Bay State Banner February 27 Issue

INSIDE ARTS

business news

inside this week

‘NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN’ AT LOWELL’S MRT pg 14

A counselor to business executives pg 13

Teens march on State House for jobs pg 7

plus MassArt Art Museum opens pg 15 Boston Ballet performs ‘rEVOLUTION’ pg 17 Vol. 55 No. 31 • Thursday, February 27, 2020 • FREE • GREATER BOSTON’S URBAN NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1965

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Primary battles turn to bay state Warren, Sanders lead in Mass. polling in leadup to Super Tues.

By BRIAN WRIGHT O’CONNOR The first test among Bay State voters in the race for the White House comes to Massachusetts next week during Super Tuesday primary balloting. One-third of the delegates to the Democratic Party’s nominating convention will be chosen on March 3 across 14 states.

Going into Tuesday, African Americans will be closely following the results of Saturday’s South Carolina primary, where blacks make up 60% of the primary electorate.

Once viewed as Joe Biden’s “firewall,” polls show the surging Bernie Sanders close to overtaking the former vice president in the Palmetto State, with one survey ranking the Vermont senator first among black voters nationwide for the first time in the long campaign.

Elizabeth Warren’s spirited performance in the Nevada debate last week breathed new energy into her bid, raising hopes of her home-state supporters even as she’s mired in single digits in South Carolina, behind both Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer and just ahead of Amy Klobuchar.

The clinical take-down of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg by the Massachusetts senator during the televised food-fight marked the first time in the primary contest she had unleashed her combative skills on a fellow Democrat rather than on hedge-fund billionaires and Donald Trump.

“She was unequivocally the winner of the last debate,” said Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who supported Sanders in 2016 and is now campaigning for Warren. “She was the most prepared. Good candidates adapt to circumstances. Under the intense stress and scrutiny of this volatile campaign season she rose to the occasion in a way only real fighters can do.”

A recent poll from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell showed Warren with a one-point lead over Sanders on her home turf. Warren, at 21%, and Sanders, at 20, both have active surrogates and campaign operations in Bay State communities of color. Both were trailed in the poll by Buttigieg at 15%, Biden at 14%, Bloomberg at 12%, Klobuchar at 9%, Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard at 3% and Steyer at 2%.

Sanders, who won the popular vote in Iowa and New Hampshire and crushed the Nevada caucuses with over 50% of the balloting, heads into Super Tuesday with a commanding lead in both delegates and resources.

“Here in Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders is on the ascent,” said state Rep. Nika Elugardo, one of his seven state campaign co-chairs. “And not just among black voters but among all voters.

Where we really need to do is to push hard is among black men and black non-voters who have been disenfranchised and given false hopes by the Democratic Party.”

See PRIMARY, page 12

PHOTO: JEREMIAH ROBINSON, MAYOR’S OFFICE

Mayor Martin J. Walsh signs an executive order that will bring a significantly increased level of transparency, accountability and integrity to the Zoning Board of Appeal. (l-r) Economic Development Cheif John Barros, city councilors Liz Breadon and Lydia Edwards, Walsh and Inspectional Services Director Dion Irish.

Walsh advances reforms for troubled zoning board Stricter guidelines aimed at rebuilding public trust

By YAWU MILLER Mayor Martin Walsh this week announced changes to the Zoning Board of Appeal aimed at bringing greater transparency to the body.

The ZBA drew fire from critics last year after a city official who oversaw development projects appearing before the board was charged with accepting a bribe from a developer.

Flanked by City Councilors

Lydia Edwards and Liz Breadon, Walsh told reporters he and Edwards plan to file legislation to make the board more representative of the city’s residents and institute guidelines barring board members from voting on any project on which they participated in the previous five years.

The reforms include requirements that board members and their business partners disclose details of their business dealings, that board members make annual

disclosures of their financial interests and that they participate in trainings in ethics and zoning law at the time of their appointment or re-appointment.

“To be effective in this role and to maintain public confidence, the board must operate with the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and accessibility,” Walsh said. “When potential issues came up last year, we took action.”

See ZBA, page 6

Will state intervene in Hub schools?

Report expected to bring scrutiny to BPS

By YAWU MILLER

BANNER FILE PHOTO

State Sen. Elizabeth Warren leads in Massachusetts polling.

A Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) report released this week gave a scathing review of the Boston Public Schools, paving the way for a possible state intervention in the district.

State Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley has indicated that a state intervention is likely, according to two people reached by

the Banner who have spoken with him about the report, which has not yet been made public. There are currently 34 schools in Boston where students’ scores on standardized tests have placed them in the lowest 10% of schools in Massachusetts.

The prospect of a state intervention has raised concerns in Boston, given DESE’s record of interventions in other Massachusetts cities, as well as at the Dever and Holland schools in Dorchester.

“Overall, I don’t think the state has had a good track record on interventions,” said Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang.

“With a high-needs student population, the last thing the district needs is more instability, more disruption and interventions that don’t support the plans that we have been advocating as a union and the plan the superintendent has just released, which is reflective of the aspirations and needs of teachers, students and parents.”

Riley did not respond to a

See DESE, page 8

2 • Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

Urban Agenda grants aimed at revitalization

By KENNEAL PATTERSON On Feb. 19, the Baker-Polito administration granted $2 million dollars to 23 community-based projects across Massachusetts through the Urban Agenda grant program. Three local organizations in Nubian Square — The American City Coalition, Black Market and Haley House — will receive $100,000 to stimulate Roxbury’s growth and prosperity.

“We need to listen to the needs of the community and invest in things that will make the biggest impact,” Mayor Walsh said during the award ceremony held at Black Market in Nubian Square. “We need to make sure that we support our local community-driven programs, because we rely on the programs to make our neighborhood strong. That’s exactly what the Urban Agenda grants do.”

The Urban Agenda Program was launched in 2015 to fortify urban neighborhoods in Boston and other cities across the commonwealth. Neighborhoods compete for funding to spur economic advancement. The year-long grants aim to revitalize communities through increased business development, financial progress and entrepreneurial initiatives.

“These grants make a big difference for many great organizations,” said Gov. Charlie Baker.

The grants were first awarded to projects that reflected suggestions from both the Black and Latino Advisory Commission. These

commissions, established in 2017, prioritize equity and the advancement of minority communities.

The project grants were awarded to many local communities: Attleboro, Barnstable, Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Greenfield, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, North Adams, Pittsfield, Revere, Salem, Springfield and Worcester.

“What I love about this program is that it’s a really unique program, because it’s designed to invite your creativity and your ideas help improve the conditions in a place in your community,” said Lieutenant Gov. Karyn Polito.

Grant accessibility will be streamlined soon, she noted, due to opportunities through the Community Compact Connector.

She said that municipal leaders will get push notifications when grants are posted.

“So you don’t have to wonder, do they have a grant program here? Are there resources?” she said. “Just connect up with the municipal leads and they will tell you when these grants are available so you can collaborate with them and apply.”

Mike Kennealy, secretary of housing and economic development, introduced the “Partnerships for Growth” plan. The plan’s goal is to “enable the Commonwealth’s regions to build, connect and lead.” It primarily focuses on community development, mitigation of the housing crisis, support

“

When you think about our neighborhoods, they’re not built around the Amazons of the world, they’re built around neighbors and friends and businesses.”

— Mayor Martin Walsh

PHOTO: ISABEL LEON, MAYOR’S OFFICE

Gov. Charlie Baker and Mayor Martin Walsh join local officials and business representatives for an announcement of a business boosting grant program. for businesses and workforce training.

“In our plan we have five key principles that are going to drive the work over the next few years,” said Kennealy. “One of them is equitable opportunity — the notion that every community, every region, every citizen deserves their shot at growth and opportunity and success.” He said that the title of the plan spoke to “our ability to work together to get important things done.”

Walsh told the Banner that equitable opportunity was the heart of a community.

“When you think about our neighborhoods, they’re not built around the Amazons of the world,” he said. “They’re built around neighbors and friends and businesses. You know, a lot of

these businesses that we have in our city, in our communities, are our neighbors. So having a strong business community and having equity there is so important.”

Walsh also acknowledged the citywide Black Restaurant Challenge, which urges people to visit at least four black-owned restaurants during the month of February. People still have plenty of time to participate, he said, and later joked, “I think this a leap year, so you get an extra day!”

People should explore Nubian Square’s entirety, said Walsh, rather than just saving visits for special occasions.

“Come back to Nubian Square on any day of the week. Eat at one of our restaurants, shop at our stores, come to our stores, make sure you do that. Because that’s

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what makes a business district thrive,” he said.

He also told the Banner that there are 40,000 small businesses in Boston, and many are businesses of color. Walsh said he shops locally whenever he can.

“As you think about shopping, think in your head — is there a local option? And if there is, buy one or two things in the local option before you go in the malls.”

Kaidi Grant, owner of the Black Market, noted that resources should be given to entrepreneurs, founders and dreamers, “so that they can have the opportunity to change their own neighborhood.” She said that’s the narrative of the Black Market.

“You give us the tools and if we have the resources, and we create our own opportunities for resources, we can then use it as a springboard for self-sufficiency,” she said. “Because I think that what’s missing nowadays is that the power really comes from the ground up.”

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4 • Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

EDITORIAL

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INSIDE: BUSINESS, 13 • ARTS & CULTURE, 14 • CLASSIFIEDS, 17

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Established 1965

It’s time for blacks to be strategic Every four years, the most talented in 1964 and walked away from their suppolitical consultants vie to be recruited by port of the Republican Party. Sen. Barry candidates for president and other high Goldwater, the Republican presidential elective office. It is the time for political candidate, and several other Republican operatives to earn substantial fees and senators, had voted against the Civil burnish their reputations. The political Rights Act. Consequently, the black campaigns are usually between repuvote for Republicans, which was usually table members of the various wings of about one-third of the total black vote, the Republican and Democratic Parties, collapsed to only 4%. Lyndon Johnson but this year the primary theme of the won by a landslide and the black vote for Democratic Party is to run a campaign to Republicans has never recovered. remove Donald Trump Republicans will do from office. whatever is necessary to That objective is so deflate this powerful black compelling that it is Democratic candidates voting bloc. According to unsettling to see black reports, in 2016 Trump for president must political consultants sign supporters used internet on for any candidate with earn the support of messages to discourage little chance to attract the voters by the quality black voters from showing black vote. The expectaup on Election Day. In of their proposals, tion is that black votes the 2020 campaign, some rather than by relying of the criticism of Mike will account for as much as 25% of the Democratic on hostile criticism Bloomberg is designed to Party electorate in this damage the support he of their Democratic primary. The ideal canmight reasonably have opponents.” didate is one who blacks from black citizens. Blacks will vote for and white will likely support the canvoters will also support. didate of the Democratic For many months, Joe Biden had the Party, but unenthusiastic black voters commitment of a substantial percentage might stay home on Election Day, just as of black voters and he led the race for they did in 2016.

