HEATHER ENGMAN IS IN
The biggest news story of the week is the announcement by attorney-at-law Heather Engman that she will be a candidate for the Precinct 4 seat on the Winthrop Town Council. Winthrop residents often saw Heather at Council meetings over the past few years when the topic of the proposed Suffolk Downs Casino was being discussed (Wynn Resorts ultimately received the lone casino license for Greater Boston). Whether you agreed with Heather on the casino issue or not — and she was against the construction of a casino/resort at Suffolk, though she understood the economic development and job creation aspects of the project — she was always well-prepared with her research on the topic and very enlightening with her eloquent presentation of the facts and her opinions on the proposed casino.
As a relative newcomer to the town, Heather will bring a new viewpoint to town issues. She said the town has moved forward very well under the leadership of Town Manager James McKenna and Council President Peter Gill and she wants to be part of the continuing resurgence and advancement of Winthrop.
When we spoke to her this week, she was excited about launching her first political campaign and meeting residents in her precinct. Heather Engman has been active in our town affairs and has been an effective member of the Board of Health. She now would like to continue to contribute to the town as a member of the Winthrop Town Council.
Engman’s entrance into politics is a good sign for our future because it demonstrates that young, professional families not only want to live here, but also are motivated to contribute to the betterment of our town in a big way.
BOB DELEO ON THE RECORD
Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo will be a guest on the WCVB-TV Channel 5 show “On The Record” this Sunday at 11 a.m. We’re sure that hosts Ed Harding and Janet Wu will question the Speaker on a number of important issues including the new state budget, the MBTA, and the Boston 2024 Summer Olympics proposal. Because of his powerful position in state government, Speaker DeLeo is a frequent guest on the show — and we believe the ratings go up when he is on the show. But what we’ll be watching is how the Speaker fares in the “pop quiz” segment of the show in which he attempts to answer five questions about various news and sports items. The Speaker has usually scored very well in the pop quiz — in fact, we believe he was a perfect 5-of-5 in his last appearance. He demonstrated his superior knowledge of Boston sports and we hope that at least one of the questions is from the sports arena.
We hope you’ll tune in Sunday and watch the Speaker elaborate on the key issues that affect all of us.
CONGRATULATIONS,
JAKE LETTERIE
What a great honor was earned by Winthrop resident and Rivers School junior Jake Letterie, who won a statewide oratorical contest and the right to advance to the national competition in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he will compete for the top prize of an $18,000 scholarship. The topic of his speech was the U.S. Constitution and we’re pleased that Jake was able to speak so smoothly and confidently about our nation’s founding document that established our government.
We wish Jake good luck in the national contest and we offer our congratulations to Jake’s parents, Town Councilor James Letterie and Winthrop schoolteacher Dawn Letterie, on this prestigious award.
SY CHERENSON
We join the community in extending our condolences to the family of Seymour “Sy” Cherenson, a former photographer at the Winthrop Sun-Transcript, who passed away Feb. 16. Sy was a lifelong resident of Winthrop and truly loved being a part of this community. He very much enjoyed capturing the various town activities and sports events and seeing the joy that his photos brought to our readers. Sy was a talented photographer who loved both his work and making other people happy.
We have a lost a great person and a superb photographer. We thank Sy for his wonderful work for the newspaper and for being a great colleague and friend.