THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 30, 2026 Page 9 MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 7 some friends in Malden when I decided to go by China Garden and put my New Years order in only to find it has closed. What the hell is that all about? Any idea when this took place and what happened. What a shame. I live in Rowley now and the only Chinese food place here closed last year. Really haven’t found a decent one around this area. Thanks for listening.” • Edwin & Bobby Wood! Great seeing you both in December! Ed, my five-year-old granddaughter Lana just loved the handmade wooden crib you gifted her. Her dolls sleep comfortably as we speak! And Bobby, thank you for keeping me on my toes. Woodsy aka Eagle Eyes Bobby noticed I called Fitzpatrick Brothers Caterers Fitzgerald Brothers in a recent column about the old Lincoln School football dynasty from the 1920s with a roster full of Jewish boys from Suffolk Square. Thank you again gentlemen, all the best in ’26 and Happy New Year! • Spotted recently on a detail at Stop & Splurge on Charles Street was one of Malden’s finest wearing the blue, Captain Paul Hopkins. “Hoppy” is one of the good guys in life and an ardent reader of this humble column. One of his compadres at the station is the best pizza maker Malden has ever seen (and not a bad mixologist either), Dave Angelo. Dave just adores the guy and says that Hoppy has elevated “bean busting” to an art form and looks forward each and every day to the good-natured banter between the two. “Malden Musings” salutes Captain Hopkins and the men and women of the Malden Police Department as well as good-natured bean bustin’ everywhere! • Here’s hoping Pearl Street’s Mary “Moe” Molinari has a speedy recovery from a recent fall. Mary fills my heart with song every time I see her, and I’m not the only one (right, Barbara?)! Mary’s family are longtime Edgeworth denizens making Malden and Ward 2 a better place to live for, like, forever now! Such a great family! I remember the night I and Mary’s big brother Johnny saw the Ramones at Spit on Lansdowne Street in Boston! Oh vey! What a night, but this is a story for another day and I definitely digress. Get well soon, Mary!! • Anybody had a coffee at Neil Sullivan’s joint Cornucopia in Malden Square lately? That first sip bursting with flavor (where does he get those coffee beans?!) — fuhgeddaboudit!! Thank you, Neil, and by the way, my holiday apple pie? Outta sight!!!! My grandson Christian made quick work of that beauty and requested another one next year. Thanks again, my friend. • Good Gawd almighty! Arthur Skinner turned 80 years young but don’t look a day over 65! Something in this Malden water, I suppose!! Happy birthday, big guy, see you around the hood! • Call him MPD Sergeant Sal Gennetti for now on! Congratulations, Sal!! Your pops would be wicked proud of you!! As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” — in the spirit of keeping the wonderful holiday season going all year round, I bring to you…Christmas Time Again — A Malden Musings Reflection Revisited. “Christmas Time Again” was borrowed from my good bud Gary Cherone. Now, when I say, “good bud,” I’m not talking about the guy who cowrote a Billboard #1 hit (“More Than Words”), sold over 20 million records worldwide or commanded the Wembley stage at the 1991 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert like he owned it! No, I’m talking about the skinny kid from Highland Avenue who once dreamed a dream that actually came true, and in the process made his mom Josephine one very proud woman. That Gary Cherone, the pre-stardom version, the one with the awkward jump shot who always left his feet too early, the one with a fierce love for Kong Gorilla, the one who never, ever forgot where he came from, Malden. My first encounter with Gary goes back to 1979. He was standing outside my house on Charles Street with my brother David when he called out to me, “You should come see my band play sometime.” That was all it took. I was in. Hooked before I’d even heard a note. Extreme may not have set the entire world ablaze (although they’ve been doing a pretty good imitation of that in the last couple of years). They weren’t Elvis, The Beatles or The Stones, but for those of us who still believe in the holy trinity of guitar, bass and drums (with a front man who could light up a room singlehandedly), they were/are the real deal. Honest. Pure. No gimmicks. Music wasn’t just Gary’s career, it was his vocation, his calling, his mishigas. He went all in, heart first. And it paid off. Plenty of others shared the same dream, but few ever made it past the garage door. Gary did, and he never lost City of Malden 215 Pleasant St. Malden, Massachusetts 02148 conservationcommission @cityof malden.org that Malden humility that came baked into him from the start. Which brings me back to “Christmas Time Again.” Released in 1992 on A&M Records as part of the “Stop the World” EP, it’s one of those lost gems that somehow slipped through the cracks of the early ’90s rock-andpop shuffle: a beautifully written, sentimental piece, some five minutes and seven seconds of sincerity and soul, that deserves far better than to be forgotten. Forget the labels. Forget the City of Malden Massachusetts CONSERVATION COMMISSION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 131, Section 40, Wetlands Protection Act (as amended) of the Massachusetts General Laws and the Malden Wetlands Protection Ordinance (10.20) that a Hearing of the City Of Malden Conservation Commission will be held on Monday, February 9, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. via remote participation. Hearing of a Notice of Intent filed by the City of Malden Office of Strategic Planning and Development to make improvements to Roosevelt Park located behind Salemwood School, 529 Salem Street, Malden, MA. The proposed improvements will consist of the implementation of Release Abatement Measures (RAM) activities associated with a Historic Fill condition that has been identified in the park, and, more specifically, the area where lead was identified in soil within 12 inches from the existing surface grade at concentrations that represented a potential for an Imminent Hazard condition (currently enclosed with fencing). The RAM activities will include the removal of 1.5 feet of existing soil and replacement with suitable material, and surface restoration of the area disturbed by the RAM activities. Other improvements will include restoration of the infield playing surface in the northwest infield area; slice seeding or replacing all grass surfaces within the play field with sod; installation of new full-coverage irrigation system; removal of vegetation, trash and debris within the outdoor classroom area; installation of erosion and sedimentation control measures during construction; temporary construction fencing during the construction and the turf establishment period; and miscellaneous related work. On March 28, 2025, Governor Healey signed An Act Extending Certain COVID-19 Measures Adopted During the State of Emergency that permits state and local public bodies to conduct public meetings in a hybrid or remote format through June 2027. This meeting will be conducted via remote participation only. In person attendance by members of the public is prohibited, and all effort will be made to permit public attendance of this meeting, in the manner specified below, via remote access by internet, telephone, and if available via public broadcast of the meeting by Urban Media Arts on public access television channels. Public access will also be provided by posting minutes, and/or a transcript, recording, or record of the meeting on the City of Malden website at cityofmalden.org as soon as practicable after the meeting. Additional information/guidelines for the public can be found here: https://www.mass. gov/service-details/updated-guidance-on-holding-meetings-pursuant-to-the-actextending-certain-covid-19-measures. Information regarding how to join the meeting will be provided on the Conservation Commission Agenda posted on the City’s website at cityofmalden.org at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Isaac Slavitt Chairman January 30, 2026 “pretty-boy” image, the guitar-hero fireworks, the “heavy metal” tag that never quite fit. Listen instead to the honesty in Gary’s voice, the warmth in his lyrics. You’ll hear a hometown kid singing from the heart about his favorite time of year. So, give it a spin. Let it play between Bing and Bowie, between Brenda and Bruce. It belongs there — a true holiday song from a true Malden son. Merry Christmas, G-Man. And a rockin’ New Year to you.
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