State of the City Address in Newburyport

Last night, I attended Mayor Sean Reardon’s State of the City Address held in the City Hall Auditorium in the City of Newburyport.

Mayor Reardon recapped his past year in office and shared his future vision for key priorities to benefit the Newburyport community. He was joined by special guest speaker Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll who shared remarks to all of the attendees in the crowded auditorium.

Black History Month Events in Newburyport

Honored to have joined the City of Newburyport at their public event for Black History Month 2024.

The event was held outdoors on the Inn Street pedestrian mall in Newburyport’s downtown at the interpretive sign ‘Pictures with Purpose: 19th Century Studio Photograph Empowered Black Americans’ installed near the playground.

The event included remarks by Mayor Sean Reardon and local documentarian Dianne Steimel about the power of the photographic image.

Special thanks to Cynthia "Cyd" Raschke for her remarks featured below and to Senior Project Manager, Geordie Vining, for his continued work on this project.

Meeting with Newburyport Housing Support, Inc.

Attended a very productive meeting with @Housing Support, Inc. of the City of Newburyport recently discussing expanding services to victims of domestic violence.

I joined State Representative Dawne Shand, Paula Newcomb, Executive Director of Housing Support, Inc., Frank Cousins, Bob Jones – who serve on the board of Housing Support, Inc., and maintenance workers to discuss important projects that will greatly benefit our community.

Iwo Jima Day

Today, in a Memorial Hall ceremony, we observed Iwo Jima Day at the State House to honor the Marine veterans who served in the major World War II battle in 1945.

Memorial Hall, in the heart of the State House, was an appropriate setting to honor our veterans, their families, and other members of the military in observance of the 79th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Today’s ceremony honored all of the more than 100,000 American GIs who battled on an island in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.

Today also marks the first Iwo Jima Remembrance Day without my good friend, and former Manchester-by-the-Sea resident, Larry Kirby. There were 230 Marines in his unit when he landed, but after 36 days there were only seven who remained.

Although he once said, "I just showed up, did my job, and got lucky," what he and others did there was monumentally important and thoroughly courageous.

Before the invasion, there were 22,000 Japanese soldiers heavily entrenched within a network of tunnels and caves. The fighting was particularly fierce and the casualties were high. When it was over, the U.S. Marines were victorious, they captured the island and raised an American flag high on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945

Massachusetts Association of School Committee's Award 2023

This past year I had the distinct honor of being named the recipient of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees' Legislator of the Year 2023 Award.

▶️ Article featured on the front page of the Gloucester Daily Times:

https://www.gloucestertimes.com/.../article_96aafcfa-d10a...

▶️ Article featured on the Ipswich Local News: https://thelocalnews.news/.../tarr-named-legislator-of.../

▶️ To learn more about this honor, visit the MASC website:

https://www.masc.org/awards/

valentine's Day Blood Drive

🚨NATIONAL BLOOD SHORTAGE 🚨

Blood donors of all types are urgently needed now.

Yesterday in celebration of Valentine’s Day week, me and members of my team visited the American Red Cross of Massachusetts’ blood drive at the Masonic Lodge in the City of Newburyport.

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries discussion in Newburyport

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Clam Depuration Plant on Plum Island in the City of Newburyport is an important resource for the state's soft shell clam industry.

Unfortunately, it has suffered serious damage and the loss of the wells that supply it with salt water due to coastal erosion.

Yesterday, the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife convened public officials and stakeholders to discuss the future of the plant, and I was pleased to be a part of that discussion, both on a plant tour in Newburyport and an evening strategy session at the DMF Annisquam River Marine Station in the City of Gloucester, MA.

While the challenges associated with the re-opening and continued operation of the plant are substantial, last night's discussion clearly moved us forward.

Through that robust conversation, which included DMF Director Dan McKiernan and DFW Commissioner Tom O' Shea, and several other state and local officials and industry stakeholders, we were able to consider several options and begin to chart a course to support those who depend on the plant.

Newburyport Shellfish Purification Plant

Very productive tour of the Newburyport Shellfish Purification Plant in the City of Newburyport yesterday.

Go Red For Women Day

Today, many lawmakers partnered with the American Heart Association for the annual Go Red For Women Day at the State House.

This special awareness day is part of the American Heart Association’s efforts to end heart disease and stroke in women and this particular year is significant marking 100 years the AHA has had an impact on raising heart disease awareness.

Cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer of women. Experts say nearly 80% of cardiac events can be prevented, but cardiovascular diseases continue to be a woman’s greatest health threat.

We wore red to support the American Heart Association and bring attention to this issue in hopes of reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Join me in wearing red for #HeartMonth to show your support for American Heart Association -- Massachusetts in the fight against heart disease and stroke.

You could be the difference between life and death for someone experiencing a cardiac event. Be ready to act by learning Hands-Only CPR. Become a member of the #NationofLifesavers at heart.org/nation.

