As always, all are welcome! This meeting will feature our endorsement process for State Representative candidates in the 34th and 35th Middlesex Districts. You can check out the candidates' questionnaires in advance on the PDS website.
Timing note: We moved our meeting to start a little later than usual so interested people can attend the Union Square Zoning Meeting that starts at 6pm.
Erica
PDS membership chair
PS - After the meeting, we're planning to head down to JP Licks for ice cream, and maybe a few of us will even head over to trivia night at PJ Ryan's in Teele.
This month, we have a full agenda that includes a guest speaker: State Representative Denise Provost. Come and learn about her work on behalf of Somerville up on Beacon Hill.
If you missed this meeting, there is one more such neighborhood priorities meeting next Wednesday in Magoun Square.
Davis Square Neighborhood Budget Priorities Meeting
Monday, May 12 at 7:00 PM
Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland St.
Senior Center, 2nd Floor
Davis Square Neighborhood Budget Priorities Meeting
Monday, May 12 at 7:00 PM
Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland St.
Senior Center, 2nd Floor
http://www.somervillema.gov/spotlight.c
Monday, April 7, 6PM - 8PM
The Burren (Back Room) 247 Elm Street, Davis Square
Focus: Somerville's Environment and Sustainability Initiatives

The event begins at 11:30 am at the City Hall parking lot, where re-enactors, fife and drum players, and local elected officials assemble for a short procession. The parade reaches Prospect Hill Park at noon, where there will be a ceremony that includes raising a replica of the First Flag onto the top of Prospect Hill Tower. Coffee, hot cider, and other refreshments will be available. In past years, people have been allowed to climb to the top of the tower, but I can't guarantee you'll be able to do it this year.
I've been going to this event for a few years and have always enjoyed it. To get there from Davis Square, take the #88 or #90 bus from Davis Square at 11:31 am, and get off either at City Hall (if you want to join the parade) or at the first bus stop on McGrath Highway (if you just want to walk up the hill yourself to the ceremony). Sometimes the bus ends up driving behind the parade.
Here's a flyer for the event, and the official press release.
The Davis Square Task Force will meet on Monday, December 3 at 7 pm at the Senior Center, 167 Holland Street (Tufts Administration Building). Here's the agenda:
7:00-7:10 - Introductions
7:10-7:45 - Neighborhood Groups Update:
- Willow Ave. traffic study group (Mark Chase, Brian Postelwaite, Ethan Gilsdorf)
- Davis Area Resident Business Initiative (Thalia Tringo)
- Crime Watch
- Go Green Davis Square
- Local First Initiative (Joe Grafton)
7:45-7:55 - Joshua Tree request for 2am license
7:55-8:20 - Davis Square Updates:
- One Davis Square – Davis Square sign island
- When Pigs Fly (Andrew)
- Sacco’s Bowl Haven (Trish)
- Other developments
8:20-8:45 - City Updates
- Hotel RFP for Davis Square (Mayor’s office)
- Green Line extension update
- Shape Up Somerville and Map (Nicole)
8:45-9:00 - Miscellaneous items and next meeting date
I just saw a notice about this last night at the library. The City of Somerville has an electronics registry to deter theft, especially from vehicle break-ins. Has anyone given this a try? Does it apply to electronics in the home as well? (I recognize that those are less portable, but I'm wondering if the Somerville system permits usage of their registry if it's not related to vehicle break-ins.)
Word also is that Tony Lafuente, who narrowly came in 5th in the alderman-at-large race, is asking for a recount. Depending on the source Tony was either 12 or 21 votes behind Bruce Desmond, who took the 4th place in at-large (the top 4 at-large vote-getters are elected).
Click on the local politics tag for more information on today's Somerville election.
If you live in Cambridge, visit Robert Winters' excellent election website instead.
For mayor, incumbent Joe Curtatone is being challenged by Suzanne Bremer.
Six candidates (four incumbents, two challengers) are running for the four alderman-at-large seats.
In wards 5, 6, and 7 (the wards closest to Davis Square), the current ward alderman is running for re-election against a challenger.
In wards 1, 2, 3, and 4, the current ward alderman is unopposed for re-election.
All School Committee seats are unopposed; in ward 4, nobody is on the ballot at all because the incumbent failed to return sufficient petition signatures on time.
( Mayoral candidates )
( Alderman-at-Large candidates )
( Ward 5 alderman )
( Ward 6 alderman )
( Ward 7 alderman )
Somerville Journal article: Candidates for alderman at large have varied backgrounds to choose from - also links to videos of each candidate answering two questions from the Journal
Somerville News article: Candidates tell you where they stand
( Candidates' responses to questionnaires from various organizations )
My earlier LJ post about this election
And an even earlier LJ post
For my own preferences, see the comments.
Candidates' Forum on Affordable Housing
Wednesday, October 24, 7 - 9 PM
The VNA, 259 Lowell St., 3rd floor
(some parking available; also walkable from Davis and on the 88 bus)
Candidates expected to attend include:
At large candidates: Fred Berman, Jack Connolly, Bruce Desmond, Tony Lafuente, Dennis Sullivan, Bill White
Ward candidates: Joe Lynch (5), Rebekah Gewirtz (6), Rachel Heller (7)
Language interpretation and childcare available, but must be arranged beforehand. Call 617-776-5931, Ext. 230.
