Vol. 5, No. 1
January 2, 2005
Contents
1) CITY GOVERNMENT GETS ORGANIZED: YOU'RE INVITED
The 2005 Midterm Organizational Ceremonies of our municipal government will take place on
Monday evening, January 3, 2005, at Somerville City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue. Starting at 6
pm, in the Aldermen's Chambers, the election and swearing in of the incoming officers of the
Board of Aldermen and School Committee will occur. These new officers will give speeches,
and the mayor will deliver his "state of the city" address. All are welcome, and a reception will
follow immediately after.
2) A "SUBSTITUTION" FOR THE GREEN LINE EXTENSION? COMMENT NOW!
First, I want to acknowledge and thank all the Somerville folks who attended the December 14,
2004, Public Hearing at the State House on the Romney administration's proposal to allow
"substitutions" for the transit projects - including the extension of the Green Line to Medford
Hillside - to which the state has made previous commitments. Somerville sent a clear message
that day regarding OUR commitment to seeing the Green Line Extension built. For those could
not attend, and all who want to amplify that message, the state will be accepting written
comments until January 14, 2004.
Pasted below is a message from the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP)
containing a forwarded message from the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). CLF has already
expressed its intention to sue the state for violations of the federal Clean Air Act. These
messages contain the names and addresses of state officials to whom comments should be sent,
and has some suggestions about content:
Dear STEP Participants,
Below is a sample "transit commitments" letter drafted by Conservation Law Foundation. As
you know, CLF has been a regional leader in transit advocacy for decades. It was their lawsuit
at the start of the Central Artery project, which led to the Green Line extension through
Somerville becoming a legal commitment of the Commonwealth. This draft letter is not yet
dated nor does it have Green Line specific comments that you may wish to make, but I thought
you might want to see this because it is the message that CLF wants delivered to state
government.
Regards, Wig Zamore
**********
Robert W. Golledge, Jr., Commissioner
Department of Environmental Protection
One Winter Street
Boston, MA 02108
Daniel A. Grabauskas, Secretary
Executive Office of Transportation
Ten Park Plaza
Boston, MA 02116-3969
Re: Public Hearing on the Transit Commitments
Dear Secretary Grabauskas and Commissioner Golledge:
After sitting through four and half hours of public testimony on December 14, 2004, I have
come to the conclusion that the process identified for revisiting the transit commitments is
unnecessary and unwanted. The transit commitments are an important promise to improving air
quality, to increasing mobility, to environmental justice and equity, and to a balanced
transportation investment. The existing transit commitments were meaningful in 1990 when they
were first selected and have only grown more meaningful as many have waited fourteen years
to see the Commonwealth make good on its promise.
The transit commitments should not be revisited. The only revisiting of the transit commitments
should be to add projects to the list of outstanding commitments in order to make up for missed
deadlines. No process is necessary to evaluate the outstanding transit commitments. The
process that needs to happen now is one whereby funding for completing the outstanding
commitments will be identified and construction will begin.
Any revisiting on the commitments and backsliding is on them is unacceptable. Public support
for these projects remains strong. The time has come for the Commonwealth to invest in our
future and fund the transit commitments.
Sincerely,
CC: Governor Mitt Romney
Douglas Foy, Chief of Commonwealth Development
Ellen Roy Herzfelder, Secretary of Environmental Affairs
3) SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH: ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING FOR ACTIVISTS
Concerned parents and other residents have started to organize around Somerville's search for
a new Superintendent of Schools. If you consider yourself "progressive" (use your own
definition), you are invited to a meeting of like-minded people on Wednesday, January 5, 2005,
from 7 to 9 pm, at the VNA Assisted Living Facility's third floor Community Room, at 259
Lowell Street. "The purpose of the meeting is to begin organizing to get lots of people to lobby
the School Committee during the Superintendent search process to advocate for a strong,
progressive Superintendent to continue improving the Somerville Public Schools and our
children's education," says Mark Niedergang, one of the organizers.
The current search time line calls for the School Committee to post the resumes of 5 or 6 "semi-finalist" candidates for the Superintendent's job on the city and School Department's websites
by Jan 26, 2005. These candidates will then be interviewed in public meetings during the week
of Jan. 31 to Feb. 4. The School Committee will select 2 or 3 finalists on Feb. 8 or 9, to be
interviewed on Feb. 14, with a final selection to be made on Feb. 17, 2005.
For more information, or talk about the search process, call Mark Niedergang at 617-629-8033.
4) MEETING WITH MASS. HIGHWAY ABOUT LOWELL STREET BRIDGE
There will be a meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 6 pm to discuss the Lowell Street Bridge
reconstruction project. It will be held at the VNA Assisted Living Facility's third floor
Community Room, at 259 Lowell Street. Representatives of the Mass. Highway Department,
the state agency responsible for maintaining the bridge, will be in attendance.
Most recent Mass. Highway promises
On November 4, 2004, I attended a meeting with Mass. Highway Commissioner John Cogliano,
and Patty Leavenworth, the new head of "District IV," which includes Somerville. The
Commissioner at this meeting stated that his agency would be building a temporary pedestrian
bridge for use during the reconstruction project. He said that the time needed to design the foot
bridge, and secure funding for it, would delay the start of bridge demolition from the fall of
2004 until spring of 2005.
