Page 16 PROTECT | FROM Page 10 ful distribution of sexually explicit visual materials: First fi led in 2017, the proposal modernizes the laws governing the distribution of sexually explicit images and empowers District Attorneys with additional tools to protect children. Under this proposal, the fi rst step in an explicit images case involving a minor will be to enroll the minor in an educational diversion program rather than go through the juvenile justice process and potentially have the minor committed to the Department of Youth Services. While District Attorneys and the Attorney General will still have the right to bypass educational diversion programs in certain instances, the focus will now be on educational diversion rather than legal punishment. Current Massachusetts law calls for minors who engage in peer-to-peer distribution of sexually explicit visual material to be subject to prosecution for the distribution or possession of child pornography. This legislation seeks to update the law consistent with our lives and 21st-century technology. Should a case proceed to the juvenile justice system, this bill affords district attorneys the discretion to decide whether a minor should be charged with a misdemeanor rather than a felony. The fl exibility provided under this law will help ensure that minors who do not belong in the juvenile justice system do not wind up there. This legislation also seeks to close a loophole under current law by creating penalties for adults who distribute a sexually explicit image for purposes of revenge or embarrassment. While current law addresses nonconsensual recording of an unsuspecting person, it does not address instances where someone distributes an image without consent regardless of whether the initial image may have been taken with consent. This legislation closes the gap in state law by creating a new felony off ense and empowering judges in criminal proceedings to ensure that an explicit image in question is permanently destroyed. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2021 BUILDING | FROM Page 1 high school then being demolished to replicate the playing fi elds on that portion of the property. In addition, the building committee is considering a high school plan that could include the renovation of the current fi eld house in addition to a new building, rather than building the gym into the new high school. However, Dakin said that option could severely impact high school sports for close to two years, since the fi eld house would be inaccessible. Each option would see a new high school open for students in the summer of 2026, according to Brian Dakin of Leftfi eld. Dakin highlighted some of the benefi ts and disadvantages of each site, as well as potential overall costs of the project and the cost to the city. All three building options come in at an initial cost estimate of over $400 million, according to Dakin, but those numbers will be revised in the coming months as a site is selected and schematic planning gets underway for the selected option. “We’re confi dent that by the time we are picking one of these, we can get all of these options under $400 million and the cost to Revere will be in the $230 million to $250 million range,” said Dakin. Revere has a Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) grant that will reimburse the city 76 percent of the building cost, but Dakin said there are a number of caveats to that reimbursement number. For example, Dakin said there are a number of caps on reimbursement levels for site work, which he said will be extensive at the current high school site. The MSBA also does not reimburse for land acquisition, which would be a major expense with the Wonderland site, which would have to be either purchased from the current owner or taken by eminent domain. “We are carrying $23 million for land acquisition for the acreage that we need to put the school there,” said Dakin. He said the city has been in constant touch with the Wonderland property owners, and he added that a new school will likely need about 25 of the 33 acres on the site. Dakin said the remaining acreage could be privately developed, and that the tax revenue from that development could potentially help pay for the cost of the Wonderland land acquisition over a number of years. When all is said and done, Dakin said, the actual reimbursement amount from the state for either building project will be closer to 40 percent of the total cost. The advantages of building on the current high school site include not having to pay for the land acquisition, as would be the case at Wonderland, and it would be the most cost-eff ective option, according to Dakin. He said the location is also better for pedestrians and bikes. Disadvantages include the disruption to school operations for up to fi ve years and the temporary loss of the use of Erricola Park and Ambrose Field, which would be used for temporary parking over that time period. The advantages of the Wonderland site, according to Dakin, include the ability to use the current high school building down the road as a new middle school or community center and the lack of disruptions to school operations. Disadvantages include it being the more expensive option and that it is farther from the center of the community. January will be a key month for the project, with a presentation scheduled before the City Council on Jan. 10 and a public forum on Jan. 12. The Revere High School Building Committee will make its site recommendation on Jan. 13, with votes by the School Committee scheduled for Jan. 18 and the City Council on Jan. 24.
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