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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 7, 2026 Page 9 To stay cool, Malden adds shade to local park A s Malden residents battled the recent heatwaves that come with climate change, the City of Malden completed its latest Wicked Cool Mystic project: a small-scale cooling and shade installation at the skate park next to Tartikoff Park. “Here in Malden, we are experiencing climate change now,” said Mayor Gary Christenson as he announced the completion of this project, “especially in high pavement areas like the skate park. We need solutions that help our residents stay cool outdoors, and this project is a great example of a solution that is relatively small dollars but has an impact right away.” The skate park installation, which is the City's second Wicked Cool Mystic project, includes a pergola with climbing vines and a solar-powered fan. This is located on the sidewalk in front of the park, near enough to the MBTA 105 bus stop to allow those waiting for the bus to cool off. The project also includes new plantings around the park and shade fabric installed on the residents have asked for, including shaded bus stops, water fountains, new trees and shade structures. MyRWA Climate Organizing A Wicked Cool Mystic project: Pictured is the cooling and shade installation at the skate park next to Tartikoff Park. park’s fence. Wicked Cool Mystic is a regional effort by the Resilient Mystic Collaborative to implement resident-led cooling solutions. It builds on watershed-wide temperature data collected by volunteer community scientists in 2021 via a project called Wicked Hot Mystic. Wicked Cool Mystic, which is funded by the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, began with two years of community engagement by the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) and 13 climate leaders in Chelsea, Everett, Malden and Arlington. The project centers on learning from everyday people how they experience heat and what interventions they want to see in their communities. This spring and summer, those four municipalities constructed cooling interventions that deliver on what Manager Marissa Zampino conducted community engagement for this project in partnership with the City of Malden. She said, “It’s nice to see something the community wants come to fruition. As summers get hotter, we still need places to be and play.” Projects like this, she said, “can go up fast and provide shade immediately.” Malden’s Department of Strategic Planning and Community Development’s Sustainability and Grants Manager, Rebekah McPheeters, who also worked on this project, noted that this project is part of a larger climate action strategy. “Malden’s Climate Action Plan calls on the City to reduce the ‘Urban Heat Island Effect’ we feel here in Malden. We will continue to implement shade projects like this to further that goal, and we will also explore de-paving projects, cool roofs and pavements, additional water features, and more.” This past year, Malden expanded its tree canopy by over 600 trees. In addition, Malden partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to put out “Cool Communications” educating residents about how to stay safe in summer heat. The City of Malden’s Extreme Heat webpage includes a map of local heat relief sites in Malden, including splash pads, pools and parks. Malden’s first Wicked Cool Mystic project — in December 2025 — involved installing a series of new combination water fountains and bottle fillers at Coytemore Lea Park, Lincoln Commons and the Community Gardens near Bryant Street. Malden, Chelsea, Everett, Arlington, Somerville and Revere jointly submitted a new regional application to the MVP program this spring, in the hope that Wicked Cool Mystic can continue for a third round. Awards are expected to be announced in August. Sen. Lewis and Mass. Senate pass major economic development legislation S enator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to pass an economic development package that lifts up small businesses and burgeoning industries, surges the production of new housing units through automatic two-family zoning and reins in potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) by instituting responsible guardrails against catastrophes. The bill also creates safety rules for fast electric scooters and e-bikes, bans predatory kiosks used in cryptocurrency scams and invests $100 million in immediate support for scientific research programs at public higher education institutions. With $575 million in total spending authorizations, the economic development bill is poised to grow quality jobs in the Commonwealth, support innovation and improve the quality of life for workers and families. “The state legislature is committed to fostering new economic development in Massachusetts to create new business and job opportunities and to strengthen our communities,” said Senator Lewis. “This legislation will make Massachusetts even more competitive and attractive to both businesses and workers.” The bill will now be reconciled with a different version that was previously passed by the House of Representatives. It will then be sent to Governor Maura Healey for her signature and/or other actions. Highlights of the legislation: • Investing $100 million (M) for public higher education institutions to help maintain the pace of scientific research and discovery and retain talented graduate and post-doctorate workers in the face of federal research funding cuts • Requiring major AI developers to account for their AI models’ risk of critical safety incidents by setting frameworks to avoid potential catastrophes with oversight from the Attorney General’s Office • Generating new housing units by allowing two-family homes on all residentially zoned lots, subject to reasonable local limitations • Creating an easier process for converting commercial properties into residential units and requiring timely review processes for housing construction projects • Supporting the development and construction of permanently affordable homeownership units by authorizing up to $2.5M for a pilot program to fund the creation of units for low- and moderate-income households, including units within mixed-use developments • Implementing new safety standards for e-bikes and electric scooters, including regulations for safety equipment and after-market modifications, age and speed restrictions and a ban on mopeds and similar devices from bike lanes and shareduse paths • Authorizing up to $20M to support community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and small businesses • Authorizing up to $25M to support downtown and main street vitality in Massachusetts towns and cities, in addition to $2.5M to help convert vacant storefronts into pop-up opportunities for new small businesses • Authorizing up to $25M to support arts, culture and the creative economy • Authorizing up to $25M for research and development of robotics technology • Implementing a 110% cap on ticket prices on resale platforms to prevent scalping; a new grant program to boost the cultural and economic vitality of downtown, cultural and nightlife districts; and a study to explore the feasibility of hosting a future international soccer tournament following the success of the FIFA World Cup • Banning cryptocurrency ATMs that are often used by scammers • Criminalizing the creation, possession or sharing of AI-generated child sexual abuse material • Prohibiting the possession, operation, manufacture or sale of robots that are equipped with weapons, including firearms, chemical agents, weaponized lasers and explosives, and banning the use of robots to criminally harass or physically restrain another person • Raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction to include 18 year olds for certain crimes — an initiative that has proven to decrease crime, increase public safety and improve economic outcomes • Allowing cities and towns to provide enhanced tax relief in the form of a rebate to lower- and middle-income taxpayers who already receive the residential tax exemption, by shifting more of the residential tax burden onto vacation homes DEVELOPMENT | SEE PAGE 13

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