The Powderhouse

When Pigs Fly in Davis Square

The landlord at 378 Highland Ave., Christos Poutahidis (right), stands with the manager of the When Pigs Fly bakery, Chris P. Gould. The com pany is based in York, Maine

Bringing bread boutique latest score for self-made property owner

by Neil W. McCabe

One Davis Square property owner is striving to keep the district a story center for shoppers and diners by bringing in high quality tenants he believes will be here for the long term.

It is better to have an empty space than to lease to a business that is not serious or good for the community, said Christos Poutahidis, a city resident who came to the area in 1969 from Greece. “You have to be good. You have to be a real businessperson. You have to train your employees, so they are not rude.”

Poutahidis said he is very pleased to have all new tenants in four of the five storefronts at his property at 378 Highland Ave.: KickAss Cupcakes, a gourmet cupcake and pastry shop; The Green House, a florist; Al Fresco, an Italian restaurant and the newest entry, When Pigs Fly, a boutique bakery, which opened Dec. 8.

The business climate is not perfect in Davis Square, especially on the Highland Avenue side, he said. “The problem is the parking and we need more lighting.”

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone is trying to make things better for businesses, he said. “The mayor wants the city to be nice and clean. He wants to attract people to the city. Now it is like Hollywood.”

He is also happy with Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah L. Gewirtz, he said. “Rebekah is nice, too. She works with the business people in the area.”

Some businesses have run into trouble with the city because they do not understand the rules or appreciate, he said. “When you work with the city, there is no problem.”

Poutahidis he said he found the workers at the Inspectional Services reasonable and helpful.  “George Landers is a very nice gentleman. He will help anyone, but you have to follow the law.”

It started when he arrived in Boston in 1969 and took a job pumping gas at the then Citgo station on northern Massachusetts Avenue, he said. In 1971, he bought the gas station business. In 1974, he bought two taxi cabs, under the name Chris and Cara, for himself and his then wife.  Poutahidis is single with no children. For the last 20 years, Poutahidis has been taking care of his 101-year-old father, who he brought to Somerville when his mother died in 1988.

In 1979, Citgo gave him a 30-day window to purchase gas station’s the property, so he sold the taxi business and raised money any way he could, he said. “In one day, I borrowed $65,000 cash from my employees.”

Curtatone declares city snow emergency

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone declared a snow emergency for the City of Somerville to go into effect at 10 a.m. today.

Sign-up for Snow Emergency e-mails here

During snow emergencies, parking is allowed on the odd-numbered side of the street only (unless otherwise posted).  Cars not moved by 2 p.m. This afternoon will be subject to ticketing and towing. Residents unable to find a parking space on the odd-numbered side of the street may park in any municipal or school parking lot for the duration of the emergency, he said.

A list of available city lots and other relevant information may be found on the city’s Web site, here:  SNOW EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

It will be heavy

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
1148 AM EST THU DEC 13 2007

.SYNOPSIS...
A FAST MOVING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING A 6 TO 8 HOUR PERIOD OF HEAVY SNOW TO MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  A POWERFUL NOREASTER LOOKS TO AFFECT THE REGION SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR A VARIETY OF HAZARDOUS WEATHER. DRY BUT VERY COLD CANADIAN AIR WILL BE USHERED IN BEHIND THIS SYSTEM MONDAY AND TUESDAY.

.NEAR TERM /UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING/...
*** WIDESPREAD HEAVY SNOW WITH AMOUNTS UP TO 1 FOOT APPEAR LIKELY FOR A  PORTION OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ***

JUST REVIEWED 12Z GFS AND ITS A TAD FARTHER NORTH WITH MID LEVEL WARM AIR...WITH A MIX OF SLEET PENTRATING INTO IJD/PVD/EWB/CC CANAL. NAM AND GFS SOUNDINGS AT 18Z ACROSS NYC BOTH CAPTURING THE MIXED PRECIP...ALTH THE WARMER GFS PROBABLY BETTER GIVEN RAIN IS SHOWING UP IN MANY NYC OBSERVATIONS. THUS...WE WILL FAVOR THE WARMER GFS.

HOWEVER...BOTH MDLS SHOW VIGOROUS UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION FOR THIS EVENT WITH A SWATH OF HEAVY QPF OF 1-1.25 FROM IJD-PVD-TAN-PYM. GIVEN THE GFS DOESN/T WARM THE COLUMN BEYOND 0C TO +1C...THERE SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT LIFT TO PROVIDE DYNAMICAL COOLING FOR A MAINLY SNOW EVENT. THEREFORE...THINKING ANY MIX OF SLEET WILL LIKELY REMAIN SOUTH OF IJD-PVD-TAN-PYM...AND CLOSER TO THE SOUTH COAST. CURRENT FORECAST REFLECTS THIS WELL WITH SNOW TOTALS IN THIS AREA OF 5 TO 10 INCHES. SO WILL RIDE WITH CURRENT FORECAST.

AS FOR POTENTIAL OF MESO-SCALE HEAVY SNOW BANDS...BOTH 12Z NAM AND NOW 12Z GFS CONTINUE TO TARGET EASTERN CT-RI AND SOUTHEAST MA FOR VERY HEAVY MESOSCALE SNOW BANDS FROM 5 PM TO 9 PM. IN ADDITION...
BOTH NAM AND GFS GENERATE A SWATH OF 1-1.25 QPF ACROSS THIS AREA.
GIVEN FORECAST TIME RANGE IS ONLY 5-9 HRS AWAY COMBINED WITH MULTIPLE MODELS OVER MULTIPLE CYCLES HAVE BEEN SIGNALING THIS FOR DAYS...WE ARE CONFIDENT THERE WILL BE VERY HEAVY SNOW BANDS ACROSS EASTERN CT-RI AND SOUTHEAST MA DURING THIS TIME. THEREFORE...WE WILL INCREASE SNOW TOTALS FROM IJD-PVD-TAN-PYM AND SURROUNDING AREAS TO MENTION ISOLATED 1 FT AMOUNTS LIKELY!

