The Powderhouse

Major milestone reached for Green Line extension

by Erin K. Gray

Somerville's legislative delegation announced Nov. 29 the inclusion of money in Governor Deval Patrick's transportation bond bill to fully fund the Green Line extension into Somerville and Medford.

"The Governor and our legislative delegation have worked together to get this project back on track," said  State Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen, D, West Somerville.  "We look forward to continued cooperation through the planning, construction and operation of th Green Line extension." 

The bill will allow the state to issue bonds for the full $600 million estimated cost of the project, said State Rep. Carl M. Sciortino Jr., D, West Somerville.

Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone (left), State Sen. Anthony D. Galluccio, D, Somerville , State Sen. Steven A. Tolman, D, Cambridge, Gov. Deval L. Patrick, State Rep. Carl M. Sciortino Jr., West Somerville, State Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen, D, West Somerville, State Rep. Timothy J. Toomey, D, Cambridge, State Rep. Denise M. Provost, D, West Somerville and State Rep. Paul Donato, D, Medford.

At a Somerville press event in October, the Governor committed to bringing the Green Line to Somerville and Medford on schedule, he said.

"The Commonwealth needs a transportation system that improves our quality of life and serves as a catalyst for economic growth," Patrick said.  "Inadequate investment in our roads, bridges and public transit system has compromised those goals.  This legislation will allow us to address many of our most pressing transportation needs while we work towards long term transportation reform." 

The Executive Office of Transportation intends to apple for federal funding for the project, but the application cannot be filed until the state completes the initial planning phases, said Sciortino.  Authorizing state bond money for the full cost allows the project to begin and be completed on schedule regardless of whether or not federal funding is finally approved.

"Governor Patrick's willingness to fully fund this initiative with the state money shows his commitment to the Green Line extension and to the residents of Somerville.  I will continue to working to advance this project, including seeking federal funding opportunities," said Rep. Michael E. Capuano, D, West Somerville.

The state announced in October that a contract has been signed with a consultant to begin the 18-month environmental review process, and a committee advisory group has begun holding public meetings, said Sciortino.

For more information visit the project's Web site at www.greenlinextension.org.

Photo courtesy of Sciortino's press office

Faith in the city by Molly Baskette

Yoke

So, this evangelist walks into a movie theatre…

I don’t know how it ends, because it’s not a joke, and it actually hasn’t even happened yet. On Tuesday, Nov. 27, Rob Bell, the young pastor of a counterculture megachurch (is that a paradox?) and author of Velvet Elvis and Sex God, came to Davis Square’s Somerville Theatre to give a talk.

The stingy Web site promoting the event reads: “Part anthropology, part history, part deconstruction - this is new material that Rob hasn’t taught before, exploring how humans invented religion to make themselves feel better.”

Rev. Molly Baskette

This is typical cryptic PR from Bell. When he started his church, Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, Mich., he killed the idea of advertising it before the first Sunday. “People have to want to find us,” he wrote in Velvet Elvis. “The thought of the word church and the word marketing in the same sentence makes me sick.”

A thousand people came that first Sunday. Two thousand the second Sunday. “If you want your friends to come next week,” he told the two thousand, “you’re going to have to buy them chairs.”

I read that chapter of his book and said to myself, “Maybe that’s the growth barrier at our church. We actually want to make it easy for people to find us and stay.”

My church is like the nice boyfriend you had sophomore year in high school who asked permission to hold your hand and bought you little presents. Bell’s church is like the smoking-hot, slightly dangerous-looking and aloof boyfriend you had two years later who, well, never mind. But you adored him. Of course, I’m just jealous. And mad that, given what most urban churches are up against, Bell didn’t TELL us how his church got so hugely popular. He just told us how he didn’t do it.

But where does that leave us CathoEpiscoBaptiLutherTarians, with all these pews and not enough bottoms in them?

Anyhow, true to form, Bell doesn’t seem to be talking up his speaking tour that much, and yet the venues are selling out all over the place. He’s playing the Dallas Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie, Atlanta, Orlando and….the Somerville Theatre?

It seems a strange place for a megachurch pastor to come, however alt, stripped-down and counterculture he may be. Then again, I read one of his books and was immediately won over. This is the guy who wrote: Sometimes when I hear people quote the Bible, I just want to throw up. Can I just say that? Can I get that off my chest?

Immigrant City: Then and Now

by Erin K. Gray

The Somerville Museum presents an exhibit, “Immigrant City: Then and Now,” examining lives and stories of immigrants who have travelled to Somerville through Dec. 2.

Jeimy Lopez (left) with Marlene Vargas and Marlene’s little sister. The two girls participated in the program’s photography classes.

