Here's The Kicker

Residents upset over Route 18 widening project

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:44:00 -0400

A proposal to widen Route 18 over a 4-mile stretch from Highland Place in Weymouth to Route 139 in Abington has received a hostile reception from small business owners, town officials, and residents who say they’ve been ignored in the planning.

The $30 million project is designed to improve traffic, but at a public meeting held by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation last week in Weymouth, state officials heard objections on issues including removal of trees and the forced relocation of some residents.

The plan would add an 11.5-foot-wide lane in each direction, creating four lanes in that stretch of Route 18. The project also calls for a temporary bridge to carry traffic while the almost 80-year-old bridge over the MBTA’s Old Colony railroad tracks is replaced.

“The key function for this project is to relieve traffic congestion while maintaining neighborhood safety and ensuring wetland protection,” said Martin Leelman, the project manager from MassDOT’s Highway Division.

But many of the meeting’s attendants do not agree, especially residents of the Clarendon Street and Thomas Road neighborhoods in Weymouth who made up most of the nearly 70 people who attended.

Diane Brodsky, who lives along Route 18 in South Weymouth, said the plan does not take into account the impact on residents in the area.

“If this project goes through, I’ll probably be forced to sell my house, and there’s nothing I can do. Apparently, I have no rights,” Brodsky said, visibly upset. Addressing the panel of transportation officials running the meeting, she said, “None of you live here or will be affected by this, and you don’t care about the residents who live around here.”

According to a MassDOT brief given out at the meeting, the state will take many residents’ homes or portions of land to accommodate the expansion. Appraisers from the Massachusetts Right of Way Bureau will offer homeowners a “fair market value” for their property, after which the owners can either move or relocate their existing home to a site away from construction.

Moreover, the highway division will cut down trees in some residents’ back yards to make room for the bridge construction, an action that Russell Hatch of Weymouth said will increase noise.

“The trees provide a barrier from the sound of the commuter rail and the highway. If you cut the trees down, the noise level will be insane,” said Hatch, who has lived on Clarendon Street for 17 years.

Tim Johnson from Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc., one of the noise consultants for the project, said a preliminary sound analysis projecting future noise levels until 2030 did not bear out Hatch’s statements.

“The overall sound level is not normally affected by some amount of trees. Our measurements didn’t find the future sound levels would be above the noise abatement criteria,” Johnson said.

The state highway department and the Federal Highway Administration determined that they must consider noise-reduction measures once noise level reaches 67 decibels. Johnson said the noise created by expansion project “would be well below” this threshold.

Still, Hatch and his wife, Denise, remained resolute and encouraged the crowd to sign a petition pushing for a sound barrier to be built along the neighborhood side of Route 18.

Karen Johnston of Clarendon Street took issue with building a temporary bridge, saying it would encroach on her back yard and destroy the neighborhood.

“I’m alarmed that you’re not thinking about the inconvenience it will be to people who live around the area,” Johnston said. She urged the planners to build the bridge on the other side of Route 18, saying, “You should go back to the books.”

But because protected wetlands lie to the east of South Weymouth, building the bridge on the Clarendon Street side would contaminate the environment and put some endangered species at risk, according to Ali Tali, a project manager at HNTB Corp. who helped design the temporary bridge.

“The existing bridge was built in 1935 and its structure is no longer sufficient, but because of a sharp skew in the structure, it cannot be removed or repaired in pieces,” he said.

He added, though, that the bridge plans are still being formed.

Leelman said the MassDOT highway division will work with residents affected by the plan to better include them in the planning.

MassDOT will submit final design plans by the winter of 2014 and construction is scheduled to start at the end of 2015.Leelman expects construction to be completed by 2018.

The Boston Globe, 5/2/13

Faithful embrace Markey at victory party

Wed, 01 May 2013 07:48:00 -0400

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

BOSTON — Claiming victory in a Democratic primary campaign interrupted by the Boston Marathon bombings, U.S. Rep. Edward Markey told cheering supporters Tuesday night that he would work for compromise in the U.S. Senate without surrendering his core beliefs.

“In the Senate, I will work with Republicans to seek consensus when possible, but I will not compromise our principles,” Markey told some 500 supporters gathered at the Omni Parker House hotel in downtown Boston.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, the Malden native won the nomination with 57 percent of the vote, leading fellow congressman Stephen Lynch, who claimed 43 percent of the vote in what was a predicted low turnout by voters.

Former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez, a Cohasset businessman, took the GOP nomination with 51 percent of the vote. Former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan came in second with 36 percent. State Rep. Dan Winslow of Norfolk was third with 13 percent.

Markey and Gomez will square off for the June 25 general election.

Markey offered praise for his Democratic opponent Lynch, who he met for several acrimonious debates during the brief primary campaign to fill the seat vacated by now Secretary of State John Kerry.

“Stephen Lynch and I are brothers in the Democratic Party. He is a warrior,” Markey said, taking the podium after being introduced by Massachusetts’ senior senator, Elizabeth Warren, who was elected to her seat in November.

“I know a man with a vision that says we invest in infrastructure because we invest in our children. That man is Ed Markey,” Warren said.

The rowdy crowd packed into the historic Boston landmark, shouting “Markey! Markey!” and waving campaign posters. Attendees schmoozed with legislators between bites of hors d’oeuvres and sips of wine, while Stevie Wonder played over the speakers.

Markey held a lead over Lynch during the four-month campaign, often maintaining an advantage in the double digits after receiving endorsements from Caroline Kennedy, Boston City Councilor At-Large Ayanna Pressley, and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Treasurer Steve Grossman, who first met Markey while they were both serving in the Army Reserve, also threw his support behind the candidate.

“In the 43 years I’ve known Ed, he’s always told me he wanted to run for office to change the face of communities,” Grossman said while standing on the floor of the ballroom. “He’s been empowering people since his first day in office, and he’ll continue to empower people in the Senate.”

Among the party’s attendees were employees from AFSCME’s Council 93, a union of state, county and municipal employees based in Boston.

Union spokesman Jim Durkin said the group endorsed Markey because of his voting record on a number of major issues, including President Barack Obama’s health care bill.

Lynch, a former steelworker and union official, had voted against the health plan.

“When people think of unions, they often think ‘special interest,’ and that may be true to an extent,” Durkin said in an interview at the celebration. “But they’re special because affordable health care and adequate funding for essential services are a big part of who we are.”

The Sun Chronicle, 5/1/13

Ed Markey Primary Election Night Party Live Twitter Feed

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:54:00 -0400

Officials restore severance for D’Agostino

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:52:00 -0400

After a five-month-long dispute with former town manager John D’Agostino over his severance package, the Abington Board of Selectmen has voted to grant D’Agostino three months’ pay after the end of his tenure.

