By Brian M. Arrigo Like St. Patrick’s Day, Easter Sunday, and Opening Day at Fenway Park, Mother’s Day 2020 will be different than any before. Restaurants won’t be packed with families giving Mom a break from the kitchen. The stores…
Category: Editorials
Op-Ed: Isn’t it a Bit Ironic?
By Jessica Giannino These are truly unprecedented times. COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on our lives and safety. Tom Brady is no longer a Patriot. There’s a shortage of toilet paper. Hand sanitizer is as valuable as a semi-precious stone.…
Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Down for the Second Week: More Than 600,000 Have Filed Claims since March 15
Special to the Journal Massachusetts had 80,153 individuals file an initial claim for unemployment insurance from April 12 to April 18. This represented a decrease of 22% over the previous week as most of the workers who have been laid…
Allowing the States to Go Bankrupt Is a Really Bad Idea
One of the most glaring shortcomings thus far of the stimulus and disaster packages that have been passed by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the failure to provide assistance to the states. Every state in the…
Guest Op-Ed: For Graduates, a Year to Remember
By Brian Arrigo The Covid-19 pandemic is a thief. It has stolen loved ones from our families, deprived us of our freedom, and ripped away our sense of social assurance. It has caused heartache and devastating financial adversity. But for…
Guest Op-Ed: Thoughts for a Better Future
By Anthony D’ambrosio The COVID-19 crisis has brought American society to a grinding halt. In just a few short weeks, we have lost thousands of lives, businesses have closed, schools have been suspended, and we find ourselves in an incredibly…
Guest Op-Ed: Pathways to Good Jobs: My Plan to Expand Access to Vocational and Technical Education
By Joe Gravellese There are over 3200 students on waiting lists to attend vocational and technical schools in Massachusetts. Each year, students from our district sweat out the admissions process to get into Northeast Metro Tech. This is a policy…
Guest Op-Ed: Fighting for the Frontline
By Maura Healey More than 300,000 health care workers and first responders in Massachusetts have stepped up to the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19. They suit up in scrubs or uniforms, leave the comfort of their homes, and put…
Guest Op-Ed: Jail Should Not Equal Death
By Christopher Westfall COVID-19 has prompted our communities to widely adopt two practices to limit the spread of the virus: handwashing and social distancing. Yet Massachusetts not only discourages these public health precautions for incarcerated people, but also often makes…
Science Matters
By Jack Clarke Either science matters or it doesn’t. Policy makers can’t have it both ways and selectively apply it only when it advances a political agenda. Science should inform and drive public policy not the other way around –…
Once Again, Mass. is Showing the Way
With the launch this past week of of the COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative (CTC) to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in Massachusetts, our state once again is taking a leading role at this critical time for our nation.Massachusetts is…
Guest Op-Ed: A Long Road Behind Us, A Longer Road Ahead
By Brian Arrigo It’s now a month that our favorite restaurants, gyms, theaters, and gathering places have been shuttered. For the most part, we’ve stayed indoors, isolated from relatives and friends. Zoom conferences have become the closest thing to face-to-face…
Guest Op-Ed: Cleaner Air, Cleaner Water, Healthier Communities: An Agenda for the Environment and Public Health
 By Joe Gravellese Harvard’s School of Public Health just published a study proving what those of us living in Revere, Chelsea and Saugus already know – that even small increases in air pollution lead to dramatically higher risks from COVID-19.…
A Light at the End of the Tunnel?
The United States now is the official epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. We have more deaths and more cases of disease than anywhere else in the world. However, this past weekend the experts began to give us a glimmer of hope…
So Let’s Talk About The Weather
The weather this April has been full of irony. We had mild months for January, February, and March, with above-average temperatures (among the warmest on record) and few storms of any consequence. However, April has been anything but spring-like. Temperatures…
Letter to the Editor
Please Donate to the First Congregational Food Bank Dear Editor: The Food Bank at the Congregational Church (at this time of year) usually distributes food to 60 – 75 families. Last week 321 families came and 296 were first-timers. The staff gave…
Guest Op-Ed: Helping Hands and Selfless Acts — Our Community at Its Best
By Mayor Brian M. Arrigo The Easter Bunny joined our team this past Saturday, touring the City and bringing a much-needed dose of happiness to homebound families and residents who waived from their windows and porches. While the Easter Bunny…
Guest Op-Ed: Protecting This Fall’s Election and Strengthening Democracy
By Joe Gravellese Last week, voters in Wisconsin were shamefully forced to choose between exercising their right to vote or adhering to social distancing. Voters stood in long lines and potentially were exposed to COVID-19, largely because powerful interests continue…
One Day at a Time: It’s “Groundhog Day†for Everybody
Here’s one way to view the current situation in which we all find ourselves: Prior to the pandemic sweeping the nation and the world, our lives were such that each day truly was a new day, filled with new challenges…
Guest Op-ed: A Time that Shakes Our Faith
By Mayor Brian M. Arrigo We stand like weary solÂdiers. We are frightened and tired. We are saddened by the growing number of casualties. We endure, strengthened by our passion for survival and ultimate victory. Where do we find that…
