Contrary to reports Cambridge City Councilor Majorie Decker would run against Anthony Galluccio for state Senator Jarrett Barrios’ open seat this fall, Decker decided last week that she would not be running.

“It has been a really tough decision,” said Decker. “It is much harder to make the decision to walk away. It is a great opportunity. I know how to jump at challenges. Taking a step back [with] an open seat wasn’t easy.”

Decker, 33, was just re-elected to the Cambridge City Council and has been active in politics for years. “I have been campaigning for seven out of the last nine years,” she said.

Instead of running, Decker will be focusing on her council work and finishing a degree she is working on at the Kennedy School at Harvard University. “It was an agonizing decision,” she said. “It isn’t the last of me. There will be another day.”

Her announcement clears the path for Anthony Galluccio, another Cambridge city councilor who has been actively running for the seat since Barrios announced he was leaving last year.

Galluccio ran against Barrios and came in second four years ago. He is excited about having the opportunity to run again, and the possibility of representing Charlestown. “One of the most difficult things about losing four years ago was not being able to represent Charlestown,” said Galluccio. “People are so sincere and committed to the community. It’s not the biggest area of the district, but there are huge hearts in Charlestown.”

Galluccio also feels that Charlestown’s diversity is a lot like Cambridge. “There is work to be done to preserve the diversity,” he said. Other issues close to Galluccio’s heart are health care and education. He said the district is a difficult one because it is so large and spreads from Saugus to Charlestown, but that there are commonalities to be found. “I see an enormous amount of good that I can do,” he said.

Galluccio, who is an attorney, plans to pull from his 12 years of experience in municipal government to address the issues. “I have a deep history in working on the issues,” he said.

Senate President Robert Travaglini is hosting Galluccio’s kick-off fundraiser on Feb. 8 at the Royal Sonesta. Readers can learn more about Galluccio by logging on to his Web site at www.galluccio.org.

Reports indicate that the Bloods street gang now has a presence in Charlestown, although there isn’t reason for alarm yet, according to Captain Bernie O’Rourke of Boston Police.

“We want to stay on top of it, so it doesn’t expand,” Captain O’Rourke said at a meeting of the Charlestown Neighborhood Council Public Safety Committee last Tuesday. He added that this phenomenon was “relatively new in Charlestown” and “still in the fledgling stages.”

According to police, one incident involving suspected gang members occurred on Dec. 1, sending a Charlestown man to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of a puncture wound. On that date, officers responded to 18 Carney Court after receiving a report of an assault and battery in progress. The victim reported that four suspects — three teenage black males and one teenage black female — approached him in the vicinity of Medford and Polk streets. The suspects proceeded to forcibly remove the victim’s jacket and go through his pockets, and one suspect allegedly stabbed the victim. The victim said two suspects were wearing red “hoodies.” (Red clothing is a signature of the Bloods street gang).

O’Rourke said there had been other incidents at Charlestown High School, the Clarence R. Edwards Middle School and in Charlestown’s housing developments that involve suspected gang members, roughly 15 to 18 years old, targeting slightly younger victims for cell phones, clothing and small amounts of money.

Some youths who have adopted the Bloods’ fashions are merely wannabes, however. “Not all the kids wearing red clothing are committing crimes,” Captain O’Rourke said.

Ed Grace, chairman of CNC Public Safety Committee, believes that despite these recent incidents, residents shouldn’t be overly concerned about street gangs in Charlestown.

“It’s not like other parts of the city or Somerville with the MS-13s,” he said.

Meanwhile, Captain O’Rourke said that police are currently singling out “impact players,” who are believed to be the ringleaders of local gang activity.

“Little by little, we are identifying these kids,” he said.

If anyone observes a group of three or more youths dressed in red clothing and acting suspiciously, Captain O’Rourke urges residents to call 911 and to use his name when reporting the incidents.

