Council elects leaders

At a special meeting Monday, the City Council elected Brian Hatleberg and Matthew Frank as president and vice president for 2009. Last year, Hatleberg served as chairman of the council's finance subcommittee and the city manager review committee. Before becoming a councilor, Frank served on the Planning Board.

- Katheleen Conti

BOARD CHIEFS CHOSEN - The Board of Aldermen, the Common Council, and the School Committee unanimously chose their leaders in annual reorganization meetings held Monday. The meetings followed Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr.'s midterm address to a joint meeting of the three bodies. Aldermen elected Ward 4 member L. Charles DiPerri as their president. Now in his second term on the board, DiPerri formerly served seven terms as a Ward 4 common councilor, and was council president in 1996 and again in 2000. The Common Council elected Ward 1 member Millie J. Cardello as its president. Now in her third term, Cardello formerly served three terms as the Ward 1 School Committee member and was vice chairwoman for a year. The School Committee chose at-large member Richard C. Baniewicz as its chairman and Ward 6 member Robert Carreiro as its vice chairman. Baniewicz formerly served one term as a Ward 2 School Committee member. Unseated in 2005, he was appointed to fill a vacant at-large seat in 2006 and then was elected at large in 2007. He was vice chairman last year. Carreiro, who is in his third term, is also on the city's Housing Authority board. - John Laidler

GRANTS FOR NONPROFITS - The city is reminding local nonprofit social service providers that they have until Jan. 30 to submit proposals to the city for use of Everett's anticipated Community Development Block Grant money for the federal fiscal year 2009. The city each year applies to the state Department of Housing and Community Development for an allotment of the federal block grant money received by the state. Everett's Community Development Office is preparing the city's application for this year, which is due Feb. 13. Funding proposals from nonprofits will be considered for inclusion in the city's application. For more information, call 617-394-2245. - John Laidler

COUNCIL LEADERSHIP TO CONTINUE - The City Council on Tuesday will reorganize for the new year. But there won't be many new surprises. Councilor at Large J. Timothy Phelan is expected to be reelected president of the 11-member body. Ward 7 Councilor Richard J. Ford is expected to be reelected vice president, while Ward 1 Councilor Wayne A. Lozzi is expected to continue as the council's representative to the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission. The council will meet at 8 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall. - Kathy McCabe

TWO VETERANS AGENTS - Two Lynnfield police officers are volunteering their time to split the duties of veterans agent. Selectmen Monday appointed Nicholas Secatore and Matthew LaBonte as part-time veterans agents, replacing Neil Restani, who retired several months ago. Town administrator William J. Gustus said Secatore and LaBonte will remain patrolmen while also sharing the veterans agent job, for which they will be paid small stipends to cover expenses. "Both are veterans and feel very strongly about the veterans agent role in town and have stepped up to do it," said Gustus, who estimated the town would save $35,000 to $40,000 by not having to pay a regular salary. - John Laidler

RECYCLING DAY PLANNED - The Department of Public Works will be collecting recyclable items from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 28. Among the items to be collected: tires, televisions, computer monitors, car batteries, motor oil, paint, and used electronics such as radios and tape decks. Residents are invited to drop off their discarded recyclables at the DPW, 356 Commercial St. Items containing mercury, including fluorescent light bulbs and hearing aid batteries, will be collected for free. Fees for other items range from $1 (per gallon of motor oil) to $20 (per truck tire). For a complete list of items being collected and the fees charged for each item, visit the city's website at www.ci.malden.ma.us. - Brenda J. Buote

SCOUTING FOR DONATIONS - Local Boy Scout Nicholas Ingersoll is seeking donations for Army soldiers and Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ingersoll, a senior patrol leader in Melrose Boy Scout Troop 635, is seeking to collect enough items to fill 25 boxes to send to 25 troops for his Eagle Scout project. Donation boxes can be found at Melrose City Hall, Melrose High School, and churches throughout the city through Jan. 27. Soldiers and Marines are in need of fishing, hunting, and sports magazines; nonperishable food items; and toiletries, including hand sanitizer, deodorant, soap, and baby wipes. For more information, e-mail eagle_scout_project@comcast.net or call 781-662-5967. - Brenda J. Buote

CLEAR MESSAGE - The city's Department of Public Works has published a snow manual outlining the policies and procedures to ensure timely clearing in the event of a storm. Among the many issues addressed in the 11-page manual are illegally parked vehicles that hamper snow removal efforts. To combat the problem, the mayor may declare snow emergencies. During such an emergency, no vehicle may be parked in a place that interferes with the removal of snow or sanding of roadways. Any vehicle in violation of the ban will be ticketed and may be towed at the owner's expense. Read the new manual online at www.cityofmelrose.org. - Brenda J. Buote

