Page 20 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, FEbRuARy 28, 2025 BEACON | FROM PAGE 19 legacy of service.” The House will soon schedule a special election to fill Doherty’s House seat. QUOTABLE QUOTES U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s unveiled its annual “Failing the Fix” scorecard which rates laptop and cell phone brands based on their “fixabilty.” The scorecard gives companies that make it easy for users to fix their devices a good grade, and those that do not, a poor grade. Asus finished first with an Afor laptops while Apple and Google led the cell phone rating with each one getting a B-. “Consumers pay good money for devices, and they deserve ones that can be fixed if they break,” said Lucas Rockett Gutterman of the U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “When it comes to repairability, you don’t always get what you pay for. People want to buy from companies that respect our right to repair and ensure that their devices are designed to last.” Legislation pending in Massachusetts, filed by Rep. Adrian Madaro (D-East Boston) and Sen. Michael Brady (D-Brockton) would give consumers the right to repair for digital devices like phones, laptops and tablets. “At a time when we know Bay Staters are concerned about their pocketbooks and the environment, this bill would be a boon for both,” said Janet Domenitz of MASSPIRG. Here are the repairability ratings: LAPTOPS AAsus B+ Acer BDell, Microsoft and Samsung C Apple F Lenovo CELL PHONES BGoogle and Apple C+ Motorola CSamsung HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that VAN CAMPEN | FROM PAGE 1 of a parcel.” As currently worded the demPortal To Hope (“PTH”) serves people whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence and related assault crimes. Job Opportunities Available: PTH is seeking a Victim Advocate and a Licensed Social Worker to join our team! If you would like to join PTH’s award-winning team and share your leadership in the cause to end domestic violence, please call (781) 338-7678 for more information; or, email portaltohope@aol.com. olition delay would apply to buildings from 1940 or older or buildings of historic significance. “I don’t know if people in the community recognize there are a number of historic structures in Everett,” Van Campen said.” This would also protect historic buildings so they are not indiscriminately torn down by a profit-seeking developer.” An application for demolition would trigger reviews by the Building Department and, possibly Historical Commission, to determine the historic status of a building. “The process doesn’t mean you can’t demolish a structure, but will determine it to be of a certain age or deemed historically significant,” Van Campen explained. It might be applicable in homes of former Mayors or other dignitaries. A delay might allow authorities to take photographs and/ or remove particular items from a building, including furniture, papers and chandeliers among other things before demolition. There are 18,000 structures in the City and Van Campen’s proposal designates 6,800 as possibly eligible. “I’d like to make it harder to tear down historic structures, but I recognize that is an eye-popping number,” he confessed. In discussion, City Clerk and informal advisor to the Historical Commission Sergio Cornelegislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of Feb. 17-21, the House met for a total of six lio said 180-190 properties are registered with the State as historic and that requires preservation. None are registered at the federal level. Subcommittee member and Councillor AtLarge Katy Rogers suggested some median number between 180 and 6,800 be determined. Not every old building is significant. Cornelio said his parents’ home is 100 years old and “has no historic value, but we don’t want to tear down buildings everywhere. We want to keep historic properties.” Among them are a church at 460 Broadway that served as the City’s First Meeting House where plans were made to separate Everett from Malden, the old Police Station on Broadway about halfway between City Hall and Sweetser Circle, the Leonard House on Pleasant Street, the interior of which is currently being remodeled and the Jonathan Green House on Ferry Street near the Malden line, considered to be the oldest house in the City and nicknamed the Sideways House because of its orientation toward the street. In further discussion, Subcommittee member and Councillor At-Large Stephanie Smith asked the process be timed so as not to require duplication of reviews, like Site Plan Reviews by the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. She also feels a “piggyback ordinance” needs to be added about preservation of historic minutes while the Senate met for a total of five minutes. Mon. Feb. 17 No House session No Senate session Tues. Feb. 18 House11:00 a.m. to11:03a.m. Senate 11:12 a.m. to11:13a.m. Wed. Feb. 19 No House session No Senate session Thurs. Feb. 20 House11:01 a.m. to 11:04a.m. Senate 10:06 a.m. to 11:10a.m. Fri. Feb. 21 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@ beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019. structures. After the meeting, Historical Commission member Lawrence Arinello said he was “all for” Van Campen’s idea. ”We need a procedure that will allow the Historical Commission to look at things,” he feels. In the full Council meeting that followed the members accepted a $24,200 grant from the Urban Areas Security for the Police Dept. to add new street cameras and replace old cameras. The Council also approved a request from Ward 1 member Wayne Matewsky for representatives from the Davis Development Corporation to appear at the second meeting in March to discuss their future plans on the 98-acre site facility in the commercial/industrial area off Revere Beach Parkway and Lower Broadway in his ward. In recent weeks there have been discussions and votes about proposals for an animal testing facility and a lithium battery storage facility in the area. The Council voted down having an animal testing lab there and expressed concerns about how a fire in a battery storage facility would be handled. “I want to ask them if we can do better,” he said.” I looked at gas tanks there my entire life and thought something decent would go there. I want to see something positive. Anything that happens down there, I’ll keep my eye on. If they think we’re pushovers, we’re not.”
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