OTHERWISE...FORECAST REMAINS ON TRACK. PRIOR TO THESE BANDS DEVELOPING WE WILL ISSUE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTS ADDRESSING THE TIMING OF ONSET AND MOVEMENT.

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

Vote recount Dec. 1 at Aldermanic Chambers

by Neil W. McCabe

The city's election commission announced today it will recount ballots as requested by Alderman-at-large challenger Tony Lafuente will take place Dec. 1 now that Lafuente has submitted the necessary signatures.

The ballots, stored in a sealed vault since Nov. 7, will be recounted in City Hall's Aldermanic Chambers, said Nicholas Salerno, the commission's chairman. Lafuente finished fifth for the four at-large seats on the Board of Aldermen in the unofficial results.

Candidates requesting a recount have 10 days from the date of the election to submit 10 signatures from each ward in the City.  Once the signatures have been certified by the Election Department, a date for the recount is confirmed, he said.

“Working with all parties involved, we have tentatively scheduled the recount to take place on Saturday, Dec. 1,” said Salerno.  “This is a mutually agreeable date that will allow all parties, as well as the Election Department, enough time to prepare.”

Salerno said Lafuente, who trails incumbent Alderman-at-large Bruce M. Desmond by 38 votes in the unofficial tally, today submitted the necessary signatures to authorize recounts in several wards, and has indicated that he will submit the necessary signatures for all seven wards by the Friday deadline.

Desmond received 4,834 votes to Lafuente’s 4,796 votes, he said.

In anticipation of a recount, elections officials had already sealed all ballots within a City Hall vault on election night.  At the time, both Lafuente and Desmond signed a document attesting to the fact that they had witnessed the sealing procedure, he said.

“The first step in the recount process was initiated on election night when the ballots were sealed,” said Salerno.  “Subsequently, Lafuente and Alderman Bruce Desmond requested signature papers for the recount and as of today, Lafuente has begun returning the signatures to the Election Department.”

Missing boy found unharmed

At or around noon today, the missing boy, Jack C. Kornfield-Shay was found in Cambridge unharmed, said Officer Derrick Dotton of the city police department.

Missing child: Jack C. Kornfield-Shay, Age 13

This is an alert from the Somerville Police:

Jack C. Kornfield-Shay, Age 13

White male / 5 feet 5 inches tall / 80 lbs. / thin build /Long black hair / Brown eyes

Last seen wearing a dark blue hooded jacket, blue sweater, blue sweat pants, silver Assics sneakers, and carrying a blue back pack and blue lunch bag.

He was last seen Nov. 13 immediately after leaving the Kennedy School at 2:30 p.m.

He is reported to have a slight learning disability and is very shy.  He is not likely to seek the assistance of law enforcement if he is lost or needs help.

He is known to take long walks after school, particularly through the Cambridge area from Porter Square to M.I.T. 

Anyone with information is urged to contact Somerville Police at (617) 625-1212

MOH Square dedicated Saturday

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone joined city veterans and other public officials Saturday to dedicate the intersection of Summer and Cutter streets in West Somerville as "Medal of Honor Square." The square, at the site of the George Dilboy VFW Post, recognizes Dilboy, a hero of World War I, and his fellow Medal of Honor receipients: retired Navy Capt. Thomas G. Kelley, Vietnam, and Navy Cmdr. George Levitt Street III, World War II. Kelley, a Somerville resident who spoke at the dedication, is the state's secretary of veterans services. Dilboy lived in the city when he enlisted and Street was born in the city. 

Powderhouse Photos by Neil W. McCabe

Swede seeks Connect CTY, 311 lessons

by Neil W. McCabe

A representative from the Swedish government Nov. 7 visited Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and members of the mayor's staff to learn about the city's Connect CTY and 311 programs.

“Somerville is one of the very few communities in the world with experience using both 311 and a truly high-speed call-out system – in our case, Connect CTY,” said Curtatone, who met with SOS Alarm CEO Sven-Runo Bergqvist, who was on assignment from the Ministry of Energy, Enterprise and Communications. SOS Alarm is a government-owned corporation, which operates 17 emercency call centers. Swedes dial 112 for emergency services, instead of 911.

“The Swedish government is interested in New York’s experience because of the sheer size of their 311 operation, but they came to Somerville because we’ve combined two public communications technologies in a way few others have, and we’ve done it at a relatively low cost," the mayor said.

The Swedish government asked Bergvist to visit New York City and Somerville as part of his research on the potential creation of a nationwide 311 constituent service and mass notification phone system, the mayor said.

In the mayor's office the meeting participants were (left to right): Curtatone, Sean Murphy, director of constituent services and Stephanie Hirsh, the SomerStat director and SOS Alarm CEO Sven-Runo Bergqvist.

Photo Courtesy of the mayor's press office

Lafuente: Let's count them again

Alderman-at-large challenger Tony Lafuente has called for a recount after official tallies showed he trailed Alderman-at-large Bruce M. Desmond by 38 votes for the fourth at-large seat on the Board of Aldermen, 4,834 to 4,796, in Tuesday's voting.

This is the statement from the Lafuente campaign:

The Lafuente Campaign would like to sincerely thank everyone for their support and their votes in the Alderman-at-Large race. The polls have closed, but the race isn't over. With less than two dozen votes (out of thousands cast) separating Tony and the next highest candidate, a recount has been requested. Stay tuned for the results of this recount, and thanks again for your support.