The City has spent nearly double its allotted snow removal budget so far this year, with at least a month and a half of winter ahead. With snow totals this season nearing six feet, it’s no surprise nearly a million dollars and counting has been spent. According to a document provided by the Department of Public Works (DPW) to the Board of Aldermen’s Finance Committee at Wednesday night's meeting, approximately $951,491 has been spent so far this fiscal year on snow removal costs. The DPW expects snow cleanup will cost at least an additional $94,600 before the season’s end. “If everything …

In the future, you may have to think twice about tossing your fast-food wrapper or on-the-go iced coffee cup into the closest trash can at a restaurant in Somerville. Instead, there may come a day when some businesses will be required to recycle in the city. As of now, though, all recycling in Somerville is voluntary.  The Board of Aldermen’s Legislative Matters Committee, headed by Alderman Tom Taylor, heard a few preliminary options for how to encourage restaurants to recycle at last night’s meeting, presented by David Lutes, the City’s Environmental Programs Manger. “This actually came …

Picture this: an eight ounce Angus beef burger topped with diced pickles, red onion, American cheese, bacon, shredded lettuce, jalapeños and sweet potato fries (yes, on the burger) all slathered in Thousand Island dressing.  Is your mouth watering yet? Well, maybe it should be. This glorious concoction is the brainchild of the folks over at the Boston Burger Company. It’s named The Hot Mess and recently won the Davis Square burger joint top honors in the Battle of the Best Burger contest on The Rachel Ray Show. Now, the Boston Burger Co. is headed to Florida to square off against celebrity …

No, it’s not London’s Globe Theatre. But Somerville’s own Shakespearean theater troupe, the Actors' Shakespeare Project, has been busy transforming its latest venue—the storefront at 255 Elm St. in Davis Square—into a one-of-a-kind theater space that they’ve lovingly dubbed The Storefront on Elm. And it’s almost ready for its big debut. On Feb. 9, the troupe will open its Winter Festival in the space, staging three works in succession, including Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, followed by two original plays written by local artists. Founded in 2004 and based out of the Center for Arts at the Armory…

Navigating icy sidewalks and roads is difficult for all of us and our four-legged friends are no exception. For Ward Six resident Sarah Hall’s four-year-old French bulldog, the ice alone isn’t the problem, it’s the chemicals used to melt it. Hall noticed her dog acting strangely as she walked her favorite route along the Community Path near Davis Square, and realized the harsh salts used to melt the ice, were also harsh on her dog’s paws.  “When it was really salty she would just stop walking and lift her paws up,” Hall explained. “And given that she can’t stand unless they're all on the …

Ways to improve fire hydrant access and visibility in winter were discussed at last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting on Jan. 27. The topic arose following January’s fatal fire at 65 Fairfax St., where Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher noted that although hydrants near the home were shoveled free by neighbors, high snow banks obscured them from being quickly spotted by firefighters. “I've been driving around the city, looking, and some fire hydrants you can see poking out a little bit, but residents are not doing a good job of shoveling out fire hydrants,” said Alderman Bill Roche at the meeting. “The…

Horror movie aficionados take note: there’s a monthly horror movie night at the Somerville Theatre and in February the women of horror take center stage. On Wednesday Feb. 2, ghostly and grisly films by female horror directors will light up the theater’s screen for this month’s All Things Horror night. (Click here for details). Mike Snoonian, one of the curators of All Things Horror, and cofounder of the website of the same name, explained the event is in honor of the second annual Women in Horror Recognition Month—a celebration of females of the horror genre, started by Hannah Neurotica. “It…

UPDATED AT 1:22 p.m.  Robots hugging, robots under the sea, robots in the forest, robots in the snow, robots in the big city—Miles Donovan draws robots, of all sorts, daily—or almost daily. He even created a website about two and a half years ago to showcase his robots and it’s aptly named—The Daily Robot.  “I have been obsessed with robots since I was a kid and anytime I find myself doodling or not paying attention to what I'm supposed to be paying attention to, it’s always just a robot,” he explained. “That’s just what I default to.” Case in point: this picture of a robot annihilating a …

UPDATED AT 2:42 p.m.  Tangy, lightly spicy, yet subtly sweet, ginger was the star of the show at P.A.’s Lounge last night at the sold-out Ginger Explosion 2 tasting party.  "Basically it's like Iron Chef with ginger as the common ingredient," explained Rachel Strutt, program manager at the Somerville Arts Council.  About 90 people scooped up tickets to the event organized by eatBoston as a benefit for the Somerville Arts Council’s ArtsUnion project.  Part pop-up restaurant, part speed date, attendees circulated the room visiting chefs from K.O. Prime, Garden at the Cellar, Petit Robert Bistro…

UPDATED AT 3:54 p.m.  The words of Romanian, Polish, Danish and Argentinian writers come to life for English-speaking readers at the hands of a local publishing company.  The Červená Barva Press—a small, independent press in town, run by editor and publisher Gloria Mindock—aims to start publishing more of the work of international writers that English speakers may not otherwise have the chance to read.  “There's a big focus, more so in the forthcoming years, on translations,” said Mindock. “I believe there's not enough translations here in this country and not enough presses are bringing in …

