Revere’s Top Stories in 2024

By Barbara Taormina

The one story from 2024 likely to have the greatest impact on Revere in 2025 and beyond was the decision to move forward and build a new high school at Wonderland. In January, after months of contentious debate, the City Council voted 10-1 to move forward with plans to build the school at the former racetrack.

The council had, months earlier, pulled their support from building at the Wonderland site due to concerns that the cost would overpower the city budget and limit the city’s ability to pay for essential services. Councillor-at-Large Tony Zambuto was the lone vote against a school at Wonderland. He continued to argue, as he had in the past, that it was a financial mistake to take the Wonderland site off the city’s tax rolls.

While cost has always been a concern, City Councillors learned at that January meeting that building on the existing site had a tangle of complications that made the price of a school at both sites similar. A culvert system on the existing high school site that may need millions of dollars of work and the need to pave Ambrose Field for parking during construction were factors that seemed to change minds about where the school should be.

The new school’s numbers have changed along the way, but the total cost for the four-story school is estimated to be around $523 million. That does not include any additional money the city will have to pay as a result of the eminent domain lawsuit the former owners of Wonderland have filed against the city. They believe the Wonderland site is worth substantially more than the $30 million the city paid after taking the site through eminent domain. The city has bonded $493,217,901 and the Massachusetts School Building Authority approved a $233,889,807 grant to help pay for the school.

Design and development work is wrapping up. Shovels should be in the ground this spring and students should be in the halls in September 2028.

In Revere, and elsewhere, 2024 was a year of elections. From primaries to the presidential election, candidates seemed to be chasing votes all year.

In the November 5 presidential election, 57 percent of the city’s eligible voters went to the polls. True blue Revere gave Vice President Kamala Harris 52 percent of the votes cast with President-elect Donald Trump picking up just over 43 percent of the vote. Revere voters also gave Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Katherine Clark substantial victories.

Despite the daily drama of the presidential race, in Revere most eyes were on the local races. Four sitting city councillors were giving up their seats, two of whom, Councillors-at-Large Dan Rizzo and Steven Morabito, announced they were running to be the city’s next mayor, in a race with former Ward 4 Councillor Patrick Keefe. As the former City Council President, Keefe was named Acting Mayor when former Mayor Brian Arrigo was tapped to be the new Commissioner of the state’s Department of Conservation & Recreation. The mayoral race left a wide-open race for seats on the City Council and there were many new faces drawn in. Ultimately, voters elected a young and vibrant new council with Paul Argenzio, Michelle Kelley, Juan Pablo Jarmillo, Robert Haas and Angela Guarino-Sawaya bringing a new wave of energy and talent to the board.

The mayoral race seemed to divide the city into two camps, one for Keefe and the other for Rizzo. Both candidates had proven records of leadership but they differed on one major issue, the new high school. Keefe was staunchly behind the plans to build the new school at Wonderland, while Rizzo, who cited concerns about finances and student safety, felt the new school should go in on the existing site.

At a campaign debate held at Revere High, where Keefe and Rizzo supporters took up different sides of the street, many in the Keefe camp said it was the high school that made up their minds to vote for Keefe. And ultimately, 31 percent to the city’s eligible voters went to the polls and gave Keefe a victory with 51 percent of the vote.

But it didn’t end there. Rizzo, who lost by 367 votes, asked for a recount. He said he didn’t expect to change the result of the election, but he wanted to make sure all of the votes of his supporters were counted. The recount showed Keefe picking up one vote, while Rizzo’s final tally increased by five.

A new building for Revere High wasn’t the only big news from the school this year. Two ugly brawls at the beginning of the school year were the subject of news reports throughout Greater Boston. During the first fight about 20 students began fighting in a hallway that led to an exit on Beach Street, where the fight spilled out into the surrounding neighborhood. Two weeks later, a second brawl broke out – sending one school administrator to the hospital.

Students were disciplined, nine expelled, and Revere was forced to take action to make sure students and teachers are safe. The Revere Teachers Association took their concerns to the City Council. During the past year, councillors have mentioned several times that they have been receiving calls from parents complaining about violence at the high school.

City officials agreed that no one wants to see a student expelled. Instead, they supported adding a fourth school resource officer and hiring a security consultant. Teachers also called for more resources, such as school counselors and social workers. Revere began working together to meet the needs of a generation coping with emotional, social and financial stress unlike anything previously seen.

The City of Revere delivered on some longstanding promises in 2024 and began work on some projects that were welcomed by the community. The Haas Health & Wellness Center opened and is packed with state-of-the-art fitness equipment. There’s also a full schedule of fitness and exercise classes. The goal of the center is the “collective well-being” of the city of Revere.

Work started on the revitalization of McMackin Field, a favorite spot of many former players. City workers are taking care of the job in-house with the help of $25,000 in state funding thanks to Rep. Jessica Giannino.

Planning and work continued on the city’s community arts center in the decommissioned Beachmont fire station. And work continued on the Alden Mills Point of Pines fire station, which former Ward 5 Councillor John Powers had been fighting for. This year, Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya filed a motion to name the community room in the new station after Powers.

While those projects have been welcomed by the community, the city also made progress helping residents struggling with homelessness and addiction. The city has established the 24-hour Chris Alba Warming Center at the American Legion. A state grant of nearly $143,000 will help Revere provide shelter and services to the city’s most vulnerable residents.

In another move that demonstrates the forward thinking of city health officials, Revere health officials used money from Revere’s opioid settlement to post boxes where people can access free, no-questions-asked doses of Narcan, a nasal spray that reverses the effect of an opioid overdose. The boxes were placed in parts of the city where overdoses have been reported and syringes found. During a presentation on the program last October, city health officials reported 620 doses of Narcan had been distributed.

Some have questioned the impression the boxes give to visitors to Revere. Hopefully, the impression is that Revere is a city looking out for all residents in every way possible.