LYNN NEWS ROUND-UP
OCTOBER 7, 2020

See our other COVID-19 related posts by clicking here.

In case you missed it: Check out our 2020 MA State Election Coverage on our website by clicking here. There we have posted interviews with the campaigns for the 2 MA Ballot Questions, U.S. Senate, & 6th Congressional District along with voter information & more!

Mayor Thomas M. McGee signs Wage Theft Ordinance Amendment, closing important loophole

Last Thursday, October 1st, Mayor Thomas M. McGee signed the Lynn City Council order amending the City’s existing Wage Theft ordinance.

The amendment closes an important loophole in the ordinance, now requiring developers within the City of Lynn to report any previous wage theft or labor violations by their contractors in order to receive tax increment financing, better known as TIF funding, offered by the City.

“This Wage Theft Ordinance amendment is another important step in the right direction to reflect the City of Lynn’s commitment to safe and responsible development,” said Mayor Thomas M. McGee. “While we are seeing a number of new construction projects throughout the City, it is vital that we are doing everything we can to protect workers’ rights so that they are properly compensated for the work being done. Thank you to Attorney General Maura Healey and her office and the members of the Lynn Wage Theft Advisory Committee for their ongoing work on this issue.”

The City of Lynn first passed a Wage Theft Ordinance in March of 2018 and was one of the first communities in the Commonwealth to do so.

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Did you miss last night’s COVID-19 Tele Town Hall? LCTV has requested a copy of the recording & will post when we receive it…stay tuned!

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Virtual Family Fun Day tomorrow

Join us for a free one-hour virtual info-tainment special featuring interactive performances from Curious Creatures, Bruce the Clown, and more! You will also learn about the services and businesses that help you, and our community, thrive. Each registered family will receive a free drawstring backpack with goodies (while supplies last.)

Tune in to Virtual Family Fun Day on Thursday, October 8th from 6-7 PM on our Facebook page, YouTube channel, or Lynn Community Television.

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Favor de unirse con nosotros virtualmente para una sesión informativa/entretenida con Curious Creatures, Bruce the Clown, y más! También aprenderán de los servicios y empresas que ayudan a ustedes y a la comunidad para que prosperemos. Cada familia que registra recibirá una mochila con cordón llena de regalitos (mientras hay disponibilidad de recursos).

Júntense a Virtual Family Fun Day en jueves, el 8 de octubre a las 6 hasta las 7 en nuestra página de Facebook, o en el canal de Lynn Community Television.

Aquí está el enlace para registrarse!

Above press release provided by Family & Children’s Service of Greater Lynn.

Click fliers above for their full-resolution images

Lynn Dept. of Public Works Citywide Sweeping will begin on November 2nd

As of November 2, 2020 the contractor “American Sweeping Company LLC” will start the neighborhood sweeping in Ward 7 and will sweep each ward until the city is completed. Sweeping will be done during the hours of 7:00 am to 3:00 pm. Should inclement weather prevent sweepers from working in your area as scheduled they will return in 7 days from the date originally scheduled.

Please remove all cars from the area’s listed below on the scheduled dates. Please keep them off the street until operations are complete. The sweeper may make several passes before the area is completely clean.

Sweepers will go around large objects and yard waste; in such situations you will have to clean this material yourself. Please encourage your neighbors to do the same and do not create piles in the gutter.

“WHERE NECESSARY, VEHICLES IMPEDING SWEEPING OPERATIONS WILL BE TICKETED OR TOWED IN ACCORDANCE WITH CITY ORDINANCES”

A clean neighborhood increases property values and reduces a source of food for vermin. Remove potential environmental pollution and makes for a safer neighborhood.

Please help us to improve our City environment. Thank you.

The above press release was sent to us by the Lynn Dept. of Public Works.

LCTV will release the schedule every Friday afternoon for the next week while street sweeping is being done on our Facebook page.

Updates from state government

• As of Tuesday night, DPH reported a total of 133,359 cases of COVID-19. The state has now confirmed a total of 9,323 deaths from the virus.

• Governor Baker said Tuesday his administration will leave it up to local officials to decide the best and safest way to celebrate Halloween this year.

• Governor Baker said trick-or-treating should be done in small groups only, that all costumes should include a mask sufficient to help protect against spreading COVID-19, and that adults should consider leaving candy outside on a cookie sheet for trick-or-treaters to pick up.

