Ex-Navy Pilot Wants Us to Take Ufos Seriously PILOT When the Two Fighters Got to When the Two Jets Got There, “Oh, Yeah,” Fravor Said
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B4 Metro The Boston Globe FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018 CAPITAL SOURCE Official for race dialogues leaves post The city official charged with leading Boston’s much- hyped race dialogues has left her job, officials in Mayor Mar- tin J. Walsh’s administration said Thursday. Atyia Martin, the city’s chief resilience officer, departed Jan. 5 to “pursue new opportuni- ties,’’ the officials said. The administration is seek- ing a replacement. “Mayor Walsh greatly appre- ciates the important work of Dr. Atyia Martin during her tenure as chief resilience officer that led to the creation of Bos- ton’s first resilience strategy, citywide conversations on how to build a more equitable Bos- ton, and positive steps forward towards achieving racial equity in Boston,’’ a spokeswoman for the mayor said in a statement. The mayor wished Martin “the best in her future endeav- ors,” the statement said. News of her departure sur- faced when Walsh policy chief Joyce Linehan announced on Jan. 12 and Jan. 16 via Twitter WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES that the city is seeking a chief REMEMBERING KING — Saoudatou Dia (left) and her daughter Aminah visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., on resilience officer focused on so- Monday, Martin Luther King Day. King would have been 89 years old this year. cial justice and racial equity. In one of her last public ap- GOP may have new ing to use his financial resourc- in 2014. Kingston can’t name from Melrose.) pearances, Martin helped lead hurdle in bid to es — amassed in his venture He switched back to the his congresswoman Asked about his gaffe, Walsh’s second race dialogue unseat Warren capital career — to mount a re- GOP rolls in April, according to Republican US Senate can- Kingston’s campaign, to its last month at Northeastern Gabriel Gomez, the former spectable campaign. In 2013, the town clerk in Cohasset, didate John Kingston,whois credit, owned up to it. But they University. Navy SEAL and onetime GOP as a political neophyte with vir- where he lives. Months later, he pouring millions of his own also tried to paint him as a But this month, acquain- US Senate nominee, might be tually no name recognition, began considering running for dollars into his campaign, got “true political outsider” who, tances of Martin said they re- on the verge of creating more Gomez leaped over a field of the US Senate as a Republican. popped a question this week his spokesman claims, is like ceived an e-mail from her stat- problems for state Republicans several well-known Republi- But now his party registra- that should be even easier than other Massachusetts folk who ing that she was moving on who are trying to unseat Demo- cans to win the nomination in tion is unclear. In a political asking about the price of a have no idea who is their US from City Hall, stunning some crat Elizabeth Warren. the special election to fill the program that aired last week- quart of milk. And he flubbed representative. in the black community. Com- Gomez, who has weaved in seat John Kerry vacated to be- end, Gomez told WCVB that he it. “You got him,’’ said Kings- munity leaders pointed said and out of the Republican voter come US secretary of state. has again changed his registra- Kingston, a Winchester res- ton’s spokesman, Jon Conradi. that they felt Martin, who is Af- registration lists over the last Gomez, who from the begin- tion, leaving the Republican ident and political neophyte “John knows the starting rican-American, could not ef- few years, is sending out sig- ning had a strained relation- Party to once again become an who has spent the last year go- lineups for the Red Sox and the fectively do her job because she nals he is considering running ship with state GOP leaders, independent. ing deep in the Massachusetts Celtics, but like most people in did not have a staff or adequate against Warren as an indepen- could not hold up that momen- But the Cohasset town political world in an effort to Massachusetts, can’t for the life funding. dent — a move that, by siphon- tum in the final election against clerk’s office says it has no re- challenge Senator Elizabeth of him always name every Her position was part of a ing off anti-Warren votes, Democratic nominee Edward cord of his changing his regis- Warren, couldn’t name the US member of our congressional two-year grant from 100 Resil- would probably drag down the Markey. But Gomez pumped tration since the most recent House member