Local Photographer Drawn to ‘Symbol of American Spirit’

As a naturalized American citizen of Chinese ancestry, who immigrated to the United States at age nine, Lisa Tang Liu says, “I have spent most of my life pondering what it means to be American.”

“The cowboy has long been a symbol of the American spirit, and I find myself drawn to it,” she says. “To me, it stands for freedom, self-reliance, adventure, new frontiers, and optimism – values that I love about our country.”

A series of her photographs, Cowboys, is featured at The Griffin Museum at the Aberjona River Gallery in Winchester, MA, September 9 through November 7. An opening reception is October 5, 6-7:30 p.m.

Liu’s first opportunity to photograph a cowboy was at a 2004 workshop held by her mentors, internationally known photographers Joe DiMaggio and JoAnne Kalish. This body of work developed from her various trips across the United States.

“People are often surprised to see that the photographer of these images is a person of Chinese descent,” Liu says. “As a teenager growing up in white, suburban New Jersey, I had been very self-conscious of being different. But as I age, I have come to realize that labels people impose on me do not matter. It is the identity I chose that ultimately counts. I am proud of my Chinese heritage, and I am proud of being American. This body of work is an expression of this liberating realization.”

Liu, a former Medford resident who currently lives in Quincy, is a graduate of Wellesley College and studied at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan, and the New England School of Photography in Boston. Her work has been shown in many exhibitions and is the corporate collection of Bank of America in Providence and Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Lisa Tang Liu will give a talk on Cowboys at the Griffin’s Senior Sunday on October 17th at 3 PM. Free and open to the public.

The Griffin Museum at the Aberjona River Gallery is at the Aberjona Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, 184 Swanton St., Winchester, MA. It is open seven days a week, 11 AM – 5 PM. Visitors should enter at the parking lot entrance and see the receptionist.

The Griffin Museum of Photography is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm; Friday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 – 4:00 pm. The Museum is closed on Monday. General admission is $7; $3 for seniors. Members and children under 12 are admitted free. Admission is free to all every Thursday. For more information, call 781-729-1158, or visit www.griffinmuseum.org.

- Information from Griffin Museum

Medford Youth Girls Softball concluded another successful Spring and Summer 2010 season. MYGS had nearly 300 girls play across four divisions and 24 teams in our Spring league. The league’s focus continued the tradition established of prior board members and under the leadership of Joe Pellecchia. The MYGS board and family of coaches maintained a competitively balanced league where girls learned the fundamentals of softball, developed skills for participating in travel leagues, and understood the importance of sportsmanship.

For the Summer season, over 100 girls participated on eight teams in the Middlesex Travel League that recently concluded in the U10, U12, U14 and U18 divisions and played against towns as far away as Salem, NH.

MYGS continued success is contributed to the volunteer coaches in the Spring and Summer leagues and supportive parents and players. MYGS continues to welcome involvement in 2011 from existing and new coaches and players for competitive play in 2011. Signups for our Spring 2011 league will begin in January.

Additionally, MYGS is pleased to announce the 2010 annual scholarship receipt, Kiley Callahan who will be attending Boston College this fall. Callahan started playing softball with MYGS when she was in the second grade. Pictured above: Steven Zizza, MYGS President (left), Kiley Callahan (center) and Ann Marie Callahan (right).

- Information from Medford Youth Girls Softball

InsideMedford.com will regularly feature Medford Council on Aging News by publishing its monthly newsletter, which is available by clicking on the link below.

September 2010 Newsletter

Visit the Medford Council on Aging website

- InsideMedford.com

Tufts Hosts Eighth Annual Community Day with Medford and Somerville

Neighbors, friends invited to join Tufts University for learning, family entertainment and lunch

A local child gets ready to give Tufts’ mascot, Jumbo the elephant, a hug during Tufts University’s Community Day 2008. Photo courtesy Tufts University Photography.

