Malden High's Ayuk & Hoffman to represent Female Student Athletes - The Mass Interscholastic Athletic Assoc. will once again present The 2012 Massachusetts Celebration of National Girls and Women in Sport Day, being held at Faneuil Hall on Feb. 3rd. The keynote speaker will be Soccer Legend Kristine Lilly. MHS Seniors Commie Ayuk and Emily Hoffman were selected to represent Malden High School female student athletes. Emily Hoffman has played both varsity field hockey and varsity softball for the Tornadoes. She’s currently tri-captain of each team. Emily is a member of the Helping Hands Club, volunteering to help teens and adults with special needs. read more

Mass. Municipal Association names Clark legislator of the year - posted by Joe Cassia Jan 25, 2012 - The Massachusetts Municipal Association has recognized State Senator Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) as a distinguished Legislator of the Year based on her record of accomplishment for cities, towns and local taxpayers during the 2011 legislative session. Sen. Clark, who serves as the Senate Chair of the Public Service Committee, was presented with the award at the municipal association's annual awards ceremony on January 21, 2012, before a crowd of local officials from across the state. "This has been a very strong and productive legislative session for cities and towns, including passage of municipal health insurance reform legislation, the most important reform law to benefit cities and towns in the past 30 years, and local officials across Massachusetts deeply appreciate the time, effort, leadership and support Senator Clark provided on this key issue," said MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith.

Malden High clinches GBL gymnastics crown - The Malden High gymnastics team clinched the Greater Boston League championship by a narrow margin, beating Medford 117.975 - 117.45 on Tuesday, bringing its record to 5-1. High scorers for Malden were Noelle Bellmer vault (8.4), bars (7.65), beam (8.025), floor (8.1); Andrew Phu and Kieshawn Rattana vault (7.7); Joel Stevenson bars (7.15); Molly Jaynes bars (7.25), beam (7.25); and Justine Rose floor (7.75). The last time the Malden High gymnastics team won the GBL was in 2001, when Coach Vanessa James was a senior on the team.

Mayor Christenson receives Transition Report - In a press conference at city hall, the mayor's transition team, lead by Greg Lucey, presented the formal document that was described as his "road map for the next four years." The four themes which have carried directly from his campaign platform include, improved operations from city government, improved resident communication, connecting with the businesses community, and using the Housing Task Force to address issues with various problem properties around the city. The transition team used a combination of surveys, direct interviews and the team members' experiences in city affairs, to create this formal document, which is now online. The mayor has asked Ted Coates from the Chamber of Commerce to work as a business liaison. The action plan, stemming from the report, is to work on the "deficiencies which are glaring and the resolution timeline is achievable." He indicated that working on the budget, "starts today" and that he plans to have the city checkbook online within his first year. As is expected, Mayor Christenson will continue to expand the use of technology on multiple fronts and plans to continue his online forums. Joe Cassia

Toomajian's lawyer motions to disallow wire taps - Joe Cassia Jan 19, 2012 - Thomas Drechsler, Charles Toomajian's attorney has motioned the court to throw out State Police wire taps which allege to implicate Toomajian in a money laundering scheme of $1.8 million. The indictment claims that Toomajian conspired in a theft from a Wakefield staffing company, so that an employee, Charles Davis, could pay off his gambling debts. Toomajian's attorney sought to suppress tape records of Joseph Giallanella, the bookmaker involved in the case. The argument was that Mr. Toomajian's voice is not on the tape. The District Attorney argues that this reference by Davis, "I still have to contact the attorney and he's gotta [expletive] cut a check for 28 grand" warrants inclusion. Judge William Billings will reconvene on this matter on March 20th and rule on the admissibility of the recordings.

Race to the Top: Supporting our Youngest Learners - by Katherine Clark - posted Joe Cassia 1/24/2012 - Last week I joined Governor Patrick and students and educators from around the state to celebrate the recent announcement that Massachusetts has been selected to receive a $50 million grant to expand pre-Kindergarten education.  As part of the federal Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge program, Massachusetts was one of nine states awarded grants to develop new approaches to early learning and close the school readiness gap. read more

Renewed Leases - Three Tenants Renew at Combined Properties’s 378 Commercial Street - Posted by Joe Cassia January 20, 2012 - Combined Properties, Inc. is pleased to announce three recent lease renewals at 378 Commercial Street, a 114,920 square foot industrial building, in Malden. Vocell Bus Company, Interline Brands, and General Insulation together have renewed a total of 76,000 square feet. read more

Tri-CAP and the Tri-City Housing and Homelessness Task Force to conduct annual homeless Census. - Posted by Joe Cassia Jan 18, 2012 - Many agencies and service providers are helping to gather the necessary data for the annual homeless census and street count. This data is being gathered at the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the Continuum of Care Application for McKinney-Vento funding. read more

Letter from Mayor Christenson regarding bus route changes - Proposed changes

Shining a Light on Education Collaboratives - by Katherine Clark - Posted by Joe Cassia Jan 17, 2012 - Last summer, the state’s inspector general accused the director of Merrimack Special Education Collaborative of diverting $11.5 million in public funding to boost his salary and those of a few top executives.  In response, last week the State Senate passed legislation to reform the Commonwealth’s system of education collaboratives, increasing the transparency, accountability and oversight of these important institutions. read more

Crossing Guard Saves Girl - Dan Walsh and second-grader, San'ya McKinney were halfway across the intersection at Route 99 and Hunting Street when a car driven by a woman from Peabody came at them. Walsh tried to protect the child, as they both both hit. They were both lucky and survived the impact with only bruises. The driver was cited for failing to stop for pedestrians at a crosswalk. As a ten year old child, Walsh been hit by a car at the very same intersection and suffered a fractured skull.

Residents first look at ballpark plans - Posted by Joe Cassia January 13, 2012 - The development group proposing a new ball park for Malden made their presentation to the public in the City Council chamber Jan 12th. The park would cost $50 million and house a minor league baseball team and is on the National Grid site. The independent league now has eight teams. Read more on Boston.com

Senator Clark Supports Employment Rights Bill for Victims of Domestic Violence - Posted by Joe Cassia January 13, 2012 – The Senate on Thursday passed legislation establishing new employment rights for victims of domestic violence that will help victims keep their jobs and increase long-term economic productivity, Senator Katherine Clark announced today. The vote was 34-0. The bill has wide support from advocacy organizations and the business community. read more

Mayor Christenson Announces the Hiring of 4 Firefighters - Posted by Joe Cassia Jan 11, 2012 - In one of his first official acts, Mayor Christenson embraced the Fire Department’s request that four additional firefighters be hired. The cost for these new positions will be paid by utilizing the Staffing For Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant. “This decision will provide the additional firefighters needed to keep our community safe,” Mayor Christenson said. The total number of firefighters, including the new hires, will reach 117 and 13 of them will be paid through the SAFER grant. Fire Chief Michael Murphy said he is grateful for the support and looks forward to the swearing-in ceremony to be held for the new hires in the coming weeks.