Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Medford Public Library Newsletter for Week of May 4, 2020

By  May 06, 2020  
1,606,500 @ 3:27 pm  Wednesday May 6

1,606,223 @ 6:33 pm  May 5, 2020

    395,500 to two million page views 






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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

CITY OF MEDFORD CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: MAY 5, 2020 by Jackie Piques CITY OF MEDFORD CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: MAY 5, 2020

By  May 05, 2020  

1,606,223 @ 6:33 pm 

 1,606,059 @ 3:59 pm 5-5-2020

   303.941 to two million page views

__________________________________________

20,290 visits in the past 30 days @ 3:59 pm 5-5-2020

 

CITY OF MEDFORD CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: MAY 5, 2020

by Jackie Piques
CITY OF MEDFORD CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: MAY 5, 2020
  • City to distribute thousands of disposable masks, flowering plants to Medford residents on Thursday
MEDFORD – Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced today that the City of Medford will give away more than 5,000 disposable, non-surgical masks to Medford residents this week. In addition, thanks to a generous donation from Encore Boston Harbor, the City will distribute more than 1,000 potted plants and flowers until supplies run out. (Remember, Mother’s Day is this weekend!)
Last month the Medford Board of Health placed an order for 10,000 non-surgical masks through a regional health department collaborative. Many of those have been reserved for first responders, senior citizens and other community members in need, but the City will make thousands of the remaining masks available to Medford residents. Residents are invited to a drive through distribution event on Thursday, May 7, from 12 to 2 p.m., outside of Hormel Stadium. Masks will be distributed by City staff and vetted volunteers, limited to 3 disposable masks per person as supplies last. We kindly ask that attendees be limited to those most at risk, or most in need of temporary masks (i.e. residents over 65, anyone with underlying health conditions, or essential workers).
Flowers and plants will be distributed at a limit of one per person as supplies last.
 Mayor and Board of Health Issue Statement on Courtyard Nursing Home Deaths
 Today, Mayor Lungo-Koehn and Medford Board of Health Director MaryAnn O’Connor released the following joint statement regarding the deaths of 54 residents at the Courtyard Nursing Home within the last month:
 “The number of deaths in nursing homes and long-term care facilities – in Medford and in Massachusetts - is staggering and devastating. While we know that most long term care facilities across the state and the country are experiencing high numbers of positive cases as their residents are among the most at risk for COVID-19, coming to terms with the severity of the disease within our own community is extremely difficult. Our hearts go out to the family members, friends, and caregivers of the residents we have lost to COVID-19.
At the same time, we know that expressing condolences is not enough. That’s why, from the very onset of this disease within the region, we have worked to protect residents, particularly those most at risk, to the very best of our ability. Medford was among the first communities in the state to restrict access to non-essential businesses, pushed hard for amendments to orders around “essential” services in order to limit the number of non-residents coming into our community, and have worked closely with healthcare partners to increase access to testing. We have been and remain in daily communication with administrators of the three nursing homes in Medford, working with them to understand their needs for such resources as PPE, additional staffing, testing, and addressing and advancing their requests to the DPH and state Administration. At our request the National Guard was brought into these facilities to provide assistance, particularly with testing and staffing. The Board of Health is also in constant communication with the DPH and has reported concerns and advocated for additional needs in these areas, on multiple occasions, and will continue to do so. We are committed to doing everything possible to protect the health and safety of our residents.”

UPDATES & REMINDERS
  • As of May 4, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Medford is 805.
  • Social Distancing is Still Critical. While you’re enjoying the warmer weather, please remember that it’s essential we continue to practice social distancing. Gatherings of over 10 people are prohibited, including gatherings at private residences, and group activities. Park use is limited to passive use only and playgrounds and dog parks are closed.
  • Speed Limit: Though there may be less traffic on the road, MassDOT has reported that the number of roadway fatalities has increased. Remember to obey speed limits, wear a seatbelt, and observe the state’s hands-free law anytime you’re behind the wheel.
Stay up to date on important announcements and information via phone call, email, or text message by signing up at www.medfordma.org/alerts. For up to date information regarding the City’s actions, ongoing services, and all other updates, visit www.medfordma.org/coronavirus-information. Residents can submit questions at any time to COVD19info@medford-ma.gov.
 Medford city services are available to all residents, regardless of economic situation, immigration status, ability, benefit eligibility, or religious affiliation.  
Jackie Piques | May 5, 2020 at 3:33 pm
Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://www.medfordma.org/2020/05/05/city-of-medford-coronavirus-update-may-5-2020/
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3 Upcoming Stories to Keep an Eye On

By  May 05, 2020  
1,605,979 @ 1:11 pm
1,605,939 @ 10:42 all-time page views

1)The Elephant in the Room

McGlynn's Popularity Tanks --- old population tires of his presence on the scene; new Medford residents have not a clue who he is


2)Pat Gordon's incompetence during COVID-19
He Makes Dumb Donald (J Trump) Look like a Scholar by Comparison, the insanity of old Inject Yourself with Lysol boy down in Washington gives people a clue of the public access ripoff in Medford. Local government, national government, bottom line is you get robbed 24/7.  Remember, that $1200.00 stimulus check is you getting YOUR money back!