(I don't have more details on this; just passing the info along.)
We are working on how to broadcast the game or at least provide updates throughout. We all love the Red Sox and hope fans will show they love the city too and take part in what we hope will be an annual event.
( More information: State of Young Somerville Event 10/15/07 )
Monday, October 15th
7:00 pm at the Somerville Theater
Food! Drinks! Meet your neighbors!
Monday, October 15, Mayor Curtatone and the Young Somerville Advisory Group will be hosting the first-ever State of Young Somerville Address – an event focused on key issues identified by city residents aged 21-35.
The Address will feature – among other topics – an overview of the City’s transportation and development projects, affordable housing opportunities, and quality of life initiatives, as well as an introduction to the local school system.
In addition to a presentation by the Mayor, attendees will be able to ask questions, register portable electronics with the Somerville Police, and meet City department heads and project managers. Come hear about the Mayor’s vision and provide feedback on how Somerville can continue to be a great place for young people to live, work, and play!
Ample time will be provided for networking and partaking of food and drink offered by the Somerville Theatre. For more information, please contact the City’s Constituent Service hotline at 311 or (617) 666-3311 from outside of Somerville. Somerville Rocks!
If you can not attend the event, but would like to receive updates on cultural, civic, or social events related to Young Somerville, sign-up here to receive mailings: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/young-som
... I wanted to remind everybody about the Community Forum that is being held [to]night at Tufts. The idea for this event came out of a meeting with the Tufts Student Senate leadership I had about two weeks ago. I'm pretty impressed by the efforts the Tufts Senate President Neil DiBiase and the Senate Vice President Bruni Hirsch are making to improve the situation. The idea is to get neighbors and students together to discuss ways to improve community relations, including going over the problems we as neighbors have, and some possible solutions -- so far I think the idea of posting signs near the perimeter of campus reminding those leaving that they are entering a residential area with its noise restrictions is one that a lot of neighbors I've talked to seem to like, along with some kind of Tufts-mandated training for students who are living off-campus for the first time -- I also know that some people feel these measures wouldn't solve the problems, and to them I say come to the meeting and speak your mind!
The Community Forum will be held [tonight], Wednesday October 3, at 7:30 pm in Sophia Gordon Hall, 15 Talbot Avenue (near the Oval and Aidekman Arts Center), and refreshments will be served. Here's a link to a map.
I hope to see you there!
Where the "I" in this email is Edward Beuchert who's on the Board of Directors of the The West Somerville Neighborhood Association. I'm just passing along the info...
( DARBI (Davis Area Resident-Business Initiative) )
The traffic study group is focusing on Willow Avenue, between Elm St. and Highland Avenue. You can read more about their work at http://willave.blogspot.com .
One Davis Square, with CVS and Boston Sports Club, should be open by November.
Nobody quite knows what's going to happen to the former Enterprise rent-a-car site at Summer St. and Cutter Ave.
( 135 Willow Ave (corner of Willow and Morrison) )
( Carli Fence )
( Summer Street Shaft Site (343-349 Summer St) )
( Airplane noise )
( Sacco's Bowl-Haven )
( Burren's 2 am license )
The Y-Not Variety store, at Willow and Morrison, has applied for a license to sell beer and wine. They have 130 signatures of support from customers. The store will continue to close at 8:30 each night.
The Buena Vista garage repair is nearly complete. The garage will close one more day, Friday October 12, to finish the work.
Next meeting will probably be Monday, December 3.
7:00-7:10 - Introductions
7:10-7:20 - Group updates around Davis Square
* DARBI
* Traffic Study Group
* Davis Square Business Interest Group
* Crime Watch Group update
7:20-7:35 - Development Updates in Davis Square
* One Davis Square
* Sacco's Bowl-Haven
* Summer and Cutter
* Willow and Morrison
* CARLI fence site
7:35-8:00 - Update on Summer Street Shaft Site (343-349 Summer Street)
8:00-8:10 - Burren 2am Update
8:10-8:20 - Upgrades around Davis Square including Buena Vista Parking Lot
8:20-8:30 - Miscellaneous comments and next meeting
Mayor: Joe Curtatone and Suzanne Bremer (with Rick Scirocco eliminated)
Ward 6 alderman: Rebekah Gewirtz and Charlie Chisholm (with Robert Adams eliminated)
Also, the Somerville News says turnout was higher than expected, which is always nice.
Three candidates are running for each of these offices. The top two finishers next week will move on to the general election on November 6.
( Websites for mayoral candidates )
( Websites for Ward 6 alderman candidates )
( Links to Somerville Journal coverage )
( Candidates' responses to questionnaires from various organizations )
My earlier LJ post about this election
The Cambridge Police Department will hold a community meeting on Friday evening, 6-8 pm, at the Peabody School, 70 Rindge Avenue. The meeting will discuss recent shootings and other crimes in the North Cambridge neighborhood. This may interest Davis-area folk who live in Cambridge, especially on the other side of Mass. Ave.
