At Saugus ceremony, family learns story behind hero “Pop” Virnelli’s Bronze Star By Mark E. Vogler Until about 10 months ago, former Saugus residents Frank and Jim Virnelli said, they never knew the story behind the heroic mission that earned their dad a Bronze Star and Air Medal posthumously after his death in World War II. Master Sergeant Thomas “Pop” Virnelli earned those military decorations for putting his life on the line on Aug. 24, 1944, when he led a four-man team behind enemy lines to salvage any useable components from an L-5 plane that crashed near the French Alps. Virnelli and his crew had only 15 minutes to remove…
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City to continue crafting marijuana ordinance
By Barbara Taormina City councillors weren’t able to finish crafting a recommendation for a marijuana ordinance in 2018, so the work will pick up again this month. “This has taken a very long time,” said Ordinance Committee Chairman/Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley during one of the committee’s last and most contentious meetings of the year. Members were frustrated by multiple drafts of an ordinance with different amendments. Councillors clashed over what should be included in the ordinance and what items should be part of the host community agreement which marijuana retailers must sign to receive a state license. It got personal with councillors swapping comments starting off with the…
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Hockey Pats still looking for first win after dropping competitive battle to Somerville
By Joe McConnell The Revere High School boys’ co-op hockey team (0-6-1) is fighting through injuries in the early going, but on Wednesday night, Jan. 2, they were more competitive against Somerville, losing a hard-fought effort, 5-3. The varsity squad is made up of 21 players, and the roster is pretty much split down the middle between Revere and Malden players, with 11 of them from the Beach City. There’s also a JV squad that has a total of 18 players, with 15 of them comprised of middle school talent. The future potentially looks even brighter for coach Joe Ciccarello’s program. Ciccarello, also the Patriots’ softball coach, has been…
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Two Lynnfield-Saugus North Shore Mite teams win hockey tournament
Two Lynnfield-Saugus North Shore Mite teams win hockey tournament The Lynnfield-Saugus North Shore Mite 2 and 3 teams (ages six to eight) won the Mass Bay New Year’s Eve Classic Hockey Tournament hosted at Mass Bay Hockey Center in Peabody.
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MHS basketball team wins tourney
By Steve Freker If the Malden High boys’ basketball team looks back on its season and wants to point to a time where the season made an about-face in the right direction, the Tornado Holiday Classic tournament will be the place. Playing their best basketball of the season, Malden swept through the two-game slate with wins over Revere and Snowden International to claim the championship, the second victory coming in a convincing, 73-54 decision over Snowden. Malden topped Revere, 56-48, in a first-round game last week. Snowden knocked off Medford, 68-67 in that round. Malden got a fantastic game out of senior David Mervilus in the title game. The 6-3…
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Everett boys’ basketball team roundup
By Jason Mazzilli Something had to give when a pair of unbeaten, ranked opponents did battle in the final round of the Boston Amateur Basketball Club (BABC) Holiday Classic at Cathedral High School. Number one ranked Brookline stayed perfect at 6-0 with a 73-58 victory over #20 Everett (3-1), which sustained its first loss to go to 3-1 overall. Brookline showed its depth with five players scoring in double figures, led by Chris Camille (15 points) and Christian Andrews (14 points). Omar Quilter and Eric Thompson each had 11 points for Everett. The game was close to even at halftime, with Brookline holding a 31-26 lead, and the Warriors…
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Asst. Solicitor believes proposed inspections ordinance change unenforceable
By The Advocate After taking the issue up again at its December 26 meeting, the City Council is no closer to finding a compromise on a proposed change to the city’s habitability inspections ordinance, with public safety officials no less fearful of the change’s impacts and the city solicitor no less concerned that the amendment might not even be enforceable. The City Council has been considering an amendment to its habitability inspections ordinance since May. Principally sponsored by Councillor-at-Large Michael Marchese, the amendment would prevent inspectors who are inspecting a vacant unit before its rental from inspecting another part of the property at the prompting of a tenant of…
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Patriots’ Martinez named to Tornado Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team
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Crimson Tide Girls Soccer Players Honored For Their Outstanding 2018 Seasons
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Twos across the board for Saugus after first six games
By Greg Phipps Having completed the first third of the 2018-19 season, the Saugus High School hockey team had accumulated a triple dose of twos. The Sachems earned their second win on Monday by blanking the Haverhill Hillies, 1-0, at Kasabuski Arena. Sitting at 2-2-2 as of early this week, Saugus was scheduled for an away contest at Peabody on Wednesday and at host Medford this Saturday. After opening the campaign with ties against Gloucester (4-4) and Beverly (0-0), losses to Watertown and Melrose sandwiched around a 4-0 victory over North Reading left head coach Jeff Natalucci and company determined to prevail on Monday against Haverhill. Ronnie Paolo’s shorthanded goal…