In January, D’Agostino threatened to sue to town, saying the board was trying to avoid paying his severance package after a 3-2 vote not to renew his contract due to “nonfeasance.”

Under the pact he signed with the board in 2010, D’Agostino is entitled to severance pay if his contract is not renewed, but exceptions such as nonfeasance would void the board’s responsibility to pay him the extra money.

Instead of engaging in a legal battle, the board rescinded its vote, which restored D’Agostino’s right to 90 days of severance pay. D’Agostino, whose contract expired on April 23, was paid about $120,000 yearly.

Selectman Kevin Donovan said the board cited nonfeasance, or failure to perform legal duties, because D’Agostino “had failed to act in harmony with members of other town committees.”

Though Donovan declined to go into further detail, he said, “There’s a whole host of items I could point to” regarding tensions between D’Agostino and other town committee members.

In a phone interview last week, D’Agostino took issue with Donovan’s assertion.

“I’ve always gotten along with the other committees in town. I’ve given Abington three years of what I believe to be good service. There wasn’t anything I was obligated to do that I failed to do,” he said. “I suspect the selectmen board was just looking for a reason not to renew my contract.”

Donovan said the vote not to renew D’Agostino’s contract “was made on solid ground.”

There was talk in town that the Board of Selectmen decided not to renew the contract because D’Agostino had applied for a city manager position in Key West, Fla., in April 2012 without informing the board — an action that would breach the terms of his contract.

However, both D’Agostino and Andrew Burbine, the board’s chairman, said that was not true.

“I did apply for a position, but I informed the board in an e-mail and a phone call,” D’Agostino said.

Burbine confirmed D’Agostino’s statement. “The fact that he applied for another position didn’t have anything to do with why we decided not to renew his contract,” he said.

D’Agostino’s last work day was Friday. New Town Manager Richard LaFond will be paid $140,000 annually, about $20,000 more than D’Agostino made in the job.

The Boston Globe, 4/28/13

Brief: Abington school study progresses

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The School Building Committee has chosen Ai3 Architects LLC to study how the town can best use renovations to solve overcrowding in elementary schools and space limitations at the middle schools. The committee intends to apply for state reimbursement for about 50 percent of the project’s cost. But first, the Massachusetts School Building Authority requires Abington to conduct a feasibility study. After the examination is completed in early 2014, Ai3 will present designs for construction, which will be open for public comment. Visit www.asbc.us for updates.

The Boston Globe, 4/27/13

Brief: New Abington town manager signs contract

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:12:00 -0400

The Board of Selectmen last week signed the employment contract of the new town manager, Richard LaFond. LaFond’s base salary will be $140,000 a year, with a $5,000 stipend for traveling to conferences, $3,000 for the use of his car, and $60 a month for cellphone usage. The new contract follows a battle between the board and the outgoing town manager, John D’Agostino. D’Agostino threatened litigation after the board voted not to renew his contract due to nonfeasance, a move that would prevent D’Agostino’s severance pay. On April 8, the board rescinded its vote and will provide D’Agostino with the three months’ severance pay he is entitled to under his contract. D’Agostino’s last day is April 26, and LaFond will officially start in Abington on May 6.

The Boston Globe, 4/25/13

Brief: Preliminary school budget released

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:06:00 -0400

School Superintendent James Hayden on Tuesday released a preliminary fiscal 2014 budget of about $37.5 million for the town’s public schools. The $2 million increase from the expenditures for this fiscal year, which ends June 30, would slightly increase the salaries of teachers, administration, and custodial staff, but cut building maintenance, equipment repair, and the salaries of auxiliary school nurses. The School Committee will hold a budget hearing Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Savage Center to get feedback from the public. A copy of the proposed budget is available at www.norwood.k12.ma.us.

The Boston Globe, 4/20/2013

MANHUNT: Police Search for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, Livestream

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:41:00 -0400

Boston Globe featured the highlights of the hunt’s timeline, and the story recalling everything, but below is my live feed recounting what was happening while on lockdown in my Allston apartment. I aggregated news from all major news outlets including NBC, WBUR, Channel 7, The Boston Globe, and AP.

Tuesday, April 23: The Boston Globe reports the death count rises to 282.

Monday, April 22: Tsarnaev is awake and in communication with authorities through writing. He admits to planting the bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, along with his brother Tamerlan. He is charged with conspiring to use weapon of mass destruction against persons and property in U.S. resulting in death. Specifically he’s charged with one count of using an improvised explosive device (IED) against persons within the United States resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death. The statutory charges authorize a penalty, upon conviction, of death or imprisonment for life or any term of years. Tsarnaev had his initial court appearance today from his hospital room.

10 pm-rest of the night: Bostonians rejoice in the Boston Common at the bomber’s arrest.

9:01 pm: Boston Mayor Tom Menino: “We got him.”

8:56 pm: Officials report Tsarnaev is “alive and in custody,” but his condition is unknown.

8:50 pm: Tsarnaev needs and is given immediate medical attention.

8:45 pm: Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev emerges from the boat and is taken into custody.

8:34 pm: Boston Globe reporter says police brought in negotiator to talk Tsarnaev out of the boat. The negotiator said, “We know you’re in there. Come out on your own terms. Come out with your hands up.”

7:56 pm: Police set off flashbangs to disorient Tsarnaev, giving police enough time to move in.

7:50 pm: Multiple reports smoke coming from the boat, possibly a small fire, or police using gas to smoke him out of the boat.

7:48 pm: Reported that the boat has a 40-gallon tank of gas. Tsarnaev is inside, moving.

7:44 pm: Police are reluctant to move in because they’re unsure if Tsarnaev is wearing a suicide vest.

7:29 pm ctd.: Police were also able to locate Dzhokhar Tsarnaev because the boat’s owner noticed pulled-back the shrink wrap on the boat and blood on the side of the boat. He also noticed a ladder leaned against the boat that wasn’t there before. The owner went over to the boat to discover Tsarnaev bleeding in the boat.

7:29 pm: Police believe suspect is hiding out in a parked boat in a Watertown backyard. They located him using heat-sensing technology used in surrounding helicopters flying above the scene.

7:06 pm: More shots fired near Franklin Street in Watertown.

7:04 pm: The Boston Globe reports bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is pinned down in Watertown.

6:15 pm: Col. Tim Alben says at a press conference that he’s not 100 percent sure Dzhokhar is in Boston, but it’s likely because he “has ties here.”

6:08 pm: Stay-at-home ban is lifted; MBTA service resumes.

6:00 pm: Dzhokhar’s real Twitter account is confirmed, @J-tsar. Around this time, person details of the 19-year-old emerge. His friends and classmates weigh in.

5:39 pm: No explosives found at the apartment on Norfolk Street in Cambridge.

4:15 pm: The Boston Globe reports that Dzhokhar ran over his brother’s injured body in a hasty attempt to escape.