• Ways and Means Committee chairmen Rep. Aaron Michewlitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues and Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan are hoping the hearing will shed new light on the economic and fiscal implications of the coronavirus pandemic and kick-start the delayed fiscal year 2021 budget process. Jeffrey Thompson from the Boston Fed’s research team will also share his outlook for the economy, according to the House Ways and Means Committee.

• To ensure the safety of those working at polling places on Election Day, AIS, a Leominster furniture manufacturer, plans to donate enough high quality facemasks to protect every poll worker who needs one in Massachusetts on Tuesday, Nov. 3. AIS announced Tuesday that it is working with state and local officials to make sure the masks are delivered ahead of Election Day. Already, more than 235 city and town clerks have requested mask donations from AIS, with some asking for as few as 10 and others seeking as many as 1,500 masks.

• Public health experts have pointed to a steady uptick in the rate of people who test positive for COVID-19 as reason for concern in Massachusetts, but Governor Baker thinks a different way of measuring the spread of the disease, which returns a positivity rate several times lower, is a better option. Governor Baker on Tuesday touted the rate of total tests that return positive, which counts every repeat test on a single individual and thus results in a lower percentage, as preferable to the rate of individuals who test positive, which only counts each person once even if they are tested multiple times.

• The Department of Public Health publishes both rates in its daily data reports, but uses the former figure to calculate a rolling average in its list of key indicators. Over the past month, the rate of individuals who tested positive has climbed from an average around 1.8 percent to an average between 3 and 4 percent, prompting warnings from medical leaders and public figures that risks might be growing in Massachusetts after months of progress. The rate of positives among total tests includes every sample from repeat tests of the same individual, a process that is happening regularly on many college campuses. That figure has stayed lower, climbing only from an average of about 0.8 percent to an average of about 1.1 percent.

• The Massachusetts judiciary should intervene to prevent a potential surge of tens of thousands of housing removals that could hit when the state’s temporary ban on evictions and foreclosures expires this month, a regional planning agency urged in a new report. At least 80,000 households in Massachusetts, including both renters and homeowners, will struggle to cover the costs of both housing and basic needs this month, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council concluded after studying unemployment and Census Bureau data. Judicial leaders should delay all non-essential eviction hearings until at least Jan. 1, MAPC said, and Governor Baker who has already indicated he may not keep the ban in place should use his authority to extend the moratorium to the end of the year.

• Boston is tied with Seattle for second in a report released Tuesday that sizes up efforts of 100 U.S. cities to make buildings and transportation more energy efficient and to scale up the use of renewable energy. New York City captured first place in the scorecard released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, which concludes that 20 cities are on track to meet their own greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, up from nine last year. The scorecard authors reported that other cities, including many in the South and Midwest, are “years behind” and in some cases haven’t started in on the adoption and implementation of clean energy policies.

• Cigarette sales in Massachusetts were down by 24 percent in August, according to convenience store owners, and the state has seen a nearly $32 million drop in tobacco excise taxes in the three months since its first-in-the-nation ban on menthol cigarettes took effect. The decline in cigarette tax stamp sales would put Massachusetts on pace to exceed the $93 million in foregone revenue projected by the Department of Revenue last year from the menthol and mint cigarette ban. The New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association said the ban has pushed sales to neighboring states, including New Hampshire and Rhode Island where overall cigarette sales were up 65 percent and 17 percent in August, respectively. New Hampshire saw a 91 percent spike in menthol cigarette sales alone in August, and Rhode Island’s coffers benefited from 40 percent bump in menthol sales.

From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 312 with 16 new cases today. 4,622 Lynn residents have recovered and 118 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 5,052. Please visit the City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.

Governor Baker recently announced a grant program to help prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in communities of color. The grant is open to applicants until October 14, the $650,000 grant program is available to faith-based organizations and community groups serving people of color in cities and towns hardest hit by COVID-19. Grants are expected to be in the range of $10,000 to $50,000 per organization for a funding period of November 2020 through February 2021.Please visit https://www.mass.gov/…/baker-polito-administration….

Stop the Spread Initiative Testing have been extended until Saturday, October 31st.

Please visit http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/covid19/resources.shtml#p7GPc1_2 for more information on how you can get a free COVID-19 test in the City of Lynn until October 31st.

We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).