Malden gives soccer league the boot over beer
An amateur adult soccer league has had its license to use Malden's Macdonald Stadium revoked after the city's police chief found players openly drinking at the stadium.
Police Chief Kevin Molis was off-duty in the area of the stadium on June 23 when he noticed a man walking down the street trying to conceal a beer can inside his t-shirt. Inside the stadium he found two more men drinking and a cooler of beer, he said.
Molis spoke to the men, but didn't cite them, he said.
"They probably didn't fully recognize who I was at time," Molis said. "They were warned and admonished."
The group using the field was D-One Soccer, an adult soccer team in its first year renting the field from the city on Sunday evenings. It was the fourth of 10 dates reserved by the league, according city spokeswoman Kathleen Manning Hall. The league also plays games in Everett.
Molis notified the city's stadium commission, which held an emergency meeting on June 29 and voted without objection to revoke the league's license to use the stadium, Manning Hall said.
Jeff Paul, co-founder of D-One Soccer, said the incident was the result of one team in the 15-team league violating regulations, and that team has been dismissed from the league.
"We have strict rules and regulations, this is one team that was not compliant," he said. "If you can't comply with certain rules and regulations, we can't accept that behavior."
Paul, a Malden resident, said he planned to try to appeal the license revocation.
"It's a blow, it's a big blow, I really feel bad about this," he said.
Molis said he believed the stadium commission handled the situation appropriately.
"They placed a priority on it, and they were fair and judicious," he said.
The stadium is owned and operated by the city. There was some controversy last year when a start-up semi-pro football team tried to lease the field for spring games. Some residents pushed against the proposal because the team wanted to serve alcohol during games.
The Stadium Commission is expected to review its policy for leasing the stadium at a meeting July 10.
Jarret Bencks can be reached at bencks.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter @JarretBencks.
Route 99 underpass to be closed for weekend
Jarret Bencks can be reached at bencks.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter @JarretBencks.
Environmental officials to meet in Everett about cleanup of casino site
The meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m at City Hall, will be followed by a visit to the 32-acre parcel, the former site of a Monsanto chemical factory. It will be the first public meeting on the project since Everett voters on June 22 overwhelmingly aproved a referendum to allow a casino to be built in the small industrial city.
"We want to make sure the site is cleaned up to a very high standard," said Chris Gordon, the project manager for Wynn.
The Wynn group already has filed an environmental notification form, a key requirement of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, which outlines the scope of the project.
"Once a study of the environmental impact is completed, those findings will determine what approvals are required from state agencies," said Reggie Zimmerman, a spokesman for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which oversees the MEPA review.
Fort Point Associates of Boston has been hired by Wynn as an environmental consultant, according to the notification form. On June 13, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone submitted a petition to FBT Everett Realty, the company that owns the land, to designate the land a Public Involvement Plan Site so that residents of neighboring communities would have the right to voice their opinions on how the site is developed.
Wynn is proposing to build a 19-story, bronze-colored glass tower that would include a 551-room hotel, a 24-hour casino, and upscale shops and restaurants. A winter garden and public access to the waterfront also are part of the proposal.
Wynn is one of three developers that have applied to the state gambling commission for the single license to operate a casino in eastern Massachusetts.
The environmental filing gives a glimpse into the development's footprint. The 32.4-acre site includes 8.3 acres of water, according to the filing.
Buildings on the site would reach a height of 300 feet, and include 2.8 million square feet of space. An estimated 392,700 gallons of water would be used each day on the site, the filing states. Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKMcCabe.
Buses to replace trains on part of Blue Line on three upcoming nights
Subway service between the Blue Line’s three most northern stations will be replaced by buses after 9 p.m. on three upcoming nights, according to the MBTA.
Shuttles will run between Beachmont Station and Wonderland Station from 9 p.m. until the end of service on Tuesday, June 25; Thursday, June 27; and Sunday, June 30, officials said. Normal Blue Line service will resume at the start of service on the following day after each diversion.