2:34 pm: Police cancel hunt for the car mentioned below.

2:17 pm: Connecticut are looking for a second car, a 4-door green 1999 Honda Civic with license plate number 116GC7.

1:33 pm: Kurt Schwartz, the undersecretary of Homeland Security, tells people to go home if they’re taking shelter in their place of work.

12:30 pm: The uncle of the Tsarnaev is interviewed outside his home in Maryland, says his nephews “are losers.”

11:45 am: Photos emerge from a Boston University magazine story featuring Tamerlan Tsarnaev. In one of the captions, he says, “I don’t have a single American friend. I don’t understand them.” Link

10:50 am: Taxi service resumes.

10:45 am: Car believed to be used to help the Tsarnaev brothers escape is found, unoccupied.

10:16 am: Connecticut police look for grey Honda CRV with Massachusetts license plate number 316 ES9.

10:15 am: News breaks that bombing suspect studied at UMass Dartmouth for a short time. The campus evacuates.

10:00 am: Police fear Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could be wearing suicide vest.

9:36 am: The name of the slain MIT police officer is released by Suffolk DA: Sean Collier, 26, of Somerville.

9:23 am: An explosive trigger is found on the Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother.

9:15 am: AP speaks with Anzor Tsarnaev, the father of both Boston Marathon bombers. He describes Dzhokhar as “an intelligent boy” and “a true angel.” Link

8:45 am: Police call into a house on Willow in Watertown through loudspeakers.

8:15 am: All taxi service in Boston is suspended.

8:05 am: Gov. Deval Patrick expands lock-down to entire city.

8:00 am: Logan Airport remains open, but security is extremely tight, and about a third of flights are cancelled.

7:20 am: Police evacuate Norfolk Street in Cambridge, where the suspects allegedly live. Meanwhile, the SWAT team searches Watertown.

7:15 am: Bentley, Simmons, Berklee, Wheelock, Wentworth and Emmanuel Colleges cancel classes as well.

7:00 am: Law enforcement officials confirm the two suspects are brothers.

6:45 am: AP reports bombing suspects are from a Russian region near Chechnya.

6:00 am: Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern, Suffolk University, Emerson, Harvard, UMass Boston, as well as all Boston Public Schools cancel classes for the day.

5:50 am: “Shelter in place” rule is put in place, meaning Boston residents are instructed not to leave the building they’re currently in. Applicable to Watertown, Belmont, Newton, Allston-Brighton and Cambridge.

5:45 am: All MBTA service is shut down & no vehicles are allowed in or out of Watertown.

5:20 am: MIT cancels classes for the day.

5:12 am: Police release photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at Seven 11 in Cambridge to help the public keep an eye out for him.

4:22 am: The Boston Globe reports suspect #1 Tamerlan Tsarnaev robbed a convenience store. Later correction-Tsarnaev’s never robbed a store.

4:08 am: BPD Commissioner Ed Davis confirms Tamerlan Tsarnaev is dead.

3:50 am: Police start going door to door in Watertown.

3:30 am: Watertown residents are instructed to stay indoors and not to answer their doors, except to police officers.

3:00 am: Officials block off 20-block perimeter in Watertown, searching for bombing suspect.

2:30 am: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev escapes on foot, is still on the loose and described as “armed and dangerous.”

2 am: Tamerlan Tsarnaev is in police custody, but is severely injured.

1:30 am: Suspects throw explosives at police officers in Watertown, sparking a massive shoot-out.

1 am: News spreads of a carjacking. Cambridge descends into chaos as the suspects speed off toward Watertown with stolen car.

Friday, April 19, 12:30 am: Suspects stop at a local Shell station to fill up on gas.

Midnight: MIT police officer is transported to the hospital, but dies upon arrival. Transit police officer is in serious condition.

11:50 pm: Police launch full-blown manhunt around Cambridge and MBTA Red Line.

11:35 pm: MIT police officer shot, according to Cambridge dispatcher, as well as one MBTA police officer.

11:00 pm: Gunshots heard on MIT campus near the Stata Center.

Thursday, April 18, 5:20 pm: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said law enforcement officials don’t have a suspect in custody yet, but with the help of spectators documenting the marathon, images and video footage of the brothers at the marathon are also released. Additionally, Jeff Bauman, a bombing victim who lost both his legs during the explosion, helped identify the bombers. He woke up from unconsciousness, asked for a pen and paper, and wrote a note to the FBI reading, “bag, saw the guy, looked right at me.”

Thursday, April 18: The FBI releases the names of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers: Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, “black hate” and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, “white hat.”

Wednesday, April 17: Generous Bostonians contribute to state-wide Google Doc offering their homes anyone displaced by the bombings to stay. The American Red Cross in Massachusetts announced they no longer need blood donations, as they have exceeded what is needed to help the wounded.

Still the names of the dead are released: Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford, MA; Martin Richard, 8, from Dorchester; Lü Lingzi, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China.

Tuesday, April 16: In a coordinated effort by the FBI with federal and local police squads, officials set off a number of controlled explosions around the city of suspicious packages left alone on the street and in buildings. The stretch of Boylston Street from Berkeley Street to Massachusetts Avenue is blocked off in order for bomb squads to investigate the area. The Copley Square MBTA stop is shut down.

Monday, April 15, 2:49 pm: Two bombs exploded at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon on Boylston Street. Three people were killed and over 100 were wounded. The FBI takes over the investigation.

Boston's mood swings from anger to unity to pride

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:06:40 -0400

BOSTON - Bostonians have a reputation for speaking their minds.

And they had plenty to say Wednesday, just a block from where the Boston Marathon bombings killed three people and wounded or maimed almost 200 others.

Reactions ranged from shock and anger to expressions of unity and Beantown pride on a day when rumors swirled that a suspected bomber had been nabbed, or whose image at least was captured on surveillance video.

No one seemed to know for sure.

For Nan Hass Feldman, an interior and landscape painter, the first step was trying to comprehend the attack.

“It was hard for me, and is still hard to wrap my brain around how someone could be so incredibly cruel, how a person could be so filled with evil that they’d want to hurt innocent people,” Feldman said while walking back from artists co-op Fenway Studios on Newbury Street.

Feldman said she listens to the radio all day as she paints, but lately has been taking walks “to get away from all the noise.”

Eleni Perates, who was around Downtown Crossing at the time of the attacks, reacted with disbelief.

“It’s shocking that a terrorist attack happened here. It’s bizarre to see military tanks parked in the Common, a park that’s usually so beautiful and peaceful,” said the Peabody resident who works in Government Center.

William Thomas, a homeless man, was panhandling outside the Boylston Street Walgreens, and said he was just feet from one of the explosions.

Thomas, who wasn’t injured in the explosion, was outraged, and expressed profanely what should be in store for the bomber.