Democrats, but losses in Iowa and New The ultimate objective for Democrats Hampshire have raised questions about is to replace Trump with a qualified whether he could beat Trump. Conseoccupant of the White House. That is quently, black support for Biden has the goal. Democratic candidates for gone soft. president must earn the support of The Nevada caucus of Saturday, Feb. voters by the quality of their proposals, 22 and now the South Carolina primary rather than by relying on hostile critcoming up on Saturday, Feb. 29 will icism of their Democratic opponents. determine whether there is substantial The emergence in the campaign of life left in the Biden campaign. Blacks Mike Bloomberg, a candidate with such should already be planning whom to extensive financial resources, benefits support if Biden fizzles out, as some the cause of the Democrats, especially predict he might. since he shall financially support the Black History Month is a good time election of whichever Democratic canto consider political issues in light of the didate is nominated. travails of blacks in America. To avoid A Republican strategy undoubtedly the persistent abuses in the states of is to diminish the black vote, just as the old Confederacy, millions of blacks they did in 2016. Excessive criticisms of packed up and moved to the industrial Bloomberg are an attempt to dull the Midwest and Northeast in search of luster of his candidacy in the primary. employment. They were motivated by Trump would rather have a candidate the promise of an America for freedom, that he and his minions believe they can justice and equality. From 1916 to 1970, defeat, but some analysts say Bloomberg six million blacks moved north and west, would well win the battle with support of away from bigotry and in search of the the black vote. Some Democratic Party American Dream. critics of Bloomberg seem to be acting A dramatic moment occurred in this inadvertently from the Trump political trek when black voters went to the polls handbook.

“

“We’ll probably know who the Democratic candidate is next week.”

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The Bay State Banner is published every Thursday.

Offices are located at 1100 Washington Street, Dorchester, MA 02124 Telephone: 617-261-4600 • Fax: 617-261-2346 Website: www.baystatebanner.com Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA. All rights reserved. Copyright 2020.

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Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 5

OPINION THE BANNER WELCOMES YOUR OPINION: EMAIL OP-ED SUBMISSIONS TO YAWU@BANNERPUB.COM • Letters must be signed. Names may be withheld upon request.

OPINION

Why Bernie fears the superdelegates will do him in — again

ROVING CAMERA

Do you know who you’re supporting for president?

By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON Bernie Sanders railed loud and long in 2016 that the Democratic Party’s system of superdelegates and the superdelegates themselves were stacked against him. He was right. The Democratic Party’s superdelegates, unlike the GOP superdelegates, are not bound by the party rules to vote for the person getting the most delegate votes.

They can vote for the person they want.

In 2016, there was never any doubt that this would be Hillary Clinton. Sanders knew it and screamed foul. He knew it because the Dems’ superdelegates are a bunch of senators, governors, congresspersons, Democratic Party elders, big-gun officials and everybody on the Democratic National Committee. There are 775 of them.

Together they make up about 15% of the overall number of delegates.

Sanders has a good case against the outsized role of superdelegates. In 1982, Democratic Party officials cooked up the idea of having superdelegates as a fail-safe firewall against the horror, in their eyes, of having what happened in 1972 happen again. That was the year George McGovern got the party to hold lots more primaries, and then rode the crest of the anti-war, civil rights, student protest and populist wave to win them and bag the Democratic presidential nomination. McGovern was thoroughly trounced by Nixon in the general election. Superdelegates would be the guard at the henhouse door to ensure that any future Democratic presidential candidate would have to be properly establishment, credible, presentable and electable in the general election.

Now, with much talk of a possible brokered 2020 convention, Sanders and many others in the party sweat bullets at that prospect.

There’s good reason. A brokered convention is simply that one candidate doesn’t have enough delegate votes to bag the nomination on the first ballot and voting goes to a second ballot. The last Democratic brokered convention was in 1952, when Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson didn’t get the nomination on the first go-around.

The brokered part comes into play when delegates and party leaders engage in furious back-and-forth horse trading and swapping votes for their pick.

If this happens at the 2020 Democratic convention, the obvious target will be Sanders. Despite rule changes, the superdelegates then would loom large again. Under the new rules, they can vote on the second round of balloting, and the vote of many almost certainly would not be for Sanders. The reason why hasn’t changed one whit since 2016. Centrist Democrats for the most part still quake in fear that a Sanders nomination will virtually hand the White House back to Trump.

Trump and the GOP seem to think so. The nonstop rumors and reports keep swirling that they are salivating at the thought of Sanders as his opponent. Sanders’ Medicare For All, rip of corporate big shots, along with the claims that his radical reforms will cost untold trillions, supposedly are more than enough to make Sanders easy pickings for Trump.

If it comes down to added rounds of balloting, and if Sanders is the delegate leader but has not gotten the majority needed for the nomination outright, then we are back to the superdelegates.

Sanders supporters have flatly said that superdelegates would be the ultimate weapon to torpedo his nomination. This would be far more damaging than 2016. Then, Clinton clearly won a majority of regular party delegates through her primary battles with him, and the superdelegate count for her was merely icing on the nomination cake.

That won’t be the case this time around. Sanders will almost certainly be at or near the top in the number of delegates he’ll rack up in the primaries. He’s got too much campaign cash, and a big, loud and vigorous support base for that not to happen. If he is the delegate count leader, and he’s denied the nomination in follow-up rounds of balloting deal-making, it would be a party horror. No amount of shouting about the mortal peril a Trump reelection poses to the country will sway legions of Sanders supporters to hold their proverbial nose and vote for the Democratic party’s alter-ego choice, let alone hit the campaign trail for that ticket absent Sanders.

Let’s hope for the Democrats’ and Sanders’ sake that it never gets to that.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst.

I like Bernie.

Douglas Rainford Food Service Dorchester

No. I don’t like any of them. But I definitely don’t like Trump. Last election, I didn’t vote for Clinton or Trump. I don’t regret that.

Michael Christian Self employed Randolph

I don’t know who to vote for, honestly. I’ll vote in November for whoever is running against Trump.

Detachia Swain Clerk Mattapan

I haven’t made up my mind. We have to be strategic. Collectively, we need to choose someone who is going to win against Trump. It’s not about personality or loyalty.

I like Bernie Sanders. I think he’ll make a better president. We gotta get rid of Trump.

Caesar Brown Food Service Roxbury

I’m torn. I like Bernie and I like Elizabeth Warren. But I need to do more research.

Judy Rose

Phillip Lodge

Student Dorchester

Business Owner Dorchester

and the board is committed to taking Pathways to the next level of success,” he said. “I’m looking forward to leading this terrific group as we meet our mission to care for children and their families.”

Mitchell worked at Action for Boston Community Development for 10 years, serving as deputy director of Field Operations. He served as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University and on the board of Roxbury Youthworks.

He received his BA in Political Science from Tufts University, a Master of Public Administration

from Suffolk University’s Sawyer School of Management and a Master of Science in Professional Politics from Suffolk University.

Pathway for Children’s mission is “To serve the best interests of infant through adolescent children and their families – whether disadvantaged by circumstance or in search of opportunity – by delivering the empowering gift of quality educational, social development and support services that strengthen the family unit and the community.” Pathways for Children began providing services in 1967 and is now a leading provider of education and care programs serving over 500 children and their families from fourteen North Shore communities. Pathways for Children serves children from birth to age 13 and their families through programs including Early Head Start, Head Start, School Age Care, Family Enrichment and Coordinated Family and Community Engagement.

IN THE NEWS

ERIC MITCHELL Eric Mitchell has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Pathways for Children, a leading provider of education and care programs on the North Shore.

Pathways for Children serves children from birth to age 13 and their families through programs including Early Head Start, Head Start, School Age Care, Family Enrichment and Coordinated Family and Community Engagement. Each year Pathways delivers these vital services to over 500 children and their families from fourteen North Shore communities.

Mitchell, who has over twenty years in the nonprofit sector specializing in large multi-site agencies serving children and families, said he was both honored and excited to be named the new president and CEO of Pathways.

“The staff at Pathways are some of the brightest, most caring professionals I have ever worked with

6 • Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

ZBA

continued from page 1 The press conference came the day before a City Council hearing called by Edwards on her menu of reforms to the ZBA. Walsh and Edwards said they will continue to discuss additional reforms, including the composition of the board.

Changing the board structure, which by state law must include positions for representatives of the real estate industry and the building trades, will require petitioning the Legislature.

Edwards said the changes she and Walsh discussed and agreed on will help make the ZBA more responsive to Boston’s residents.

“We are experiencing monumental growth today in Boston and reckoning with new standards of density, development, new challenges of housing affordability, transportation injustice and climate change,” she said.

“There’s an increasing strong sentiment that government at all

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to get people to trust growth in Boston,” she said. “Part of not trusting growth is feeling that the government, or the process that the government has set up, is not accessible to you.”

levels must work faster, and in every facet be more directly and deeply accountable to the communities that we serve.”

ZBA at center of investigations

The current push for changes on the board came after longtime city employee John Lynch, a staff member of the city’s Boston Planning and Development Agency, was charged last year with taking a bribe from a developer who was seeking an extension from the ZBA. While Walsh stressed that two separate investigations cleared the ZBA of any wrongdoing in the case, board member Craig Galvin, who voted on real estate projects his real estate firm later represented, stepped down shortly after Lynch was indicted.

Former Inspectional Services Department (ISD) Commissioner William “Buddy” Christopher stepped down in September from his role as an advisor to the mayor, leaving city government. An architecture firm Christopher founded,

12

More on the table

BANNER PHOTO

City Councilor Lydia Edwards addresses reporters, flanked by Mayor Martin Walsh and Councilor Liz Breadon. which was run by his son, represented developers who regularly appeared before the ZBA and several whose projects were approved

by ISD. While U.S. attorneys circulated a photograph of Lynch accepting cash from a developer, highlighting an egregious case of public

corruption, some Boston residents who have fought unsuccessfully against politically-connected developers have expressed doubts that the city’s development process could give abutters a fair shake.

But Edwards said the reforms to the ZBA should help level the playing field.

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Twelfth Annual African American Ball Celebrating Black History Month

“Gratitude Will Change Your Attitude” Saturday, February 29, 2020 Yawkey Club of Roxbury 115 Warren Street, Roxbury, MA 02119 Time 6:00 P.M. Hosted by: Micheal Blakely and The Yawkey Boys & Girls Club of Roxbury Honorees of the Evening:

Speaking to reporters after the press conference, Edwards said that she expected to discuss additional reforms at Tuesday’s hearing.

