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TwinPeaks
Member
38 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2007 : 10:36:29 AM
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| Anyone who knew Pat would tell you she was a great person. She fought and won more medical battles than anyone would have thought possible. I hope she is in a better place - she will be missed by her family, of that I am certain. |
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Lori
Member
96 Posts |
Posted - 02/18/2007 : 11:21:33 AM
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EVERETT
Interest scant in two former school sites
Bids are less than hoped
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff | February 18, 2007
Everett has two prime properties for sale fitting the redevelopment profile that could revitalize the downtown area. But a slow real estate market is not yielding the kind of response hoped for by city officials.
Requests to redevelop the former Devens School and Everett High School buildings attracted only three responses, all of them far below the properties' assessed values.
City officials have now gone back to the drawing board, requesting $10,000 from the City Council to pay for an appraisal of the properties and taking one of them, the Devens, off the block.
Joseph P. Pedulla , the city's chief procurement officer, said Mayor John Hanlon decided, for now, that the city will keep the Devens building, which is currently being leased to a community organization and for other local programs.
Area residents and some city officials have said the lack of parking on the property would make it difficult for any residential or commercial development.
"There's no plan for it yet," Pedulla said. "The rent is definitely not covering the maintenance cost."
Eagle Bank , next door to the Devens building, placed a bid for $1.2 million to expand its operations.
The 28,000 -square-foot property is assessed at $6 million .
Pedulla said city officials would have settled for a price in the $2.5 million range.
The other bid came from Revere lawyer Joseph Marchese for $575,000, with no proposed plan for its reuse, Pedulla said.
The high school, which will be replaced by a new building at a different location this fall, received just one bid of about $3.4 million from RSJ Group LLC of Boxford for 83 units of senior and affordable rental apartments, Pedulla said.
The assessed value of the school is $65 million .
Hanlon said he would love to get $15 million for the high school, but some councilors believe that price may be too high considering the current market.
At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen last Monday, Alderman Robert J. Van Campen , who represents the ward where both school buildings are located, proposed asking city officials to consider retaining the Devens building for use as a multicultural community arts center.
The board forwarded the request to Hanlon's office, asking him to respond by the aldermen's next scheduled meeting Feb. 26 .
"There's nothing in Everett like a multicultural arts center or anything that serves the artistic needs of the community," Van Campen said. "This concept that I have is based on the sentiments of the residents of the city. The desire was universal to keep the building for public services. I envision this to be a multiuse, multigenerational cultural center so that [young and old] can coexist under the same roof."
Aldermen president Joseph McGonagle said he likes the idea of a multicultural center, but said he is uncertain whether the Devens, with its lack of parking, would be the best place for it.
"That's a tricky piece of property," he said, "because whatever you put there, it's going to impact that neighborhood."
State Representative Stephen "Stat" Smith , who also is the alderman for Ward 3, suggested the city keep the Devens in case it is needed as a school again because of Everett's growing student population. Smith believes the next alternative would be tearing down the building and make it a three- or four-story parking garage.
As for the high school, Smith said he favors converting it into senior housing. Residents at various community meetings have expressed a desire for senior housing, but also are concerned about the future of the field house at the rear of the high school on Maple Avenue and Linden Street.
Some believe the field house is supposed to be preserved as part of the agreement with the National Park Service , which allowed the city to build the new high school on Glendale Park on the condition that it develop parks on 9 acres throughout the city.
Van Campen said tearing down the field house could provide space for single-family homes and perhaps a 100-space parking lot, as well as senior housing where the high school sits.
"It would restore the integrity of that neighborhood," Van Campen said. "It's the most valuable parcel that the city is doing away with. We cannot hold on to the high school. I think the urgency to develop the high school is much greater than the urgency for the Devens School. People want to hold on to the Devens School."
Pedulla said he anticipates the city will have an appraiser on board by the end of this week to establish new values for the properties.
Once the high school is appraised, the city will use that number as a minimum bid requirement when the request for development proposals is reissued.
Common Council president Sal DiDomenico said city officials have to weigh all the options carefully.
"With these projects we have an opportunity to develop a major area of our downtown location," DiDomenico said. "This is probably one of the biggest decisions that the city will be making because we don't have any other property that size."
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2007 : 12:05:47 PM
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EVERETT Boston Globe March 4, 2007
Couple injured in suspicious blaze
A fire at an Everett home early yesterday that injured two senior citizens is being investigated as arson, according to Fire Captain Joe Hickey of the Everett Fire Department. Gus Sachetta, 76, and his wife, Lillian, 72, were rescued from the second floor and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation. He was in critical condition and she was in fair condition, authorities said last night. The fire, which began on the front porch of the building on Springdale Avenue, destroyed about half of the first floor. |
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EverettsPride
Advanced Member
1140 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 01:33:34 AM
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Any relation to Steve Sachetta? Thank goodness they made it out!
