Don't let the bedbugs bite
A new pest has reared its ugly head in certain Somerville apartments recently - Cimex lectularius, commonly know as the bed bug.
The quarter-inch, reddish-brown insects are plaguing certain parts of the city. Bed bugs resemble cockroaches without wings and are large enough to be visible to the naked eye.
The bugs' bites are not connected with any diseases, but can cause rashes and itchiness.
The problem may be growing worse. One city health official said 17 incidents have been reported this year, but there are likely a greater number of infestations because some people choose to simply move rather than report the bugs.
Officials suspect the problem is due to high apartment turnover and the city's large transient population. City and community officials have advised residents not to "trash-pick for furniture" and to immediately report any incidents of infestation.
Bedbugs are difficult to get rid of once they have infested a home because they mutate to resist insecticides and lay eggs every 15 days.
Somerville is currently looking into its own regulations regarding home inspections and furniture disposal in an attempt to alleviate this problem.
Gang related graffiti increases
Somerville has stepped up its response to gang-related graffiti, since gangs increasingly have turned to vandalism to mark their territory.
Workers from the Department of Public Works have removed graffiti from the Healey School, Highland Avenue, and the McGrath Highway. The writing appears to be tags for the MS-13 gang, which is made up of El Salvadoran youth.
The graffiti also insults MS-13's rival Haitian gang H-block. The H-block gang first emerged in the spring of 2004.
Over the summer, MS-13 members from the greater Boston area began meeting up in Somerville. The Somerville Police Department (SPD) has a gang expert following their activity, but both the SPD and City aldermen fear MS-13 members will start selling drugs in Somerville, like they have in other cities they have infiltrated.
In July 2001, MS-13 members allegedly paralyzed a 13-year old boy during an attack. In October 2002, MS-13 members raped two deaf girls, one with cerebral palsy, in Somerville's Foss Park.
- compiled by Jillian Harrison and Keith Barry from The Somerville Journal and The Medford Transcript
