A Night Supporting Local Heroes

Supporting our men and women serving in the armed forces is important, and my staff and I were pleased to spend some time Wednesday, July 22 with a truly special organization known as "Local Heroes".

Initiated by Wilmington selectman and Veteran's Agent Louis Cimaglia, Local Heroes meets every Wednesday at the Wilmington Knights of Columbus Hall at 7 p.m. to pack boxes of needed items for service men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Working together, we packed the boxes and the team functioned like a well-oiled machine. That night we packed over fifty boxes, and thus far the organization has packed and shipped a whopping 9,411 packages.

Here are some photos of the evening's events:

Please join us in supporting the tremendous work of Local Heroes. More information is available at their web site, http://mass-localheroes.org.

Votes to Note: Supplemental Budget

Today, the Senate considered a supplemental budget to spend on items that need additional funding beyond what was included in the state. To view this budget, please go here.

I offered an amendment to the supplemental budget to require the registrar of motor vehicles to produce a plan for serving coustomers effectively before closinga registry branch office. since the registrar is now in the process of closing several branches, including those in Beverly and Attleboro, this amendment is important to ensure that residents continue to have access to the important services provided by the registry.

The text of the amendment is below the fold.

Messrs. Tarr, Tisei, and Brown move to amend the bill (H. XXXX) by adding at the end the following additional section:-

“SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the registrar of motor vehicles shall not close any existing branch office unless and until a plan is produced and implemented to provide effective access to all services to those citizens which will be affected by such closure. In developing such plan, the registrar shall consider all available options and resources, including but not limited to the renegotiation of rental contracts, utilization of any available municipal, state or other spaces in the public sector, and innovative partnerships with public agencies or private entities. Such plan shall be submitted to the clerks of the house and senate before the any such branch closures.”

Votes to Note: Stronger Penalties for Utility Companies

Today the Senate voted unanimously to approve legislation that would allow the Department of Public Utilities to impose strong penalties for utility companies that fail to deliver the services that consumers are depending on. I am pleased to be a strong supporter of the bill. You can view the text of the bill here.