Emily Pauls

My favorite Item articles

Itemlive •

What's going on with the MBTA in Lynn?

LYNN — Frustrating. That is the word used by state Sen. Brendan Crighton and Mayor Jared Nicholson when talking about the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s presence in the city.

“I do not think that the [MBTA] is properly serving Lynn residents,” Nicholson said.

Even if the Lynn Commuter Rail station was open, the city would still not be properly serviced by the MBTA, he said.

The city’s Commuter Rail station shut down on Oct. 1, 2022 for a $72 million renovation project. The publi
Itemlive •

Lynn and Peabody see rise in food insecurity

The Greater Boston Food Bank’s annual statewide report found that in 2022, 33 percent of Massachusetts households experienced food insecurity, which is defined by the federal Department of Agriculture as a “household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.”

It was a 14-point increase from 2019, when 19 percent of households experienced food insecurity.

In Lynn and Peabody, the statewide growth in food insecurity has been reflected in a surge of dema
Itemlive •

‘From Nahant to the Moon’

When you think of Nahant the first thing that comes to mind is probably not outer space. But maybe it should be because a piece of Nahant is on the moon right now.

The Nahant Historical Society currently has a temporary exhibit called “From Nahant to the Moon” about Bob Steeves, who was an integral citizen of Nahant before he passed, and his family’s connection to the Apollo Space Missions.

Back in the 60s NASA contracted the company Steeves worked for as a chemical engineer, National Research
Itemlive •

Lynn health director saves man overdosing on City Hall steps

LYNN — Interim Health Director M.J. Duffy Alexander administered Narcan nasal spray to a man overdosing on the steps of City Hall Tuesday evening, saving his life.

When Duffy Alexander was notified that someone was unconscious outside, she grabbed multiple items including an ice pack, a blood-pressure cuff, and Narcan.

“You never know what you’re going to get, somebody could’ve fallen and hit their head. It’s very hot out, is somebody dehydrated and that’s why they passed out?” Duffy Alexander
Itemlive •

The legend of Nahant’s sea serpent

NAHANT — As spring carries on and the weather continues to warm, beware the sea serpent that is sometimes said to reside off the Nahant Shores. While the last sighting was in the mid-20th century, you never know what might be lurking beneath the water’s surface.

“Is it a myth or did a 70-foot sea creature actually cruise the waters of the North Shore? There are lots of theories, but nothing can discount the fact that many affidavits have been published from boaters and fishermen [as] well as fr
Itemlive •

Lynn Youth Fire Academy creates a pathway for students

LYNN — Like many high school students, 17-year-old Kevin Smart was uncertain about his path after graduation. But that has all changed in just a few weeks thanks to the Fire Department’s Youth Academy.

“This program helped a lot and made me really want to become a firefighter,” Smart, a Lynn Vocational Technical Institute student, said.

During the month of July, Smart and 11 other students from the city’s public school district have been learning and experiencing everything about being a first
Itemlive •

Lynn fire crew makes heroic save

LYNN — When firefighters Andrew Luque, Chris Oram, and Robert Miele arrived at a recent fire on Hanover Street, there was a person sticking their head out of the window of the room that was on fire.

“I went up and pulled him out and onto my shoulder and out of the window,” Luque said.

It was a mattress fire, he said. The first report came in on June 23 around 5:50 p.m. and was followed by multiple calls regarding the fire.

“We knew we had to get there quick,” Luque said.

The three firefighte

Other Item articles

Itemlive •

Lynn probation officer of 22 years reflects on opioid crisis

LYNN — Kelley Montgomery has been a probation officer at the city’s district court for 22 years. In that time, she has worked with more than 500 people trying to fight their addictions in Recovery Court.

Recovery Court is for people who are moved into a special session of court, she said. Those people will get a referral from either a defense attorney, a district attorney, a judge, or a probation officer.

“I have a clinician [Carly Jacobson of Centurion] who will then interview them and find o
Itemlive •

Lynn Affordable Housing Trust Fund approves funds for new project

LYNN — The Affordable Housing Trust Fund voted to approve $75,000 of funding on Monday for a low-income housing project proposed by the Commonwealth Land Trust and Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless.

The Casa Project will be a roughly five-story building with 30-40 studio units, a common space, offices, and storage areas, architect Thaddeus Siemasko said at the presentation of the project to the trust on June 20.

Units would be about 400 to 450 square feet, he said.

The land the buildin
Itemlive •

Keith Lee dribbles from Lynn to Lawrence

LYNN — On a humid but cool summer morning, Keith Lee laced up his Jordan 37s, did a special handshake with his son, and shot a basketball into a hoop at Lynn English High School. From there, his roughly 30-mile journey of dribbling a basketball from Lynn to Lawrence began.

With him was a backpack that had extra socks and a shirt with a picture of his college roommate, who passed away. The backpack would also soon be filled with water and Pedialyte that his family would bring him on his route.
Itemlive •

Meet Denis Ring, Lynn Fire’s new PIO

LYNN — Lt. Denis Ring, a firefighter for the city since 2005, is the Fire Department’s new public information officer.

