The 11:59 Generation Good News
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THURSDAY, JANuary 28, 2021 FREE charlestown PATRIOT-BRIDGE Good news The 11:59 generation BPHC continues planning, executing Students say remote learning vaccine rollout and education pushes them to 24-hour format “BPHC has been By Seth Daniel on screen. planning for vaccina- By Seth Daniel “I’m running on no sleep for A recent survey of 145 res- tion distribution since It’s noon on Monday, and the last 24 hours,” she said on idents in Charlestown and late November or Charlene Pimentel has been up for Monday in an interview with two Dorchester showed that more early December,” more than 24 hours doing home- other BLA students. “What was I than 82 percent said they she said. “The work, trying to catch up from the doing all night? I was just studying would take the COVID-19 urgency with loads of assignments that were and catching up on everything vaccine when it’s available which we’re trying piled on over the past week by her that’s built up. I lost a family mem- to them, while 17 percent to distribute vac- teachers. ber recently and missed school would not, or were unsure. cines is palpable. She needs to crash – to sleep for two weeks. I just was trying Councilor Annissa Essaibi George That was good news for We respect and – but she’s afraid of what her to catch up and completing the announced this week that she will the Boston Public Health understand the be a candidate for mayor - bring- teachers might think of her if assignments due at 9 p.m., then on Commission (BPHC), need to get it ing to the table 13 years of teach- she misses class again, having to the ones due at 11:59 p.m., and which is currently roll- in the arms of ing experience, many years of recently experienced a death in then all the others because I want- ing out Phase 1 of those that need being a small business owner and her family this month and having ed to attend class today (Monday). its vaccination pro- it, particularly a proven record on the Council. fallen behind on homework as I didn’t want to attend without gram and doing seri- populations that she tried to mourn the loss. So, doing my work. I feel terrible. I ous planning and need it most and the Boston Latin Academy (BLA) should have fallen asleep, but just education within disproportionate- Essaibi-George senior pushed through, eating a imagine what my teachers would the neighborhoods ly affected groups minimal lunch and then logging have thought of me.” to find out what the like Black and announces on and hoping she wouldn’t crash barriers and attitudes Dr. Jennifer Lo, medical LatinX commu- (LEARNING Pg. 6) are about the vaccine. director of the Boston Public nities.” campaign Dr. Jennifer Lo, of Health Commission, has The survey the BPHC, said right received her COVID-19 in Charlestown Un-Welcoming: Thompson Square for mayor now they are working vaccine, and said the City is was made up on vaccinating health beginning its early rollout of of 56 percent a mass vaccination program. ‘Welcome’ sign swiped again By Seth Daniel care workers and white, 19 per- Right now, the planning those in long-term cent Black, 11 By Seth Daniel Locke said the sign disappeared At-large Councilor Annissa care facilities – while involves just as much educa- percent LatinX sometime this month. This time, Essaibi-George has announced just rolling out their tion as it does logistics. and 6 percent The welcomes in Thompson they not only took the sign, but that she will be a candidate for program last week to vaccinate Asian. Most said they would take Square just don’t seem to last for took out the sign posts as well. mayor this year, putting her city- those living in homeless shelters. it because of the fear of getting the long haul, at least when it “The City did not remove wide political network in play At the same time, they continue to COVID-19, or because they are comes to proclaiming such a thing this sign, nor has it turned up and bringing more than a decade plan by looking at surveys such as a caregiver to a young child/older on a sign. anywhere in our searches,” said of experience in the classroom to the one done in Charlestown. So it is, once again the wood- Locke. “We’d like to see the sign the table. (VACCINE Pg. 13) en, ‘Welcome to Charlestown’ returned to its original location George, who has been on the sign has been stolen from its and if anyone has any informa- Council since being elected in long-standing place on the island tion on the sign they can call our 2015, and has focused on many Many voices calling for at the