Page 8 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024 ~ GUEST COMMENTARY ~ City Council Unanimously Sets Stage for Climate Conversation By Councillor-at-Large Juan Pablo Jaramillo A t Monday’s council meeting, the Revere City Council set the stage to have more intentional conversations around climate and its eff ects on the residents of Revere by establishing a new sub-committee for the fi rst time in at least a decade. The motion presented by Councillor Juan Pablo Jaramillo established the “Climate, Sustainability, and Workforce” Sub-Committee. The purpose of this sub-committee will be to focus on any motion or ordinance change proposals relative to short- and long-term eff ects of climate change, the solutions needed to address climate change from a systemic approach, from climate resiliency to the energy transition, and the important role that workers play in the development and sustainability of our city as a whole and in the just transition toward a greener future. Councillor-at-Large Juan Pablo Jaramillo, who is a labor and environmental advocate at the state level, remarked that “hundred-year storms are happening every twenty years, and that the climate crisis must be tackled at the city, state, and municipal” level, adding that we must create the space to have the conversations around climate and as we “we pride ourselves on being a working-class city, we must fi nd the solutions needed from a worker centered approach.” According to the U.S. EPA, the “climate of Massachusetts is changing. The Commonwealth has warmed by more than two degrees (F) in the last century. Throughout the northeastern United States, spring is arriving earlier and bringing more precipitation, heavy rainstorms are more frequent, and summers are hotter and drier. Sea level is rising, and severe storms increasingly cause floods that damage property and infrastructure. In the coming decades, the changing climate is likely to increase fl ooding, harm ecosystems, disrupt fi shing and farming, and increase some risks to human health. Our climate is changing because the earth is warming. People have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the air by 40 percent since the late 1700s.” Revere is no stranger to catastrophic climate events as we experienced in the wake of Hurricane Sandy where flooding was so bad that fi sh entered people’s basements. Jaramillo added that to curb the worst eff ects of climate change, we need to make the intentional decision to be part of the 351 city and town strategy needed to meet the state’s 425r Broadway, Saugus Located adjacent to Kohls Plaza Route 1 South in Saugus at the intersection of Walnut Street We are on MBTA Bus Route 429 781-231-1111 We are a Skating Rink with Bowling Alleys, Arcade and two TV’s where the ball games are always on! PUBLIC SKATING SCHEDULE 12-7 p.m. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday $9.00 Price includes Roller Skates Rollerblades/inline skates $3.00 additional cost Private Parties 7:30-11 p.m. $10.00 Price includes Roller Skates Adult Night 18+ Only Private Parties Private Parties 4-7 p.m. $9.00 12-9 p.m. 7:30-11 p.m. $10. 18+ Adults Only After 7 PM $9.00 Everyone must pay admission after 6 p.m. Sorry No Checks - ATM on site Roller skate rentals included in all prices Inline Skate Rentals $3.00 additional BIRTHDAY & PRIVATE PARTIES AVAILABLE www.roller-world.com Councillor asks why crime reports aren’t published in the local newspapers By Barbara Taormina I n an eff ort to ensure the community has all available public safety information, Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley this week proposed that the city hold a public hearing on an ordinance that would require certain information from the police department to be made public. “In days gone past, we had the police blotter in local papers,” said Kelley, who suggested that information about local crime, such as neighborhood breakins, is valuable to the public. “Even if it’s just general information, with no names or addresses, just general information where residents can go and see information about crime in the community,” explained Kelley. Councillors agreed to send Kelley’s motion to the Health & Human Services Subcommittee for review although there were concerns. Councillor-at-Large Juan Pablo Jaramillo stressed that the council should look at the proposal through a human lens and avoid doing harm to those struggling with poverty and substance abuse. Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri pointed out that an arrest doesn’t always lead to a conviction, and publishing arrest records isn’t fair to those who were charged but innocent of crimes. Councillors questioned whether local newspapers should be asked to carry police records. The Revere Advocate no longer publishes police logs and is not inclined to revive the practice. “The Advocate’s position is that we stopped publishing the arrest logs due to the number of people calling requesting to have them removed due to their arrest being found by would-be employers following a Google search,” said James Mitchell, owner/publisher and editor of The Advocate Newspapers, Inc., which publishes The Revere Advocate. “Since everyone who is arrested is ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ I decided years ago to remove the arrest logs from The Advocate website and discontinue publishing arrests to give those who chose to lead a good life a chance to succeed by removing the online “scarlet letter”. So many I have spoken to throughout the years who ask for my help to have their name removed provided a good reason in making my decision and I’m glad I did. Everyone deserves a chance to succeed in life - why should one mistake follow them for the rest of their lives?” said Mitchell. With respect to crime reports, which provide the weekly number of crimes reported, such as break-ins, robberies, etc. each week in the city, that could be something provided by the police dept. but it has never been off ered. The majority of major crimes reported in Revere must go through the Massachusetts district attorney’s offi ce while under investigation before a news outlet is notifi ed. For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 781-286-8500 or Info@advocatenews.net emission goals and sustainability standards that will protect our residents. Councillor McKenna pointed to the situation at Pearl Avenue, where flooding is “destroying property and foundations” while adding her support for the motion. McKenna’s ward 1 sits mostly along Revere’s southern coast and inundation is habitual and aging coastal infrastructure is threatening the homes of thousands in the Beachmont Neighborhood. Councillor Guarino-Sawaya, who represents the Point of Pines, Riverside, and Oak Island, also chimed in in support of the motion to create the sub-committee, advocating fi ercely for those communities which are all adversely aff ected by coastal erosion and fl ooding. Guarino-Sawaya’s ward is also the most closely impacted by the trash incinerator in neighboring Saugus which has been a source of environmental and health concerns for decades. The power to create sub-committees lies solely on the Council President but in a demonstration of collaborative leadership, President Cogliandro allowed this motion to come to the fl oor of the council session recognizing the importance of the climate conversation in public. “New blood on the council brings new ideas and new leadership. I’m excited to see Councillor Jaramillo tackling climate and coastal issues through a new city council sub-committee,” said President Cogliandro. Jaramillo thanked President Cogliandro for “his support in this endeavor and his recognition of the whole government approach needed to tackle such complex issues.” Beachmont resident Ed Deveau spoke in support of the newly created sub-committee and expressed that he hoped that this committee would elevate the conversation around some of the sea wall infrastructure in Beachmont. President Cogliandro named Councillor Jaramillo as Chair of the new sub-committee, adding Councillors Novoselsky, Guarino-Sawaya, and McKenna, who all represent coastal neighborhoods of Revere along with Councillor Silvestri.
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