ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
First-grade students from the Aborn Elementary School perform at the Bethany Congregational Church.

By MATT DEMIRS

LYNN — First graders at Aborn Elementary School put on a patriotic show in honor of Memorial Day at the Bethany Congregational Church on Thursday.

Donna Amico and JoAnn Sweeney’s Grade 1 classes dressed in their red, white, and blue and performed the 20th annual show in front of parents and faculty.

Teachers and parents cried tears of joy as they watched the children sing “God Bless the USA.”

Amico enjoys producing the show annually with her classes and Sweeney. She hopes they will remember all they learn for the years to come.

“We want the children to understand why we celebrate the different holidays and traditions throughout the year,” said Amico, who has taught at Aborn for 20 years.

Between singing the classics like “Yankee Doodle” and “This Land is Your Land,” students learned about our country, the national landmark, the flag’s history and the national symbols.

Justin Stackpole, a first grader, said he learned a lot of about his country he didn’t know prior to the show.

“I never knew the first Thanksgiving was in Massachusetts until we started practicing the show,” he said.

Warren rides the Blue Line into Lynn

Ava Howard, another first grader, said she learned the meaning of the different symbols by practicing the show.

“I now know about things like the bald eagle and the Statue of Liberty which are both some of our country’s symbols for freedom,” Howard said.

Students said not only how fun the show was and how much they learned, but how helpful their teachers were in putting the patriotic show together.

Nicolas Morgan credited his teachers for their hard work.

“They’re really helpful,” he said. “On a scale of 1-10, they are a 5 million.”

Like many other students, Morgan said he enjoyed having the support from his family in the crowd and knowing they were having fun.

“My favorite part of the show was singing ‘God Bless the U.S.A.,’” he said. “It made all the parents happy and it put a smile on my face.”

For Superintendent Dr. Catherine C. Latham, the show was a breather from the stresses of the job.

“If things get tough, it’s always nice to come down here and watch something like this,” she said.   

Matt Demirs can be reached at mdemirs@itemlive.com

By GAYLA CAWLEY

LYNN — City officials presented a plan to sell the former Thurgood Marshall Middle School on Porter Street on Thursday night, for a potential reuse that could include senior market-rate housing and a commercial component. But school officials opted to take no action.

City Council President Darren Cyr and James Lamanna, the city’s attorney, presented the option to the School Committee, requesting that the 19 Porter St. property be transferred to the Public Property Committee of the City Council to prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit bids for its sale to a developer.

Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, chairwoman of the School Committee, said she was looking for the committee to make a motion to approve the transfer of the site, with a minimum asking price and timeline for when that sale could be complete. If those conditions weren’t met, the property would revert back to the School Committee.

School Committee members opted to set that minimum sales price at $4 million, and require the sale be completed within a year. The other condition set was that a School Committee member, John Ford, would sit on the RFP committee, the board responsible for preparing the document.

Ultimately, the School Committee opted to table a vote on the transfer of the property until their next meeting, upon a motion made by member Donna Coppola. Coppola said she wanted to take time to allow the committee’s attorney time to research the matter. Voting against the motion to table were Kennedy and Patricia Capano, vice-chair.

Cyr said the initial plan was to demolish the former Marshall Middle School, but a contractor reached out to city officials and wanted to buy it. His vision for the building wasn’t the vision the city had, but it let officials know there was interest in the property, Cyr said.

Lamanna said the cost to demolish the building is estimated at $2.2 million, which was part of the money bonded by the voters for the construction of the new Marshall Middle School, which opened last year on Brookline Street. If that money is not used for demolition, he said legally it could only be used for capital projects that could be bonded for 25 years, which would likely be for the construction of new buildings or additions on the school side. If the property is sold, he said the proceeds would go toward bondable projects more than five years. The proceeds would basically go into a reserve fund that would allow the city to plan ahead if, for example, a boiler in a building went.

Ford said he knows the issue is to sell the building and get some cash for the city in a cash drop situation, but he was hesitant about selling any more school property. He said there was some uncertainty about whether there would be any potential buyers, and he couldn’t see anybody paying big money for some place that’s going to cost lots of money to remediate.

Peabody lays off on initial job-cut fears

“We’re in a city where we’re land strapped,” Ford said. “We’re land poor. I don’t want to eliminate jobs on the city side. I don’t want to hurt anybody, but I really find myself in a position where it’s going to be hard for me to vote to give up any land.”

Kennedy was in favor of the transfer. For 25 years being in public life, she said she also disagreed with selling public land and felt that in most cases, it was better to bank that land.

“The reason why I’m capitulating on this particular piece of land, is that first of all it’s not big enough to build a new modern middle school, so that idea is right out,” Kennedy said. “So, it would only be usable for an elementary school or something of that size. It’s not appropriate for a police or a fire station or anything because it’s basically, it’s on a residential street.”

She said she was more comfortable letting go of this piece of land, because it wouldn’t even be appropriate for a new Cobbet or Tracy Elementary School, because it would be out of that general area of the city.

“And in light of the difficulties that we’re having making the budget come together in this year, it seems like a piece of land that may not be as valuable to the city as someplace that was located deeper into West Lynn,” Kennedy said.

Cyr said an RFP would potentially be to solicit bids for a mixed use, which would include senior market-rate apartments, as well as some commercial use, such as doctors’ offices that would cater to seniors. A small portion of those units, because of federal funding, could be allocated as affordable, he added. He said there is a true need for senior housing at marketable rate in Lynn.

Lamanna said the building was last assessed at $8 million. He said the Massachusetts School Building Authority funded the new Marshall Middle School because the assessment was that the old school on Porter Street was beyond repair. Cyr said it would cost upwards of $50 million to bring the former school up to today’s standards, for it to be restructured for a school use.

Cyr said he was a lot more hopeful after Thursday’s meeting that the transfer would be approved by the School Committee.

Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.

ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
The St. Mary’s graduating class of 2017 celebrates.

By THOMAS GRILLO

LYNN — Rain didn’t stop the 84 St. Mary’s High School graduates as officials, teachers, parents, and friends gathered at Lynn Memorial Auditorium for the Class of 2017 commencement.

“People say time flies when you’re having fun,” said Katie Cadigan, salutatorian. “Time flies during the good and the bad. It has the power to rob you, and the power to give.”

Grace Cotter Regan, head of school, advised students to look at time as it flies by and find grace moments.

Those moments provide spiritual and personal growth, she said.

“Ask yourself what lights you up as you move forward and go with what that is,” she said.

Valedictorian Michael Cerulli, who will attend Boston College in September, compared the graduation from St. Mary’s to an interview he watched with former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant.

The reporter asked Bryant if he missed playing in the National Basketball Association.

“No, the NBA is always a part of me,” he said.

Cerulli’s said graduation from St. Mary’s is a lot like Bryant’s exit from the NBA.

“Although we are leaving St. Mary’s, we should never think of St. Mary’s leaving us,” he said “Everything we know stems from what we learned here.”

He went on to list the accomplishments and milestones he and his classmates achieved, such as state championships, an award-winning drama production, and the outstanding college selections of his peers.

“I’d like to think all these remarkable achievements aren’t a coincidence,” Cerulli said.

Alumnus John J. Green, who graduated in 1967, spoke to the Spartans after being in their position 50 years ago.

“Today, you join a very special club of 12,000 members,” he said. “You are an alum.”

Green discussed the changes at the school since he graduated, including the cost of St. Mary’s tuition, which was just $50 dollars in the 1960s.

“What hasn’t changed is the amount of students moving on to higher education,” he said. “In my day, we had about 95 percent of our class moving on to higher education. The same goes for today, with over 95 percent of graduates moving on to colleges and universities, a percentage that is higher than the Massachusetts average of 75 percent and the 65 percent national average.”

Regan said the environment at St. Mary’s has impacted graduates and prepared them for their next adventure.  

“There’s a culture of care, compassion, and love that differentiates St. Mary’s from any other school,” she said.

Matt Demirs can be reached at mdemirs@itemlive.com

ITEM FILE PHOTO
This February 2017 file photo shows Newton Mayor Setti Warren on a visit to Lynn.

By THOMAS GRILLO

LYNN — Democratic candidate for governor Setti Warren promises to extend Blue Line service into the city and have millionaires pay for it.

The two-term Newton mayor will make the case for the MBTA project at Central Square Station at a campaign stop Friday morning.  