“I’m horrified and angry someone would do this. If I ever got a hold of the person who did this …,” said Thomas, who was born in Chelsea.

South Shore resident Christopher Nawoichik tried to stay positive.

On the corner of Newbury and Fairfield Streets, two blocks from the Boston Marathon finish line, the Marine veteran played a flute for the people walking by.

“I thought I’d come out and play some music to lift people’s spirits,” Nawoichik said.

Bill Rosenblad of Newton shared Nawoichik’s intentions, and said he was confident Bostonians would bounce back from the attack.

“I would say that we’ll survive this - but, we’ll more than survive it, we’ll be fine. This city is strong.”

Boston politicians shared the outpouring of pride.

At a news conference Tuesday, Mayor Thomas Menino said: “Boston will overcome.”

And in email sent out Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said: “The people of Boston, like the marathoners, are resilient and resourceful. We cannot be broken by a cowardly act of terror. We will come back from this.”

The Sun Chronicle, 4/18/13

Boston's college community comes together

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 08:26:00 -0400

(AP Photo/The New York Times, Josh Haner)

Armored trucks on Boston Common, demands to display and scan IDs to get inside college buildings, a prohibition on off-campus visitors. It all added up to a mounting sense of unease Tuesday for Emerson College sophomore Chris Paredes.

Emerson remained closed the day after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday.

Paredes, a Texas native, said he received calls from just about everyone he knew back home following the attack.

He said the concern brought comfort at a time when most would feel a need to be close to family.

So on Monday, when local students raced home, Paredes rallied with his Emerson friends to cope with the tragedy.

“The friends I have here make me feel comfortable,” Paredes said.

Throughout Boston, the city’s college student population was deeply affected by the marathon bombings - from the death of a Boston University student, to several others who were injured, to the thousands who witnessed the calamity.

Students hurt

Officials announced Tuesday that one of the three killed in the explosions was a Boston University graduate student and another BU student had been seriously injured, along with seven Emerson College students who were treated for minor injuries.

BU, among many of the area’s 60 colleges and universities, held memorial services and vigils throughout the day. Emerson was closed to provide a day of “reflection and healing.”

Many students said they found comfort in the camaraderie among runners and spectators in the minutes following the blasts.

“The thing that stuck out the most was the people who ran toward the explosions instead of away from them,” said Chris Schretzenmeyer, a Boston University junior from New Fairfield, Conn.

“The officers, civilians, marathon runners and spectators who ran to see what they could do to help are heroes, and I am proud to be in a city with so many people willing to help. There are still amazing people out there who would set their own life aside to help others in need,” Schretzenmeyer said.

Now, some of the tens of thousands of college students in the city hope to offer their bit of solace by staging a memorial walk of the last five miles of the marathon course on Friday from Boston College to downtown Boston. More than 10,000 people have RSVP’d to the Facebook event.

“I think it shows how the community came together in this time of chaos,” said Boston College senior Alicia Blose. “It’s been as positive a reaction as you can ask for in the wake of such a tragedy.”

Walk from BC

Within a day of the tragedy, students at Boston College began inviting other students in the area to walk “from BC to Boston to stand united. For anyone who did not get to finish, for anyone who was injured, and for anyone who lost their life, we will walk. We decide when our marathon ends,” according to the Facebook description.

“Boston Marathon: The Last 5” will be held at 4:30 p.m. Friday beginning on the Boston College campus.

Emerson junior Nick Reynolds and freshman Chris Dobens recognized that some may feel helpless in the aftermath of such a tragedy, so they tried to think of a way college students could help.

The pair turned to inktothepeople.com where Reynolds designed blue and yellow T-shirts - the marathon colors - with the words “Boston Strong” written on the front.

Ink to the People has agreed to absorb all costs of the shirts that will be on sale for $20, Reynolds said.

Proceeds will be donated to a charity to help aid the victims of the attack.

“We’re hoping one will emerge for victims, but we’re open to a more general charity, like the Red Cross,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds and Dobens chose to sell T-shirts as a fundraiser to display their love for Boston.

“We were looking for a way people could give and help and also show their Boston pride and rally together behind something positive,” Reynolds said.

Kassmin Williams contributed reportage to this article.

The Sun Chronicle, 4/17/13

Budget a hit with area lawmakers

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:02:11 -0400

Area lawmakers, educators and municipal officials found a lot to like in the $33.8 billion fiscal 2014 budget proposal introduced by the House Ways and Means Committee on Beacon Hill Wednesday, especially increases in aid to cities and towns and higher education.

“The House budget proposed today is a far more reasonable plan than the governor’s,” said Rep. Paul Heroux, D-Attleboro. “Local aid is essential to Attleboro, specifically with the city’s increasing unemployment rate and decreasing median income.”

The House panel’s plan is $1 billion less that Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposed budget and drops his call for a 1 percent increase in the state income tax. It also takes $350 million from the state’s Rainy Day fund, $50 million less than the governor’s plan.

Brian Dempsey, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said higher education is the focus of the budget that includes a $29 million increase for community colleges.

“Education is front and center. We believe that it’s now finally the right time to commit resources to higher education because important for our students in the commonwealth,” Dempsey said at a press conference at the State House after unveiling the plan.

The proposed increase would allow community colleges across the state to add new staff and financial aid for students, while keeping fees down, according to John Sbrega, the president of Bristol County Community College.

“If this money stays in the Senate budget proposal, as we expect it will, we’ll be able to do things we’ve only dreamed about doing. The budget is a milestone for our college and for the commonwealth,” Sbrega said.

Sbrega said about $4.5 million of the additional cash would fund science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs and around $5 million would go to grants such as increasing student retention rates.

Rep. Elizabeth Poirier, R-North Attleboro, said she’s happy with the inclusion of higher education funds.

“I think the potential funding for community colleges is wonderful, and I’m especially excited for Bristol County because I’ve advocated for the school for a majority of my time in politics,” Poirier said.

The plan includes a $21.3 million hike over last year’s budget for unrestricted local aid to municipalities, about $10 million less than proposed by the governor.

“This is the first time since 2010 that we’re increasing local aid

(to this extent.) The fact that we’re going to see direct benefits for communities makes this year’s proposal strong and sustainable going forward,” Dempsey said.

Geoff Beckwith, executive director at Massachusetts Municipal Association, said that though the amount of money each community would receive varies, the House budget is a win for cities and towns.

“It’s a solid start. Overall, it’s a very positive move for communities given the fiscal climate,” Beckwith said in an interview at the State House Wednesday.

Rep. Jay Barrows, R-Mansfield, agreed with Beckwith.

Rep. Steven Howitt, R-Seekonk, issued a statement by e-mail that listed his goals for a state budget.