3)MBTA Stumbles and Fumbles like TV3 Station Manager Pat Gordon on Steroids


These delicious new stories coming your way this week.  Stay tuned...or the Medford Police will keep you "tuned up"
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New Top 10 + - L'Italien Report Keeps Alleged Police Indictments at Bay, Retains #1 Status Breanma Gains in Popularity

By  May 05, 2020  
Breanna Lungo-Koehn Gaining in Popularity

Alleged Police Indictments Knocking on the Door of the Top Spot;  rockets to #2

L'Italien Report Still Showing Great Strength
otherwise Police Indictment Rumor would be @ #1


Your Top 10 + for May 5, 2020


















































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Zoning Board of Appeals May 7

By  May 05, 2020  
1,605,928 all-time page views @ 10:32 am
20,159 past 30 days

On Thursday, May 7, 2020 after 7:30 p.m. the Board of Appeals will hold a Public Hearing on the following cases…..
4000 Mystic Valley Parkway (Case #40B-2020-01) – Continued from April 30
Applicant, MVP Mystic LLC is petitioning for a Comprehensive Permit pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40B for a multi-family eight (8) story apartment development located on approximately three (3) acres of land at 4000 Mystic Valley Parkway. This proposal will be developed as an approximately three-hundred and eighty (380) unit rental apartment building containing a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with 95 (25% of the total units) of them being designated as affordable housing to low-or moderate-income households.
Approval of Meeting Minutes and Discussion of Rules
The meeting will be held remotely via Zoom and to view and participate in this hearing please use the following:
Updates regarding virtual meeting access:
Access this meeting via Zoom remote videoconferencing:
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92548596373
Call in via phone:
One tap mobile: +19292056099,,92548596373# US
Dial in: +1 929 205 6099 US Meeting ID: 925 4859 6373
Access livestream:
The meeting will also be live streamed at https://medford.vod.castus.tv/vod/index.php/@live:ch3
To participate while watching the livestream, questions and comments may be emailed during the hearing to dmacdougall@medford-ma.gov
Please call 781-393-2137 with any questions. For translation or other special needs, please call in advance
City of Medford | May 5, 2020 at 8:01 am | Categories: Zoning Board of Appeals | URL: http://www.medfordma.org/?p=17409

Zoning Board of Appeals Virtual Meeting May 7, 2020

by City of Medford
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Monday, May 4, 2020

New Top 5 + 6:55 pm

By  May 04, 2020  
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Rumors of Medford Police Indictments - Indictments Allegedly Held Off Until November

By  May 04, 2020  
1,604,857 @ 6:55 pm 
1,604,784 @ 3:48 pm 
1,604,771 @ 3:20 pm


ALLEGEDLY

Here's a fact before the allegations.

We called a courthouse where indictments might take place and asked about COVID-19 and court cases and hearings and such.

The reply from the clerk: 
"We are open but only for emergency cases."
 
Now a little insight:

1)Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn does NOT want indictments on cases she inherited from Burke.

2)The Police Union and Medford Chief Buckley now have time - because here's another juicy FACT - court cases set for May 2020 have been moved to November 2020.

That is a fact!  

We have actual documents on that.  

But here's my opinion - regular court cases won't start up until at least January 2021.  My opinion based on information and belief.  Donald Trump has been so reckless that the medical community is in the news warning of a second wave of COVID - 19, as y'all have been reading.



3)What looked like it was going to happen imminently could now disappear if the attorneys for the union and/or each alleged police officer (a few from L'Italien report, a few NOT on the Brady list, according to sources) and all of the above can find a way to get Marian Ryan to make these alleged indictments and alleged allegations all disappear.

The Big Question is: 
What Does Marian Ryan Want and what do the union reps, attorneys and Chief Buckley have to horse-trade with her to make these (alleged) dangerous indictments just go away ?


From my new book: Alleged Allegations!
Sweetly redundant! 

Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall watching the detente inside the walls of Commonwealth Ave, Woburn and 100 Main St? 

The clock is ticking...like slow molasses traveling uphill in the winter.
_______________________________________________________

The buzz in my informant circles is - will these indictments simply take a walk or get buried?
If they ever existed...

But you know how spot-on our reporting has been....I think - my opinion - is that the indictments actually exist, on paper, at this point in time.  3:24 pm  5-4-2020.

COVID-19 is changing EVERYTHING

You KNOW those union reps are busy busy busy trying to snuff this indictment "rumor" allegation out...and now they have lots of time to focus on it/them.
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New Top 10 + for May 4, 2020 1:03 pm THE BIG STORY! THE L'ITALIEN REPORT

By  May 04, 2020  
1,604,724 @ 1:20 PM

THE BIG STORY
L'ITALIEN REPORT ON MEDFORD POLICE MISCONDUCT IS MORE THAN FOUR TIMES THE POPULARITY OF THE SECOND POST

NOV. 22 L'ITALIEN REPORT ON MAY 4,
THE INTEREST IN THAT STORY IS SIMPLY AMAZING AND IS SUSTAINING THROUGHOUT THE SPRING.


































MBTA Video!
Mar 20, 2020

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Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn Open Letter to Medford Community on Budget Projections

By  May 04, 2020  

1,604,709 @ 1:02 pm 

   395,291 to two million page views 

 

0pen Letter to the Medford Community on FY2021 Budget Projections

by Jackie Piques
Open Letter to the Medford Community on FY2021 Budget Projections
Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Mayor
The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our city has been devastating. Every one of us has felt that impact and we will continue to feel it in some way for the foreseeable future. In Medford, we have addressed the challenges presented by this unprecedented situation head-on and have planned for short- and long-term impacts to the community as best we can. As the current fiscal year comes to a close, we are now forced to reconcile the drastically changing economic situation with meeting the needs of our city and keeping a focus on our long-term financial stability. What’s clear is that the situation is dire. What’s not clear is the extent of the budget shortfall we’re up against, and how the state and federal government will step up to aid cities and towns in their time of need.
As elected officials our job is to steer the community through these tough times. We must protect services for the most vulnerable, steward the education of our children, ensure public health and safety and provide services more cost effectively, and do so without burdening future generations. But we must be cautious; over-reliance on the City’s reserves to solve short term problems can have long term effects on our financial health. It’s a delicate balance, and it will require sacrifices.
For the current fiscal year, the City of Medford has taken assertive action to protect and enhance our financial stability, including imposing a nonessential hiring freeze and restricting any nonessential spending, as well as identifying other opportunities for savings.
Looking ahead to FY21, we’re crafting a budget that ensures efficiency of City services and provides support to residents most in need without jeopardizing the City’s long-term financial health. Through this process I want to be as transparent as possible because the decisions we face as leaders directly impact the communities we serve. So, we need to be up front from the start: the way we solve these challenges and meet our core community values will require sacrifice and difficult decisions. Many of the goals we lay out, together, for the short term will be delayed in the interest of maintaining critical services, particularly as we await decisions from the federal government on local aid for our communities.
We rely on state aid to fund schools and general city services. In FY20, state aid accounted for over $26 million, or 13% of our total operating budget. As we work toward passing a municipal budget for the new fiscal year we still have no direction from the state about just how much sacrifice we should expect to make, but we must plan for the worse and hope for the best.
The state has postponed its budget deliberations, estimating a $4 - $6 billion deficit in receipts but not yet agreeing to a revenue target or to local aid distributions, so cities and towns are left to estimate what resources we can count on in the coming year. During the Great Recession, local aid was cut by almost 25%. Assuming a similar scenario, that would mean a nearly $6.5 million cut in Medford’s state aid for FY21. On top of an anticipated $3 million decrease in local revenue from lack of permit fees, and lower meals, excise and hotel taxes from the current ban on non-essential services and the lingering effects of the current crisis, we’re facing a potential budget shortfall of $8 million if the state repeats its approach from the last recession.
We are, for certain, facing tough choices. What is less certain is whether the state and federal governments will step in to help. But we have yet to see a dime of federal support. Smaller cities and towns like Medford were not part of the three COVID-19 stimulus packages passed to date and some Republican Senators have suggested that states should declare bankruptcy instead of receiving federal support they could use to support local education, public health and safety, and other city services. In spite of this, I remain hopeful that the federal government will provide meaningful aid to Medford to address critical gaps in our school and city service budgets. Our community doesn’t deserve the lack of leadership we’re getting from Washington and I will continue to fight hard for what we need and deserve.
In the face of these challenges, we are tightening our belts and gearing up to do what’s necessary. As we stare at lower revenue and grapple with the uncontrollable costs we know we must plan for, including fixed cost increases for pensions, health insurance and debt service, we need to put every idea on the table and conversations around furloughs and layoffs will likely be a necessary part of our discussions. My goal is to avoid having to take those steps by instead focusing on other strategies to cut costs. We will do so collaboratively, with union leaders, elected officials, parent teacher organizations, business owners and local residents, but we will not avoid our responsibility to be transparent, data-driven and realistic, even if it hurts.
Our current situation is anything but traditional, and certainly not the budget I thought I would be putting before the City Council in my first months as mayor. Even as difficult as these challenges are, the hardships Medford face are less severe than many communities, and I expect that in the coming weeks local governments across Massachusetts will also begin to grapple with to how to weather the financial impact of the storm we are all in.
And I know our City Councilors, School Committee members, and residents all have great ideas for improving services, many of which require additional resources. This is a year when we’ll need to say ‘not this year’ to most of these good ideas. When I do so, please know that I understand how painful some of these decisions will be.  While being frugal, I believe we should still try to focus on some areas where we can adjust our approach to services which may require cuts in some areas and new investments in others.
I know that no matter how great the challenge, Medford is tough and we’ll find our way through darkness and to better times together.  I look forward to working through our financial challenges with our local leaders in the coming months and share this as an update of what may lie ahead.  During my campaign, I pledged to be transparent no matter what. I plan to keep my promise.