Warren, who is running to unseat Gov. Charlie Baker, is facing a challenge for the Democratic nomination from environmentalist and entrepreneur Robert K. Massie and former Gov. Deval Patrick administration budget chief Jay Gonzalez. Whoever wins, they will battle Baker, who was recently named the country’s most popular governor in a nationwide poll.

Warren, an Iraq War veteran, said he did not know how much it would cost to extend the Blue Line 4.5 miles above ground from Wonderland Station in Revere into Lynn.

“Here’s what I do know,” he asked. “The cost of not doing it is the loss of access to high-paying jobs, not getting cars off the highway and more congestion because that’s what’s happening right now.”

In 2013, the MBTA conducted a Blue Line Extension study and estimated the cost from $737 million to $1 billion.

Warren said there are at least two ways to pay for the T project. First, as governor he pledged to examine $12 billion in state tax credits that are lost to the treasury.  

“I’d look at exemptions that are in the tax code right now that gives revenue away to special interests,” he said.

Warren candidacy could connect in a blue state

The second method to raise revenue is to implement the so-called millionaire’s tax.  If approved by voters next year, the proposal would amend the state constitution by imposing a 4 percent surtax on incomes over $1 million. The money would be designated for schools and transportation.

About 20,000 or 0.5 percent of households in the state would be hit by the new tax and it would raise $1.9 billion annually, according to the state Department of Revenue.

“Transportation is a critical part of moving people back and forth to work,” Warren said. “It’s critical to get people off the roads and out of their cars. If we are not making smart investments in things like transportation and we are giving away revenue through tax exemptions, we are not being honest about how we are spending money.”

The Newton mayor also endorsed the Lynn to Boston ferry which was cut last summer amid budget problems.

“The longer we wait to make investments in things like the ferry and Blue Line, we are growing economic inequality because we are not providing Lynn with the chance to grow economically,” he said. It’s essential for the vitality of the city for these projects to move forward so Lynn can meet its full potential.”

Jacqueline Goddard, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, declined comment.

But in a visit to Lynn last year, state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said given the T’s budget troubles, the T was not building new stations on the state’s dime.

Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.

All address information, particularly arrests, reflect police records. In the event of a perceived inaccuracy, it is the sole responsibility of the concerned party to contact the relevant police department and have the department issue a notice of correction to The Daily Item. Corrections or clarifications will not be made without express notice of change from the arresting police department.

LYNN

Arrests

Oswaldo Acevedo, of 41 Lewis St., Lynn, was arrested and charged with violating parole at 4:37 p.m. Thursday.

Helison Benazi De Souza, 37, was arrested on warrant charges of larceny, unlicensed operation of motor vehicle, disguise to obstruct justice, electronic fund transfer violation, larceny, and credit card fraud at 2:25 p.m. Wednesday.

Nathan Harrington, 40, of 137 Broad St., was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon at 9:46 p.m. Thursday.

Stephen Livingstone, 24, of 235 Parkland Ave., was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license at 11:25 p.m. Thursday.

Tiffany Oram, 27, of 12 Iona Terrace, was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon at 1:17 a.m. Friday.

William Penta, of 4 Pigeon Hill Rd., Brookline, was arrested on warrant charges of perjury, conspiracy and witness at 12:45 p.m Thursday.

Kevin Sanchez, 23, of 58 Walford Way, Charlestown, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and failure to yield at an intersection at 10:55 p.m. Thursday.

Kevin Simon, 22, of 20 East Highland St., was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct at 11:19 p.m. Thursday.

Joshua Sisson, of 16 Amity St., was arrested on warrant charges of violation of parole at 10:31 a.m. Friday.

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident at 7:57 a.m. Thursday at Essex and Sheridan street; at 11:23 a.m. Thursday at Essex and Fayette streets; at 1:04 p.m Thursday at 600 Eastern Ave.; at 1:25 p.m. Thursday at 33 Munroe St.; a report of a hit and run motor vehicle accident at 2:23 p.m.Thursday at 532 Lynnfield St.; at 2:32 p.m. at Chatham and Maple streets; at 4:10 p.m., Thursday at Bradford Road and Lynnfield Street; at 4:26 p.m. Thursday at 765 Lynnfield St.; at 7:43 a.m. Friday at 126 Alley St; at 7:57 a.m. Friday at Chatham Street and Western Avenue.

A report of a motor vehicle accident with injuries at 6:23 p.m. Thursday at Lawton and Western Avenue.

Breaking and Entering

A report of breaking and entering of a motor vehicle at 10 a.m. Friday at 160 Neptune Blvd.

Fights

A report of a fight at 6:57 Thursday at 58 Conomo Ave.; at 8:48 p.m. Thursday at 161 Broad St.

Gunshot

A report of a gunshot at 2:41 p.m. at 234 Chestnut St.; at 3:11 a.m. Friday at 82 Silsbee St.

Robbery

A report of robbery at 2:33 p.m. Thursday at Central Square; at 5:16 p.m. Thursday at 263 Lynnfield St.

Vandalism

A report of vandalism at 5:27 p.m. Thursday at 74 Newhall St.; at 8:31 a.m. Friday at 41 Market St.

Police log: 5-26-2017

MARBLEHEAD

Complaints

A report of a damaged motor vehicle from a landscaper working in the area at 1:27 Thursday on Coolidge Road.  A report of receiving threatening texts from a family member at 4:49 Thursday on Front Street. A report of no water in the apartment 6:05 p.m. Thursday on Pleasant Street.

REVERE

Accidents

A report of a hit and run motor vehicle accident at 12:26 a.m. Thursday at 1 Beach St.; A report of a motor vehicle accident at 7:42 a.m. Thursday at VFW Parkway; at 8:16 a.m. Thursday at Copeland Circle; at 11:46 a.m. Thursday at Beach Street; a hit and run accident to property at 12:23 p.m. Thursday at 1 Beach St.; at 2:34 Thursday at North Shore Road; at 2:32 p.m. at Brown Circle; at 3:20 p.m. Thursday at Mahoney Circle; at 4:32 p.m. Thursday at Copeland Circle. A report of a motor vehicle accident with injured person at 2:21 p.m. Thursday at Lee Burbank Highway.

Breaking and Entering

A report of burglary and breaking and entering at 8:47 a.m. Thursday at Elmwood Street; at 3:09 p.m. Thursday at Mountain Avenue; at 4:56 p.m. Thursday at Revere Housing Authority on Adams Street.; at 9:03 p.m. Thursday at the Garfield School.

Recovered Stolen Vehicle

A report of a recovered stolen motor vehicle at 5:40 p.m. Thursday at Everard Street.

Vandalism

A report of vandalism at 8:03 p.m. Thursday at Broadway.

SAUGUS

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident with non-fatal injury at 12:26 p.m. Thursday on Salem Turnpike; at 3:35 a.m. Friday at 1143 Broadway; at 5:01 p.m. Thursday motor vehicle accident with another party leaving the scene at 564 Broadway. A report of a motor vehicle accident with non-fatal injuries at 9:04 p.m. Thursday at 140 Salem Turnpike. A report of a motor vehicle accident leaving the scene at 5:01 p.m. Thursday on 564 Broadway.

Complaints

A report of a small dog walking around the neighborhood with no owner at 12:38 p.m. Thursday on 20 Gates Road; reports a truck obstructing traffic at 1:29 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Avenue; at 6:03 p.m. Thursday reports of a suspicious person peering into windows before walking away at 40 Springdale Ave.

Medical

A report of an elderly male who fell taken to Beverly Hospital at 1:19 p.m. Thursday from 1201 Broadway.

SWAMPSCOTT

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle hit and run at 5:58 Friday at 109 Norfolk Ave.

Complaints

A report of suspicious activity at 11:24 a.m. Thursday at 1005 Paradise Road.

Overdose

A report of an overdose at 3:00 p.m. Thursday on Burrill Street.

COURTESY PHOTO
James Magner’s episode of “Wheel of Fortune” airs at 7 p.m. May 30.

By MATT DEMIRS

LYNN — How much does it cost to buy a vowel on the “Wheel of Fortune”?

Lynn native James Magner can tell you after Tuesday when he appears as a contestant on the game show.

“I’ve been trying my whole life to get on ‘Wheel of Fortune,’” he said. “I’ve been watching it since the inception every night at 7 p.m.”