“Tomorrow is where we’re going to have additional conversations,” she said. “I know the folks of Boston are going to come through with more practical suggestions.

I’m not sure if we can get an ‘executive order 2.0,’ but I think the mayor is open to it if we get a good idea.”

Among the reforms she would like to see are evening meetings and a greater frequency of meetings for the board, which currently meets twice monthly during the day. Edwards has also proposed adding seats on the board for an urban planner, an environmentalist and a civil rights specialist.

Edwards said she would like to see a prohibition on former board members petitioning the ZBA on any projects on which they had voted in the previous five years. As a city councilor, Edwards noted, she is barred by state ethics law from petitioning city government for a year after leaving city government.

“We’re not going away from this moment and have the same seven [ZBA board members], the same standards and the same way of doing business,” Edwards said.

“That is clearly off the table. So that’s a good thing.”

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Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 7

Teens march on State House for youth jobs

By KENNEAL PATTERSON Hundreds of young people protested on the State House steps Feb. 20 during the 12th annual youth justice rally, entitled “2020 Vision: Reframe your Future.”

Advocates from all across the commonwealth gathered in support of criminal justice reform, housing equity, funding for youth jobs, environmental protection and other issues that disproportionately impact Boston’s youth of color.

“Young people are citizens of our great city,” Rep. Liz Miranda told the Banner as the young people entered the State House.

“They’re facing very similar challenges to adults. A lot of people talk about young people being the future, but they’re very much the present and now.”

Melanie Pires-Cardoso, a 16-year-old sophomore at the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, said that problems cannot be addressed without youth involvement.

“If kids like me are not here speaking upon these issues, then changes won’t happen,” she said.

Pires-Cardoso encouraged youth to get involved, adding, “This is for our future.” She urged legislators to take youth opinions into consideration.

At the State House, the young advocates met with their local legislators to discuss issues like youth employment. The organization that planned the rally, I Have a Future (IHAF), noted that young people lack opportunities for stable jobs. Many teenagers struggle to provide for themselves, let alone provide for their families or save money for college.

Miranda acknowledged the challenges of low-income households.

“Young people from our community, unlike other places who might be doing something to learn a skill, they’re also contributing to their households,” she told the Banner. “So having a job is incredibly important to pay for transportation, for food, and to help their families.”

IHAF urged young people to demand funding for YouthWorks, an employment program that trains youth and prepares them for the workforce. It especially targets low-income families and provides access to paid shortterm work experiences. The program has been funded at a level rate over the past few years, but the cost of living has skyrocketed.

Furthermore, the minimum wage increase from 2015-2017 meant that the program lost 878 jobs, a 20% cut. For fiscal year 2021, advocates are requesting $19.3 million in funding for YouthWorks jobs in order to provide for hundreds more young people.

Advocates are also calling for $5.5 million in funding for School-to-Career Connecting Activities, an initiative of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that connects high schoolers with jobs and internships relevant to their future careers.

“As students, we should be working at jobs that connect us to what we want to do in the future, and I feel like there’s not enough jobs like that,” said Pires-Cardoso.

She later added, “I want to be able to work a job where I’m not only

PHOTO: KENNEAL PATTERSON

Teen advocates march in Downtown Crossing (left) and gather at the State House (right). thankful for the money but the opportunities it gives me.”

Juvenile criminal justice reform was also addressed at the rally. Advocates hope to raise the upper age in delinquency and youthful offender cases to 20 years old over the next three years. The aim is to protect young people under 21 from being prematurely convicted. A bill entitled “An Act to Promote Public Safety and Better Outcomes for Young Adults” notes that the average brain does not develop until young people reach their early 20s. It asks why youth are forced to face adult consequences at such young ages, especially since many end up “aging out” of the justice system.

Exposure to toxic environments, it states, increases the probability of recidivism.

In 2 01 3 , Ma s s a c h u s e tt s stopped immediately prosecuting 17-year-olds as adults. The act notes that since then, juvenile crime has declined by 38%. Currently, teens and young adults incarcerated in Massachusetts adult correctional facilities have a 55% re-conviction rate. This act hopes to lower that statistic.

“An Act Relative to Expungement” has also been proposed.

The bill intends to expunge certain nonviolent offenses from a teen’s criminal record. While young people can currently expunge one offense prior to their 21st birthday, those with multiple court cases are ineligible for expungement. The bill notes that clean records allow youth to enroll in college or pursue a career without being haunted by past offenses.

Somaya Laroussi, a 19 yearold Boston University student, told the Banner why the bill is personal for many.

“A lot of us have parents that are ex-felons, or have been incarcerated years ago, [and] they’ve done everything that they can now to follow the law,” she said.

“Yet they’re still prevented from getting their licenses renewed or finding a good stable job to provide for the family.”

Laroussi especially advocated for environmental justice. She noted how communities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental hazards imposed on their communities.

“I think environmental justice is really important to Boston youth,” she told the Banner.

“Because a lot of us, especially from black and brown communities, we’re disproportionately affected. People come into our communities, they build facilities that benefit them but harm us, especially health-wise, and that’s not right.”

Jeisanelly Hernandez, 18, added that she was personally affected by climate change.

“I was born in Springfield, but I grew up with eczema and asthma,” she said. “And that’s just the health effects of pollution.”

The Housing Opportunity and Mobility through Eviction Sealing (HOMES) bill aims to prevent

unfair evictions. Minors are often added to an eviction record, which presents a barrier when they ultimately look for housing. These records are publicly available, regardless of the outcome of the case.

The bill hopes to seal all eviction cases until an allegation is proven.

The adult perspective

Throughout the rally, leaders expressed pride for the young people’s determination and resilience.

Gerly Adrien, a councilwoman from Everett, told the Banner that young women should run and get involved in politics.

“Don’t be afraid,” she said.

“Don’t let anybody tell you no. Because they told me no three times and I won.”

Adrien recalled that when she was 16, she was also advocating on issues like the ones presented Thursday.

“I didn’t realize how much my power was limited,” she said.

“But all the power was within the elected officials. So I said, when I run for office, and I make those decisions, I was going to involve youth. … It’s important that youth get involved and make sure they call [their legislators]. Because they’re making the decision every day without them.”

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8 • Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

DESE

continued from page1 request for comment for this article. Copies of the report were sent to city officials last week. The report will be made public next week.

The release of the DESE report comes after BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius last month released a five-year plan that aims to eliminate the achievement gap in the district. The plan also calls for a redesign of secondary schools to prepare students for college and careers and would align high school curricula with the state’s Common Core standards.

Mayor Martin Walsh in January committed to increasing funding for BPS schools by $100

million over regular annual cost increases. In the Fiscal Year 2021 BPS budget, $34 million in additional funding is included, with $19 million with the additional funds targeted toward instruction and student supports, including social workers and counselors in the 34 schools identified by the state as among the lowest-performing.

Cassellius could not be reached for comment, but issued a statement through a spokesman.

“As we are in the final days of shaping our strategic plan and vision for the future of the Boston Public Schools, having the external lens of the DESE district review will only support our efforts to better serve our students, families and staff,” the statement reads. “The DESE district review

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provides BPS with an opportunity to reflect on progress, examine our practices, identify both systemic challenges and areas of growth and allows us to take the necessary action to strengthen our accountability as a district. We look forward to collaborating with DESE towards our shared goal of improving outcomes for all BPS students.”

Annissa Essaibi-George, who heads the City Council’s Education Committee, is opposed to state intervention. She said Walsh’s commitment of $19 million in funding for the 34 struggling schools is a move in the right direction.

“We know schools that are struggling often are lacking supports,” she said. “We know kids are struggling with homelessness, hunger and other challenges. Providing kids with support services is what we need to do.”

Before the report was issued this week, DESE board members were already signaling support for state intervention in BPS schools.

In a Jan. 28 meeting, board member James Morton spoke about the efficacy of the “empowerment zone” model, used on a cohort of struggling schools in Springfield. He suggested struggling Boston schools could benefit from a governance structure similar to that of Springfield’s zone, which has limited the district’s oversight of the schools and waived requirements of the teachers’ union contract.

Another board member, Amanda Fernández, cited a “need for change” in Boston and said the system has reached a plateau.

Board members Matthew Hills and Michael Moriarty spoke in favor of keeping receivership and other forms of intervention on the table.

Ye t D E S E ’s r e c o r d o n

BANNER FILE PHOTO

Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey Riley, with Gov. Charlie Baker, during a 2018 event. turnarounds has not inspired confidence among state education leaders.

“There’s no question that there are people in state government who would drool over the prospect of taking over schools,” said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. “I would have to think that DESE would understand that takeovers are not an effective option.”

In recent years, DESE has taken control of the Holyoke, Southbridge and Lawrence districts, appointing receivers to run them. In Southbridge, the district is on its fourth receiver in as many years.

DESE’s own data shows Southbridge and Holyoke as the two lowest-performing districts in the state. DESE gave Lawrence, which the state took over in 2011, the eighth-lowest rank in overall achievement, despite some gains since the takeover.

Springfield, where DESE designated 10 schools as part of an empowerment zone, is ranked the sixth-lowest-performing district in DESE’s listing. Despite the DESE board members’ call for an empowerment-zone-like approach to Boston’s 34 struggling schools, the schools in Springfield’s zone still rank among the state’s lowest percentiles.

On Boston’s 2019 DESE accountability assessment, the

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district was given a classification of “not requiring assistance or intervention.” The report cited “substantial progress toward targets.”

In Lawrence, where Education Commissioner Riley served as receiver until 2018, DESE lists the district as “requiring assistance and intervention” and refers to it as a “chronically underperforming district.”

While Boston’s schools have shown improvement in student performance over recent decades, with graduation rates reaching an all-time high of 75.1% of students receiving diplomas in four years in 2018, the district saw that rate drop to 73.2% in 2019. The district also has persistent gaps between the academic performance and graduation rates of white students and the black and Latino students who make up the majority of the district.

“We’re not surprised that there are issues and challenges in the district,” Tang said. “Educators, parents and children have been saying this for the last few years.

We’ve had five superintendents in the last seven years. However, I think we are poised, with the right support from the state, to have interventions that are informed by educators and stakeholders to actually have meaningful lasting change. That is the type of work we are committed to implementing with the new superintendent.”

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Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 9

State has checkered history of interventions

By YAWU MILLER Education Secretary Jeff Riley has been widely lauded for his work turning around the Lawrence Public Schools, a long-troubled district he took over as state receiver/ superintendent in 2012.

By many accounts, the school system there had bottomed out, with 37% of students earning a warning/failing score in mathematics. In 2019, one year after Riley left, the metrics were different, with a revised MCAS test, but the results showed progress, with students listed as “not meeting expectations” at 29%.

