Town Meeting race attracts a crowd

Precinct 1 promises another donnybrook of an election fight May 6. Overshadowed by the override vote and contested race for selectman, the town's easternmost precinct is fielding 11 candidates for five Town Meeting seats. Two incumbents, Peter Ames and Michael Robbins, are joined on a fiscally conservative slate with former Town Meeting members Fred Lebow and Barbara Ludeke, and by Aborn Hardware's Gerold Katz. On the liberal Precinct One Coalition slate are five relative unknowns: Linda Beane, Anne Covert, Ellen Frank, Helen Herman, and Steve Zabak. Andrew Ghobrial, who has more than once pulled papers for selectman, is also running.

The Wightman Mansion will be rocking to the sounds of a local band Saturday when the Brookline Arts Center holds La Primavera Encantada, a party, art show, and silent auction for its annual fund-raiser. Although Ten Tumbao's tunes may be tropical, the band is fronted by Brookline native Kenny Kozol. Food and exotic drinks are also part of the mix, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the mansion, 43 Hawes St. For tickets and information, call 617-566-5715 or visit brooklineartscenter.com.

Newsweek's April 11 edition lists the Top 25 Pulpit Rabbis in America. Number 25 on the list, and the only rabbi from the Bay State, is Brookline's own Moshe Waldoks of Temple Beth Zion, which sits on the hill just east of Washington Square. Waldoks is probably forever linked to his first claim to fame, "The Big Book of Jewish Humor." But there's also the full-feathered Indian chief costume he wore once for a Megillah reading.

Got a news item for Brookline? E-mail Andreae Downs at andreaedowns@yahoo.com.

Live animal exhibits at City Hall, lunch with Nobel Prize laureates, interactive rock music performances, discussions about the ethics of mind enhancement, and the chance to work in a Kendall Square biotech lab for a couple of hours - no wonder the Cambridge Science Festival is inspiring imitators around the country. Billed as the "first and only full-scale celebration of science and technology in the United States," the festival is the model for the 2009 San Diego science festival. Peter Parnell's play "QED," about MIT graduate Richard Feynman, is scheduled for performances at both the Cambridge festival and the World Science Festival in New York City next month. Events run through next Sunday, and a full listing can be found at cambridgesciencefestival.org.

If you want to balance out all that science with some art, you can do so with a tour of the 11th North Cambridge Open Studios, which wraps up its two-day neighborhood display this afternoon. With 30 studios and exhibits within walking distance of the Porter Square and Davis Square T stops, the event allows art enthusiasts to catch hand-crafted jewelry and soap as well as the gigantic metal sculptures adorning the auto service shop behind Fresh Pond Cinema. Maps and performance details are at noca-arts.org.

Earth Day may have come and gone, but Cambridge-area residents can find new incentive for living green by signing up to take part in a reality television series known as "The Energy Smackdown." Ten Cambridge families, along with 10 each from Arlington and Medford, will compete to see which family can reduce energy consumption the most over the course of a year. Last year's contest, limited to a tug-of-war between three Medford families, aired on a local cable station last summer. Episodes from the entire series are also available online, along with rules and entry forms, at energysmackdown.com.

Got a news item for Cambridge? E-mail Victoria Cheng at vcheng@globe.com.

Some 340 artists will display their art next weekend for the 10th anniversary of Somerville Open Studios. The event will be held in about 100 locations around the city from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Artists working in a variety of fine art styles and craft media - including painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, glass, fiber, jewelry, furniture, and ceramics - will exhibit and sell their work to the public. A trolley service will provide free rides to exhibits. All Somerville Open Studios events are free. For information, visit somervilleopenstudios.org or call 617-543-9265.

The city is seeking residents to form a charter advisory committee to review and recommend changes to the municipal charter, which has not been examined since 1996. A new charter requires approval of the Board of Aldermen, the state Legislature, and Somerville voters. Residents interested in serving on the committee should submit a letter of interest by May 9 to the City of Somerville Charter Advisory Committee, c/o Mayor's Office, 93 Highland Ave., Somerville 02143, or e-mail to charteradvisorycommittee@somervillema.gov.

Somerville and its sister city of Gaeta, Italy, will host a foreign exchange program for 16- to 18-year-old high school students during the 2008-2009 academic year. Somerville will host students from Gaeta for two weeks in October, and Somerville students may apply to visit Italy in April 2009. Students from Gaeta will live with Somerville families and attend events coordinated by Somerville High School and the city. Families interested in hosting an Italian student should apply by July 1 and will be subject to full background checks. Children of host families will be given priority as exchange students to Gaeta. In 2006, Somerville and Gaeta formalized their sister-city relationship with a ceremony at Somerville City Hall. For more information or to apply to host a student, call 617-625-6600, ext. 2614.

Got a news item from Somerville? E-mail Kristen Green at kristen.green@comcast.net.