HONK!United started on October 5 and will run through October 11. The best way to watch will be on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=l2K9XkWIPcc or on their website at honkunited.org/.

By Jim Clark

Somerville Police officers were dispatched to the Mercedes-Benz of Boston dealership on McGrath Hwy. in the early morning hours of last Thursday for a check condition of a male party in a vehicle located in the parking lot.

Up arrival, police made contact with a delivery driver, who pointed out a man sitting inside one of the dealership’s Mercedes.

Michael McGrath, a Somerville police officer, was placed on administrative leave and his pay revoked after an investigation into an October 1, 2019 arrest reportedly turned up evidence that he had used pepper spray on a suspect who had been placed under arrest and was already in handcuffs.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

On October 5 my dad would have been 100 years old. He grew up in Somerville when a movie ticket was 15 cents, gas cost 30 cents a gallon, and a new house was around five grand.

Ferdinando DelPonte, or Fred for short, was born right in the house, on Elmwood St., between Teele and Davis Squares, in 1920. He was the oldest of six with a younger brother and 4 sisters. So, on this momentous occasion, on what would have been my Dad’s 100th birthday, I present this remembrance/tribute to lifelong Somerville resident, my dad, Fred DelPonte.

Members of the public are invited to join the annual meeting of the Job Creation and Retention Trust on Tuesday, October 13, at 6:00 p.m. This virtual public forum will be an opportunity to meet the Board of Trustees, hear an update on the board’s first round of investments, and share your input on next year’s investment priorities.

A pre-COVID19 public meeting at City Hall.

By Denise Keniston
tw:@denisekeniston

The Clarendon Hill Redevelopment Project has been approved by the Somerville Zoning Board of Appeals clearing the way for Somerville’s most ambitious affordable housing project in recent years.

Currently, there are 216 worn-down affordable housing units at the Clarendon Hill site. The project proposes 591 total units: 216 affordable housing units, 80 new moderate-income units, and 295 new market rate units.

Neighborhood Produce in Ball Square is offering fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, baked goods, and much more via online ordering. —Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Anqi Zhang

“It’s here and it’s epic, folks. It’s something we started pre-Covid and we didn’t let the pandemic stop us – we’re opening a second location in Ball Square!” wrote on the latest Instagram post from Neighborhood Produce, a grocery store located in the community of Sommerville.

For the past 15 years, an October weekend has been the moment when thousands of participants from the Greater Boston area in the USA have enjoyed the HONK! Festival of Activist Street Bands, a raucous celebration of music and community that took Somerville, by storm in 2006. Although the pandemic has made both intimate and spectacular gatherings impossible, they did not want to let a year go by without honoring and activating the HONK! spirit, especially in these times when it is urgent to fight for social justice and to renew our lives with the joy of music and art. HONK!United started on October 5 and will run through October 11. The best way to watch will be on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=l2K9XkWIPcc or on their website at honkunited.org/.

Veggie Crust’s kitschy exterior leads you into a world of Indian spices and aromas. Veggie Crust is known for its pizzas, but they also offer dosa, panini, pasta, salads, and vegan ice cream.

By Denise Keniston
tw:@denisekeniston

Veggie Crust’s neon “OPEN” sign welcomes you past the restaurant’s kitschy exterior and into an aromatic world of Indian culinary tradition and creativity. Here pizza is the name of the game.

If there’s one thing that most Americans cherish and revere it’s our freedom to express ourselves in our political and social opinions, and to even openly protest when we disagree so strongly about various issues that confront us – peaceful protest, of course.