Holland new police chief - Malden runs in the family for Police Lieutenant James Holland, who was sworn in as the newest Chief of Police during a packed ceremony Wednesday morning. His wife, Malden Police Detective Maureen Holland, sat in the front row a few seats down from his brother, retired Malden Public Schools Superintendent George Holland. His father, a former Malden Police sergeant, and grandfather, a former lieutenant, were fondly remembered by Police Commissioner Anthony Spadafora. “We go back a lot of years with the Holland family,” he said. more

Pleasant St Upgrade - Mayor Richard Howard announced that roughly $3.5 million in federal funds will be used to revitalize Malden’s downtown district, a project, he said, that should begin next year. The Malden City Council’s Downtown Revitalization Committee met on Tuesday night to discuss the Pleasant Street Improvement Project. The plan to revitalize portions of Malden Center from Main Street to Government Center will result in a new and improved streetscape and renewed activity in Malden Square. article

Push for local workers to renovate MHS - According to city ordinance, over a third of the workers hired to renovate Malden High School should hail from the community. But members of a committee dedicated to imposing the rule say it's a difficult mandate to enforce. “It's hard to enforce because the contractors don't like it,” said William Hurley, one of five members of the Resident Employment Monitoring Committee. “They don't want to hire local people, they want to hire their own employees.” In some instances, contractors will fire local employees for violations that wouldn't matter with regularly hired workers, he said. The city's Residential Employment Ordinance requires contractors to hire qualified Malden residents to perform at least 35 percent of the project's hours. Committee member Percy Stallworth said "very few" contractors are in compliance. more to the story

Wilson Arraigned - A Malden father, Nathan Wilson, was arraigned yesterday in Malden District Court on a charge of murder of his 6 month old son. A not-guilty plea was entered and he is being held without bail. The pretrial hearing is set for Mar. 29th. Wilson, said it was an innocent effort to get his infant to stop crying. He said that he held his son in the air to make him feel as if he were riding in a car and feeling the bumps of the road. But police say that Wilson shook him so violently that he killed him. more

PAYT Vouchers - A year after the pay-as-you-throw trash removal program was introduced to Malden, certain households are benefiting from city-sponsored vouchers designed to lower the financial impact of the program on those with lower incomes. Through the voucher program, qualifying households can redeem coupons at the city treasurer's office for one box of 10 PAYT trash bags. Single residents receive vouchers for 16-gallon bags while larger families receive the 33-gallon size. Residents can apply for one coupon every 10 weeks. more

Former Malden employee is jailed - Former City employee, Gia Marie DeSantis, received a two-year jail sentence after pleading guilty in connection with embezzlement of over $518,000 in city property tax receipts. DeSantis used to work in the city treasury, also received five years of probation and was ordered to pay $468,000 in restitution. She pleaded guilty to charges of larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny. “Gia DeSantis abused her position of trust and stole nearly a half a million dollars from the City of Malden,” Leone said on Wednesday. “She operated a complex financial scheme for well over a year to enrich herself and, today, by pleading guilty, she is admitting responsibility for her actions and will begin the process of repaying the City of Malden for the funds she egregiously stole.” Authorities alleged that beginning in 2006, DeSantis, responsible for property tax refunds, orchestrated a scheme wherby she would arrange for city checks to be issued to people who were not entitled to the refunds. Those people then cashed the checks and returned the bulk of the proceeds to DeSantis, authorities said. Entire story

Romero to run for state rep - At the age of 15, Karla Romero knew she would someday run for office. While her friends engaged in typical teenage activities, she canvased the streets with her mother, Grace, during her campaign for a seat on the Boston School Committee. Grace Romero would become the first Latina elected to the committee. Many years later, Romero is running her own campaign, announcing her candidacy for state Representative of the 35th Middlesex District earlier this month. If elected she would represent parts of Medford and her hometown of Malden. story

