Youth Forum raises concerns over safety and support for teens
A recent youth forum in Somerville brought to light several concerns teenagers have about the city. Among the most important issues discussed were safety and support.
The panel, consisting of 17 people, was called "one of the most important meetings the city would hold this year," by the Somerville Journal.
According to the Journal, students mentioned that livelier youth centers and parks, better relations with police, and safe ways to travel to and from programs would help keep teenagers safer and busier.
Targets of criticism included the police department, who were accused of being concerned only for the safety of "people with money," local employers who infrequently respond to youth applications for jobs, and the youth themselves who one teenager said need to "rebuild bridges" with adults.
Another forum will be held in June to discuss progress on these issues.
Somerville police officer attacked in gang incident
A Somerville police officer was assaulted by three members of a gang, who allegedly hit him with a glass bottle in the Good Time Emporium this Saturday.
The officer, Walter "Top Gun" Collette, was off-duty at the time of the assault. Three bystanders broke up the fight once he had been knocked to the ground and kicked.
The three men belong to "a gang of Southeast Asian men [who] operate in Lowell, Boston, and Malden," according to the Somerville Journal. They pleaded not guilty in Somerville District Court on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
The officer had "minor bruises," according to Somerville Police Officer Rick Gilberti, as quoted in the Journal. "He's at home ... He's resting up comfortably," Gilberti told the paper.
There was a fourth man involved, but he escaped after the assault, and police are not releasing his name.
Medford kicks off push for clean energy
Medford officially began its "Medford Leads the Way with Clean Energy" campaign on Jan. 27, with the goal of signing up 660 residents, or three percent of the city's population, for a program offered by Massachusetts Electric called Green Up.
This program forces the provider to get energy from more clean sources than fossil fuels. Although there is an extra fee for the program, city environment agent Kim Lundgren told the Medford Transcript that it is cheaper than installing solar panels, and the program can be cancelled at any time.
The campaign is being financed by a $15,000 grant awarded to the Medford Clean Energy Committee by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Renewable Energy Trust. If the 660 resident-goal is reached by April, the city will receive an additional $30,000, which they intend to use to build labs in Medford middle schools to teach children about clean energy.
"We're pretty excited about everything we're doing," Lundgren told the Transcript. "We hope our elected officials and leaders will take a stand on the 27th and get us off on the right foot with the campaign."
Compiled by Bruce Hamilton and Zosia Sztykowski from the Somerville Journal and the Medford Transcript
