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© 2021 The Somerville Times. All rights reserved.
The Illuminations Tour 2018 takes place on Saturday, December 15, 4:30 to 9:15 p.m. Tickets on sale now at Blue Cloud Gallery in Ball Square, 713 Broadway. Celebrate the folk artistry of residents who transform their houses and yards with lights, illuminated ornaments, and shrines of devotion and fantasy. 45-minute Trolley Tours leave from (and return to) Somerville High School Field House, 81 Highland Ave. This is a new location this year, between the Central Library and the High School. Coffee, hot chocolate and cookies will be served. In addition, there will be craft activities for children and the Somerville Community Chorus will perform. Each year the tour changes, so do not expect the 2018 tour to be like the 2017 tour. This is a fundraiser for the Arts Council. For more info, visit www.somervilleartscouncil.org
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Don’t forget, if you would like to subscribe to receive a digital edition of our paper, go directly online to our website – www.thesomervilletimes.com – over to the right side and fill out your email address to receive a free, full PDF copy of the paper. By the way, if you scroll further down, a link to former editions of the paper are online as well, and all recent legal ads have been online for anyone who needs the legal ad they just ran.
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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy birthday to a great and good old time friend, Billy Murphy, who celebrating this week. Big happy birthday to our own Bobbie Toner here at The Times. We wish her a special day. Happy birthday to Stacy Hersey Buckley. We’re wishing her a great birthday as well. Happy birthday to Irene Bremis, the premier real estate broker in West Somerville. We wish her the very best. Happy birthday to Kevin McDevitt, a good guy at DPW and friend to many here both in Medford and Somerville. Happy birthday to Ann Cassesso-Ercolini. We wish her the very best of birthdays as well. Our special longtime friend and a great guy, Doug Carriger celebrates this week. We him the very best always. Happy birthday to a guy who grew up in East Somerville, David Bassett, who celebrates this week. Happy birthday to Anthony Angiulo, another East Somerville guy who works here in the city. A nice guy, we wish him the very best. Happy birthday to Cheryl Callahan, who is a lifelong resident and a nice person. We wish her the very best as well. Happy birthday to everyone here and from the city who is celebrating this week. We wish every one of them a very happy birthday.
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One of our readers came in to see us this past week and told us an interesting story regarding “handicap” placards that hang in windows. Remember, you have to get a doctor sign for one, then you take it to the RMV, and then they issue you the placard. Isn’t a handicap placard supposed to help those in need to be able to have an advantage in parking because of their particular situation? Can Somerville overrule what Massachusetts says is law? Our reader reported to us that he was on a side street in a house, and when he came out he saw that he was getting parking ticket, the T&P person said they needed to have a residential sticker or visitor pass to park. Our reader explained that he had a “handicap” placard, but the T&P person told him Somerville doesn’t care and then left the ticket. He told us that he went to T&P office to complain and they told him that Somerville has different rules regarding handicap placards. In the end they reportedly told him, “you can pay now or later.” Now, we weren’t there but we don’t he made the story up either. It’s disturbing that the city squeezes every penny out of everyone with all sorts of rules and ordinances, but we think charging a handicapped person for the ticket is outrageous. Has anyone else had this problem?
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Just the other day the Boston Globe did an article on the Union Square development, and instead of speaking to those that are affected by the development they talked to two city activists. Some feel the article was slanted against those who are really affected. Some see these two individuals as resisters to development in the square, maybe in the guise of having union workers involved in the project, we don’t know. Some of the real stakeholders feel that the project is being held up because the mayor, who has the final say, is now bowing down to the activists because of the last city election. The formation of the Neighborhood Council was, by some accounts, a bag job against the real people who are affected by the development. Under our city charter the mayor has final approval over any project in the city. So why doesn’t he step up?
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We’ve been hearing rumors that the Hon. Ward 7 Alderman Katjana Ballantyne is looking more and more like a potential candidate for mayor, either next year or the term after. Either way, we think she’s capable and could pose a strong candidacy at any time.
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We also heard that a former alderman is also considering running for mayor himself. He’s been quietly looking around and gathering some key support here in the city.
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We hear that there will be a major announcement of two real estate companies merging. The Norton Group, which has been around for many years and is locally owned and operated, is going to merge with Century 21 North East in January to become C21 North East – Norton Group. The D’Amicos and the Nortons are merging and will make a major announcement and offer up some surprises in January.
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Speaking of The Norton Group, every year they celebrate with their staff and agents, as well as with the Somerville Times staff and writers. This year it was held this past Monday night at the Mt. Vernon Restaurant. A great turnout and fantastic time as usual was had by all, and the food was fantastic. What a great place to have a company party or to have them cater it. You can’t go wrong.
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Every year now since Mayor Joe has been mayor the taxes have gone up. This year is no exception. One bad thing is that the commercial development in Union Square has ground to a halt over a piece of land that the city won’t let the Redevelopment Authority take in order for the commercial development package approved a few years to proceed. We hear that the taxes, in particular in Prospect Hill, will go up at least 20% this year because of the aldermen’s and city’s actions. What a shame that the commercial development that was meant to ease the burden on homeowners will not happen. To all you new residents of Prospect Hill which will see a major increase in taxes, remember that next year is city elections. Just saying!
