“East Somerville Reunion 17” will be held this year on Saturday, June 24, 7:00 – 11:00 p.m., at the Somerville City Club. Anyone that grew up in East Somerville is invited to attend to meet and greet old friends and reminisce about your park or the corner you grew up on, and so much more. Come and have some fun. Hook up with old friends. Eat, drink, and dance your ass off to a live band. Tickets are $10 each, available at the City Club bar. $15 at the door. This is an adult only event. No one under 21 allowed. We know what it was like back in the day to grow up in a unique part of Somerville. The last reunion had well over 100 attendees. It looks like this year’s event may be even more successful. Go to the Facebook page “East Somerville 17” and check in if you will be attending. The reunion is the idea of Dan Rogovich and his committee. They have worked hard to make this a success. A big thank you for having Somerville Pride, in particular East Somerville Pride.

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Good friend and Medford City Councilor Adam Knight is having his campaign kickoff fundraiser Thursday, June 22, at the Post 45 American Legion, 321 Winthrop St. in Medford. Adam is dedicated and is one of Medford’s up and coming elected officials. He learned from one of the best, he used to work for former Senator Charlie Shannon. We hope Adam tops the ticket in Medford. He’s a great guy, smart and dedicated to the city of Medford.

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Check out www.ocpf.us and plug in a name to find out who and how local politicians stand in fundraising. We’re looking it over and seeing who contributes to whom. Remember, it’s not illegal to accept money from special interests, including developers, lawyers or unions of any kind.

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Happy birthday this week here in the Ville: Lots of well known and popular individuals celebrating their birthdays this week. Happy birthday to Steven Mirabella, good guy and very involved here in the city. Happy birthday to Carolyn Pederson. We wish her the very best and many more birthdays. Good guy and former License Commissioner, as well as from one of Somerville’s oldest families, Raymond Trant. We wish him the very best. Happy birthday to good friend, Beth Bolton-Chamberlain, who recently attended her stepdaughter’s wedding in Boston. She raises retrievers. Happy birthday to Suzanne Bremer of Prospect Hill. A nice lady and very involved here in the city. We wish her the best of birthdays. Happy birthday to Linda Spinosa, one of the famous offsprings of Dan. A great family, and a nice lady. We wish her the very best of birthdays. Happy birthday to Stephanie Hirsch, who is celebrating this week and is also running for Alderman At-Large. Anyone else celebrating their birthdays this week, we wish them a happy birthday. If you know of someone you’d like us to mention, let us know.

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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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A quick look at this year’s proposed city budget is interesting. We noticed some department heads penciled in for large raises, and one in particular who had his job created not three years ago is being proposed almost 20K more. This, when we hear that some of the city inspectors at the Inspectional Services Department are actively seeking jobs in other communities. Guess the city is going to take away gas allowances and no raises for the workers. It’s hard to get the positions filled when the city isn’t paying what those in other communities are getting.

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Question: In what year were 10 out of the 11 incumbent aldermen defeated? And Which alderman was re-elected, and in what ward? Where was Franz Diner located?

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Remember, the 175th birthday of our city is this year. Celebratory events are scheduled throughout the coming year.  Go to http://www.somervillema.gov/somerville175 for more information about events you might be interested in.

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Condolences to the many friends of Dr. William Wood, who recently passed away at his home in Florida. His wife Carol is having him waked there. Bill Wood was frequently in Davis Square and was very active, along with his wife Carol, in local politics both in Somerville and Medford. We hear that his passing was sudden. He and Carol recently retired to FLA.

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It’s 2017 and Demet’s Donuts over on Mystic Avenue 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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Last week’s questions: Can you name where at least two First National Stores were located in Winter Hill and East Somerville. What current resident and former pizza/sub shop owner (and yes local cable access show host) owned the “Three Bells Pizza” and where was it located in Somerville? Hint around the “bucket of blood” bar. Answers (commented on our website): Yes, the First National Store was on the corner of Langmaid Ave and Broadway in Winter Hill; The A&P store was over the hill where the Salvation Army store is in Magoun Square; and the pizza and sub shop owner is between Mt. Vernon and Pinckney Streets (still a pizza shop).

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This week on Real Estate Answers Show (cable channel 3) with Donald Norton of the Norton Group, his guest will be Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, who will be discussing the zoning proposal and Union Square. Watch for the show Friday night on Channel 3 and first of the week on the website www.nortongroupre.com, where the show will be posted, along with others.

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The Endicott Young Writer’s Workshop will be held on June 24-25. This camp-like experience provides students who will be in grades 9-12 in the fall, and who have an interest in creative writing, an opportunity to meet other student writers and to work closely with three of Endicott’s most accomplished professors and writers: Charlotte Gordon, Dan Sklar, and Elizabeth Winthrop. A press release about the workshop from the College’s website is available here: http://www.endicott.edu/News/2017/4-28WritersWorkshop.aspx. To register: https://endicottyoungwritersworkshop.eventbrite