YOUR LOCAL NEWS & SPORTS ONLINE. SCAN HERE! Vol. 36, No.15 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net oca Free Every Friday Navy veteran gets a surprise birthday party from police, social worker Advocate Staff Report U .S. Navy Veteran Waneta West celebrated her 89th birthday with a surprise party from the Revere Police last Wednesday afternoon. “Police make sure I’m okay, and they care about their citizens,” said West, a Korean War veteran, who was picked up from her Shirley Avenue home. SURPRISE | SEE Page 8 781-286-8500 Friday, April 17, 2026 Fire officials brief Revere City Council on safety, risks of proposed battery storage facility Advocate Staff Report HAPPY BIRTHDAY WANETA: Shown from left to right: Police Chief Maria LaVita, Mayor Patrick Keefe, birthday girl Waneta West and clinician Kate Moore at the veteran’s birthday celebration. (Advocate photo by Tara Vocino) ire Chief James Cullen and Captain Kevin O’Hara met with the City Council at their meeting this week to provide a public safety briefi ng regarding the proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility on Muzzey Street. The BESS is described as a large-scale industrial facility with lithiumion battery units that would store electricity and discharge it during peak demand. The facility is expected to support the grid and store energy from solar installations. Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley requested the meeting with the chief to learn about emergency response considerations, fi re suppression strategies, hazardous materials considerations, potential evacuation procedures, coordinaF tion with public safety agencies and any training, equipment or operational planning needed. In her motion, Kelley said, “The purpose of this presentation is to ensure that the City Council and the public have a clear understanding of the public safety preparedness and emergency response planning associated with a project of this magnitude.” “These facilities are starting to happen around the Commonwealth,” Mayor Patrick Keefe told the council. Keefe said the city has not yet signed any formal agreement for the facility. “We wanted to make sure the Fire Department was fully on board and equipped with the necessary training and equipment. We FIRE OFFICIALS | SEE Page 8 Mass. House passes bill to protect children from social media, prohibit cell phones in schools Also requires school districts to educate students on responsible use of social media Special to Th e Advocate O n April 8, 2026, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed (129-25) An Act to promote student learning and mental health, which requires social media companies to implement age verifi - cation systems to prohibit users under the age of 14, and to require parental consent from prospective social media users aged 14 and 15. Additionally, the bill protects students from distracting technology during the school day by prohibiting the use of cell phones from school arrival through dismissal. The bill also requires districts to educate students in age-appropriate ways about the responsible use of social media, including potential harms to emotional and mental health and bullying. In 2025 a diff erent version of the bill was passed by the Massachusetts Senate. The bill now goes back to the Senate to reconcile the bills’ differences. “This bill will protect children from harmful content and addictive algorithms, and ensure that our students are able to focus in the classroom without the distraction from cell phones,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (DQuincy). “I would like to thank Chairman Michlewitz, Leader Peisch and Chairman Gordon for all their work on this bill, and all my House colleagues for recognizing the imporMASS. HOUSE | SEE Page 5 Jessica Ann Giannino State Representative Jeff rey Rosario Turco State Representative
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