The Alewife

Paulsen annouces Rail-Trails expansion plan passed

by Neil W. McCabe

The state representative for the 24th Middlesex, which includes North Cambridge, announced June 23 that legislation recently passed by on Beacon Hill will help Rails-Trails expand and flourish in the state. 
“A rail-trail is a great asset for a community to have, and I want to help bring more of them to our state’s residents," said State Rep. Anne Paulsen, D, North Cambridge, who is not seeking re-election.

State Rep. Anne Paulsen, D, North Cambridge

“By providing a subsidy for environmental insurance and by eliminating the possibility that a city or town will be straddled with a ‘blank check’ liability for pre-existing environmental contamination, the legislature has designed a ‘win-win’ solution to address the concerns of communities, the MBTA and the Executive Office of Transportation," said Steve Anderson, an environmental attorney, who represents a number of  cities and towns on these issues.

"This action should clear one last major impediment to the development of rail-trails throughout the Commonwealth, and should result in the opportunity for tens of thousands of Massachusetts citizens to enjoy new rail-trails in the near future," he said.

NCCTF leader to speak Friday's contributors meeting

The head of the North Cambridge Crime Task Force, John Serwecinski,  will be the guest speaker at the paper's Friday contributors meeting held at Porter Square's Express Subs & Pizza restaurant from 8 to 9 a.m.

Serwecinski will give an update on the group's activities and promote the annual the neighborhood's participation in the National Night Out Aug. 1.

The meeting is open to the public.

MacCrehan Pool opens

by Nyrie N. Emslie

The Francis J. MacCrehan pool on Rindge Avenue opened for the summer season June 17. 
“The pool usually doesn’t open until July first,” said Charron Alvs, who said on any given day, she, her husband Richard and their three children can be found poolside.

The Alvs travel from West Cambridge to what they believe is the best pool in the area, she said.
Adding to the pool’s sense of community, many of the same families return to the pool, even after they have moved out of the neighborhood, she said. Because the lifeguards return year after year, they have an awareness of the swimmers and their individual abilities.

We come down any chance we get with our cooler, towels, and lawn chairs, it’s one big family picnic,” said her husband fresh from a cannonball that splashed one of the lifeguards. His twin daughters took swimming lessons at the pool for the last two years.

“The dynamics of the pool’s atmosphere has changed drastically since the ‘80's and the area has really cleaned up in the past eight to 10 years, making it more family-friendly,” he said.

His wife said the improvements to adjacent Russell Field are great, too. The day before, the girls were supposed to go to a baseball practice on the new ball fields, but she could not get them out of the pool.

His wife said she is impressed by the lay-out of the pool, which was very helpful when she was watching her three-a-half-year-old twins and their baby brother.

The U shape pool goes from three feet to 12 feet in depth, making it easy to keep an eye on everyone, she said.

This state pool is run by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which is the legacy agency of the Metropolitan District Commission. The agency maintains the pool free to the public and opens it every day from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The pool closes immediately after the first sign of thunder and will close for the season on Labor Day.

Kelley to guest at Friday's contributors meeting

The only city councilor living in North Cambridge will be the guest speaker at Friday's meeting of the contributors to The Alewife held at the Subs Express Pizza restaurant at 1923 Massachusetts Ave., from 8 to 9 a.m.

City Councilor Craig A. Kelley

"Craig Kelley has been a force in the neighborhood for more than a decade, so it makes sense that we would ask him to come by and share with us what is is working on and how his first term on the city council is going," said Neil W. McCabe, the paper's editor.

"The meetings are held every Friday morning and they are open to anyone who wishes to attend," he said. "Obviously, the main purpose is for the writers, photographers and editors to get together on story flow, but it is nice to have neighbors stop by to check us out and give us input."

"Every meeting has a guest speaker whose talk ends with a question and answer period with the contributors.  Afterwards, the guest's presentation is written up for the paper and the Web site," he said.

