THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 31, 2026 Page 9 DIDOMENICO | FROM PAGE 8 an additional tool on top of the established residential exemption, which gives property tax relief to local residents by shifting more of the residential tax burden onto vacation homes and investment properties. • West-East Passenger Rail (Amendment 196): authorizes $5M for the development of the passenger rail station in Palmer, a key stop for WestEast Passenger Rail to span the state from Boston to Pittsfi eld. • The ENOUGH Act (Amendment 401): creates a fund and framework to capitalize on public-private partnerships to lift families and communities out of poverty; support would extend to community organizations to boost areas like early education and care, aff ordable housing, public safety and civic infrastructure. • Zoo New England (Amendment 22): authorizes $5M for SPEED CAMERAS | FROM PAGE 3 sions in the communities in this region, they could very well be coming here to the Advocate readership cities and towns of Everett, Malden, Revere and Saugus. In all of these communities, advocates, elected offi cials and many citizens have made transportation and transit safety a focal point in setting priorities for ways to improve and preserve the well-being and quality of life for residents. The $575 million economic development bill — where the speed camera language is inserted — still would have to be approved with a formal vote by the Mass. Senate, then would have to pass the Mass. House, as well as being signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey, before it would take eff ect. The recent deaths of two bicyclists in Massachusetts, both following collisions with trucks this month of July, have kept transportation and transit safety in the forefront. Denise Olsen, 74, was killed while bicycling in Westport, Mass., on July 13 after being struck by a dump truck. In another high-profile incident, Louisa Gag, 36, a well-known greater Boston area bicycling activist who worked as a transportacapital improvements at facilities of Zoo New England, which supports education and conservation through Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and Stone Memorial Zoo in Stoneham. • Massachusetts National Guard Museum Birthplace (Amendment 366): unlocks federal dollars to support the development of the Massachusetts National Guard Museum by giving an offi cial designation to the museum; designates the facility’s location as Salem, the birthplace of the National Guard, where the fi rst muster of the colonial militia was held 389 years ago. The package is based on legislation originally fi led by Governor Maura Healey. A prior version was passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate passed the bill and sent it back to the House of Representatives for further consideration. tion planner for the City of Boston, was struck by a truck and killed on Tremont Street in Mission Hill on July 9. Gag’s death especially shocked the transit safety/bicycling community. At the start of the recent 5th Middlesex District state Senate candidates forum on transportation issues, moderator Noah Tuke asked for a moment of silence from the audience to recognize both of these women whose lives were tragically lost this month. The legislation at the state level would involve speed cameras in specific safety zones and did not include cameras at traffi c lights or regular “straightaway” streets and roads in communities. To date, 26 states now use speed-detecting cameras, mixed between those in safety and school zones, as well as “Red light” cameras at traffi c lights that detect both speed and if vehicles do not honor the red lights stoppage signal. The states of Georgia, Maryland and Virginia have the most communities involved, with over 50 in each state. In other states they are used in far fewer cities. In California, for instance, one of the country’s biggest states, they are only in Oakland and San Francisco. For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net
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