Happy birthday to a lot of our friends and fellow Villens here this week: Happy birthday first of all to a favorite here at The Times, Dorothy DiMarzo, a great lady who is always positive and makes the best dishes around. And we know this personally. Happy birthday Dorothy! Happy birthday to a long-time Somerville guy, Jeff Cappello, the husband of former Ward 4 Alderman Maryann. We wish Jeff the very best on his special day. Happy birthday to a lifelong resident who is involved with what’s going on here in the city for a long time, Philip Ercolini. A great guy, from a great family. Local lady and real estate agent with The Norton Group, good friend Denise Cosby. We wish her a happy birthday. Former Somerville guy and a guy with a lot of passion for what he believes in, we’re wishing James Robertson a happy birthday. Happy birthday as well to Nancy Coutoumas, who loves Somerville. Happy Birthday to Kathie Lathasha Harris, who also celebrates this week. Happy birthday to Maureen Turner Schlegel, who is celebrating this week as well.

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Somerville Rotary celebrates 93 years of service to the city and it is looking for some new members. Rotary is a service club for businesses and local non-profits. Somerville Rotary meets at 12:15 p.m. every Tuesday at the Holiday Inn. If you’d like to find out more about Rotary and what it does here both in the city and internationally, go to the their website at www.somervillerotary.org.

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Alderman at Large Jack Connolly is home from the hospital, recuperating from triple by-pass surgery. We hear he’s doing well and should be back to his usual self shortly. We certainly wish him the best.

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The first fundraiser for the upcoming city elections is set for this evening, Wednesday, January 25, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at PA Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave. Candidate Stephanie Hirsch will be running for Alderman At Large. Watch now how fast all the others will have their fundraisers.

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Pat Reardon, a local Somerville lady, retired Somerset Bank manager and Past President of Somerville Rotary has been ill and we send our warmest regards for a fast get-back-on-your-feet and back-to-normal. Pat is a great lady, loved by many here in the city. She and her husband Joe live in the Magoun Square area and are known all across the city.

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Our good friend Charlie Chisholm is still over at MGH. Major surgery was just completed and some more to come to get him back on his feet. Not a great place to spend extended time, in the hospital, so we hope he gets better soon.

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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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It’s 2017 and Demet’s Donuts over on Mystic Avenue donuts is the best. We’re noticing more and more Somerville residents over there getting their coffee and donuts to start the day. The ladies working there are fantastic and always smiling. If you’re in the mood for a huge, great tasting donut drop over early since they disappear as the day gets on.

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Now, regarding our good friends Bobby Potaris and Chris Pedersen; they had a little contest the other night at Sally O’Brien’s on Somerville Ave. with beautiful Lauren and one of our Newstalkers. The contest was short, to the point and yes, Bobby won. He is a champion!

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Watching Alderman Bob McWatters work the Little Sisters of the Poor party being thrown for Sister Rachel, who turned 100 last Saturday, was like watching a truly nice guy at his best. He walked around and talked with just about every sister present and they were so happy to speak to and to have their picture taken with him. He is well-liked at Little Sisters, we can tell you. His dedication to the organization is tops, and is very much appreciated by the Little Sisters. Go online at our website and view the pictures of the celebration.

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Somerville’s number deli, Victor’s Deli in Ball Square, is closed down this week. First of all, Nancy and Jason are on vacation with the baby down in the Caribbean for the week. The deli is closed for the week, to be renovated with a new look, but the same great food, so you have to wait until next week to get your order filled. We don’t know what to do in the meantime for lunch. A week without a piece of pizza or, even worse, a week without one of their many delicious meals that has made the Moccia family famous is hard to take.

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Our own Claudia Ferro, the paper’s photographer – OK, actually has to be the city’s best photographer – is out of action this week. She had surgery on her foot and is told to stay off it and rest up. We hope she’s better real soon and gets back on the beat, we have to send Donald out as a back up and he isn’t as good with the camera, but don’t tell him!

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At the recent Zoning Board of Appeals meeting this past week, the Chairperson had her hands full but she handled the meeting like a professional, a sort of Solomon type. Susan Fontana of East Somerville got through some  very contentious  hearings, but she did the city proud.

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A twist involving one proposed development at that ZBA meeting had the local Ward 5 Alderman Mark Niedergang siding with the developer while Aldermen Mary Jo Rossetti, Bill White and Dennis Sullivan spoke against it. It seems that a developer wants to take out a business at Murdock and Cedar Streets and build six buildings on the site with 22 units. It looked like the neighbors were not happy with the proposal and showed their displeasure by speaking against it. The ZBA voted to continue the hearing to February 1. If you’re a neighbor, show up and voice your opinion. We think it’s unusual that in our city we are now allowing businesses to be demolished and have a residential of 6 building, replacing homes and 16 individuals that work at this place. A comment was made by some of the residents who were not happy with this proposal that they knew something was going to go there. Maybe if it’s true the hearing should be denied and wait until a proposal that will make the local residents happier would be the thing to do by the ZBA. Do we have to approve all developments?

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Another hearing that was postponed until February 1 is for a Cherry Street project. The large crowd, including several of the Aldermen, were present to speak about the project, but the Board voted to continue the meeting to the later date.

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It was great seeing Dan O’Meara and his smiling face sitting alongside his better half Joan this past week. He’s in and out of MGH enough, but he’s looking good.

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Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) invites the community to participate in Elder Fair 2017 at the Holiday Inn Boston-Bunker Hill, 30 Washington St. in Somerville, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12. Elder Fair is a free health and wellness expo that provides health screenings and access to a wide range of information and services than benefit older adults, caregivers, and people with disabilities.

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The Somerville COA lunch at The Porthole in Lynn is on February 1. Check in at Holland Street at 10:15 a.m. Approximate time of return is 1:00 p.m. Call Kim for info at 617-625-6600 ext 2300.