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davis_squareAll about Tuesday's special election, Monday's meeting about the Lexington Park basketball courts, spring clean-up on April 28, One Davis Square, and more...
Rebekah Gewirtz E-Newsletter
April 2007
Hello Friends,
Springtime is here in Somerville, and as usual there is a lot going on in Ward 6 and citywide! In this newsletter I'll share with you many of the happenings you might want to check out throughout the neighborhood. Please feel free to forward this e-newsletter to others who you think would find it interesting. Also: if you'd like to subscribe to the list, please send an email to info@rebekahgewirtz.org
Special Election Endorsement
It's Election Day in Somerville THIS coming Tuesday, April 10, 2007. The election is to fill the vacant Alderman at Large seat that Denise Provost left in order to focus her attention on being our state representative. This election is very important and I have endorsed Marty Martinez for the seat. Marty is a dedicated and committed member of the Somerville community who served as the city's youth director, is on several boards including the Somerville Community Corporation board, and will be a strong independent voice on the Board of Aldermen. I would be honored to have Marty as a colleague. I'm asking you to join me in voting for Marty Martinez for Alderman at Large in the special election on April 10th. Polls open at 7am and close at 8pm.
Fundraising
It's not just a special election year, it is also a regular city election year. It's hard to believe my first term as alderman of Ward 6 is ending soon. Here are a few of my accomplishments so far:
- Working with residents and business owners to found the Davis Area Resident Business Initiative (DARBI), bringing residents and businesses together to work towards the betterment of Davis Square. Check out: www.yourdavissquare.com
- Bringing attention to the conditions at the West Branch library and advocating for it's renovation
- Working with Ward 6 School Committee member Paul Bockelman to produce the first ever Ward 6 Newsletter on the Schools
And there's lots more! I am already hitting the campaign trail for my second term. Please contribute to my campaign. You can make a contribution to: CTE Rebekah Gewirtz 36 College Ave Apt 53 Somerville MA 02144 or you can give on-line at: www.rebekahgewirtz.org
Ward 6 Fun Fact
Did you know the parking lot on the corner of Herbert Street and Day Street in Davis Square used to be a movie theater called "Loew's Davis Square"? The theater opened in 1913 but burned down in May 1942. According to the great website www.losttheatres.org (about the lost theaters of Somerville), due to the number of old western movies shown at the theater and the state of a person's clothes when they left (!), it was often referred to as the "dust bowl".
In this E-Newsletter
1. Upcoming Events
- Somerville Cares About Prevention Youth Peace Conference THIS Sat. April 7,11am Somerville High School
- Lexington Park Community Meeting Mon. April 9, 6:30pm VNA Lowell St.
- Step it Up Somerville Community Event, Statue Park Davis Sq. Sat. April 14th at 11am
- Spring Clean Up Sat. April 28, 10am Davis Sq and throughout the city
- Somerville Community Corporation: Save Our Homes Walk, Sun. April 29 2pm, Somerville High School
- Somerville Open Studios Sat and Sun May 5-6th throughout the city
2. Board of Alderman Committee Meetings and Community Meetings
- Energy and Environment April 11 at 6:30pm @ City Hall
- Public Health and Public Safety April 19 at 7pm @ Somerville High School Auditorium
- Davis Square Task Force Meeting, April 30, 7pm @ 167 Holland St. Tufts Administration Building
- Davis Area Resident Business Initiative Meeting, Second Tuesdays of the month
3. Development Updates in Davis Square
- One Davis Square update
- La Contessa
- Someday Café and Sacco's Bowl Haven
1. Upcoming Events
- Somerville Cares About Prevention Youth Peace Conference April 7,11am Somerville High School
Somerville Teen Empowerment, Somerville Cares about Prevention and the City of Somerville present the Somerville Youth Peace Conference "Filling the Streets with Pieces of Peace" on Saturday April 7 from 11am-5pm. The conference will be a youth-led day featuring a stage presentation that addresses the root causes of youth violence through the arts, including skits, music, spoken word, rap, and speeches. In addition, there will be an info fair, interactive workshops, and a free lunch. For more detailed information about the day contact Stella Downie, Program Director of Teen Empowerment at: stella@teenempowerment.org.
- Lexington Park Community Meeting April 9, 6:30pm VNA Lowell St.
This meeting will focus on the basketball court at Lexington Park. A group called ëSave Our Somerville', made up of young people who care about the neighborhood are advocating to change the current scheme of Lexington Park from two half courts to one large basketball court. What do you think about this idea? I'm interested to hear from you. Email me at: rebekah@rcn.com with your opinion.
- Step it Up Somerville Community Event, Statue Park Davis Sq. April 14 at 11am
This event is part of a national day of climate action where communities across the country have coordinated a day to address climate change. I have co-sponsored the event along with many other members of the community. The event will take place in Statue Park in Davis Square and will be emceed by Jimmy Tingle. There will be many activities and inspirational speeches addressing climate change and what we can do here in Somerville to curb it. Check out: http://www.stepitupsomerville.org/ for much more information and to find out how you can help!
