YOUR LOCAL NEWS & SPORTS ONLINE. SCAN HERE! Vol. 36, No.7 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net oca Free Every Friday City, Revere Police Dept. Promote Two at City Hall Ceremony 781-286-8500 Friday, February 20, 2026 MassDevelopment Approves $23.5M Bond for 56-Unit Affordable Housing Project at 110 Ocean Ave. By Barbara Taormina M assDevelopment, the economic development arm of the state, has approved $23.5 million in taxexempt bond fi nancing for a 56-unit aff ordable housing project at 110 Ocean Ave. The building will consist of 32 units for households earning 50 percent or less of the area median income (AMI) and 24 units for households earnAPPROVES | SEE Page 5 Sergeant Matthew Leslie was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and Police Offi cer Jorge Romero to the rank of Sergeant during last Friday morning’s ceremony at City Hall with family, city and state offi cials in attendance. Shown from left to right: Mayor Patrick Keefe, Lt. Matthew Leslie, Sgt. Jorge Romero and Police Chief Maria LaVita. See photo highlights inside. (Advocate photo by Tara Vocino) MGH Care Van brings free primary, preventive health services to Revere residents By Barbara Taormina T he Commission on Disabilities hosted guest speaker Jared Craig, Mobil Operations Manager of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Community Care Van, a mobile health program. Craig presented an overview of the program’s mission and the free and low-cost services it brings to Revere. The MGH Care Van is part of the three-van fleet, with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Salem Hospital also operating vans. The program was launched during COVID to provide vaccines and care to those having trouble accessing care. Since then, it has expanded to off er free primary and preventive care to communities stretching from Mattapan to Salem. “We focus on areas where there have been historic diffi - culties getting access to care,” Craig told the commission. Craig repeatedly stressed that the van is free — “What we provide is free to anyone with or without insurance,” he said, adding that the goal is to bridge the gap between not having a primary care health provider to having primary care. Craig explained that the van’s multilingual and multicultural staff focuses on screening and educating residents about chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. The van also dispenses blood pressure cuff s and glucose monitors to help people with selfcare. The van devotes several days a week to assisting people with substance abuse disorders, said Craig, explaining that the ultimate goal is to get them into rehab. The van also provides care for pregnant women and postMGH CARE VAN | SEE Page 5 Catalina Hernandez and her parents enjoy the Valentine’s Day Family Brunch. Joanne McKenna Councillor-at-Large A.C. Whelan third grade families celebrate Valentine’s Day By Melissa Moore-Randall T hird graders at the A.C. Whelan School celebrated the holiday of love with their families at the Annual Valentine’s Day Family Brunch. Parents and teachers donated a variety of brunch items for students and their families to enjoy as they head into February vacation. Parents were guests of their students and were served a wonderful brunch, including bagels, muffi ns, yogurt, coff ee and CELEBRATE | SEE Page 3
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