WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! STAY SAFE!
Vol.29, No.20
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Friday, May 15, 2020
State, city plan slow City looks at keeping the beach safe this summer and cautious reopening By Barbara Taormina ith new cases of COVID-19 on a steady decline, Revere is starting to look ahead to reopening the city and the local economy. Mayor Brian Arrigo held a virtual town hall on YouTube this week to explain the plan for reopening the city. Board of Health Chair Dr. Nathalee Kong added a medical and health perspective to the plan and licensed social worker Kate Moore offered some information and advice on coping with the emotional aspects of COVID-19. Arrigo said he has formed a team to look at reopening the city with guidance from the state, which will begin a fourphase reopening on Monday, May 18. “But our plan will be customized by our policies, our statistics as a local community and what works for us,” said Arrigo. Like Governor Charlie Baker’s plan for the state, the initial reopening will involve a limited
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number of industries operating with tight restrictions on social distancing, face masks, handwashing and other protective measures to keep workers safe. Moving forward, phases two, three and four, which will expand industries and businesses allowed to reopen, will depend on continued progress containing the virus, which will be reflected in the data. “I don’t want to sugarcoat it, it’s going to be a painfully slow process,” said Arrigo, adding that people will have to get comfortable wearing face masks and social distancing. The team working on reopening had two forums, one in English and another in Spanish, scheduled with local business owners this week. Listening sessions are also being planned. Arrigo said a second team is working on ideas to engage young people and plans to have some meaningful sum-
COVID-19 | SEE PAGE 12
As the weather gets nicer, city officials are working on a plan to keep Revere Beach safe this summer. (Advocate Photo by JD Mitchell)
By Barbara Taormina uring this week’s virtual town hall, which focused on reopening the city, a resident called in to ask about Revere Beach and how the city plans to keep residents safe during the summer as the beach becomes more of a tourist attraction. “It’s a great question, and one that we’re working on every day
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as the weather gets nicer,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo. “We’re in constant communication with our partners at the state level around the beach and around how we can make sure everyone has a safe summer this year.” Arrigo said that if people begin congregating in small crowds and ignoring orders on social distancing and wearing face masks, the city government
may have to step in. “There may have to be additional measures that we’ll have to take,” said Arrigo. Still, it’s difficult to imagine what additional steps the city could take. At the end of March, Arrigo was at the beach in the mobile city hall van with a bullhorn telling everyone about the impor-
BEACH | SEE PAGE 13
GoFundMe page set up for victims of Loring Road Mother’s Day blaze By Tara Vocino
* Mulching * Spring Clean-ups * Trimming & Maintenance NOW BOOKING NEW CUSTOMERS!
Call 781-321-2074
local woman lost her mother’s and sister’s ashes days before Mother’s Day in a twoalarm house fire at 21 Loring Rd. last Friday. Homeowner Kristina Cimino said her husband, Peter, dialed 911 at 2:15 p.m. last Friday when they were grilling in their backyard and heard that a neighbor allegedly threw a cigarette on a windy day, igniting a fire in her yard in a matter of minutes. The adjacent home, at 19 Loring Rd., had exterior side damage, according to Deputy Fire Chief Anthony Giampietro. Fire officials declined to comment on the specifics of the ignition source, and whether it was cigarettes, marijuana, or both, on the ground. The marsh area surrounding the homes made combatting the blaze especially challenging, officials said.
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THE AFTERMATH: The charred remains of the home at 21 Loring Rd.; an adjacent home was also heavily damaged last Friday. Fire officials determined careless disposal of smoking materials to be the cause. (Advocate photo by JD Mitchell)
"After an investigation by members of the Revere Fire Dept., Fire Investigation Unit, and State Troopers, assigned to the Office of the State Fire Mar-
shal, the cause of the fire at 21 Loring Road was determined to be ‘Careless Disposal of Smok-
ASHES | SEE PAGE 8