By Arthur Moore

1. Double yellow line. This is where to make a U turn. Villens do this in multiple passes and in traffic hour.

2. No turn on red signs. Villens can make the right turn by slightly slowing down when making the turn. Continue reading A Villens Guide to Driving in Somerville →

A home is more than just a roof over your head! Having a home creates a gateway for clients to reconcile relationships with family and loved ones. A client’s new home is a place where they can spend one-on-one time with family and friends; something that isn’t feasible with shelter living or life on the streets. Pictured above is Jim with his son Ryan who we had the pleasure of moving into housing in May. Continue reading Somerville Homeless Coalition-Make An Impact This Father’s Day! →

By Bob Katzen

“I think on this matter I will turn it over to [Sen. Brendan Crighton] the real expert on this subject matter, the gentleman from Lynn, the Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation. Because he truly is the expert on this and so many other issues before this body.”
—Ways and Means chair Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport) when asked during floor debate to comment on the bill providing $350 million for local roads and bridges and other transportation projects. Continue reading THIS WEEK’S QUOTABLE QUOTES ON BEACON HILL →

By Bob Katzen

The Committee on Cannabis Policy recommended that several bills be shipped off to a study committee where bills are rarely actually studied and are essentially defeated. It is a way to kill a proposal without holding a vote on the bill itself. Here are some of the bills that will soon be sent off to a study committee:

PREVENT YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE (S78) – Would direct 1 percent of the state tax revenue generated from the cannabis excise tax toward a fund that would be responsible for supporting programs dedicated to prevention of youth substance use. Continue reading SEVERAL BILLS ON THEIR WAY TO A “STUDY” COMMITTEE →

By Bob Katzen

A bill that would add Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and opioid use disorder to the current list of conditions for which a doctor could prescribe medical marijuana, is stuck in the Committee on Health Care Financing which gave it a favorable report on March 24. The bill is a redrafted different version of an earlier bill, sponsored by Rep. Michael Soter (R-Bellingham), designed to expand access to medical marijuana for veterans. Continue reading EXPANDED USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA →

By Bob Katzen

The Senate approved a House-approved $350 million package that includes authorizing $200 million in one-time funding for the maintenance and repair of local roads and bridges in cities and towns across the state to be distributed under the Chapter 90 program formula. Only final House and Senate approval are needed prior to the measure going to the governor. Continue reading $350 MILLION FOR ROADS AND BRIDGES AND MORE →

By Bob Katzen

The Senate 39-0, approved and sent to the House a measure that requires standardized certification of an estimated 1,800 Bay State hospital technicians, by a nationally accredited organization, of hospital technicians who are responsible for ensuring that surgical instruments are safe and sanitary to protect patients from possible infection. The measure also requires the technicians to complete an annual continuing education curriculum. It was filed as a response to several high-profile incidents across the state in which surgical tools used in operations on patients may have been improperly disinfected. Continue reading REQUIRE CERTIFICATION FOR TECHNICIANS WHO STERILIZE AND MAINTAIN HOSPITAL SURGICAL EQUIPMENT →

By Bob Katzen

The Senate 37-3, approved and sent to the House a conference committee version of a bill making permanent the mail-in and early voting options used in Massachusetts in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The House and Senate had approved different versions of the bill and a conference committee hammered out this compromise version which did not include the section allowing same day voter registration that was in the Senate version but not in the House one. The measure requires the secretary of state to send out mail-in ballot applications, with return postage guaranteed, to registered voters before each presidential primary, state primary and biennial state election. It also allows registered voters to request a mail-in ballot for all elections in a single calendar year. Continue reading ELECTION LAW CHANGES →

By Bob Katzen

The House 119-36, Senate 32-8, gained the two-thirds vote necessary to override Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of legislation that would allow, starting July 1, 2023, undocumented/illegal immigrants to apply for a Massachusetts standard driver’s license. Continue reading LEGISLATURE OVERRIDES BAKER’S VETO OF BILL ALLOWING DRIVER’S LICENSE FOR UNDOCUMENTED/ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS →

Our sincere condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of James J. Bremis on his passing.

James J. Bremis was a wonderful person who will be sadly missed here in both Somerville and Medford. Continue reading Somerville/Medford Remembering James J. Bremis →