Magner’s drive to become a contestant on the show was never ending. Someone who thrived at doing puzzles growing up, the 1996 Classical High School graduate would play along at home, dreaming of the day he would spin the wheel with host Pat Sajak and hostess Vanna White.

After moving to Florida, he attended “Wheel Mobile” events, pop-up stations where people try their luck in a lottery to be selected for the show.

Unfortunately for Magner, at the last event he attended, his number wasn’t drawn so he and his wife went home empty handed.

And then he got the good news.

“I saw an email one day inviting me to a private audition for ‘Wheel of Fortune’ with about 50 other people,” he said. “At first, I thought it was just a joke.”

Marshalling a plan for former school building

The interviewer told participants they would receive a letter within two weeks if they were selected. Magner doubted he would be chosen and the fact it had been weeks without receiving a letter, he was sure it was just another bust.

And then the phone rang.

“I got a call from California one day saying the letter sent by ‘Wheel of Fortune’ came back return-to-sender and that I was actually selected to be a contestant on the show during Fabulous Florida Week,” he said.

While he can’t disclose specifics on his performance until the show airs, he says you don’t want to miss it.

Magner will be flying in from Florida so he can watch his “Wheel of Fortune” debut with family in Lynn.

His father, another James Magner, said they are really excited.

“We’re going to have a little get-together at my house,” he said. “(My son) will be bringing his newly married wife and newborn son.”

Magner’s episode of “Wheel of Fortune” will air at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Matt Demirs can be reached at mdemirs@itemlive.com.

ITEM PHOTO BY JIM WILSON
City Councilor Peter Capano listens as Newton Mayor Setti Warren hold a news conference at the ferry terminal. 

By THOMAS GRILLO

LYNN — With the harbor as a backdrop Friday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren promised to revitalize the city by reinstating ferry service and extending the Blue Line.

“There’s no reason why we can’t put ferry service back to Lynn,” he said. “It ran for two summers until it was cut. We need to restore it so people can get in and out of the city and expand transportation.”

The 46-year-old Newton mayor is one of three Democrats seeking the nomination for next year’s primary. Environmentalist Robert K. Massie and former Gov. Deval Patrick administration budget chief Jay Gonzalez are also in the race to unseat Gov. Charlie Baker, recently named the country’s most popular governor in a nationwide poll.

The ferry from the Blossom Street Ferry Terminal in Lynn to Boston’s Seaport operated a pilot program in 2014 and 2015. But the service was decommissioned last summer by the Baker administration, which argued it didn’t generate enough riders to justify the $700,000 in state funds annually to operate it.

On the long awaited 4.5 mile Blue Line extension from Wonderland Station in Revere into Lynn, Warren said it’s a project that’s time has come.

“The Blue Line extension has been under discussion for more than four decades and we’ve got to make sure it happens,” he said. “When the transit line is extended, that will expand Lynn’s economy. A few miles away in Boston, there are cranes on the city’s skyline and we need to make sure that spreads to Lynn.”

Warren rides the Blue Line into Lynn

While Warren did not put a price tag on the projects which studies say could exceed $1 billion, the mayor said the cost to not do them is far greater.  

“I don’t know how much they will cost, but what’s the cost if we don’t do it?” he said. “The cost of not doing it is the loss of access to high-paying jobs, not getting cars off the highway and more congestion because that’s what’s happening right now.”

To pay for these and other transportation projects, Warren is not shy about calling for new taxes and closing loopholes in the state’s tax code.

Warren said if elected governor, he will examine $12 billion in state tax credits that are lost to the treasury. In addition, he favors the so-called millionaire’s tax.  If approved by voters next year, the proposal would amend the state constitution by imposing a 4 percent surtax on incomes over $1 million. It would raise nearly $2 billion annually and the money would be designated for schools and transportation.

Warren spoke at a sparsely attended news conference in the ferry parking lot terminal on the Blossom Street Extension. City Councilors Peter Capano and Jay Walsh happened to be at the site, scouting locations for summer concerts.

“This is a big part of fixing Lynn and getting things up and connecting people to our waterfront,” said Walsh.

Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.

All address information, particularly arrests, reflect police records. In the event of a perceived inaccuracy, it is the sole responsibility of the concerned party to contact the relevant police department and have the department issue a notice of correction to The Daily Item. Corrections or clarifications will not be made without express notice of change from the arresting police department.

LYNN

Arrests

Michael Bills, of 11 Nichols St., was arrested on warrant charges of breaking and entry, malicious damage to a motor vehicle, and larceny at 12:36 p.m. Saturday.

Alexander Castillo, 28, of 37 Everett St., was arrested and charged with trafficking cocaine, Class A drug distribution, drug violation near a school, conspiracy to violate drug laws, possession to distribute, and possession to distribute Class B drugs at 4:09 p.m. Saturday.

John Cerrato, 21, of 2 Parkway Court, Quincy, was arrested and charged with protective custody at 2:27 a.m. Saturday.

Tony Daley, 42, of 3401 A St SE, Washington, D.C., was arrested and charged with protective custody at 2:38 a.m. Saturday.

Jared Jones, 37, of 3 North Maine St., was arrested and charged with trafficking heroin, drug violation near a school, conspiracy to violate drug law, and possession of class B drugs at 2:08 p.m. Saturday.

Ryan Maguire, 29, of 147 Reddington St., Swampscott, was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, speeding, and failure to have an inspection sticker at 2:52 a.m. Saturday.

Stefan Maniscalo, of 60 Gardiner St., was arrested on warrant charges for speeding, leaving scene of damaged property, negligent of a motor vehicle, keeping right for oncoming motor vehicle and failure to be in possession of a license, improper turn, second offense OUI for drugs, failure to stop for police, possession of drugs with intent to distribute, possession of Class B and Class E drugs at 11:21 a.m. Sunday.

Steven Matthis, 36, of 5 Ireson St., Saugus, was arrested and charged with operation of a motor vehicle with a revoked license at 6:34 p.m. Saturday.

Matthew McAlister, 31, of 29 Benson Road., Buckfield, was arrested and charged with trafficking heroin, drug violation near a school, possession of Class B, and conspiracy to violate drug laws at 2:09 p.m. Saturday.

Nahomy Navarro, 18, of 22 Trinity Ave.,  was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault and battery, and resisting arrest at 1:08 a.m. Saturday. 

Matthew Quon, of 3 N. Common Terrace, was arrested on warrant charges for larceny and conspiracy at 7:01 p.m. Saturday.

Theresa Siegart, 24, of 48 Johnson St., was arrested and charged with trafficking cocaine, possession with intent to distribute drugs, conspiracy to violate drug laws, and drug violation near a school at 3:52 p.m. Saturday.

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident at 10:14 a.m. Saturday at 156 Boston St.; at 6:14 p.m. at 32 Trinity Ave.; at 6:37 p.m. at 71 Chatham St.; motor vehicle accident with a hit and run at 10:49 p.m. at 98 Wyman St.; at 7:17 a.m. Sunday at 97 Empire St.; at 7:45 a.m. Saturday at 97 Empire St.; at 10:25 a.m. Sunday at Boston and Stetson streets.

A report of a motor vehicle accident with injured person at 10:50 a.m. Saturday at Ashland and Summer streets; at 11:55 a.m. Saturday at Andrew and Market streets.

Assaults

A report of an assault and battery at 8:41 p.m. Saturday on Broadway.

A report of assault and battery with a deadly weapon at 11:16 a.m. Saturday on Broad Street.

Breaking and Entering

A report of breaking and entering at 2:17 a.m. Saturday at 71 Curwin Circle; at 5:58 p.m. Saturday at 141 Tracy Ave.

Complaints

A report of a fight at 9:09 p.m. Saturday at 116 Central Ave.; at 7:05 a.m. Sunday at Shorey and Union streets;  

A report of gunshots at 12:36 a.m. Saturday at Green and Violet streets; at 1:17 a.m. Saturday at Broad and Green streets, at 4:32 p.m. Saturday at 379 Chestnut St.

Fire

A report of a 1 alarm fire at 6:34 p.m Saturday at 61 Elm St.; at 11:06 p.m. on Bulfinch Street; at 11:50 p.m. Saturday at 80 Franklin St.; at 12:44 Sunday at 23 Archer St.; at 7:05 a.m. Sunday at 131 Johnson St..

Theft

A report of larceny at 4:59 p.m. Saturday 498 Essex St.

