SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2021 Barstool bellies up for Student Opportunity Act Marblehead restaurant sees support in Salem By Mike Alongi owned by Gino Scalzi, offers a casual By Anne Marie Tobin passed by the Massachusetts Senate ITEM STAFF family style atmosphere specializing ITEM STAFF Thursday, just one day after the House in southern Italian cuisine speci cally of Representatives took similar action. MARBLEHEAD — The COVID-19 BOSTON – A bill designed to help Sa- from the Calabria region of Italy. The bill has gone to Gov. Charlie Baker pandemic has taken a big toll on a num- lem students defray the increasing costs Casa Mia is losing a few thousand dollars for his consideration. ber of industries and businesses over the of obtaining — and paying for — a col- a week just to stay open, and the restau- The bill was introduced by State Sen- past year, with the restaurant business lege education took one step closer to be- rant asked for help to secure its payroll for ator Joan B. Lovely and Representative being one of the hardest-hit. coming a reality. the next four weeks and pay its January Paul F. Tucker For places like Marblehead’s Casa Mia H4041, an Act authorizing the Salem rent. That would give the place a chance “As Senate Vice Chair of the Education Cucina Italiana, the loss of revenue from Scholarship and Education Commit- to meet payroll requirements and save the Committee, I am grati ed that this session indoor dining has been hard to ght. tee to provide scholarships from funds Casa Mia Cucina Italiana, which is MARBLEHEAD, A3 set aside for educational purposes, was SALEM, A3 A rst: Taking plunge personally Lynn leads Congress six local trumps red COVID Trump Overrides veto communities of defense bill Lynn eld, Peabody, By Matthew Daly ASSOCIATED PRESS Revere, Saugus, and WASHINGTON — Con- Swampscott also at risk gress on Friday overrode President Donald Trump’s By Gayla Cawley veto of a defense policy bill, ITEM STAFF a rst by lawmakers since he took of ce nearly four Lynn, Lynn eld, Peabody, Revere, Saugus, years ago. and Swampscott are in the red for another In an extraordinary New week, indicating communities that are at the Year’s Day session, the Re- highest risk for COVID-19 spread. publican-controlled Sen- Lynn, Lynn eld, Revere, and Saugus all ate easily turned aside the have triple-digit daily incidence rates, in veto, dismissing Trump’s terms of how many cases those communities objections to the $740 bil- are averaging per 100,000 residents each day. lion bill and handing him a And Lynn, with an infection rate of 13.92 stinging rebuke just weeks percent, has the fourth-highest positive test before he leaves the White rate in the state over the past 14 days, ac- House. cording to the state Department of Public Trump had no immediate Health. comment, but had lashed Lynn reported 154 new cases Thursday, a out at GOP lawmakers day after matching its single-day high for ahead of the vote, charging cases over a 24-hour period — the city report- on Twitter that “Weak and ed 196 new cases Wednesday. tired Republican ‘leader- The city’s caseload climbed to 11,476 on ship’ will allow the bad De- Thursday and an additional death was re- fense Bill to pass.” ported to bring the death toll in Lynn to 157. Trump called the looming A total of 1,986 cases are active and 9,333 override vote a “disgraceful people have recovered from the virus, accord- act of cowardice and total ing to city data. submission by weak peo- While cases have continued to surge in ple to Big Tech. Negotiate Lynn, the city’s daily incidence rate declined a better Bill, or get better over last week, from 124.5 to 101.7 new cases leaders, NOW!” ITEM PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days, The 81-13 vote in the Nahant’s annual “Freezin’ for a Reason” Polar Plunge Fundraiser was called according to the DPH. Senate followed an earli- However, the positive test rate in Lynn in- er 322-87 override vote in off this year due to concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic, but that wasn’t going to stop John Barrette of North Reading, and his sons Sam, 21, Max, 19, creased from 13.1 percent to 13.92 percent the House of the widely this week, according to the DPH. popular defense measure. and Nolan, 13, from taking the dive into the frigid waters off of Short Beach for the third year in a row. The Barrettes plunged in honor of John’s brother, Lynn City Hall will remain closed to the The bill af rms a 3 percent public and will continue providing services CJ, who died a few weeks ago at the age of 60. “He would have been here if he pay raise for U.S. troops remotely to residents until Jan. 19, according could’ve, so we’re gonna run in the ocean and remember their uncle CJ,” said and guides