The top news stories of the second half of 2022, compiled by The Hull Times staff…

JULY

The Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, part of the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, presented the results of a survey commission by Hull’s Council on Aging. Among the concerns of Hull’s older citizens were tax increases, the availability of public transportation, affordable senior housing, traffic and local infrastructure, remaining independent and healthy, and climate change and sea-level rise.

The Hull Public Schools announced that Jacobs School Principal Christine Cappadona would move out of her current role to become director of curriculum and assessment districtwide. Assistant Principal Kyle Shaw would replace her in the top job at the elementary school.

A draft five-year Housing Production Plan indicated that more than half of Hull’s existing households are cost-burdened or living at or below the poverty level. As the next step in addressing Hull’s affordable housing needs, the select board and planning board met to hear an update on the plan, with a focus on providing more senior- and family-friendly housing.

The “Hull-O Trolley” was up and running again after being unavailable during the height of the COVID19 pandemic, and plans were under way to greatly expand its service.

The state extended the ability of town boards, commissions, and committees to hold remote meetings through March 31, 2023. The select board would continue to meet in person. Other town boards had the ability to decide in which format to conduct their hearings and meetings.

Dozens gathered for the second annual Hull Council on Aging Block Party outside the Anne M. Scully Senior Center to enjoy live music, dancing, food and ice cream trucks, games, raffles, and prizes.

Hull Municipal Lighting Plant voted that, for the third year in a row, it would rent backup generators to help keep residents warm in the coming winter in the event of a prolonged National Grid power outage. The temporary generators would be available as needed from Dec. 1 through March 31, 2023. The average residential electric bill rose last year by $6.97 a month for one year starting Sept. 1 to pay for the use of the temporary generators. This time around, customers would be charged an additional 73 cents, or $7.70 a month, on their light bills.

The Hull Lifesaving Museum presented its annual Harbor Illumination, lighting flares to  honor, remember, or celebrate loved ones along the two-mile stretch of the bay from A Street to Hull Village. The celebration and personal remembrance event paid respect to the legacy of Capt. Joshua James and the lifesavers who patrolled the shores in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Then the community and visitors gathered along Hull Bay to witness the lighting of the flares.

The select board voted unanimously “to support a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community [and to] reaffirm the select board’s ongoing support of our LGBTQ community.” This was in response to comments Chairperson Jennifer Constable had heard from a number of LGBTQ community members regarding a recent letter to the editor published in The Hull Times. Constable stated that “The letter used language that was quite honestly offensive to [our LGBTQ] community and that has rippled through the [town].”

Six local organizations were awarded a total of $15,000 for programming in and around Nantasket Beach as part of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program. The grant recipients included Friends of Nantasket Beach for summer programs, Friends of the Paragon Carousel’s youth talent showcase and Friday morning story times, Hull-Nantasket Chamber of Commerce’s Hull-O Trolley and Endless Summer Waterfront Festival, Latifa Ziyad’s Afro-Arabian Nights, Soca Hikes’ Wellness Day, and the Hull Lifesaving Museum’s Harbor Illumination.

AUGUST

Multiple 911 calls reported that a woman in a black pickup truck had driven over the rocks and then into Hull Gut. Although boaters and fishermen on the beach attempted to help, the truck slipped under the water before anyone could reach the driver. The police and fire departments, the Massachusetts State Police Dive Team, Marine Unit and Airwing, Massachusetts Environmental Police, MassPort, the U.S. Coast Guard and Cohasset Police assisted in the search for the truck and its driver, both of which were found and removed from the water. The driver did not survive.

Residents of Gunrock, Green Hill, and Atlantic Hill dealt with roadwork, detours, and construction noise as the long-awaited reconstruction of the Atlantic Avenue continued throughout the summer and into the fall.

The Weir River Water System announced a total water ban that prohibited all non-essential outdoor usage in Hull. The mandatory Level 2 ban included irrigation using automatic sprinklers or soaker hoses; washing of vehicles, exterior building surfaces, parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks; and filling swimming pools.

Following the town’s decision to adjust the frequency of town-sponsored 9/11 events to an every-five-years schedule rather than annually as has been the case for nearly two decades, Hull citizens planned a ceremony on their own in order to carry on the annual tradition.

SEPTEMBER

The Veterans Voice Radio Network, co-hosted by Gregg Brasso and Craig Wolfe, was recognized by the Veterans Administration during its national community partnership challenge for steadfast commitment to veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors.

During a camp operated by Northeast Surfing, owner Ronnie Lees and others on the beach noticed a woman drifting out to sea. Lees’ 19-year-old son, Matthew (right), an aquatic first responder certified by the American Lifeguard Association, successfully reached the woman and brought her to shore.

The school committee voted unanimously to accept the Best Educational Use of School Facilities Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendation to consolidate all grades into two buildings, with a PreK-7 configuration at Jacobs Elementary School and grades 8-12 at Hull High School. The Memorial Middle School would be used for other municipal and educational uses. The final decision on consolidation would rest with the school committee.

Hull was awarded a $3 million state grant for the reconstruction of the seawall along Nantasket Avenue near Fitzpatrick Way. The town was one of 23 municipalities and nonprofit organizations to receive funding through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Dam and Seawall Program.

The Nantasket Beach Car Show and Veterans Fair featured 500 cars along Nantasket Avenue and thousands of visitors. Antique and classic autos of all vintages and styles were on display during the event, which raised funds for Cops for Kids with Cancer.

Hull Porchfest filled the air with music as bands rotated performances throughout the Kenberma neighborhood.