Riley earned the respect of state education officials. While he fired most of the district’s headmasters, he retained most of the teachers.

Under Riley’s leadership, graduation rates improved, as did test scores.

Yet nine years after the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) stepped in, the Lawrence school district remains in receivership and is listed on the DESE website as “requiring assistance or intervention.” DESE sets targets for school districts as a way of measuring their progress toward targets. In 2019, the Lawrence schools received a rating of 42%, which the department lists as “moderate progress toward targets.”

By way of comparison, Boston received a rating of 56% in 2019, which DESE listed as a “substantial progress toward targets.”

Boston has its share of challenges, with 34 schools throughout

BANNER FILE PHOTO

The Up Education Network has served as state-appointed receiver at the Holland School since 2014. The school remains listed as “chronically underperforming” on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website. the city listed among the lowest 10% of schools in the state. (DESE relies on two consecutive years of MCAS scores in making that assessment.)

If the city’s recent experience with state intervention is any indication, DESE oversight of those 34 schools could provide even greater challenges.

The Holland School in Dorchester, which the state declared “failing” in 2013, was put into receivership and has been run by the UP Academy charter management company. In 2019, DESE still categorized UP Academy Holland,

as the school is now called, as a “chronically underperforming school.” The school gained national attention in 2016 for its “no excuses”-style disciplinary model.

In the 2014-2015 school year, the pre-K through 5th grade school suspended more kindergarteners than any other school in Massachusetts and had a total of 325 suspensions, with a student body of 750.

The UP Academy disciplinary regime highlighted another challenge of state takeovers: the charter management company running the school reports directly to

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the DESE board, and not to the Boston School Committee, the BPS superintendent or any local officials. Therefore, parent complaints go to the UP Academy CEO, who doesn’t answer to local officials, an arrangement critics say limits local accountability. The school remains under receivership.

At the Paul A. Dever School, placed under receivership in 2014, the state selected a Newton-based start-up management company called Blueprint, whose contract was ultimately canceled. In the first two years, Blueprint cycled through five principals, calling into question

the state’s ability to administer turnaround schools. During the first two years, Blueprint reportedly received $1.3 million from the state, in addition to $4.6 million a year from BPS for the school’s operating budget and $585,000 in state and federal grants.

Former Boston Latin School head Michael Contompasis is the current receiver for the Dever.

The school remains at Level 5, the lowest ranking in the state’s rating system.

Results have been similarly disappointing outside of Boston, in Springfield, Holyoke and Southbridge. Holyoke and Southbridge are listed as Level 5 chronically underperforming school districts. In Springfield, the state designated 10 struggling schools as an “empowerment zone.” Those schools are given greater autonomy than others in the Springfield District and are not subject to union contracts.

While one of the Springfield schools was converted to a talented and gifted program, the other nine have shown some progress but remain ranked in the lowest 10% of schools in the state.

DESE lists the Springfield district as the third-lowest-ranked district in the state.

In Southbridge, which the state put into receivership in 2016, the district has had four receivers and remains at Level 5 status. It is the second-lowest-ranked school system in the state. Holyoke has had more stability, with just one receiver in the last five years, yet remains the lowest-ranked district in the state.

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10 • Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER

Trump spy chief hid Hungarian govt. payment

By ISAAC ARNSDORF PROPUBLICA President Donald Trump’s acting Director of National iIntelligence, Richard Grenell, worked as a paid publicist for a foundation funded by Hungary’s increasingly authoritarian government — his second former client to prompt scrutiny because Grenell did not disclose the work.

In 2016, the Magyar Foundation of North America paid Grenell’s consulting firm, Capitol Media Partners, $103,750 for “public relations” services, according to the foundation’s tax filing. The foundation was funded and supervised by Hungary’s government, according to records obtained by the Hungarian nonprofit news organization Atlatszo. The foundation’s director, Jo Anne Barnhart, had been a registered lobbyist for Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Grenell, however, did not register, even though public relations work on behalf of a foreign government falls squarely under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to lawyers specializing in the matter. FARA is the same law that Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and former deputy campaign manager, Rick Gates, were convicted of violating.

The work for Hungary is Grenell’s second foreign consulting engagement that was not previously disclosed. On Friday ProPublica reported that Grenell did consulting work on behalf of the Moldovan politician Vladimir Plahotniuc,

who the United States later said was involved in corruption. Craig Engle, a lawyer for Grenell, said Grenell did not have to register under FARA because “he was not working at the direction of a foreign power.”

The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment.

Richard Grenell did not disclose payments for advocacy work on behalf of a Moldovan politician whom the United States later accused of corruption.

Grenell’s past work for Hungary was first reported on the blog of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a foreign policy think tank whose funders include conservative billionaire Charles Koch and liberal financier George Soros. In emails published in the blog post, Engle said Grenell knew that the Hungarian government was the “sponsor” of the foundation. He said Grenell’s work didn’t “qualify as registerable activity” under FARA but did not explain.

Engle, whose practice at the firm Arent Fox includes FARA compliance, was also a board member of the foundation and served as its lawyer.

Reached on his cellphone on last week, Engle said he couldn’t talk because he was at a luncheon.

He later replied in an email: “I am not doing any more work on this issue.”

Both Plahotniuc and Orban were clients of the Republican political operative Arthur Finkelstein, who died in 2017. A payment of at least $5,000 from Finkelstein’s firm appears on Grenell’s personal financial disclosure from when he became ambassador to Germany. The form does not list a payment from the Magyar Foundation.

Richard Grenell did not disclose payments for advocacy work on behalf of a Moldovan politician whom the United States later accused of corruption. His own office’s policy says that could leave him vulnerable to blackmail.

But the foundation’s tax filing shows the payment to Grenell’s firm. The listed address was a Palm Springs, California house that Grenell owned at the time, according to property records.

Grenell’s work, according to Engle, consisted of enlisting reporters to attend cultural and academic events. A progress report that the foundation sent to the government said Grenell’s firm was part of a communications team that contacted more than 50 news outlets to promote an event at the National Press Club in Washington. The event was emceed by Connie Mack, a former congressman who was Orban’s registered lobbyist in Washington, and was attended

by several lawmakers and government officials.

Undisclosed foreign lobbying and past foreign business dealings can create security concerns for people with access to government secrets, according to the official policy from the office that Grenell now leads.

Watchdog groups have criticized Orban and his far-right party for consolidating power, suppressing opposition, stoking anti-Semitism and cozying up to Russia.

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Trump, however, has lavished praise on Orban. “Probably, like me, a little bit controversial,” Trump said at an Oval Office meeting last May, “but that’s OK.” Grenell, for his part, has advocated bolstering conservatives across Europe. “I absolutely want to empower other conservatives throughout Europe,” he told Breitbart London in 2018. “I think there is a groundswell of conservative policies that are taking hold because of the failed policies of the left.”

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Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 11

Kennedy, Markey face off at W. 10 caucus

By YAWU MILLER Minutes after he walked into the Democratic Party’s Ward 10 Caucus in the community center of the Mission Park housing development Feb. 22, Joe Kennedy III faced the question: “I’m sure a lot of people in this room have the same question — I think you’re a great rep. — but why?” asked Ward 10 committee member Jim Farra. “Besides the fact of being young … why are you running?”

Kennedy’s response reiterated the two main points he’s been making in stump speeches and at last week’s debate: The three-term U.S. congressman has worked hard to support Democratic congressional candidates around the country, and the country needs new energy to face the challenges posed by President Trump and the Republican Party.

“I do believe that this moment is one of great consequence for our country, our party and our commonwealth,” he answered. “And I think if you believe that, then you’ve got to make sure you’re doing everything you can, you’re getting everything you possibly can out of this position. And I think that I can, in fact, bring more to it than we currently are getting out of that position.”

Sen. Ed Markey, whose efficacy Kennedy has been questioning, listed dozens of pieces of legislation he has authored and sponsored during his seven years in the Senate, which followed 37 years

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U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy addresses Ward 10 Democratic Committee members in the Mission Park housing development during the group’s caucus. as a U.S. congressman. He drew applause from the crowd of Democratic activists when he singled out his bills banning robocalls and the $25 million he secured for research at the Centers for Disease Control on the causes of gun violence. He also cited $315 million dollars he secured for Alzheimer’s research and funding for universal flu vaccine research.

“That’s my December in the United States Senate,” he said, before he spoke about his vote on impeachment and his co-sponsorship with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Green New Deal resolution on climate change solutions.

“What she and I did last year has transformed the debate on

climate change,” he said. “It’s catapulted it from an issue that was kind of fringe to top-three.”

The Mission Hill stop was one of several the candidates made Saturday in a push to secure the support of Democratic Party activists, many of whom were voted in as delegates to the June state convention, where they’ll vote on the party’s nominee for the senate race.

At the Ward 10 meeting, activists from the Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods sat on one side of the room, while campaign volunteers and supporters of the Senate candidates filled another. Suffolk County Register of Probate Felix D. Arroyo, state Rep. Nika Elugardo and City Councilors Kenzie Bok and Matt O’Malley

attended the caucus, during which the party’s grassroots members vied for 21 seats at the convention.

Elugardo said the current political climate, which she characterized as a challenge to democracy, demands full participation from voters. She urged the party activists to engage with the electorate.

“Because of your efforts, we should maximize turnout in every precinct,” she said. “I want Massachusetts to stand out for voter turnout.”

O’Malley called the 2020 race “the most important presidential election of our lifetime.”

Because Massachusetts is a solidly-Democratic state whose popular and Electoral College votes will almost certainly go to the Democratic presidential nominee, the state’s voters can exert their greatest influence in the national political process with their March 3 Democratic primary vote for a presidential candidate and their Sept. 1 Democratic primary vote for the U.S. Senate candidate.

While Kennedy led Markey in early polls, he appeared to face a stiff headwind from the Ward 10 crowd.

The first and second questions the party activists pressed him on were his motives for running.

“Going around the country, flipping seats for the Democrats — that’s great,” said one Ward 10 woman, who went on to suggest Kennedy continue supporting Democratic congressional candidates from the 4th Congressional District seat he currently occupies.

“I think the platform that a

United States Senate seat gives you is a far more influential one to do that than a U.S. House seat,” Kennedy said. “It’s not even a close comparison. If you think that I’ve done that in the House and you don’t think I could be more effective in the Senate, then that’s fine.

But I do think I can be.”

The exchanges Kennedy had with the Ward 10 members underscored the challenge he faces running against Markey. While candidates such as 7th Congressional District Rep. Ayanna Pressley and New York 14th District Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were swept into office in the 2018 cycle running on progressive platforms, Kennedy is not running to the left of Markey, who has been endorsed

by Ocasio-Cortez.