Vandalism

A report of vandalism at 2:31 a.m. Saturday at 26 Autumn St.; at 10:45 a.m. Saturday at 298 Union St.; at 9:45 p.m. Saturday at 280 South Common St.

A report of vandalism to a motor vehicle at 7:43 a.m. Saturday at 57 Sheridan St.; at 8:31 a.m. Saturday at 28 Parrott St.; at 12:46 p.m. Saturday at Building 19 at 810 Lynnway; at 8:34 a.m. Sunday at 29A N. Common St.;

MARBLEHEAD

Arrests 

Daniel A Dyer, 49, of 144 Washington St., Apt. 2, Peabody, was arrested on warrants at 10:35 a.m. Saturday.

Janet M. McNulty Newman, 66, of 1 Beacon Heights Lane, was arrested and charged with OUI liquor and reckless operation of a motor vehicle at 8:47 p.m. Friday.

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident at 8:07 p.m. Friday at Tedesco and Maple streets; at 10:20  a.m. Saturday on Pleasant Street;

Complaints

A report of suspicious activity at 11:45 a.m. Friday. The caller reports that a 4 door station wagon pulled into the parking lot at Doaks Lane. Caller reported that one allegedly had a pencil. The caller could not make out the plates on the car. Police investigated.

A report of a man on property at 12:16 p.m. Friday on Lee Street. The owner of the property said the man is trespassing on private property since there is a latch on the gate. The caller reported that she saw the man earlier with a bag as if he was going to throw something away. She is sure he is there collecting cans. Police spoke with the person who claimed he will not come back.

A report of a concerned parent at 3:28 p.m. Friday on Jersey Street. The anonymous female called because she was concerned about an unsupervised prom after party she heard about. An officer drove by the location where everything was all in order at the time.

A report of a neighbor dispute at 6:34 p.m. Friday on Waldron Court. The caller reported an alleged device on their neighbor’s back porch which makes a noise that is designed to keep teens away. The caller reports that she can hear it and is making the dog crazy. Police went to the neighbor’s home who was not there at the time of the call. The device was eventually unplugged by police.

A report of an unwanted guest at 1:27 a.m. Sunday on Shetland Road. The caller reported that his ex-girlfriend forced her way into his resident.

A report of a fight at 3:47 p.m. Saturday at Wyman Road.

Theft

A report of stolen cash from a vehicle at 9:12 a.m. Saturday on Ruby Terrace.

A report of a grave memorial missing at 1:34 p.m. Saturday on West Shore Drive. The caller reports a plaque holding a photograph is missing from his wife’s grave.

PEABODY

Arrests 

Tommy Clark, 27, of 2910 Francis Ave., Mansfield, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct at 8:25 p.m. Friday.

Simone Legget, 20, of 28 William St., Lynn, was arrested and charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and texting while driving at 1:45 p.m. Saturday.

Dennis Njoki, 24, of 5 Dyer Court, Apt. C1, Danvers, was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at 10 Newbury St.; at 11:53 a.m. Saturday at 494 Lowell St.; at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at 35 Main St.; at 1:58 p.m. at 85 Lynnfield St.; at 2:55 p.m. at 46 Margin St.

A report of a motor vehicle accident with a police vehicle at 4:50 p.m. Saturday at 2 Fountain St.; at 10:35 a.m. Sunday at 33 Lake St..

A report of a motor vehicle accident with personal injury at 11:53 a.m. Saturday at 2 Priscilla Lane.

A report of a hit and run motor vehicle accident at 12:39 a.m. Friday at 2 Central St.;at 3:47 p.m. Saturday at 1 Fountain St. and 33 Pierpont St.

Assaults

A report of an assault and battery at 6:11 a.m. Friday on Chestnut Street.

A report of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on Washington Street.

Breaking and Entry

A report of a breaking and entry to a motor vehicle at 9:25 Saturday at 24 Margin St.

Complaints

A report of a disturbance at 11:42 a.m. Saturday at 120 Newbury St.

A report of a verbal dispute at 2:51 a.m. Sunday at 80 Foster St.

Overdose

A report of an overdose at 6:21 p.m. Saturday on Abbott Street.

Theft

A report of larceny at 1:57 p.m. Sunday at Latitude’s Sports Club at 194 Newbury St.

Vandalism

A report of a vandalism at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at 25 Reed St.

SWAMPSCOTT

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident at 11:36 a.m Friday at 371 Paradise Road.; at 3:07 p.m Friday at 174 Humphrey St.;  at 2:19 p.m. Saturday at 174 Humphrey St.

A report of a motor vehicle accident with an injured person at 6:42 p.m. Friday at Burrill and New Ocean streets.

A report of a hit and run motor vehicle accident at 5:58 a.m. Friday at 109 Norfolk Ave.

Complaints

A report of threats at 2:05 a.m. Sunday at 45 Pleasant St.

Fire

A report of a fire at 4:09 p.m. Saturday at 117 Essex St.

Theft

A report of larceny at 6:57 p.m. Saturday at 284 Forest Ave.

NAHANT — A Nahant police officer was assaulted by a teenager driving a stolen car on Saturday night.

Shortly before 11 p.m., the officer was investigating a suspicious car in the Bass Point area of Nahant. Two male teenagers were in the car, which was reported stolen out of Brockton, said police who recovered the car.

The driver physically assaulted the officer before running away. The officer is recovering from minor injuries. The passenger was taken into custody at the scene, police said.

The suspect was apprehended four hours later, with assistance from Lynn and Swampscott police, along with K9 units from State and Manchester by the Sea police.

A 15-year-old juvenile was held at a Youth Detention Services unit. An 18-year-old male was held without bail at the Middleton House of Correction, police said.

All address information, particularly arrests, reflect police records. In the event of a perceived inaccuracy, it is the sole responsibility of the concerned party to contact the relevant police department and have the department issue a notice of correction to The Daily Item. Corrections or clarifications will not be made without express notice of change from the arresting police department.

LYNN

Arrests

Luis Colon, 25, of 27 Essex Court, was arrested and charged with operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license and on warrants at 8:25 p.m. Sunday.

Santos Morales, of 27 Essex Court, was arrested on warrant charges of failure to stop/yield, operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license and failure to wear a seatbelt at 8:37 p.m. Sunday.

Thomas Sanchez, 20, of 23 Nahant Place, was arrested and charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and no inspection/sticker at 7:40 p.m. Sunday.

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident at 11:42 a.m. Sunday at 16 Springvale Ave.; at 12:50 p.m. Friday at Superior Roast Beef at 200 Lynnfield St.; at 3:55 p.m. Sunday at 371 Boston St.; at 5:55 p.m. Sunday at Cottage and Linden streets; at 8:50 p.m. Sunday at 20 Park St.; at 9:35 p.m. Sunday at 12 Park St.; at 11:59 p.m. Sunday at Franklin and Hanover streets; at 3:19 a.m. Monday on Lynn Shore Drive; at 11:23 a.m. Monday at Boston and Hamilton streets.

A report of a motor vehicle accident with personal injury at 5:29 p.m. Sunday at 12 Hammond St.

A report of a motor vehicle hit and run accident at 9:02 p.m. Sunday at Essex and Washington streets.

Assaults

A report of an assault and battery at 10:40 p.m. Sunday on Shepard Street; at 11:48 p.m. Sunday on Central Avenue.

A report of an assault at 12:07 a.m. Monday on Pinkham Street.

Complaints

A report of a disturbance at 10:44 a.m. Sunday at Walmart at 780 Lynnway; at 11:25 a.m. Sunday at 37 Elm St.; at 1:18 p.m. Sunday at East Coast International Church at 65 Munroe St.; at 1:47 p.m. Sunday at 17 Morton Hill Ave.; at 6:18 p.m. Sunday at Shelter at 100 Willow St.; at 8:07 p.m. Sunday on Willow Street; at 8:35 p.m. Sunday at Cottage and Summer streets; at 10:57 p.m. Sunday on Shepard Street; at 11:24 p.m. Sunday at 38 Hanover St.; at 11:41 p.m. Sunday at Essex and West Green streets; at 12:43 a.m. Monday at Domino’s Pizza at 341 Union St.; at 1:18 a.m. Monday at 132 Beacon Hill Ave.; at 1:53 a.m. Monday at 150 Hamilton Ave.; at 2:16 a.m. Monday at 170 Union St.; at 6:08 a.m. Monday at Stop & Shop at 35 Washington St.; at 9:22 a.m. Monday at 224 Washington St.

