What needs to be cleaned up? And can you help on Saturday?

[pbockelman.livejournal.com]

First, Saturday, April 30th is Somerville's annual Spring Clean Up day. Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz and I will be in the Davis Square plaza from 10:00 a.m. - noon to hand out trash bags, gloves, t-shirts and other stuff. If you can spend an hour, a half-hour, or two hours picking up trash and debris, please stop by and we will get you started in our neighborhood cleaning up after a very tough winter! More information below.

Second, if you know of any place in Ward Six (Davis Square to Powderhouse Circle and Ball Square) that needs trashed picked up, please email me directly. Sometimes people will see trash piled up against a fence or something and wonder why it is never cleaned up. Now is the time to let us know about this. If it is public property, we will send people out to clean it up.

We hope to see you Saturday!

Paul
Paul Bockelman
School Committee
Ward Six
617-623-8863

More information on the clean up:
School Committee member Paul Bockelman and Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz remind Somerville community members that the annual Spring Cleanup and SomerGreen Festival will be held this Saturday, April 30, 2011 at locations throughout the City.  From 10am-noon, all are welcome to join cleanup efforts in your ward (see list below or at www.somervillema.gov), and receive complimentary breakfast and tshirts, while supplies last.  From noon-2pm, all are invited to the SomerGreen Festival and community BBQ at the Blessing of the Bay Boat House on Shore Drive.  A list of cleanup locations is below, but please call 311 with additional questions.

Cambridge Science Festival event in Greater Davis

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

This isn't in Davis proper, but it's nearby and I thought it might be of interest to the community:

Hello friendly gamers, geeks, nerds, and other science-minded friends: my office is once again hosting a Cambridge Science Festival game-preview event! Focusing on climate science education (along with a few other science projects!), you will get to experience a transmedia game using handheld devices and QR tags that will lead them to various puzzles that will help you solve an in-game mystery.


It's Wednesday, May 4 at 5:30 on the 2nd Floor of 2067 Mass Ave in North Cambridge. Totally free. Come on by!!

Details here: http://www.terc.edu/newsroom/1600.html

Engraving a Vase?

[fenicedautun.livejournal.com]

I bought a crystal (Waterford) vase for my parents' 40th anniversary, and I'd love to get it engraved. Does anybody have any suggestions in the area? I'd prefer not to go downtown (I work in Framingham and will be traveling south to where 93 and 95 meet this weekend, so suburbs are good).

Streetlight Woes

[kapara19.livejournal.com]

Those of you that walk to Davis Square via Simpson Ave know that the streetlight at the corner of Broadway and Simpson has been out since JANUARY. Normally I wouldn't really care about a streetlight but this one is the only thing illuminating the very busy crosswalk on Broadway. So since JANUARY, I and others have had to dodge cars who simply cannot see us. I have lost count of the number of near misses I have witnessed.

I first called NSTAR in February. Since then, I have called about 8 times. Early on, I was told they were "waiting on a part". A few weeks ago, I was told they were waiting on the city to issue a permit because the repair requires they dig in the street. I followed that up with an email to 311 to see what the delay was and was told the city did not have any record of a permit request. Now NSTAR is simply telling me they "are working on it". They are not able to say when the light may be fixed. In fact, they say only the technician knows that and there is no way for them to get in touch with said technician to get more info. They do tell me they have received numerous calls about this particular light, including from the Somerville Fire Dept.

Today, I emailed Bob Trane (my Alderman) to see if he could help. If anyone has other ideas, please let me know. Or if you would like to add your voice to this and call NSTAR, the number is 800-592-2000. You can get to a live person by saying 'Customer Service Representative' both times the robovoice asks how it can help you. The actual address of the light is 986 Broadway.