The ongoing ward committee caucuses will be an important test for Kennedy, and an opportunity to court delegates to the state convention, where he’ll be competing with Markey for the party’s nomination.

In his closing remarks, Markey cited his endorsements from a range of progressive organizations including the environmental organization Sunrise Movement and NARAL Pro-Choice America. He said the endorsements reflect his willingness to take on powerful interests, including the National Rifle Association and other conservative groups.

“My view is that justice knows no age,” he said. “You just gotta keep working. I have the energy in the fight that will engage the Koch brothers and the NRA.”

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primary

continued from page 1 The self-described democratic socialist’s rise has slowed momentum among black voters by Bloomberg, who has spent nearly $500 million of his own money in the campaign, including massive advertising buys in heavily black Super Tuesday states.

Jus t a fe w wee k s ago, Bloomberg vaulted ahead of Sanders in support among African Americans. But after the former Republican mayor’s debate debacle in Nevada, Sanders won 33% of the black vote and Biden 29%, according to a Morning Consult poll. A separate NBC News/Wall

Street Journal poll showed Biden maintaining his lead in African American support with 31% and Sanders with 29.

Bill Moran, a retired school teacher from Roxbury, met Biden before he was tapped as Barack Obama’s vice president and immediately connected with the Delaware senator. “He moved me as someone I could speak to and relate to, someone who was authentic in ways other candidates are not,” said Moran, adding that he views Biden as the candidate most likely to beat Trump.

On that score, Moran is like most African Americans nationally, whose top priority is ousting President Trump from office. In one survey, 70% said they’ll vote

for the Democratic nominee in November, regardless of who that is.

But at the same time, the survey from BlackPAC, a political action committee, showed that one-third of those polled said they would like to see “someone else” run, reflecting a significant unease with the field after the withdraw of African American candidates Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Deval Patrick.

The two U.S. senators and former Massachusetts governor all pulled out of the race before the Nevada caucuses.

The same BlackPAC survey tellingly indicated that 12% of African Africans supported Trump and 12% an unnamed third party candidate. That poll followed a clear

push by the White House incumbent for black support in his State of the Union speech. During his stem-winding address last month, Trump touted a dramatic drop in African American unemployment, endorsed increased aid to historically black college and universities and highlighted black guests sitting in the gallery, including a former inmate recently released under a restorative justice law he signed.

The fierce fight among the Democrats has all but obscured the Republican primary. In Massachusetts, Trump faces a flaccid challenge from former Gov. William F. Weld.

On Super Tuesday, 1,357 delegates will be chosen nationally, including 114 in Massachusetts.

The Bay State’s share is dwarfed by states like California, with 495, and Texas, with 261. In both those states, black and Latino voters make up large chunks of primary voters.

Close to 60% of the delegates will be chosen after next week but a candidate like Sanders emerging from Super Tuesday with a significant lead will have momentum and a clear shot at wrapping up the nomination before the July convention in Milwaukee.

But if no one wins a majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates on the first ballot, delegates are released from their pledges during the second round, when over 700 party insiders known as Super Delegates can also vote.

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A counselor to business executives “

By KENNEAL PATTERSON In 2013, Wendy Hernández decided to leave her career in education to pursue a budding new idea — the creation of LionsPride Assistant, a company specializing in business counseling and administrative support. Today, Hernández has clients all over the United States — from South Carolina to Ohio to Boston’s Back Bay. She even hopes to expand globally.

“I work with small business owners, philanthropists and entrepreneurs,” Hernández tells the Banner. “I brand myself as their executive assistant. A lot of small businesses, and philanthropists in particular, do not need an admin assistant full time. So my business provides the support for small businesses that need administrative support but not on a full time level.”

Besides administrative support, her company provides event and meeting coordination, writing services and social media management.

Hernández says that she owes her entire career to Dr. Lindsa McIntyre, the current High School Superintendent of Boston Public Schools and Hernández’s mentor.

Hernández worked alongside McIntyre for 10 years. As McIntyre’s administrative assistant, she was introduced to high profile business owners, philanthropists and executives.

“They would say to me, ‘I need someone like you,’ and Lindsa would say, ‘Well, you can’t have her!’” Hernández says.

McIntyre eventually gave her blessing, says Hernández. She decided to chase her dreams, secure in the knowledge that she could return to education if her plan didn’t work out. Now, Hernández says, people in her community always joke, “Oh, you have Wendy as an assistant? I do too.”

“It’s become like, ‘Oh, if you’re a small business and you need an executive assistant, call Wendy,” says Hernández. “I think that in my case, like I said, I was fortunate because I had that connection, but there is definitely a need for small businesses to connect with high profile business owners and just people in general.”

Hernández says that as an entrepreneur, she likes to work on things that haven’t been designed yet, especially when using her knowledge and abilities to modify her approach for different clients.

“I love the initial stake of starting the business,” she says. She gains satisfaction from problem-solving and trying to figure out what works best for a certain industry.

Hernández also notes that she works with a lot of black-owned and minority-owned businesses.

“I feel very connected to that, as a woman of color myself,” she says.

According to a 2016 study from the City of Boston, over 20,000 Dominicans live in Boston. Hernández is one of them.

There are three things that I stand for, that my business stands for: honesty, loyalty and integrity. So when I think of clients that I want to work with … if there isn’t integrity, I will not work with them.”

— Wendy Hernández

COURTESY PHOTO

Wendy Hernández “There are not a lot of people that do this in the Boston area that are of color,” she says. “So that to me is why it’s important to have that representation of people that look like me, that are able to work with high profile people that are also people of color.”

Hernández notes that there are significant barriers that prevent people of color from networking with wealthy individuals.

“How do you get into the circle of wealth if you don’t have the connections?” she asks. Hernández says that she wouldn’t have even been able to meet high-profile people, let alone work with them, had it not been for her mentor.

“When I first started, no one knew me,” she says. “They were like, ‘Who is this person?’ but because [McIntyre] vouched for me, I was able to get in with people that I otherwise would not have been able to.”

Hernández hopes to continue LionsPride’s expansion, and she expressed gratitude for working with “awesome, amazing, brilliant minds that trust me to handle their operation and their day-to-day things.” She says that some of her clients have been featured in Forbes Magazine, and working with them on a daily basis is “so humbling.”

LionsPride’s name has a double meaning. On one hand, a group of lions is called a “pride,” and Hernández says she feels like she’s the mother lion caring for her pack. She also says her astrological sign is Leo, which represents certain values.

“There are three things that I stand for, that my business stands for: honesty, loyalty and integrity,” she says. “So when I think of clients that I want to work with … if there isn’t integrity, I will not work with them.”

Looking forward, Hernándezsays she may begin training employees to work as administrative assistants as well. “I am

so busy. And I would love to connect with other people that want to do this,” she says. “I would love to train them and be able to offer my services to more people. You

know, kind of like, clone myself in a way.”

Hernández grew up in Boston’s foster care system, she says, and is certain she wouldn’t be in

this position had it not been for her mentor. “I think that what I would like to say is how important it is to have mentors, because she helped me have that confidence to be able to talk to people of wealth,” she says. “I did not grow up with that, and because [McIntyre] took an interest in me, and she being a woman of color herself, that really opened a lot of doors for me.”

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Young, gifted, black — and on stage

History, community unite in Voices of Freedom concert

By CELINA COLBY For the fourth year running, the Vilna Shul Center for Jewish Culture in Beacon Hill will host the Voices of Freedom concert on March 29, celebrating unity with a multicultural and interfaith concert. The show will feature the Zamir Chorale of Boston, VOICES 21C and the Boston Community Gospel Choir, which frequently performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

“To have this type of cross-cultural music celebration in this building has been a wonderful experience for us. We’ve been able to do it annually, and it’s become one of, if not our singular, signature event,” says Vilna Shul Executive Director Barnet Kessel. “This idea of reaching a hand across the proverbial aisle … is more important than ever.”

“

When the audience joins with the three choirs singing music of freedom and liberation and a better world, it’s unbelievable.”

— Barnet Kessel, Vilna Shul executive director

The Vilna Shul has deep roots in the African American history of Beacon Hill, and that centuries-old cross-cultural tradition is part of what inspired the annual concert. The Vilna Shul was originally housed in the former 12th Baptist Church, a building with roots in the 1800s. The Baptist Church was a direct offshoot of the Baptist community gathering at the African Meeting House that is now part of Boston’s Museum of African American History.

Vilna Shul moved into the building when the 12th Baptist Church moved to its current location in Roxbury.

When the city seized that building by eminent domain, the Vilna Shul moved a few doors down to 18 Phillips St., but they took the original pews from the 12th Baptist Church building with them. The pews represent a rich African American history in Boston, as Shaw’s famous 54th Regiment, among other historical heavyweights, prayed on them.

See VILNA SHUL, page 16

(above) Ariel Richardson, Dionne Addai, Deanna Reed-Foster and Alanna Lovely in “Nina Simone: Four Women.” (below) Dionne Addai as Nina Simone. PHOTOS: MEG MOORE

POWERFUL PLAY ABOUT NINA SIMONE OPENS IN LOWELL ON THE WEB

By CELINA COLBY In 1966, Nina Simone’s song “Four Women” sent shockwaves through radios all across the United States and ignited controversy for its archetypal descriptions of black women. Now, that song has been shaped by Christina Ham into a moving stage show, “Nina Simone: Four Women,” running at the Merrimack Repertory Theater in Lowell through March 8.

The show takes place in the wreckage of the 16th Street Baptist Church that was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, killing four young girls. Simone is walking through the remains, trying to find the words for a song about the tragedy. She meets three other women also trying to make sense of their place in the story and in the Civil Rights fight, and together they represent the four women in Simone’s song.

Dionne Addai, who plays Simone, says, “I think telling black stories is really important. And I think Nina Simone’s music is very beautiful, but her struggle to find her voice as an activist was also really powerful.” The performance weaves Simone’s music into the discussion among the women of their experiences, including “Mississippi Goddam” and “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” among other pieces. The four girls murdered in the bombing haunt the church rubble, reminding the women of the oppression that unifies them as they gradually find common ground and empathy for each other.

During the 90-minute show, the four women on stage grapple with issues like colorism and violent versus nonviolent protest.

Read more about the show at:

mrt.org/show/nina-simone-four-women

“I think telling black stories is really important. And I think Nina Simone’s music is very beautiful, but her struggle to find her voice as an activist was also really powerful.”

— Dionne Addai —

Aunt Sarah (Deanna Reed-Foster) is a maid in a wealthy white family’s home; she represents African American enslavement, always serving others. Throughout the show she struggles to find her place in the resistance, having never fought on that scale before.