- Spring Clean Up April 28, 10am Davis Sq and throughout the city
Last year we had one of the most successful spring clean ups the Davis Square area has seen with almost 100 people participating. Anyone can (and should!) participate in Spring Clean Up. We will meet in Davis Square at 10am on April 28th and the city supplies trash bags, gloves, and a variety of tools to help people clean up. If you'd like to participate in Spring Clean Up this year contact me at: rebekah@rcn.com. Ward 6 School Committee member Paul Bockelman and I coordinated Ward 6's portion of the clean up last year and I anticipate we will work together on spring clean up again this year.
- Somerville Community Corporation: Save Our Homes Walk, April 29 2pm, Somerville High School
Last year's SCC Save Our Homes walk was a tremendous success raising $23,000 for a fund that provides small emergency grants and kept over 76 families from becoming homeless. I walked last year and plan to do so again this year. I hope you'll consider joining the walk. The fundraising goal for this year's 5k pledge walk from 2-4pm is $30,000. The walk route takes pledgers on a tour of Somerville's affordable housing and demonstrates Somerville's strong support for long range housing. People can join up as a sponsor of the event, as a pledge walker, or by organizing a team of walkers. If you have any questions, or would like more information, contact walk coordinator Alex Pirie at the Somerville Community Corporation, 617-776-5931 ext. 243 or e-mail apirie@somervillecdc.org. To learn more about it check out: http://www.somervillecdc.org/news/index.shtml
- Somerville Open Studios May 5-6 throughout the city
Each year Somerville has a weekend where artists throughout the city open up their apartments, homes, and studio spaces for visitors to view their work. This event is known as Open Studios. This year, Open Studios will be the weekend of May 5th and 6th. You can see an informational flyer about the event at this link: http://www.somervilleopenstudios.org/documentation/2007/SOS07_flyer.pdf. Help spread the word and support Somerville artists by forwarding this flyer to your friends and neighbors! Also see: www.somervilleopenstudios.org for more general information about Open Studios.
2. Committee Meetings and Community Meetings
- Energy and Environment Committee Meeting April 11, 6:30pm @ City Hall
The next scheduled meeting of this newly formed committee will be on April 11th. All are welcome to attend committee meetings and this one may be particularly interesting. At this meeting Somerville Climate Action will participate and we will discuss ways the committee and this important community group can work together to advance initiatives that will curb the impacts of global warming. I believe working together and creating a plan will help us most efficiently address the problem that is becoming more realistic each day. On the front page of the Boston Globe on Thursday April 5, 2007 there was an article about the potential impacts of global warming on our area. See: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/05/us_lags_on_plans_for_climate_change/. We need to take action now.
- Davis Square Task Force Meeting, April 30, 7pm @ 167 Holland St. Tufts Administration Building
At this meeting of the Task Force we will discuss several items:
ï Recent report about the feasibility of a hotel in Davis Square ï Buena Vista garage repair timeline and process
ï New plans for the bike path on the Grove St. side of Davis Square
ï The Burren's 2am License: According to their 6 month conditional license, the Burren is required to come before the Davis Square Task Force every 8 weeks to address any issues or concerns from neighbors. This will be the first iteration of these bi monthly meetings.
ï Any other issues people would like to discuss. Please email me if you have an item you'd like to add to the agenda: rebekah@rcn.com
- Davis Area Resident Business Initiative (DARBI) Meeting, second Tuesdays of the month at 30 College Ave Orthodontics at Davis Square.
Check out www.yourdavissquare.com to see the great work of DARBI! All meetings are open to anyone wishing to participate in this initiative that brings residents and businesses together to work towards the betterment of Davis Square.
3. Development Updates in Davis Square
- One Davis Square update
Recently you may have noticed the rendering of what One Davis Square will look like when it's completed. I asked the owner to display this rendering at the site so people could have a sense of what was coming into the neighborhood. I've also requested that all future development sites show renderings so neighbors can know what's coming into their community. One Davis Square is scheduled to be completed in November 2007.
- La Contessa
There has been wide speculation that La Contessa is leaving Davis Square. I am concerned about small, locally owned businesses leaving Davis Square and a business like this one is one of a kind. I spoke at length with the owners and the deal is not completely done yet. More to come on this issue.
- Someday Café and Sacco's Bowl Haven
The group working to keep the Someday Café has been involved in extensive conversations with Sacco's Bowl Haven. It now looks like they may open a coffee cart in the bowling alley. More to come on this as well!
Do you have an event or issue you'd like me to discuss or advertise in my e-newsletter? If so, let me know! Send an email to me at rebekah@rcn.com or call 617-718-0792.
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