McCabe said, "The meetings are also a good way for individuals interested in writing for the paper to check it out."

Sean C. McCabe

PDC meets tonight

The newly merged Progressive Democrats of Cambridge and Democracy for America--Cambridge celebrates its union at its annual meeting tonight at the home of Laurie Taymor-Berry at 164 Pleasant St., starting at 7 p.m.

Poetry tyrant Douglas Holder reads at Porter Sq. Books

The arts page editor of The Somerville News, Douglas Holder, will give a poetry reading at Porter Square Books today at 7 p.m.

Joining Holder will be Harris Gardner, the founder of the Boston Poetry Festival, and Laine Senechal.

Marino's restaurant fire

Developing...

Clark joins Silbert campaign

by Neil W. McCabe

Dorie Clark, the former executive director of MassBike, the non-partisan cycling advocacy group, has joined the campaign of Andrea Silbert, who is running for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Dorie Clark  Alewife Photo by Neil W. McCabe

A former journalist for both the Boston Phoenix and the Boston Globe, Clark was the press secretary for the Robert Reich for Governor campaign in 2002 and for Howard Dean's presidential effort  in New Hampshire.

Roger that by Roger Nicholson

Icebergs

Today, while on my the while on my way to see my therapist, I took advantage of the long train from Cambridge to Brookline to catch up on my reading. I was in the middle of a chapter on the miracle of serendipity, which Webster's Dictionary defines as "the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for." Serendipity, it explains, seems to be a key element in enlightenment for those of us in the soul searching business. It's special kind  of grace, it helps to heal and inspire, among other things, and its origins are quite mysterious.

The chapter recounts a story by  Carl Jung, in which he refers to a therapeutic session he held with one of his patients.

She was highly intelligent, educated woman, but Jung found her rationalism and  "geometrical" idea of reality a hindrance to her work in psychotherapy.

She conveyed to Jung a brilliant dream she had in which someone had given her a golden scarab, an expensive piece of jewelry. At about the same time, Jung  hears a  tapping on his window. A large flying insect seemed adamant about entering enter his dark office for  reasons he did not know.

Jung walked over to the window and opened it, catching the insect in mid flight. To his amazement he found what he held in his hand to be a scarabaied beetle. So named for it's green gold color and most nearly resembles that of  a gold scarab.

He walked over to his patient with bug in hand and said,  "Here is your  scarab."

That made a huge break through for her in therapy, and enabled her to think outside the box of rationalism.

Here we see a great example of the miracle of serendipity.

A while back, while pondering  the nature of the human condition, and our  subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways of interacting with each other,  I came up with a concept I thought pretty apt at the time.

It was my theory that we human beings are much like icebergs. Much of who we are we choose to show  each other is like much  iceberg. I'll show you only ten percent of who I really am and what I think, the other ninety percent or so is submerged, hidden beneath the waters edge. A huge part of who and what we really are never breaches the surface.   

In our personal relationships, romantic or otherwise, how much do we really know about the other person?  How much are we revealing?

How much do I really know about myself? Again, the iceberg theory seems to hold up. There's a lot about me I'm finding out. Not all of it is good, and not all of it is bad. But one hundred percent of it relevant.

I explored these ideas with my therapist, Nancy.  We spent our 50 minutes together doing what we try to do every week,  reshape and expand the way I see the world.

When you take thought to the cosmic level, however, the iceberg theory might not be applicable.  We are surrounded by a seemingly unending Universe, after all. 

View from the Bridge checks in on black boxes

On his "View from the Bridge " blog Jesse Kanson Benanav ponders the legislative team of Capuano and Sonny Bono's widow.

Galluccio to file Rindge Tower bill Monday

by Neil W. McCabe

City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio announced todayhe will file a Council Order at Monday's regular City Council meeting to address three of the concerns raised by the residents of the Rindge Towers.

