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Vol. 20, No. 31
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What’s the problem, officer?
Published Every Friday
Friday, August 3, 2018
Changes ahead for short-term rental market By Barbara Taormina nyone coming to Malden next weekend for the annual three-day Feast of Saint Rocco can book a single room in a home in downtown Malden for $51 a night, or a room that sleeps three a few streets away for $121, or a threebedroom apartment on the second floor of a two-family for $76 a night. All of those short-term rentals were available this week on the Airbnb website. Since it was launched in 2008, Airbnb has offered home owners a chance to earn a little extra cash by renting spare rooms and spaces to travelers for visits and short stays. Visitors can find places to stay for significantly less than the price of a hotel room. For the past decade, Airbnb has become a thriving piece of the resource-sharing economy with more than five million listings in countries all over the world. But Airbnb hasn’t been universally welcomed and accepted in Malden. In the past, residents have com-
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TOO CUTE: Malden Patrolman Aryton Borges is shown writing a “citation� to one-year-old Grayson Salerno who happened to be driving his Mercedes Benz on Henry Street this past week. The officer was visiting family when one of his neighbors thought it would be funny to have her son meet the officer with a “speeding ticket�. The photo became an internet sensation. (Courtesy Malden Police Twittter)
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plained that Airbnb guests take up precious parking spaces and cause disturbances with all the coming and going. Some city officials have called them illegal, and last year the City Council discussed revoking Malden’s owner-occupied tax break for homeowners who offer short-term rentals. However, that may change now that state lawmakers have crafted a bill to regulate and tax short-term rentals. Under the proposed legislation, short-term rentals would be subject to a 5.7 percent state hotel tax and as much as a 9 percent municipal tax. The bill also calls for a state registry of shortterm rentals and a requirement that property owners carry $1 million in liability insurance. Lawmakers had hoped to push the bill through quickly and to begin collecting the state’s slice of the shortterm rental pie as early as next January. But Gov. Charlie Baker hit the brakes on the proposed legislation with an amendment filed after the
State House and Senate formally adjourned on Wednesday. Baker wants to exempt homeowners who rent rooms for 14 days or less from the new taxes and regulations. "This change would exempt those who participate in this new industry only occasionally, while allowing the extension of fair tax treatment to the growing shortterm rental sector as it competes with hotel and motel businesses," Baker explained in a written statement to legislators. Although the short-term rental legislation is now on hold, it represents an opportunity for the state to tap a $25 million stream of new revenue and for cities and towns to also collect on the new industry. City councillors acknowledged last year that shortterm rentals are a popular reality that the city will have eventually confront. “I look forward to discussing and reviewing the benefits for Malden,� said City Council President Debbie DeMaria.
Youth group will make the case for 16-year-old voters By Barbara Taormina hould high school juniors and seniors be able to vote in Malden’s municipal elections? Malden Rising Leaders
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Inc., a youth advocating and empowerment group with a strong focus on public service, thinks it’s a question worth asking. On Tuesday, Aug. 14, the members from the organization’s Summer Fellowship program, in partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, will offer their presentation on lowering the voting age to 16 for Malden’s municipal elections. The presentation will be held at the Senior Center and will begin at 6:30 p.m. “We the youth want our voices to be heard, and we want to participate in the democratic process,� said Malden Rising Leaders Founder and President Ted Louis-Jacques this week in an announcement about the presentation. Malden isn’t the only place where residents are looking
Ted Louis-Jacques Malden Rising Leaders Founder & President
at lowering the voting age. Communities all over the country are considering different proposals that would open the polls to 16- and 17-year-old voters. In more than a dozen states, 17 year olds can vote in primaries for elections that will take place after they turn
18. In Michigan, lawmakers are considering a proposal to lower the voting age to 16 for both local and state elections. In Washington, D.C., there’s a push to allow younger voters to cast ballots in both local and presidential elections. Closer to home, the Northampton City Council unanimously supported a resolution to lower the voting age to 16 for local elections. If the resolution wins the council’s support on a second vote, the City Council will draft a home rule petition and send it off to the State House. Those who support a lower voting age argue it will boost civic participation. Many believe that since young working people pay taxes they should have the right to vote. And since local elections involve issues that directly affect young people,
proponents of a lower voting age feel the voices of younger residents should be heard. But not everyone is convinced. Opponents to lowering the voting age worry that young people aren’t mature enough or informed enough to vote. Others believe younger voters can be easily swayed by different interest groups. And others feel a lower voting age could open the door to other changes, such as allowing nonresidents voting rights. The Malden Rising Leaders will no doubt tackle all of those issues and more during their presentation. “You will have a chance to share with us your thoughts, criticisms, ideas, opinions, and most importantly your questions on our research,� promised Louis-Jacques.