There was more action at last week’s aldermen meeting than we have seen in years. Former Alderman Andy Puglia was advocating for his son in law, who has a civil service dispute with the city, when Mayor Joe Curtatone burst onto the scene in the Aldermanic chambers and words got exchanged and fireworks were seen for the first time, some said, since the 1970’s board meetings.

**********************

Happy Birthday this week to our own Andrew Firestone, who is a regular writer here at the News and is a nice guy who has a lot of energy in whatever he does. Also happy birthday to Cathy DelPonte, we hope she has a great day and week as well.

**********************

Great to hear that Det. Mario Oliviera is home from the hospital so fast. We hear he’s resting comfortably. We hope that he enjoys Thanksgiving, we all have something to be thankful for in people like Mario who put their life on the line on a daily basis. We are pleased he’s doing well – and so is the whole city.

**********************

Also get well to lifelong resident Irving Johansen of Winter Hill who is also home and resting, Irving is a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor and a wise man who up until recently was  out there working in his youthful 80’s. Another get well to our own Billy Tauro who is also home resting from his surgery, we hear he’s doing well also.

**********************

Does Tom Taylor have the votes for Vice President of the Board?  Or is someone else working for those votes? Better yet does Rebekah have the six votes necessary to be elected President? We hear she may not.

**********************

Sounds like there is a lot of behind the scenes activity among the aldermen these days, doesn’t it?    We will keep you posted, our spies are watching!

**********************

The celebration of the new skating rink on Somerville Avenue will be on Nov. 27 with a game between the Somerville Police Hockey Team and Boston Bruins Alumni Hockey Team. The Bruins Alumni Team is very expensive because of who they are, and it would be nice to fill the entire arena here in Somerville to watch some old pros play against the Police team.

**********************

We support Alderman Sean O’Donovan’s resolution before the Board of Aldermen to rename the Home and Visiting Locker room at Veterans memorial Rink after Robert “Bucky” McWaters & George Hughes who were the first two rink managers, two great dedicated Somerville families and great guys.

**********************

We hear through the Davis Square rumor mill that the old Social Security Building has a buyer willing to pay $8 million,  we also heard that the potential buyer understands that a national drug chain might be interested in moving there. We can’t believe that Davis Square can support 3 chains. In any event if they wanted to move there they would have to file a petition before the planning board wouldn’t they?

**********************

Congratulations to Somerville’s own Nancy Aylward who received the “Tina DeLellis Distinguished Service Award at the Second Annual Somerville Homeless Coalition fund-raiser.  Another year and another great choice (last year was well known Rose Nolan of the Sillari family), Nancy has done a lot of good deeds here in Somerville and is well deserving of this award, we congratulate her for a job well done.

**********************

The annual craft fair benefits the High School Cross Country and Track Teams. Admission is free. Food is available and approximately 100 crafters sell handcrafted items. Other highlights include a “Country Store” Raffle table with donations from local businesses and entertainment by SHS musicians. Saturday, November 27th, 2010, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm at the  SHS Field House.

**********************

Buy a holiday tree and wreath from the Full Circle/Next Wave student fundraiser! Net proceeds benefit the Student Activities Fund at the alternative school. Students staff the lot (with supervision from their teachers/counselors) and learn valuable work skills. Buy your tree/wreathDecember 3 through December 22nd. Hours vary: Afterschool from 4:00 PM through 8:00 PM – Weekends from 10:00 AM through 8:00 PM.

**********************

The American Red Cross and the Somerville Police are holding a blood drive to support the community blood supply for patients in need. Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood, and every pint donated could save up to three lives.   Wednesday, November 24, 2010,  Blood Drive: 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.,   Somerville Police Station Police Academy Room,  220 Washington Street, Somerville, MA 02143 or visit www.redcrossblood.org

**********************

The Somerville Public Library is hosting a fiction writing workshop with author Eleanor Stafford on Dec. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The workshop, entitled “Everyone Has A Story to Tell”, will engage participants in a number of fun oral and written storytelling exercises and will leave with the tools to begin writing a short story or novel at home. The workshop will provide a supportive and engaging environment for the development of confidence, expressive language, and creativity.  Inexperienced adult writers from all linguistic and educational backgrounds are encouraged to attend. Pre-registration is available at the desk in the Audio-Visual Room of the library or by calling (617) 623-5000 x 2936. The workshop is limited to 20 participants.

**********************

The Elizabeth Peabody House (EPH), is currently in the final stages of planning its third annual Food Drive on Tuesday, November 23, in support of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Elizabeth peabody House is partnering with ARAMARK’s New England Star Team, the Somerville Homeless Coalition and the Greater Boston Food Bank to feed 300 families from around Somerville and the Greater Boston area. ARAMARK employees from across the region have participated in can food drives and will be volunteering their time to prepare Thanksgiving Day baskets and help distribute the donated food.    EPH will also distribute gifts to children and families in mid-December.  For more information contact Paul Kuhne at (617) 623-5510 or pkuhne@elizabethpeabodyhouse.org.

**********************

The Boston Bruins Alumni Team led by Rick Middleton will join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Somerville Police hockey team to support Somerville Youth Hockey at the newly renovated Veterans Memorial Rink on Somerville Ave. on Saturday, November 27.  The event to support Somerville Youth Hockey will begin at 5 p.m. with a youth hockey game and finish with the Bruins Alumni vs. Somerville Police game. Raffles and auction items will be on hand. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for kids, if you would like to run an ad in the program or support at a higher level contact RonBonney@aol.com. For more information check out www.somervilleyouthhockey.org.