As PIO, he said he collaborates with the media and runs the department’s social-media pages.

“I just want to see the department shown in a good light,” Ring, a lifelong Lynn resident, said. “My whole goal here is just to make sure that the public gets the right information.”

Running the department’s social-media accounts is something that he had already been doing for some ti
Itemlive •

Lynn ranked 6th in the country for safest drivers, according to study

LYNN — The city is ranked sixth in the country for safe drivers, according to a recent study from ConsumerAffairs.

The study, “Worst Drivers in America,” used data from the United States Department of Transportation. ConsumerAffairs examined the number of fatal crashes, number of fatalities caused by bad driving, number of fatalities due to driving under the influence, and prevalence of speeding in fatal accidents.

That data was used to calculate a “crash score,” according to the report.

The
Itemlive •

Lynn short film makes it to the 2023 Hip Hop Film Festival

LYNN — Harlem’s 2023 Hip Hop Film Festival is going to see some faces from the city as a short film called “The Golden Age,” produced by and starring Lynners, heads to the festival in August.

The film, which was produced by Blatant Product Placement Productions, follows a rapper and a musician who find their way back together after 10 years apart.

“There’s a little bit of commentary about how they lived out their respective music careers during the golden age,” Chantha Luk, the director and wr
Itemlive •

Moulton and Clark defend votes against defense bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — United States Reps. Seth Moulton and Katherine Clark voted against the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 on Friday due to partisan amendments submitted by Republicans in the House of Representatives.

According to a statement released by Moulton, whose district covers Lynn, Saugus, Swampscott, Nahant, Marblehead, Peabody, and Lynnfield, he voted in favor of the NDAA every year since being elected to Congress in 2014 — until now.

“Sadly, the compromise bi
Itemlive •

Lynn City Council approves MBTA temporary commuter rail platform leases

LYNN — The City Council voted to approve two lease agreements with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on Tuesday for a temporary commuter rail platform. The temporary platform will be used during the project to renovate the original commuter rail station.

The design for the temporary platform was completed June 6, according to MBTA Director of Communications Joe Pesaturo. Mayor Jared Nicholson’s policy director, Danya Smith, worked with the MBTA for the past few months to coordinate
Itemlive •

Lynn native creates award-winning Boston distillery

BOSTON — When John Sorgini, the founder and owner of Chattermark Distillers, created the distillery’s Coastal Forest Gin, he wanted to make it taste like the North Shore, where he grew up.

“The idea is like you’re sitting in a forest on the North Shore and smelling the sea air,” Sorgini said.

It is his favorite product from Chattermark, a grain-to-glass distillery in Charlestown that started production in 2019. The distillery makes and sells straight bourbon whiskey, straight rye whiskey, and
Itemlive •

Lynn City Council approves $486 million FY24 budget

LYNN — The City Council voted to approve the $486,643,836 fiscal year 2024 budget Thursday evening.

This is the second time the council held a public hearing and vote on the budget, after it violated open meeting laws by not posting a public notice of the initial meeting on June 12.

Mayor Jared Nicholson was unable to attend the hearing due to a School Committee meeting the same night. He submitted a letter regarding the presented budget, which was read on his behalf.

“This budget allows us t
Itemlive •

A ferry good time in Lynn

LYNN — In January, the legislative delegation of state Sen. Brendan Crighton and state Reps. Jenny Armini, Dan Cahill, Peter Capano, and Donald Wong went to newly sworn-in Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll to tell them the North Shore was not ready for the closure of Sumner Tunnel.

They “sprung into action” immediately, Crighton said.

“We also told them that our commuters needed mitigation, they needed alternatives. We looked to the rail, we looked to the sea,” Crighton said. “I thin
Itemlive •

$15 million to go to Head Start programs in Lynn and across Massachusetts

LYNN — State Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler announced that the Healey-Driscoll administration is putting $15 million in grants toward 28 organizations in the Commonwealth that offer Early Head Start and Head Start programs.

“This funding is a deep investment in the state’s early education and care workforce, and an investment in the great work that Head Start programs do across the state,” Tutwiler, the former superintendent of Lynn Public Schools, said Thursday at the Jack Robinson Ch
Itemlive •

Simpson-Best is Lynn’s new director of elder services

LYNN — Meegan Simpson-Best has been named the new director of elder services for the city’s Senior Center.

“There is a deep passion in my heart for seniors,” Simpson-Best, a certified social worker with 25 years of experience, said.

Previously, she was a family service and training and licensing social worker at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, according to a press release from Mayor Jared Nicholson’s office. In that role, she worked closely with foster parents and develo
Itemlive •

Lynn’s Broadway safety project remains, residents express concerns

LYNN — According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the intersections of Broadway and Jenness Street, and Broadway and Euclid Avenue are among the 200 most dangerous intersections in the Commonwealth.

“How many intersections are there in the Commonwealth? There’s hundreds of thousands of intersections and [these intersections] rose to the top in terms of its need for safety,” Tighe & Bond Senior Vice President of Transportation and Business Richard Benevento said.

