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Vol. 20, No. 33
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Friday, August 17, 2018
Students make the Malden celebrates case for lowering Malden’s voting age 89th Feast of St. Rocco
Assistant City Solicitor John McNaught congratulates Shataeya Smith, a member of Malden Rising Leaders’s Summer Fellowship Program, on the group’s presentation on lowering the voting age for Malden elections. The city’s legal department helped the group draft a home rule petition to submit to the Malden City Council.
By Barbara Taormina alden’s political landscape may be in for a seismic shift thanks to a group of teens pushing to lower the voting age to 16 in local elections through a home rule petition that would change the city charter. Members of Malden Rising Leader’s Summer Fellowship Program presented the results of their research project on lowering the voting age to an audience of city officials and enthusiastic supporters gathered at the Senior Center this week. Malden High School students Jimmy Li, Sean Light-
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body, Vanessa Nguyen, Wisly Pericles Jr. and Shataeya Smith provided a wide range of facts and data to support their argument that the city should extend the right to vote in local elections to residents once they reach the age of 16. “More than 700 hours of research went into this project,� said Ted LouisJacques, founder of Malden Rising Leaders, a youth advocacy program that empowers teens to take a role in local civic, social and economic issues. And the students’ work and commitment were clear. They gathered data that included statistics on teen involvement in community programs and activities, stud-
VOTING | SEE PAGE 19
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Mayor Gary Christenson is shown with Sheldon and Joyce Mover as Butch Gennetti leads the procession for the 89th Feast of St. Rocco on last Saturday afternoon. See more photo highlights from the city’s annual celebration of Italian culture on pages 12 & 13. (Advocate photo by Al Terminiello)
Malden River Greenway moves forward By Barbara Taormina tate regulators gave the Malden River Greenway project a boost last week with a decision that requires National Grid to build and maintain a public walkway along the city’s riverfront. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), which oversees the state’s shorelines and waterways, announced it will reauthorize and update National Grid’s Chapter 91 waterways license for the company’s facilities along the Malden River. But as part of that li-
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cense, National Grid will be required to build a 10-foot wide public riverfront pathway that starts at Medford Street and connects either with the Northern Strand Community Trial at the southern edge of the company’s property or with Park L in Everett. “The City of Malden is working with the National Park Service, the Friends of the Malden River, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), Malden Arts and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to bring an arts, culture and climate resiliency initiative to the Malden River,� said Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley, who serves as an advisor on the Malden Greenways initiative. “This initiative was kickstarted when MyRWA conducted a visioning process to create 22 miles of waterfront parks and greenways that will eventually connect Malden to the Mystic Lakes in Winchester,� added O’Malley. MassDEP’s decision requires National Grid to build a public pathway that is a minimum of 10 feet wide that
includes benches, lighting, overlooks and interpretative and directional signage. The company has 12 months to submit a pathway plan that will be developed with input from Malden, Medford, Everett and MyRWA. The company must also hold two meetings to give the public a chance to comment on the project’s design. Once the pathway plan is approved, National Grid will have two years to complete the project. The company will be responsible for routine landscaping and maintenance of the pathway, which is meant to be open to the public 24 hours a day throughout the year. O’Malley called MassDEP’s decision a huge step in the right direction toward achieving the vision of a Malden River Greenway. “Malden is also poised to receive multiple technical assistance grants from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Park Service to make the Malden River Greenway a reality,� he said.