North Andover Commission on Ability Assistance

Great time joining my Senior District Director Maryann Nay in speaking on the Ability Assistance show with an update from Beacon Hill.

Thank you to the Commission on Ability Assistance: North Andover MA for having us!

Watch our episode here: https://youtu.be/-QL5wxx3vfg?si=Php-FlLW6rTDM1E5

Repairing 97 year old Schooner

Pleasure seeing the hardwork Captain Miller-Shelley, her team, and all the volunteers put into repairing and protecting the 97-year old Schooner Adventure to ensure she sails for years to come.

Thank you to Executive Director Stuart Siegel for inviting us aboard and facilitating our visit.

To learn more: https://schooner-adventure.org/history/schooner-adventure/

Maritime Gloucester

Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce 102nd Celebration

Honored to have attended a wonderful 102nd Annual Celebration with Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce - an event highlighting the amazing local artists and business in Cape Ann.

An Explanation of the Legislative Process Relative to S.2572

Statement on S.2572

Last week the Senate approved its version of new gun safety legislation (S.2572), one of many steps in the legislative process around this subject. This narrower and reformed version of the bill (35 pages) earned the unanimous support of the Massachusetts Association of Chiefs of Police, whereas the much different and expansive bill put forth earlier by the House (129 pages) was unanimously opposed by those same police chiefs from across the state.

Because the Senate bill had not been subjected to a public hearing, my first action was to move that it be referred to the Committee on Public Safety, which is charged with dealing with firearms legislation, to be properly addressed, including a public hearing. Unfortunately, this effort failed on a 9-31 vote leaving us to deal with the bill.

Next, the entire Republican caucus moved to make major changes to S.2572 by offering amendment #63, which would substitute a new narrower bill that protected second amendment rights while strengthening public safety. Unfortunately, that substitution was rejected on a vote of 6-33.

While it was unfortunate that commonsense amendment #63 was not adopted, I worked with my colleagues to further refocus the bill on punishing those who break the law - while protecting those who abide by it. We fought to ensure the following amendments were adopted:

- Amendment #6: requires that an individual charged with a criminal offense involving a gun, or who is on parole for such an offense, and that is subsequently charged with another crime involving guns or violence, is detained until trial for that crime

- Amendment #11: provides for grandfathering in the assault weapons ban for firearms lawfully possessed

- Amendment #22: changes the overly broad definition in the bill of "Rapid Fire Trigger Activator," which would have misclassified some common components as "Glock Switches"

- Amendment #30: requires the Secretary of Public Safety to report on numerous measures, originally adopted in 2014, to provide education and to punish criminal behavior which appear to be languishing without implementation

- Amendment #32: expands the ability of lawful gun owners and gunsmiths to repair and reassemble guns to include rifles and shotguns

- Amendment #55: creates a separate, additional penalty for shooting a firearm at a police officer, which includes imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 years and a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, and liability for civil damages

- Amendment #74: limits the otherwise broad and vicarious liability for manufacturers contained in the bill by recognizing legitimate youth sporting activities involving firearms

My “yes” vote for the amended Senate version of the bill was an endorsement of the process to limit its scope, incorporate significant amendments to protect lawful gun owners and punish criminals, and move to conference committee from a strong posture.

With significant differences between the House and Senate bills on this subject, there is still a long way to go before any final version becomes law. Throughout all of the process that remains, I will continue to work to ensure that public safety is our top priority, and that we seek to strengthen it without infringing on the second amendment rights of safe, responsible gun owners and sportsmen like me. It remains to be seen whether or not that can be accomplished.

Repairing Salisbury Beach

Through team work, first actions are happening with repairs at Salisbury Beach. Much more is needed to be done, but this a good start.

#salisburyma #salisburybeach #stormdamage #statesenatorbrucetarr

Gloucester 400 Final Event at Beauport Hotel

Congratulations to the Gloucester 400+ for a fantastic final event this week hosted at the Beauport Hotel Gloucester marking the close of Gloucester’s yearlong 400th anniversary celebration!

Honored to have shared remarks commemorating the importance of their efforts documenting this important moment in our city’s history joining along side the following speakers:

Elsje Zwart, Executive Director of the Gloucester400+; Mayor Greg Verga; Terry Weber Mangos, Stories Project Leader; Storyteller Sara Collins; Jenny Benedict, Director of the Sawyer Free Library (SFL); Julie Travers, Local History Librarian.

Also, enjoyed sharing in two wonderful milestones revealed at the event:

- The creation and launch of the Sawyer Free Library’s: Digital Gloucester Timeline: An Interactive History

- The transfer of the stories and poems from 400+ Stories Project so they may be housed and accessible at the Library for years to come.*

The digital timeline will put Gloucester's 400+ year history right at our fingertips and on our computer screens. Writers and poets who contributed their works to the Stories Project will soon find their stories connected to the timeline, searchable and easily accessible.