Politics are never out of season as registered Democrats in Charlestown (Ward 2) hold a caucus to select delegates to the 2006 Massachusetts Democratic Convention. The meeting will be at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 75 West School St., on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 10 a.m.

The caucus is open to all registered Democrats in Charlestown Ward 2. 12 delegates and two alternates will be elected, and will be divided equally between men and women. Candidates must consent to nomination in writing and must be present at the caucus. All candidates may make a two-minute statement and may distribute materials on their behalf. All ballots will be written and secret. Those not elected as a Delegate and/or as an Alternate, may apply to be add-on delegates in the following categories if they meet the qualifications for youth (age 18 – 35), minority or disabled delegates.

The convention will be held on Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3 at the DCU Center in Worcester. At that time, democrats from across the state will gather to endorse candidates for the offices of Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Lt. Governor, Governor and US Senator. The names of those candidates who receive 15 percent of the state convention vote will be placed on the Sept. 19, 2006 Democratic primary ballot.

For more information, contact Ward 2 Chair Tom Cunha at 617-242-3922, or the Democratic State Committee at 617-776-2676, or visit www.massdems.org.

Todd English, dressed casually in a sweater and jeans, is a little tired from his son’s early morning hockey game. He’s a busy man with a lot on his plate — so to speak — as the owner and chef of several local restaurants including Figs on Charles Street in Boston and Olives in Charlestown. This year, he is a featured celebrity chef at this weekend’s Boston Wine Expo, giving a cooking demonstration that pairs his cuisine with new wines from the Gallo Winery in California.

The Wine Expo gives English a venue to share his love of good food and wine. English says that he sets the tone of each restaurant through its cuisine and determines the style of wine that would best complement the dishes. Olives, with its slightly formal Mediterranean dishes, has wines from California, Italy, France and Spain. At Figs, with its more rustic menu, wines from South America, Australia and South Africa are featured.

Joseph Bibbo, a Guild of Sommeliers member and the sommelier for Olives at the W Hotel in New York City, helps choose wines for all the restaurant locations.

“The wine list is a living thing that’s constantly evolving,” said Bibbo. “It’s fluid — and I don’t meant that as a pun.”

“When we’re coming into a season, whether it’s a signature dish or a special, we want something on the list that complements [it],” said Bibbo, adding as an example that when a spring peas ravioli entrée is added to the menu, so will a complementary wine.

Bibbo also has strong opinions about choosing wines.

“When I have a wine presented to me, I don’t want to see what it is. I form my opinion, and take notes,” said Bibbo, adding that he asks himself, “Do I need this at the moment or do I have something comparable or do I have something better?”

“If someone comes to me and gives me a rating, like from Wine Spectator [magazine]…that’s the wrong way for me,” Bibbo said. “Or if someone said it costs this much money to me – that’s the second wrong approach. The wine has to speak for itself and it has to work with food.”

Exploring how food and wine are paired is a central theme of the Wine Expo, which literally brings the world of wine to Boston’s doorstop. To make the most of the experience, English recommends sampling a single varietal at a time — perhaps Pinot Noir, followed by Merlot and Zinfandel — and visit vendors from different countries to taste the differences.

The Wine Expo is also a place to taste new trends.

“I’ve seen a huge increase in sparkling wines — very drinkable, light and interesting,” said English. “Prosecco goes well with spicy food, both Mediterranean and Asian dishes. There’s a sweetness but also a nice acidity. Cavas go well with jamon, cured meats and also with seafood – especially shrimp.”

Both men are passionate about food and wine, and their advice is to taste and compare wines, pair them with dishes and to simply enjoy the sensual experience.

For information on this year’s Boston Wine Expo, held on Jan. 28 and 29 at the Seaport World Trade Center and Seaport Hotel, visit www.wine-expos.com/boston or call 877-946-3976.

Young Heroes, CityYear’s community-service program for junior high students, aims not only to raise kids’ awareness of social issues but also to help familiarize them with all the neighborhoods in Boston, including Charlestown.