Overdose

A report of an overdose at 10:44 a.m. Sunday on Lynnfield Street.

Theft

A report of a larceny at 4:06 a.m. Monday at 43 Fuller St.

Vandalism

A report of motor vehicle vandalism at 11:25 a.m. Sunday at 32 Baker St.

A report of vandalism at 9:30 p.m. Sunday at 167 North Common St.; at 12:29 a.m. Monday at 136 Central Ave.; at 8:43 a.m. Monday at 42 Baker St.

Police log: 5-28-17

MARBLEHEAD

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident at 10:02 p.m. Sunday on Foster Street. A caller reported hearing a vehicle speed up and then a loud crash by the Eastern Yacht Club. Police couldn’t find an accident; at 3:17 a.m. Monday on Devereux Street. A caller reported a pole came down across from her house, and a tree possibly came with it. A car was found on the other side of the incident.

Complaints

A caller reported he found a needle on the beach at 11:47 a.m. Sunday on Beacon Street.

A report of a band at a neighborhood party at 5 p.m. Sunday on Greystone Road. A caller reported there was a neighborhood party that night at his residence, and the band “Better Than Nothing” was playing. All of the neighbors had been notified, but he was afraid that if word got out that the band was playing, groupies may show up and make the gathering much larger than anticipated. He would call if he felt that was happening.

A report of a fight at 1:04 a.m. Monday at Marion Road and Humphrey Street. A caller reported a fight between two men in their 20s, but no weapons were seen. The fight ended as the combatants moved on.

A caller reported a middle-aged man came to her front door, opened it, and then spoke to her at 4:10 a.m. Monday on Ocean Avenue. She couldn’t remember the words and no vehicle was seen. He may have said something about the address.

Fire

A report of a large outside fire at 3:26 p.m. Sunday on Orchard Street. A large fire was reported near the fence and close to the house.

Theft

A report of a stolen iPhone at 10:52 p.m. Sunday on Leicester Road.

PEABODY

Accidents

A report of a motor vehicle accident at 9:27 p.m. Sunday at Treadwell’s Ice Cream Stand at 46 Margin St.; at 12:06 a.m. Monday at 91 Lynn St. and 2 County St. Jonathan L. Tejeda, 25, of 56 Delle Ave., Apt. 10, Roxbury, was summoned for leaving the scene of property damage; at 12:41 p.m. Monday at 79 Lowell St. and 2 Sawyer St.

Breaking and Entering

A report of a breaking and entering at 10:53 a.m. Monday at 23 Avalon Drive.

Complaints

A report of suspicious activity at 4:46 p.m. Sunday on Wilson Square. An off-duty officer reported he saw a male walking down 114 without a bike and then noticed him riding a mountain bike. It was unknown whether the bike was stolen or not. Police spoke with the two people involved, who stated they were returning the bike to Vet’s Park to another male; at 5:35 p.m. Sunday at 9 Magnolia Way. A caller reported a person was going through the dumpster. An officer reported the person was scraping through the dumpster and was sent on his way; at 2:56 a.m. Monday at 17 Bresnahan St. An unknown person reportedly tried to open the door. When the homeowner yelled, the person left in an unknown direction

A report of a disturbance at 9:36 p.m. Sunday at 8 George Road; at 9:52 p.m. Sunday at 15 Sewall St.; at 11:19 p.m. Sunday at 23 Oak Ave. An officer spoke with people, who stated they had just come back from a cookout and there was no fight. The caller reported there was a loud disturbance and fighting. He stated he heard a woman say she had a gun; at 4:41 a.m. Monday at 43 North Central St.

A man was reportedly dressed in scrubs with a clown’s mask on, heading to Main Street on Washington Street at 2:36 p.m. Monday. The activity was reported as suspicious.

Overdose

A report of an overdose at 7:09 p.m. Sunday on Gardner Street. A caller reported a man wasn’t breathing. The man was taken to Salem Hospital. The CPAC unit was notified.

Theft

A report of a robbery at 10:47 p.m. Sunday at Dunkin’ Donuts at 3 Central St. A caller reported he was at a cookout and was robbed of money at gunpoint. The caller later reported there were three guns involved. Police checked on an address at Smidt Avenue and were unable to find the suspect. The original report was unfounded. Police spoke with the caller who was sent on his way to his residence in Salem.  

Vandalism

A report of vandalism at 4:55 p.m. Sunday at 12 Carol Ann Road. A caller reported his house was egged.

The town is wasting no time in launching one of the most ambitious local public school building projects undertaken in Massachusetts in recent years.

With a price tag of $186 million, the three-school project rivals the unsuccessful attempt by Lynn public officials three months ago to build two new middle schools. Like their Lynn counterparts, Saugus officials are asking town voters to approve the school projects and the spending associated with them.

Unlike Lynn officials, Saugus leaders hold an ace when it comes to convincing town residents why the massive school project makes sense. Saugus has a AA+ bond rating that local officials claim “will save the taxpayers of Saugus an estimated $7.2 million” in borrowing costs.

But that estimated savings is only part of the equation officials are presenting residents in their bid to win voter approval for the school projects on June 20.

Town leaders are asking voters to endorse a school building plan that harnesses the town’s advantageous borrowing position with a state reimbursement formula that has residents investing 30 cents on the dollar into school construction.

Meeting to consider Saugus school vote

The city of Lynn’s uneasy financial situation, including worries about layoffs, put city leaders behind the proverbial eight ball even as they attempted to show voters why building two new middle schools made sense.

A small fraction of Lynn residents went to the polls in March and squashed the two-school proposal and a tax increase to pay for it. Saugus town leaders aren’t showing any signs they are worried about bringing their three-school plan with its mix of state and local funding and new construction and renovations to the voters.

It’s not a huge stretch for municipal leaders sitting on a stellar bond rating to tell voters top-notch schools will improve their town’s already-rosy financial picture. The easiest analogy is spending money on a home in anticipation of bolstering the property’s market value.

School spending critics — and it’s never hard to find a critic in Saugus — will crow about tax hikes and spending money on a school megaproject. But Saugus isn’t just planning to build a new middle-high school and renovate Belmonte and Veterans Memorial schools. The town construction plan is based on a bold concept for realigning public education in the town.

The plan calls for a pre-kindergarten to second grade school and a grade three to grade five school called an “upper elementary” school. Those primary school education ideas combined with the middle-high school concept give Saugus a chance to tailor education programs to the phases children and adolescents go through on their way to young adulthood.

The message town leaders are delivering to residents in advance of the June 20 vote is that Saugus stands on the threshold of becoming a top-flight school district. They are asking residents to take a quantum leap into the future and it’s a safe bet town residents will make the jump.

COURTESY PHOTO
Lowell Gray leaves behind a wife, brother, and three daughters.

Lowell Gray, an entrepreneur, technology executive, restaurateur and real estate developer who turned in the last few years to the land and the life of a small farmer, died in the early hours of Memorial Day. He was 57.

Born in New Rochelle, New York, he graduated from Harvard University in 1982, spent a summer working as a computer programmer and saving some money before heading to Asia with his friend, Mike Fee. They spent time in Hong Kong, Bangkok, and the Malay Peninsula before splitting up in Singapore. Lowell went to Java and Bali, while mike headed to Sumatra. Lowell returned to Singapore and worked as a programmer to make some money. Feeling flush, he bought a grey market Rolex and couple of bespoke suits before hitting the road again, this time to New Delhi and eventually to Europe.

Mike picked him up in an old VW bug and the two made it across the south of France, Spain and Portugal before the car finally died on the Basque frontier. They then hitchhiked to Paris where Lowell hocked his watch for a final blow-out before heading home. At Kennedy Airport they were pulled out of the security line. The combination of Lowell’s long hair, his custom suit and flip-flops, and a passport stamped from India and Thailand apparently arousing suspicion.

Back in the U.S. Lowell settled into a career, actually several careers, in technology including stints at Cap Gemini, Bell Laboratories and Price Waterhouse before starting his own software company, Eco Software, with dreams of being the next Lotus. He was drawn, however, to online services and founded an internet service provider initially called North Shore Access, which later became Shore.Net.

