By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School has hired a new executive director, the school announced.

Martin Trice, formerly head of school at the South Shore Christian Academy in Weymouth, replaces Joseph McCleary, who effectively retired at the beginning of this school year.

Trice, who has 25 years of teaching experience, has worked at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels.

His career began in 1982 at Rockland High School as an AP psychology teacher, and continued in 1987 at Lexington Christian Academy, where he moved into administration, eventually serving at Dean of Students.

In 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union, Trice served as consultant to he Ministry of Education in the Republic of Armenia.

The consultancy work was followed by a five-year stint as a vice president and faculty member at Eastern Nazarene College.

“Mr. Trice brings more than 25 years of education experience at all levels to Mystic Valley including international experience and we believe this experience will provide the school with the ability to reach an even higher level of excellence in the coming years,” stated Neil Kinnon, chairman of the Board of Trustees, in a statement.
 
In a welcoming message delivered to the Mystic Valley faculty and staff, Trice said “I am thrilled to be joining the Mystic Valley school community.  This school has accomplished much in a short period of time.  I come with a deep sense of responsibility to carry on the traditions that have made Mystic Valley one of our state’s and even nation’s finest schools."

By Matt Byrne, Town Corrrespondent

The owners of Salem Towers, the oldest affordable housing complex for seniors in New England, will receive an award in Washington next month recognizing a $17 million total renovation made possible by a tax-exempt bond.

The Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award is given annually to the group or organization that most effectively uses tax credits to better serve those in need of affordable housing.

"The judging committee felt the all the entries received for this year's awards program were outstanding developments, making their job that much harder," wrote Victoria E. Spielman, executive director of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition.

Salem Towers is operated by Beth Israel Senior Community Housing Inc., a nonprofit group that provides housing to Malden residents.

The Salem Towers renovations were made possible by $8.65 million in tax-exempt bonding from MassDevelopment, a quasi-governmental agency.

Improvements to the 80-unit housing facility include increase accessibility for persons with disabilities by creating 18 accessible apartments; redeveloping the driveway, walks, and parking; and adding a second elevator. Renovations will include new kitchens, roof, windows, heating systems, a solar hot water system, and a roof terrace.

Turner Photography

The following individuals will be recognized for their service to the Malden community on June 14 at the Chamber of Commerce Shining Stars Awards Banquet at Anthony’s of Malden (from left to right): Kevin Duffy, City of Malden; President’s Award; Arthur Kahn, Gemologist; Executive Director’s Award; Diane Portnoy, Immigrant Learning Center; Community Service Award; Dr. George Holland; Diamond Award; Albert Sparks, Sparks Department Stores; Lifetime Achievement Award; Philip Bronder-Giroux, Tri-City Community Action Program; Human Service Award.

The following was submitted by the Middlesex Fells Dog Owner Group:

Dog Play, a video and discussion, will be held Tuesday, June 12 from 7-9 p.m. at the Middlesex Fells Reservation's Botume House, 4 Woodland Road, Stoneham.

Watch and discuss videos of dogs with Liz Shaw, CPDT-KA, owner of Magical Mutt. Liz will help us better understand canine social behavior and learn to distinguish between healthy play among dogs and interactions between dogs who may not be having such a good time.

Please make other arrangements for your canine companions!

For more information, go to www.fellsdog.org.

A neighborhood clean-up and street sweeping day for Malden's Ward 1 will be postponed until June 9, Ward 1 City Councilor Peg Crowe said Friday.

The cause of the delay was rain expected to roll through the region Saturday, June 2, the original date for the clean up. A list is available for download here to see what time the sweepers will visit each street.

Residents are encouraged to sweep up dirt and debris from driveways and sidewalks into the street, and to remove cars parked on streets to allow the sweeper to access as many dirty curbsides as possible.

For questions or concerns, Crowe can be contacted at 781-248-4386.

Paul Hammersley/City of Malden

Malden Firefighter Jake Ruane, second from right is thanked by Mayor Gary Christenson. At far right, deputy Chief Thomas Walsh, and at far left, Fire Chief Michael Murphy.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

Malden firefighter Jake Ruane is retiring after more than 40 years of fire service to Malden, the city said Thursday. Ruane, who grew up in Malden, graduating from Malden Catholic High School in 1965 and served the U.S. Army as a Paratrooper in the Vietnam War. Ruane was hired by the Malden Fire Department in 1972.

"I’m going to take it easy" Ruane said in a statement. "It’s been my pleasure serving the citizens of Malden for the last 40 years."

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

John Clark, the newly appointed Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Malden, has declined the position, citing family considerations, the city has said. The announcement came two days after the City Council approved his $110,000 starting salary.

The notice was made in a two-sentence message from At-large Council and Finance Committee Chair Gregory Lucey, sent to the other members of the council and the press. 

"I was disappointed to hear the news," said Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, reached by phone Thursday. "I'm not discouraged, I'm right back at it. I think we go right back to the drawing board."

The mayor said that while his current budget proposal will not be impacted, a capital improvement program in the works would be helped by someone specializing in bonding and long-term financial planning.

In the notice to the councilors, Lucey promised for the committee members would "continue their due diligence to fill this important position for the City of Malden."

In a phone interview, Lucey said that Clark's resignation is ill-timed, but that he was confident the council would not break for the summer without a plan in place to replace him. The position has been left vacant since January 2010, Lucey said.