defense policy, to Mayor Thomas M. McGee’s of ce. cementing decisions about John. The Barrettes were joined by a handful of other locals who wanted to troop levels, new weapons keep up the tradition of kicking off the new year with a plunge. COVID, A3 systems and military read- iness, personnel policy and other military goals. THOR JOURGENSEN Senate Majority Leader Pope-Richard Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., COMMENTARY said before the vote that Congress has passed the family National Defense Authori- zation Act every year for 59 They truly years in a row, “and one way legacy is or another, we are going to delivered complete the 60th annual memorialized NDAA and pass it into law before this Congress con- Like everyone else, the highlight of By Anne Marie Tobin cludes on Sunday.” my 2020 Christmas was being alive and ITEM STAFF The bill “looks after our healthy and seeing the people I love LYNNFIELD — Every town has brave men and women alive and healthy. them, those special individuals and who volunteer to wear the But a close runner-up was watching families whose legacies are indelibly uniform,’’ McConnell said. with amazement as an army of deliv- etched into the community’s identity “But it’s also a tremendous ery people managed to drop a seeming- opportunity: to direct our ly-endless stream of boxes onto porches for generations to come. national security priorities and doorsteps. For many residents in Lynn eld, to re ect the resolve of the In a year when the pandemic deliv- such is the case with members of the American people and the ered a collective shot below the belt to Pope/Richard family, who were hon- evolving threats to their malls and stores, Americans let their ored by the Select Board at its most safety, at home and abroad. ngers do the walking and spent their recent meeting. It’s our chance to ensure we money online. In a unanimous vote in response to keep pace with competitors Those millions of purchases, made a proposal submitted by the Histor- like Russia and China.’’ through mobile devices, laptops and ical Commission, the Lynn eld His- The Senate override was desktop computers, meant that someone torical Centre now has a new name delayed after Sen. Bernie had to process each order, box it up for — the Pope-Richard Lynn eld His- Sanders, I-Vt., objected to shipping, and send it to a gift recipient torical Centre. Historical Commission Chairman TRUMP, A2 WORKERS, A3 Kirk Mans eld said the commission has been searching for a way to hon- ITEM PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK or the memory of Steve Richard, a longtime member of the Historical Opinion Lynn Salem The Lynn eld Historical Centre will be re- Shribman: Hope rides Lynn’s 2nd Guests at new hotel Commission who died March 24 at named the Pope-Richard Lynn eld Histori- the age of 58 from COVID-19. Sadly, on optimism in the recreational marijuana scramble to escape cal Centre in honor of Steve Richard and his just ve days later, Richard’s father, new year. A4 store opens. A5 re. A5 99-year-old father, Earl, who died from COVID ve days apart back in March. LEGACY, A3 OBITUARIES ..............................A2 LOOK! .......................................A8 DIVERSIONS .............................B5 HIGH 47° VOL. 142, ISSUE 21 OPINION ...................................A4 SPORTS ................................ B1-2 CLASSIFIED ........................... B6-7 LOW 28° POLICE/FIRE .............................A5 COMICS ....................................B4 PAGE A8 $1.50 A2 THE DAILY ITEM SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2021 OBITUARIES Marie McGovern, 88 Robert J. “Bob” Vautour, 90 1932 - 2020 1930 - 2020 WICHITA - Marie Leonie Mc- MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA - Govern passed away peacefully Robert J. Vautour, 90, passed December 22, 2020. She was away on December 22, 2020, born November 13th, 1932. in Vitas Hospice Care, Rock- Service Information: A ledge Florida, with family by Funeral Mass will occur his side, after a brief illness. Wednesday, January 6, 2021 He was the loving husband of at 10:00 AM at Catholic Lucille (Leblanc) Vautour, with Church of the Magdalen. whom he shared 65 years of Those that can not attend marriage. Born in Lynn Ma, may watch the Mass through February 16, 1930, he was the Youtube at https://youtu. son of the late Emile and Eva be/0n_oM5E4q9Y Robichaud Vautour Leblanc, Fond memories and ex- and stepson of Alphee Leb- pressions of sympathy may lanc. Bob spent his childhood be shared at www.MyLakev- between New Brunswick Cana- iewFuneralHome.com. da and Lynn Ma. He served in the US Army from 1952-1960, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Jonathan Vautour and Korean War and was Katrina, Christopher honorably discharged.