LYNN NEWS ROUND-UP
APRIL 1, 2021
See our COVID-19 related posts by clicking here.
ICYMI: The free election section of our website is also now live with information valuable to voters such as current candidate lists, voter registration deadlines, interactive polling location map, & more. CLICK HERE TO VISIT!
The state of MA has advanced to Step 1 of Phase IV & updated its travel advisory. Click here for more info.
COVID Vaccine Clinics available for Lynn Educators March 26th, April 2nd, and April 9th. Click here for more info.
Mayor McGee & Lynn Police Dept. announce Body Worn Cameras Tele Town Hall on Tuesday, April 6th
Mayor Thomas McGee and the Lynn Police Department are pleased to announce a Tele Town Hall on Tuesday, April 6th at 6:00pm on the Police Body Worn Cameras program which will be launched by the end of April.
An agreement was reached in December between Mayor McGee and the Lynn Police Association as a direct result of months of dialogue between the city and the Lynn Racial Justice Coalition regarding the need for more transparency and accountability for interactions between the residents of the community and police. This tele town hall came at the request of the Lynn Racial Justice Coalition in order to better educate the public on the purpose and use of the body cameras before the program officially begins.
“I look forward to providing the community with a chance to learn about the soon to be implemented body worn cameras program for Lynn Police Patrol Officers.” said Mayor Thomas McGee. “I hope residents will take advantage of this opportunity to have questions and concerns answered about the equipment and the body camera policy from members of the Lynn Police Department and representatives from AXON, the company the state-of-the-art body camera system is purchased from. I firmly believe this program will increase the transparency, equity and safety for both members of the public and Lynn Police Officers.”
“I believe the body worn cameras will show the high standards to which the officers of the Lynn Police Department hold themselves,” said Interim Chief of Police Lenny Desmarais.
Residents can listen and submit their questions live to the Tele Town Hall by clicking here or calling 877-229-8493 and entering code:120106 on Tuesday, April 6th at 6:00pm.
EDITOR’S NOTE: LCTV has requested a copy of the recording of this meeting for future broadcast, for residents who can’t attend.
Panelists on the Tele Town Hall will include Mayor Thomas McGee, Interim Chief of Police Lenny Desmarais, Deputy Chief Mike Vail, Josh Bowling and representatives from AXON, and Lieutenant Ashley Affonco and Officer Domingo Polonia, who are the Lynn Police Officers overseeing the Video Evidence Unit of this program.
Per the policy, officers who are assigned on patrol units will record all contact with civilians in the following occurrences: vehicle stops, investigation person stops, all dispatched calls for service involving contact with civilians, initial responses by patrol officers to calls, transport of prisoners, pat frisk and searches of persons incident to arrest, incidents of emergency and pursuit driving, when an officer reasonably believes a crowd control incident may result in unlawful activity, any adversarial contact, including a use of force incident.
The above press release was submitted to us by Mayor McGee’s office.
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Click here for full resolution image - Find a mass vaccine location near you by clicking here. For phasing details and the most up-to-date vaccination timeline please click here.
For a list of workers currently eligible please click here.
A vaccination site has opened at Lynn Tech for Lynners
Find out more & watch a video tour by clicking here.
Schedule an appointment by clicking here.
Lynn Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Program’s April calendar is now out. Click fliers for full resolution images, in English & Spanish
April episode of GLSS TV now out!
From Greater Lynn Senior Services: This month’s GLSS TV includes two new features! A trivia piece about a major league ball player, from Lynn. And, some fun history — a visit to the 1939 World’s Fair where television was first introduced to the public. We’ll learn some easy ways to give ourselves a break, and to relax — things you can do almost anywhere, anytime. April is Parkinson’s Awareness month so we look at advances that have been made for people living with the disease. And, because it’s Spring, we’ll learn how to make Spring Rolls in our cooking segment!Watch the latest episode on our Public Access Channel (Comcast: 3 / Verizon: 38) Monday at 10:30 AM, Wednesday at 9:00 PM, & Friday at 5:30 PM.