The order reads:

ORDERED: That the owner (Federal Management) respond back to the City Council on the extermination plan for 362 and 364 Rindge Avenue; and be it further

ORDERED: That the same report back to the City Council with a five-year capital improvement plan; and be it further

ORDERED:  Said owner (Federal Management) consider installing computer rooms at both 362 and 364 Rindge Avenue.

City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio

Rindge tower residents met Wednesday evening in the Community Room of the tower at 364 Rindge Ave., and continuing to organize in response to what they see as disrespect and neglect by the complex's owners and management company.

Developing...

Capuano, Bono file car buyer block box notice bill

by Neil W. McCabe

The congressman for North Cambridge joined Rep. Mary Bono, R, Calif., today  introduced legislation requiring car dealers to disclose the presence of event data recorders in cars, and to provide the consumer with the option of enabling disabling it.

Rep. Michael E. Capuano, D, North Cambridge

"Consumers have a right to know if this type of technology is present in their automobile and they should have the option of disabling the recording function if they choose to do so. This is a basic issue of privacy," said Rep. Michael E.  Capuano, D, who introduced similar legislation in the 108th Congress.

In an effort to protect consumer privacy, Capuano said he and Bono filed the bill calling for automobile dealers to disclose to consumers the presence of  black boxes' in new automobiles.

The bill, H.R.5609, also requires manufacturers to provide consumers with the option of enabling and disabling such devices in future automobiles, he said.

"Many motorists are unaware that their driving habits are being monitored and recorded by the presence of black boxes  in their cars," said Bono.  "Similar concerns regarding the impact on consumers prompted me to introduce legislation to stop the practice of computer spyware programs that are unknowingly downloaded to monitor a user's internet habits.  In the same way, these black boxes raise both serious consumer privacy and right to know issues."

"Black boxes or event data recorders are often installed in new cars to record how drivers react in the seconds leading up to accidents," she said.

Capuano said, "Most consumers are not aware that their vehicles are recording data that has the potential of being used against them in a civil or criminal proceeding, or by their insurer to increase rates.  There are no federal laws clarifying the rights of a vehicle owner to ownership of the recorded data. In the absence of this, several states have begun to create different standards of ownership and rights for recorded data."

H.R. 5609 will require automobile dealers to disclose to consumers if an event data recorder is installed in their vehicles, the data collection capabilities of such a device and how such data may be used, he said.

The legislation also requires that an event data recorder include a function whereby the consumer has the option of enabling or disabling the recording function. Once disabled, the legislation states that the recording function shall not resume functioning until the consumer chooses to reinstate it, he said.

The Fisheye View

June 14 is, of course, the day the city argues whether or not we should have an Army or not.  We are not sure if there is going to be another patriotic meltdown on the the Common or not. Everytime one of us went to pick up the phone or check the city's Web site it was just too painful--we would prefer not to know.

That said, June 14 is also Flag Day.

When we were growing up, before it became un-American to love the flag, Flag Day was the school's chance to pump us full of the jingoism we would miss becuase the school's were closed on the Fourth of July.

In many schools, the students would muster outside on the open grass by classroom and march behind the flag from their own classroom. In other schools, we have heard the students would be allowed to take turns running around the school field with their classroom flags.  What fun for a kids, and what a sight for the teachers standing off to the side to watch the swerving and swarming dance of our National Ensign.

Celebrating the flag used to be such mindless fun.  Not anymore.

And speaking of mindless, how about asking your neighbor to change out that beat up flag he put on his car antenna after the Sept. 11 attacks?

Same too for that shredded mess that Lesley College allows to wave over the old Sears building in Porter Square.

Let's put the flag back in Flag Day, this and every year!

Lesley College Flag Day disgrace

The flag Lesley College flies over the old Sears Building  in Porter Square is a disgrace on any day. 

But, on Flag Day there is no excuse for a multi-million dollar enterprise to hoist such a tattered flag.

Shame!

Churchill Ave. resolved; City suspends stay

by David Taber

The Cambridge Historical Commission voted unanimously at its June 1 meeting to accept a proposal by a Roslindale-based developer to rebuild the 148 year-old North Cambridge house he  demolished in March.

