A lot of public events come and go over the course of each year: road races, music festivals, family events…you name it. What is it though about the celebration of the sticky, sweet and gooey confection called Marshmallow Fluff that kindles a spot of warmth in so many of our hearts? Is it the generally whacky nature of the event itself? The overall tongue-in-cheek nature of each event within the event?

Arrests:

Roberto Ennis, of 9 Nightingale St., Boston, February 21, 9:53 a.m., arrested at Cedar St. on a charge of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Frank Chan, of 109 Glen St., February 22, 1:36 a.m., arrested at Washington St. on warrant charges of possession of a class D drug, attempt to commit a crime, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

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Poet Afaa Weaver was a long-time resident of Somerville, MA. until he defected to the hinterlands of Connecticut. I hear he is very happy in the said environs. He has a new collection of poetry out– and the noted critic Dennis Daly was on it like the proverbial hornet:

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Gary Rainford lives year-round on Swan’s Island with his wife and daughter. He is the author of the poetry collection, Salty Liquor, founder of Island Verse, a creative writing literacy enterprise, editor-in-chief for The Island Reader, and an adjunct Professor of English at Monroe Community College. Summer 2016 Gary’s suite of poems called We Are Here was an honorable mention selected by Betsy Sholl for The Gabriel Zimpritch Memorial Poetry Prize at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth, ME. Gary’s next collection of poetry, Liner Notes – 64 ekphrasic poems describing 64 musicians as artists making music – is forthcoming.

Residents may sign up for no-cost Mass Save Home Energy Assessment and a variety of energy upgrades

Both Somerville residents and the city stand to benefit if 1,500 Somerville households sign up for a no-cost Mass Save® Home Energy Assessment in 2017 as part of the city’s Be SEEN! program (Be Somerville Energy Efficient Now!). The home energy assessments help residents save on energy costs and include free energy saving equipment such as LED and CFL light bulbs, programmable thermostats, and smart power strips. Meanwhile, if 1,500 households complete assessments and a cumulative 743 energy upgrades, the City can receive up to $40,000 in grants from the National Grid Community Initiative.

Donald Norton, of The Norton Group Real Estate, invited Alderman at Large and president of the Somerville Board of Aldermen, Bill White, into the studio. They discussed their perspectives on Somerville’s past, present and future.

The City of Somerville’s Urban Agriculture Ambassador Program (UAAP) is now accepting applications for the 2017 class. The UAAP, which is taught by Somerville-based Green City Growers, offers free training around urban growing techniques to 20 residents each year in exchange for 30 hours of volunteer service in garden projects throughout the city.

Eighth grade students at the Winter Hill Community Innovation School had an opportunity to find out how a little bit of olive oil affects waves, how we learn what smaller and smaller particles are made of, and other “mind-blowing physics” from Greg Kestin, a theoretical physicist and Harvard faculty member who is also hosting a new NOVA web video series called What the Physics?! Mr. Kestin also shared a little bit about CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, and discussed with students some of the theoretical questions that scientists are pondering now, such as “Is there an alternate universe?” and “What is consciousness?”

Somerville Neighborhood News is a production of Somerville Community Access Television, made by professional journalists, volunteers and staff. The half-hour news show has as its mission to provide a lively, informative newscast focusing on the events, issues and information impacting Somerville residents. Below are our latest news segments from SNN #78.

Tufts University is among the country’s top producers of Fulbright scholarship winners, with 10 Tufts students earning Fulbright awards for the 2016-17 academic year.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Top-producing institutions are highlighted annually in The Chronicle of Higher Education, which today published the list of top-producing colleges and universities, compiled from data provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.