Page 4 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2023 Board of Health suspends retail tobacco licenses, administers fines for violations By Barbara Taormina he Revere Board of Health recently focused its attention on the sale of cigarettes to minors under the age of 21. At a meeting earlier this month, board members heard a report from Bonny Carroll, director of the Six-City Tobacco Initiative, which uses undercover, underaged customers to determine if retailers are following state laws that regulate tobacco sales. During December, fi ve local businesses were found in violation of those laws. Carroll said they were issued cease and desist orders, fi ned $1,000 and had T their tobacco sales license suspended for three days. The owners of several of the businesses were at the meeting to appeal the fi nes and suspensions. Attorney Cosmo Karololos, who represented Gio Liquors, explained the facts surrounding the violation. Karalolos said his client had been in business on Broadway for four years with no prior violations. The employee who failed to check an ID and made the sale was relatively new and has since been fi red. Karalolos also presented Gio Liquors’ plans for compliance, which include employee training, an employee manual and software that can scan and check IDs. Karalolos asked that the $1,000 fi ne be remitted. Dr. Drew Bunker, chairman of the board, said Gio’s response was what health offi cials hope to see in the wake of a violation. You’ve done everything you could do, he told the owner of Gio’s. However, he said the board would have to move forward with the fi ne and suspension. “I don’t feel good about it, but unfortunately, we have to follow the law,” he said, adding that the city could fi nd itself in legal trouble if they didn’t. According to Carroll, the new state law requires that anyone buying cigarettes or tobacco products must present an ID, no matter their age. Speedway, Beachmont Liquors, State Road Liquors and Olympia Market were also found in violation of state tobacco laws. She distributed signs and information for retailers about how to check IDs. Bunker said the board understood that mistakes happen but the violations were something the board takes very seriously. “The law is the law, and we have to abide by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and what the City of Revere has adopted,” said Michael Wells, the city’s director of inspectional services. “It’s steep and I think why they made the fi nes so steep is so people learn from their fi rst violation.” A second violation carries a $2,000 fi ne and a seven-day suspension. A third violation means a loss of a tobacco sales license. Members voted unanimously to uphold the fi nes and suspensions. RevereTV Spotlight T 4.25 %APY* Special 9 Month CD Watch your savings soar! Ask about our in-home or IMPRESSIVE INTEREST AND A SHORT TERM JUST MAKES SENSE. Here’s your chance to run the numbers in your favor. Everett Bank’s 9 Month CD with an amazing 4.25% APY* Easily calculate better earnings with Everett Bank’s 9 Month CD. Go to everettbank.com for details. he RevereTV Kitchen Studio is bustling as we enter Febru*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of the date posted and is subject to change without notice. APY assumes that interest ary! Along with the typical cooking shows, RTV has coordinated with CityLab High School to provide a venue for a cooking class led by a local guest chef. In their fi rst class, they kept it simple: The students learned to bake biscuits. RevereTV will continue to work with CityLab to help as a venue for these students throughout the term. The RevereTV staff members are always excited when the kitchen is busy, whether the action is recorded for programming or not. Victoria Fabbo premiered a new episode of “Fabulous Foods” on Wednesday, and it will be playing again tonight at 7 p.m.! Victoria made a Cape Verdean dish inspired by her best friend. The meal was a dinner dish with shrimp, rice, mixed vegetables and beans. This will be Victoria’s third episode of her own program but her fi fth time at RevereTV. She began leading the audience through recipes on “Cooking Made Simple,” which is a program produced by RTV that features volunteer guests from the community. If you are interested in sharing your personal recipes on television and live in Revere, check out some episodes of “Cooking Made Simple” to see if you’d want to give it a try yourself. All cooking programs produced by RTV are posted to YouTube in playlists accordingly. This week’s “Game of the Week” was the RHS boys’ basketball team versus Medford on Tuesday. Every game covered by RTV plays live on Facebook, YouTube and television. Games then replay in the following weeks. You can still watch basketball games, including the girls’ team, on the Community Channel. The RHS girls’ basketball team vs. Everett and Lynn Classical, and the RHS boys’ basketball team vs. Medford are now in the channel rotation. The RTV Community Channel is 8/1072 for Comcast subscribers and 3/614 on RCN. February’s City of Revere meetings began Wednesday with the Conservation Commission and then yesterday with the Human Rights Commission. There is the option for a Spanish translation of Human Rights Commission Meetings and City Council Meetings on YouTube. City government meetings play on RTV GOV in a few diff erent daily rotations, usually scheduled in order by date. You can still view the latest Traffi c Commission, Revere City Council, Board of Health and the meetings from this week on RTV GOV. All City of Revere meetings are posted on RevereTV’s YouTube page to be viewed at your convenience. As a reminder, RTV GOV is channel 9 on Comcast and 13/613 for RCN subscribers. 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? Call Dennis at (857) 249-7882 for details.
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