Zumba at Malden senior center - What does Malden Senior Center have in common with the fastest growing workout program in the world? Everything. In fact, Malden Senior Center Director Christine DiPietro said Zumba is not only popular, it’s their most attended class, surpassing even belly dancing and chair yoga. But Malden Senior Center isn’t the only one on the North Shore. Read more

Michael Fitzpatrick of Malden charged in car jacking - He seemed to come out of nowhere. The 31-year-old Arlington woman had just parked her Acura sport utility vehicle at the Dock Square garage in the North End when the burly man approached her door, a gun in his hand. “I need your car, I need your keys,’’ the man said matter-of-factly. Things happened quickly: the woman threw her keys away from the man and tried to run away. story

Spadafora draws large crowd for State Senate campaign kick-off - Republican candidate Craig Spadafora kicked off his campaign for State Senate last Thursday evening with a reception at Anthony's of Malden. Hundreds of people filled the room to give Spadafora their support.

Focus on Fells' natural resources - Opinion by Mike Ryan - The Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has advanced a trail planning process that could potentially result in the conversion of the Middlesex Fells from a Reservation for the protection and enjoyment of nature into a wide scale recreational bike park. MORE

Cutillo promoted to police sergeant - Patrolman Michael Cutillo was promoted to sergeant last Friday after the Civil Service Commission ruled he was unfairly denied promotions because of former Chief Ken Coye's bias against him. Commission chairman, Christopher Bowman ordered his name to the top for the next position for sergeant. Cutillo got the highest score on the civil service exam and claimed that Chief Coye threw away the eligibility list. This Coye admitted to during the hearing. Bowman ruled that Coye's personal dislike for Cutillo caused him to be lax in an effort for a fair promotion. The ruling was based upon conversations between Coye and Commissioner Spadafora and written evaluations of Cutillo which were "curiously personal in nature." Spadafora testified Coye's dislike of Cutillo stemmed from a car accident investigation involving Coye's daughter Cutillo handled about 13 years ago.

 MHS boys indoor track team claims Greater Boston League Title - With an exciting 45-36 win over perennial GBL powerhouse Cambridge, and an impressive 68-18 victory over league rival Medford, the Malden High School boys indoor track team finished their dual meet season with an undefeated record and their first Greater Boston League title since 1977. read about standings

MV girls qualify for state tournament - The Mystic Valley girls’ varsity basketball beat a very good Chelsea team on Tuesday night by a score of 46-34. The win secures a place in the MIAA Tourney. read more

Chief may Return - Retired police chief, Kenneth Coye may return to city work as a consultant for two technology programs related to traffic and parking.  entire article

PAYT bags for low-income - A voucher program is now available to low-income residents for the disposal of their trash. Qualified applicants will receive a voucher for one box (10 bags) of PAYT trash bags for a 10-week period. Single person households will receive 16-gallon bags, while families of two or more will receive vouchers for a box of 33-gallon bags. To be considered please supply proof of income and proof of residency in Malden. After the 10-week period one must reapply for another box. Seniors can get applications at the Malden Senior Center, the web at MaldenRedevelopment.com, the MRA office at city hall - Beth Rosa 781-324-5720 or click here for the form.

Chief's $89,176 pension tops the list - Former police chief Kenneth Coye should collect one of the highest city pensions this year, according to Malden city records. Coye, 59, stepped down as police chief in December will receive an $89,176 pension  article

Temple to stay in Malden - After several years of uncertainty, Temple Tifereth Israel has decided to take its Salem Street property off the market. read story

Robots come to the Senior Center - There are always many wonderful projects going on at Malden's Senior Center. The Executive Director, Christine DiPietro and her staff provide excellent ongoing services to seniors and also conduct many special projects. One such project started last fall and has just completed. It was a study by students at MIT to find the best design of robot faces.  read entire story

Giving back to the community - Pisa Pizza held a customer appreciation day to help celebrate it's 17th birthday. Over 2000 free pizzas were giving to customers as our way of saying thank you for making Pisa Pizza Malden's finest neighborhood pizzeria. With all the financial problems and negative news stories dominating the landscape, we wanted to provide our customers with something good," said the owner Joe Crowley.