This weekend, on Saturday, May 12, the Union Square Farmers Market begins, a sure sign that summer is near. And beginning on Wednesday, May 16, the Davis Square Farmers Market begins.

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The Somerville High School Scholarship Foundation presents its 2018 drawing to help our students that are graduating. The drawing is for the chance to win $10K plus by selling $100 tickets. If you have done this in the past you know how it’s done. Make out a check payable to the S.H.S. Scholarship Foundation and mail it to SHS Raffle c/o Joesph Favaloro, PO Box 440275, Somerville 02145. Or you can call Joe at 617-666-8473 or Gene Brune at 617-628-5835. As soon as they receive your check they will mail out the ticket(s) to you. Only a certain number of tickets are being sold, so hurry up. Help a student and get the chance to win $10K. The drawing is set for May 18, 7:00 p.m., at the Highlander Café, Somerville High School. Refreshments will be served.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy birthday to a great local cook, Rosa Moccia, of Victor’s Deli in Ball Square. Happy birthday to Aida Sousa-Braga, who celebrates this week as well. Happy birthday to Beverly Childers this week, who also is celebrating 50 years of marriage. We hope she has a great celebration. Happy birthday to Dennis Sullivan, of the Berkeley St. Sullivan’s. Finally, a good guy and great friend over the years that everyone knows, big Ed Palazzolo is celebrating this week. Ed has been in extended recovery from a broken back and is in Leesburg, VA, trying to get back on his feet. We certainly hope this is the year he gets his much needed miracle. He’s suffered tremendously and wishes to come back to Massachusetts, and we hope he does so soon. To all the others we may have missed – and yes, we must admit there are a few more out there – we sincerely wish them the very best of birthdays.

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Lyrics Champs presents A Super Hero Wrestling Fundraiser on Friday, June 8, at the Somerville High School Field House at 81 Highland Avenue. Tickets are available online at www.LyricsChamps.org. The cost is $15.

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Last week we made a mistake and, of course, we always own up to our mistakes. And since this is a gossip column we know that mistakes will happen. On the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust Fund piece, we said that “Dennis LeBlanc” sits on the board of the Somerville Community Corp., but it is really Danny LeBlanc. He is the director of the agency that receives money from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Again, how is it possible for an official audit of the Affordable Housing Trust fund not to be done? Taxpayer money goes into the fund and SCC is the benefactor of the fund, but with no audit? Oh, the city says it has the last two years posted on their website, but we’re told that it’s just a review, not an audit. So where does the money come from? From taxpayers? Who benefits from the fund and how do the taxpayers of Somerville benefit? And the Board of Aldermen (mostly made up of those that are associated with SCC) doesn’t ask for transparency?

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This past Monday night at the Board of Aldermen’s Legislative Matters Committee meeting, another public hearing concerning the new tax the city wants to impose on homeowners took place. The rewritten proposal doesn’t mean anything. Our sources say that at any time the Board can change the 1% figure to whatever they want. They can change who pays, from developers to any homeowner’s property they want. Watch this Board of Aldermen and remember who voted for taxes to be raised for a fund that has no accountability, with its money given to another agency that hasn’t given information audit on who benefited from the money.

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Congratulations to Lisa Ramos of Century Bank here in Somerville. She was recently promoted to Branch Manager of the Fellsway and Mystic Avenue branch. Lisa has been with the bank for several years and we are glad she was promoted. We are sure she will handle her new promotion and be a credit to the bank. This location is Century Bank’s first branch. The bank started here in 1969 and Lisa will actually occupy the office once held by Marshall Sloan himself, and a great list of others who followed. Lisa takes over from Jeannie Scarpa. We will miss Jeannie’s always smiling face at the bank. We understand she retired and we wish her the best.

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Congratulations to Frank and Beverly Childers, celebrating 50 years of marriage. They grew up here in Somerville and moved to “Somerville with trees” in Stoneham. We here at The Times wish them both the very best and congrats on 50 years with 50 more plus.

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The city’s ward aldermen, along with the At-Large BOA representatives, are kicking off the 2018 Block Party Challenge. Residents can contact their respective ward aldermen or Stephanie Hirsch (stephanie@stephaniehirsch.org) for more information. Their goal this year is to increase the number of block parties held throughout the city. Block parties are easy to organize and a great way to build community. More about this effort and FAQs on organizing block parties are to be found here: http://www.somervilletogether.com/blockpartychallenge.

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Don’t forget, you can catch the Board of Aldermen meetings on Somerville City Cable (Comcast 22, RCN 13) or online at https://www.somervillema.gov/video every other Thursday night.

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Demets Donuts in Medford is getting very busy, but those donuts and the large variety are like the old Day’s Donuts, huge and tasty. Almost a sin facing you when you come in for just coffee. It’s hard to not get that jelly or lemon, not to mention the coconut donuts. The Somerville Times is available every Wednesday at the donut shop. Stop in, get a coffee and few of those delicious donuts, or maybe the real – and we mean real – egg sandwiches, from real eggs.

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Somerville High School and the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Graphic Design & Visual Communications department proudly present the first annual CTE Design Gallery Show on Saturday, May 19, 12:00-2:00pm at the SHS Atrium and is open to the public. Guests will enjoy light refreshments provided by the Culinary Arts Bistro while perusing the art and designs students in CTE have created.