Be aware, Wasteful Spending Alert

“We can and we will fight city hall!”

By Stephen Pinto

Why is GTA at the Parlin Library almost everyday working on that small piece of land?

That must be some sweet deal they have with the city.

Wonder what the city has paid them in the last few years?

The city council really needs to tighten up their control over spending.

I blame the council for waste as they are the body that approves the budget.

Another question I have.

Rep. Joe McGonagle should be embarrassed and ashamed by having Anthony Dipierro a well – known and admitted racist campaigning for him.

Why is he not embarrassed or ashamed to have such a hater and social failure as a close campaign adviser and whatever else?

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Bent, spindled and mutilated

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A look at the entrance to the Parlin Memorial Library. (Photos by Jim Mahoney)

Many seem not to care about poor state of city libraries

BY JOSH RESNEK

Mayor Carlo DeMaria is continuing his plan eviscerating the Everett Public Libraries by laying off all of its part-time employees.

Such a move at a time when the libraries could be used to disseminate information and to continue programs during the time of Coronavirus is a step in the wrong direction, according to those familiar with the workings of public libraries.

But why should we be surprised? The mayor who once proudly boasted that he went through four years at Northeastern University without ever setting foot in the “library” has embarked on a plan to make the Everett Public Libraries irrelevant, just like – in his opinion – the people that the libraries serve.

The libraries have been closed since March 15. The online possibilities have neither been explored nor implemented by the mayor and his management staff during the virus crisis.

The first step in the mayor’s Machiavellian plan was to reorganize the governance structure of the libraries and take control away from an appointed Board of Trustees (in most cases, people who actually use libraries and know what they are for) and place it under his direct control.

This being accomplished, the newly named and reorganized Board of Trustees no longer has any responsibility for the management of the libraries and their role has been relegated to deciding how to spend the interest generated by the Parlin Trust. And, of course, the members of the Libraries’ Board of Trustees, still continue to collect the $2,000 per year stipend for serving on the Board.

In addition, a number of local library advocates believe that the mayor’s appointments to the library trustees of family members, who are collecting their annual stipend for doing, essentially, nothing constitutes a conflict of interest or violation of the prohibition on nepotism here.

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Shuttered Parlin and Shute libraries lag behind in community service

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The Shute Memorial Library. (Photo by Jim Mahoney)

No local programs during pandemic

By JOSH RESNEK

Library buildings throughout the state are closed, but library services are still running – but not at Everett’s two public libraries.

The Parlin and Shute libraries have been rendered useless and shut down entirely because of the Coronavirus crisis.

The failure to hire a certified librarian to head the institutions is also believed to be part of the problem with a lack of direction from the library’s present leadership contributing to the problem as well.

In many other communities throughout the state, public libraries are being used in a variety of creative ways with community programming to ensure that residents can still participate in educational and entertaining programs while the stay-at-home order and social distancing are in place.

According to the Massachusetts Library Association, more than 300 libraries across the state are turning to virtual library services to their patrons.

For instance, a recent MBLC Blog posted, “Don’t get bored: Seven things for North Andoverites to try online via Stevens Memorial Library.”

The Lawrence Eagle Tribune recently published and article entitled “Local libraries close, but reading resources continue.” The Tewksbury Public Library is hosting several virtual events including an SBA workshop for small business owners and a virtual author visit. Continue reading “Shuttered Parlin and Shute libraries lag behind in community service” →

Kathleen “Kate” Donnelly; Giving back in a big way

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Marlene Zizza, Mary Fiorentino, Julie Giacchino, Michael Desmond, Anne Zellen, Tom Zellen, Mark Correia, Patricia Desmond, Mark Desmond, Claire Anderson and family with Library Trust- ees.

By Josh Resnek

The news reported last week that a former Everett woman left $400,000 to the Parlin and Shute Libraries was more than just another headline.

The benefactor, the late Kathleen Donnelly, was powered mostly by her intellect and her heart, and her uncanny ability to save and to invest during a long life devoted to family and friends.

She recently died inside her book lined, Manhattan cooperative apartment. She also owned a book lined summer home in Ogunquit, Maine.

Books and reading were a big part of her existence.

She was described as a woman of many talents and interests until the day she died by her family and friends who adored her.

Ms. Donnelly, a lifelong devout Catholic, was 86 when she died.

“Reading was her life,” said her brother-in-law Tom Zellin, a former Everett City Councilor now living on the North Shore.

Ms. Donnelly’s bequest to the Parlin and Shute Libraries totaling $400,000, handed over to the city last week, is the largest bequest left to the library system in the city’s modern history.

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The Parlin Library

One of the mayor’s lawyers is now running the Parlin Library. Assistant City Solicitor Matt Lattanzi recently held a public meeting noting all the legal changes he has made so the library will fall under the laws of the land perfectly.

The mayor has a mania for the library to run his way or no way. The mayor’s bottom line is to run the library as another city department rather than having a chief librarian who knows what he or she is doing to meet the protocol for running a public library in a city like ours.

Attorney Lattanzi is perfect as the mayor’s messenger. Running the library as another city department allows the may- or to hire more employees, or in the case of the library, another convicted felon to carry on library business here.

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