“Kids see how the city is built, how the community functions and how they’re a part of this,” said Kareen Wilkinson, the program manager for the Young Heroes program. “A lot of times, these kids have never been to the different parts of Boston that there are.”

Now in its 12th year, the Young Heroes program enlists adolescents between 15 and 18 years of age to help with community service projects. Three Saturdays each month, participants attend workshops that teach them about topics like domestic violence, hunger/homelessness and disability awareness. The Young Heroes then take part in volunteer work that intends to solve the problem that they’ve discussed that day, as well as to teach the kids leadership skills. (For example, those involved in the program worked at a shelter after learning domestic issues last year).

As for its presence in Charlestown, the Young Heroes include four students from Charlestown this year, and its inaugural overnight retreat, the First Annual Heroes Training Academy, was held at St. Catherine of Siena Church on Jan. 15.

Newly-elected Charlestown Neighborhood Council member George Morton, who helped bring the retreat to Charlestown, hopes that this marks the beginning of a close relationship between Young Heroes and the community.

“My objective being a neighborhood councilor is looking for ways to solve youth programs,” he said. “This is a way we can do this.” Morton added that he hopes to see future collaborations between CityYear and Charlestown High School.

Meanwhile, Wilkinson believes that the Young Heroes is a positive influence on kids who might otherwise be prone to delinquent behavior.

“We have kids that admit that if they weren’t in this program, they know they would be getting into trouble on the street,” she said, adding that some Young Heroes graduates have gone on to careers in social work as a result of their involvement with the program. “It’s great when they find something that they’re interested in.”

But despite the favorable impact that the program has had on its participants and in Boston, Wilkinson said one of the biggest challenges she faces is convincing others that the kids are capable and responsible enough to do social work.

“We still have trouble convincing people that a 12-year-old can do something,” she said. “We are very open in finding [non-profit groups] that would like to partner with us. They just have to have faith in us because we know our kids are good.”

If you represent a non-profit organization that is interested in collaborating with Young Heroes or would like to learn more about the program, call CityYear at 617-927-2545.

Recently, the City of Boston sent out “Ready Boston,” its guide to emergency preparedness and evacuation.

On the one hand, it seems unnecessary. In the event of a major disaster—and in the last 10 years, we sometimes think we’ve seen them all—we expect that pandemonium will reign, whether we have the booklet and its plans or not.

But because we now have seen disasters, we paid more attention. As good citizens, it was our responsibility to read this booklet and have at least a passing familiarity with what it recommended. It felt a little silly until we talked with several neighbors. Almost everyone had read the booklet.

The advice it gave and the plans the city had made for evacuation seemed okay, especially in light of how difficult it is to anticipate what kind of disaster might befall us and how it might affect us. The plans for elderly and handicapped neighbors were reasonable. It acknowledged that Bostonians are not only drivers, but walkers.

Two shelters were identified in Charlestown. One was the Charlestown Community Center, the other the community center at the Harvard-Kent Elementary School.

The booklet was a pretty good read. Our household decided to buy a couple of big jugs of bottled water, since we are fond of Boston tap water, and we’d have a problem if the water system went down.

We started asking around. Neighbors were fatalistic, but inventive about their plans. One woman said she thought she would store two life jackets and a rope. In the event of a flood she could tie herself to her husband—a kind of live or die-together scenario.

Another person thought having bike helmets would be a good idea, since in a fast-moving flood people would be in as much danger from branches and debris as from the water itself. Bikes, themselves, seemed to be good pieces of equipment to have on hand, since bike riders could probably avoid traffic jams in an evacuation.

Some people said they would add a Swiss Army Knife to their emergency kit. One neighbor was concerned enough about disaster to give each of her four children wind-up radios for Christmas.

Sept. 11 showed us we can’t imagine in our wildest dreams what risks we might be vulnerable to. But some are imaginable: an LNG tanker explosion, a hurricane or an earthquake the size of the 1755 rocker that destroyed chimneys and the gable ends of houses in colonial Boston. At that time the houses most damaged were built of un-reinforced masonry on filled land.