intersection of Rutherford office (617-635-3549). We’d love issues – particularly education and and Austin Streets. It has been to get it back.” homelessness/substance abuse/ cancellation of Special Election stolen before in 2017, but through The sign was placed on the mental health issues. She is the the work of then-Mayoral Liaison island in 2006-2007, and came chair of the Education Committee at a cost of $1,200 – some paid Ricardo Arroyo “which will Chris Breen, it was returned. and the former chair of the By Lauren Bennett by residents and some paid by amend the city’s charter” should This time, however, the opera- Homelessness, Substance Abuse tion was more than just unscrew- grants. It was manufactured The City Council Committee there be a vacancy in the office and Mental Health Committee. ing some bolts. Members of the by the Richard Honan Sign on Government Operations, of mayor, she said. In the case She said she believes her Charlestown Preservation Society record on the Council, her expe- chaired by Councilor Lydia of this home rule petition, the (CPS) and Mayoral Liaison Quinn (SIGN Pg. 4) rience running a small business in Edwards, held a hearing on Council chair will become the January 26 regarding a home rule petition filed by Councilor (VOICES Pg. 11) (ESSAIBI-GEORGE Pg. 3) Celebrate Catholic CNC CORNER Schools Week! The Charlestown Neighborhood Council will hold a virtual public meeting on Tuesday February 2 at 7pm. The agenda includes a presentation by City Councilor Edwards and an update on the Hood Park development. Instructions on how to attend the meeting will be posted on our website within 72 hours of Special section on the meeting time - https://charlestownneighborhoodcouncil.org/Calendar.html. For questions, please send emails to [email protected]. Pages 7-10 PAGE 2 THE CHARLESTOWN PATRIOT-BRIDGE JANuary 28, 2021 editorial THE DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER Amidst our winter of discontent, there is some good news on the hori- zon (literally): The days are getting longer. As this is being written, we will have passed the first full month of the astronomical winter (which starts on December 21 and ends on March 21) and we will have completed almost two months of the meteorologi- cal winter season, which is defined as December, January, and February. On December 14, the sun set at 4:13 in the afternoon and on Decem- ber 21 (the start of astronomical winter) the total amount of daylight was just nine hours and eight minutes. But on this Friday, January 29, the sun will be setting at 4:56 in the afternoon and we will have nine hours and 56 minutes of daylight. The longer days, combined with the positive news on COVID-19 vac- cines, signal hope for the future that sunnier days lie ahead. LAWSUITS WILL BRING OUT THE TRUTH The announcement this past week that Dominion Voting Systems Inc., the company that manufactures voting machines that are used widely across the United States, has filed a $1.3 billion lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani for his deliberately defamatory statements about the company, is the perfect antidote to the disinformation campaign that was spread GUEST OP-ED by Donald Trump and his minions in their attempt to subvert the results of the November election. It was one thing for Trump, Giuliani, and others to spout their ridic- Don’t live your life based on Biden or Trump ulous claims, in general terms, about a stolen election, but it is quite Dr. Glenn Mollette before. Biden is familiar with the just look at Biden and Trump. another when their patently-false statements negatively affect the reputa- nation’s Capitol. He has practically Change disrupts us and the cli- tion and business interests of individuals and companies. When did life begin for Pres- spent his entire life there in poli- mate of fear and skepticism is dom- Just as this newspaper cannot publish false and defamatory infor- ident Donald Trump or Presi- tics. It’s what he has awakened to inating our nation. mation, neither can major media outlets nor individuals such as Rudy dent Joe Biden? Did Trump’s life almost every morning of his life. For you and I we must live our Giuliani. We would note that an employee of Dominion has filed a sep- begin when his father loaned him Although now, he will sit in the lives right now. Every day we wake millions to start investing? Did it arate suit against a number of media outlets, as well as the Trump cam- Oval Office. up is a new beginning and a new begin when he married Melania? paign, for their defamatory and injurious statements about him.