"The proposal calls for three units, one which replicates the original structure and two that conform to the same style," said Charles M. Sullivan, executive director of the commission.
Developer Albert J. Benedetti had applied for a renovation permit for the building but had not secured a demolition permit.

The decision suspends a two-year stay of construction the commission imposed in April after area residents informed officials that the house at 56 Churchill Ave. had been demolished, Sullivan said.

The commission must approve the demolition of any structure over fifty years old, said William B. King, the commission chairman.

Sullivan said that approving the proposal gives the Commission oversight on how the project will proceed.

"After two years the owner is free to do what he wants. What we would have gotten would not have been as good as this proposal," he said.

Campbell H. Ellsworth of Cambridge architecture firm Ellsworth Associates, which Benedetti hired to design the new building, said that formal architectural and structural designs will be taken back to the historical commission in the course of the permitting process.

"What the Commission approved was a schematic plan, he has to submit drawings that show that the structure will be a replica and not a cartoon," said Sullivan.

Benedetti said that Cambridge attorney James J. Rafferty and Ellsworth had developed the new plans. "I am pretty much leaving it up to them."

Rafferty said Benedetti hired him to represent him before the Commission after the construction stay was issued April 8.

"I put Mr. Benedetti in touch with Mr. Ellsworth who is a local architect who knows the community. I referred him to Ellsworth because of the high regard I have for him and the work that he has done in Cambridge," he said.

Ellsworth said that he was pleased to be part of the team and that the new design is better than the design Benedetti had initially proposed for his renovations. "I think I did a great job."

"The bottom line is that this is a great design. It will be an asset to the community," he said.

At  their May 22 Cambridge City Council put forward a resolution asking City Manager Robert Healy and relevant department heads to determine if a failure of city oversight allowed the demolition to happen, City Councilor Craig A. Kelley said.

The resolution requests that the city managerto determine the status of the partially demolished building at 56 Churchill Ave.  and the process by which it was partially demolished without appropriate approvals, he said.

Kelley, who proposed the resolution, said he is hoping to get a clearer understanding of what happened from the city manager’s report.

"I don’t know enough about what happened right now to ask specific questions. Hopefully we can figure out a way to make sure this doesn’t happen again," he said.

Rindge Tower residents to discuss grievances Wednesday

by Derren Lewis-Peters

A Tenant Council for the Fresh Pond Apartments will meet June 14 at 6 p.m. to discuss and organize their grievances against Federal Management Company, the manager, and J. Schochet and Associates, the owner, of 362 and 364 Rindge Ave. in the Community Room on the first floor of the 364 Rindge tower.

“We are tired of the managers abusing and terrorizing the tenants,” said Patricia Casola, the leader of the Fresh Pond Tenants Association, who has lived at the Rindge Towers for 20 years.
In addition to the managers’ bullying tactics, including their yelling at residents and banging on doors, the residents are frustrated by the growing problem with rodents and cockroaches, she said.

Mice and roaches have always plagued the towers, she said. "It's been a mess for as long as I've been here. I've lost bags of clothing to these mice.

"They never used to exterminate. We kept on them about it and HUD finally brought in a new exterminator some months back, and he does a better job, but he always tells the residents the (rodent infestation) is their fault, and that they should keep a cleaner home. It's all the holes around here that are the real problem," she said.

Casola said the rodent problem is largely the result of maintenance failing to fill in holes throughout the two massive towers. "They exterminate, the mice are gone for a bit, and then they're back. It's ridiculous.”

One resident, Loretta Davis, said her living room set had a colony of mice she discovered when her granddaughter, Jasmine, 12, and a family friends were sleeping on the couch one night.
"The next morning, I called Maureen, who worked in the office until she started to side with the tenants, and she sent some men to take it away,” she said.

Davis said one of the building managers told her that there were no mice in the furniture. “He is a liar. Maureen told me later it was infected.”