Sally |
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Citizen Kane
Advanced Member
1082 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 08:03:19 AM
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| I think they're his aunt and uncle. |
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Ellen
Senior Member
173 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 2:36:55 PM
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The Mirror..................
Men arrested on immigration warrants
By Michael Morton/Daily News staff
Thursday, March 01, 2007 - Updated: 12:30 AM EST
FRANKLIN - Officers investigating a parked car Tuesday found three Brazilian men from Everett wanted on federal immigration charges, police said.
Marcorelho Kaizer DeFreitas, of 3 Foster St., Eber Alves Ferreira of 15 Linden St. and Sidney DeOliveira of 182 Waverly St. were all charged with government warrants for fugitives from justice, police said.
DeFreitas also faced two outstanding state police warrants for traffic violations, Franklin Police said.
Officers found the men parked outside a business at 9 Grove St. at 6:30 p.m., police said. They told police they worked there.
After their arrest, the three men were placed in cells at the Franklin Police Station. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were expected to pick up the men yesterday. The nature of the immigration charges against them could not be determined.
Anonymous | 03.05.07 - 12:00 pm | # |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2007 : 11:44:02 AM
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y Matthew Lee, Associated Press Writer | March 12, 2007
WASHINGTON --Vice President Dick Cheney challenged lawmakers Monday to prove their support for U.S. troops and the war on terrorism by approving the Bush administration's requests for financing military action in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"When members of Congress pursue an anti-war strategy that's been called 'slow bleeding,' they are not supporting the troops, they are undermining them," Cheney said in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Cheney spoke at the start of a week in which the House plans to begin work on legislation providing nearly $100 billion for the rest of this year's costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush's full request for funds.
"Anyone can say they support the troops and we should take them at their word, but the proof will come when it's time to provide the money," Cheney said.
House Democratic leaders want to add provisions to the measure requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by the end of August 2008 and possibly by the end of 2007. Some anti-war Democrats prefer limiting the funds so the administration would essentially be forced to remove U.S. forces, a strategy that party leaders have abandoned.
"We expect the House and Senate to meet the needs of our military and the generals leading the troops in battle on time and in full measure," Cheney said, accusing some legislators of giving lip service to proclamations of support for U.S. soldiers.
"When members speak not of victory but of time limits, deadlines and other arbitrary measures, they are telling the enemy simply to watch the clock and wait us out," he said. |
Edited by - massdee on 03/12/2007 12:49:43 PM |
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Citizen Kane
Advanced Member
1082 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2007 : 12:04:27 PM
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Typical "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentality that permeates this administration. It doesn't occur to them, I guess, that part of supporting the troops is to have a plan to get them home as quickly as possible -- an exit strategy -- something the Bush administration has yet to consider?
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2007 : 12:09:55 PM
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| i think both parties better tread carefully when it comes to our troops. The Bush administration has really messed things up in Iraq and I'm not sure the Dem's are doing any better. I don't want it to end up being another failure. We have sacrificed too much not to win over there. |
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Citizen Kane
Advanced Member
1082 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2007 : 3:52:51 PM
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I agree, massdee; however, the Bush administration's tendency to play the patriotism card when they know that support for the war -- not support for the troops -- is foundering, is offensive to me. They sent these kids over there without the equipment they need to fight this war; they're coming back with horrific wounds, missing limbs, or with traumatic brain injury, and at least according to recent news reports, are not receiving the care and services they need and are entitled to have by virtue of their service.
The Democrats aren't off the hook, either; they're very good at pointing fingers of blame but not very good at coming up with a viable solution.
Sorry for the rant, but . . . for all of us who have friends and/or family members engaged in this fight, it's maddening.
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2007 : 4:19:37 PM
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| I totally agree with you, Citizen. |
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louie
Senior Member
188 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2007 : 08:07:01 AM
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Mayor criticized on hirings
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff | March 22, 2007
Although they requested more enforcement of the city's overnight resident parking program, some Everett city councilors are criticizing the mayor for excluding them from the process of hiring people to provide that enforcement.
Mayor John Hanlon will use an estimated $70,000 from now until June to hire seven people for parking enforcement. As of Monday three of the seven positions had been filled, but Hanlon expects to fill all of them this fiscal year. He said he will ask the council to approve "no more than $210,000 " from next year's budget to fund the positions for a year starting in July.