The buses, which are accessible for people with disabilities, will stop at those two stations as well as at the station in between, Revere Beach Station, according to the T’s website.
The diversions are needed due to work on the State Road Bridge Project, officials said.
For more information, contact the MBTA Customer Communications Department at 617-222-3200, TTY: 617-222-5146.
E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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Everett voters back Steve Wynn casino proposal
Everett residents sent an emphatic message Saturday: They want Wynn.
By a landslide vote of 5,320 to 833—86.5 percent to 13.5 percent—Everett voters endorsed a $1.2 billion gambling resort proposal from Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn, who wants to build on vacant industrial land on the Mystic River waterfront.
The vote was the first binding referendum under the 2011 state law that legalized casino gambling in Massachusetts. No project can compete for a coveted casino license unless the voters of the host community approve the proposal at the ballot box.
About 32 percent of the city’s 19,400 voters turned out for the unusual Saturday referendum, according to the city clerk’s office.
“The voters of Everett have spoken clearly and decisively,” Wynn said in a statement. “The vote heightens our enthusiasm and dedication to this fine project. We thank the voters of Everett for their support and for making all of our efforts so easy.”
Casino opponent Evmorphia Stratis said she was not surprised by the results, given that the pro-casino group “Everett United, a supposedly a grass roots organization, had so much money pumped into it by Steve Wynn that they overwhelmed Everett with their campaign.”
Read more in Sunday's Globe.
Somerville mayor wants public review of cleanup work at proposed Everett casino site
The Mayor of Somerville is calling for public involvement in the remediation of the Monsanto Chemical Site in Everett, where Steve Wynn proposes to build a casino.
Such a requirement could provide residents of neighboring communities an opportunity to voice their opinions on how the site is developed.
On June 13 Joseph Curtatone submitted a petition to FBT Everett Realty, the company that owns the contaminated 35-acre plot along the Mystic River, to designate the land a Public Involvement Plan Site. The petition was signed by residents of Somerville, Everett and Boston.
"We believe it is vital that the citizens and officials of our three cities have a full opportunity to review, understand, and provide input on the remedial alternatives for the Disposal Site, the selection of the preferred remediation alternative, and the implementation of remediation," Curtatone wrote in the petition.
Curtatone said neighboring cities have a right to seek public involvement because leaching into the Mystic River and sediments that end up in the river may have negative environmental effects on nearby communities.
State law requires allowing public comment on all site assessment and cleanup reports submitted to DEP on Public Involvement Plan Sites, and for the remediation firm respond to the public comments.
Remediation company GEI Consultants is expected to present a report this month outlining alternative approaches to remediation and recommend a remediation alternative.
Curtatone has previously stated his opposition to casinos in general, and in a December interview with the Boston.com said he would exercise all rights under law to oppose a casino in Everett if it required a new I-93 ramp be built through Somerville.
Massachusetts state law requires any casino proposal receive referendum approval by the host community. It does not make any requirement for neighboring communities, but it does require the developer negotiate mitigation with neighbors. That process would be subject to review by the state's gaming commission.
Other abutting communities Medford and Malden have begun the process to negotiate mitigation, though Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn and the Medford City Council have both said they oppose the project.
Jarret Bencks can be reached at bencks.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter @JarretBencks.
Four Malden Catholic seniors chosen as representatives for 2013 Massachusetts American Legion Boys State Program
MBTA to make its 15 busiest bus routes faster, more reliable; work includes moving, eliminating stops
The MBTA says it will make its 15 busiest bus routes faster, more reliable, and more accessible through a series of changes this summer, which include relocating some stops and eliminating others.
Construction on some of the bus routes will begin this week and upgrades to all of the effected routes are expected to be made by the end of August, officials announced Monday.
The 15 “key” routes carry about 40 percent of the T’s total bus ridership. The routes run more often than other bus routes to serve high-density travel corridors, primarily in Boston, but also stretching to Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Newton, Revere, and Watertown.