As part of the exhibit program, the museum will sponsor a panel discussion Nov. 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. called “Just Off the Boat.”

The discussion will combine  a panel of Somerville youth and elders with something in common—all are the children of non-English speaking immigrant parents. Please join us for a ‘real time’ discussion of then and now from the youth perspective.

“The more you get these stories out there the more understanding there can be between cultures in our city,” said Warren Goldstein-Geilb, the executive director of The Welcome Project, the major sponsor of the exhibit.

The Welcome Project, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary of providing immigrants with programs and services, partnered with Tufts University, in addition to other groups, in sponsoring the exhibit, he said.

One program featured in the exhibit, ran by Tufts Sophomore Elizabeth D. Herman, was a summer photo project for youth between the ages of 11 and 14 that examined the stories of immigrant families in Somerville. All youth participating in the project came from these families.

“It was geared towards teen empowerment while at the same time giving the youth an opportunity to tell their family stories,” said Herman.

Herman said she was impressed by focus these teens’ parents had on their education.
“The parents really care what their children are doing, and that’s why I think the immigrant population is so vibrant in Somerville,” she said.

Yilana Coradin, mother of 13-year-old photography student Celia Coradin, and resident of the Clarendon Towers, said she knew the struggles of being from the first generation of immigrants to this country.
“As the first generation I got in trouble in school. I used to go home and get information from my parents who had a different way of seeing things,” she said.

Coradin was accompanied by neighbor and friend Karen Glover, who is the president of the tenants organization at Claredon Hill Towers, said the towers house a very diverse multi-cultural population.
“This was a wonderful experience as a friend and neighbor. It was so great to see Celia blossom, and the we got a lot of feedback from the neighbors,” she said.

Coradin said her family struggled with language barriors.

“My father would save his checks every week. He kept them until someone finally explained that after a certain amount of time the checks become null and void. My father lost a lot of money he worked very hard for,” said Coradin, an English instructor in a program sponsored by The Welcome Project.

“A big thing that kept coming up in this project was language,” Herman said.

“When immigrants first started migrating to this country there was no such thing as ESL classes. Now the problem has shifted. We can’t accommodate for all the different languages,” she said.

Another group of students, part of an eighth grade civics class at the recently closed Cummings school, participated in an interview project looking at people currently living in Somerville who had immigrated from another country. Most students were interviewing members of their own family, Goldstein-Geilb said.

“My mom had a hard time when she first came here,” said one student, Peter Gutiervez. “She started off with no friends and couldn’t speak English. Programs that taught English helped her a lot.”
In addition to learning and sharing the stories of their families, students participating in both the interview project and the summer photo program were learning how to use skills not normally offered in a classroom setting.

“We wanted to encourage teaching with primary sources and to enhance learning about national or broader trends by focusing on what is local, as well,” said eighth grade teacher Cady Landra.
“This was different because you got to interact with other people instead of learning through text,” said Guitervez.

“I wanted to discover the variety of people we have here in the city,” said photography student, Marlene Vargaz.

The Welcome Project has determined that nearly a third of Somerville residents were born outside the United States, Goldstein-Geilb said.

“Although the city has transformed over time, Somerville has always been a gateway city,” said Herman.

More information is available at the museum’s Web site: somervillemuseum.org.

Test your toys, other products tested for lead : Jehlen, Provost and Alliance For A Healthy Tomorrow Host Testing on December 1st

Jehlen, Provost and Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow host Dec. 1 testing

With the holiday season approaching State Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen, D, and State Rep. Denise M. Provost, D, and the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow are pleased to invite residents to bring toys and other products to be tested for lead and other possible toxic chemicals at community event.

The testing will be held from 9 a.m.- Noon on Saturday, Dec. 1 at the Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Ave.

The testing will be done with a portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) meter.  The meter is held against the product.  An x-ray beam analyzes and reports the elements in the product within 30 seconds.

Things you might want to have tested include:

• Anything made of vinyl such as children’s toys, shoes, raincoats, lunch bags, handbags, backs (for lead, cadmium)
• Children’s jewelry (for lead)
• Pillows, foam cushions, children’s PJs (for brominated flame retardants)
• Brightly-colored ceramics such as flower pots or old dishes ( for lead, cadmium)
• Office products with soft plastic parts such as staplers, binders, etc.
• Electronics: computer parts, video game controllers, etc. (for lead and brominated flame retardants)
• Other products can be tested as well.  Feel free to bring them, or call if you have questions.

Please telephone Jehlen’s office (617) 762-1578 if you have questions

Outcomes and Opportunities: What justifies inequality?

by Amanda F. Fitzpatrick

       

The Philosophy Café met Nov. 20 at Davis Square's McIntyre & Moore Booksellers to debate the issue of economic inequality in our nation.

