Page 8 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 15, 2023 HONORED | FROM PAGE 1 for a late afternoon gathering to commemorate half a decade of employment at the school. Marquardo has been serving students and staff at MHS as part of the Malden Public Schools since 1972, the year she graduated from the very high school where she still works. She started working fresh out of high school as a secretary in various assistant principals’ offi ces, after two years as a student assistant to the secretaries in the offi ce of the late, legendary Malden High Principal Arthur P. Boyle. Marquardo has been a mainstay ever since, for most of the past decade, as an administrative assistant to ninth-year Director of Physical Education and Athletics Charlie Conefrey. Conefrey organized a recognition gathering for Jeanne’s 50th Anniversary of employment and said the toughest part was making it a surprise luncheon. “Jeanne knows everything that is going on, all the time,” said Conefrey. “It was no small task trying to keep it a secret, but we did.” Attending the big event was Malden Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy and Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, among many others. “Jeanne [Marquardo] has done VARSITY JACKET: Jeanne Marquardo received a Varsity Jacket with her name emblazoned on the sleeve. an amazing job here at Malden High School for all of the 50 years she has been serving the district, and we are so grateful for all her contributions,” Supt. Dr. Noriega-Murphy said at the event. Mayor Christenson presented Jeanne with an offi cial city citation commemorating her Golden 50 years of service. “We commend Jeanne Marquardo for all her years of service. It is rare but so appreciated when we have people like Jeanne serving the Malden community and Malden High School so well,” the Mayor said. Conefrey got right to the point when he spoke of Jeanne to those gathered. “We just could not run our athletic department without her,” he said. “I’m sure Jeanne gets asked a lot how many more years she will be working, but I always say Need a hall for your special event? The Schiavo Club, located at 71 Tileston Street, Everett is available for your Birthdays, Anniversaries, Sweet 16 parties and more? For more info, call (857) 249-7882 OFFICIAL CITATION: Malden Mayor Gary Christenson (left) delivered an offi cial City of Malden citation commemorating Jeanne Marquardo’s 50 years of service to the Malden Public Schools. She also received a commemorative crystal award and a Varsity Jacket. wherever she goes, I am going there, too!” For her part, Jeanne says working with the Athletic Department and at Malden High School for fi ve decades-plus is, of course, a “labor of love.” “I love working with the students, the staff here at Malden High School and the people you meet around other cities,” Marquardo said. “I also enjoy working with all the coaches through the years.... except when they don’t answer their emails!” she said with a PRESENTING A GIFT: Director of Physical Education and Athletics Charlie Conefrey embraced Jeanne Marquardo and presented her with the gift of a Golden Tornado Malden High Varsity Jacket on her 50 years with Malden Public Schools. smile. And to the “golden question,” what does her future hold? “I’m not going anywhere, this is where I belong,” she said. There is no one at Malden High School or across the district who would disagree! Many gathered to honor Administrative Assistant Jeanne Marquardo at a surprise luncheon held at Malden High School. JUDGE | FROM PAGE 1 representatives of Benevolent Botanicals, the group has spent over $200,000 in legal costs alone in an attempt in court to have Malden allow their business to begin operations. It could potentially prove to be a fi nancial liability for the City of Malden, should Benevolent Botanicals prevail in its lawsuit and the city was ordered to assume the legal costs of the plaintiff as part of a judgment in the plaintiff ’s favor. One example of a Malden-specific zoning restriction is that if a building has a cannabis business in it, no other businesses can share that space, eliminating many potential locations for cannabis shops, according to the complaint. Benevolent Botanicals also claims that Malden’s buff er zone laws go far beyond state regulations. Massachusetts law says that cannabis businesses cannot be opened within 500 feet of a school. But Malden’s laws further stipulate that cannabis establishments can’t be within 75 feet of residential and religious spaces, substance use treatment centers and daycares, and must be at least 250 feet from parks. Benevolent Botanicals’ proposed location at 926 Eastern Ave. meets state law 94G, regarding the school buff er zone, but it violates Malden’s laws because it’s just 61 feet from a residential property line – just 14 feet below the minimum. The lawyers for the dispensary compiled a list of parcels that are eligible for cannabis businesses under Malden’s laws and found 55 out of 13,400 properties and parcels in the city – less than one half of one percent – are eligible for cannabis. The only way Benevolent Botanicals could adhere to the zoning laws was to obtain a variance from the Malden Planning Board, which ultimately denied the variance request. In its decision, the city’s Planning Board ruled “there was not anything unique about Benevolent Botanicals to suggest that the city did not consider this type of parcel when it passed its zoning ordinance.”
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