“My budget priorities will be to continue to provide local aid to our municipalities, support education, and protect our state’s most vulnerable residents. Promoting fiscal responsibility and making the government work for the people are of great importance,” he wrote.

The House budget does not include $500 million in new revenues raised by the transportation bill approved by the House late Monday night. That bill, passed by a 97-55 vote, would raise the gas tax by 3 cents, increase the tobacco tax by $1 and create a tax on information technology services.

The Senate is set to debate the transportation bill later this week and the House will begin debating its fiscal 2014 budget proposal beginning April 22.

The Sun Chronicle 4/11/13

Rally pushes disabled funding

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:40:29 -0400

(TheCaringForce.com)

BOSTON - More than 500 human service workers held a rally at the Statehouse Tuesday to push increased funding for programs to help the disabled and a 2 percent salary increase for their caretakers.

The workers and supporters, all wearing gold Caring Force shirts, heard a pledge from Senate President Therese Murray to support Gov. Deval Patrick’s budget plan to add $140 million more in state aid.

“Many of you have gone years without a salary increase, and this was a well-deserved investment. The human service sector is one of the most important in the commonwealth, and I will continue to fight for you,” Murray said at the rally.

Murray said she supported a one-time salary bonus of $10 million for human service providers in the 2012 supplemental budget, the first raise since fiscal year 2008. Last fiscal year, Murray helped to secure another $20 million for staff raises.

In addition to Patrick’s plan to provide more money to programs such as assisted-living homes and employment services, members of a coalition of home care workers are asking for another $16.6 million for a 2 percent salary hike for most workers.

Michael Moloney, the president of Horace Mann Educational Associates (HMEA) and emcee of the rally, said the bonuses are essential because many caretakers are struggling financially.

“Most human service workers in Massachusetts make about $12 an hour, and around $23,000 annually after taxes, which is among the lowest wages in the commonwealth,” Moloney said in a phone interview after the rally.

Workers, in a news release, said some 660,000 Massachusetts residents receive some type of care through the program.

Because the national poverty line stands at $23,550 for a family of four, a majority of the 185,000 human service workers in Massachusetts must work a second or third job to be able to afford their expenses, Moloney said.

Around 100 of those residents who receive care live in the Attleboro area, according to Moloney, a North Attleboro resident.

State Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro, who wasn’t able to attend the rally, said in a interview that she has supported earlier salary increase and hopes a salary increase will be sustained in the upcoming 2014 state budget.

“Caretakers work incredibly hard and, though we’re dealing with some other budget issues, it’s their turn to get more money,” she said.

State Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, said patients would also benefit from a salary increase.

“Workers be able to do a better job if they don’t show up dog tired in the morning to be able to do their direct care job. That means that the people who need their help will be better served,” Linsky said at the rally.

“Caretakers are testament to how important this work is. You should be paid appropriately for the work that you do,” he added.

State Rep. Ruth Balser, D-Newton, agreed saying, “You do arguably the most important job there is, and that’s taking care of the most vulnerable people of Massachusetts. You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

State Rep. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, whose sister has Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, said she would not like to see her sister being turned away from a program due to lack of staffing.

“I understand the issues involved with families taking care of loved ones with intellectual or developmental disabilities. I know how hard it is when there are programs that might be understaffed because the pay is just so low that people can literally earn more at Wendy’s,” Spilka said.

Karen Cusick, who receives 24-hour care at a home in Worcester for 13 years, fought back tears as she spoke at the rally about the importance of caretakers in her life.

“I have good staff around me to help me keep my home clean, do my laundry and make sure I’m eating nutritious food. I can only have the good life I live now because of good staff. I’m often sad and worried when so many leave,” Cusick said.

Cusick’s mother, Jean, who helped her daughter read her speech, said the most challenging part about finding good caretakers for Karen is the high turnover rate, with service jobs often ending after six months.

Jean Cusick said most workers leave the industry because they’re “just too burnt out.”

“The staff at Karen’s home look exhausted. They often have little energy. Being totally responsible for the care of individuals who are unable to care for themselves is daunting,” she said.

“Increasing salaries will help staff to know that we recognize the good work that they do and that we respect them as health care providers.”

The Sun Chronicle 3/10/13

State issues marijuana guidelines

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 10:04:00 -0400

BOSTON - The state Department of Public Health issued 45 pages of draft regulations on Friday establishing rules for the sale and use of medical marijuana, including a proposed list of maladies and a 10-ounce limit on legal possession of the drug.

The regulations would allow patients with a “debilitating medical condition” to receive a 60-day supply of marijuana, and encouraged patients to send a caregiver to pick up the supply if necessary in lieu of growing pot at home.

The list of conditions include HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, Crohn’s disease, cancer, glaucoma, Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis, but would allow for additional ailments based on input from doctors and patients.

The draft regulations allow a qualified patient up to 10 ounces for personal use. In states such as California, patients are allowed up to 8 ounces; in Washington the limit is 24 ounces.

The health department recommended that only nonprofit organizations be allowed to operate medical marijuana treatment centers.

Interested groups would have to pass a lengthy application process, including a background check for any history of drug-related offenses.

Though the report made no mention of zoning guidelines, the DPH recommended applicants provide “evidence of compliance with local codes and bylaws for the address of the center, including any demonstration of support furnished by the local municipality.”

The suggested regulations follow last November’s passage of a state-wide ballot initiative legalizing the use of marijuana for medical reasons.

The law, which passed by 63 percent of the vote, requires the establishment of at least one, but no more than five, pot dispensaries in each of the state’s 14 counties, or a total of 35 centers.

Many municipalities around the state reacted to the vote by taking steps to ban pot centers. North Attleboro and Foxboro have both put off discussing where dispensaries would be placed until state regulations are final.

Many municipal leaders are opposed to allowing centers in their communities, citing a fear of increased crime and drunk driving rates.

Area officials said they are waiting for specific zoning guidelines, which are scheduled to be released May 1 by the DPH, before considering what to do about the dispensaries, a move OK’d by Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Though Coakley recently struck down an outright zoning ban on a potential medical marijuana center in Wakefield, she added that “cities and towns may adopt zoning bylaws to regulate such treatment centers and enact temporary moratoria on the development of centers.”

The health department will hold public meetings in Boston, Plymouth and Northampton on April 19 to gather public comment. It will accept written statements up until April 20.

The department will present the draft regulations to the Public Health Council, an appointed group of doctors and legislators who will review the suggestions.

The council will approve final rules on May 8.

The Sun Chronicle 3/30/13

All five U.S. Senate hopefuls spar in first televised debate

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:16:00 -0400

(AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool)

NEEDHAM - The five candidates hoping to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by John Kerry clashed in the first televised debates of the campaign Wednesday, as they sparred over abortion, health care, Washington gridlock and other issues.

