Entourage?

[georgy.livejournal.com]

I was walking down Central Street near Highland yesterday at about 6:15-6:30PM when I saw a strange sight: a caravan featuring a Somerville motorcycle cop, a Somerville cop car, a stretch limo, a stretch Hummer, another stretch limo and another Somerville cop car. The cops had the lights and sirens going, too. Any celebrities in the area yesterday? Any clue who that might have been?

Veterinary Over-charge?

[unioncowgal.livejournal.com]

A long-time Somerville resident (Union Square area), I am a first-time poster with a pet-related question for the DSLJ:

Recently, one of my two indoor cats developed hair mats that I can't groom out or clip out on my own.  Because he is very skittish (although affectionate when he knows you), he would be traumatized by being held down, even by me.  One solution is to have him mildly sedated and get the mats shaved off.  Yet when I called the vet's office, they said my cat would need an appointment for a "full exam" before he could have a later appointment for a "grooming procedure" with sedation. Meaning, of course,  that I would have to pay for two appointments, plus a battery of shots and other "care" that my cat doesn't need.  A groomer I talked to can't/won't sedate a cat, so I'm now facing a bill of over $300 just to get my very healthy young cat trimmed. 

This seems like a scam -- almost a bait-and-switch. If I had outdoor cats, I would be scrupulous about vaccinations and similar preventive treatments, but this is a different situation.   All of my pets, past and present, have been long-lived. When they have had problems, ranging from asthma to cancer, I have not hesitated to invest in medication and even surgery to keep them healthy and comfortable.

I just resent being forced into paying for more care than necessary.
 
Can anyone offer a referral to a trusted vet? Other constructive comments or suggestions?

Tuesday Election (7am-8pm)

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

The primary election is this Tuesday, September 16th
Polls are open from 7am-8pm

To see what your ballot will look like, and/or to find your voting place, go to:
http://www.WhereDoIVoteMA.com

To expand on ron_newman's post from August:

Contested Democratic Races in the area:
• US Senate - John Kerry (incumbent) vs Ed O'Reilly
Video of their debate: From WBZ

• 34th Middlesex State Rep (parts of Somerville and Medford): Carl Sciortino (incumbent, but not on ballot; you must use a sticker or write-in) vs Bob Trane

• 29th Middlesex State Rep (part of Cambridge and Watertown): Blank ballot as a result of Rachel Kaprelian's resignation to become Registrar of Motor Vehicles. All candidates are running sticker campaigns.

• 35th Middlesex State Rep (parts of Medford and Malden):
Incumbent socially conservative Democratic Representative Paul Donato
Kosovo veteran & SEIU ogranizer Patrick McCabe
Blogger and OpenMass founder Jim Caralis
See cos's detailed discussion.

•Register of Probate
"Thomas B. Concannon, 8 Bacon Rd., Newton", a previous candidate for the office is running a write-in candidacy against indicted incumbent Buonomo.

•Councillor Sixth District
Michael J. Callahan
Roseann Trionfi-Mazzuchelli


Republican Ballot:
write-in campaign for Middlesex County Register of Probate
From politickerma.com: "While there is no competition in this race, Natick Republican John Lambert, son of the former Middlesex County Register of Probate Donna Lambert, is running for the Republican Nomination to replace disgraced Register John Buonomo (D). However, Lambert is a write-in candidate, and will need to collect 1,000 Votes County Wide to win the Republican Nomination."

Working Families Party Ballot:
write-in campaign for Middlesex County Register of Probate
Sean O'Donovan (according to my mail endorsed by John Connolly and Joe Curtatone)

For more information check out posts on this community with the local politics tag.

(Edited to add the Councilllor's race and Concannon 's write-in campaign)

Davis Area Free Films - Sept. 15th - 21st

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

Tufts Film Series has released their schedule for the year (see below) and there are a couple of films at Tufts this week and a screening of The Crying Game at the Somerville Main Library.

Expect more as the semester rolls along (I'm hoping the Romance Language Dept. does their Sunday French film series again this year).

( Coming attractions... )