REVERE
St. Anthony’s Church Annual Pancake Breakfast — See page 11
ADVOCATE Vol. 27, No. 50
-FREE-
www.advocatenews.net
Free Every Friday
Revere CARES Celebrates 20 Years of Serving the Community
Speaker of the House Bob DeLeo, Mayor Brian Arrigo, Kitty Bowman, Sylvia Chiang, and Dr. Roger Pasinski are shown at the Revere CARES coalition’s 20th Anniversary celebration last Thursday at the Comfort Inn & Suites. See more photo highlights inside on pages 12 &13. (Advocate photo by Al Terminiello)
In the books: Revere bans retail pot shops By Sara Brown
A
fter months of deliberation, the City Council officially banned the sale of recreational marijuana. The council had been debating how to present the ordinance since July when City Council Vice President Patrick Keefe presented the motion. “We’ve discussed this since July, and I know it was com-
ing out fast and furious, but in the last few months the council and the city have really looked into this matter,” Keefe said at the Legislative Affairs Subcommittee meeting on December 11. The council worked with the city solicitor and state legislature to make sure they would not be vulnerable to a lawsuit. The medical marijuana dispensary in the TED district is al-
We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover
3.43 GALLON
$$2.25 GALLON
for a Contact usation No Oblig
100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602 Price Subject to Change without notice
Want to know the value of your house in today’s real estate market?
FREE Market Analysis Of Your Home!
Call United Brokers at 617-461-4238
lowed to stay in the city since they received approval from the council before the passing of this particular ordinance. “I feel very confident with this,” Keefe said prior to the council vote. Ward 5 Councillor John Powers said he believes marijuana is a gateway drug. “Making it easily available would be insanity,” Powers said. “It would be sending the worst message possible to the youth of our city.” Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto said he has stood by the ordinance since the beginning but wants to make sure they wouldn’t get sued. Zambuto said he campaigned against legalizing recreational marijuana both locally and statewide. “This allows us to do what we have to do,” he said. Ward 6 Councillor Charlie Patch said he used to think marijuana wasn’t a gateway drug, but after talking to different people, he now believes it is. He also said that he spoke with the Substance Use Disorder Initiative (SUDI) office and learned that marijuana could help people with heroin addiction but he still believes the ban is the right move for the city. The council voted unanimously in favor of the ban. Councillors Steve Morabito and George Rotondo were absent.
781-286-8500
Friday, December 15, 2017
Council honors lifesaving patrolman
LIFESAVER: The City Council awarded a Certificate of Merit to Officer Mike Trovato for saving the life of a young man who overdosed early Saturday morning, November 25, 2017. Pictured from left to right, are; Council Vice-President Patrick Keefe, Councillor Arthur Guinasso, Patrolman Trovato, and resident Alan Peckner. (Advocate photo by Sara Brown)
By Sara Brown
T
he Revere City Council gave Revere Police Officer Mike Trovato a certificate of merit for saving a resident’s life following a near-fatal overdose. Ward 3 Councillor Arthur Guinasso sponsored the motion to honor the patrolman’s actions. In what has become an alltoo-common occurrence in today’s society, heroin overdose victims saved by first responders through the administering of Narcan has become the norm throughout the country. Along with local police and firefighters, parents are now using the drug to keep their loved ones alive in case of fatal drug overdosing as the opioid epidemic continues. On Nov. 25, Alan Peckner found his grandson passed out in his car. He gave him a dose of Narcan, the nasal spray used for opioid overdoses, but it didn’t work. That’s when he called 911, and shortly afterwards Trovato arrived on the scene. “It was like an angel from heaven,” Peckner said, describing the arrival of Officer Trovato. Guinasso thanked both the officer and Peckner for learning to administer Narcan. “They took the time and effort to learn [Narcan] to save a life,” he said. Trovato said he was humbled by the award but also
said Peckner should be thanked as well. “It was his clear head and quick thinking as to why his grandson is still alive,” he said. Peckner said Nov. 25 will be a day he never forgets. “When I first saw my grandson, I knew he was dead,” he said. “He had no pulse, he was ice cold. I can’t thank him enough,” he added about Trovato. Guinasso said this serves as another reminder as to why the city has to keep fighting the heroin epidemic. “We all have to fight this addiction,” he said. “It’s not bad people who are users. It’s good people who are users that just fall victim to the wrong thing. There is hope.” In other news, City Council Vice President Patrick Keefe presented a motion asking inspectional services to distribute information on pest control ordinances and city bylaws to help combat the current rodent issue the city is facing. Keefe said he got the idea from a resident who had the suggestion. “It will give new residents better information on how to take care of their property better,” he said. Ward 5 Councillor John Powers requested inspectional services to routinely check homes in the city. “We should monitor homes where there are absentee landlords – make sure trash barrels [are] covered as they should be,” he said.