The select board approved the establishment of a Climate Adaptation Committee and a Climate Adaptation Working Group at the request of Department of Climate Adaptation and Conservation Director Chris Krahforst. The committee was charged with reviewing new climate change information and the town’s adaptation policies, projects, and future plans, to receive an annual progress report from the working group, and to provide feedback and input

A 30-foot humpback whale that became entangled in fishing gear off the coast of Hull was rescued by a crew from the Marine Animal Entanglement Response team at the Center for Coastal Studies.

OCTOBER

The Hull Lifesaving Museum’s 36th annual Head of the Weir River Race saw as many as 60 boats jockey for position racing out of the narrow estuary and onto open water, traveling from West Corner on the Hull/Hingham/Cohasset line, past Bumpkin Island, across Hull Bay, to the museum’s Windmill Point Boathouse at Hull Gut.

The school committee continued its discussion of the potential consolidation of school buildings, with Superintendent of Schools Judith Kuehn outlining the educational implications of moving most students out of Memorial Middle School and educating students in preK through grade 7 at the Jacobs Elementary School and grades 8-12 at Hull High School. Under this plan the middle school would become a mixed-use facility, to be determined by the school committee and town officials and guided by a memorandum of understanding. The South Shore Educational Collaborative programs would remain and the school committee would retain overall control of the Memorial building.

The Hull No Place for Hate Committee sponsored the third “Stand in the Sand,” in which participants lined up on Nantasket Beach to spell out ‘Hull for All,” a message of inclusion and community.

NOVEMBER

The Hull Light Board confirmed that both of the town’s wind turbines were out of commission and the unit at Pemberton Point needed to be removed or replaced due to damage from the elements. The turbine at the high school had been not been operational since April 2021 due to its deteriorating condition, and the one at the landfill  stopped working more recently due to recurring electrical issues.

The late Richard I. “Butch” Neal, a Hull native and retired four-star Marine Corps general, was honored on Veterans Day when the unnamed section street on the north side of the war memorial was named “General Neal Way” at the request of the War Memorial Commission.

The new owner of the former Atlantic Aquarium property filed plans to tear down the long-vacant building and construct a four-story, 21-unit residential complex at the base of Atlantic Hill. The new building will be constructed on the foundation of the existing structure. The complex would have parking underneath the building and an outdoor pool to the side.  

School administrators recently presented an overview of Hull students’ scores on this past spring’s Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exams to the school committee, naming two critical areas of focus – student attendance and low participation in the exams as compared to statewide numbers.

Hundreds celebrated Thanksgiving Day as an enormous pile of wood went up in smoke in the annual Thanksgiving night bonfire on the Hull Redevelopment Authority property.

South Shore Community Action Council, Daddy’s Beach Club, and legions of local volunteers, led by Craig Wolfe, showed up at Daddy’s on Thanksgiving morning to prepare and deliver hot meals to hundreds of individuals and families.

On Thanksgiving morning, the Hull Pirates beat the Cohasset Skippers, capturing the South Shore League Tobin Division Championship. The football team headed to the Super Bowl.

DECEMBER

A Hull family found a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, the rarest – and the world’s most endangered – species of sea turtles stranded on the beach. Despite their best efforts, and those of the New England Aquarium, the turtle did not survive.

HRA Chair Bartley Kelley provided an update on the status of the HRA-owned 12.5-acre property that runs from Water Street to Phipps Street. Kelly explained that the HRA has been working on a draft Urban Renewal Plan (a plan for the improvement of the HRA property). Max Walder was appointed to a vacancy on the HRA that was created by the resignation of Robert DeCoste.

The select board and planning board met in joint session to fill a vacancy on the planning board by unanimously voting to appoint Jim Pitrolo. The vacancy resulted from Irwin Nesoff’s election to the select board.

The select board authorized Chair Jennifer Constable to sign a letter to be sent to the American Association of Retired Persons pledging Hull’s commitment to creating an age-friendly community and environment at the suggestion of the Council on Aging. The board also supported joining AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly Communities, an affiliate of the World Health Organization’s Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities.

Town Manager Philip Lemnios announced that he would retire in June after serving Hull for a combined 26 years over two separate terms as town manager. He also stated his intention to leave funds for an assistant town manager in the proposed FY24 budget. Lemnios was town manager from 1992-2003 and again from 2007 to present.

The landmark property at Pemberton that houses Jo’s Nautical Bar was sold to a company based in Arlington. Michael McDevitt and Stephanie Apria have owned the bar for 19 years and will continue to run it.

The Weir River Water System informed the Board of Water Commissioners that it would not raise rates in fiscal year 2024. It further announced that a new one-million-gallon water storage tank could be built on Strawberry Hill within the next three years as part of the system’s capital improvement plan. Pending successful completion of a feasibility study and other factors, the water storage tank would be built in either 2024 or 2025, as well as a booster pumping station.

Hundreds turned out to formally congratulate the Division 8 Super Bowl Champion Hull Pirates football team, as the players, coaches, and cheerleaders climbed aboard a trolley and were escorted by police and fire vehicles from the high school to the southern end of town for a watch party.

Following a recent overview of the spring 2022 Hull Public Schools MCAS results, the superintendent director of curriculum and assessment presented target strategies for improvement to the school committee. The goals included analyzing current MCAS data to make instructional shifts to close achievement gaps and to improve student outcomes in all grades.

The holidays came, candles were lit day by day, houses were decorated, and the police department collected toys to distribute to local families during its annual Fill-A-Cruiser event. A few days later, the massive generators leased by the town to provide electricity in the event of a town-wide power outage kicked into action during an end-of-year wind and rain storm, and Hull Light crews braved the winds to repair a smaller outage in Hull Village.