On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

As the ground breaking for the new IKEA store ushers in the new Assembly Square area and Somerville into a new and exciting era, let’s reflect back to great times gone by. 

The Assembly Square Mall opened in 1980 – the next thing you knew, things were in full swing. One of the hot spots in the mall was a trendy restaurant called Dapper Dan’s. On the site of the old Ford Motor plant, diners and revelers from the greater Boston area were gunning their engines at DD’s, in their Tello’s best.

The Urban Ring, from its inception, has been all about connecting people, businesses and areas together. The possibility of connecting the largest mixed-use development (Assembly Square) in the history of New England within this ring is vital to maximize the potential of the development – especially when considering the access to Logan Airport, biotech companies along the corridor and direct travel into the core of Downtown Boston.

There will be different ‚Äúoptions‚Äù offered by the Executive Office of Transportation – some we will like and others we won’t like at all. The latest iteration (option) presented, which would essentially terminate the Urban Ring at Sullivan Square, would be a huge loss for Assembly Square and for the City of Somerville as a whole.

By Tom Nash

Somerville skateboarders spent last Saturday scouting Boston for design ideas for their long-awaited skate park– a project that a recent appearance before the Board of Aldermen may have finally put in motion.

A mostly teen-aged group showed up to the Sept. 9 Aldermen meeting with a petition containing 450 signatures asking for a skate park in Somerville, capping an awareness campaign conducted by skateboarders and the community organization Save Our Somerville.

By George P. Hassett

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone is against decriminalizing marijuana use. And on Wednesday he and Chief of Police Anthony Holloway called on voters to oppose a ballot question that would make possession of small amounts of marijuana punishable with a fine similar to a traffic violation.

Curtatone and Holloway joined other law enforcement officials Рincluding Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone Рat the State House to denounce decriminalizing marijuana as “a very real threat to our youth and our communities.” The measure is known as Question 2. Voters will decide on Nov. 4.

New proposal would end at Sullivan, with bus service to Assembly

By George P. Hassett

A much-hyped transit project expected to connect Assembly Square to research centers, universities and Logan Airport could skip the city for a stop in Boston if state officials choose a new plan unveiled this week.

Local bands rock to save beloved dive

By Tom Nash

As John Giannino sweeps up after the final night of a week-long concert series meant to save his family’s business, he seems more worried about the Patriots getting trounced than the future of the Abbey Lounge. The thought of losing it seems remote.

“It would suck,” he says of the possibility of the bar closing. “The place has been around forever, you know? I grew up around the place.”

Positioned on Inman Square’s dividing line between Cambridge and Somerville, the bar has unapologetically cultivated its status as an authentic dive. Prohibition couldn’t stop the place from selling moonshine, and Giannino can’t keep people from punching holes in the men’s room drywall.

Demolition begins as opening is slated for 2011

By Jack Nicas

The first physical step towards IKEA’s arrival in Somerville came Friday, as demolition began on the former Good Time Emporium.

A mechanical claw tore down the well-known satellite dishes atop the former hangout as developers, IKEA representatives and city officials posed in front of the soon-to-be 340,000 square foot Swedish furniture store.

Accused man testifies it was self-defense

By George P. Hassett

The jury in a murder trial for two men accused of killing over a gold chain began their deliberations Tuesday.

Walter Norris, 23, and Valentino Facey, 22, are charged with murdering Bernard Johnson in front of his girlfriend just hours after she accepted his marriage proposal.

“This is not a dream,” Johnson told his fiancée, on their last night together, as she asked friends to take a picture of her new diamond ring, witnesses at the trial said. “This is real.”

By George P. Hassett

Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan topped the first ballot at tonight’s democratic caucus for a register of probate nominee but picked up only 27 more votes through three more ballots and finished second to a Medford woman for the nomination.

Tara DeCristofaro, an assistant register of probate now, will be the democratic nominee for the top register job in November after indicted incumbent John Buonomo declined the nomination last week.The caucus began with 13 candidates for the job and came down to O’Donovan and DeCristofaro in the fourth and final vote of the night. DeCristofaro picked up 202 votes between the first and fourth ballots to defeat O’Donovan and win 68 percent of the 447 delegates.