A World Cup of Joe

by David Taber

When the World Cup kicks off June 9, it will be on the flat screen television at the neighborhood’s newest coffee shop and Red Sox fans will have to accept their place on the pecking order.

“The U.S in the World Cup versus the Red Sox is like the Grand Prix versus Starbucks,” said Peter Georgiou, the owner of the Grand Prix Café at 2257 Massachusetts Ave.

A Red Sox fan, he said the only thing that would preempt the Red Sox would be a Grand Prix auto race or the U.S playing World Cup soccer.

He moved to North Cambridge when he was 17, and became a frequent customer at The Coffee Connection in the Galleria Mall, and then at Café Paradiso in Harvard Square. “I liked both places but when I finally got around to opening my own shop, I created a place that I would go, and this is it, basically.”

“I came to this country from Greece when I was seven. My mother would send me back every summer to learn the culture and the language. All of my grandmother’s friends and my uncle’s friends, my father’s friends, we would all hang around in coffee shops. So its part of my heritage,” he said.

For all the coffee he drank, one cup eluded him, he said. The late Speaker, Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr., was a regular at the Sunny Corner Farm store, Geogriou worked at through college.

“Tip O’Neill used to come there almost every Sunday to pick up his paper, He always kept telling me we were going to go out and have a coffee one day, unfortunately he passed away before that.”

In their conversations, he said he learned that O’Neill was personally more conservative than his national reputation. “He was a gentleman. He was a big man with an equivalent reputation. He was really a very down to earth gentleman.”

When the Speaker passed away, his widow, Mildred “Millie” O’Neill, sought out Geogriou. “She told me that Tip had always talked about me and wanted to take me for that cup of coffee or a dinner,” he said.

“She apologized to me for him and asked me to come to the funeral, which I did right here at St. John’s,” he said.

Before he opened his own coffee house, Geogriou said he had to have the right man and the right beans.

Dragon races Sunday on the Charles

The 27th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival takes center stage Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. along the Charles River between JFK street and the Western Avenue Bridge, free and open to the public, rain or shine.

"Come marvel at the brightly colored dragon boats, as they are raced down the Charles River by lively paddlers from Greater Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and as far away as Canada," said Gail Wong, the festival organizer.

"This year’s festival, which is the largest Asian American celebration in New England, will include more than 30 teams competing in four categories: open, mixed, corporate and women’s. A special heat will be devoted to breast cancer survivors," she said.

Wong said, "It will also feature traditional Chinese arts and crafts by the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association; a Lion Dance; Traditional Indian Dance; martial arts, Chinese dance and music; traditional Japanese festival drumming and Asian foods."

World Cup fever grips the globe

by Franklin W. Liu

During this long hot summer, the world’s attention will once again turn to actions on the fields of Germany; many nations will meet defeat while others advance in victory as 32 nations, representing six continents, will kick-off the FIFA World Cup Finals on June 9.

billions of diehard soccer fans will travel to the host country and jam into sports stadiums.

An estimated 37 billion worldwide will be riveted to their home television sets to hoot for their country to win, thus moving up to the next round. National pride on display will be predictably feverish.

If past World Cup event’s frenzied behavior, on and off the field, is any guide, then watch tempers flare, shouting become deafening, and scuffles to break out in Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, Nuremberg and five other cities as German police calm tumultuous fans in a total of 12 cities where 48 scheduled stadium matches will take place.

Starting on June 6, nations’ teams will challenge each other in eight groups designated from A to H. Four teams will compete within each group. The 48th match is scheduled in Berlin on June 23.
Geared for worldwide broadcasts, game-starting time shall vary from three in the afternoon to a late nine in the evening in the host country.

Six previous cup-winning countries’ team will grace the field; all hoping to recapture their past glory. The year 2006 defending champion of the 17th title-match is Brazil who has won the World Cup a record five times.

Brazil last snatched the cup in 2002. The final score was two goals scored against Germany who was held at zero, played in the International Stadium in Yokahama, Japan.