The Republicans - former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, businessman Gabriel Gomez and state Rep. Daniel Winslow - were the first to engage in a 30-minute debate at the WCVB-TV studios, followed by Democratic U.S. Reps. Edward Markey and Stephen Lynch.

The Republicans agreed on as many issues as they disagreed on, sharing similar views on health care and same-sex marriage, but sparring on abortion and Social Security. The Democrats disagreed on the federal health care law championed by President Barack Obama and danced around abortion and gridlock.

The primary for the U.S. Senate race is April 30, followed by a special election on June 25.

Winslow, a Norfolk Republican was stridently pro-choice on the abortion issue.

“A woman’s decision about whether or not to have an abortion is a matter of her conscious, her faith and her family. Those are three areas where I never want to see government intrude,” Winslow said after being asked about his position by NECN anchor R.D. Sahl, who moderated the debate.

Winslow later called out Sullivan for being unclear on his stance on abortion.

“This is the third time when Mike Sullivan has refused to answer on his position on what he would do about a woman’s right to choose if he was elected senator,” Winslow said in a short interview after the debate.

During the debate, held at the Channel 5 studio, Sullivan said: “I’m pro-life. As a nation, we respect life and I’ll do whatever I can do to protect life.”

Gomez shared Sullivan’s pro-life stance, but cited the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion as “an established law” and said he supported the ruling.

Gomez added, “I’m Catholic and personally pro-life, but I’m not going down to D.C. to change the Roe v. Wade decision.”

In the Democrat debate, Lynch reiterated that he considered himself “pro-life” but did not support efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, and said he fought for federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Lynch then tried to turn the tables on Markey, pointing out that early in Markey’s career he supported a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion.

“For 30 years, I have been a consistent supporter of a woman’s right to choose,” responded Markey, who was first elected to the House in 1976 and shifted his position to abortion rights in the early 1980s.

All three Republican candidates said they would vote to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as President Obama’s health care law.

In the Democratic debate, asked about the federal health care law, Markey called his vote for the law the “proudest vote of his career” and criticized Lynch for voting against it.

“Steve, when that vote came up you were wrong when you were needed most,” Markey told Lynch, saying the law would help provide health care for poor children, seniors and people with pre-existing medical conditions.

But Lynch said the final version of the bill was flawed for several reasons. He said the law levied new taxes and gave too much power to insurance companies, and he would work to “fix it.”

In the Republican debate, the Senate hopefuls differed on Social Security.

Gomez agreed with the other candidates that people currently receiving Social Security should keep their benefits, but suggested a means-test approach moving forward.

“I would argue that Warren Buffett doesn’t need full benefits on Social Security,” said the Cohasset businessman.

Sullivan disagreed.

“Means-testing should not be required,” he said. “Certainly wealthy people can make a determination about whether or not they want to decline the benefits or if they want to give those benefits to a charitable organization.”

Winslow took a middle-of-the-road view on the issue.

“I think means testing should be on the table, but it’s not a welfare program. It’s an insurance program. People should pay into it and see the benefit of their money,” he said.

Sahl, the moderator, asked both Democrats how they could break gridlock in Washington, given that both were already members of Congress.

Markey pointed to a series of legislative accomplishments, including his work on gun control and breaking up the monopoly of telecommunications companies, and said he worked cooperatively with Republicans to get those and other bills passed.

Lynch, a conservative Democrat, cast himself as an independent thinker who would not follow party leaders blindly.

The debate comes after a WBUR poll released on Tuesday that gave Sullivan a significant lead in the GOP race with 28 percent of support from poll participants. Winslow garnered 10 percent and Gomez got 8 percent.

Markey, however, was the frontrunner overall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Sun Chronicle, 3/28/13

Teens rally at Statehouse for taxes to support youth issues

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:30:00 -0400

BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick met with more than a hundred young people at the Statehouse Thursday to push for increased funding for education, youth jobs and transportation - key issues affecting Massachusetts teens.

At the event organized by Youth of Massachusetts Organizing for a Reformed Economy (YMORE), the governor, who has proposed new taxes totaling $1.9 billion, spoke of the importance of investing in education and transportation.

“What I have asked is not to generate new revenue for the sake of new revenue. The question is, are we going to make the kinds of sacrifices in our time that our grandparents made for us, to give us the opportunities we have today,” Patrick said.

Six teens from urban and suburban areas spoke about the difficulties of budgeting for youth issues.

Youth groups in the loose knit coalition say they are concerned with a number of issues, including education, alternative education, transportation and youth jobs.

Bianca Martinez, vice president of the Boston Student Advisory Council, spoke about the need for increased education funding.

“We need updated textbooks, after school programs, nutritious school food and support not only to become good students but good citizens and active community members,” the 17-year-old told a crowd of about 200 people.

Stanley Gourgue, chairman of the Transportation Justice at Roxbury Environmental Empowerment Project, said transportation funding is essential to young people, but many cannot afford to use public transit.

“Before the last fare increase, 27 percent of young people in Boston had missed school because they couldn’t afford the T, and 29 percent had missed work because they didn’t have enough money to get there,” Gourgue said.

Pema Doma, 18, said youth initiatives are often pitted against each other in the battle for funding, though all youth advocacy groups want the same thing.

“It doesn’t make sense that one group’s victory is another group’s loss. We know that all we really want is for each other to succeed,” Doma told the crowd.

Noli Rosen, with Teens Acting for Social Change, agreed, telling the audience, “We are all tied together.”

Various YMORE speakers said they are seeking revenue to invest in their communities, but because the organization is a coalition of smaller groups, it does not have a set agenda or fundraising goal.

Doma said some YMORE groups support the governor’s tax plan, while others support a bill filed by Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, D-Boston, to generate revenue for high education.

The governor’s budget plan would increase the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent, and decrease the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent.

Some of the additional revenue would be dedicated to fixing the state’s transportation system and funding education initiatives, such as K-12 education throughout Massachusetts and longer school days in schools that need it most.

The governor’s plan includes an additional $550 million - $1 billion over four years - to fund higher education.

Patrick said youth voices are essential to making his plan happen.

“This is your Statehouse,” he said. “You make it your house by showing up and making your views known. We don’t work for some abstract thing called state government. We work for you.”

The Sun Chronicle, 3/22/13

No end in sight for snow removal costs

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:53:00 -0400

BOSTON - Although spring arrives today, state and local spending for snow removal just keeps piling up.

Massachusetts has spent $84 million on snow and ice removal as of March 11, exceeding the state budget allocation by $8.5 million - and counting.

“Spring may be here, but we all know that does not necessarily mean the end to plowing and treating roadways,” agency spokeswoman Sara Lavoie said Tuesday.

MassDOT budgeted $45.5 million for snow and ice removal this fiscal year, and is authorized to spend an additional $30 million without seeking supplemental funding from the Legislature.

