SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2020 House Speaker keeps close to home By Steve Krause the football teams from the early politics is local.” there was work to be done to get ITEM STAFF 1980s, coached by Bobby DeFe- He sees his adherence to that everybody back on good footing. lice, and containing such lumi- simple philosophy as a big rea- DeLeo did nothing different, he He is quintessentially a lo- naries such as Steve Staf er, Joe son why, as of Saturday, Feb. 8, said, than he’s ever done in his cal product. If he knows you, or Giaquinto and Chuck Sullivan. he surpassed Timothy Bigelow political life: He listened to his knows of you, he’ll start a con- constituents and tried to repre- versation perhaps by asking you He segued into “Touchdown — who ascended to the rostrum Tony” Palmer, from a decade in 1805 — as the longest-serving sent their interests. about a local athlete or a note- “In Winthrop and Revere, I have worthy team that made your later, and wanted to know who speaker in state history, hitting the interviewer thought was the day No. 4,029. a great relationship with my con- area famous. stituents,” said DeLeo, who will be better Winthrop football player: DeLeo became speaker in the In this case, Massachusetts 70 in March. “And I have the same Palmer or Staf er? middle of the 2009 economic House Speaker Robert A. De- type of relationship with my col- Leo, a Democrat from Winthrop, Needless to stay, DeLeo is a downturn. It was Barack Obama’s leagues, and that relationship has Massachusetts House wanted to begin the conversa- loyal disciple of the Thomas P. rst year as president, and both Speaker Robert A. DeLeo tion by talking a little bit about “Tip” O’Neill Jr. belief that “all locally and all over the world, DELEO, A3 English students illustrate universal language of art By David McLellan and ink. ITEM STAFF English is one of the many schools par- ticipating in the Memory Project’s Por- LYNN — A few months ago, a stack of trait Program. The nonpro t Memory black and white photos arrived at En- Project will collect the portraits Monday, glish High School. then deliver each portrait to its respec- “MA20-B1057 - Zafar - 13 years-old tive child. likes green,” read the caption on one of “Art is the universal language,” said the photographs, a portrait of a young art teacher Martha Brown, as the nine boy. students selected to participate in the Not much is known about Zafar, other program added nishing touches to the than his face, his age, his status as a ref- portraits Thursday afternoon. ugee in Malaysia and, of course, that he The selected students are adept artists, likes green. hand-picked by art teacher Kristen Par- But art students at Lynn English have adis to participate in the program, and been drawing portraits of Zafar, and they have been spending countless hours ITEM PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK eight other refugees in Malaysia, since working on the portraits outside of class. the photos arrived in December, render- English High School freshman Christina Tran works on an illustrated ing their likenesses with pencil, paint MEMORY, A3 portrait of Aayan, a refugee in Malaysia, for the Memory Project. Lynn and Saugus will put federal funds to work ITEM STAFF REPORT BOSTON — Housing authorities in Lynn and Saugus are getting a boost in federal funding to build, repair and renovate local public housing. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban De- velopment (HUD) announced more than $88 million awarded to public housing authorities in Massachusetts Friday through its Capital Fund Program. Lynn will receive $1,253,464. Saugus will re- ceive $204,576. PHOTO COURTESY OF ESSEX TECH “This funding will assist Massachusetts public Devin Kim, of Marblehead, is a senior cosmetol- housing agencies as they work to provide the best ogy student working at RN Esthetics in Lynn- housing possible for their residents,” said David COURTESY PHOTO Tille, HUD New England regional administrator. eld as part of Cooperative Education Program Fire ghters respond to a re at 33 Manton The Capital Fund Program gives an annual in- Road on Thursday night. at Essex Tech. ux in funding to around 2,900 public housing authorities in the U.S. The money allocated to Massachusetts is part of $2.7 billion awarded na- Lynn eld and tionally this year. Swampscott Funds are used to build or improve public hous- ing facilities, as well as modernize the facilities with large-scale improvements, including energy Marblehead are upgrades and the replacement of roofs, plumbing re claims and electric systems. Another HUD program, the Rental Assistance cooperative Demonstration (RAD), complements the Capi- service dog tal Fund Program by providing a comprehensive By Thor Jourgensen strategy to “preserve and enhance the country’s By David McLellan ITEM STAFF affordable housing stock” by