It sounds as if Charlestown is just as vulnerable to disaster as it was then.

CORRECTION: Wine, Women and … Handbags at Mezé Estiatorio
Please note that this event will be held on Monday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. The original information given to the Bridge was incorrect.

It’s women’s night out: Mezé Estiatorio will host the second in its series of networking events that combine a relaxed evening of food and wine with a catered shopping event. Neiman Marcus will bring a selection of its handbags to the restaurant on Monday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. Mezé Estiatorio is located at 100 City Square and the event is $25. For information contact Mezé at 617-242-6393.

Charlestown Armory Meeting
The Charlestown Neighborhood Council and the Boston Redevelopment Authority will host a public meeting regarding the conversion of the Charlestown Armory, located at 374-398 Bunker Hill St., on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. Proposals from the three development teams. The proposals may be previewed at the BRA office, 9th floor, Boston City Hall during the week between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The meeting will be held at St. Francis de Sales Church, Bishop Lawton Hall, 374-398 Bunker Hill St. For information, contact Geoff Lewis of the BRA at 617-918-4297.

Fundraiser at the Navy Yard Bistro
Join John Moore, owner of the Navy Yard Bistro, and residents Kathy Pacia and Shawn O’Brien for a four course French wine dinner to benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute on Monday, Jan. 30 at the Navy Yard Bistro, 1 First Avenue. Make a note in your calendar — this is the first of four dinners that will be held on the last Monday of each month through April to raise funds for the institute. For information or to make reservations call 617-242-0036.

Get familiar with the Internet
Catch up with your children or grandchildren’s knowledge of the Internet at a class called “Internet Basics for Adults” at the Charlestown Branch Library. There is no set time for the class sessions; call the library at 617-242-1248 to make an appointment for a session. The library is located at 179 Main St.

Turkey’s ancient ruins
British archaeologist and filmmaker Peter Sommer will give an illustrated talk, “Turkey’s Amazing Ancient Ruins,” on Monday, Feb. 6, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club. In the late 1990s, Sommer retraced the 2,000-mile route that Greek warrior Alexander the Great took through Turkey and along the way, fell love with the country, its people and history. Sommer will discuss his travels, work and even what Alexander the Great had in common with Santa Claus. The club is located at 15 Green St. Free.

Model ship exhibit
Members of the USS Constitution’s Model Shipwright Guild, which boasts 150 members from throughout New England, will display their work in the 27th Annual Exhibit at the USS Constitution Museum from Tuesday, Feb. 7, through Saturday, March 11. See 75 different models including examples of World War II vessels, fishing dories, ships in bottles, sailing vessels and Union and Confederate naval ships. Visitors will be encouraged to vote for their favorite models and judges will award gold, silver and bronze medals to the top entries in several categories. For those with an interest in modeling, join the guild at its meetings on the first Tuesday of every month in the Navy Yard, Building 5. Details are on the group’s Web site at http://home.comcast.net/~remillar. The next meeting is on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.

Mayor’s community forums
Mayor Thomas M. Menino will host four different community forums to meet with Boston residents, explore ideas for the city’s future and discuss opportunities for improvement. One of the forums will take place in Charlestown at Bunker Hill Community College on Wednesday, Feb. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. Because the city expects a high demand for seats at the forum, they will be assigned through an online lottery. Visit www.cityofboston.gov/mayor/mayor_roundtable_form.asp to register. Those selected will receive notice and be asked to confirm their attendance. The deadline to register is Friday, Jan. 27.

Five Star fundraiser
Save the date! The Five Star Foundation, Inc., a local non-profit group that raises money for the Mass General Hospital Hematology Department to help patients with blood-related cancers, will host a fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 8 p.m. to midnight. The benefit takes place at the Knights of Columbus, 75 School St., and will feature snacks, music and prizes. Admission is $20 per person and is open to those ages 21 and older. Call Susan or Rosetta at 617-242-3803 to purchase.