Some city councilors said the city can't afford the positions and that the enforcement should be done by police officers, not civilians, since the Monday to Friday shift is from midnight to 6 a.m. This latest criticism puts the spotlight back on the ongoing friction between some city councilors and Hanlon over the number of new hires and positions he has created in the 15 months he has been mayor.
"It's just going to be a phenomenal amount of money, and I don't think the budget can handle that," said Lorraine Bruno, Ward 5 common councilor. "He's just adding people to the payroll, and residents are upset."
Rosa DiFlorio, also a common councilor from Ward 5, said civilians shouldn't be doing enforcement overnight for safety reasons.
"My suggestion was to put the officers on at night," DiFlorio said. "It might cost a bit more money, but you don't have to offer them health and retirement" benefits.
But Hanlon said the new positions not only free up police officers to focus on overnight crime fighting, they are saving the city money in overtime costs to police. The mayor said he created the positions because the City Council requested them.
"They're the ones who brought this up. Now that I did this, they're asking all these questions," Hanlon said. "This will generate tons of money ... $700,000 in parking tickets alone in one year."
On Tuesday morning from midnight to 6 a.m., the three civilian enforcers issued 187 citations in just three routes for a total of $4,675 in parking fines, Hanlon said.
Last October, despite approval from the Board of Aldermen and the Common Council, Hanlon was still criticized by some members for creating 11 new code-enforcement officer positions, costing about $224,000.
Because not all of the requested code-enforcement positions were filled, Hanlon said he will use that leftover money to fund six of the parking enforcement positions this year.
He said he did not need to seek the City Council's approval to use code-enforcement money to fund parking enforcement. The seventh position, a full-time assistant to the parking clerk, will be funded from the budget surplus account until June.
Hanlon said the annual salary for the seventh position is between $32,000 and $33,000. The other positions pay about $30,000 a year, he said.
Responding to criticism that the positions were unadvertised, Hanlon also said he did not need to post the job openings at City Hall because "they're nonunion." When councilors asked personnel director James Henderson at a meeting earlier this month why the openings weren't posted, he replied that people knew about them by "word of mouth," Bruno said.
Henderson did not return a call for comment.
Bruno said Hanlon should have put the unused code-enforcement money back into the general fund.
"He said there'd be a freeze on hiring, and the hiring has gone rampant," Bruno said.
"I think that's why we've seen such a large increase on our budget," Bruno said. "These people just come walking in the door and start at top rates with no résumé or qualifications."
Hanlon said he wants six parking-enforcement officers for each of the city's wards, but said he has hired only three so far because of issues with some of the other applicants' background checks. Police Chief Steven Mazzie said the three have already been trained and are working.
"They'll help to take the load off our guys," Mazzie said. "The neighborhoods want [enforcement] consistency, and we've had a hard time giving them consistency."
Mazzie said when the resident parking program started, parking enforcement officers would sometimes issue 700 tickets a night at $25 each. As residents purchased more resident parking stickers, Mazzie said, those numbers dropped to a few hundred tickets a week, and eventually down to such insignificant numbers that "now it's like finding a needle in a haystack."
But with a lack of parking being one of Everett's more prominent problems, Mazzie said that if enforcement is not continued, people will find a way once again to try to beat the system. Having the full-time civilian enforcement will benefit the department, especially as warmer weather approaches and the crime rate increases, Mazzie said.
Hanlon is optimistic that parking enforcement will generate at least 25 citations a night in each of the six wards for the entire year, and that the money will be used to fund the parking enforcement. But Bruno disagrees.
"In a matter of months people are going to get the idea, and that's going to become a moot issue," Bruno said. "That whole thing is going to disappear.
"It'll never compensate for what's going to be paid for in the long run," she said. "I think it's going to be very difficult to maintain this program."
Bruno added she doesn't think the City Council will take favorably to a $210,000 budget allocation to fund the program in the upcoming fiscal year, which starts in July. The parking clerk's current budget is listed as $265,538, up from the previous year's $175,232.
"Right now I don't think there's much we can do," Bruno said. "I think things may turn around a little on July 1."
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com.
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Lynda
Advanced Member
1282 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2007 : 08:40:36 AM
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| Great article written by Ms. Conti, thank you for sharing. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2007 : 08:53:47 AM
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The more I see, hear and read about Lorrie Bruno, the more I like her.
Louie, thanks for sharing. |
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Lori
Member
96 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2007 : 09:41:48 AM
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| maybe we should get her to run for mayor wouldn't she be great.. instead of van campen and mcgongale, the first woman mayor |
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today's globe
