Secondhand record store Grooves owner, Dave.

By JT Thompson

Dave: the owner of Grooves, a secondhand record store in Union Square which is riding the wave of the vinyl revival. The long plate glass window is full of old album covers – from Dylan and the Stones to Devo and “Mickey Mouse Disco” – as well as posters for guitar lessons, violin lessons, ukulele lessons, a front person for a band, an Antique Radio Flea Market.

Dave is perched behind the wooden counter next to a record player, which is not state-of-the-art perfectionist, but a cozy, simple looking thing that probably dates back to the 80s. He has long, frizzy, reddish hair, complicated facial whiskers, an aquamarine t-shirt, and glasses which he puts on whenever a customer comes up to the counter, then quickly takes off again.

By Donald Norton

A single family home was purchased for $875,000 and the new owners tore it down to build three new homes. The pictures show the house being torn down, and what’s left now – a hole in the ground. It seems as though the entire Kent Court is going to look so totally different than before, with all the new homes replacing a lot of older ones.

~Photos by Claudia Ferro

SomerStreets: Carnaval returned for its 8th year of shaking up East Somerville on Sunday.

Revelers enjoyed the best of the East Broadway Business District and the East Somerville community including food, music, and culture from around the world.

— Photo by Donald Norton

New partnership with Paddle Boston, increased programming with Gentle Giant Rowing Club to expand waterfront recreation offerings for Somerville residents.

The City of Somerville and the Somerville Parks & Recreation Department, under the leadership of Director Jill Lathan, are proud to announce that the City of Somerville recently won a statewide bid to conduct maintenance, operations and additional programming at the Blessing of the Bay Boat House on Shore Drive. Earlier this year, a Request for Proposals was issued by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which owns and formerly operated the boat house and surrounding green space. The City of Somerville has shared maintenance of the facility under a Memorandum of Understanding with DCR.

By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to a Boston St. location last Thursday on reports of two men consuming alcohol in public.

Upon arrival, the officers observed one of the men, later identified as Davron Davis, attempt to hide a twenty four ounce can of malt liquor behind a stone retaining wall.

Taking a closer look at this month’s notable city data—and interesting numbers.
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By Joseph A. Curtatone

(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)

30 – That’s the number of months that rates are locked in through the city’s new Community Choice Electricity program (Somerville CEE). We recently joined more than 60 other cities and towns in Massachusetts to harnesses the bulk buying power of ratepayers to secure a low, fixed rate for electricity. Somerville CEE, which will run from July 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019, aims to reduce the cost of electricity for residents and businesses in Somerville by insulating them from market fluctuations like those that have occurred in recent winter months.

(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)

Dear Editor,

Over the last 11 months, the Board of Aldermen has been hammering out the details of new zoning for Union Square including the seven Union Square Revitalization Area blocks, most of which are adjacent or near the future Green Line stop.

~Photos by Bobbie Toner

At the Legislative Matters committee meeting last Thursday, Alderman At-Large John Connolly expressed his view that it would be wrong to restrict service on the CBC by municipal employees.

By Jordan Deschenes

After over two months of discussions, Somerville city officials are still in the editing stages of the proposed Community Benefits Committee (CBC) ordinance. Aldermen met last week at a Legislative Matters committee meeting to review two drafts of the document, deliberating the lawfulness and ethical implications of the drafts’ language.

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

On June 8, the Somerville Board of Aldermen will have the opportunity to finally vote on new zoning that will allow Union Square’s revitalization to move forward.  The redevelopment, which will be implemented by Union Square Station Associates (US2), is slated to create over 1.3 million square feet of commercial space, high quality open space and hundreds of units of new market rate and affordable housing over the next decade or so. The new development will create 5,000 new permanent jobs, 4,000 construction jobs, will generate millions in new annual tax revenue and will help to pay for the Green Line Extension to Somerville.  The vote comes on the heels of several missed deadlines and extensions for the rezoning process that started in summer 2016.