By Andrea Berman

~ Sounds of Revere ~

By James David Mitchell, Publisher

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: It truly is a disgrace that Mayor Thomas Ambrosino and Police Chief Terence Reardon would call in their ‘scribe at the Revere Jurinal to let the public know that they’re on the proverbial case in terms of bridging the rift between the police and the public. Joe and Mary Citizen have to be relieved. Not. But it’s too little, too late, gentlemen. That horse has long since left the stable – and it’s sad that it took the life of one police officer for you to finally figure that out. But I guess all the pieces have fallen into place. It’s ironic that the Jurinal story on Wednesday, page five blaming “the negative talk” and “the growing rift”, “added on top of “a historically bad job of public relations”; you have to just ask yourself – why now address this issue? Face facts, could the lack of leadership at the police force be blamed over the fact the “editor-in-grief” at the Jurinal keeps reminding the taxpayers over the past two years that the mayor is always, leaving – will be leaving – almost gone – may be staying – could be staying – definitely staying – from the grandiose dreams of a state job in the Patrick administration. Where’s the credibility? And what about the chief’s testimony on the witness stand during the Talbot murder trial? – A total lack of professionalism with respect in providing a report for the state’s case months after-the-fact including the naming of the wrong officer in charge of the late officer’s weapon – a disturbing YouTube program, to say-the-least. Now I’m pretty sure that there are low staffing levels on police forces throughout the state – not just in Revere or Chelsea – but that’s no reason to address low morale, rifts with the public and general distrust of the police force which has been ongoing for years, that’s right, years after the fact. In the article, Chief Reardon stated that he will be holding a department-wide discussion over conduct with all officers. Will that include protocol for drinking and driving from gun ranges? Will there be videos on how to NOT address citizens with a tone of disrespect or full-blown anger? Will this discussion allow officers the chance to speak their mind about certain superiors who feel the department belongs only to them? And if overtime is a burden, then maybe its time to bring in flagmen for all those high paying details since the lack of rest seems to be the general cause of all their problems, so says the chief. It’s a tragedy that it has taken the poor judgment of a few officers – and the life of a police officer to put a spotlight on a department that has long since lost the faith of its citizenry - and the irony of the mayor and police chief’s written excuse for all that has been wrong in the city. Change always starts at the top – and so far, nothing has changed. As the “editor-in-grief” at The Jurinal once had the audacity to write shortly after the tragic murder behind the high school - “It’s just Revere”. Finally, he gets it right.

K-SERRA, SERRA: Poor Councillor George Rotondo – he just can’t catch a break – even when he’s trying to do the right thing. Take the Feb. 22 public hearing – Rotondo decided that an inquiry to state ethics commission barred him from participating in a special permit for health clubs since he was a member of a local gym on Charger St. whose employees and supporters asked the council to disallow a license for a health club chain, which would possibly be owned by a former Democratic state representative Gus Serra of East Boston, who resigned his elected position for a $119,000 a year director of strategic planning at Massport, a reward for publicly supporting former Republican Governors Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift in the 1998 election. Now the former reps sons, owners of an advertising agency, were turned away in 2008 by the zoning board of appeals for trying to erect a giant billboard on Squire Rd. So what does this have to do with Rotondo? Well, one of the former rep’s business associate’s relative wrote a nasty letter about Rotondo in the, you guessed it, the Jurinal, stating that she “was “not impressed” with the councillor’s refusal to resign from his health club membership and was upset that the city council hadn’t shaken its cronyism. Funny! The letter was signed by a woman named Sonia Walley – could she be related to the late city electrical inspector Kenneth Walley, who according to unnamed sources, sold land on Broadsound Ave to real estate developer, George Costonis, who in turn built condominiums that were sold to the former state rep from East Boston. Now, as I understand it, the former state reps sons want to erect a billboard on some prime highway space, possibly on top of a function facility adjacent to route one. And from what I understand, there may be a connection – Rotondo has already announced his intentions to run for mayor – and so has Dan Rizzo, a fellow councilman who happens to own a certain function facility off route one. Hence the Jurinal letter from Sonia Walley. I have a feeling this vote on the special permit for health clubs will be just a small prelude to the mayor’s race. Let’s just hope the former state rep finds a more credibile letter writer. I mean, that truly had to be “the pot calling the kettle black.” – File Under: Serra soon. - JDM