Saffronia (Ariel Richardson) is a lightskinned woman, the product of a nonconsensual relationship between a black woman and a white man. Her challenge is to convince the other women in the room that her experience as a black woman is just as valid as theirs, despite her light skin color.

Sweet Thing (Alanna Lovely) is a prostitute, trying to find both acceptance in her community and a sense of self that goes beyond her employment.

Addai says that the archetype characters only show the surface of the complex women underneath, but they do serve to show that that there are many different black female experiences and they are all valid. This and many of the other issues discussed in the show are still on the table today.

“I think there’s still a lot of hurt within the black community because of the way people are being treated,” says Addai.

“Today black churches are still attacked by white supremacists. People are still protesting because of police brutality. Even though in some ways things have improved, there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 15

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MassArt Art Museum (MAAM) now open

By SUSAN SACCOCCIA Sometimes the best things in life are free. Take the new museum of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), which opened to the public on Feb. 22 and will remain open to the public for free, year round, with exhibitions and programs that fulfill its stated mission: “To open eyes, expand minds, and create opportunity through the lens of contemporary art.”

Based on its thrilling opening exhibitions and a roster of inviting programs, the MassArt Art Museum (MAAM), is more than up to its ambitious goal. Located at 621 Huntington Ave. within the MassArt campus, the museum is entirely accessible and welcoming to visitors with strollers and wheelchairs. MAAM even adds an artistic touch to its bathrooms, where mirrors bordered with word art are conducive to selfies. In addition to galleries, the museum has an education studio for events such as weekly drawing workshops on Thursday evenings and sessions for school groups.

Founded in 1873, MassArt is the nation’s first publicly funded art school, and with MAAM, MassArt gains a contemporary art venue that will serve the community both within and surrounding the school. A non-collecting

“

To open eyes, expand minds, and create opportunity through the lens of contemporary art.”

— Mission statement, MAAM

museum designed ground-up to display works of all sizes, by MassArt faculty and students as well as artists from throughout the world, MAAM is mainly staffed by students. “Our shows will draw from the wide variety of disciplines taught at MassArt,” says MAAM Executive Director Lisa Tung, who first envisioned the museum when she arrived at MassArt 10 years ago and led its development. “And as we prepare students for careers in the arts, education and design, we will hire, train and pay them as MAAM staff.”

The welcome begins before a visitor enters, with the museum’s small plaza facing Huntington Avenue that has benches and outdoor art on display. Inside, the lobby itself is a work of art. On view through Feb. 28, 2021 is a wall-covering installation entitled “Yesterday is Here” (2019) by the artist collective Ghost of a Dream, Lauren Was and Adam Eckstrom. The duo collected three decades of exhibition catalogs and announcements

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from the college’s previous display space, the MassArt Bakalar & Paine Galleries, cut them up and spliced the pieces together into interlocking mosaics that bring the space’s past into its present.

The lobby opens onto two firstfloor galleries where, through April 19, a group show entitled “Game Changers: Video Games & Contemporary Art” is on view.

Animations and computer-generated images explore the crossover between artmaking and game design. Among the works not to be overlooked is a woven piece entitled “Intergalactic Empowerment Wampum Belt” that Canadian artist Skawennati, of Mohawk heritage, includes along with her machinima (movies that remix old game imagery).

A sun-splashed staircase leads to the upstairs gallery, home until Aug. 2 of the sensational “Valkyrie Mumbet” (2020), a giant inflated sculpture by renowned Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. With this monumental, site-specific installation, her first solo exhibition in

See MAAM, page 16

IF YOU GO WHAT: MassArt Art Museum (MAAM) WHERE: 621 Huntington Ave., Boston WHEN: Open Wednesday through Sunday ADMISSION IS FREE LEARN MORE AT: maam.massart.edu.

PHOTO: SUSAN SACCOCCIA

View of “Valkyrie Mumbet” (2020) by Joana Vasconcelos, on view through Aug. 2 at the MassArt Art Museum

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MAAM

continued from page 15

COURTESY PHOTO

Newly restored pews in the Vilna Shul sanctuary.

Vilna Shul continued from page 14

One of these pews is even on display at the National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C. As part of a large-scale restoration project at the Vilna Shul, the pews are being restored to their original paint color and quality.

Kessel says this melding of history represents a community

coming together across cultural and religious difference, which is also the goal of the Voices of Freedom concert. And the audience members attending the show will sit on those very historic pews. “We all have these narratives, and they’re complicated, but … if we have an opportunity to sit with each other and hear each other’s narrative, we understand how similar we are,” he says.

In the concert, this ideal is illustrated when each of the choirs

sings a song from one of the others’ repertoire. The gesture symbolizes the shared values across each group. It’s also the moment when the crowd joins in. Kessel says, “When the audience joins with the three choirs singing music of freedom and liberation and a better world, it’s unbelievable.”

the United States, the artist pays homage to Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman (c. 1724-1829), an enslaved woman in Sheffield, Massachusetts, who in 1781 gained her freedom through a successful court battle that helped make slavery illegal in this state. “Valkyrie Mumbet” is the latest of the artist’s ongoing series of Valkyries, named after Norse female war goddesses, which honor inspiring women.

As a visitor ascends the staircase, a giant limb of brilliantly colored quilted fabric is visible overhead, a prelude to the stunning experience of seeing the entirety of the sculpture in full splendor, suspended from the gallery’s 37foot ceiling and also visible from a balcony.

Wall texts tell the story of Freeman, who attended a public reading of the newly ratified Massachusetts Constitution. Moved by its statement that “all men are

born free and equal,” she found herself a top lawyer and won her freedom.

“Valkyrie Mumbet” is an exuberant celebration of freedom.

With its vibrant embroidered and crocheted fabrics, it is also a tribute to woman’s work and to the complex, freighted history of patterned cloths from Africa, an intertwined story of cross-continental cultural exchange and the slave trade. These connections will be explored on April 1 at 6 p.m. with a conversation at MassArt’s Pozen Center between M. Amah Edoh, an MIT professor of anthropology and African studies, and Mozambican clothing designer Wacy Zacarias.

Meanwhile, the fine wall texts of the Vasconcelos installation let Freeman speak for herself: “Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute’s freedom had been offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute, I would have taken it — just to stand one minute on God’s airth[sic] a free woman — I would.”

ON THE WEB Learn more at: vilnashul.org/events/event/

VoF4

PHOTO: SUSAN SACCOCCIA

“Game Changers,” on view through April 19 at the MassArt Art Museum.

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Dancing into the revolution

Boston Ballet highlights black dancers in formerly controversial piece

By CELINA COLBY

Running Feb. 27 through March 8, “rEVOLUTION” at Boston Ballet highlights three choreographers who took dance to its very physical and artistic limits: George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and William Forsythe. Though the pieces in the show date as far back as the 1950s, their power and vision continue to resonate with contemporary audiences.

Balanchine, Robbins and Forsythe are responsible for the type of modern ballet we’re used to today, when costumes and fairytales are stripped away to highlight the storytelling power of the dancers and their movements.

Technique is the first and foremost type of revolution happening on stage, but Balanchine’s piece “Agon” was part of the social revolution of Civil Rights as well.

Balanchine wrote the central duet in the piece for white dancer Diana Adams and black dancer Arthur Mitchell, who went on to found the Dance Theater of Harlem. At the time — 1957 — it was unprecedented to have a biracial couple performing such a sensual dance together.

Today, two dancers of color, Desean Taber and Chyrstyn Fentroy, will perform the dance, though in separate pairings. Fentroy was a principal dancer at the Dance Theater of Harlem before

“

The fact that it’s relatively normal to have people of color on stage performing these roles that once caused so much backlash, it speaks really well to society and how we’re moving forward.”

— Chyrstyn Fentroy

coming to the Boston Ballet, and Taber studied almost exclusively at Balanchine schools, so they both have a strong connection to the piece. “The fact that it’s relatively normal to have people of color on stage performing these roles that once caused so much backlash, it speaks really well to society and how we’re moving forward,” says Fentroy.

Both dancers have put their all into “Agon,” because the unconventional music by Igor Stravinsky, featuring sporadic, nontraditional counts, requires special focus. Fentroy says the piece fits in well with the rest of the program; she points out a similarity in the mathematical, geometric styles of Forsythe and Balanchine. In addition to “Agon” the evening will include “Glass Pieces” by Robbins,

PHOTOS: BROOKE TRISOLINI; COURTESY OF BOSTON BALLET

(above) Desean Taber and Addie Tapp. (below) Chyrstyn Fentroy and Patrick Yocum. who was Balanchine’s successor, and “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated” by Forsythe.

“Agon” isn’t a narrative piece, but it’s an aesthetically stunning and athletically complex performance. According to Taber, the piece perfectly illustrates the innovation of modern ballet.

“It doesn’t have to be a prince and a princess. It can be two very powerful people, a man and a woman, or two women, or two men, looking at each other as equal,” says Taber. “And I think that’s really relevant to our time now because we’re fighting for everyone to have equality. ‘Agon’ is like that.”

ON THE WEB Read about neoclassical ballet and purchase tickets at: www.bostonballet.org/

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SUFFOLK Division

LEGAL

LEGAL

LEGAL

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department

procedure. A copy of the Petition and Will, if any, can be obtained from the Petitioner.

Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority.

Docket No. SU19P2727EA

INFORMAL PROBATE PUBLICATION NOTICE Estate of: Joseph F. Gigliotti Date of Death: November 21, 2019

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Suffolk Probate and Family Court 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114 SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU19P2138GD

To all persons interested in the above captioned estate, by Petition of Petitioner Gregory Gigliotti of Stamford, CT

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304

Gregory Gigliotti of Stamford, CT, has been informally appointed as the Personal Representative of the estate to serve without surety on the bond.

In the matter of John A. Blakey Of Watertown, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person

The estate is being administered under informal procedure by the Personal Representative under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code without supervision by the Court. Inventory and accounts are not required to be filed with the Court, but interested parties are entitled to notice regarding the administration from the Personal Representative and can petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration. Interested parties are entitled to petition the Court to institute formal proceedings and to obtain orders terminating or restricting the powers of Personal Representatives appointed under informal

To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Department of Children and Families of Boston, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that John A. Blakey is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Department of Children and Families of Boston, MA (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve Without Surety on the bond.

The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, and that the proposed

You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 AM on the return date of 03/12/2020. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date.

IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person.

If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.

WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: February 12, 2020

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department Suffolk Probate and Family Court 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114

In the matter of: Miriam Swan Of Boston, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person

INVITATION TO BID

SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU19P1430GD

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of Justin L. Alston Of Hanover, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Department of Children and Families of Boston, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Justin L. Alston is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Department of Children and Families of Boston, MA (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve Without Surety on the bond.

