Around Town
Encore stands at the entrance to the city. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
Biking season is back. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
Everett High School students protest outside Everett City Hall. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
Everett High School students protest outside Everett City Hall. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
Construction is happening all over Everett. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
A masked woman makes her way through the square. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
A sunny afternoon chat. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
Babies day out. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
Recent food prices at McKinnon’s. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
EPS Administration Offices. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
Woody’s on Route 16. (Photo by Joe Resnek) 
Big East March Madness basketball tournament produces betting torrent
By Josh Resnek
The final tally hasn’t yet been tabulated nationwide, or locally here at the Encore Casino and Hotel, but sports betting was over the top for the nation’s most popular basketball tournament – the Big East.
According to a detailed report on CBS, bout 68 million Americans placed a wager on the games, up from 45 million in 2022, the American Gaming Association predicted.
Of that number, 31 million bet online, at a sportsbook or with a bookie, while 21.5 million bet casually with friends, it found.
Some 56 million Americans likely filled out a bracket.
Alabama, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Texas A&M and UCLA were this year’s favorites to win.
The American Gaming Association expected total bets on the tournament to be roughly $15.5 billion, slightly less than the $16 billion Americans wagered on this year’s Super Bowl, according to CBS.Continue Reading
Club at Everett casino fined by Mass Gaming Commission $20,000
By MGC to the Leader Herald
The Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has assessed and Big Night Venues Boston Harbor (Memoire) has agreed to a $20,000 civil administrative penalty as a result of two incidents of
noncompliance with alcohol service requirements at Memoire. The incidents took place in August and September 2022 at the nightclub, which is located at Encore Boston Harbor.
Memoire will also continue to implement remedial steps to prevent future instances of of noncompliance.
Memoire has cooperated with IEB and has been working to comply with required corrective actions, which were the result of earlier incidents of noncompliance with the alcohol service regulations. The IEB acknowledges that Memoire staff utilized some of the corrective actions in the assessment of these two instances and that Memoire took appropriate disciplinary action against a staff member involved in one of the noncompliance incidents.Continue Reading
Where is the Everett real estate marketplace at today?
By Joshua Resnek
By all accounts, Everett real estate today remains unusually, extraordinarily high priced despite the rise of interest rates and the cost for home mortgages.
Why?
“One of the reasons is because investors are coming in and boosting the prices by buying houses that are wort $750,000 and paying more than a million dollars for them. That is bumping up the price for real estate in this city,” said Sandy Juliano, local real estate owner of the noted JRS Properties.
Juliano said that right now part of the problem about higher prices is exacerbated because so few properties are being put up for sale. However, she said, the expectation is that with the spring will come a more robust market place.
“Within the next month we should see more properties come up for sale,” Juliano added.
She said that April is always a good month for listings and for sales.
Who is selling their properties these days in Everett?
“Family’s with parents who have passed on and left a property behind is one source of listings,” she said.
Who is buying in Everett? Who is the average Everett buyer in today’s home marketplace?Continue Reading
Interest rates rising, inflation falling; banks paying better interest again
By Josh Resnek
The Federal Reserve Board last week raised interest rates another ¼ point causing mortgages and consumer loans for cars to go higher.
Also going higher are the returns those with cash can achieve with bank interest on cash accounts.
They have also risen nicely during the past five months.
In fact, keeping money at interest in a local bank has not looked safer or more lucrative in years.
Basic banking allows for institutions where you keep your money at interest to earn more interest if the bank can lend out the money at a higher interest than it pays you.Continue Reading
Click the link for a listen to local talent Joe Rez’s newest single streaming on Spotify, Youtube, and Apple Music today!
Crimson Tide softball set for first pitch
Will open season Monday against Malden
By Lorenzo Recupero
Under the tutelage of longtime head coach Stacy Schiavo, who has dedicated a quarter century of service to her alma mater, the Lady Tide have evolved into a perennial playoff team.
With a combined 11 returning starters and letterman from a season ago, a head coach with 25 years experience, and the hunger to win more than a league title, the Everett High School Lady Tide are looking sharp heading into the 2023 softball season.
After missing out on three consecutive playoff trips prior to 2018, since then the Tide have made several postseason runs, emerging as one of the definitive forces of Eastern Massachusetts HS softball.
Relying on a upperclassman-led squad this year, coach Schiavo and the Tide are working to start the season with an opening day win against rival Malden High School.Continue Reading
— Eye on Everett —
An Everett resident, Dominic Guglieme, encountered the Blue Suit last week. This is a report of what went on between them when they met, in Gugliemi’s words.
Editorial staff:
I am writing this letter to document my recent encounter with Everett’s most famous article of clothing, the Mayor’s Blue Suit.
For some time, not unlike most people, I had dismissed the suit as an editorial contrivance or the product of Josh Resnek’s whimsical fancy.
I am ready to admit that I was wrong.
Early last week, I sat down to tie my shoe near the River Green Park. As I stood up, I turned to see the Blue Suit. I blinked. I shook my head. I tried to dismiss what I was seeing.
