Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023 ~ POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENT ~ Vanessa Biasella announces her candidacy for Revere School Committee V anessa DiCologero Biasella, candidate for election to the Revere School Committee. Vanessa is a lifelong resident of Revere; her husband, Michael with their four children, own a home in North Revere. Two of their sons are RHS Graduates, while the younger two are students at the elementary and middle school level in Revere Public Schools. She is currently employed by Lynn Public Schools as a high school Special Education Liaison and Special Educator where she teaches 9th through 12th grade. Her current role as a special education teacher and experience as an early childhood educator, as well as a parent, a business administrator, and school/community volunteer all give her a unique, fresh, and relevant point of view that she would bring to the Revere School Committee. Her business experiences dealt specifi cally with payroll, taxes, licenses, contracts, customer relations, and timelines; she also has experience in negotiating contracts, and has had many successful contributions towards brokering agreements that benefi t both sides of the table. Recently, Vanessa has advocated for local families navigating the IEP process in Revere and surrounding communities and is involved in her Childrens’ schools PTAs. She also has advocated for access to higher learning opportunities such as Dual Enrollment/Early College, and for alternative pathways such as trade training, internships, and apprenticeship opportunities. She is a tireless community volunteer and was recently recognized by the City Council for taking on the Northern Strand Bike Trail clean-up project as a family endeavor - months of dedicated labor went into collecting many discarded items of trash, amounting to dozens of bags of trash from the delicate eco system along the trail which borders the marsh. Throughout the COVID crisis, Vanessa donated her time as a deliverer of PPE and food to shut-ins along with assisting with fi lling bags for distribution. The North Revere Urban Trail Grant was secured by Vanessa in which they were awarded 1700.00 as a result. Vanessa has volunteered from childhood to the present day, all in the name of leaving Revere better than she found it. You can hear her say that to her children as she instills these values of responsibility in them. The list is long and can be found on her website: Biasellacommittee.com. This is Vanessa’s second candidacy for a seat on the school committee and your support is vital to our success. If you City Council approves special permit for Salem St. affordable housing development Former nursing home to become 72-unit affordable housing in North Revere By Barbara Taormina F ollowing a favorable recommendation from the Zoning Subcommittee, the City Council voted to approve a change in the special permit for Broadway Capital CDPM, Inc. to increase the number of aff ordable units within a 72-unit development at 133 Salem St., the site of the former Annemark Nursing Home. The developers originally proposed including seven aff ordable units but were seeking to increase that to 18 aff ordable units in order to qualify for a $4.5 million state grant from MassHousing to encourage development of aff ordable housing. Zoning Subcommittee members welcomed the idea of bringing more affordable homes to Revere, but they were not all pleased with the terms. As part of the grant application, the developer is required to show city support for the project. Chief of Planning and Community Development Tom Skwierawski recommended waiving the developer’s required contribution of mitigation money to the Community Improvement Trust Fund. But several committee members opposed that plan, and Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto questioned the legality of such a waiver. The next idea was to waive permitting fees, but Skwierawski said the fees had been paid and that wasn’t possible. So Skwierawski and developer Mikael Vienneau turned to the city’s Aff ordable Housing Trust Fund and received a commitment for $100,000 to fund the project and demonstrate Revere’s support. “My problem with this is it’s costing the city instead of the developer,” said Zoning Subcommittee member Gerry Visconti. “Instead of putting money into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, you’re getting $100,000.” Ward 6 Councillor Richard Serino said he understood the concern that the city was putting in money that should be covered by the developer but added that it wasn’t the developer’s idea. “This is a good faith requirement from the state,” said Serino. Zambuto suggested that the council’s willingness to amend the project’s special permit should be enough evidence of a “buy in” from the city. But other committee members agreed with Skwierawski that Revere’s need for affordable housing trumped other concerns. “Revere is in desperate need of aff ordable housing so please guys, let’s pass this and make it happen,” said Skwierawski. Both the Subcommittee and the City Council passed the request to change the special permit. Serino stressed again that the project is essentially the same and there is no increase in the fi nal number of condos. For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 781-286-8500 or Info@advocatenews.net call The A e Newspapers hear of Vanessa, you hear people speak of her passion, her tenacity, her honesty, and integrity; these are not simply buzz words, this is how she lives and how she raises her children. The School Committee does not have a current teacher to speak about the day-to-day experiences of today’s educator – Vanessa is the only candidate currently employed as a K-12 teacher; it is crucial for us to have one serving Revere. Having Vanessa on the School Committee gives the public a voice. “My pledge to you is to be completely transparent and always available to you, and to serve the community with no preconceived agendas. I want to be your voice; I ask that you cast one of your six votes for me, Vanessa Biasella, for Revere School Committee, on November 7th, 2023.” – Vanessa Biasella Inquiries: email: biasellacommittee@gmail.com. Facebook: @Committee to Elect Vanessa Biasella. Website: Biasellacommittee.com RevereTV Spotlight B arktober Fest was a success! Many Revere residents came out with their furry friends, who participated in pet friendly activities and a costume contest. Watch RevereTV’s coverage of the event on the Community Channel and YouTube. All of RTV’s video packages from community events are posted to the studio’s YouTube page. This includes Fright Night from this past Saturday and all other fallthemed events from this season. Almost all of RevereTV’s most recent fi eld coverage has been led by youth correspondent, Manique Khessouane. She lights up the screen as she takes the audience through interviews with attendees and organizers. RevereTV will also be at the Pumpkin Dash this weekend, so keep an eye out for that. The Italian Flag Raising Ceremony is now scheduled to the Community Channel but can be viewed on YouTube at your convenience. Speakers at the event included Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe, Representatives Jessica Giannino and Jeff rey Turco, and other Italian American community members. The event was open to everyone and took place on the lawn of City Hall, as do all of the community fl ag raisings. This ceremony was held for Italian Heritage Month. The RTV Community Channel is 8/1072 on Comcast and 3/614 on RCN. Be sure to watch the Revere Mayoral Debate this upcoming Tuesday, October 24, at Revere High School. RevereTV will be streaming this live from the start at 7 p.m. on RTV GOV and YouTube. Replays of the debate will be scheduled up until Election Day, but it can always be watched on YouTube. RTV GOV is also where you can watch all city government meetings live and as reruns. This week’s meetings include Committee of the Whole, Zoning Sub-Committee, Revere City Council, License Commission, a Gibson Park Public Meeting, and Traffi c Commission. Candidates on the General Election ballot are now recording video statements with RevereTV. Each candidate is off ered to schedule a time to record a statement in studio, or to submit their own video package under fi ve minutes. All candidate statements for the General Election will be posted at once starting in a few weeks. Videos will play in the order their names appear on the ballot until Election Day (November 7). These candidate statements will soon be playing on RTV GOV and in specifi c new playlists on YouTube to be viewed and shared. Check back to the RevereTV Spotlight or subscribe to RevereTV on social media to get a heads up on the day these videos will be posted. RTV GOV is channel 9 for Comcast subscribers and channel 13/613 on RCN.
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