You can also watch all episodes of GLSS TV anytime on our website by clicking here to go to our Video on Demand section.
Update on “An Act Modernizing School Construction” from Senator Crighton
State Senator Brendan Crighton sends out a monthly newsletter to his constituents, below is an excerpt from this e-newsletter where Senator Crighton discusses “An Act Modernizing School Construction”. If you have any questions or concerns contact Senator Crighton’s office at 617-722-1350 or via email by clicking here.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed glaring inequities in the condition of school buildings across the state. Overcrowded buildings, obsolete HVAC systems, and other unsafe conditions hinder students and teachers from engaging safely and productively in their classrooms. Now more than ever, state funding is vital in order to renovate these decrepit buildings and construct new ones to help ensure all children have access to the same quality of education, regardless of income level. For these reasons, I was especially proud to file SD2172, An Act Modernizing School Construction. It has been extremely gratifying to work together with members of the Lynn legislative delegation, Mayor McGee, and local officials on this priority.
Under this legislation, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA)’s dedicated revenue stream would increase from one to two pennies of the sales tax, doubling the revenue for construction projects. The legislation would remove the arbitrary cap of 80% reimbursement for MSBA-approved school construction projects, which has historically had an overwhelmingly disproportionate impact on low-income school districts. If not for this cap, these districts could have received an additional $44 million between 2016 and 2020 to support school construction.
The bill also updates the school construction formula by requiring the MSBA to regularly revise its standards for reimbursement to accurately reflect modern construction costs. And although the reimbursement formula does account for socioeconomic factors, the student poverty formula caps the number of reimbursement points all districts serving 33 percent or more than the state average of low-income students actually receive.
Finally, the state had historically provided additional reimbursement to projects clearly related to efforts to integrate schools, and this legislation would reinstate this policy in order to promote racially diverse schools across the state.
To read more about the bill, click here and here.
The above info. was taken from Senator Crighton’s monthly e-newsletter.
“Teaching Hidden Histories” collaborative workshop series to resume June 5th
Thank you to our amazing presenters and educators who attended our second virtual workshop in the “Teaching Hidden Histories” series, “The Struggle for Liberty, Equality, and Property: Examining Resistance to Exclusionary Policies Against Black People in Essex County“. It was a wonderful day of professional development and learning. A recording of the workshop may be viewed HERE.
Join us on June 5 for our third Teaching Hidden Histories workshop, “The Acknowledgement and Recognition of Native Peoples Past and Present”. The history of Indigenous Peoples and cultures in our region is often mis-represented, told from a European/American-centered context, or even erased from our general curriculums. In this workshop, we will center Indigenous voices as we examine stories from pre- and post-contact periods that enrich our understanding of the past and help us empower students to grapple with this history’s complex legacies.
Click HERE to register for this workshop.
This project has been funded in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation.
The above info. is courtesy of the Essex National Heritage Area.
COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Updates
Effective next Monday, April 5th, individuals age 55+ and with one certain medical condition will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Please visit https://www.mass.gov/covid-19-vaccine to find pre-register or to find a vaccine appointment near you.
COVID-19 vaccine appointments are available at Lynn Tech Fieldhouse for people who live or work in Lynn & Nahant or are Lynn Community Health Center Patients and meet state eligibility requirements (Massachusetts Phase 1 & Phase 2 Steps 1, 2, 3 & 4: 60 year of age or older or with two or more chronic health conditions, Educators and certain workers. Residents age 75+ may be accompanied by one caregiver who can book an appointment themselves.) Please visithttps://www.lchcnet.org/covid-19-vaccine-scheduling to make an appointment online. Residents without access to the Internet can call 2-1-1 to make an appointment 7 days a week.
Please visit http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/covid19/resources.shtml#p7GPc1_2 for the most up to date COVID-19 testing information, as well as more detailed information on the State and City of Lynn’s Reopening Guidelines. We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).
If you have a news story that you would like to share, please contact us via email or call 781-780-9460.
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