The T hopes to make each route about 10 to 15 percent faster by moving some stops and removing others. The goal is for there to be a bus stop every 750 to 1,320 feet, or about four to seven stops per mile. Many stops now are as close as 200 feet.
The agency also hopes to run more reliable bus service by better adhering to schedules and by trying to reduce “bunching,” when two or more buses on the same route are traveling close to each other.
More “passenger amenities,” including new bus shelters at 85 stops, as well as benches and trash barrels, will be installed. Some sidewalks will be improved and some curb extensions will be built.
New signs and pavement markings will be installed to provide better route-related details and to keep drivers from stopping or parking at bus stops.
Traffic signal improvements are expected to be made along some routes.
Work will include bringing bus stops into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act to improve accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities, officials said. In some cases, that will mean lengthening the bus stop area.
The T also plans to install new "Park and Pedal" bike parking cages at Alewife Station and the Beverly Garage in July and at Wollaston, Back Bay, Dudley Square and Wonderland stations in August.
Funding for the program includes $7 million in federal stimulus money and another $3 million in federal transportation funding.
Over the past two years, more than 50 public meetings have been held about the “Key Bus Routes Improvement Program.”
“The MBTA is looking forward to improving the quality of amenities and service on some of our most utilized services,” General Manager Beverly Scott said in a statement Monday. “This aggressive and ambitious project will reduce trip times, enhance customer comfort, accessibility, convenience and safety, and make service more reliable and cost-effective.”
A list of the 15 routes and projected timelines for construction are as follows. The schedules are subject to change, T officials said:
Key Bus Routes
Route 1 – July 1st – July 25th
Route 15 – June 24th – July 12th
Route 22 – June 17th – July 17th
Route 23 – June 17th – July
Route 28 – June 17th – August 30th
Route 32 – June 24th – August 8th
Route 39 – July – August
Route 57 – July 15th – August 30th
Route 66 – June 24th – August 1st
Route 71 – August 1st – August 30th
Route 73 – August 1st – August 30th
Route 77 – July 25th – August 26th
Route 111 – August 9th – August 30th
Route 116 – July 19th – August 30th
Route 117 – July 19th – August 30th
For more information on the bus improvement program, click here.
E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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Pioneer Charter School graduates 45 students tomorrow
Medford mayor says he opposes Everett casino
Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn opposes the proposed Wynn casino in neighboring Everett, and is focusing on getting mitigation for the project should it be approved, he said Thursday.
"I am opposed to the site in Everett," he said Thursday. "I think it would cause tremendous heartache ... but we would be crazy if we ignored the possibility of mitigation."
McGlynn said he has been in preliminary discussions with ML Strategies -- a consultant group hired by Wynn Resorts -- on possible mitigation options.
State laws calls for casino developers to negotiate mitigation with neighboring communities. If no mitigation agreement is reached, the Gaming Commission will submit the community and developer to binding arbitration.
"We have to act as if it's going to happen, and we have to work toward ways to mitigate that," McGlynn said.
The consultant group hired by Wynn is a subsidiary of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, a law firm that features a stable of former Massachusetts political titans, including former governor Bill Weld.
The focus of mitigation in Medford is on infrastructure at Wellington Circle, an intersection on Route 16 located about 1 mile from the proposed casino location at the former Monsanto chemical site in Everett.
McGlynn said the intersection already experiences frequent traffic jams, and those problems would be exacerbated by the influx of vehicles heading to a casino. But the consultant group has been reluctant to address it because traffic there is a pre-existing problem, McGlynn said.
Along with the traffic concerns, McGlynn said he would focus on addressing public safety, as well as bringing a couple of possible amenities to the city.
He's asked that any major shows booked at the casino also host concerts at Medford's Chevalier Theatre, and he's also asked for Medford to be included in any plans to bring water transportation along the Mystic River. Bringing a water taxi to Medford from Boston has long been a goal for McGlynn.
A public hearing on mitigation for the proposed casino is slated for Tuesday night at City Hall in Medford.
Jarret Bencks can be reached at bencks.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter @JarretBencks.
