YEAR IN REVIEW: Here are some of Malden’s Top Stories of 2024 Our 375th Anniversary Celebration, honors for individuals and recognition of cultural groups topped the list this past year By Steve Freker A s we welcome the New Year 2025, we also look back and recall some of the top stories that made the headlines in The Malden Advocate in 2024. This past year was a special one where Malden celebrated historic milestones – a record fourth term for Mayor Gary Christenson and the city’s 375th Anniversary – dating back to 1649. It was also a momentous year in our city for many other reasons, including events around the community, in our schools and a parade of honors and remembrances. Especially notable were two standout women honored this year: Malden’s first woman Police Commissioner Barbara Murphy and “Black Excellence on the Hill” MAYOR SWORN IN FOR RECORD TERM: Mayor Gary Christenson on Inauguration Night was sworn into a record fourth fouryear term by City Clerk Carol Ann Desiderio. (Advocate File Photos) state award recipient Kashawna Harling. We also welcomed a new Superintendent to our city, Dr. Timothy Sippel. BIG MOMMA: Abandoned dog got a new life after Good Samaritans saved her at a Malden park. (Courtesy Photo) It was also a year tinged with sadness at times, particularly in the month of June when we lost three of the most well-known citizens of all time in our city’s history: Bob Rotondi, “Butch” Gennetti and Bill Dempsey. We celebrated our diverse community culture as Malden High School became the very YEAR | SEE PAGE 8 School Bus Safety Bill passes the Legislature The Senate passes bill safeguarding school children by allowing school districts to add cameras on school buses Special to The Advocate B OSTON – Monday, December 30, 2024 – This Monday, the Massachusetts Senate passed S.3005, An Act concerning the safety of school children embarking and disembarking school buses. The House passed their version of the bill earlier in the year. The Senate bill added an amendment to accompany H.4940 that passed in July. The bill is an emergency law that allows, by a vote of a Paul Donato State Representative school committee, school districts to attach cameras to school buses to detect and ticket drivers who fail to stop for school buses. School children will have added protection for disembarking from their school buses by adding cameras and signage that dissuades drivers from making dangerous maneuvers. The bill adds detection monitoring systems to stop arm traffic signs on school buses to the apparatus safeguarding school age children getting off school buses. Additionally, the bill ensures that drivers aren’t unfairly punished and has language to protect the drivers from frontal pictures of their vehicles that includes themselves or the contents of their vehicles. This bill is limited to detection of these violations. “As a longtime advocate for school bus safety, I’m glad we were able to make a deal with the Senate,” said Representative Paul Donato (D-Medford). “I am proud to be the sponsor of this bill that will protect school children around the Commonwealth.” According to the Department of Public Health and School Health Services, most school bus injuries are suffered by pedestrians who are boarding/exiting a bus. Children 4-7 are at the highest risk. Stated community goals for the Commonwealth are to “ensure adherence to bus related traffic laws” which the bill strives to do. Having passed the Senate, the bill now heads to the Governor’s desk for her signature.
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