In the 16 World Cup tournament’s history, there has been shocking upsets: one was in 1990, when team Cameroon defeated team Argentine; the golden-trophy cup holder was eliminated in the opening match.      

So why do people consider soccer (called football everywhere else, except in north America) as the quintessential global sport?

Galluccio Associates Breakfast Saturday

by Neil W. McCabe

The 11th Annual Youth Sports Volunteer Recognition Breakfast for the city of Cambridge will be held Saturday at the Royal Sonesta Grand Ballroom with a full buffet starting at 9:30 a.m. hosting by Hearld Sports Columnist and WEEI personality Steve Buckley and the great comedian Tony V.

Tony V.

For the last 11 years, Galluccio Associates has used the breakfast to recognize coaches and volunteers who make a difference in the lives of the city's young atheletes, said City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio, who founded the charity.

In addition to the awards, the group has donated more than $59,000 to youth sports organizations in the city, he said.

This year's honorees are John Crowley, Cherry Jacobs, Robert O'Loughlin, Charles Thomas and Paul Delvecchio, who will receive the Coach's Award.  David Tynes will receive the annual John O'Connor Award, he said.

The event also serves as an reunion for coaches, atheletes and the supporters of youth sports in Cambridge, he said.

Anyone interested in more information can call (617) 354-3787, he said.

Cambridge Politics by Sam Seidel

Did you see that two of the top three firms in the state of Massachusetts are Cambridge-based firms?  Did you also see that housing prices in Massachusetts are leveling off and that vacancy rates are  rising?  Have you seen that the proposed Cambridge City budget for Fiscal Year 2007 is $395 million, an increase of over $14.5 million from the previous year's city budget.

What do these different facts mean?

Sam Seidel

Cambridge's role as a a preeminent location for employers cannot be questioned.  With two of the world's top universities framing Massachusetts Avenue a short walk from each other, the fact that a leading internet company (Akamai) and a leading life sciences company (Genzyme) are literally around the corner from each other and from MIT should come as no surprise.  Akamai (whose cofounder Daniel Lewin was  killed on one of the 9/11 planes) was ranked the very top company in Massachusetts by the Boston Globe in their recent assessment, the Globe 100.

To have neighbors like these is a good thing.  Here is the leading edge of the economy, and these are the value-added jobs.  Additionally, it almost certainly will continue to be a sector for job growth.  Job
growth is important because Massachusetts continues to lose population.

From 2000 to 2004, Massachusetts was second only to New York in its annual net loss of population according to the U.S. Census.

Because these companies sit at the high end of the economic spectrum, the city will continue to reap the rewards in terms of tax revenues – an important fact because Cambridge will continue to be a magnet for
people at the other end of the economic spectrum, especially foreign immigrants, who are projected to continue choosing Cambridge as  a destination.

With housing prices leveling off in the state, commercial tax revenue is important.  Barry Bluestone, a professor at Northeastern says that tight housing markets produce runaway price increases.  This is not  surprising to anyone who has taken Econ 101.  More interesting, however, is his assertion that sustained high prices eventually drive people and businesses away, which leads to higher vacancy rates in the  housing market.  If high levels of vacancy persist in the market for a long time, there can be a precipitous drop in home values.

That is why a warm market (perhaps room temperature?) is best – it maintains long-term stability, but does not move catastrophically either upward or downward.

Scripted pleas for help

This pitch was found in the gutters of Porter Square.

Grand Prix Cafe sidewalk seating approved

The recently opened Grand Prix Cafe, across from St. John the Evangelist Church, today received city approval for sidewalk seating.

Developing...

Which home repairs pay-off

[David Wluka is the 2006 President of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and the owner of Wluka Real Estate in Sharon. This column appears on the June edition of The Alewife.]

by David Wluka

If you are interested in gaining a significant return on your home improvement costs, plan to add a bathroom or remodel your kitchen. But if you're like most people today, you may be more interested in a new home office, an entertainment center, or an in-ground swimming pool with all the accouterments of a luxury pool yard.