Attempting to borrow money to finance his growing business and after rejection by several banks, he turned to the city of Lynn for help. The Lynn/EDIC responded with $25,000 initially, a sum that grew to include a building, help with a $500,000 federal loan and assistance with tax breaks and leverage for bank financing. Shore.net became an internet powerhouse, serving small businesses and major university clients, including the web sites of Stanford and Johns Hopkins. At one point, they had 31 T-3 lines and a direct link on a transAtlantic cable.

The company’s Lynn ribbon cutting was attended by Lynn Mayor Pat McManus, Congressman John Tierney and Senator John Kerry.

In the meantime, Mr. Gray had met Elizabeth Shaw in 1987 and they married in 1989, moving to Silicon Valley for a short time before moving back to Massachusetts. By the mid-1990s, Elizabeth was taking care of their three young daughters while Lowell was busy working. Realizing the need for a better work/life balance, Mr. Gray turned to his rabbi and the Jewish community at Temple Emanu-El in Marblehead. There he studied Torah, learned Hebrew and got an adult B’nai Mitzvah. He helped to raise money and awareness for Lynn’s public schools.

In 1999, he decided that it was time to sell Shore.Net move on. With the help of his CFO and friend, Jeff Bingenheimer, he hired an investment bank and put together an offering package. They closed the sale on March 31st, 2000, one week before the NASDAQ hit its peak and the dot-com bubble crashed. He stayed on with the new owners for a time but grew tired corporate management. A year after the sale, Mr. Bingenheimer, who Mr. Gray called “the best executive I have ever had the privilege to work with”, died of pancreatic cancer.

Wanting to take a break, and with his fourth daughter born on his birthday in 2001, he decided to build a new home and found a spectacular property on the tip of Nahant with panoramic views of Boston Harbor and with its own private island. On the site was a decaying old mansion that he spent two years and an imprudent amount of money renovating.

He was on the construction site with several workers when the twin towers were hit, catching the second plane strike on a small portable TV. Everything stopped, they were all stunned. From their perch overlooking the harbor they saw the airspace over Boston shut down and fighter jets roaring across the sky. In the ensuing months, Mr. Gray experienced a strange personal connection: they had purchased the Nahant property from the estate of Abdul Majid Zabuli, the founder of Afghanistan’s banking system.

After the sale of Shore.Net and his brief post-sale tenure, Mr. Gray found himself idle. He tried to engage in new pursuits including angel investing, fund-raising, board memberships and a research position at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center where he participated in the lobster robot project and explored the underwater possibilities of the Internet of Things. He became president of his temple. In the meantime, his marriage fell apart.

He turned his attention to real estate development, turning a old rooming house next to Shore.Net headquarters into residential condominiums. When the old run-down bar next door became available, he bought that as well and started another career as the owner of the award-winning Oxford Street Grill making the transition from bits to bites.

His friend, architect Glenn Morris recalled: “Lowell believed in Lynn. He started Shore.Net there and it was headquartered on Oxford Street. He also started a restaurant on Oxford Street, The Oxford Street Grill, that he originally envisioned as a Kosher steakhouse. That restaurant is now the Blue Ox. We fought about the facade, which was very expensive for a start-up restaurant in an unproven location, but he let me win. In the end he was proud of it, if a little bit poorer.”

After a few years, he realized that he was not the one who should run the restaurant and he sold it. He once said that he was right about the vision, but his timing was too early and it needed another leader.

Other entrepreneurial opportunities came up, including a restart in the old Shore.Net building, which he still owned, as a cloud computing purveyor. There were also few other potential IT start-ups that never worked out.

After his divorce in 2010, he married his wife, Lina Hristova. Together, they bought an old farm in Woodstock, Vermont. Deciding he had had enough of the IT world, he moved to the farm in 2015 and started working there full-time.

In his class report for his 35th Reunion, he noted, “I have found that my priorities are not complicated: take care of myself and Lina, take care of my kids, love and help the people around me and take care of the land. We need to repair our divided world, trust one another and cooperate. I still believe that we can work together in peace and the world will restore itself.”

Mr. Gray was a member of the Woodstock, Vermont Volunteer Fire Department and a planning commissioner for the Town of Woodstock. He had been a member of Common Angels, a trustee of North Shore Community College and a trustee of the Salem State Enterprise Center. He was the 1999 Business Person of the Year of the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, the United States Small Business Administration’s 2000 Small Businessperson of the Year – Massachusetts, as well as numerous other business awards. His Oxford Street Grill was named “Best of the New”, by the Boston Sunday Globe in 2005 and “Best of Boston- New Restaurant North of Boston” by Boston Magazine in 2006.

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Salem State College in 2000.

Besides his wife, Lina, he leaves his daughters: Rebecca, Samantha, Josephine and Alexandra. He also leaves a brother, Adam Gray. He was predeceased by his father, Stephen; his mother, Jessica; and his ex-wife, Elizabeth.

Funeral details are pending,

Congratulate a student or an entire class on the day their photos appear in The Daily Item and/or La Voz.

Take a look at the schools we will be covering this year:

• Bishop Fenwick*
• Lynn Classical
• Lynn English
• Lynn Tech
• Lynnfield High*
• Marblehead High*
• Malden High*
• Malden Catholic*
• Medford High*
• Peabody High
• Revere High
• Saugus High*
• St. John’s Prep*
• St. Mary’s
• Swampscott High*

* Daily Item only

We will provide expansive coverage of this year’s local high school graduations beginning on June 5 and concluding on June 17 within The Daily Item.

La Voz will feature coverage in its June 15 edition.

Say congratulations through a color business card size ad (3.38″w x 2″h) for $50.00 ($25.00 for greyscale).

Call us at 781-593-7700 and simply say, “I’d like to place a graduation ad.” Our customer service team will be happy to assist you.

Larger ads are available. For additional information call 781-593-7700 and ask for the sales department.

All photos published in the Daily Item can be purchased online by visiting Itemlive.com. Talk to our customer service team for instructions.

ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Kenneth J. Marrin, post commander 507 Lynn VFW 1993-1994 walks the parade.

By GAYLA CAWLEY

LYNN — A little rain isn’t going to keep the city of Lynn from honoring the fallen.

Those were the words of Michael Sweeney, director of Lynn veterans services, at the second of two Memorial Day services in the city on Monday. He spoke at a rain-soaked outdoor ceremony in the Pine Grove Cemetery Sunken Garden, following a parade that started at Market Street and ended at the cemetery on Boston Street.

Sweeney stood at a podium in front of a field of 605 flags, representing the fallen from Lynn.

“There’s a flag for every person we’ve lost since World War I,” Sweeney said. “There’s 605 flags, each representing a person, a family, and a story, and that is what Memorial Day is about. It is not about parties. It certainly isn’t about sales at the store … The boots you see in front of us remind us that we’re still a country at war.”

Five pairs of the boots in front he pointed out represented Lynn’s five fallen service members lost since 9/11 — SPC Antonio Syrakos, LCpl Walter O’Haire, PO2 Andrew Clement, SPC Gabriel Palacios, and SPC Justin DeArco.

“In a day like today, we remember the fallen, but we also need to remember that we’re a country at war, whether people want to believe it or not,” Sweeney said.  

Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy said she was curious as to the number of flags that were set up, which she thought must have been done deliberately.

“Knowing Mike Sweeney as I do, I was quite sure he would give us an explanation, and the explanation is that 605 Lynners went off to serve their country and 605 Lynners never had a chance to come back and enjoy civilian life again, and 605 families were left to grieve,” Kennedy said.

“So, Mike, thank you for honoring them. Thank you for all you do for our veterans and to everybody who’s here today, I appreciate that you know and will recognize the true meaning of Memorial Day.”

State Sen. Thomas McGee (D-Lynn) said putting together the flags and boots to represent what has been lost in the city was really powerful. He said that veterans and those that have served reflect that “uncommon valor was a common virtue.

“That’s what it’s all about — putting your lives on the line to make sure that your friends and family continue to live in the greatest country in the world, and I want to thank you for your service, thank all of the veterans here for their service, and make sure everybody here understands that, that we never forgot the sacrifice and struggle and commitment that people that have served this country have done,” McGee said. “And Memorial Day is the day to remember it.”

City councilors eye EpiPen plan

Earlier in the day, the Polish Legion of American Veterans (P.L.A.V.), Post 56 & Auxiliary also hosted a Memorial Day ceremony, where names of the fallen from West Lynn who served in World War II and the Korean War were read. The remembrance was pushed inside from Breed Square, where the names appear on the monument, to the basement of St. Michael’s Hall.

