Editorials – Everett Leader Herald

Richard Sasso Was A Good Guy

Richard Sasso took a great deal of pride in his restaurant on Norwood Street, the 8/10 Bar & Grill.

Those of us who enjoyed Richie’s company, and his food, found the 8/10 a very comfortable place.

Richie took a great deal of interest in what he served and he insisted it should be fresh, always, tasty, and if it was steak that you preferred, the 8/10 excelled at that kind of dish.

He most always sat at the far end of the long bar watching everyone meander in.

He was talkative, friendly, and humorous, always.

The restaurant where he spent his work life was a monument to his understanding about what to do with a small city legendary eating place.

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November 22, 1963

It is impossible to imagine for those of us who lived through the assassination of John F. Kennedy, that 59 years have passed since that fateful day in November.

The photo used with this editorial has been with me since 1963.

For many of us Baby Boomers just starting out in our lives, JFK’s death at the hands of an assassin’s bullet in Dallas, Texas was all about things to come.

The nation was veering off its path, descending into an era of social revolution and violence, promiscuity and liberalism and all the while the Vietnam War was heating up, preparing to take a generation of our youth before we finally came to our senses and stopped the war.

All of us who remember JFK, who recall that time in our lives when we were riveted by his speaking ability, his handsomeness, his Irishness, his wit and his charm, have always hoped for another JFK.

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A Blatant Example of Racism and Discrimination

The efforts by the administration and its mouthpieces on the School Committee to deny Superintendent of Schools Priya Tahiliani an extension of her contract reeks of racism and discrimination.

At a time when the city has just had to ante up $500,000 for legal fees regarding the US Attorney’s investigation into racism and discrimination in Everett for the past five years, it seems so out of the orbit of good government to be playing games with the superintendent’s contract extension.

A vote taken at Monday evening’s School Committee to allow a discussion about the possible extension does little to change the deal.

Does anyone in government, or at least the four members of the School Committee who voted against the Monday measure feel that maybe, just maybe, the US Attorney’s office is watching such shenanigans?

We don’t think so.

Yet it is impossible to properly convey the feeling that the administration’s anti-Tahiliani stance is part and parcel of the racist tendencies of this administration and of its followers on the School Committee.

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The Superintendent Is Right

There comes a time during important public debates when everyone involved has to agree to do something.

Doing something is a not a crime.

Doing nothing is the crime.

With regard to using Pope John as a middle school, the time has arrived.

Superintendent of Schools Priya Tahiliani said so last week to the city council.

“At some point, we must make a decision to begin,” she said after listening to City Councilor Richard Dell Isola go on an about how confusing everything seems to be.

“It get more complex each time we meet,” he said.

Dell Isola appears to be in favor of Pope John being used to mitigate overcrowding in the Everett Public Schools.

However, he becomes paralyzed when thinking about a new high school or the old high school or trailers and on and on.

He gets bogged down in the new high school rhetoric offered by the mayor.

The mayor believes the chances for the new high school he’d like to build, which will cost $500 million, might conceivably be impacted by renovating Pope John, and he is right.

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Vote for Mike Marchese

We urge Everett voters to vote for Mike Marchese next week in the Rep race against the incumbent, Joe McGonagle.

McGonagle is a nice enough man but he has shown a decisive inability to get involved as he should with issues affecting Everett and reaching to the State House on Beacon Hill.

Mike Marchese is a better guy than Joe McGonagle.

He does more for people than McGonagle.

Marchese is generous. He is stand up. He is not afraid to inject himself in public dialogue and to lead it.

He does not hide when his presence is demanded.

Marchese says he won’t sell out to special interests and that he can’t be bought by special interests.

We believe him. He has plenty of his own money. He doesn’t need to invite donations. He is paying for his own campaign expenses as a matter of doing what is right.

Marchese has been at the forefront of leading the battle among his colleagues to use the former Pope John School as a public school to reduce serious overcrowding.

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