Here's the e-mail I got from Craig Kelley, via the Porter Square Neighbors mailing list: ( Click for full meeting announcement )
From the city website:
All members of the Somerville community are invited to participate in the event, beginning with a march down the Community Path, with a short ceremony at its conclusion in Davis Square. Participants are asked to gather at the Cedar Street entrance of the path at 6:45 p.m., on
Also, I'm curious what other streets/neighborhoods do block parties. I'm really liking this whole "actually getting to meet your neighbors" concept. If I had a few co-conspirators, I'd like to try planning one for the Willow/Mallet/Lowden area sometime (probably late Spring).
I hope to be at the RedBones block party tomorrow evening (6-8 pm), maybe see some of you all there?
I'm all for freedom of speech, I'm all for expressing your opinion in public space, and believe me, I loathe the current administration. But can't you express your opinion without all the noise pollution within earshot of my house?
Maybe I'm just a grumpy old man, but in my day, we walked uphill both ways in the snow to impeach somebody! There was none of this hoity-toity honk-your-horn-inside-your-fancy-automob
( and a response from the city! )
I will not be able to attend this meeting, so I hope someone else can be there and post some notes afterwards. Here is the agenda:
7:00-7:15: Intros
7:15-7:45 Group Updates in Davis Square
- DARBI update
- Davis Square Business Interest Group (BIG) trash pick up initiative
- Crime Watch group and Resistat
- Traffic group forming in Davis Square
8:00-8:10 - Introduce new Director of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Monica Lamboy
8:10-8:20 - Update on Bike Path renovations behind Brooks to the MBTA head house on College Ave
8:20-8:30 - Buena Vista lot construction - Jerry Boyle.
8:30-8:55 - Davis Square renovations and new businesses, Davis Square T Station art project
8:55-9:00 - Next Meeting
If you have any questions about the above items, please contact Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz or Chris Daveta or Alice Martin in the Mayor's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development at 617-625-6600
Sick and tired of the war, the White House war-mongers, and fed up with a Congressional "opposition" that refuses to take these war-criminals down (via impeachment), even when a majority of Americans want them to?!
Please join the Davis Square End the War Committee in Somerville, in the heart of Davis Square, Monday July 23rd for a rush-hour rally /"Honk-Out" as we demand that Congress:
"Impeach the War Criminals and End the War, Now!"
Monday, July 23rd.
approximately 5-7pm (or until the end of rush-hour)
in the heart of Davis Square, accross from the Somerville Theatre
( more details behind the cut )
Polls are open 7am - 8pm, and you can find your polling place at WhereDoIVoteMA.com. All Somerville voters can vote in this election (election info from the city).
Many people who voted in the primary will forget to vote again tomorrow, so both candidates need some new voters as well as many of their supporters from April as they can get. If you're supporting Jack, this is your chance to make a comeback; if you're supporting Marty, don't assume he'll win. Vote!
Some excerpts ( are here... )
WHEN: 5/8/07, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Orthodontics at Davis Square, 30 College Ave.
AGENDA:
- The DARBI sub-teams (events, membership, green, beautification, davis donates, website, map/brochure, merchandising).
- The Local First initiative.
- The residential/business membership drive.
- The neighborhood crime situation.
From the DARBI website http://www.yourdavissquare.com
"About DARBI
The Davis Square Area Resident-Business Initiative (DARBI), a registered 501(c)4 nonprofit association of volunteers who live and/or work in the area, aims to:
* Promote Davis Square as an attractive place in which to live, visit, shop and conduct business.
* Propose and carry out solutions to the issues that matter most to residents and businesses."
Over the last month, there have been several incidents of theft (most car break-ins to steal Ipods, GPS systems, and other items of value), and more recently, several sexual assaults in the Davis Sq. area. Many of us are tired of waiting for the next wave of thefts or assaults. Let's take charge and meet to form a neighborhood crime watch group. Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz has set up an official meeting for us with a Police Dept. representative on
Wed., May 2nd, at 6:30 PM at the home of Paul Bockelman and Cathy Barber,
64 Wallace St.. Please join us if you can.
Forming a neighborhood watch group involves monthly meetings and some commitment on the residents' part. Please help make our neighborhood safer.
We will have some tools, lots of trash bags, gloves, t-shirts, and coffee, etc. If you have a rake, broom or gloves, bring them. But it's okay if you don't.
Last year, over 100 people joined in, including entire families. Everyone can help, even if it is just for 30 minutes. Stop by any time between 10 and noon THIS SATURDAY.
See you then!
Rebekah Gewirtz Paul Bockelman
Board of Aldermen School Committee
Ward 6 Ward 6
P.S. If the weather is iffy, call 311 to make sure we are still on.
7:00-7:10 - Intros
7:10-7:25 - Mayor Curtatone and the Hotel study
7:25-7:40 - Update on Buena Vista garage construction from Gerald Boyle, Dire
