Some things just take some getting used to. And we are such creatures of habit, aren’t we? These two principles sometimes combine to create real dilemmas for many of us. Such is the case when it comes to accepting the ban on plastic straws which was recently passed by the City Council.

Arrests:
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Namron Holder, of 81 Woods Ave., May 6, 8:53 a.m., arrested at home on warrant charges of armed robbery, kidnapping, armed assault in dwelling, and carrying a firearm without a license.

Mario Medeiros, of 35 Marshall St., May 7, 4:00 p.m., arrested at Mystic Ave. on a charge of shoplifting by concealing merchandise and on warrant charges of operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended registration, operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license, no inspection sticker, and tire tread depth violation.

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Review by Off the Shelf correspondent Dennis Daly

Never underestimate the power of exuberance. Never, never underestimate the creative power of love’s exuberance. Local poet Kevin Cutrer’s new book Mudança sings a melody of love like nothing I’ve heard in years. Can this be the return of courtly love? The poet’s words radiate authenticity as they reel through an emotional cross-cultural ether. Art, metrics, all of it fade into the distant background as Cutrer pulses out his evanescent, barely containable, joy.

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Ann Murphy Fletcher started writing and publishing in 1994. During that time, she has published many poems in such journals as Yankee, The Christian Science Monitor, Georgia Journal, Providence Magazine, Psychopoetica, The Lucid Stone, Ibbetson St. Press, Parnassus, Pegasus, Negative Capability and many more. She has published articles in the on-line magazine Better After Fifty and several in local newspapers especially the Waltham/Newton Tribune. She also has published six short stories and is getting ready to launch a blog about weight loss and maintaining it.

Photo courtesy of SSEP NCESSE

Schools in Somerville can now apply for a JFK Space Lab presented by Raytheon. The Space Labs support experiments that utilize direct connections with and data from the International Space Station covering areas of Earth science, biology and computer science for middle and high school students.

A section of the Somerville Community Path, from Buena Vista Rd. to Cameron Ave. behind the Davis Square T station, is expected to close on or around Monday, May 13, for the final phase of the Community Path Drainage & Retaining Wall Upgrades project. It’s anticipated to reopen around mid-June.

Come run with the herring- literally! Join the Mystic River Watershed Association and twenty-one Somerville residents, on Saturday, May 18, to celebrate the annual return of the herring. Each spring over 600,000 herring swim from Boston Harbor to the Mystic Lakes–the Herring Run and Paddle celebrates this spectacular wildlife migration.

Andrea Svartstrom MS, RD, LDN

By Andrea Svartstrom

Malnutrition is prevalent among older adults and can lead to a wide range of health problems. Unfortunately, it often goes undiagnosed. To help change that, Somerville Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) and agencies across Massachusetts will host informative clinics for Malnutrition Awareness Week, which starts May 13.