Bas
Itemlive •

100 plus bikes given to the kids of Lynn’s Pathways students

LYNN — Mutt Society, an organization that donates bikes throughout the world, gave away more than 100 bikes to the children of Pathways students during an event Saturday.

This is the second year Pathways has partnered with Mutt Society to bring bikes to the children of Lynn.

At Pathways, adult students in the city can receive basic education and English-language classes, interim Executive Director Sarah Hesch said. Pathways connects with its students inside and outside of the classroom.

“Some
Itemlive •

Teachers union voices concerns over Lynn schools budget

LYNN — The school’s fiscal year 2024 budget raised some “severe concerns” for the Lynn Teachers Union, Union President Sheila O’Neil told the School Committee Thursday evening.

The budget, she said, has 12 additional administrative positions, which will cost $1.3 million. O’Neil said that amount of money could pay for 25 new entry-level educators.

According to the School Committee’s proposed budget, there is an increase in personnel and services to support students’ needs holistically.

“[Lynn
Itemlive •

It’s a Half-Christmas miracle for Lynn toy drive

LYNN — It’s only six months into the year and Dominic Gatto; his daughter, Ariana Gatto; and his fiancé, Samantha Carey, have already collected more than 400 toys for their annual holiday toy drive. They have so many toys, they had to rent a storage unit to hold all of them.

They started collecting for their 2023 toy drive right after last year’s Christmas, Gatto said. This is thanks to the fact that Walgreens put an 80% clearance on its toy section.

“My goal was to wait until the summer to tr
Itemlive •

Meet the Satterwhites: a husband and wife on the same Lynn ballot

LYNN — If you see the last name Satterwhite twice on your ballot in this year’s election, don’t worry, it’s not a mistake. Spouses Michael Satterwhite and Andrea Satterwhite are both running for municipal office — Michael Satterwhite for City Council and Andrea Satterwhite for School Committee.

After consulting with four Lynn election observers, it was deemed that this is the first time a married couple has run on the same ballot in the city.

They hadn’t planned to run at the same time, Michae
Itemlive •

Lynn YMCA opens rooftop garden to promote nutritional eating

LYNN — The Demakes Family YMCA’s roof has had a complete makeover with the construction of its new rooftop garden. The roof of the building is now filled with crate gardens that kids at the YMCA can manage.

At the Demakes Family YMCA, nutrition-and-healthy-eating education is already offered to children, Demakes Family YMCA Senior Branch Executive Andrea Baez said.

“Along with our free meals program and cooking classes in our healthy-eating kitchen, the rooftop garden will be a core part of ou
Itemlive •

Long wants to be heard in Lynn’s Ward One

LYNN — Jennifer Long is running to represent Ward One in the City Council, making her the ward’s fifth candidate in this year’s race. Long, who has been a resident of the city for nine years, said she has decided to run to try and make a difference in her community.

In a conversation with The Daily Item, Long said that there are many aspects of Ward One she would like to address as a councilor. Her ideas ranged from fixing and cleaning up the streets to having more security efforts in the city’
Itemlive •

Police seize cocaine, marijuana, and puppies from Lynn home

LYNN — The Drug Task Force seized more than 19 grams of cocaine, 42 pounds of marijuana, and 11 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms after the execution of a search warrant at a Lynn home on June 15.

The task force also seized seven puppies that were living in unsanitary conditions, according a Facebook post from the Police Department. The puppies have been placed in foster homes.

According to Public Information Officer Lt. Rick Connick, Nicolas Carnazzo, of Lynn, was arrested and charged with posse
Itemlive •

New recovery support center opens in Lynn

LYNN — Spectrum Health Systems has opened a peer-recovery support center on Exchange Street called the Recovery Exchange.

“This is peer support. It’s one person in recovery helping another person in recovery. Everybody that works here is in recovery,” Spectrum Health Systems Executive Director of Peer Services and Recovery Supports Athena Haddon said. “These centers are as valuable to communities as seniors’ centers or youth centers.”

At the center, members of the recovery community can build
Itemlive •

Lynn’s Gretel Devendorf is 19 and already a college grad

LYNN — In May, just a few months after turning 19, Gretel Devendorf walked across the University of Vermont’s graduation stage to receive her bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences.

A Lynn native, Devendorf started earning college credit at age 15. At the time, she was attending Georgetown Public Schools, as her mom lived in Lynn but her dad lived in Georgetown, Mass.

Devendorf said she put all of her effort into school.

Eventually she realized she wanted to start taking college classes,
Itemlive •

State Police looking for missing Dickson 'Joel' De Los Reyes of Lynn

The Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County is currently investigating the disappearance of Lynner Dickson “Joel” De Los Reyes who did not return home after leaving a party in Chelsea in the early morning of June 11, according to the State Police.

At 3:43 a.m. on June 11 De Los Reyes got into a Lyft, a ride share vehicle, in front of 169 Shurtleff St., Chelsea, the State Police said in a statement.

“The [Lyft] ride was terminated at approximately 3:56 AM on the same date,”
Load More

Follow Me