THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 Page 15 ~ GUEST COMMENTARY ~ The Christian Flag Raised at Revere City Hall By Sal Giarratani T his past April, the Christian fl ag was raised in Boston’s City Hall Plaza at the fl agpole area when a lawsuit was fi led against the City of Boston barring a group headed by Hal Shurtleff of Camp Constitution in New Hampshire and other Christian groups. It went all the way up to the US Supreme Court and, by a 9-0 vote, it forced the city to allow the fl ag to be raised at the fl agpole site and was attended by a large crowd of supporters. I attended this ceremony because we are living in troubled times. Everyone is getting pitted against the other. We have lost many of our values that created this democratic republic of ours. We have lost respect for our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We have lost respect for our founding fathers. We have lost respect for our American fl ag. In a few years’ time, we will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of our nation; how will we celebrate it? I know how we celebrated the Bicentennial when I was still 20-something. We were proud to be Americans like Lee Greenwood sings. We respected our past and knew we weren’t perfect. Today, we seem eager to throw away our historical past and its founders who sacrifi ced all to make our liberty possible. Getting back to earlier this month when the Camp Constitution group was allowed to raise their Christian fl ag again on the fl agpole outside Revere City Hall where another sizable crowd showed up again for the ceremony. Speaking at this fl ag raising ceremony was Shurtleff , along with a number of speakers, including Rev. Timothy Borgertman from the First Congregational Church of Revere. The Christian flag was first conceived on September 26, 1897, at Brighton Chapel on Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY. The superintendent of a Sunday school, Charles C. Overton, gave an impromptu lecture to the students assembled after the scheduled speaker failed to show up. One thing led to another and shazam a Christian fl ag was born. Nowadays in our public schools, too many school systems make standing for the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag optional. One time doing so wasn’t even a student choice. No wonder we have so many young people who don’t know the fi rst thing about our country and the work and sacrifi ce taken to make it so. For those who think our fl ag isn’t good enough to stand for, look around the world at countries that permit little if any freedom to its citizenry. We aren’t a perfect place yet and may never be but at least we have our personal freedom to do as we wish. Just look around this world of ours and try picking a country better than ours. I haven’t found one yet. I say God Bless the USA from the Atlantic to the Pacifi c (even California)! Mass Broadband poised to help Gateway Cities win the future Advocate Staff Report T he Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) issued a much-anticipated request for proposal (RFP) for the Digital Equity Partnership Program last week. Drawing on resources from the state’s new Digital Equity Fund, the program will support several key strategies to close the digital divide, including the following: • Digital literacy training programs to help residents build skills to use digital technologies • Eff orts to distribute computers and other devices to underserved residents • Free Wi-Fi in aff ordable housing developments • Free Wi-Fi in public spaces, such as libraries, community centers and commercial corridors • Outreach to help residents take advantage of digital literacy training and low-cost internet service plans These funds can go to regional planning agencies, community foundations, public and nonprofi t internet services providers and other nonprofi ts in a position to advance digital equity. Digital equity coalitions or other partnerships with a lead agency may also apply. The Digital Equity Partnership Program aligns closely with the recommendations outlined in the digital equity policy blueprint of the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC). With the creation of a Municipal Digital Equity Planning Program, MBI is also advancing the most urgent recommendation in the blueprint. Cities will be able to access skilled consultants to help assess their needs and develop comprehensive digital equity strategies. These plans will then roll up into the state digital equity plan and help determine how Massachusetts allocates the large windfall it will receive for broadband through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The resources MBI will be deploying in the coming months present a transformative opportunity for Gateway Cities. Digital technology has increasingly large implications for education, workforce development, health and well-being and housing and economic development. With these dollars, burgeoning digital equity eff orts in several Gateway Cities will be able to expand. Gateway Cities that have yet to develop digital equity strategies can now access funding and support to launch robust eff orts without further delay. The creation of a fellowship program for digital equity is the only near-term MassINC recommendation that MBI has yet to adopt. Three-year fellowship positions modeled on MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative appear to be more critical than ever. Staff capacity is severely constrained in municipal governments. Even on a good day, few Gateway Cities have personnel on hand with expertise in digital equity issues. A fellowship program run by a sophisticated, statewide, quasi-public agency will have the reach necessary to recruit, train and support professionals who can lead comprehensive digital equity campaigns. In the coming years, broadband investments will occur alongside other infrastructure upgrades in Gateway Cities. Anyone who has attempted to address more than one utility when digging up city streets will tell you that this coordination is complex and extremely time-consuming. Staff with infrastructure expertise and the ability to lead crossfunctional teams will be more in demand than ever. With a strong fellowship program, MBI can put Gateway City governments in a better position to win the future. U PENALTY RELIEF FROM THE IRS nder IRS Notice 202236 released by the IRS in August, taxpayers will receive automatic relief from failure to fi le penalties for calendar years 2019 and 2020. Over 1.6million taxpayers have already received late fi ling penalty notices and many have already paid the balances due. The IRS expects to issue refund checks approximating $1.2 billion. The abatement of penalties will be automatic. Taxpayers are not required to request abatement of these penalties. The IRS should have made payment of these refunds to taxpayers by the end of September. The IRS has been so backed up since the pandemic, don’t be surprised if they send out checks well into October or even November. All 2019 and 2020 tax returns will need to be fi led by September 30, 2022 in order to receive the relief from the failure to fi le penalties. This relief granted by the Internal Revenue Service is intended to help struggling taxpayers that were aff ected by the COVID-19 pandemic and to allow it to focus on processing the millions of tax returns that have not been processed as well as millions of taxpayer correspondence letters received by the IRS. The IRS is hoping to return back to normal for the 2023 tax fi ling season. It has been next to impossible to reach the IRS by phone. Even the Priority Hotline dedicated to CPA’s and enrolled agents has been nearly impossible to get through to over the past two years. The types of tax returns eligible for relief would be Form 1040, 1041, 1120, 1120-S, 1065, 990, 990-PF, 990-T and several others. Another reason for the penalty relief is that additions to tax or penalties for failure to timely fi le returns continued to accrue during periods of postponed filing dates for both 2019 and 2020 under the presidential emergency declaration in March of 2020 in response to the pandemic. The AICPA and other groups and firms have repeatedly advocated that the IRS provide failure to fi le and other penalty relief under procedures similar to those for a fi rst-time abatement administrative waiver, but based upon the COVID-19 pandemic as reasonable cause for the failure. Joseph D. Cataldo is an Estate Planning/Elder Law Attorney, Certifi ed Public Accountant, Certifi ed Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation. FIRE OPS | FROM Page 1 vere Fire Fighters Local 926 IAFF. Thank you for all that you do.” Rep. Giannino’s family are no strangers to public safety as her grandfather, Christy Giannino was a Revere fi refi ghter and her dad, Chris is a longtime Revere Police Sergeant. State Rep. Jessica Giannino and a PFFM instructor. (Photo courtesy of Joe Brooks)
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