“Everyone in this room knows war has a cost,” Sweeney said. “It hasn’t changed. In the last 100 years, the city of Lynn has given more than its share of blood and its young men and women. When we see that cost, it’s up to us to redouble our efforts to make sure that days like today are not forgotten, that we remember the fallen, that we remember their names, we say their names.”

Also honored at the ceremony was James DePhilippo, the event’s MC and former president of P.L.A.V. Post 56. Sweeney said for 30 years, DePhilippo has been a fixture of every event honoring veterans in Lynn.

Peter Capano, city councilor and chairman of the veterans committee, said the ceremony was about honoring those in Lynn “who have given their lives for our country so that all of us can enjoy the freedoms we have here today.

“I want to emphasize, as I do every year that it is because of the veterans that we enjoy so many of the freedoms in this country that others around the world just do not have — the right to vote, the freedom of assembly, religious freedom — all freedoms that are protected by the men and women of the armed forces, and today we honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in protecting those freedoms,” Capano said.

State Rep. Daniel Cahill (D-Lynn) asked those present to join him in a challenge.

“Every time a name is spoken today, or you drive by a memorial and you see a name on it, think of what that person would think about this country and this community, and what you are doing to make it better, and whether or not their sacrifice was truly worth it,” Cahill said.

“And if you feel, if there’s any inkling that you think, well, you know what, I can do more, then we have to do more because those folks did the ultimate. So, that’s something to think about and carry with you all year.”

A prepared statement from U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass) was also read, who said he couldn’t attend because he is in Southeast Asia traveling with members of the House Armed Services Committee to study the nuclear threat from North Korea and the rise of China.

Moulton said he served in Iraq with some of the best Americans he would ever meet, those who put their lives on the line for a better Iraq and a safer America. As he travels through Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam and Korea, he said he “can’t help but reflect on the brave men and women who sacrificed everything here on behalf of our freedom.”

He also acknowledged the men and women the country has lost in current conflicts — more than 6,700 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, including more than 130 from Massachusetts.

“The veterans and heroes that we remember today put serving their country — their countrymen, and our future — before themselves,” Moulton said in a statement. “They gave that last full measure of devotion so that we could have the rights and freedoms that we enjoy today.”

Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.

ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
“I’ll still be around,” longtime City Councilor William Trahant says.

By THOMAS GRILLO

LYNN — William Trahant knew something was wrong last fall when he was boating on Tripp Pond at his camp in Poland, Maine.

“I could feel pain in my chest, started sweating and had all the symptoms of a heart attack,” said the Ward 2 City Councilor.

Minutes later he was rushed to a local hospital where doctors confirmed his instincts. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and underwent successful triple bypass surgery.

It was a life-changing moment for the 57-year-old contractor who has served on the Council for nine terms. He knew it was time to quit and not seek reelection.

“I’m not a quitter and I’ll still be around, but I need to do this for my health and for my family,” he said.

It didn’t take long for candidates to line up to replace him.

Alexander Zapata, a former candidate for state representative who couldn’t get enough signatures to run against Daniel Cahill, had already pulled papers. He could not be reached for comment.

Mac gets a city salute

Last week, Gina O’Toole, a 51-year-old teacher’s aide in the Lynn Public Schools, joined the race.   

“Over the years, I’ve noticed lots of things that needed to be done in the neighborhood and people always tell me to call the ward councilor,” she said. “As a councilor, I will be able to contribute to the community in a way that I can’t as a regular citizen.”

O’Toole said her neighbors are concerned about the lack of traffic lights on Eastern and Western avenues, road conditions in the ward and Floating Bridge Pond needs to be cleaned.  

Rick Starbard, 53, owner of Rick’s Auto Collision in Revere, also tossed his hat in the ring.

“I didn’t plan on running,” he said. “But when Billy decided not to seek re-election, that promoted my phone to ring off the hook with people encouraging me to run and I decided to do it.”

Starbard, a former School Committeeman who was defeated in a bid for an at-large councilor seat two years ago, said experience as a business owner will benefit the council.

“The key to balancing our budget is to expand our commercial tax base and fund public safety,” said the former teacher at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute. “We need to do more to attract business and industry to the city.”

Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.

ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
One Dollar Zone has opened on the Lynnway.

By THOMAS GRILLO

LYNN — Another dollar store has opened on the Lynnway as the city solidifies its place for discount retailers.

“Those kind of stores expand to locations that cost nothing to open, where they don’t pay their workers much and the demographics fit,” said Michael Tesler, a marketing lecturer at Bentley University.  “Lynn has lots of newer immigrants without much money who prefer dollar stores to Target and Walmart.”

Lynn already has its share of discount retailers. There are three Family Dollar shops, two Dollar Tree stores, and One Dollar Zone has opened its second store at the former Sleepy’s on the Lynnway. That doesn’t include a number of other independent cut-rate shops such as J & M Dollar Store.

Where else can you get glassware, candy, cleaning supplies, snacks, toys, party supplies, stationery, crafts, books, automotive products, pet supplies and seasonal goods for just $1 each?

Tesler said the immediate prospects of attracting upscale shops to Lynn seems remote.  MarketStreet, the premium open-air shopping destination in Lynnfield which boasts more than 80 shops and restaurants, offers the kind of retail some would like to see in Lynn, including Victoria’s Secret, Williams-Sonoma and Lucky Brand Jeans.

“Lynn lost its way, it has an image problem and the downtown deteriorated,” Tesler said.  “When I was a kid, my mother’s favorite shopping trip was to Hoffman’s in the downtown, and there used to be a place called Roland’s for ice cream and that was a magnet. But those kinds of retail attractions are missing today.”

Still, it’s not an impossible dream to transform Lynn’s waterfront. Consider Assembly Square, renamed Assembly Row, in Somerville.

“Assembly Square should be an inspiration for Lynn,” Tesler said. “At one time, the area was infested with rats and lacked  access to the Mystic River. Today, it’s a new neighborhood with waterfront apartments, outlet shopping, a new stop on the MBTA’s Orange Line and office space for Partners HealthCare.

“Lynn needs a real strong community effort like in Somerville,” he said.

Mark Browne, a Boston commercial real estate broker, said the city’s perception is that of dollar stores, check cashing shops, and feeding the kids with fast food for $5.

“It’s very challenging to change people’s view of a city,” he said.

Still, he said Lynn is not the only community with an underdeveloped waterfront.

“Look at Providence’s waterfront,” he said. “It’s lined with oil tanks and refineries.”  

Ward 6 City Councilor Peter Capano, whose district includes the Lynnway, said the proliferation of dollar stores does not fit his idea of what the neighborhood could be.

“This is absolutely not the kind of development we want to see there,” he said.

While he prefers more upscale shops, Capano said those businesses do not want to be in Lynn. But he’s not sure how to fix it.

“I’d rather see a Guitar Center,” said Capano about the California-based retailer that calls itself the world’s largest musical instrument chain. “But they haven’t chosen to come here.”

As Trahant steps down, others step up

It’s clear, he said, Lynn residents wants these stores and that’s why they’re growing.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

More than a decade ago, the city collaborated with Sasaki Associates to create a master plan to guide development on the Lynnway. The Watertown-based planner determined the Lynnway waterfront could accommodate 4 million square feet of apartments and condominiums, 2 million square feet of retail, office, hotel and light manufacturing, 5,000 permanent jobs and generate $18 million in real estate tax revenues.

But so far, it’s still a dream. While three projects totaling $649 million are in the works that would bring waterfront apartments to the Lynnway, a shovel has yet to go into the ground.

And despite creation of the Lynn Economic Advancement and Development Team (LEAD) in late 2015, the high-powered working group intended to jumpstart development by aligning federal, state and local stakeholders, there’s little to show for its efforts.

Capano said he’s frustrated. But the city can’t do much if developers don’t come to the city with a proposal or if a landlord leases space to a dollar store.

“What do I say to the guy who has had empty building on the Lynnway for two years?” he asked. “For example, we don’t allow auto repair shops on the Lynnway, but we can’t stop one retailer and allow another. They would go to court and win.”

James Cowdell, executive director of the Economic Development and Industrial Corp. (EDIC/Lynn), reiterated there’s not much the city can do to prevent such stores from opening.

“If we could write legislation to restrict those stores, I would be the first to do it,” he said. “They cheapen what we’re trying to do. But they are allowed as of right.”

