Top Medford Stories of 2011
Voters Choose New City Council; School Committee
The Medford voters have spoken and come January 2012 three new faces will join the city’s elected bodies.
Erin DiBenedetto and Robert E. Skerry, Jr. will join the School Committee while Rick Caraviello will take a seat on the City Council.
Mayor Michael McGlynn was re-elected to his thirteenth consecutive term.
‘Fast 14’ Project Replaces Fourteen Bridges in Ten Weekends
Fourteen bridges that carry Route 93 over Medford were replaced in a major, historic project that cost over $98 million. According to Christine Mizioch of the MassDOT Design Build Program team, the fourteen bridges that were targeted for replacement are around the same age and have similar problems, prompting the state to replace them all at once. The bridges were over fifty years old and a repaving project that had been going on since 2008 revealed “advanced deterioration,†according to the MassDOT.
“Snowmageddon”
Several major snow storms made for a record-setting winter. So much snow blanketed the city parking was banned on a section of High Street in Medford Sqaure and a special piece of snow-clearing equipment was brought in to break up enormous snow banks to widen impossibly narrow streets. School was in session until June 29 due to five snow days.
Community Marks Tenth Anniversary of 911
Members of the Medford community came together to recognize the tenth anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A crowd gathered at Morrison Park for a ceremony and then proceeded to the Immaculate Conception Church in Malden for a special interfaith “Blue Mass†recognizing local police, firefighters, and first responders. Malden residents and officials joined their Medford counterparts for the event.
Couric at Tufts for Journalism Forum, Book Debut
Prominent journalist Katie Couric was at Tufts University last spring to participate in a journalism forum and sign copies of her new book.
Couric, who has spent thirty years as a journalist, fifteen of which was spent as co-anchor of NBC’s Today show, headlined the sixth annual Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism. Her book, The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives, debuted in April.
Richard Lee, a long-time fixture at Medford City Hall, tragically lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Lee was well-respected and liked by many in his community.
Girls Hoops Undefeated GBL Champs
The girls varsity basketball team earned a perfect 8-0 league record and won the Greater Boston League title last winter.
The league title was the first for the girls basketball team, now in its third season under Head Coach Leo Burke, since the Mustang Hall of Fame 1991-1992 team won the league.
Mark Arena officially joined the Medford City Council in February. Arena, who was the eighth runner up for the seven member City Council in the November 2009 election, filled in for the remainder of the two year term because City Councilor Stephanie Muccini Burke resigned her seat to become the city’s budget director.
Cam Neely Signs Autographs at Modell’s
Bruins President and former hockey star Cam Neely spent some time at Modell’s Sporting Goods in Medford in July signing autographs for adoring fans. Neely was promoting the debut of the Bruins’ Stanley Cup Championship DVD, which hit stores this past summer. The Stanley Cup also made a trip to Medford in October, thanks to Medford native Dale Hamilton-Powers, Director of Administration for the Boston Bruins, who brought the cup to LoConte Rink for a photo session with fans.
– InsideMedford.com