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Anticipation mounts as to who the Town of Stoneham picks for Town Manager. One of three candidates is one of our alderman and we wish him luck. Interestingly enough, if he gets the job he might resign as Alderman At-Large. That would mean, under the new rules, that Jack Connolly can once again (for the third time) sit on the Board. Wouldn’t that be interesting? Back to Stoneham, a lot of Stoneham is filled with former Somerville residents these days. We think it looks good. Well, we know he wants the job and we’re crossing our fingers for him.
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So some bloggers tried to say that bicycles pay taxes through other forms of taxes like property taxes. We would like to remind them that everyone pays property taxes, either directly or indirectly. But those that own automobiles pay an additional tax called the excise tax, which is for street and road improvements. Bicycles owners should pay a tax as well, just to be fair about it. After all, it costs money to paint those lanes and to shorten the streets.
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The Somerville City Club’s manager, Donny Johnson, is looking all the time for new members to join the club. If you think you’d be interested give him a call 617-623-9340. It’s a great local club for the residents of Somerville. It’s been around now for over 40 years at their location on Innerbelt Road, across from the Holiday Inn. It has plenty of parking and has a very nice hall for rent. Some say the best deal in Somerville. Call the hall and ask for details: 617-623-9340. The Somerville City Club supports a lot of local charitable groups and organizations here in Somerville.
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That neighborhood council has turned into one big joke dominated by
a few community activists from Somerville Community Corporation’s
sick excuse for community outreach called Union United. They don’t
care about anyone but themselves. Union Square residents are so
fed up with them that nobody goes to their meetings. The decisions
they reach are out of touch with regular Somerville people. Thanks
for voting them in. Those young millennial voters don’t get what’s going
on. We’re calling our next dog Bernie and putting him in as a candidate
for the Board of Aldermen. Shame on this neighborhood council for
pretending they give a hoot. Total joke.
@ Mandy & David –
Maybe sour grapes from those who failed to run an effective campaign for the Neighborhood Council Board Elections last fall? Which was run fair and square, BTW.
And your drivel sounds eerily like the overheated rhetoric of a certain fellow well known for his deranged behavior and harassment of those fighting displacement in Union Square.
“Which was run fair and square, BTW.”
If that’s the case, then why did a Saturday voting day staff person need to ask an ORS/UU worker to stop handing out the ABCDE/UU slate of 15 candidates flyer to voters as they entered the Public Safety Building? This worker was standing on the steps 20 feet from the PSB door. But the ethic at elections is 150 feet–for good reason. But, please, do say that didn’t happen, because there were many witnesses to it, including, haha, those voters that walked in with the flyer.
“Effective campaign.” Any damn fool could have said–and did–“I’m Bernie”, and gotten themselves elected. 1 ORS choice is not a choice. It’s this is the good one, and the others aren’t. The sheep, looking up for a brief moment from their smart phones, said “Oh my, this IS the 1”, and didn’t think twice about it. It’s Ralph Nader’s dad all over again, when Ralph said we have a choice[ Repubs or Dems], and his dad said no we don’t[ to vote Dem or nothing].
“Deranged behavior and harassment.” Some of you do appear to enjoy harassing this 1 particular person, even though others have spoken out also. Looks like ‘a whipping boy’ to me.
“Displacement.” Really? After the Somerville Stands Together fiasco, isn’t union labor all the rage. What happened to ‘fair wage’ ideas, eh? What happened to anything that might get you thinking outside of the box? There’s much more than construction jobs at stake. Makes you wonder if the sheep are leading the sheep.
So, Somerfall–or is it Somerbreeze? Katie?–get ya back to your name calling and harassing and threatening narrative. Anything but talk about the real issues, huh?
As Somerbreeze once said: “Yawn.” And did so because Freedom of Speech and of expression is still a right. “Yawn” it is.
Well. That was quite a ditzy little rant. A good illustration why the country is in the messed up state it’s in today. Too many of these screwballs on the loose, disgorging this kind of demented codswallop. Thank God it’s the end of times for them.
This silly group calling itself the neighborhood council is a sad bunch. Talk to anyone with a real stake in Union Square and they will tell you they wish this group would just go away.
“Development without displacement” they cry. Great but after years of shouting people down no one has been prevented from being displaced. The opposite, as more aimless postgrads looking for a cause with a check from daddy settle in. Meanwhile, businesses struggle and taxes rise while neighborhood council social club has another meeting to keep themselves busy. Join their email list it is a joke.
Where’s leadership from city hall? They are letting the animals run the zoo.
Everyone knows where its headed. Big payday for the nonprofits and unions who create this council. Long time residents get sick of it all and move somewhere with adults in charge. Globe should do real reporting on this but it will be too late by then.
Somebody at the Somerville News ought to tell us how many of these comments are made by the same dangerous fellow who threatens violence against people he disagrees with.
I would not put it past him to be having conversations with himself on these threads
Dangerous, threatening? Are you kidding me? The individual some are referring to is about as dangerous as a field mouse. The sissy socialist millennial snowflakes are threatened because someone is actually speaking up against them, therefore they must be dangerous. I guess if they don’t like what someone says they try to silence them by claiming the individual is threatening. Give me a break.
Your agenda is being exposed for what it is… the USNC has zero credibility even though the Ward 3 Alderman continues to try and prop up his friends. The real community sees right through this BS.
God, enough with the Union Square squabbles. These people need to do something meaningful with their lives. Get out of your little bubble.