DEALS OF THE $DAY$ PG. 3 THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 DEALS Craning over Lynn OF THE MBTA Whole Foods’$DAY$ driving Sip & ShopPG. 3 Better Bus appeals to DEALS Project SwampscottOF THE $ $ By Gayla Cawley By Bella diGraziaDAY ITEM STAFF ITEM STAFFPG. 3 LYNN — Numerous bus route changes SWAMPSCOTT — Whole Foods custom- affecting North Shore commuters will be ers are about to have a whole new shop- implemented by the MBTA Sept. 1. ping experience. The agency says the changes will provide The supermarket chain’s long stand- more frequent and reliable service for the ing Sip & Shop program,DEALS which the Tex- majority of its riders. Dubbed the Better as-based company said has been a suc- Bus Project, the T says its plans, which cess in other states forOF a decade,THE might were introduced over the winter and came be coming to Swampscott,$ according$ to after a yearlong process, will update and documents obtained by TheDA ItemY from the modernize 53 bus routes, including many town’s Of ce of CommunityPG. and 3 Economic on the North Shore. The rst round of Development. Two special permit requests changes, for 29 routes, will begin next made by company representative Michael month. Scott, of Boston law rm Nutter, were ap- “We believe these changes will improve proved by the Swampscott Zoning Board the frequency and reliability of our service of Appeals Tuesday night.DEALS while removing the complexity, and lead- Whole Foods is one stepDEALS closer to allow- ing to a more positive experience for all ing their Vinnin SquareOF customers, THE over of our riders,” wrote Steve Poftak, MBTA the age of 21, to purchase and enjoy a glass general manager, in a correspondence ob- of beer or wine during their$DA shoppingY$ trip. tained by The Item. “Whole Foods is followingPG. in line3 of Eata- “MBTA transit riders will see improve- ly Boston,” said Community and Econom- ments in service,” he wrote. “However, ic Development Director Marzie Galazka. this does require change. Sometimes, this “They want to create a space in the store means people will have to ride a different that would allow them to serve beer and bus, walk to a different stop, or require a wine so customers can shop and sip.” transfer between different services.” The rst special permit will allow the sale But some Lynn commuters are not con- and consumption of alcohol. The second will vinced they’ll see much bene t. Riders who add 7,500 square feet of oor space for the rely on the 448, 449 and 459 buses will see wine and beer pouring station. The additions their routes eliminated, causing concern will become part of the already 36,000-square- among some residents, who believe the foot store, according to the proposal. changes will result in a longer commute. Glassware disposal stations and car- State Rep. Daniel Cahill (D-Lynn) said riage drink holders will also be added to he, along with many other state legisla- accommodate the program. tors, have elded emails and calls from Scott and David Libardoni, both repre- concerned constituents who rely on the senting Whole Foods, did not return multi- bus routes and connections to the subway ple phone calls seeking comment. to get to work. He and other legislators re- “Whole Foods would like to bring this quested a meeting with the MBTA to dis- program to Massachusetts and has identi- cuss those concerns earlier this summer, ed Swampscott as one of the stores most but was told that there had already been suitable for the concept,” said Scott in the related community meetings in Lynn. proposal’s cover letter. BUS, A3 SWAMPSCOTT, A3 Boston Nahanters mayoral state their aides case against convicted Northeastern By Thomas Grillo By Bridget Turcotte ITEM STAFF ITEM STAFF BOSTON — Two high-ranking members NAHANT — The state will require of Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s admin- Northeastern University to explain how it istration were convicted in U.S. District will minimize the environmental impact of Court Wednesday for conspiring to extort constructing a 55,000-square-foot building founders of the Boston Calling Music Fes- on East Point. tival. The school will be required to draft Kenneth Brissette, the city’s 52-year- an Environmental Impact Report that old director of tourism, was found guilty demonstrates how it will avoid, minimize of conspiracy and extortion. Co-defendant and mitigate the environmental impacts Timothy Sullivan, 36, chief of intergovern- of the expansion. The new building, which mental affairs, was found guilty of conspir- will be called the Coastal Sustainabili- acy. ty Institute, will have classroom and re- They face up to 20 years in prison and up search space. to $250,000 in nes. A sentencing date has The ruling was made by Kathleen Theo- not been set. harides, secretary of the Executive Of ce Construc- The U.S. Attorney’s Of ce argued the of Energy and Environmental Affairs, in men used their power and in uence within tion