During a statewide storm event, snow removal costs about $1.2 million per inch of snowfall to remove, Lavoie said.

With forecasts of up to a foot of snow in Central and Western Massachusetts into this week, the $84 million estimate will pile higher as MassDOT “receives deliveries of materials and calls on our plow truck vendors,” Lavoie said.

Almost certainly, the agency will have to ask the Legislature for more money, she said.

“Beacon Hill is aware that we have exceeded the $45.5 million budgeted for snow and ice removal, which makes a supplemental budget likely in our future,” Lavoie said.

The $84 million estimate, which does not include this week’s storm, is on track to be among the highest snow removal expenditures in recent fiscal years.

Massachusetts spent $104 million in fiscal year 2008, $127.5 million in 2009 and $106 million in 2011, according to MassDOT.

Because of last year’s mild winter, the agency spent only $35 million in fiscal year 2012.

Local municipalities have also overspent on snow removal and are feeling the cold.

This year, Attleboro has spent $486,786 on general snow removal, an additional $291,579 during the Blizzard of 2013, alone, and $122,935 more on a new sidewalk snowplow, according to Mayor Kevin Dumas’ office.

The budget for the 2013 fiscal year was only $77,500, and Attleboro faces a snow removal deficit of $532,221 as of March 19, according to the mayor’s office.

Due to other pressing budget concerns, there has been no action in the Legislature to pass a supplemental snow and ice removal budget, but one is expected later this spring.

The Sun Chronicle, 3/21/13

Bumpy Ride Ahead for Gov's Transportation Plan

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:25:00 -0400

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick is facing an increasingly bumpy ride in his drive to get more and spend more on the state’s transportation system.

There have been few outright supporters of his plan to raise the income and gasoline taxes while devoting a lower sales tax entirely to road repairs, rail improvements and additional help for the MBTA.

The governor’s plan was challenged last week from various sectors, ranging from House Speaker Robert DeLeo to a coalition of transportation advocates.

In a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, DeLeo said the transportation plan should be “far more narrow in scope and significantly smaller in size” because Patrick’s more expansive proposal would “place too heavy a burden on working families.”

Patrick’s plan includes a 1 percent hike in the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent, and a 1.75 percent cut in the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent, though all revenues from the sales tax would be devoted to transportation.

“We seek to fund the priorities we need to enhance the economy, without creating any collateral damage,” DeLeo said, referring to the governor’s plans to raise the income tax and increase MBTA fares to pay the state’s transportation debt.

DeLeo said he would push to fund only certain projects of the administration’s transportation proposal, citing allocation for the MBTA and regional buses as a priority.

The governor, however, is standing by his plan, and has launched a website that shows how much money each district would receive for transportation projects under his budget.

Attleboro would get the most money in the region with about $1.2 million in fiscal year 2013, with an increase of more than $6 million in the next 10 years, according to governor’s page on Mass.gov.

North Attleboro would get $75,000. Another $14 million would go to the state for highway resurfacing on Route 1 and bridge repair.

The 9th Norfolk District, represented by Rep. Daniel Winslow, R-Norfolk, would see the most construction on roads under the governor’s plan. Two million dollars would go to resurfacing near Walpole. Roadwork along Route 152 outside Wrentham would receive $4 million.

Winslow said he would have to wait until a final proposal is drafted before he decides his position.

“I’m not a big fan of increasing taxes during a recession, but (the governor’s plan) is written in sand,” Winslow said at a campaign event. “I’ll wait to see what the final proposal looks like before I make up my mind.”

The governor’s proposal would dedicate $1 billion to transportation through tax increases, as well as through higher MBTA fares, and an increase in turnpike, bridge and tunnel tolls of 5 percent every two years starting next year.

MassDOT board members and MBTA officials support Patrick’s plan. They warned last week that if the transportation department didn’t receive the funding laid out in the governor’s plan, commuters would pay higher fares for less efficient service.

“When we’re talking about a structural gap of over $100 million, it’s going to take some real serious measures to fix it,” MBTA General Manager Dr. Beverly Scott told the MassDOT Board of Directors Standing Committee on Finance and Audit.

The committee is working to write a balanced budget proposal by April 15 that will close the MBTA’s $115 million to $120 million deficit.

MassDOT Board Chairman John Jenkins said at a board meeting that deciding on a budget plan is made more difficult without a clue as to how the House will act on Patrick’s transportation plan.

“We’re in a precarious position because we have to move forward with a balanced budget without knowing if we’ll get relief from the Legislature,” Jenkins said.

But while the focus is on funding, transportation advocacy groups meeting last week said policy should also be part of the budget discussion.

Kristina Egan, the director of Transportation for Massachusetts, spoke for legislation that would stop the use of capital dollars to pay for operating expenses, ensure transportation revenues benefit all Massachusetts communities equally and require environmental oversight for transportation projects.

“We’ve got to stop kicking the can down the road,” Egan said to a group of transportation advocates who gathered in the House Members’ Lounge on Tuesday.

One of the participants, Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong put the issue in starker terms.

“To use a casino metaphor, we can’t just keep pulling the lever hoping to get all the cherries in a row,” she said. “Now is the time to act.”

The bill is backed by a group of Democratic lawmakers such as Sen. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, who is a lead sponsor of the legislation.

“We all depend on transportation throughout or daily lives, so we need to realize that the entire commonwealth is in this together,” Clark said.

Another lead sponsor, Rep. Carl Sciortino, D-Medford, said renovations to the system were long overdue.

“Transportation is part of a network of policy areas we need to get a handle on,” Sciortino said. “Public health, environmental health, economic development and transportation are all intimately tied together.”

The House is scheduled to present its version of the state’s annual budget on April 10, assuming transportation remains a part of the overall budget.

The MassDOT board is set to meet the same day to come up with a budget for the MBTA, which will be announced on April 15.

The Sun Chronicle, 3/10/13

Renewal of Violence Against Women Act prompts statewide campaign

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 06:22:59 -0500

BOSTON - As President Barack Obama signed the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act Thursday, more than 100 Massachusetts legislators, local organizers and students gathered at the Statehouse to encourage men to help end violence against women.

Male participants in White Ribbon Day wore ribbons to symbolize their commitment to ending domestic violence, rape and sexual harassment.

“You can show strength without showing violence. You can show commitment without using control. You can be a man without ever hurting a woman,” Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley told the group gathered in Gardner Auditorium.

Conley and Jarrett Barrios, CEO of the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts, are co-chairs of this year’s Massachusetts White Ribbon Campaign, which is part of an international movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, and challenging traditional ideas of masculinity.

Barrios said the challenge in fighting domestic violence is to stop it before it happens.

