After months of research, debate, and refinement the Real Estate Transfer Fee Home Rule Petition has been finalized, approved by the city and is set to be scrutinized by the state legislature.

By Jim Clark

At their latest meeting last week, the City of Somerville Board of Aldermen unanimously passed the final draft of the Home Rule Petition (HRP) designed to target and impede targets house flippers, speculators and investor-owners.

The HRP was the subject of much debate between public officials and the public at large. Many in the community came forward at public hearings to express their views on the matter, both pro and con.

“Secret Gardens” runs through June 17 at the Nave Gallery, 155 Powder House Boulevard, Somerville. Image by Rebecca Skinner “Life Finds a Way”.

By Courtney Young

You don’t have to be a traditional artist to curate an art exhibit or build up your local art community, as sometimes connecting different artists, their pieces, and a specific theme is an art-form all its own. At least that’s what Tori Costa, curator of the Nave Gallery, demonstrated in their most recent exhibit, Secret Gardens.

Tonight, Ward 7 Alderman and President of the Board Katjana Ballantyne is having a “Spring Fundraiser” tonight, Wednesday, May 30, at Sabur Restaurant from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., located at 212 Holland St. Join neighbors and friends at the fundraiser. She’s a very nice lady, informed and smart. We hope to see a lot of her friends and supporters at the event to encourage her on to do a great job as usual.

Somerville Representatives Christine Barber, Mike Connolly and Denise Provost joined their House colleagues this week in voting to pass H.4517, An Act relative to firearms, known as the “red flag” bill to allow family members, health care providers and law enforcement to petition the court for an Extreme Risk Protective Order (ERPO) that would suspend an individual’s license to carry or firearm identification card if they are deemed at risk of harming themselves or others.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

I am writing to register my disagreement with the proposed Fire Suppression Charge.

I disagree not with the concept of having some fee, but rather with the excessive amount of the fees.  Beyond mere self-interest (the building we live in has a fire suppression system), I feel that private sprinkler owners are being unfairly targeted as part of addressing a systemic problem with our water system.

This month, the Somerville Board of Aldermen approved and allocated more than $8.3 million in Community Preservation Act funding to ten open space and historic preservation projects and the 100 Homes Initiative, upon the recommendation of the Somerville Community Preservation Committee (CPC). The Aldermen previously approved the CPC’s recommendation to provide $1,200,402 to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in March.

Eagle Feathers #154 –The Passport

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

As far back as the biblical period of ancient Egypt and Rome, early passport systems were in vogue. It was a time when traveling out of one’s country was rare and dangerous. In Rome, official travelers carried a letter in the name of the emperor called a tractorium.

On May 15, Somerville Rotary Club inducted David Worzala as a new member at the Holiday Inn Boston/Bunker Hill in Somerville. Worzala and his family moved to the area from Madison Wisconsin, where he was active in the DownTown Madison Rotary Club for the past 15 years. Worzala is a public policy consultant and small business investor.

Nestled behind P.A.’s Lounge off of Somerville Ave. – 1 Bow Market Way, to be exact – is a new public market, Bow Market, brought to you by Zach Baum and his other co-conspirators.

Zach Baum.

Baum, a graduate of Tufts University, who has a background in high tech and real estate development, told me he was influenced by the Agora-style markets in ancient Greece, public open spaces used for assemblies and markets.

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Ari Alkalay Appel is a poet and essayist who lives and works in Roxbury. He enjoys cycling and woodworking during his free time. He grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Newton North High School. He studied at Whitman College in Eastern Washington, where he obtained a degree in Rhetoric Studies. He also studied at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina.