Join the Somerville Chamber of Commerce for this year’s Business Town Meeting XIII with Mayor Joseph Curtatone: The business & economic agenda Q&A session. After Hours reception at Saloon, Rockwell, 255 Elm Street (next to Foundry on Elm, Davis Square), Thursday, May 17, 4:30 p.m. The Rockwell opens at 5:00 p.m. The Business Town Meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Free appetizers, excellent networking, free drawing for weekend stay at Holiday Inn. Produced by the Somerville Chamber of Commerce’s new group Arrowstreet Inc, Distinctive Hospitality Group/Holiday Inn, Federal Realty Investment Trust, Innerbelt Industrial Center, KEMS Holding Corporation, Rafi Properties, Tufts University, Union Square Station Associates. Limited seating, first come, first served. RSVP with name(s) and affiliation(s) for you and your guest(s) to smackey@somervillechamber.org.

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This Friday, May 18, 7:00 p.m., 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 held at the Highlander Café, Somerville High School. Refreshments will be served.

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On Saturday night, May 19, the Little Sisters of the Poor are having their Sixth Annual Fundraising Dinner, “sharing the vision of St. Jeanne Jugan 150th anniversary in the U.S.A.” A Vigil Mass of Pentecost in the chapel with Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap. Archbishop of Boston will be held at 4:30 p.m. The Fundraising Dinner and program will follow across the street at the Center for the Arts at the Armory at 6:00 p.m. If you would like to make a financial contribution, it will be gratefully accepted.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy birthday to Melissa Hurley. May she have a great birthday for herself with her family. Happy birthday to one of Somerville’s finest attorneys, Edwin Smith. Happy birthday as well to Caroline Shea-Rosas. We hope she enjoys her special day. Happy birthday to Scott Diamond, who grew up in West Somerville. We wish him a good day for himself. 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, 81 Highland Avenue. Tickets are available online at www.LyricsChamps.org. The cost is $15.

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It seems like the newly elected aldermen who campaigned on affordable housing and the rest of the members might be slowing down the North Street joint public and private development, which is a 40B project and. once completed. would provide 50% affordable housing on the site. Seems like the Board of Aldermen are micro-managing the project and might be ill informed about this development. It’s like they feel the developer is getting a sweetheart deal on the land and if they stop this project the city and the SHA will lose out on a $17 million grant from the state. We think think BOA is being short sighted and hypocritical in trying to stall the project for the tenants, as well as neighbors, who many want this development to move forward.

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We hear a rumor that the longtime director of the Somerville Community Corp., Danny LeBlanc, is going to retire shortly. Kind of interesting, if you think about. Timing is everything!

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Democratic candidates for Governor Jay Gonzalez and Bob Massie will participate in a public forum on May 17, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., at the Somerville City Club, 20 Inner Belt Road (across from Holiday Inn), with residents of Somerville to make their case about why one of them would be the best nominee for the Democratic Party and answer questions from the public. At the public forum, residents of Somerville will ask the candidates to describe their plans for addressing a broken political system. The candidates will be asked to explain what they would do to level the playing field in Massachusetts. The public forum is hosted by Our Revolution Somerville. This is a meet and greet with Q&A, not a debate. Bob Massie is invited for 6:30 p.m. and Jay Gonzalez for 7:30 p.m.

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WSNS 2018 Spring Concert, Thursday, May 31, 8:45 – 10:45 a.m. at the WSNS Gymnasium, 177 Powder House Blvd. It will feature K-6 Classrooms and grade 7/8 strings, band, world music, and chorus. A celebration of music from around the globe. ESCS will hold their spring concert on Tuesday, June 5, 9:00 – 11:00 am. at the ESCS Auditorium, 50 Cross St. Free Admission.

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Celebrate the inaugural year of the Highlander Theatre Company (HTC) by joining them on Friday, May 18, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. for an evening of theatre that will include performances by the SHS Performing Arts class, selected scenes directed by HTC students, and a public performance of their award-winning production of Pullman Car Hiawatha by Thornton Wilder. General admission is $10 for community members or Pay-What-You-Can for seniors and all Somerville Public Schools staff and students with valid ID. Tickets may be purchased at the door or by visiting www.shsma.booktix.com. Contact Mr. Jabour at cjabour@k12.somerville.ma.us with any additional questions.

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The Somerville High School and the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Graphic Design & Visual Communications department proudly presents the first annual CTE Design Gallery Show highlighting the spectacular work by CTE Art and Design students. The event takes place on Saturday, May 19, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. 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.