Vol. 20, No. 5
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Friday, February 2, 2018
Malden offers Warren a true-blue welcome The Advocate sits down with Senator Warren
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks with Advocate reporters Barbara Taormina shortly before her appearance at Malden High School last week. See our interview with the senator on page 3. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is shown at her town hall meeting at Malden High School last Sunday with, from left to right, State Rep. Paul Brodeur, State Sen. Jason Lewis, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Mayor Gary Christenson, and State Reps. Paul Donato and Steve Ultrino. (Advocate photo by Ross Scabin)
By Barbara Taormina here is no doubt that Malden loves Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Last Sunday, some 1,100 people filled the auditorium at Malden High School for a noisy, almost joyous Town Hall with Warren, who is running for her second term in the U.S. Senate. Known for
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her withering comments on “bankers, billionaires and bigots� and her passionate defense of all things progressive, Warren met and exceeded the expectations of the large crowd of local supporters. “She gets it, she listens and she gets it,� said one woman as she was walking out of the building. “I wish we could clone her.� Alex Pappas, a student from Somerville, said Warren hit all the right notes during her visit. “I agreed with her on everything,� he said. “I hope she runs for president; I’ll definitely vote for her.� Warren spent about an hour on stage, first sharing her views on a range of political hot topics and then field-
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ing questions from the audience. Over and over, she hit on the value of resistance, self-reliance and community involvement. Warren recalled the Boston Women’s March, one of about 600 organized marches that took place throughout the country the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Roughly 175,000 people rallied on Boston Common in support of people, policies and rights considered at risk from the new administration. “When this history of this moment in time is written, it’s also about the next day,� she said. And for Warren, the day after you lose is the day you start organizing and fighting your way back. The battle to preserve the Affordable Care Act against Republican-led efforts to repeal it succeeded in part because people from com-
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Waterfront Committee plans to meet with other Malden River advocates By Barbara Taormina hen Ward 5 Councillor Barbara Murphy launched the Waterfront Access Committee back in the fall of 2015, her hope was to highlight the Malden River and explore ways to connect the community to a neglected natural resource. Since then, different groups and organizations have jumped on board with studies, vision projects and aspirations to revitalize the Malden riverfront with walkways and parks. “I’m happy that everyone is now focused on this underutilized asset,� said Murphy, who this week held the Waterfront Access Committee’s first meeting of the year. For Murphy, one of the next steps is to meet with other groups who have been studying ways to reclaim Malden’s waterfront. The
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Friends of the Malden River, the Mystic River Watershed Association, the Malden Walkability Committee, the Malden Redevelopment Authority and groups in Everett and Medford have all been working on riverfront plans. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think we should invite the different groups in and have them tell us what their visions are so that we can look at everything thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on,â&#x20AC;? said Murphy. The Waterfront Access Committee is still waiting for the results of tests on river sediment that will determine if there are any health risks for boating and other uses of the waterway. The tests, which are being conducted at MIT, will show if heavy metals or other contaminants are present, and could potentially affect the types of access provided to the public. Those results should be available in in March, and in the meantime, Ward 1 Councillor Peg Crowe suggested, committee members should bone up on all the different aspects of Chapter 91, the state law that governs the use and development of waterfront property. Crowe said it is important for committee
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