Now the finance committee members will have to decide if the position should be advertised in the same way, he said.

Long's appointment was passed by the council May 22 and approved by Mayor Gary Christenson two days later. Clark is the Treasurer/Collector for the town of Billerica. He did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

The Malden-based nonprofit Housing Families celebrated the opening of a half-dozen permanent, safe, and affordable apartments for families, the group said. With financial assistance from the city of Revere and private project funders, the apartments were bought in 2010 and converted them for families' use.

Pictured from left are Tanya Hahnel, Malden Redevelopment Authority; Leverett Wing, Department of Housing and Community Development; Ada Pena, Facilities Director of Housing Families; JohnPowers, Revere City Councilor; Frank Stringi, Revere City Planner; Dan Rizzo, Mayor of Revere; Bill Nolan, Housing Families Board Member; Jim Goebelbecker, Chief Executive Officer of Housing Families; Anthony Zambuto, Revere City Councilor; Barbara Bishop, on behalf of Speaker Robert DeLeo, John Correggio, Revere City Councilor; and Ira Novoselsky, Revere City Councilor.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

While foreclosures across Massachusetts soared in April, bank actions against homeowners in Malden remained in line with figures from the same month last year, new housing data has shown.

Petitions for new foreclosures, the mark of the start of the process, increases by one, to 11, according to the Warren Group, which tracks housing data throughout the state. Deeds of foreclosed homes in the city, which represents a completed foreclosure, increased from five to eight, according to the town-by-town figures, available here.

Auctions of foreclosed homes dipped in the month, from five recorded in April 2011 to only one last month.

So far in 2012 the figures are less encouraging, however. From January to April, completed foreclosures have nearly doubled, from 17 last year to 33 this year.

Petitions for new foreclosures in 2012 are up, too, from 32 to 36, despite last month's slowdown.

Statewide, foreclosure activity continued to ramp up, after regulatory actions in 2011 brought much of the process to a halt. Banks sought to foreclose on 559 more properties in April, for a total of 1,750 arcross Massachusetts, the highest level of petitions since September 2010.

"Foreclosure activity was so low last year that we're inevitably seeing a rise in foreclosures across the state," said Cory S. Hopkins, editorial director of The Warren Group, in a statement. "It's necessary for a wave of foreclosures to work through the system this year, but it shouldn't cause panic. In order to return to a healthier market, the backlog of distressed properties needs to be cleared from banks' books."

A budget message from Mayor Gary Christenson, posted Wednesday to the city's website. The Malden City Council finance committee will likely begin public consideration of the $152 million plan next week.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

In his first budget proposal since taking the helm in Malden, Mayor Gary Christenson proposed Tuesday the consolidation of key city departments that would fold employees under fewer managers, eliminate or leave unfilled 20 city jobs, and hike water and sewer rates roughly 19 percent.

Speaking before the city council, Christenson said he has balanced the trimming and reorganization with a host of programs that would he would create or prioritize. Those include annualized funding for a teen center, cash to hire four more police officers and a cadet, the creation of a city Recreation Department, and increased funding for public art and green spaces, according to Christenson's comments and a budget summary released Tuesday.

"The budget can best be described as being transparent, restructured, consolidated, priority-based, and most importantly, balanced," Christenson said.

To view the city budget, click here.

For the first time in Malden's history, the fiscal plan was constructed electronically and will be web-based, a shift toward technology-driven transparency that has been a promise of the Christenson administration. The document will also include departmental mission statements and detailed name and salary information for all employees, which were previously absent.

The proposed $152,805,300 bottom line is $7.3 million more than what was spent last year. If state funding figures hold true, aid to schools could increase by  nearly $2.3 million, to $48.2 million, and unrestricted aid to city government could increase by about $827,911, to $11 million, according to state Department of Revenue estimates.

Perhaps the most direct impact to residents will be the nearly 19 percent hike in water and sewer rates. The increase was driven largely by a similar increase in the charge for water to the city by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, and the cost of replacing aging underground piping.

Christenson said nearly $1 million worth of water goes unaccounted for each year, prompting a reorganization of responsibilities that were previously spread over a handful of disparate departments, to a single new entity, the Water Utilities Department.

One slice of the city pie that Christenson said will see a sizable boost is the Veteran Services account. The mayor pledged a more than 10 percent increase on last year's $279,228 allocation, he said.

"It is a goal of mine to make sure the veteran's services director has the resources he needs at the outset" of the fiscal year, Christenson said.

Although the school department is funded at $56,164,546, cuts will be necessary to close a gap left by the end of federal stimulus money, he said.

Some of the most dramatic organizational changes will come in the Department of Public Works and the Health Department. To better maintain city roads and parks, Christenson envisions one Public Works director and three supervisors, eliminating the assistant director position and a supervisor. The shift would make room to fill five vacancies -- three in highway and two in parks -- and move the city's three parking enforcement officers under the public works umbrella.

He also plans to combine the Public Facilities Department with the Government Center Commission, and amalgamate Inspectional Services, the city planner, compliance officers, the hearing officer, and the Board of Health. Some position salaries would also be shifted to the Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund, he said.

Christenson also seeks to set aside $50,000 more for youth summer jobs, $25,000 to improve Fellsmere Pond, and $5,000 to continue the popular switch box painting program.

Now the proposal goes to the city council finance committee, and then the wider council, for eventual passage before the start of the budget year on July 1.