The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, and that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority.

You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 AM on the return date of 03/12/2020. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date.

To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Boston Medical Center of Boston, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Miriam Swan is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Boston Medical Center of Boston, MA (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve on the bond.

The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority.

You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 03/19/2020. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date.

IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person.

If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.

WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: February 19, 2020

IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person.

If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.

WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: February 12, 2020

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Docket No. SU20P0252EA

Citation on Petition for Formal Adjudication Estate of: Josef Ignaciuk Date of Death: 05/18/2019 To all interested persons: A Petition for Formal Appointment of Personal Representative has been filed

by The Bostonian Nursing Care & Rehabilitation Center of Dorchester, MA requesting that the Court enter a formal Decree and Order and for such other relief as requested in the Petition. The Petitioner requests that Mark Booth of Middleboro, MA be appointed as Personal Representative(s) of said estate to serve With Personal Surety on the bond in an unsupervised administration.

IMPORTANT NOTICE You have the right to obtain a copy of the Petition from the Petitioner or at the Court. You have a right to object to this proceeding. To do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance and objection at this Court before 10:00 a.m. on the return day of 03/05/2020. This is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline by which you must file a written appearance and objection if you object to this proceeding. If you fail to file a timely written appearance and objection followed by an Affidavit of Objections within thirty (30) days of the return day, action may be taken without further notice to you.

UNSUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE MASSACHUSETTS UNIFORM PROBATE CODE (MUPC) A Personal Representative appointed under the MUPC in an unsupervised administration is not required to file an inventory or annual accounts with the Court. Persons interested in the estate are entitled to notice regarding the administration directly from the Personal Representative and may petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration.

WITNESS, HON. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: February 06, 2020

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU19W2155 Summons By Publication Samantha Edwards, Plaintiff(s) v.

Ivan Miller, Defendant(s)

SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU20P0340GD

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of: Alfred Flint RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person

The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority.

You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 03/19/2020. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date.

IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person.

If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.

WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: February 19, 2020

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Docket No. SU20P0329GD

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304 In the matter of Daniel Lowe Of Boston, MA RESPONDENT Alleged Incapacitated Person To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Department of Mental Health Boston of Westborough, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Daniel Lowe is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Department of Mental Health Boston of Westborough, MA (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve on the bond.

The petition asks the court to determine that the Respondent is incapacitated, that the appointment of a Guardian is necessary, that the proposed Guardian is appropriate. The petition is on file with this court and may contain a request for certain specific authority.

To the above named Defendant(s): Ivan Miller A Complaint has been presented to this Court by the Plaintiff Samantha Edwards seeking a Complaint For Custody-Support-Parenting Time.

You are required to serve upon Samantha Edwards — whose address is 22 A Crawford St., Apt 2, Boston, MA 02121 your answer on or before the 26th day of March, 2020. If you fail to do so, the court will proceed to the hearing and adjudication of this action. You are also required to file a copy of your answer in the office of the Register of this Court at Boston.

Witness, Brian J. Dunn, Esquire, First Judge of said Court, this 20th day of February, 2020.

Felix D. Arroyo, Register Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department

To the named Respondent and all other interested persons, a petition has been filed by Massachusetts General Hospital of Boston, MA in the above captioned matter alleging that Alfred Flint is in need of a Guardian and requesting that Massachusetts General Hospital of Boston, MA (or some other suitable person) be appointed as Guardian to serve on the bond.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court Department SUFFOLK Division

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

Docket No. SU20P0343GD

Citation Giving Notice of Petition for Appointment of Guardian for Incapacitated Person Pursuant to G.L. c. 190B, §5-304

You have the right to object to this proceeding. If you wish to do so, you or your attorney must file a written appearance at this court on or before 10:00 A.M. on the return date of 03/12/2020. This day is NOT a hearing date, but a deadline date by which you have to file the written appearance if you object to the petition. If you fail to file the written appearance by the return date, action may be taken in this matter without further notice to you. In addition to filing the written appearance, you or your attorney must file a written affidavit stating the specific facts and grounds of your objection within 30 days after the return date.

IMPORTANT NOTICE The outcome of this proceeding may limit or completely take away the above-named person’s right to make decisions about personal affairs or financial affairs or both. The above-named person has the right to ask for a lawyer. Anyone may make this request on behalf of the above-named person.

If the above-named person cannot afford a lawyer, one may be appointed at State expense.

WITNESS, Hon. Brian J. Dunn, First Justice of this Court.

Date: February 18, 2020

Felix D. Arroyo Register of Probate

NATIONAL CENTER OF AFRO-AMERICAN ARTISTS MUSEUM EXTERIOR RESTORATION The National Center of Afro-American Artists, the Awarding Authority, requests bids for selective roof replacement and masonry repairs at their museum at Abbotsford Mansion, 300 Walnut Avenue, Roxbury, Massachusetts, which is listed in the State & National Registers of Historic Places. The project is being partially funded with a grant from the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund through the Massachusetts Historical Commission.

All work must be performed in accordance with the documents prepared by and available from Spencer, Sullivan & Vogt, 1 Thompson Square, Suite 504, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129 (617-861-4291) and meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. State law prohibits discrimination. Awarding of this contract is subject to Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity guidelines.

Bids shall be evaluated on the basis of price, previous experience with similar types of construction projects, ability to perform the work in a timely manner, and references. All bids must be delivered to the architect’s office at the above address no later than 12:00 noon, Friday, March 20, 2020 to be eligible for consideration.

A pre-bid conference will be held at Abbotsford Mansion, 300 Walnut Avenue, Roxbury at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS Electronic General Bids for MPA Contract No. L1623-C1, JETBLUE HANGAR 8 – HANGAR DOOR REPAIRS, LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS will be received through the internet using Bid Express until the date and time stated below, and will be posted on www. bidexpress.com immediately after the bid submission deadline.

Electronic bids will be received by the Massachusetts Port Authority until 11:00 A.M. local time on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 immediately after which the electronic bids will be opened and read publicly in a designated room at the Capital Programs Department Office, Suite209S, Logan Office Center, One Harborside Drive, East Boston, Massachusetts 02128-2909.

No paper copies of bids will be accepted.

NOTE: PRE BID CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD AT THE CAPITAL PROGRAMS DEPARTMENT (ABOVE ADDRESS) AT 1:00 PM LOCAL TIME ON MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2020.

The work includes REHABILITATION AND REPAIR OF HANGAR DOOR AND STRUCTURAL TRUSS REINFORCEMENT; INCLUDING FURNISHING AND INSTALLING ALL NEW UPPER TRACKS AND TROLLEY SYSTEM, SELECTIVE REPAIR TO POLYCARBONATE DOOR PANELS, AND SELECTIVE REINFORCEMENT OF THREE (3) BUILDING ROOF TRUSSES. Bid documents will be made available beginning WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020.

Bid documents for this project may be accessed or downloaded at no cost to potential bidders exclusively through https://www.bidexpress.com/businesses/27137/home in the listing for this Project.

In order to be eligible and responsible to bid on this contract General Bidders must submit with their bid a current Certificate of Eligibility issued by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and an Update Statement. The General Bidder must be certified in the category of GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION. The estimated contract cost is ONE MILLION, ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($ 1,150,000.00).

Bidding procedures and award of the contract and sub contracts shall be in accordance with the provisions of Sections 44A through 44H inclusive, Chapter 149 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

A proposal guaranty shall be submitted with each General Bid consisting of a bid deposit for five (5) percent of the value of the bid; when sub bids are required, each must be accompanied by a deposit equal to five (5) percent of the sub bid amount, in the form of a bid bond, or cash, or a certified check, or a treasurer’s or a cashier’s check issued by a responsible bank or trust company, payable to the Massachusetts Port Authority in the name of which the Contract for the work is to be executed. The bid deposit shall be (a) in a form satisfactory to the Authority, (b) with a surety company qualified to do business in the Commonwealth and satisfactory to the Authority, and (c) conditioned upon the faithful performance by the principal of the agreements contained in the bid.

The successful Bidder will be required to furnish a performance bond and a labor and materials payment bond, each in an amount equal to 100% of the Contract price. The surety shall be a surety company or securities satisfactory to the Authority. Attention is called to the minimum rate of wages to be paid on the work as determined under the provisions of Chapter 149, Massachusetts General Laws, Section 26 to 27G, inclusive, as amended. The Contractor will be required to pay minimum wages in accordance with the schedules listed in Division II, Special Provisions of the Specifications, which wage rates have been predetermined by the U. S. Secretary of Labor and/ or the Commissioner of Labor and Industries of Massachusetts, whichever is greater.

The successful Bidder will be required to purchase and maintain Bodily Injury Liability Insurance, Auto Liability Insurance, and Property Damage Liability Insurance for a combined single limit of TEN MILLION DOLLARS ($10,000,000.00). Said policy shall be on an occurrence basis and the Authority shall be included as an Additional Insured. See the insurance sections of Division I, General Requirements and Division II, Special Provisions for complete details.

No filed sub bids will be required for this contract.

This contract is subject to a Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprise participation provision requiring that not less than ONE AND FOUR TENTHS PERCENT (1.4%) of the Contract be performed by minority and women owned business enterprise contractors. With respect to this provision, bidders are urged to familiarize themselves thoroughly with the Bidding Documents. Strict compliance with the pertinent procedures will be required for a bidder to be deemed responsive and eligible.

This Contract is also subject to Affirmative Action requirements of the Massachusetts Port Authority contained in Article 84 of the General Requirements and Covenants, and to the Secretary of Labor’s Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Opportunity and the Standard Federal Equal Opportunity Construction Contract Specifications (Executive Order 11246).

The General Contractor is required to submit a Certification of Non Segregated Facilities prior to award of the Contract, and to notify prospective subcontractors of the requirement for such certification where the subcontract exceeds $10,000.

Complete information and authorization to view the site may be obtained from the Capital Programs Department Office at the Massachusetts Port Authority. The right is reserved to waive any informality in or reject any or all proposals.

MASSACHUSETTS PORT AUTHORITY LISA S. WIELAND CEO & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Thursday, February 27, 2020 • BAY STATE BANNER • 19

BANNER CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL

REAL ESTATE

ADVERTISEMENT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Request for Proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of Parcel 8 in the Dudley Square area of Roxbury The Boston Redevelopment Agency (“BRA”), doing business as the Boston Planning & Development Agency (“BPDA”), is soliciting responses to a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the redevelopment and sale of a vacant parcel of land that fronts Melnea Cass Boulevard and is located on a block bounded by Washington Street, Eustis Street and Harrison Avenue in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston (the “Proposed Property Site”).

