YOUR LOCAL NEWS & SPORTS ONLINE. SCAN HERE! Vol. 35, No.37 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net oca Free Every Friday ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL Councillor at Large Candidate McKenna Hosts Packed Reception 781-286-8500 Friday, September 12, 2025 Mayor, city officials try to allay concerns over McKinley School radio tower By Barbara Taormina T he city responded to the pushback on the 145-foot WELCOME: Councillor Joanne McKenna greets Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino Sawaya, Ward 6 Councillor Paul Argenzio, Mayor Patrick Keefe, School Committee member John Kingston, Councillor Anthony Cogliandro, and candidate for School Committee at Large Ralph DeCicco at her campaign reception at VIVI’s Tapas Bar on Revere Beach. See page 12-13 for photo highlights. (Revere Advocate photo) New Police Officers take oaths outside City Hall By Tara Vocino I t was a beautiful day for a swearing-in ceremony for four new police officers who all happen to be Revere High School graduates as they took their oaths outside of Revere City Hall on Tuesday. Patrolmen Robert Kjersgard, Kevin Claros Arango, Jarrod Natola and Alejandro Ochoa were congratulated by Mayor Patrick Keefe, Police Chief LaVita and their families. REVERE POLICE | SEE Page 14 radio tower for the regional emergency call center that will be part of the McKinley School redevelopment project at this week’s City Council meeting. Mayor Patrick Keefe, Chief of Planning and Community Development Tom Skwierawski and the project team were at the meeting at the request of the council, to answer questions about the tower and its eff ects on the surrounding McKinley neighborhood. Keefe introduced the project and emphasized the tower is a critical piece of infrastructure needed to assure Revere and Winthrop and Chelsea, which are part of the regional emergency call center, have an adequate public safety communications system in place. Keefe ran through a list of alternative sites that were considered for the call center, including the Beachmont Fire Station, which has no available parking, as well as several locations in Winthrop. He explained that the tower will provide backup if the system’s fiber communications are disabled and it will allow fi rst responders to communicate when they are inside buildings in emergency situations. “But the biggest questions you want answered are can we reduce the size, change it, can we look at another place for it. The answer is yes, yes to all of that. We are going to ask for a study. It will cost a few dollars; 911 will be paying for that and it may entail reducing the size of the tower,” said Keefe. But Keefe also said the tower is coming. “We’re doing this site, we’re doing it for public safety, that is not up for debate,” Keefe told the council, adding, “It’s not as big and burdensome as you may think.” Skwierawski said the study could lead to a 40-foot reduction of the tower, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. RADIO TOWER | SEE Page 21 CLASSMATES: From high school to police academy, shown from left to right, are: new Revere patrolmen Alejandro Ochoa, Kevin Arango, Robert Kjersgard, and Jarrod Natola during Tuesday’s swearing in ceremony outside of Revere City Hall. (Advocate photos by Tara Vocino)
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