EVERETT Vol. 29, No. 1 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Have a Safe & Prosperous New Year! ADVOCATE Free Every Friday City Council approves $10.5M purchase of Pope John property, 10-1 By Christopher Roberson T he City Council recently voted 10-1 to authorize borrowing $10.5 million to purchase the property formerly occupied by Pope John XXIII High School and use it to build housing for veterans and senior citizens. “It’s time that we spent some of our tax money on the people who built this community: our veterans and our seniors,” said Mayor Carlo DeMaria during the City Council’s December 23 meeting. “Seniors and veterans are getting pushed out of this community on a daily basis.” He also said the two-and-ahalf-acre parcel at 888 Broadway would generate $250,000 per year in new tax revenue. In prior years, the high school had been tax exempt as it was a religious entity. However, Ward 1 Councillor Fred Capone said the building should continue to be used as a school to assuage the overcrowding problem in the Everett Public Schools. “We have a serious need for schools,” he said. COUNCIL | SEE PAGE 3 617-387-2200 Friday, January 3, 2020 Time flies, so did 2019 A year of drastic changes in Everett By Christopher Roberson F rom the opening of Encore Boston Harbor to the closing of Pope John XXIII High School and the appointment of a new superintendent of schools, the 12 months of 2019 will be remembered for quite some time. Hailed as someone who “personally understands teamwork” by Ward 1 Councillor Fred Capone, Councillor-at-Large Richard Dell Isola was unanimously chosen as the new president of the City Council on January 7. TIME FLIES | SEE PAGE 2 From an exciting opening Perhaps the greatest event of 2019 was the opening of the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor on June 23. (Photo Courtesy of Encore Boston Harbor) To a sad closing Faced with overwhelming financial obstacles, Pope John XXIII High School was forced to close its doors after 50 years. (Courtesy Photo)
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