Residents, neighbors and friends are invited to celebrate the eighth annual Community Day at Tufts University from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26. The event will take place on the academic quad at Tufts’ Medford and Somerville campus and is cosponsored by the two cities.

“Community Day is much-anticipated on campus,” said Tufts University President Lawrence S. Bacow. “Since the very first event in 2003, we have watched it grow with more participants and guests from our host communities. We thank Medford and Somerville for once again cosponsoring the day, and look forward to welcoming our neighbors for another exciting time on the Hill.”

All activities are free and open to the public. Highlights of the day include:

- Music and dance by student groups, including The Beelzebubs, Jackson Jills, and B.E.A.T.S.
- Performance by the popular children’s entertainment troupe “Traveling Treasure Trunk”
- Tips on safety and fire prevention by police and fire departments
- Pumpkin painting, crafts, cookie decorating, face painting and other activities for children
- Information tables from community organizations in Medford and Somerville
- Educational displays from Tufts departments and student organizations including the Dental School’s Smile Squad, Tufts Robotics Club, the Biomedical Engineering Department, Chemistry’s Planetary Chemical Analysis Group, student presentations from the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service and much more
- Complimentary BBQ lunch and refreshments

All events take place on the main academic quad at the top of the hill by Goddard Chapel, Ballou Hall and the statue of Jumbo. The event is handicapped accessible. Community Day will be held rain or shine.

Free parking for Community Day is available in the Tufts parking garage at 419 Boston Avenue, Medford. A complimentary shuttle will run between Davis Square (across the street from the Somerville Theater) and the Tufts campus.

For more information about the Tufts Community Day please visit http://cday.tufts.edu or contact the Tufts Office of Community Relations at 617-627-3780 or at CommunityDay@tufts.edu.

- Information from Tufts University

Head Coach Rico Dello Iacono with the team’s thirteen seniors, including captains Alec Finn and Nick Murphy.

Junior Mustangs.

Sophomore Mustangs.

Freshman Mustangs.

Coaches Paolo Lambresa, Jason Nascimento, John Dubzinski, Rico Dello Iacono, John Donohue, Kevin Clifford, Bob Lauria, and athletic trainer Tanya Cashman-Timsit.

- Photos courtesy Medford Public Schools

Meeting to Focus on Station Design

In September, MassDOT will host two educational public meetings to kick off the Preliminary Engineering phase of the Green Line Extension project.

These meetings will also help inform the public Station Design Workshops, to be held later in the fall. Two educational meetings will be held, one each in Somerville and Medford. The presentations at the two meetings will be the same. The meetings will outline the requirements the MBTA uses to design its stations.

Each meeting will begin at 5:30 pm with a “Green Line Extension 101″ presentation for those who are less familiar with the project. New material will be presented starting at 6:15 pm. A meeting will be held on September 29 at Medford City Hall (Council Chambers), 85 George P. Hassett Drive.

- Information from the Green Line Extension Project Team. Photo by Alexander Svirsky, MassRoads.com

Spraying Postponed to Monday, September 13

Riverside, Mystic Wellington, Winter Hill Yacht Clubs to Close for Day

The herbicidal treatment of overgrown aquatic vegetation at the three area yacht clubs originally scheduled for August 30 has been postponed until Monday, September 13.

On that day, Groundwork Somerville will oversee the spraying of selected patches of water lilies that have begun to impede safe navigation on the Lower Mystic River around the Riverside Yacht Club and the Mystic Wellington Yacht Club in Medford, and the Winter Hill Yacht Club in Somerville. The application will be conducted by Aquatic Control Technologies, which specializes in the removal and management of aquatic plant species.

The spraying project was rescheduled for after Labor Day, when recreational boating activity will be significantly reduced.

For the treatment to be effective, there must be little to no water-surface disturbance near the application sites, allowing ample time for the herbicide to be absorbed into the plant tissue and then into the roots of the water lilies.

In support of the project goals, the three area yacht clubs have agreed to remain closed September 13. The DCR public boat launch adjacent to the Mystic Wellington Yacht Club will also remain closed on that day.