How can you know whether the money you spend on your home will actually improve your property’s value? And do you really care? Those are the two questions you should be able to answer before choosing which improvement projects to plan, according to our research at the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

Research shows some home improvements are better than others in bringing a return on investment, and that some luxury additions actually can be a drag on the home's ability to sell.

Download ReCHART.pdf

An in-ground pool, for example, may be viewed by some as an asset, but families with infant children may see it as a safety problem, and seniors might shy away from the maintenance.

This $12,000-$15,000 investment will only add minimally to the value of your home, but if you are planning to stay awhile and enjoy backyard vacationing, this is still a good project for you. On the other hand, if you are planning to move in a few years and are looking for home improvement projects to smooth the sale, you might better consider adding an outdoor deck or new vinyl siding, which offers projected returns of value of 134 percent and 127 percent respectively.

Other projects which rank among the top five for adding to the resale value of your property include the remodeling of a bathroom – a $10,000-$15,000 investment – which offers a projected return of 129 percent; renovation of your kitchen – which might range from $45,000-$50,000 for a major remodeling project and upgrade in appliances to $15,000-$20,000 for smaller scale improvements – that will return from 105 to 118 percent respectively; and replacement of the roof, which typically allows homeowners to recover as much as 120-125 percent of the project’s cost.

Historically, family rooms have been a significant focal point of homes, but increasingly we spend less and less time there. As a result, recent studies have found that U.S. homeowners who add a family room recoup a more modest 85 percent of the project’s cost at the time of the home’s sale.

Other projects which show more moderate returns on investment include a sunroom addition of $30,000-$35,000; which yields a 70 percent average return locally; finishing off a basement, which typically yields an 83 percent return; and remodeling a room into a home office, which might cost upwards of $15,000 and should allow you to recoup an estimated 91 percent of the cost upon the sale of the home.

No rushin' in Soviet lines

by Arpine Babloyan

Next in line, please

I hate standing in lines. I’m not sure that here in the States people really realize what lines are. But those who came from former Soviet countries know that exactly what I mean.

There were times, when stores were empty. And if something (no matter what) suddenly became available for purchase, everybody wanted to buy it. So there were lines.

Soviet citizens saw the line and hurried to take their place without knowing why people are staying in a line and what they were going to buy at the end.

When I first saw the commercial “Whatever it is, you can buy it on E-Bay”, I thought in Soviet times it could be “Whatever it is, you have to buy it.” Just in case. Time may come, when it can be useful, and there will be no chance to find it.

There was a period, when people could purchase goods, including food, only if they had a special “Buyer’s card,” that looked like ID, with a name and a photograph on it. I was 10 years-old, and I didn’t have the right to purchase.

But I often went to stores with my parents, because there was a “shopping limit.”

For example, if it was canned ham, we could buy only 2 cans per person. So my mom “demonstrated” that she had me, and we could get four cans.

Several times, when I was on my way home from school, an elderly lady or a senior man called me: “Dear girl, can you please go to the store with me and tell them you’re my granddaughter, so I would be able to buy 2 additional pounds of sugar…”

Alewife Sports by Erich C. Mueller

The United States will win the World Cup

As the time draws nearer and nearer for the first whistle to start the 2006 World Cup, the detractors of team USA get louder and louder. I won’t pull any punches, I want the United States to win the World Cup. Going beyond wanting, I firmly believe they can.

The detractors I spoke of are the same as your ‘buddy’ that tells you the cute guy or girl is out of your league and you shouldn’t bother. They are one in the same as the teacher that wouldn’t call on you when you knew the answer, even though you got it wrong (albeit close, let’s not forget how well team USA did in the 2002 cup in Korea) most of the time.

These hateful SOB’s will stop at almost nothing to say how the US won’t do squat, or how we don’t deserve to win, and a whole host of other ignorant BS.