Editorials 9-17-20

Good luck — and thank you — Tito and Isabel Avellaneda

From the time that Vicente “Tito” Avellaneda and his wife, Isabel, opened their business, Tito’s Bakery, 45 years ago, Tito’s has been an integral part of the fabric of our community, a gathering place where residents from all walks of life  enjoyed a cup of coffee, a pastry, and conversation.

From its beginnings in 1975 in Chelsea Square, Tito’s soon became a favorite spot for the lawyers, police officers, courthouse employees, and members of the general public who came to the Chelsea District Court.

When Tito’s relocated to its present location at 333 Broadway in 1980, its customer base expanded, as did its wholesale business, and soon Tito’s bakery products were being distributed to nearly every bodega and Latino supermarket in the Boston area.

The journey of Tito and Isabel from their home country of Argentina to Broadway Chelsea is a classic American success story, paved with hard work and perseverance. For those of us at the Chelsea Record, including our long-time publisher, the late Andrew P. Quigley (who enjoyed a cup of their great coffee every morning), who were regular patrons of Tito’s when the Record was located just around the corner at 18 Fourth St., we marveled at the countless hours that Tito and Isabel put into their business (and we ourselves were working all hours of the day and night in those days when the Record was a daily newspaper).

The Avellanedas and their three sons, Roy, Cristian, and Nikolas, also became an integral part of our city. Oldest son Roy has served on the City Council (of which he currently is the President) for many years and Cristian is a Chelsea firefighter.

We know we join with all of our readers in wishing Tito and Isabel the best in their retirement — and in thanking them for the warm memories of Tito’s Bakery that will last a lifetime.

Apocalypse — now

The photos of the wildfires in our western states that have incinerated entire communities and that have turned daytime skies to night by their heavy smoke have illustrated the dramatic effects of climate change upon the daily lives of millions of Americans.

Record heat has accelerated the effects of dry conditions, leading to the record-setting wildfires out west.

Yes, climate change undeniably is happening here and around the globe.

Last January, it was the bushfires in Australia that similarly wrought havoc and destruction in that part of the world. 

An article in the New York Times on Monday began this way, “The effects of global warming in the Arctic are so severe that the region is shifting to a different climate, one characterized less by ice and snow and more by open water and rain, scientists said Monday.”

More ominously, that same article discussed the perils of climate change facing the world from another source, the melting of the Antarctic glaciers at the bottom of the world.

“Another study released Monday suggested that two Antarctic glaciers that have long been of concern to scientists over their potential to contribute to sea level rise may be in worse shape than previously thought.”

From east to west and north to south, climate change is posing an existential threat to life as we know it.

There is still time for us to reverse, or at least halt, the impending doom that awaits us if we take immediate action to limit greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

But we need to act soon, because it will not be too long before it will be too late.

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