THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 10, 2022 Page 7 EAST COAST, WEST COAST SHERIFFS AGREE TO FRIENDLY WAGER ON 2022 NBA FINALS SF Sheriff and Middlesex Sheriff Bet to Benefit Charity B ILLERICA, Mass. – The momentum leading up to the long-awaited matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics has garnered much attention, including from the sheriffs of both San Francisco and Middlesex County, Massachusetts. San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto and Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian - colleagues and friends through Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA) - spoke by phone this weekend, agreeing to a wager for charity. “It’s been 58 years since we’ve faced off in the Finals and I am confident that our Warriors are going to take the trophy,” said Sheriff Miyamoto. “But everyone will be a winner because the runner up has to make a donation to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of their respective county.” Besides the donation, the losing sheriff will pose for a photo, wearing the apparel of the 2022 NBA Championship team, which will be posted to social media. “Golden State and the Bay State are leaders on and off the court. Sheriff Miyamoto and I, as well as our staffs, have partnered through MCSA to improve our agencies and the crucial work of sheriffs.However, this week we are rivals,” said Sheriff Koutoujian. “I have no doubt that Sheriff Miyamoto will be donning Celtics green come next week as we hang banner 18 in the Garden.” “Our only Green is Draymond Green,” said Sheriff Miyamoto. "I’ve already bought a blue and gold DubNation sweatshirt for Sheriff Koutoujian. I respect him and admire the work he's done for his community but at the end of this series, we are hopeful that the trophy will stay in the Bay... the San Francisco Bay." Joking aside, the real beneficiaries will be the children of Boys and Girls Clubs in San Francisco and Middlesex counties. Portal To Hope Seeks Public’s Help: Support VOCA Bridge Act P ortal To Hope (PTH), the award-winning nonprofit organization serving domestic violence crime victims in Everett, Lynn, Medford, Malden, Winthrop and neighboring Massachusetts communities, is facing a 27% budget cut effective July 1st.Already operating as a small-funded nonprofit, PTH relies on $179,900 in federal funding from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to serve an average of 900 people each year. Drastic cuts to VOCA will leave PTH to operate on $131,490 in fiscal year 2023 – a severe reduction.Considering that PTH spends less than 5% on administrative costs where its management team already volunteers time to carry-out administrative functions in order to dedicate funds for direct care service programs, the 27% budget cut will strap the organization and eliminate its Emergency Shelter program.“In talking with the public, they are as perplexed as we are as to why government keeps cutting funding to agencies serving some of our most vulnerable community members – especially when they realize all the helpful services that we provide,” said Linda Morris, a survivor who has been sharing her time as a Victim Advocate at PTH for seventeen years.“As a survivor whose own life was impacted by a family member killed by her abuser, I struggle to understand why PTH and similar agencies are forced to beg for funding every year,” said Morris. VOCA funding is administered by the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA); and MOVA announced that 124 programs and 220 victim services jobs across the Commonwealth are impacted by the drastic cuts to VOCA funds.“A state investment is critically needed to sustain and stabilize victim services across the Commonwealth to continue supporting victims and survivors,” announced MOVA. PTH’s Founder, Deborah Fallon, a survivor of violent crime, is appreciative of the work that MOVA and the Victim and Witness Assistance Board (VWAB), which is chaired by Attorney General Maura Healey, are doing in partnership with the Massachusetts Legislature to bridge the funding gap via the “VOCA Bridge Act”. “MOVA and VWAB have been outstanding partners in our work serving people impacted by violent crime,” said Fallon.“Every person has the right to live free from abuse, and while PTH and like programs are already inundated and focused-in on providing direct care services to people, we look to MOVA, VWAB and our legislators as our advocates in helping us to remain fully funded.” MOVA announced that the Massachusetts Legislature named a Conference Committee to “reconcile differences between the House and Senate final budgets”. Conference Committee members are: Representatives Michlewitz, Ferrante, and Smola and Senators Rodrigues, Friedman, and O’Connor.MOVA continues to advocate for a fully-funded VOCA Bridge to sustain services for victims and survivors and is “requesting that the Conference Committee maintain the $20M investment included in the House budget to bridge one-year of impending cuts” to VOCA funded programs for fiscal year 2023. To help support these efforts, please call PTH (781) 338-7678 or email portaltohope@aol. com.“Over the course of our own lives, many of us, unfortunately, will know of someone whose life has been impacted by domestic violence crime. We are reaching-out to people to call their legislators to ask that they support the fully-funded intentions of the VOCA Bridge Act passed by the Massachusetts House,” said Fallon.“We appreciate the public’s support.” For more information about MOVA, please visit www.mass.gov/mova.For more information about PTH, please visit www.portaltohope.org. Portal To Hope (“PTH”) is a nationally recognized, awardwinning nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence.PTH serves Everett, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Winthrop and neighboring Massachusetts communities.For information, visit our website at www.portaltohope.org. Malden's Hazard Mitigation Plan to be Presented at June 15th Public Meeting T he City of Malden is preparing an updated draft Hazard Mitigation Plan to reduce the city’s vulnerability to natural hazards such as flooding, droughts, hurricanes, and blizzards, and increase the city’s resilience to the impacts of climate change. Malden’s previous plan was prepared in 2017 and is due to be updated every five years. By completing this plan, the City will remain eligible for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for mitigation projects such as drainage improvements. Please join the City on June 15th at 4:00 PM for a public presentation about the draft Hazard Mitigation Plan at City Hall, Room 108. The meeting will also Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 be available online via Zoom webinar at the link below. Questions, comments, and suggestions for the draft plan are welcome. Malden residents, business owners, civic organizations and institutions are invited to participate in the public meeting and provide their questions and comments as part of this on-going effort to plan for a resilient future for the City of Malden. The Meeting will be held in-person in Malden City Hall on June 15th, 2022 at 4PM, and will also be available online as a Zoom webinar. https://cit yofmalden. zoom.us/j/99874024889?pwd=S3Z2eE8zK0NYSjQ0RTM5eE1vZW9udz09 www.eight10barandgrille.com We Have Reopened for Dine-In and Outside Seating every day beginning at 4 PM WE'RE OPEN! 8 Norwood Street, Everett (617) 387-9810 STAY SAFE!
8 Publizr Home