Schoolboy’s scholarships
The Old Charlestown Schoolboy’s Association has 12 $1,000 scholarships to award to boys who have been Charlestown residents for at least 10 years. Applicants must be in high school entering college or prep school or already in college entering their sophomore, junior or senior year. No financial restrictions are attached to the award, and students are eligible regardless of grade point average. Specific awards will go to athletes, scholars, those involved in community service and those with other talents. Applications are now available at The Charlestown Bridge, The Charlestown Boys & Girls Club, the Charlestown Branch Library and the Charlestown Patriot. Applications must be received no later than April 14.

Update on stray voltage
Frank O’Brien of the City of Boston’s Department of Public Works was on hand at the Charlestown Neighborhood Council Public Safety Committee meeting last Tuesday night to address resident’s concerns about stray voltage. O’Brien said roughly 875 of the 1,600 electrical boxes that the city owns in Charlestown had been equipped with plastic covers that serve as buffers between the electrical wires and metal sidewalk plates. (NStar also owns electrical boxes in Charlestown and is currently checking its equipment, he said). The remaining boxes should be finished by Jan. 23. O’Brien urged any residents to notify the city of damaged electrical boxes and stray voltage by calling the Mayor’s hotline at 617-635-4500.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 25
OFFICE HOURS, Sen. Jarrett Barrios, at Dunkin’ Donuts, Bunker Hill Mall, 8-9:30 a.m.
ONLINE COMMUNITY MEETING, hosted by Congressman Mike Capuano, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at www.house.gov/capuano

THURSDAY, JAN. 26
PRESENTATION, on The Newman School, at Charlestown Branch Library, 179 Main St., 6:45 p.m., free, 617-242-1248
MEETING, 20 City Square condo conversion, sponsored by Charlestown Neighborhood Council, Knights of Columbus Hall, 75 West School St., 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, JAN. 26-SATURDAY, JAN. 28
PERFORMANCE, “Restraints,” by Diane Edgecomb, at Charlestown Working Theater, 442 Bunker Hill St., 8 p.m., $18, 617-242-3285

FRIDAY, JAN. 27
OFFICE HOURS, Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, at Charlestown Branch Library, 179 Main St., 11:30 a.m., 617-722-2396

SUNDAY, JAN. 29
PERFORMANCE, “Restraints,” by Diane Edgecomb, at Charlestown Working Theater, 442 Bunker Hill St., 3 p.m., $18, 617-242-3285

MONDAY, JAN. 30
FUNDRAISER, French wine dinner for Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Navy Yard Bistro, One First Ave., $65, 617-242-0036
CORRECTION (Date and Time): Wine, Women and Handbags, Mezé Estiatorio, 100 City Square, $25, 6 p.m., 617-242-6393

TUESDAY, JAN. 31
MEETING, Charlestown Armory developer proposals, Bishop Lawton Hall at St. Francis de Sales Church, 313 Bunker Hill St., 7 p.m., 617-918-4297
CORRECTION: THIS EVENT IS ON MONDAY, JAN. 30 AT 6 P.M., Wine, Women and Handbags, Mezé Estiatorio, 100 City Square, $25, 617-242-6393

THURSDAY, FEB. 2
OFFICE HOURS, Congressman Mike Capuano, at Cooperative Bank in Charlestown, 201 Main St., 5-6 p.m., 617-621-6208

MONDAY, FEB. 6
MEETING, Charlestown Against Drugs, at Bunker Hill Health Center, 73 High Street, Second floor, 4 p.m.
MEETING, Charlestown Waterfront Coalition, Navy Yard Building 114, 7 p.m.
ILLUSTRATED LECTURE, “Turkey’s Amazing Ancient Ruins,” by Peter Sommer, at Charlestown Boys & Girls Club, 15 Green St., 7:30-9 p.m., free