UPDATED AT 12:54 p.m.  Not many classes end with the filming of a staged bar brawl, on location, in Somerville. But Matthew Martino wants his students prepared for the real thing: stunt work and stage fighting for movies or plays. So when he shares the craft of stage combat in his upcoming course, his students will mix it up a little right here in the ‘Ville. Martino—a fourth generation “native Somervillian” —sees great potential for Somerville’s character and the talents of its residents to be represented on screen. As an actor and director, for both stage and screen productions, and a stage…

UPDATED AT 1:31 p.m.  We all know that snow means sidewalks need to be shoveled and streets plowed to keep the streets safe for everyone. But this year, there's one more reason to keep your block free of ice and snow for walkers and rollers: the Best Shoveled Block contest. The Green Streets Initiative, in coordination with Shape Up Somerville and the Somerville Post Office are giving the community a little incentive by hosting a Best Shoveled Block contest. Aside from citywide bragging rights, the winners will be awarded a certificate of recognition and invited to a party, said Janie Katz-…

UPDATED AT 1:51 p.m.  Just in time for the next bout of cold and snow, River Dog in Union Square is hosting its first ever, indoor Open Play for dogs—and their two-legged counterparts.   “Saturday will be our first day of having the doggie play group, where owners come in, stay with their dogs, have a cup of coffee if they want to bring coffee with them and play with their dogs inside the daycare area,” explained RiverDog Owner, Peter Lareau. Open Play runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, Jan. 22.  The idea came to Peter, and his wife and shop co-owner, Priscilla Lareau, while they were…

UPDATED AT 1:16 p.m.  Candy Witcher has been an artist all of her life. In fact, her entire family is artistic, and she’s told that she used watercolors to paint her coloring books starting at age two. Now, years later, Witcher continues to work in watercolor and uses her skills to teach a class at the Somerville Adult Evening School. The course, Watercolor Painting, will meet on Tuesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. starting next week on Jan. 25 (if there's enough interest). Click here for more information on the course. “I like that it kind of has a mind of its own. I mean, you may think …

UPDATED AT 3:58 p.m.  There’s a new sketch comedy troupe in town and founder Ben Alvord said they’re not afraid to try anything. The group is called, Fists of Joy, and got its start just about six months ago. “We aim for an edgy type of humor, we try to take a lot of chances with what we're doing. So we're going for big laughs as opposed to easier stuff,” Alvord said. Fists of Joy consists of comedic actors Stephen Serwacki, Mark O’Connell, Rory Kulz, Eleanor Marks, Brian DiBello and Vicki Hanes, with Alvord as chief writer, and director.  All of the members are graduates of Improv Asylum in …

UPDATED AT 2:40 p.m.  If you’ve ever saddled up to a bar and asked for a drink, perhaps the famous James Bond line, “Shaken, not stirred” has popped into your mind. But, have you ever pondered what the difference is between a shaken and a stirred libation? Pose your conundrum to Adam Lantheaume, owner of The Boston Shaker, and he’ll have a clear answer for you. Or, better yet, join him as he hosts a cocktail workshop at his Davis Square shop for an evening of informed beverage creation. Two of the shop’s classic Wednesday night classes; Craft Cocktail Techniques and Introduction to Cocktail …

Passersby and self-made snow artists alike had to tiptoe carefully and duck for cover so as not to squash a sculpture in progress or get smacked by a renegade snowball during the Snow Art Flash Mob, on Saturday in Union Square. Orchestrated by the Somerville Arts Council’s ArtsUnion Winter Series and Artisan’s Asylum, the event drew dozens of bundled-up revelers to Union Square for an afternoon of public art, free Mexican hot chocolate, music and snowball fights.  “Six hours ago, there were a couple of little snow blown paths right through here and everything looked kind of grungy," said Gui …

UPDATED AT 2:03 p.m.  Artist Melissa Gruntkosky's work features folk-art designs--with original twists. She creates her work by melding the techniques of 400-year-old printing methods, with design software of the modern age--and then uses a mix of old and new to sell it.  "I'm really interested in the handmade, and working with either the old techniques or combining them with digital techniques," she said.  The local graphic designer, illustrator, writer and letterpress printer, crafts greeting cards, calendars, self-bound books, and graphic prints and sells them on the marketplace website, …

Bobby Martini will tell you his new book is the story of the “survivors.”  Citizen Somerville: Growing up with the Winter Hill Gang is peppered with Martini’s personal flashbacks and interviews with former Winter Hill boss Howard “Howie” Winter as well as more than a dozen others who were affected by the violence. It pieces together the notorious period of Somerville history when the so-called Irish mob ruled the roost. (Click the video trailer for the book to the right.) “I really just wanted to tell the truth--to tell the truth about the families of Somerville. It's more a Somerville book …

UPDATED AT 3:17 p.m.  Do you know where to find djon-djon mushrooms, Lakka fish, sweet lapsi, goat meat and Pequi in a single neighborhood?   According to the Somerville Arts Council’s new Nibble blog all of these international specialty foods and many more can be found in the various markets of Union Square.  Launched in November, Nibble is a blog focused on international food in the culturally diverse Union Square neighborhood, which is home to more than half-a-dozen international markets, specializing in goods from Asia to the Carribbean and South and Central America.  “We really hope it's…