leveraging public and ITEM STAFF private funding for public housing, according to a LYNNFIELD — Unsure about her future after high statement from HUD. SWAMPSCOTT — A man attempted to rescue a dog school, Marblehead’s Devin Kim said two opportunities Since 2011, when RAD was founded, it has gen- from a house re on Manton Road Thursday night, but helped set a course for success. erated “signi cant additional capital” and 130,000 the dog has died. Kim enrolled in the Cooperative Education Program public housing units have been converted to “a Around 7 p.m., crews were called to knock down a re at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School more sustainable” Section 8 nancing platform, at 33 Manton Road. The re was extinguished by 8 p.m., in Danvers and that opportunity led to a job with RN according to HUD. Also in that time, public hous- according to Swampscott Fire Chief Graham Archer. Esthetics in Lynn eld. ing authorities have generated over $8.6 billion The family of four that lived in the home has been She is currently a senior cosmetology student with a for public housing replacement and preservation, displaced. They were away when the re began, but one career path marked out for her. as well as to support local jobs, without additional family member returned home to nd smoke, according The Cooperative Education Program gives students federal resources. to Archer. opportunities to test-drive potential careers and earn Federal of cials in January announced an initia- During the blaze, a neighbor went into the home to real-world work experience, according to Essex Tech. tive to ght homelessness that included $2 million attempt to rescue the family’s service dog. The man was “I was not 100 percent sure the pathway I wanted to in aid to Lynn and Peabody organizations. able to escape the home with the dog, but the dog even- take after high school and how I was going to get there The federal Housing and Urban Development tually died after being taken to a veterinarian. but with the help of my work and getting some hands- PUBLIC HOUSING, A3 The re eventually reached 2-alarm status, with re- on experience it has helped guide me the right way,” ghters from Swampscott, Lynn, Marblehead and Sa- Kim said. lem responding. The Peabody Fire Department also Cooperative Education places students with employ- Opinion responded to cover Swampscott Fire Department’s ers through internships or cooperative work opportuni- Shribman: Is Bernie unstoppable? A4 headquarters. ties. The re began on the rst oor of the home and spread Essex Tech Superintendent Heidi Riccio said the LOOK! to the second oor, according to Archer. Both oors sus- school is highlighting Cooperative Education to cele- Talking transit on The American Dream. A8 tained “signi cant damage,” Archer said. brate February’s status as National Career and Techni- Friday afternoon, the house had no visible damage to cal Education (CTE) Month. Sports its exterior, but the windows had been boarded up. Cooperative Education is open to Essex Tech juniors Peabody Boy’s Hockey Earns Big Win. B1 Next-door neighbor Julie Coleman said she watched and seniors with 150 seniors and 35 juniors currently while crews battled the re, and her husband, David, a enrolled. Marblehead Basketball beats Salem at the buzzer. retired Lynn re ghter, tried to lend assistance. B1 ESSEX TECH, A3 FIRE, A3 OBITUARIES ..............................A2 ENTERTAINMENT .......................A7 COMICS/DIVERSIONS ........... B4-5 HIGH 30° VOL. 142, ISSUE 56 OPINION ...................................A4 LOOK! .......................................A8 CLASSIFIED ...............................B6 LOW 26° POLICE/FIRE .............................A6 SPORTS ................................ B1-3 REAL ESTATE .............................B8 PAGE A8 $1.50 A2 THE DAILY ITEM SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2020 OBITUARIES Campaign launches to support Joseph Leo Donlon, 80 Chinatown amid virus fears SWAMPSCOTT — Mr. Joseph By Philip Marcelo Leo Donlon, 80, of Swamp- ASSOCIATED PRESS scott, passed away on Febru- ary 12, 2020 at the Kaplan BOSTON (AP) — Boston Family Hospice House sur- is trying to throw some rounded by his loving family love to Chinatown amid after a long illness. concerns about a new Chi- Born in Lynn, Leo was the nese virus that has sick- son of the late Edward R. and ened tens of thousands, in- Marie L. (Bois) Donlon. cluding a college student He was raised and edu- in the city. cated in Lynn. He enlisted in Mayor Marty Walsh the United States Army and launched a social media proudly served his country campaign Thursday en- during the Vietnam War. couraging people to share Prior to his retirement, Leo photos of themselves sup- was employed as a manager porting small businesses in the neighborhood with for Dalton Shoe for over 35 the hashtag #LoveBoston- years.