Bluntly Speaking by Ross E. Blouin, Publisher of The Somerville Times

A large group of property owners in Ward 7 showed up for the Wednesday night meeting at the West Somerville Community School. There were more than 120 in attendance and the residents were in no mood to take in the dog and pony show put on by Community Development and Ward 7 Councilor Katjana Ballantyne.

Practically everyone is pumped as we head into the bright, sunny days of summer after the Memorial Day weekend.

What is more appealing to a child than that savory and unrivaled treat, summer vacation? A well-deserved reward for all the hard work and irreplaceable time invested in the previous school year.

Arrests:
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William McNeill, of 209 School St., Woburn, May 20, 12:52 p.m., arrested at Washington St. on a warrant charge of leaving the scene of property damage.

Leonardo DeOliveira, of 109A Broadmeadow St., Marlboro, May 20, 5:10 p.m., arrested at Cross St. on a charge of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

The weather was perfect on Thursday morning, May 23, setting the stage for the annual Special Olympics School Day Games event at Somerville’s Trum Field.

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Review by Renuka Raghavan, author of “Out of the Blue” (Big Table Publishing, 2018)

Meditative, vulnerable, and elusive, the poetry of Julia Carlson’s Little Creatures thwarts the conventional doggerel, composed instead to develop significance from contemporary-themed narratives. Replete with thoughts concerning the world around us, be them natural or political, Carlson’s poems illuminate a world charged with the delicate vulnerability of quiet rage, past relationships, and ongoing remembrance.

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Nina Rubinstein Alonso, Editor of Constellations, has published in Ploughshares, The New Yorker, Sumac, Avatar, Women-Poems, U. Mass. Review, and New Boston Review, among other places, and her first book, This Body, was printed by Godine Press. She taught English literature at Brandeis University and U. Mass., Boston, while continuing training in ballet and exploring modern dance. Saturated with academia, she taught at Boston Ballet for eleven years, and performed in their Nutcracker, until sidelined by injuries. She makes her living teaching at Fresh Pond Ballet in Cambridge, MA. She says, “Now is the time for fresh voices in poetry and fiction. I’m looking for a new constellation.”

The First Annual Assembly Row Pride Banner Unveiling will take place on Thursday, May 30, 4:00 p.m., at Assembly Row’s Iconic Trusses, across from 661 Assembly Row, Somerville.

For the first time, Assembly Row owner and developer, Federal Realty Investment Trust, will unveil a Pride banner to kick off LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

Event seeks to highlight true meaning of Memorial Day

This Memorial Day will see a new event to honor the service and heroism of those service men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice while in service to our country.  “Memorial on the Mystic” will feature an outdoor musical tribute presented by the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, N’Harmony, and the Somerville High School Chorus followed by a spectacular fireworks tribute as the evening’s finale. Hosted and emceed by Commissioner of Veterans’ Services Bryan Bishop and Greater Somerville’s Joe Lynch, this one-hour performance hopes to bring awareness to the true meaning of Memorial Day.

This photo was taken in front of 75-79 Josephine Ave. in the summer of 1953. The street had so many more trees on it back then. The car in the background is a Studebaker.

The peace treaty on Korean Peninsula that ended military hostilities on the Korean Peninsula had just been signed. 300 Chevy Corvettes rolled off the assembly line that year. Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower was president.