Jen Cookke, a professor at the MIT Center for Real Estate, disagrees that the city is powerless.  She said communities have a number of tools at their disposal to guide development.

“The city holds a lot of the cards, but it takes courage for city leaders to uphold the master plan,” she said.  “Officials have the ability to create incentives such as tax breaks if the owner brings a mixed-use development. You just need one outlier and others will follow. For a community that is innovative and has vision, the sky’s the limit.”

Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.

Summer is unofficially here and the push is on again to raise $30,000 to pay for the annual July 3 fireworks display. Seven fundraising events are planned with the first kicking off on Thursday at Old Tyme Italian Cuisine on Boston Street with the others scheduled through July 2.

The fireworks fundraising effort is sponsored Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, but the effort to celebrate the Fourth of July locally is really a citywide event.

The July 3 spectacle is arguably the largest local community event organized every year. Lynn Shore Drive shuts down on July 3 with parking restricted and the seaside commuter road and sidewalk converted into a viewing area that draws Swampscott residents and people from all over Lynn.

The show takes place off Red Rock Park with fireworks rocketing from an offshore barge. In many ways, the show kicks off a host of fireworks displays running the July 4. It also brings together thousands of people for an almost always peaceful and trouble-free celebration of American freedom and heritage.

Only rain can delay the show to another day. But money is the ingredient that makes the July 3 fireworks a success. It is fitting that an event bringing people from all over the city together depends on the contributions and donations of people from all over Lynn and beyond.

City spending priorities are too numerous and serious to allow municipal officials to set aside money for fireworks. The opportunity to raise money to pay for the fireworks is also a chance to appreciate the effort that goes into making the display a success.

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Local businesses and organizations, including Old Tyme, LynnArts, Inc., Wendy’s, Lazy Dog Sports Bar, Gannon Municipal Golf Course, Rolly’s Tavern and White Rose Coffeehouse are participating in the firework fundraising effort with events ranging from theater production proceeds, donations to golf, music and a road race.

The effort to make the fireworks a success is as much a testament to Lynn’s generosity as the fireworks show is an evening aimed at unifying the city. The fundraising effort also showcases the contribution local businesses and organizations make to the city to support the fireworks and other local causes.

Fourth of July is that one of a handful of American celebrations that unites everyone with no regard to race, ethnicity, economic status or heritage. It’s a chance to contemplate the flag and what it stands for and the true meaning of freedom and its fruits.

The fireworks show doesn’t last long on July 3 but the oohs and ahhs from the crowd that serve as a counterpoint to bombs bursting in air offer a local opportunity to celebrate Lynn, to celebrate summer and to understand what it means to be an American.

To learn more about the The Fireworks Fund, call (781) 586-6850.

By THOMAS GRILLO

Lynn and Nahant’s beaches should smell a lot sweeter this summer, thanks to a decision the by the Baker administration to spend $150,000 for algae cleanup.

In an effort to balance the state budget, Gov. Charlie Baker trimmed the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s  (DCR) budget in December by nearly $6 million. He also vetoed $50,000 in spending that was earmarked for the weed removal. As a result, it appeared the deadly smell that has plagued the area’s beaches would return.

But lobbying by the Lynn and Revere delegation and advocacy groups caused Baker to reconsider.

“The governor is very supportive of algae removal and we will continue to do it and figure out a way, as a department, to cover the cost,” said Susan Hamilton, DCR’s director of park operations.

On the chopping block was a DCR-funded algae removal program that has been in place for more than a decade. It  operates from April through November in Lynn and Nahant. DCR trucks collect the algae from the beaches and deliver it to a landfill.

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At a packed hearing at Lynn Museum/LynnArts Tuesday, the Metropolitan Beaches Commission co-chairs Sen. Thomas M. McGee (D- Lynn) and Rep. RoseLee Vincent (D-Revere) hosted an evening to discuss beaches in Lynn, Swampscott, and Nahant.

In an interview prior to the session, McGee said he is certain that lobbying and meetings with Baker administration staff was essential in getting the administration to reverse course.

State Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead) who had joined McGee to secure annual funding for beach cleanup, said the algae removal is a quality of life issue.

But not all the news was good. Kelly Coughlin of Stony Brook Partners reported the findings of King’s Beach in Lynn and Swampscott for water quality to be among the lowest in the region with a grade of 83 percent for swimming. In contrast, two South Boston beaches consistently scored at the top of the list with perfect scores of 100 percent.

Bruce Berman, a spokesman for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, credited McGee, Vincent, the Friends of Lynn & Nahant Beach, state Reps. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead), Dan Cahill (D-Lynn) and Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) for working to maintain DCR’s budget.

Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.

By THOMAS GRILLO

LYNN — Days after Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy vetoed the local option meals tax, the City Council overrode the mayor’s action by a 10-1 vote.

In a special council meeting Tuesday, the panel quickly dispensed with the mayor’s veto saying the city needs the money and they need it now. By taking the action this week, it ensures the tax will go into effect on July 1.

“This is a necessity, this budget deficit is enormous,” said Brian LaPierre, city councilor-at-large, in an impassioned speech. “Statewide, $60 million has been raised by this commonwealth and I’m tired of these games where a few cents on a cup of coffee warranted a veto.”

City Councilor-at-Large Daniel Cahill said every Lynn resident pays this tax when they leave the city to eat out. He chided Kennedy for her willingness to raise fees and the cost of parking ticket, but not support a modest increase in buying a meal.

“The citizens of Lynn deserve proper public safety,” he said. “It’s a no brainer.”

In her veto letter to the council, the mayor said she is well aware the city is facing a structural deficit in the budget.

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“The council leadership and I are working diligently to craft a package of measures that will close this deficit at minimum cost to taxpayers with an aim to preserve jobs by everyone employed by the city,” she wrote. “But I do not support the creation of a meals tax as one of the remedies to the deficit.”   

Earlier this month, the council voted 10-1 to impose a .0075 percent tax on top of the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax on meals. The new levy would add 75 cents to a $100 dinner bill, about 19 cents to a $25 meal and raise $700,000 annually for the city.

The Legislature authorized communities to add the new fee on meals in 2009. While the sales tax goes to the general fund, the local option is given to the community to spend as it wishes. About half of the state’s cities and towns have adopted the change and have raised nearly $652 million.

Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi was the sole vote to uphold the veto. He had argued that the new revenue be designated toward public safety.

“But the city said they can’t do that and I can’t support it,” he said.

Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.

ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Ryan Filipiak, Owen Pulaski, Gabe Bookman, Domenic Cella, Charlie Brogna and Cam Gold act silly with Chomps.

By GAYLA CAWLEY

SWAMPSCOTT — Following the success of the father-daughter dance, a bunch of moms approached For the Love of Swampscott members and asked about the potential for a mother and son event.

Last year, For the Love of Swampscott (FLOS) helped the Swampscott Police Association with the annual father-daughter dance, which will be Friday, June 16 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Swampscott High School.

But this year the local nonprofit decided to focus its energies on organizing an event for mothers and sons, according to Diane O’Brien, event chair for FLOS.

FLOS will host a “baseball-themed” Mother/Son event for Swampscott families on Saturday, June 10 at 5 p.m. at Fraser Field in Lynn for a North Shore Navigators game.

“We look forward to hosting this fun event for mothers and sons to spend time together,” said FLOS members in a statement. “And as always, all special someones are welcome.”

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O’Brien said the group wanted to do something outdoors and in the summer, so they came up with the idea for a baseball game and contacted the North Shore Navigators. She said the team’s owner is excited and is going to help FLOS produce an amazing event.

O’Brien said a tailgate party will be held in the parking lot at 5 p.m., where people can check in and get goody bags. Gymja Warriors will be doing a demo. Then, everyone will proceed into the ballpark, and some of the kids will hold American flags during the national anthem when players are introduced. A few of the kids will get to go onto the field and play some of the silly games the Navigators have, she said.

“I can’t reiterate enough that it is going to be off the charts,” O’Brien said. “I think it is going to be a lot of fun. Every time I go into that ballpark, I get more and more excited.”

Tickets are $40 per couple and $20 for each additional boy. The ticket price includes a pre-game tailgate party, keepsake photo, themed goody bag, on field activities, pizza and beverages. Parking is free, but carpooling is recommended. Tickets can be purchased at www.fortheloveofswampscott.org?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss. They are limited and are expected to sell out.

Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.