On Saturday afternoon, October 26, an attendance of over 200 were present for the “Founders Memorial Rink” dedication on Somerville Avenue.

As all of us here in Somerville go to the polls this coming Tuesday, November 5, we want to exercise our duty to vote for the right candidates and to read as much about them and their opinions as possible.

The “Weekend for Sean Collier at Lyndell’s Bakery” was held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 25, 26, and 27. The bakery sold individual custom half moon cakes dedicated to Sean Collier with his Somerville Police badge number on them. $1.00 from every half moon sold was donated to the Somerville Auxiliary PD Sean Collier memorial scholarship fund.

Eating Grief at 3 A.M.
By Doug Holder
Muddy River Books
Brookline, MA
27 Pages

You know the old saying: “Hair today gone tomorrow.”  Poet Lawrence Kessenich faces his face after years in the underbrush.

Arrests:
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Thomas O’Shea, 29, of 187 Lincoln Ave., Saugus, October 21, 9:01 p.m., arrested on a warrant charge of possession of a class C drug.

Adam Scott, 25, of 52 Wellington Ave., Everett, October 21, 10:28 p.m., arrested at 12 Maine Ave. on a warrant charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

In celebration of Family Literacy Month, Somerville early education and care schools, programs, providers and other local community agencies will participate in the 2013 Somerville Early Childhood Literacy Fair on Saturday, November 16, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Arthur D. Healey School. This free event, now in its third year, offers Somerville families an opportunity to gather information about the numerous resources available to families with young children in Somerville.  Families are invited to stop by to learn about a wide range of community resources for families, explore books with their children, partake in a variety of family literacy activities, and meet other parents and friends in the neighborhood.

The City of Somerville has earned the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR), which demonstrated a spirit of full disclosure and motivated people to read the report, according to awarding nonprofit Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.

Removal of Transfer Station to Unlock Brickbottom for Redevelopment; Wrecking Celebrities Including “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Mario,” and “Miley Cyrus” to Attend Demolition Launch Event

On Monday, the demolition of Somerville’s hulking, long-out-of-place waste transfer station will begin, and a gaggle of wrecking celebrities will join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston for a “Wallbreaking” Ceremony to celebrate. Wreck-It Ralph, Mario of Nintendo fame, and some kids (because kids love to wreck stuff), as well as the wrecking field’s latest hanger on, “Miley Cyrus,”* will all join in on Monday, October 28, at 4:15 p.m., to give the structure a few good sledgehammer whacks. Demolition company S&R Corporation of Lowell will then knock down part of the structure. (Think of it as a groundbreaking ceremony, but in reverse.)

Somerville School Committee Chair Mary Jo Rossetti and her School Committee colleague Dr. Adam Sweeting testified before a capacity audience at the October 22 Board of Education meeting. Members and other state education leaders listened intently as Rossetti, who is also President of the MA Association of School Committees (MASC) and Sweeting raised valid concerns about the Department’s rush to implement the PARCC (Performance Assessment for Readiness for College and Career) assessment trials at the same time as districts are adjusting to the new educator evaluation requirements, adapting to the new Common Core curriculum and continuing to prepare students for the traditional MCAS testing program.   Rossetti reported on recent conversations with school leaders from New York State where the Common Core testing is already underway, noting that the costs associated with implementation have already topped $2 billion of state and federal dollars (using paper and no technology vs. Massachusetts plan to implement the full use of technology).