    

"What is more important to us, liberty or equality?" asked Thomas W. Clark, who is the founder and mediator of the Philosophy Cafe series.  "In a self sufficient nation people are encouraged to work hard, but there are still many people in this nation that are struggling to survive."
   

Clark said conservatives admit poverty has increased over the past three decades.  Presently, 20 percent of people in this nation are below the poverty line, he said.

 

"The people who are raised in low income families are sometimes not encouraged to do well," he said.

Clark asked, "So how can Americans fix this problem?"   Since poverty is difficult to get out of, funding must be provided to aid families, he said.

   

The next question Clark asked was, "Where do we take this money from?"

       

"Convincing the public to do the right thing and donating money would be one way of dealing with economy equality," said Philo Cafe participant Ken Milne.

       

Another Philo Cafe participant, Reg F. McKain responded to Milne by asking, "How would the donators know their money is going to the greater good and not filling the pockets of greedy individuals?"

      

Another way to alter economic equality would be to change our perceptions of what is important, said Clark.

 

"The need for material possessions should not rein supreme over the good of mankind," he said.

       

Without the support of the public corporations would be nothing, he said.

            

Another issue discussed was the "me first" attitude that many Americans have, said Clark.

             

McKain said he felt the trickle down effect is not working as well as at it should, and that both the trickle down effect and the trickle up effect should be used.

         

"The trickle up and down effect would support the poor and the rich", McKain said.

            

"Our reality is far from our idealistic values," said Haskel Straus, a Philo Cafe participant.

          

At the end of the discussion there was no set in stone solution, said Clark.

         

The Philosophy Cafe is held the third Tuesday of every month at McIntyre & Moore Booksellers located at 255 Elm St., Davis Square.

Capuano host Phone-in Town Meeting tonight

Congressman Michael E. Capuano sent this over:

Telephone Community Meeting

Just a reminder that today from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., I am hosting a telephone community meeting.

Anyone interested in participating may dial 1-866-447-5149 and use PIN # 13034 at the scheduled time to listen in. If you would like to ask me a question, just press *3 after you are connected to the meeting.

I hope you have some time to join us!

Going full tilt

by Chamath Ganepola

Forty years ago, teenager Paul E. Silva had one 1946 Seabird Jukebox that he tinkered with as part of his hobby of taking things apart and putting them back together. Five years later, he got a job with Melo-Tone vending, then on Washington Street and now at 130 Broadway, both as a salesman and a technician repairing circuit boards.

Silva said the beginning years were when he made the most money because he was given the territory of downtown Boston stocking the company’s cigarette machines.

“I was making commissions off the machines. I taught myself to fix the machines myself, so I didn’t have to wait for a repairman--and keep the machines going,” he said.

“In those days, when ships came into the Boston, like freighters of Navy ships for repairs, we would put cigarette machines and pinball games onboard for as long as they were in port,” he said.

Eventually, Silva made the transition to full-time technician by taking night classes at MIT and the Radio Electronic Television School.

Silva also started doing repairs on the side for individual home owners of jukeboxes, pinball machines and video games. His side business started with him taking on projects for some friends. Soon, word of mouth business turned the occasional job into a small company with a regular stream of jobs. The company that he named PinballsPlus operates out of his house at 370 Highland Ave, he said.

Unexpectedly, Silva said he was laid off from Melo-Tone three years ago and decided to devote himself full time to Pinballsplus.

Paul E. Silva

“I work out of my garage and I make my own hours. I have had offers from other vendors, but I like being my own boss and not punching anymore clocks,” he said.

After being laid off, Silva said he had the garage insulated, electrical and phone lines set up, and installed a boiler, donated by a customer, to heat his new home office and work shop.

Silva has received an immeasurable amount of support from his wife of 42 years, Dorothea M. Silva. When a new machine comes in, she does the majority of the external refurbishment while he does the electrical, internal repairs, he said.

“I take them apart screw by screw, piece by piece and make it look clean as the day it came out of the factory, if the machine lets me,” Dorothea said.

SHS v. AHS for Thankgiving Day game

by Matthew Kaplan

After zero victories in his first season as football coach of the Highlanders, and last year’s   6-4 record, the team will have a winning season with a Thanksgiving victory.

“Back to back winning seasons is a rarity at this school,” Head Coach Harry Marchetti said. During Marchetti’s inaugural season as head coach in 2005, the Highlanders lost all 10 of their games. The team goes up against the 4-5 Arlington Spy Ponders,  with a 5-4 record.

The game is at Arlington with a 11 a.m. kickoff Thursday. Last year, Arlington beat Somerville 24-12.
“We’ve improved so much. We went from not winning any games to winning games,” freshman tackle Douglas M. Lazo said.

