Are rents going up or down??

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

So I just got a call from my landlord about renewing my lease. I haven't really been thinking about it so I haven't been tracking rents around Davis these days. My place is a one bedroom w/ dining room (so 4 rooms total). It's not in great shape but not in awful shape - I put in some sweat - guess I can't call it equity - last Summer repainting the whole place. Kitchen is old; bathroom is recent. It's right outside the Sq. so it's very convenient, etc. Rent is $1100. and I agreed to renew at that rate without haggling over it.

To anyone out there looking - does this seem in the ball park @ rents?

The Open Space Survey ENDS July 31st, 2008

[kjc.livejournal.com]

The Somerville Garden Club had a presentation by Arn Franzen on Wednesday. Arn is the Director of Parks and Open Space for Somerville and the topic of his presentation was Parks & Open Space.

One thing he told us is that THE OPEN SPACE SURVEY ENDS 31 July 2008. So if you have not yet filled it out, please do so! It's available in FOUR languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. Given that it's especially important for the disenfranchised in the city (many of whom speak/read Portuguese, Spanish, or Haitian Creole much better than they speak/read English) to be heard, please make an effort to pass this survey along to anyone you know in those communities.

On the plus side, this survey has one of the best response rates of any survey they've ever run before, so we're doing well. But we can do better.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SOMERVILLE'S PARKS AND FIELDS?

http://osrp.speedsurvey.com

Please take an online survey this month to help the city understand how Somerville parks are being used, and analyze current needs and future opportunities. The results of the survey will be published in the revision of the Somerville Open Space and Recreation Plan. Your input will be greatly appreciated!

For more information about the survey and the Open Space and Recreation Plan, visit http://www.somervillema.gov and follow the links to Departments -> Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development -> Parks & Open Space.

If you have thoughts outside of the survey's parameters, send them to Ellen Schneider (you can find snail mail, email, and phone numbers at that link).

Flowers?

[taproot-healing.livejournal.com]

Anyone  know of a place to buy flowers in or near Davis Square.? (not crazy expensive flowers....)  And/or does the Shaw's Market @ Porter carry a decent line of flowers? Thanks!

book swap update - my last post about this here, I promise!

[moonshadow.livejournal.com]

The Color of Magic. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Erotica Vampirica. Chicken Licken. 501 Spanish Verbs. Then She Found Me. What to Expect When You're Expecting. In Defense of Food. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. A Scanner Darkly. You: On a Diet. Wildly Foxtrot. The Amber Spyglass. Running with Scissors. Smoke and Mirrors.

( Read more... )

The swap will be on Sunday from one to four, in a private home in Davis Square. There is no charge to get in but you should bring one to three bags of books. To get more details, including the address of the book swap, leave a comment with your email address or send email to ladyanemone at gmail dot com.

Charity Event Space?

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

I belong to a nonprofit charitable organization, and one of our major fundraisers is a silent auction. Our usual venue, though, is far from Davis, and I think if we moved the venue closer to Davis Square, it would be more successful. Can anyone recommend a place in Davis that might donate space, or rent at a very low cost, for a charitable event?

Thoughts off the top of my head include the public library or public schools... but I'm not sure if they'd be open to hosting outside events.

Any comments are appreciated! I apologize if this has been covered in previous posts; I couldn't find anything, though.

Yard Sale! July 12th from Noon until 3:00pm

[aquastar.livejournal.com]

( Yard Sale Saturday July 12th from Noon until 3:00pm )

yard sale on sunday! tools, cookbooks, small furniture

[ifotismeni]

yes, it's YET ANOTHER yard sale. in case you can't get enough of these. i know i can't.

we'll be having our yard sale THIS SUNDAY the 13th, from 10am to 2pm.
we even have some free stuff, ready for you to take if you want it -- see the list in the lj-cut.

the rundown--
place: 88 Broadway, Arlington -- right over the Somerville line, stone's throw from Clarendon hill. (you can take the 88 to Clarendon or 77 at the Capitol theater on Mass Ave and walk down Winter Street to Broadway.)
time: 10am to 2pm. NO EARLY BIRDS PLEASE
what we've got for you:
( lj cut for your sanity and mine )

priced to move et cetera!