The Proposed Property Site consists of approximately 47,333 square feet of land area and is comprised of two parcels: Assessor’s Parcel Number 08-02426-030 with an address of Washington Street (“SR-25”), and Assessor’s Parcel Number 08-02426-040 with an address of Harrison Avenue (the “City Parcel”). SR-25 is currently under the care and control of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Department of Conservation and Recreation (“DCR”), and the City Parcel is currently under the care, custody, and control of the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development (“DND”).

This RFP seeks to secure redevelopment of the Proposed Property Site to allow the mixed use development, consisting of residential housing with ground floor commercial and/or retail use. Any development or other improvement on SR-25 shall delineate and preserve the northeast corner of the parcel as a public park. Certain areas of the Proposed Property Site will be subject to a Preservation Restriction and Conservation Restriction.

The selected proponent will be required to complete the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (“MEPA”) process prior to closing on any transfer of the Proposed Property Site.

Any proposal for the Proposed Property Site must reflect a minimum purchase price of $5,010,000 for SR-25. The BPDA expects a price proposal of $1,360,000 for the City Parcel. However, the BPDA may consider an offer price below the asking price for the City Parcel if the proponent demonstrates that the proposed use of the City Parcel qualifies as a public purpose and/or the proposed use of the City Parcel will require public subsidy.

This RFP requires that any redevelopment of the Proposed Property Site be consistent with applicable zoning and Architectural Conservation District guidelines, and consistent with the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan, Dudley Vision, and PLAN: Nubian Square, formerly known as PLAN: Dudley Square.

Proponents must incorporate the combined visions of these planning documents, while capturing and addressing the current needs of the community for affordable housing, economic development and job opportunities. The Proposed Property Site is located in the Eustis Street Protection Area for the Eustis Street Architectural Conservation District.

The Proposed Property Site is intended for disposition by a sale by the BPDA pursuant to the RFP. The Proposed Property Site is being offered as is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied. If concerned about the Proposed Property Site condition, legal or physical access and the maintenance thereof, property lines or boundaries or any other matter affecting the Proposed Property Site, prospective developers should investigate and conduct whatever due diligence and inspection deemed necessary.

The RFP package will be available beginning February 26, 2020 at the BPDA, Boston City Hall, One City Hall Square, Room 910, Boston, MA 02210, or download the package by registering at http://www.bostonplans.org/workwith-the-bpda/rfps-rfqs-bids. Completed proposal applications must be submitted as instructed and returned directly to BPDA, Room 910, City Hall, One City Hall Square, Boston, MA by May 27, 2020, no later than 12:00 PM. Late proposals will not be accepted. A fee of $100.00 is payable upon submission of proposals, refundable for those proponents not selected.

A pre-proposal conference will be held on March 10, 2020 at 10:00 AM at the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building 2nd Floor School Committee Room, 2300 Washington St, Roxbury. Attendance at the pre-proposal conference is optional, however, all proponents are strongly encouraged to attend. A site tour will follow the pre-proposal conference. For more information about this Request for Proposals, contact Morgan McDaniel, Real Estate Development Officer at (617) 918-6250 or via email to: Morgan.E.McDaniel@boston.gov.

Brian Connolly Director of Finance / Chief Procurement Officer The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is seeking bids for the following: BID NO.

DESCRIPTION

DATE

TIME

WRA-4822

Purchase of Sixteen (16) 2hp Submersible Pumps; (Weil Model #423.385 or Equal)

03/11/20

11:00 a.m.

OP-413

Pump Station Duct Cleaning and Repairs, Quincy and Hingham, MA

03/26/20

2:00 p.m.

To access and bid on Event(s) please go to the MWRA Supplier Portal at www.mwra.com.

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CASH for

WAKEFIELD AFFORDABLE HOUSING 1—One Bedroom Condominium Sale Price: $222,000

642 Main Street—Wakefield, MA Public Information Meeting 6:00 p.m., Monday, March 16, 2020 Wakefield Town Hall, 1 Lafayette St 1st Floor Conference Room Application Deadline April 9, 2020

MAX ALLOWABLE INCOME 80% of AMI

1 person: $62,450 2 person: $71,400

1 Bedroom—1 Bathroom—849 sq. ft.—Underground Pkg 1st Time Homebuyer/Unit by lottery/Assets to $75,000 For Info and Application Availability: Pick Up: Wakefield Town Hall, - Town Administration Ofc, Public Library Phone: (978) 456-8388 Email: lotteryinfo@mcohousingservices.com Application available online at: www.mcohousingservices.com

0 WINTER

VALLEY 0

RESIDENCES FOR THE ELDERLY, INC. 600 Canton Ave., Milton, MA

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS A 160-apartment Senior Housing Community financed

by HUD for those 62 and older or physically disabled.

Includes 16 Affordable Private Assisted Living Apartments with services for an additional fee. Qualifications apply.

Call 617-698-3005 for more information. www.mreinc.org

The Village at Sawmill Woods Drum Drive and Keyhole Drive, Plymouth MA

AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOTTERY Thirty-Seven 3BR Duplex Homes for $273,600 w/ ($100/mo HOA fees) The first affordable homes will be ready in Spring 2020.

This is a lottery for the first thirty-seven (37) affordable homes being built in Phases I and II at the Village at Sawmill Woods.

These 37 homes will be sold at affordable prices to households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income.

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Residences at Simonds Park, 160 Cambridge Street

Application Consultation: 6:30—8:00p.m., Thursday, March 19, 2020, Burlington Town Hall Annex, 25 Center St, Basement Meeting Room Public Information Meeting 7:00 p.m., Monday, March 9, 2020 Burlington Town Hall Annex 25 Center St.-Basement Mtg Rm Application Deadline April 18, 2020

MAX ALLOWABLE INCOME

Units Smoke Free. Pets Allowed.

Units by lottery.

For Info and Application Availability: Pick Up: Burlington Town Hall, - Selectmen’s Ofc, Public Library & Leasing Office Phone: (978) 456-8388 Email: lotteryinfo@mcohousingservices.com TTY/TTD: 711, when asked 978-456-8388

1 person: 2 person: 3 person: 4 person:

$62,450 $71,400 $80,300 $89,200

Reasonable Accommodations Available for persons with disabilities Language/ translation assistance available, at no charge, upon request.

Application available online at: www.mcohousingservices.com

ADVERTISE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS

(617) 261-4600 x 7799 • ads@bannerpub.com Find more information at www.baystatebanner.com/advertise

HELP WANTED Dudley Square Main Streets EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dudley Square Main Streets (DSMS) is a volunteer-driven, community-based organization working to attract and enhance public and private investment in the commercial district and foster community spirit and collaboration in Dudley Square (recently renamed Nubian Square), one of Boston’s most vibrant neighborhoods. We are seeking a dynamic full-time Executive Director with a strong work ethic, proven leadership and community-building skills, combined with experience with communications, technology, and organization. 40 hours/week including evening/weekend activities. Salary $55,000– $60,000 depending on experience, plus benefits and possible bonus depending on fundraising.

Email resume and cover letter to dudleysquarems@gmail.com.

For more information: www.dudleysquaremainstreets.org.

Maximum Household Income Limits: $62,450 (1 person) $71,400 (2 people) $80,300 (3 people) $89,200 (4 people) $96,350 (5 people) $103,500 (6 people) The Maximum Household Asset Limit is $75,000.

For more information on the Development, the Units or the Lottery and Application Process or for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, please visit: https://s-e-b.com/lottery/ or call 617.782.6900 x2. A Public Info Session will be on March 10th, 2020 at 6 pm in the Otto Fehlow Room in the Plymouth Public Library — 132 South Street. The lottery will be on April 28th, 2020 in the Board Room in the Plymouth Public Library.

Record Albums!

Applications and Required Income Documentation must be delivered, not postmarked, by 2 pm on April 10th, 2020.

33-LP’s & 45’s WANTED

Applications and Info Packets also available in the Plymouth Public Library on 132 South Street. Hours: Mon–Wed 10AM–9PM, Thu 10AM–6PM, Fri–Sat 10AM–5:30PM, Sun 12:30PM–5PM

Looking to buy Rock & Roll, Soul, Funk, Jazz & Blues records.

Call George: 617-633-2682

BURLINGTON RENTAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING 2—One ($1,631) & Two ($1,813) Bedroom Units Utilities are NOT included

Village at Sawmill Woods is a unique residential development that will eventually consist of 200 duplex-style homes, sixty of which will be affordable. The project is situated off the desirable Shallow Pond Estates Subdivision in the Manomet Section of Plymouth MA. Located on 58.39 wooded acres of land, only approximately 30 acres will be used and the rest will remain open space. The project borders 3,000 Acres of Conservation and Town-owned property to the West and Cranberry bogs to the south. All Affordable Homes will have a full basement, and energy efficient appliances and heating systems. The Village is served by Town Water and has a private state of the sewerage treatment facility. Condo Fees are $100 per month, which includes sewer, common area landscaping and snow removal.

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DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

The City of Everett is seeking a qualified professional to serve as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. The role is the principal advisor to the Mayor on issues of diversity, inclusion and equitable practices throughout the city of Everett. This position provides city-wide direction/support/communication in the areas of diversity, inclusion and related compliance matters.

The Director has a lead role in facilitating the development of strategies, policies and guidelines that advance understanding of diversity and inclusion issues across the workforce and the community. This position provides cohesiveness and serves as a channel for numerous divisions, a resource for the school department, and staff programs and activities to promote inclusive excellence and welcoming environments for all. Master’s degree preferred in organizational development, counseling, human resources or related field, and seven to 10 years of progressively responsible related experience, two of which were in managerial capacity. Bilingual strongly preferred.

Please email cover letter and resume to HR@ci.everett.ma.us or mail to Lara Ammouri, Human Resources Department, 484 Broadway, Everett, MA 02149.

MIKE BLOOMBERG DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

As someone who has been very lucky in life, I often say my story would have only been possible in America – and that’s true. But I also know that because of the barriers of discrimination, my story likely would have turned out very differently if I had been black, and that more Black Americans of my generation would have ended up with far more wealth, had they been white. That’s why as President, I’m committed to act to build generational wealth for Black Families.

THE MIKE BLOOMBERG GREENWOOD INITIATIVE PLAN: Create 1 Million New Black Homeowners Double The Number of New Black-Owned Businesses Invest $70 Billion In The Country’s 100 Most Disadvantaged Neighborhoods NO OTHER DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE HAS A PLAN FOR CREATING WEALTH FOR BLACK AMERICA

For more information visit

MikeForBlackAmerica.com Paid for by Mike Bloomberg 2020