“(Abused women) are coming after-the-fact. We need to change the fact that this violence is happening in the first place,” the former state senator said. “We, as men, need to change the equation by changing our attitudes.”

Most sexual assault cases involve men as the abuser, but Craig Norberg-Bohm, the men’s initiative director for Jane Doe, said men should be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”We’re here to celebrate men who stand up for women because assault and abuse is not just a women’s issue,” Norberg-Bohm said in a brief interview. “It’s an issue that affects us all in every community.”

In Massachusetts, one in seven women have been raped, compared with one in five women nationally, according to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But, one in two Massachusetts women have experienced domestic abuse, which is higher than the national average of one in four.

Sexual assault statistics specific to Bristol County were not available, though Conley said 40,000 to 50,000 cases of domestic abuse are reported each year to his office.

“The sad truth about prosecuting cases of domestic violence and sexual assault is that by the time a case reaches my desk, the damage has already been done,” Conley told the meeting.

White Ribbon Day came amid a number of federal sequester cuts last week that could eliminate up to $140,000 from services to victims of domestic abuse in Massachusetts, which would result in a cut in aid to 500 fewer victims statewide, according to a White House report.

Kim Thomas, executive director for New Hope, said she’s concerned about potential funding cuts.

“I’m worried about any decrease in funding, but we’re going to keep helping people every way we can, even if we have to find other ways to sustain our programs,” Thomas said.

New Hope, an organization aiding victims of sexual violence and abuse, is based in Attleboro, but has centers in 54 Massachusetts communities.

Thomas said New Hope helped place more than 180 people in shelters throughout Southeastern Massachusetts, and works with more than 13,500 women and men statewide through support, advocacy and education.

Thomas encouraged anyone in need of abuse counseling to contact New Hope, or call 1-800-323-4673.

The Sun Chronicle, 3/8/13

State officials grilled

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:07:00 -0500

BROCKTON - State transportation officials were on the hot seat Wednesday as members of the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committees fired questions about Gov. Deval Patrick’s 2014 fiscal year budget proposal, asking how proposed tax hikes to pay for transportation improvements would affect citizens and the state’s debt limits.

Chief among the issues during the morning budget hearing at the Massasoit Conference Center was Patrick’s plan to pay for transportation improvements and maintenance with a 1 percent increase in the state income tax.

“We can’t afford the system we have today, but our transportation plan positions MassDOT to be able to maintain its access responsibly and promptly,” Transportation Secretary Richard Davey told the panel.

Davey said the transportation portion of the governor’s budget proposal would dedicate money to “high quality infrastructure maintenance.”

The hearing - one of several scheduled around the state - was co-chaired by Sen. Thomas Kennedy and Rep. Christine Canavan, both Brockton Democrats.

The main concern among representatives and senators on the panel was the economic implications of what Plymouth Republican Rep. Vinny deMacedo called “an ambitious and controversial proposal.”

Davey said the budget will close the MBTA’s $115 million operating deficit in the 2014 fiscal year and end the funding of highway operations with what he called “the state credit card” - borrowing money to pay regular expenses.

He said the budget would save the state more than $100 million, but stressed that Massachusetts would have to raise additional funding to fix the state’s transportation problems.

“Reform alone is not enough to accomplish what the public expects. We must be willing to invest additional resources into the system if we are to fix our system once and for all,” Davey said.

According to the transportation department, an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 jobs will be lost in Massachusetts by 2030 unless a deficient highway transportation system is fixed.

Rep. Carl Scortino, D-Medford, agreed with Davey that inaction is not the solution.

“We can’t afford not to make this investment,” he said.

DeMacedo asked if the budget would actually lower the MBTA deficit or simply place more of a burden on Massachusetts citizens.

“We’ve proposed an additional MBTA debt relief line in our budget and it matches what the expected operating deficit for the T, per year, over the next 10 years,” Davey responded.

But, Rep. David Viera, R-East Falmouth, wondered if the budget would raise the state’s debt cap.

“We made sure we were just not raising the ceiling,” Davey said, “Debt is OK if you have the revenue to pay for it. And with this plan, we are attaching revenues to pay the debt going forward.”

Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, and a member of the panel, praised Davey for his work.

“Secretary Davey is doing a terrific job,” he said.

Upcoming hearings are scheduled for Fitchburg, Greenfield and Hanover, with the final budget hearing scheduled for March 8 at the Statehouse.

The Sun Chronicle, 2/28/13

(Picture by Tom Maguire, staff photo file)

Medical marijuana site discussions on hold

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:18:00 -0500

BOSTON - Community leaders across Southeastern Massachusetts are putting off discussion on the possible siting of medical marijuana dispensaries until the state Department of Public Health issues final regulations on the use of the drug.

“We’ve been given no details whatsoever on how we would go about opening a center from the health department, so we decided the most sensible thing to do was to wait until next year,” Foxboro Town Planner Sharon Wason said.

A statewide ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Massachusetts passed by 63 percent of voters in the Nov. 6 election. The law requires the establishment of at least one pot dispensary in each of the state’s 14 counties, 35 centers in total, that would grow and sell marijuana to qualifying patients as part of their medical treatment.

The law calls for the Department of Public Health to announce guidelines by May 1 on where and how local communities set up these centers.

Health officials have already had two “listening sessions” this month where the public can weigh in on implementing the law across the state. One was held Feb. 13 in Worcester and the other Feb. 14 in Boston.

The last session is scheduled today at Holyoke Community College Kittredge Business Center.

But Wason is not confident the health department will meet the May 1 deadline.

“My initial thought was that we we’d hear something by May, but when the state Department of Public Health announced an open comment period at the end of February, I just felt that nothing was going to be coming out by the deadline,” Wason said.

Anne Roach, a health department spokeswoman, said in an email that “the department would issue regulations as close to May 1 as possible.”

“We will balance our strong commitment to patient needs with public safety as we craft regulations on this voter-approved law,” she wrote.

Roach noted that the department is holding its listening sessions and studying medical marijuana regulations in other states.

“We will learn from other states’ experience to put a system in place that is right for Massachusetts,” Roach wrote.

Such regulations would include the criteria for the way marijuana will be prescribed by doctors, purchased by patients and tracked by officials. Other issues include security requirements for treatment centers and the changes in zoning laws stipulating where the centers could be set up.

While waiting for guidance from the state, however, the Foxboro Planning Board issued a moratorium on discussions about locating a marijuana center in the town. The moratorium would put off community discussion until the March 2014 annual town meeting.

Wason is not alone in wanting more guidance.

The North Attleboro Planning Board is recommending a one-year moratorium on dispensaries in town so the town has a chance to refine its regulations.

Towns in the area are taking other action.

Attleboro City Councilor Mark Cooper is gathering support to pass an ordinance limiting where a center would be located, though was unavailable for further comment.

The Sun Chronicle, 2/27/13