Starting this season, sophomore quarterback Guebels S. Diedonne said the team hoped to improve upon last season’s record.

This season started out promising as the Highlanders defeated North Quincy High School 28-14 in its season opener Sept. 7.

“With a season-opening win, the momentum has carried us well into the third week, when we will compete against Malden Catholic,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, a volunteer assistant coach. The team lost to Malden Catholic 6-0.

Despite the team’s winning start, the Highlanders did not fare well in its home opener and second game of the season against defending Greater Boston League champion Everett High School Sept. 14, a game Marchetti said was one of the most important.

The Crimson Tide scored its first touchdown with 10:49 remaining in the first quarter, and the Highlanders never caught up, losing the game at Dilboy Stadium 34-7.

“The Everett game was a little disconcerting,” Marchetti said. “We didn’t stop the big play.”

After losing two out of three games at the beginning of the season, Marchetti said the team’s athleticism paid off with two straight victories against Medford and Malden to start October.

The Medford and Malden games provided an indicator that the team is on the right track, he said.

Following the two straight victories, the Highlanders then lost their next game to Waltham, a game Marchetti said he used as a measuring stick for the program’s development, but said that the game showed that the team did not measure up against top-tier opponents.

However, even in defeat, Marchetti said he saw positive play and improvement on both sides of the ball. For example, even though the team lost its Nov. 2 game against Cambridge 14-0, Marchetti said the defense played well in limiting a Cambridge team that normally averages, according to his estimate, about 35 points a game to 14 points.

Marchetti said he tries to increase on-field performance by focusing on, amongst other things, conditioning and nutrition.

Somerville tee for the tree

Artist Ann Brody has created the must-have Christmas Tree ornament here on display at Porter Square's Sign of the Dove co-operative gift store. The store, open through Dec. 22, offers crafts, objets d'art and giftware from more than three dozen local artists.

Brody can be reached at (617) 661-9575.

Powderhouse Photo by Neil W. McCabe

Curtatone ready, eager for next term

by Matthew Kaplan

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone laid out his goals for his new term and some lessons learned from his first four years in office in a exclusive Powderhouse interview in his City Hall office.

Topping the to-do list are environment initiatives, improving the quality of life of the residents and making the city government the model for other cities to emulate, he said. “It’s going to be a very aggressive agenda as we move forward,” he said.

“We’re building off a lot of our successes of the past four years,” he said. “We’re going to continue to execute on the well-being of the city.”

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

Curtatone said he planned on continuing Somerville’s push towards more environmentally sustainable practices, such as expanding its use of wind power. The city now has two renewable energy certificates that credit wind power suppliers with the money the city with buys from the electric power grid. “It’s the equivalent of taking 66 cars off the streets in that time period, which is pretty significant.”

The mayor also said he will encourage more green construction, like the built Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Development Center, which opened in 2004.

Currently, all vehicles in the Department of Public Works and fire department that used to run on diesel have been converted to on biodiesel and fire inspectors drive hybrid vehicles, he said. “We’re constantly pursuing, analyzing ways we can become greener.”

As part of his environmental initiative, Curtatone said he will continue to advocate for the expansion of the Green Line into Somerville. “It’s the best transit project on the table.”

The project is scheduled for completion in 2014, and the mayor said he is confident Gov. Deval L. Patrick will continue to support the project whether it qualifies for federal funding or not.

The mayor said the Green Line extension has already made concrete progress.

“They’ve done the aerial surveying of the corridor.” Curtatone said. “They’ve funded the design of the new cars to travel the corridor, which is important. They usually do that at the end of the process. They’re looking at other opportunities to do work.”

While pleased with the initial progress, he said he will keep pushing for the project’s completion. “I’m satisfied we’re back on track, but we will not become complacent. We can’t. We will continue to advocate.”

Besides addressing environmental concerns, the mayor said he wants to make changes in the city charter to bring in line with modern municipal management and give the city more control over the city. “We’re in the process of changing certain parts of the charter, which are a bit archaic.”

In the first four years of his administration, the city has had to file Home Rule petitions to the legislature requesting permission to create new departments to run his 311 and SomerStat programs. Changing aspects of the charter will make city government more transparent and efficient, the mayor said. In order to make city government more efficient, the mayor said he plans on continuing use of neighborhood-specific data through ResiStat, which uses SomerStat data to look at neighborhood-specific issues.

“It helps us understand how our policy decisions and programs are being effective on the ground level,” Curtatone said of ResiStat.

For his next term, Curtatone said he plans on continuing his efforts to improve the quality of life. He said he thought new police chief Anthony Holloway, set to officially become the new chief in January would positively impact the city.