Page 14 portant to be with my wife and daughters in those precious moments. The fi nal missed roll call was for a land conveyance in the town of Dunstable, taken at 4 a.m. at the very end of the session as I was caring for my newborn.” Sens. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) A note from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call Join me this Sunday night and every Sunday night between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. for my talk show “The Bob Katzen Baby Boomer and Gen X Show.” Jump in my time capsule and come back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. My guest on Sunday, February 14th on my WMEX 1510 AM Radio and online show will be Jay Gordon, a nationally known Elvis expert who hosted a renowned weekly nationally syndicated radio show “Elvis Only.” The show was all about the music and life of the King of rock ’n’ roll. Jay was also a disc jockey at the former Oldies 103 Radio, WZLX and many other Boston radio stations. His knowledge about and love for Elvis is unsurpassed. There are many ways you can listen to the show from anywhere in the world: • If you have a smart speaker, simply say, “Play WMEX on RADIO.COM” • Download the free RADIO. COM app on your phone or tablet • Listen online at: www.radio. com/1510wmex/listen • Tune into 1510 AM if you still have an AM radio THE HOUSE AND SENATE. There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local senators’ roll call attendance records for the entire 2020 session. The Senate held 330 roll calls in 2020. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator was present and voting and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record. In the Senate, 84.6 percent (33 senators) have 100 percent roll call attendance records. Only six senators have missed any roll calls. Beacon Hill Roll Call contacted these senators who missed roll calls and asked them for a statement. More senators have 100 percent roll call attendance records than in recent memory. This can be attributed to the fact that most senators were not at the Statehouse and participated in these Senate sessions remotely from their homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of senators who had 100 percent roll call attendance records in the prior four years was 28 in 2019; 20 in 2018; 24 in 2017; and 17 in 2016. The senator who missed the most roll calls is Sen. Nick Collins (D-Boston) who missed 12 roll calls (96.3 percent attendance record). “My wife and I were overjoyed to welcome our second daughter into the world last June,” said Collins. “As a result, I was unable to cast votes in person for several days. Eleven of the 12 votes I missed were while I was on paternity leave. It was incredibly imand Mike Rush (D-West Roxbury) each missed fi ve roll calls (98.4 percent attendance record). “On January 16, [2020] I was home with the flu,” responded Jehlen. “There were fi ve roll calls that I missed [that day]. It’s the only session I missed.” “I was out of state on offi cial orders, training with the U.S. Navy from January 10, 2020 to January 19, 2020,” wrote Rush. Former Sen. James Welch missed two roll calls. He could not be reached for comment. Sens. Michael Rodrigues (DWestport) and Barry Finegold (DAndover) each missed one roll call. “I was in session participating in the debate on the climate change bill and I don’t remember missing a roll call,” responded Rodrigues. Finegold did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call for a comment. 2020 FINAL SENATE ROLL CALL ATTENDANCE RECORD The percentage listed next to the senator’s name is the percentage of roll call votes for which the senator was present and voting. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that he or she missed. Sen. Joseph Boncore 100 percent (0) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of February 1-5, the House met for a total of six minutes while the Senate met for a total of eleven minutes. Mon. February 1 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:05 a.m. Senate 11:11 a.m. to 11:16 a.m. Tues. February 2 No House session No Senate session Wed. February 3 No House session No Senate session Thurs. February 4 House 11:02 a.m. to 11:06 a.m. Senate 11:27 a.m. to 11:33 a.m. Fri. February 5 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com A fi re fi ghter’s silhouette can be seen dousing water to the Mountain Avenue fi re. Revere Fire Chief Chris Bright is shown commanding fi re fi ghters at 242 Mountain Ave. during Saturday night. (Photo courtesy of Peter Aloisi) THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 PLAN | FROM Page 1 development of the G&J Towing site. Currently, Redgate Development is looking to develop the towing lot into approximately 250 to 300 units, according to city planning chief Robert O’Brien. “It’s been a really fantastic project to be a part of,” said state Representative and CouncillorAt-Large Jessica Ann Giannino. “This team has put a lot of time and eff ort to make sure this is not only something that is great thing for the city in the short term, but also in the long term.” She said one of the most important features of the plan is that it is beneficial to the local neighborhoods by making sure that it addresses flooding issues. Consultant David Bois of Arrowstreet said the plan addresses how some existing assets, FIRE | FROM Page 1 But fate would deal a heavier toll on the local jakes hours later as a 3-alarm was called for multiple calls at 242 Mountain Ave. for a working fi re. Mutual aid included outside companies from the neighboring cities and towns of Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Lynn, Boston and Massport, according to the report. With the rear of the building now a wall of fi re and the roof burned through and collapsed in places, Revere and Chelsea Ladder companies targeted their ladder pipes and with copious amounts of water on the fi re, according to the report. There were multiple slips and falls during fi re operations with the winter conditions adding to the diffi culty of fi ghting the fi re. Thankfully, only one Revere fi refi ghter was injured from a hand laceration while venting a window. Thirteen people, including 3 children were displaced from the fi re. Revere Fire Dept. staff were able to connect Red Cross and CAPIC along with Mayor Brian Arrigo’s Offi ce Outreach to provide services and support. In the official report, Chief Christopher Bright stated, “The Covid-19 Pandemic has presentRevere fi re fi ghters are shown battling the blaze at 242 Mountain Ave. which was destroyed in the aftermath. Thirteen people were left homeless and a fund has been set up to help. (Photo courtesy of Peter Aloisi) such as the boat works and a pier, can be used. He said another big aspect of the project is creating better access to the waterfront, through both the public and private development. The traffi c portion of the plan includes a tighter ramping system that allows access to Gibson Park without having it travel through the Riverside neighborhood. “The improvements at the park will generate additional trips to the park,” said Bois. “Right now, all the trips have to go through the Riverside neighborhood, and that seemed like an undue burden on the neighborhood.” One of the next steps for the riverfront area will be to identify and secure funding for the public portions of the development, Bois said, adding that the traffic improvements should take priority before extensive improvements are made to Gibson Park. “This is going to invigorate a piece of property in our city that has been grossly underused,” said former City Solicitor and Point of Pines resident Robert Marra. “This project really changes the face of the city, especially coming in from the North Shore.” Marra said the Riverfront Master Plan addresses fl ooding and traffi c and provides additional recreational space for residents. “I don’t live in the neighborhood, but I’ve been talking about it since I have been in Revere for 17 years that the waterfront needs to be activated from the front side, which is the beach side, and from the back side, which I think should be the recreation side with the boating and kayaking using Riverside (Boatworks),” said Ward 4 City Councillor Patrick Keefe. ed all fi refi ghters with endless challenges this past year. I am proud to report that, without exception, our fi refi ghters have responded and met every hazard that confronted them. They have risen to the occasion to overcome all the diffi cult challenges they faced. They inspire and motivate me to work harder to be the best Chief I can be. And I am proud and eternally grateful to lead such a brave force of fi refi ghters.” The fi re remains under investigation.
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