Jackie Piques | May 4, 2020 at 12:59 pm | URL: http://www.medfordma.org/?p=17404
 
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Friday, May 1, 2020

Committee of the Whole BUDGET May 5, 2020 Tuesday

By  May 01, 2020  



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6 pm Committee of the Whole ZONING ISSUE

By  May 01, 2020  


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6 PM Tuesday May 5 CENSUS Committee of the Whole - 1 of 3

By  May 01, 2020  
1,603,027 @ 6:26 pm Friday May 1, 2020

2 pages

1 of 3 postings




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City Council of Medford May 5, 2020

By  May 01, 2020  



Fri, May 1 at 11:16 AM

I have attached the agendas for the following four meetings via Zoom:

  • May 5, 2020 City Council Meeting
  • May 5, 2020 Committee of the Whole Meeting
  • May 6, 2020 Committee of the Whole Meeting
  • May 7, 2020 Committee of the Whole Meeting

To access the Council Meeting:

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/96373059361
Meeting ID: 963 7305 9361
One tap mobile
+19292056099,,96373059361# US (New York)
+13017158592,,96373059361# US (Germantown)
Dial by your location
        +1 929 205 6099 US
        +1 301 715 8592 US

Meeting ID: 963 7305 9361
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abDdtGQxNo
To participate outside of Zoom, please e-mail me during the meeting at AHurtubise@medford-ma.gov.







For the May 5 Committee of the Whole:

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/92884980190
Meeting ID: 928 8498 0190

One tap mobile
+19292056099,,92884980190# US (New York)
+13017158592,,92884980190# US (Germantown)
Dial by your location
        +1 929 205 6099 US
        +1 301 715 8592 US

Meeting ID: 928 8498 0190
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ada8qa6YTq
To participate outside of Zoom, please e-mail me during the meeting at AHurtubise@medford-ma.gov.


For the May 6 Committee of the Whole:

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/95258385505
Meeting ID: 952 5838 5505

One tap mobile
+19292056099,,95258385505# US (New York)
+13017158592,,95258385505# US (Germantown)
Dial by your location
        +1 929 205 6099 US
        +1 301 715 8592 US

Meeting ID: 952 5838 5505
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acWdH6Nvk6
To participate outside of Zoom, please e-mail me during the meeting at AHurtubise@medford-ma.gov.


For the May 7 Committee of the Whole:

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://zoom.us/j/94644016113
Meeting ID: 946 4401 6113

One tap mobile
+13017158592,,94644016113# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,94644016113# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location
        +1 301 715 8592 US
        +1 312 626 6799 US

Meeting ID: 946 4401 6113
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aDYM4zDpG
To participate outside of Zoom, please e-mail me during the meeting at AHurtubise@medford-ma.gov.

Adam Hurtubise
City Clerk
Medford City Hall, Room 103
85 George P. Hassett Drive
Medford, MA 02155
(781) 393-2425
AHurtubise@medford-ma.gov

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