It was the Blue Suit. In the cloth.
“Excuse me,” the Blue Suit said to me.
I tried to ignore what I was seeing and hearing, assuming, hoping that it was the product of caffeine and Benadryl built up in my system. Either that, or I was simply going mad.
“Excuse me,” the Blue Suit repeated.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Do you know what time it is?” he asked.
I told the Blue Suit that it was about 2 p.m. (Surely, I thought myself, this was a hallucination, caused by the post-lunch slump.)
“Can I help you?” I inquired.Continue Reading
REVOLUTION coming to Mystic generating site?
Leader Staff Report
The New England Revolution soccer team owned by Robert Kraft is apparently headed for a new home on the land recently purchased by Wynn Resorts across the street from the casino.
According to a number of sources familiar with Wynn’s recent land purchase, the table is now apparently set for the Kraft’s to pull the trigger on a giant investment deal to build a soccer stadium there and will shortly be announcing that they will building a stadium on the property.
“When they closed the deal last week, everyone was talking about the new stadium for the Revs that would be built on the property,” according to a number of Encore employees said to be familiar with the possibility told a source.
The buzz at Encore about the Rev’s coming is said to be shared among many employees since the purchase of the land was made last week by Wynn Resorts.Continue Reading
Looking at the News
From week to week, meeting to meeting with rarely a dull moment
By Josh Resnek
Last week, the big news about Everett was the lawsuit filed by embattled Superintendent of School Priya Tahiliani in federal court against the mayor, several school committee members and the city itself.
The claims: racism, sexism and discrimination with a dash of retaliation claims as well.
Her lawsuit alleges the mayor and others want her gone – and not because of incompetence, but rather, because of racism.
As a woman of color, she is fighting back after the city refused to discuss renewing her contract which runs out in 2024.
At a city council committee meeting last week, the chief and only matter up for discussion keyed in on the federal probe against the city into racism now ongoing by the US Attorney’s office and the Justice Department.
Witnesses will shortly be interviewed by the government, it was learned. Those witnesses will be present and former members of the government and city officials.
The city was seeking another $250,000 for funding to pay for legal fees being accrued as a result of the federal probe. By all appearances, those fees stood at $500,000 already paid and another bill for $98,000 due, and as much as $50,000 a month in new legal fees to likely be generated until June.
In other words, by June, the money paid for legal fees for the federal probe will total $250,000.
Paying the $98,000 bill was put off by the city council until a two week period passes.Continue Reading
Everett Airbnb super hosts setting standard for citywide visitations
By Josh Resnek
An Internet review of Everett Airbnb locations throughout the city reveals numerous outstanding rental possibilities in a wide variety of differently priced and appointed units.
Everett is not known as a visitor destination for tourists.
But that was then. This is now.
With Encore generating almost $1 billion last year, the city has become a natural place for casino lovers to rent Air bnb spaces.
In other words, the casino’s tremendous draw as one of the region’s major entertainment destinations, has thrust Everett into the role of a true host city.
No longer are visitors to any great or minor city in the world forced to book expensive lodging at local hotels.
Rooms in Boston’s better hotels – that is 4 stars at least – average anywhere from $217 a night to $668 a night at the Mandarin Hotel.Continue Reading
Dumpling Delight goes down easy; short money for a bit of Asia in your kitchen
By Josh Resnek
This is another Market Basket favorite of mine.
I don’t know about you, but I love dumplings.
These vegetable and pork dumplings, which are available frozen, are in the $6-7 range.
The entire bag of them heated up at the same time will take care of 3-4 people as a quick starter.
Others who have a flair for cooking Asian food, use them in addition to the full monte of Asian dishes.
Served with shaved beef and pho or with soup, they are a great add on.
Leave them out on the counter to thaw.
Once they have thawed they are ready to toss into a pan.Continue Reading
Editorials
Thank you Councilor Smith
When a $98,000 legal bill was presented to be paid by the city council last week at a meeting of the Ways and Means Committee, Councilor Stephanie Smith showed real spine in tabling the motion.
“If you do that, the bill won’t be paid and it is due,” said a clerk of the city council to the committee members.
After a great deal of back and forth, Smith was adamant.
She said she was tabling the motion until she received the information she was asking for regarding the federal probe into racism now ongoing.
Despite the protests of the clerk, Smith did not budge.
“The law firm can wait two weeks,” she said.
Councilor Darren Costa agreed.
He said he didn’t like voting on measures about which he didn’t know anything.
Both councilors asked for information regarding the probe. Smith wants some sort of explanation from the law firm representing the city or from the US Attorney’s office detailing whatever it is they can detail about an investigation that remains shrouded by a vail of protection.
The US Attorney’s office does not publicly reveal particulars about investigations it is conducting.
In this case, it has been quiet about the probe.Continue Reading
Breath taking views from atop the 600 Broadway building
Our photographer made it to the top of 600 Broadway. The views are incredible. (Photos by Joe Resnek)
