| Author |
 Topic  |
|
tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2007 : 07:26:39 AM
|
| A lot of my opinions of our city officials are shaped by their actions on the televised meetings. When I first saw the agenda for Wednesday's BOA meeting, I was disappointed that we would probably not learn anything new about the candidates for mayor this week. With this new development, we'll get to see if either of them really gets municipal finance. I know I'll be glued to my TV. |
Edited by - tetris on 10/09/2007 07:39:12 AM |
 |
|
|
massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2007 : 8:16:15 PM
|
| Channel 5 was up at City Hall tonight. Was there a meeting tonight? I know the Aldermen are meeting tomorrow night, don't know what's up. |
|
|
|
tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2007 : 8:50:07 PM
|
| Didn't see the report but heard about it from my mother and brother. It had to do with on-going ICE raids that are targeting illegal aliens who are suspected gang members. I guess the mayor got interviewed as part of the report. |
|
|
|
charm
Senior Member
264 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2008 : 07:10:58 AM
|
$12.4m in grants puts focus on gang violence
Area gets state aid to keep teenagers away from trouble
By Steven Rosenberg, Globe Staff | November 20, 2008
Last month, with the state facing an emergency fiscal crisis, Governor Deval Patrick cut the state budget more than $1 billion. But Patrick promised he would not cut certain social service programs, and last week the governor kept his word, awarding $12.4 million in grants to combat youth and gang violence - with $550,000 going to Lynn, Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Marblehead, Melrose, Peabody, Saugus, and Swampscott.
In addition, Haverhill will share a $220,000 grant with Methuen. Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Revere, and Winthrop will share $822,000 with Cambridge, Medford, Quincy, and Somerville.
"The governor believes strongly in fighting crime at the street level, finding ways to try to keep teens out of trouble; to create safe spaces for kids to make good decisions," said Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Harris said the state will spend $2 million more on the program than last year. "[Patrick] fought hard to keep this. That's how much he believes in this program."
The program, known as the Senator Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative, began two years ago and now reaches 39 communities throughout the state. The money is spent to help fund city and regional gang units, and also goes to nonprofits and municipal programs to support street workers, jobs programs, antigang awareness, and other outreach programs.
With gangs present in cities such as Lynn, Revere, and Haverhill and spreading to quieter suburbs, a strategic alliance between law enforcement and agencies that work to steer teens away from gangs is the best solution, said Lynn Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Santoro.
"This gives us an opportunity to work directly with the kids - and from a prevention perspective, as opposed to a suppression perspective," said Santoro.
Lynn is set to receive $350,000 - an increase of $95,000 from last year.
Lynn police Sergeant Ed Nardone, who heads the city's gang unit, said at least one of the city's five murders this year was gang-related. Nardone said there were 36 gangs in the city, with more than 1,000 members. Like Lowell, the two main gangs in Lynn are the Bloods and the Crips.
Nardone also praised the increase in funding from the state. "It allows us to continue to partner with agencies within the city, because obviously we recognize that the type of violence that we're seeing in the city is something that we certainly cannot handle alone," he said.
In Lynn, just $67,000 of the grant was spent by the police department last year. Besides helping pay overtime to gang unit officers, the police used funds for a Saturday night recreation program and to fund summer jobs for gang members. The rest of the grant went to nonprofits that used the money to hire street workers, counselors, and other staff who helped gang members receive GED degrees, find work, apply for college, and obtain legal aid.
Eugene Schneeberg, Lynn's director of operations for Straight Ahead Ministries - which received more than $100,000 last year from the grant - said Lynn's gang members need role models. "A lot of these kids have had very little positive interaction with adults only, and when they do they're hungry for it, they're open to it, and they want to make a change," he said. "They don't want to live in a violent community. They don't want to be unemployed; they don't want to be out of school."
Out of the $12.4 million grant, more than $1 million is being administered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Joel Barrera, deputy director of the council, said his organization helped draft the legislation that led to the establishment of the grant. Barrera said the grant is based on national research that shows law enforcement and social service organizations should work together in combating youth violence.
"It's based on a national model that says you have to have a comprehensive approach," said Barrera.
Barrera said the two grants are set up similarly but administered separately. Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Revere, Winthrop, Cambridge, Medford, Quincy, and Somerville use the money to pay for gang police officers and for social service programs. The cities have established a regional gang task force that meets weekly, and shares information on area gangs. Also, the gang force meets in "hot spots" in different cities each week where youth violence could occur.
Last year, Salem, Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Marblehead, Melrose, Peabody, Saugus, and Swampscott also established a regional gang task force, and more than $150,000 was spent on overtime for those officers.
Steven Rosenberg can be reached at srosenberg@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
|
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
today's globe