MAYOR SUPPORTS EARLIER CLOSING - Mayor Thomas G. Ambrosino has vetoed a City Council order asking him to request that the License Commission restore 2 a.m. closing times for liquor-serving establishments. Last month the council voted 7-3 with one present on the motion by Councilor James Kimmerle. A citywide rollback of closing times to 1 a.m. took effect last July. Several local bar and restaurant owners have indicated that the rollback is hurting their businesses financially. In the veto letter to the council, Ambrosino called his actions "nothing more than pure symbolism," because the License Commission is scheduled to entertain discussion of the issue at an upcoming meeting. However, Ambrosino reiterated his position that "the 1 a.m. closing hour has improved public safety and the quality of life of our community, and any retreat from this policy would be a mistake." - Katheleen Conti

FINDING NEW HARBORMASTER - The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday will interview candidates to fill the vacant harbormaster's job and those who have expressed interest in posts on the cemetery commission and cultural council. One candidate has applied to become the harbormaster. The town's longtime harbormaster, Vicent Ciccolini, died recently. Four applicants have applied to serve on the cemetery commission and cultural council. The board will meet at 7 p.m. in the first-floor conference room at Town Hall. - Kathy McCabe

LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS - Senator Richard R. Tisei and state Representatives Katherine Clark and Mark Falzone are scheduled to appear at the Board of Selectmen's meeting tomorrow. According to Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio, selectmen hope to discuss the financial condition of the state, how that condition is going to affect Wakefield, and the legislators' stance on measures Governor Deval Patrick has proposed to help cities and towns. Tisei, a Wakefield Republican, Clark, a Melrose Democrat, and Falzone, a Saugus Democrat, all represent Wakefield. Also at the meeting, selectmen will conduct their first annual performance review of the town administrator. Steve Maio has been administrator since June. Tomorrow's meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

- John Laidler

FLASH FILM FESTIVAL - Wakefield Community Access Television will be holding a Flash Film Festival starting next month. The festival is a competition in which participating independent amateur and professional filmmakers will be given a week to produce a film from scratch, following specified guidelines. The films will be screened at the middle school on March 14. The winning entries will later be aired on WCAT. Adam Dusenberry, the station's technical director, and WCAT producer Marsha Browne got the inspiration for the festival from participating in a 48-hour competition in Boston last spring. The two, who are partners in a Wakefield-based video production company, did not win that competition. But they later aired a documentary on the making of their film on WCAT, which led to their receiving an award at a regional video festival held in Methuen in October.

- John Laidler

FERRINO COUNCIL VP - The Town Council met briefly last Monday and elected a new vice president for the 2009 session. Councilor at Large Joseph V. Ferrino Jr. will replace Councilor at Large Philip R. Boncore. Other business discussed at the meeting included putting together a statement clarifying the functions and duties of the Harbor Planning and Management Committee, which has been meeting with the architects of the pier/harbor project, said council president Thomas E. Reilly.

- Katheleen Conti

EXTENDING NO DUMPING ZONE - A review of public comments on the Lower North Shore No Discharge Area application is on the agenda for the first meeting of the year for Safer Waters in Massachusetts (SWIM) on Wednesday. The public comment period runs through January, and the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to approve the designation before the next sailing season. If that happens, boats and ships will no longer be allowed to dump sewage (whether treated or untreated) into the waters off Swampscott, Lynn, Nahant, Saugus, and Revere. Boston Harbor and Salem Sound already are protected. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Northeastern University's Marine Science Center, Nahant Road in Nahant. The public is welcome. For more information, call 781-581-0075 or e-mail nahantswim@verizon.net.

- David Rattigan

PLANNING RELAY FOR LIFE - Organizers are already planning the 2009 Relay for Life of Amesbury event, to be held in September. Amesbury is one of many communities across the country that hold overnight Relay for Life events in which teams walk or run around tracks to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Last year's relay, held at Landry Stadium, raised $104,000. The committee that oversees the Amesbury event will hold a planning meeting at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Health Center, 24 Morrill Place. For information, call 978-821-4084. - John Laidler

HOSPITAL CUTTING BACK - Merrimack Valley Hospital has laid off five employees and reduced the work hours of several others to compensate for a $250,000 reduction in state reimbursements and an increase in unpaid patient bills. The hospital has about 450 part- and full-time employees.

- Brenda J. Buote