News Briefs

Two Councillors Miss Meeting Dueto COVID

Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky and Councillor-at-Large George Rotondo have COVID. Neither city official attended Monday night’s meeting.

The announcement was made by Council President Gerry Visconti at the outset of the meeting.

“I just want to state that Councilor Rotondo and Councilor Novoselsky are both recovering from COVID. We wish them a speedy recovery,” Visconti said.

Clark Files Complaint With State Ethics Commission

Ward 5 candidate says he was denied admission to Zoom meeting on Pines fire station

Ward 5 City Council candidate Ronald Clark has filed a verbal complaint with the State Ethics Commission, claiming that he was denied entrance to a Zoom meeting about the proposed new Point of Pines fire station.

Clark said during the May 31 (afternoon) meeting his request to join the session was denied by the host of the Zoom meeting.

Clark was particularly perturbed that former Ward 5 councillor John Powers was allowed to participate in the meeting while Clark was unable to enter the meeting and participate.

“By allowing Mr. Powers to attend, it’s giving a candidate an unfair advantage over another candidate,” said Clark. “He’s getting inside information about the planning of the fire station. The theme of the situation is that they’re playing politics with the safety of Ward 5 residents.”

Clark, Powers, and Linda Santos-Rosa are candidates for the vacant Ward 5 seat in the July 19 special election.

Mayor Brian Arrigo responded with the following statement about the matter:

“Internal meetings regarding the reconstruction of the Point of Pines fire station have been happening since the beginning of my administration in 2016. In April of 2021 our Owners Project Manager instituted a biweekly Point of Pines Fire Station zoom meeting. There have been approximately 25 meetings to date. The internal team working on the construction of the new fire station includes the OPM, architect, engineers, and city staff. These are not public meetings and are a standard best practice for any public construction project, similarly to the regular working group for the new DPW facility.  John Powers has been part of this project since 2016 and has been included in these meetings from their inception in April 2021. In 2022 when Al Fiore took office as the Ward 5 City Councilor, he was included in these meetings and there was an understanding that John Powers would continue to take part in these meetings. The institutional knowledge and experience that John adds to these meetings is invaluable to our internal team.”

Rep. Clark Marks Start of Pride Month

Assistant Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Katherine Clark (MA-5) released the following statement to mark the start of LGBTQ Pride Month 2022.

 â€œThis Pride Month, we honor the achievements of the LGBTQ community and recommit to protecting the safety and dignity of every person, regardless of who they love or how they express their gender and sexual identities. We celebrate the many faces and experiences that make up the LGBTQ community and make space for those who are not yet able to come out as their true selves. As states and local governments across the country target LGBTQ kids and families, the Senate must join House Democrats and pass the Equality Act. All children – including transgender kids and teens – deserve safety, dignity, and freedom of expression, and I will never stop fighting until that dream becomes a reality for us all.”