who repre- delegation.” ient Cities — an effort pio- GOP nominee in the general more than $900,000 of his own switch in April. If he had sents the district in which he He also tried to turn the ta- neered by the Rockefeller Foun- election. money into the campaign. moved to another town and lives. bles against one of the leading dation. The grant expired in That news couldn’t be more What’s more, his flirting registered there, the Cohasset In an interview with The state Democrats. August and her post was added pleasing to Warren and her po- with an independent candidacy town clerk’s office would have Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, “But, to be fair, he does to the city budget, along with litical team. is yet another pivot in his brief been immediately notified to Kingston, who is campaigning know it includes a Kennedy another position in the office of Gomez would be the second political history. He contribut- remove his name from the vot- to join the state’s congressio- and a guy who rents a PO Box resiliency that is currently deep-pocketed former Republi- ed to Barack Obama in 2008, ing list, state and local election nal delegation as one of its ma- in Malden,” Conradi said, refer- filled, officials said. can in the general election — then participated in a conspira- officials said. jor players, said he thought it ring to GOP’s talking points Martin, who owns her own already an uphill battle for the cy film that attacked the then- Gomez did not respond to a was a Democrat from Cam- that Senator Edward Markey consulting business, will be se- GOP. Shiva Ayyadurai,a president for taking too much message left on his phone. bridge. resides more in a home he nior fellow at Northeastern wealthy high-tech entrepreneur credit for killing Osama bin But if he runs for Senate as But then, according to the owns in a Washington, D.C., University’s Global Resilience ready to spend his personal Laden and not giving enough an independent, he has to un- story, he went to the Internet suburb than in his house in his Institute, which addresses di- funds, dropped out of the Re- to the troops. enroll as a Republican and re- and discovered who represents native Malden. saster challenges, according to publican Senate primary sever- He ran as a Republican in register as an independent by his hometown: US Representa- At least Markey knows who a person with knowledge of her al months ago to run as an in- 2013, but then he left the party March 6 to qualify for the ballot tive Katherine Clark, who has represents him in Congress: new position. dependent in the fall election. and registered as a member of in November. been in Congress since 2013. Katherine Clark. MEGHAN E. IRONS Gomez has shown he’s will- the United Independent Party FRANK PHILLIPS (She is indeed, a Democrat, but FRANK PHILLIPS Ex-Navy pilot wants us to take UFOs seriously PILOT When the two fighters got to When the two jets got there, “Oh, yeah,” Fravor said. “It Continued from Page B1 the assigned location, they the object had disappeared. reacted to us.” ed reports of UFOs. The De- spotted a disturbance under Why it decided to go there of all Fravor has no idea what the fense Department says it closed the water, Fravor said. To him, places is a mystery, Fravor said. object was or what it was do- down the Advanced Aerospace it looked like something the Fravor had plenty of experi- ing. He got plenty of ribbing Threat Identification Program size of a Boeing 737 airplane ence encountering other air- back aboard the carrier. But he in 2012 after five years, but the was underneath, causing waves craft in the sky, but this one said he was surprised at the program’s backers say it re- to break over it. was different, he said. It was lack of curiosity the Defense mains in existence, investigat- “Then we see this bright bright white, cylindrical, with Department showed about the ing UFO reports from service white object” above the distur- rounded ends. It had no wings, encounter, which happened in members while carrying out bance, moving erratically, back no windows, no exhaust an area well-known as a Navy other duties. and forth, left and right, plume. training ground. The story of Fravor’s close bouncing around like a Ping- And then there was that Over the years, it became encounter accompanied the ex- Pong ball, he said. speed. “It was impressive. It just a funny story that he pose, illustrating the kinds of Fravor’s jet and the other jet was fast. It was maneuverable, would tell friends — until he UFO stories that are hard to ex- were circling the spot. The oth- and I’d really like to fly it,” Fra- was contacted several months PHOTO BY RENEE PORTANOVA plain away.