote taken on the question. Maybe the secretary, Katie Wallace, reads minds? Just saying.

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Little Sisters of the Poor will be holding their annual Christmas Bazaar on November 12 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., at 186 Highland Ave. Somerville. Big Raffle Prizes, Christmas Items, Games, Baked Goods including Angela’s famous Irish Soda Bread and lunch items including their popular beef stew. Mark your calendars. Don’t miss this annual event running now for over 40 years. 617-776-4420 for info.

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East Somerville Main Streets is hosting a Halloween Block Party on Saturday, October 29, 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. at Chuckie Harris Park. Free fun for all ages featuring Make your own Halloween Mask, Doughnut on a String Eating Contest, Face Painting, Fear Factor Game, Make Wearable Lights, Mini Trick-or-Treating and Halloween Family Photos. The event is put on by ESMS in collaboration with Beautiful Stuff project and Parts & Crafts.

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Tufts University Department of Music presents Tufts Sunday Concert Series – Schubert’s Winterreise. Sunday, November 06, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. This iconic cycle of “horrifying songs” gazes into the abyss, in the aftermath of loss. Charles Blandy, tenor; Thomas Stumpf, piano. The Granoff Music Center is located at 20 Talbot Avenue on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit as.tufts.edu/music/musiccenter or call the Granoff Music Center Box Office at 617.627.3679.