workers response to an Environmental Noti cation City Hall as leverage to force the festival’s hang around (ENF) led by Northeastern in June. organizers into hiring union stagehands. high above More than 500 comments were submit- They did it, prosecutors charged, to please the street as ted, including from U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, Walsh, a former union of cial. they wait to Sen. Brendan Crighton, Rep. Peter Capa- Walsh said he was surprised and disap- install the no, the Massachusetts Lobstermen Associ- pointed by the conviction. next piece ation, the Conservation Law Foundation, “I have made it clear from the beginning of the tower Mass Audubon, the Nahant Preservation there is only one way to do things in my crane which Trust, the Nahant Board of Selectmen, the administration and that is the right way,” will be used Nahant Conservation Commission, the the mayor said in a statement. “I have in the next Nahant Historical Commission and from always believed their hearts were in the phase of Nahant residents. right place.” construction Most commenters expressed concern The mayor also said the city has taken on Munroe with the facility’s location on East Point, measures to ensure employees have the Street. including potential impacts on open space, tools and training to perform at the high- wildlife and municipal infrastructure, ac- est ethical standards. He did not specify ITEM PHOTO | cording to the ruling. what they were. SPENSER HASAK Residents also worry about coastal dam- The case began in 2015 when the pair age, dramatic alterations of the town’s were charged. It was dismissed in 2018, landscape and views, and increased traf- after prosecutors failed to prove the men c. The project would support doubling the sought a tangible personal bene t. But campus’ population from 114 to 228. earlier this year, a U.S. Appeals Court “We have felt all along that North- judge sent the case back for trial. eastern’s proposed expansion will have Prosecutors alleged while the music fes- INSIDE far-reaching, negative environmental tival production company awaited permits impacts on the natural resource district for its event on City Hall Plaza, Brissette Opinion LOOK! of East Point,” Emily Potts, president of Cawley: Everything Saugus author releases AIDES, A3 old is new again. A4 44th book. A8 NAHANT, A3 OBITUARIES ..............................A2 ENTERTAINMENT .......................A7 COMICS ....................................B4 HIGH 87° VOL. 141, ISSUE 205 OPINION ...................................A4 LOOK! .......................................A8 DIVERSIONS .............................B5 LOW 71° POLICE/FIRE .............................A6 SPORTS ................................ B1-3 CLASSIFIED ........................... B6-7 PAGE A8 ONE DOLLAR A2 THE DAILY ITEM THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 OBITUARIES Initiative petition Margaret F. Collins, 90 Mary F. Calef, 85 1929-2019 1934-2019 seeks ranked voting Under the system, vot- LYNN — Margaret F. “Peg” MERRIMACK, N.H. — Mary F. By Steve LeBlanc ASSOCIATED PRESS ers rank candidates on (Shanahan) Collins, of Dan- Calef, 85, of Merrimack, N.H., the ballot, and a candi- vers, who just happily cele- passed away on Wednesday, BOSTON — A proposed date garnering a majority brated her 90th birthday on Aug. 7, 2019 at the Hillsbor- ballot question calling for of rst-place votes is the Aug. 1, passed away on Tues- ough County Nursing Home in a ranked-choice voting winner. If not, last-place day, Aug. 6, 2019. Goffstown, N.H., after a period method in future state Born in Lynn, she was the of declining health. and federal elections and candidates are eliminated daughter of the late John W. She was born in Lynn on primaries in Massachu- and votes are reallocated and Edith (Lally) Shanahan. Aug. 5, 1934 to the late An- setts is among more than until there’s a majority She was a graduate of Lynn thony T. Martin of Middleton a dozen proposed ques- winner. English High School and a and Florence (DesRosiers) tions and constitutional There have been recent member of the National Hon- Phinney of Merrimack, N.H., amendments led with Massachusetts elections or Society. and formerly of Lynn. She was the state attorney gener- where a winner was de- Peg was a communicant of raised and educated in Mid- al’s of ce. clared without garnering St. Richard Church in Danvers dleton and Lynn, and attend- Supporters led the a majority of votes. and of St. Pius V Church in ed Lynn Classical High School. measure ahead of Wednes- In 2010, incumbent Lynn. She was a member of She worked for many years day’s 5 p.m. deadline for Democratic Gov. Deval the Infant of Prague Guild, St. doing quality control and as- submitting initiative pe- Patrick won reelection de- Richard Sodality and the Lynn sembly for Sanders before her titions with Democratic spite capturing just 48.4 English High School Alumni William Shanahan and Joseph retirement.