Groundwork Somerville is urging all recreational boaters to refrain from any boating on the Lower Mystic River on September 13. If this is not possible, boaters should maintain a “no-wake” speed limit near the three yacht clubs. Boaters’ cooperation will be crucial to the success of the herbicidal treatment.

A rain date of Tuesday, September 14, has been set for the application.

The herbicidal treatment is part of Groundwork Somerville’s Mystic Invasives Removal Project, a multiyear effort to eradicate invasive water chestnut plants for the Lower Mystic River, and to address overgrowth of the native water lily around area yacht and boat clubs.

Funded largely through a Massachusetts Environmental Trust grant, the project is made possible through an ongoing collaboration with the Mystic River Watershed Association, the Friends of the Mystic River, the Riveside, Mystic Wellington, and Winter Hill Yachts Clubs, and the Medford Boat Club, as well as countless community volunteers.

All aspects of the herbicidal treatment have been approved by the City of Medford and the City of Somerville, as well as state authorities, namely the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

For more information, contact Brad Arndt, Mystic River Projects Manager, at (617) 455-1127 or brad@groundworksomerville.org.

- Information from Groundwork Somerville

Chris Toppi, 28, during his arraignment in Somerville District Court on Monday for the murder of a Weymouth man in Medford on Saturday. Photo courtesy Medford Daily Mercury.

DA Says Victim Beaten to Death

- Allison Goldsberry

A Cambridge man has been arraigned on murder charges in connection with the death of a Weymouth man in Medford early Saturday morning.

According to information released by Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, Christopher Toppi, 28, was arraigned Monday in Somerville District Court on one count of murder. Toppi pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail. He is due back in court on September 20 for a probable cause hearing.

Toppi is accused of beating to death 28-year-old Brian Fahy of Weymouth at a Medford home early Saturday morning.

“We allege that the defendant beat the victim to death,” District Attorney Leone said. “This is another tragic example of a defendant resorting to violence, causing lasting and tragic circumstances for the victim and his loved ones.”

Toppi turned himself into authorities Saturday night after police issued a warrant for his arrest that afternoon.

Fahy was found unresponsive around 3:30AM Saturday morning at a 382 Salem Street home. When EMS found the victim he was bleeding from his head and nose and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators say Toppi started a fight with Fahy and then beat him to death. An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of death homicide.

Medford Police and State Police worked together on the investigation.

After more than three years of community organizing and fundraising, the Medford Field of Dreams project has finally been completed.

The project includes two artificial turf fields behind Medford High School that can be used for soccer, lacrosse, and football games as well as for baseball and softball practice; a running/walking track; full lighting; two scoreboards; and handicapped parking.

According to Bill Carr, Jr., one of the Field of Dreams organizers, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Sunday, September 12 at 10:15AM. The ribbon-cutting will take place at 11:00AM and the girls soccer team will play a game on the new field at 12:30PM.

The event is free and open to everyone. Coaches, student athletes, staff, family, friends, and community members are all welcome to attend. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided by Kelly’s Roast Beef immediately following the ceremony.

- InsideMedford.com

Newton All-Stars Finally Earn Trophy After 12 Years

After twelve years participating in the Medford Invitational Tournament, the Newton All-Star team finally took home the trophy. Coach Jerry Sack’s team defeated Medford in the playoffs and blanked Tewksbury, 16-0, on Saturday in the championship game.

Challenger Division Game in 4th Year

For the fourth year in a row, the all-star baseball players took a break from the action for a special game on Saturday, August 28.

MIT athletes and volunteers helped children with physical and mental disabilities play some ball. There is no score, no strike count, and no outs. Everyone has a chance at bat, to run the bases, and to come home. Both athletes and volunteers alike have a great time and have come together for the sole purpose of having fun while enjoying America’s favorite pastime.

Below is a video slideshow of the Challenger Game put together by tournament president Ron Giovino:

- Information from www.mitbaseball.com. Courtesy photo and video.