Commissioner Cogliano promised at this meeting to provide Somerville with regular "project
updates," to "keep after" Highway Department contractors to maintain cleanliness of the bridge
site, and to protect lighting on the bridge from vandalism. He informed city officials that, due
to the active commuter rail service under the northern span of the bridge, much of the
construction work would be done at night. He anticipates that all work will be completed some
time in 2007.
If you have more questions, bring them to the January 12 meeting, or contact me if you can't
attend.
5) PUBLIC INPUT INVITED AT MEETING ON DURRELL SCHOOL RE-USE
At 6 pm on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005, in the auditorium of the Lincoln Park Community School,
290 Washington Street, Somerville, there will be a public meeting to discuss the re-use of the
former Durrell School. The city will be selling the hundred-year-old brick building, located at
245 Beacon Street, to help balance our Fiscal Year 2005 budget. The sale will be conducted via
a "Request for Proposals" (RFP) process, whereby the city can place conditions on the sale and
subsequent re-use of the property.
The Re-Use Committee, and Process so Far
The committee, as presently constituted, consists of: Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, Ward
2 School Committee Person Theresa Cardoso, a designee of the mayor, a designee of the
Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community development, the city's Chief
Financial Officer, Ward 2 residents John Mahoney and Darryl Boudreau, and myself, as
Alderman at Large. In December, the committee had its organizational meeting, and one public
meeting
to discuss the RFP process. In light of limited neighborhood participation at
that meeting, the committee decided to hold another, better publicized meeting
to take public comment.
The Building
Also in December, the committee toured the former school, which consists of a
partially above grade basement and two upper levels. While there are signs of
water incursion, the building itself seems solid and basically sound. Its
rooms have high ceilings, plenty of windows introducing copious daylight, and
a lovely double set of stairs at the back. Because the building has been
designated an Historic District, any changes to its exterior would need
permission from the city's Historic Preservation Commission, and it may not be
demolished.
More information about the Durrell School is posted on the city's website.
6) A NEW INSECT PEST COMING OUR WAY?
...unless you take some simple steps to prevent it. Cimex lectularius, otherwise
known as the common bedbug.
Bed bugs are an ancestral pest, but they have suddenly started to spread and
are rapidly becoming very common throughout our region. There have been over
1,000 reported infestations in Boston and several in Somerville. The
Somerville Health Department is aware of the problem and has been meeting to
work out plans for systematically dealing with the issue here.
Bedbugs have not been proven to carry disease, but are a terrible nuisance and
hard to get rid of. Prevention is important. The single most important thing
you can do is not take furniture of any sort off the street. While they prefer
upholstery and mattresses, they also like to get into cracks and crevices and
may be lurking in that wonderful chair or lovely framed print you just saw out
on the sidewalk. They are robust little creatures and, according to the
entomologist at the MA Dept. of Food and Agriculture, the current record for
going without a meal and still being a pest is 560 days!
For more information you can use
this link. There's lots of information on the web, but
this is one of the most thorough and useful.
And while we're on the topic of yuch! pests and feeling a little itchy, there
is a related matter of more concern to parents - head lice. Richard J.
Pollack, Ph.D. at Harvard's Laboratory of Public Health Entomology is where
it's at in the head louse world. You can check out his site for more information.
Alex Pirie
c/o Somerville Community Corporation
One Davis Sq. Suite 213
Somerville, MA 02144
617-776-5931 x243
fax: 617-776-0724
7) SOMERVILLE HOME BUYER TRAINING ANNOUNCED
The Somerville Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development will
soon offer the next session of its Home Buyer Training Program. The program
offers fundamentals of the practical, legal and financial aspects of home
ownership, including information about special mortgage programs and down
payment assistance. Classes will be held in the Aldermen's Chambers on three
successive Tuesdays in January: the 11, 18, and 25; registrants "must attend
all three classes to receive MHFA mortgage products and other home ownership
opportunities."
The cost for the program is $20 per person, plus $10 for each additional
family member attending. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2005.
Call 617-625-6600 ext. 2577 for registration information.
8) SOMERVILLE COMMUNITY CORPORATION POSTS JOB OPPORTUNITIES
The Somerville Community Corporation, our city's Community Development
Corporation (CDC) will soon be hiring a Deputy Director and a Director of
Supportive Services, as part of the implementation of its new 5 year Strategic
Plan. SCC, which works principally on affordable housing and community
organizing initiatives, will be accepting resumes for both positions until
January 14, 2005. For job descriptions or other information, contact Chief
Executive Officer Danny LeBlanc at 617-776-5931, or
dleblanc@somervillecdc.org.
9) SAVE THE DAY FOR MLK!
The Somerville Human Rights Commission will be holding its annual Martin
Luther King Day celebration on Monday, January 17, 2005. This event celebrates
the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and efforts and achievements in
human rights in Somerville during the preceding year. The 2005 event will be
held from 10 am until noon in the auditorium of the East Somerville Community
School, at 115 Pearl Street.
copyright 2005 Denise Provost
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