also please be careful if you use google maps to find our address that you note this is specifically 88 broadway in *arlington.* there is an 88 broadway in somerville and people sometimes go there accidentally while trying to find us.

let me know if you have any questions. thanks :)

Another message from Tom Champion (verbatim)

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

(In response to my request that he read all the responses to the last one)

In fact, having surveyed the recent threads,  I am a little concerned that someone has floated the idea that I was asked by "my boss" at City Hall to discontinue my participation. That's simply not the case. This is my own decision, made for the reasons already given. One of the strangest aspects of this episode is that so many DSLJ members seem to take the attitude that I have been a link to a faceless, unapproachable bureaucracy -- when the fact is that, as a whole, city government is pretty darn approachable and human -- from the Chief of Police and the City Clerk to the Superintendent of Inspectional Services and, yes, my good friend Jim Kotzuba at Traffic and Parking.

Also, it's just not right for people to conclude that what sets this administration apart is my past willingness to post to DSLJ.  This all got started because of the Connect CTY calls (the so-called "robo-calls") which were very much the mayor's idea. From the day he took office, people have been able to email Joe directly -- and he reads every one of his messages, and often responds personally.

And people forget that Somerville was the first city in New England -- and remains one of the few small or mid-sized cities anywhere in the U.S. -- to provide a 311 customer service center.  We have trained, multilingual (and very nice) professionals standing by to assist residents with obtaining information and city services of all kinds. They can be reached by phone or email, and they are better informed about the nitty gritty of government than I will ever be. Many of the questions about Somerville life that DSLJers ask the community could be answered quickly and courteously (and expertly) if they were directed to 311.  311 makes a lot of private-sector customer service and tech support operations look pretty lame. I will talk to Sean Murphy, our excellent director of constituent service, about how to structure announcements and information for LJ and other online communities.

But enough rant. I'm not going to reactivate my LiveJournal account, but I'm certainly not expecting you to act as go-between. You can post this if you want -- and then please don't worry about maintaining a link on my behalf. We both have real work to do!

Thanks again for your assistance.

At the risk of seeming blind...

[blondeamazon.livejournal.com]

what happened yesterday that prompted Tom to delete his DSLJ account? I looked back in the posts and couldn't find it. I gather from the comments today that there was some confusion in some info he provided, but I didn't see the implied disaster. Was it related to the parking ticket thread? I read all the comments and didn't see any from him.

Alderman Sean O'Donovan

[sinnerville.livejournal.com]

Have you been following all the stories about him and his conflict of interest stories about a development on Craigie Steet? This is the just the latest. What does this guy actually do for the city or Ward 5 anyway. All that I've read about him shows that he is only looking out for himself. This is from Wicked Local yesterday, yet another part of the community he is harrassing:

Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan wants worshippers at the church on Broadway and Central Street to quiet down.

“It never seems to alleviate,” O’Donovan said of the noise emanating from the church. The church on the corner of Broadway and Central Street is Vida Real, a Spanish language church overseen by Pastor Luis Morales.

O’Donovan did not want to give the wrong impression, however. He insisted he was complaining about the noise, not the worshipping. “In no way or form is this order to be taken to mean we don’t cherish the people who worship,” O’Donovan said.

The Ward 5 Alderman said Somerville Police Chief Anthony Holloway had already spoken to the pastor and would begin enforcing the city’s noise ordinances to keep Vida Real quiet.

open letter to yard salers

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

Should that be "yard sailors"?

Anyway, remember that davis_square is having it's own yard sale for charity.

Anything you don't sell that you're still looking to get rid of, keep it for an extra week or look at davis_sale for more information on how to donate.

Tour de France breakfast @ Redbones, Monday 7/14 (and Tues 7/22)

[ron_newman]

Celebrate Bastille Day at Redbones this Monday by watching a live broadcast of the Tour de France over breakfast. $8 gets you a buffet breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit, yogurt, juice, coffee and more. Breakfast starts at 9 am.

They'll do it again on Tuesday, July 22, also at 9 am. As always, Redbones offers free bicycle valet parking while you eat.