Recently I paid a visit to the Open Door in Gloucester.  The Open Door is a wonderful non-profit organization that connects hungry people with healthy food.  They offer a food pantry, the Second Glance Thrift Store for low-cost clothing and household items, a Mobile Market featuring fresh produce and a lot of friendly people working to make a difference.

 

From the left: Kelly Reardon-Clough, Catherine Francis from The Open Door, Brittany Mangini from The Greater Boston Food Bank, Senator Bruce Tarr, Pat Baker from Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and Sarah Grow and Julie LaFontaine from The Open Door.

If you can’t visit them at 28 Emerson Avenue in Gloucester you can find them at www.foodpantry.org or at 978-283-6776.

William Goldman from Essex Elementary is School Library Association Honoree

Each year the Massachusetts School Library Association selects students from across the Commonwealth for contributions to celebrate the value of school library programs in the state.  This year, William Goldman from Essex Elementary School was awarded a special recognition in a ceremony at the Grand Staircase in the State House for his design of a bookmark.

After a tour of the State House and lunch, William, his family and Susan Hardy, school librarian from Essex Elementary, were my guests in the Senate Chamber. 

Congratulations to William and to all students and families that join me in celebrating our wonderful school libraries and librarians.

In this photo: Jay, Kathleen, William (holding a Senate citation), Ethan, and Maggie Goldman and Susan Hardy at the rostrum.

Media Alert: On NECN’s “Broadside”

Tonight I will once again be a panelist on tonight’s Broadside with special guest host VB Goudie.  Topics that I will be discussing with VB and Senate President Stan Rosenberg include the Senate’s statewide Commonwealth Conversations Tour, the current struggles of the MBTA and the commuter rail service, and the state’s film tax credit.

Please tune in tonight for this very informational discussion.  Broadside airs at 6:00pm, and re-airs again at 7:30pm, 2:30am, and 4:00am.

Funding Our Roads and Bridges

Today the Massachusetts State Senate is expected to hold a full formal session where a debate on Chapter 90 road and bridge funding is set to commence.  The bill, filed by Governor Baker, will provide $200,000,000 in funding for our cities and towns to make improvements on our roadways.

With the unprecedented snowfall totals of this past winter, many roads in particular are in desperate need of repair.  Previously, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill to be engrossed by a vote of 155-0 on Wednesday, March 25^th.  To watch today’s session live that is scheduled for 2:00pm, please click here.   Posted below is the actual text of the bill.

An Act financing improvements to municipal roads and bridges.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a Cause

On Friday, I had the honor of participating in the Link House’s 13^th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Fundraiser.  It was an event filled with traditional Irish fare, great music, wonderful conversations, and good-humored jokes.  The event, which started at 11:00AM and was held at the Masonic Temple in Newburyport, was extremely well attended, and I had a great time addressing the crowd.

The Link House provides residential programs in Salisbury, Newburyport, Amesbury, and Gloucester for men and women who struggle with drug and alcohol addictions, and was first founded in 1972.  It has truly made a difference in those communities and in the lives of the thousands of men and women it has served.  I was glad to assist in this great cause.

To learn more about the Link House, please click here.  Posted are a few photos that I was able to capture during the event.

Media Alert: On the Air with Fox 25

Today I was interviewed by Fox 25 News Reporter Sharman Sacchetti regarding an amendment that the Senate Republican Caucus secured in the Senate’s version of a supplemental budget that will require the Sex Offender Registry Board to revise its regulations.  Unfortunately, due to the inappropriate application of factors used for classification criteria and other actions, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded several decisions made by the Sex Offender Registry Board

Please tune in to Fox 25’s evening broadcast to see my interview regarding this very serious public safety issue.

On the Air with WGBH’s Greater Boston

Last night I had the opportunity to take part in a panel discussion on WGBH’s Greater Boston with host Jim Braude.  I was joined by former New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang and Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung, where we discussed the upcoming presidential campaign and the effects the new minimum wage law has had on Massachusetts.

To watch last night’s segment, please click here.