Naveo Credit Union awards $7,500 in scholarships to recipients of the Carlos Faria and Victor Da Silva Memorial Scholarship and the first annual John C. Feitor Memorial Scholarship. Continue reading Naveo Credit Union Awards $7,500 in Scholarships →

Police are looking to identify the pictured individual in relation to an incident that occurred in Davis Square on June 7th, 2022. Anyone with information should contact Detective Alan Monaco at 617-625-1600 Extension 7226, or text an anonymous tip to the confidential hotline at 617SPD (847411). Continue reading Real Life Somerville Police Stories: Police are looking to identify the pictured individual →

Residential Breaking and Entering
22032236: On 6/8/22 at approximately 8:45 PM, Somerville Police responded to a residence on Newton St for a past breaking and entering. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the victims who stated a contractor entered the home and took HVAC equipment.

Assault
22032235: On 6/8/22 at approximately 8:41 PM, a juvenile male entered the station with his parents and stated while walking down Walnut St with his friends, they were approached by a group of juvenile males. The juvenile victims were then punched and kicked by the juvenile suspects.
Continue reading Real Life Somerville Police Stories →

Somerville lost a great man/legend! Oscar Greene, a 104 year old resident of Somerville was an amazing and remarkable man! Just listening to him as he would tell you stories would bring you back in time and you can imagine as if you were there reliving his memories with him. I was fortunate enough to be there to help celebrate his 103rd birthday last year. prayers to his family and friends and especially to his best friend Dennis and all the residents of the VNA on Lowell Street on his passing! 🙏 May he R.I.P.
Continue reading Somerville/Medford Remembering Oscar Greene →

By Bob Katzen

Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. Continue reading HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? →

By Bob Katzen

“The Senate stands in recess subject to the call of the chair. We’ll come back when we feel like it.”
—Sen. William Brownsberger (D-Belmont) adding a little humor to the Senate session.
Continue reading THIS WEEK’S QUOTABLE QUOTES ON BEACON HILL →

By Bob Katzen

The House gave initial approval to a measure that would allow members of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police to be paid when attending executive board meetings of their group without having to use accrued time off for their absence.
Continue reading MASSACHUSETTS COALITION OF POLICE →

By Bob Katzen

The House approved and sent to the Senate a bill that makes it a criminal offense when a medical or healthcare professional induces a patient to engage in sexual intercourse or touching by falsely representing that the act is necessary for a legitimate medical purpose. Continue reading SEXUAL ASSAULT UNDER FALSE MEDICAL REPRESENTATION →

By Bob Katzen

The House and Senate held a ceremonial bill signing for legislation that would allow, starting July 1, 2023, undocumented/illegal immigrants to apply for a Massachusetts standard driver’s license. The governor had vetoed the bill and the House and Senate overrode the veto—making it impossible to hold a signing of the bill by the governor. Continue reading ALLOW DRIVER’S LICENSE FOR UNDOCUMENTED/ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS →

By Bob Katzen

The Senate approved, on a voice vote without a roll call vote, a $5 billion bond bill that borrows money for hundreds of construction projects—the majority involving maintenance and modernization projects of buildings related to health care, higher education, information technology, workforce development, the environment and affordable housing. Many of the buildings are decades old. The Senate added millions of dollars during consideration of the package. A key provision imposes a five-year moratorium on any prison or jail construction in Massachusetts. Continue reading BORROW $5 BILLION FOR STATE PROJECTS →

By Bob Katzen

The House and Senate set Saturday, August 13 and Sunday, August 14 as this year’s Sales Tax Holiday. This will allow consumers to buy most products that cost under $2,500 on those two days without paying the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax. This annual sales-tax-free weekend was made permanent in 2018 and gives the Legislature the authority to set the dates by June 15 each year.
Continue reading SALES TAX HOLIDAY ON AUGUST 13 AND 14 →

By Bob Katzen

Massachusetts’ health care system is ailing in the lingering aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. Hospitals are suffering severe financial losses, putting smaller providers in peril as the larger players look to expand and consolidate. Behavioral health has become an acute priority in a system with limited capacity. Continue reading THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS HEALTHCARE →

By Bob Katzen

The House 155-0, approved a bill designed to make mental health care more accessible in the Bay State. Provisions include the implementation of the nationwide 988 hotline to access 24/7 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis services; a public awareness campaign on the state’s red flag laws that limit access to guns for people at risk of hurting themselves or others; creation of online portals that provide access to real-time data on youth and adults seeking mental health and substance use services, including a function that allows health care providers to easily search and find open beds; giving the state additional tools to enforce existing parity laws which are aimed at providing equal benefits for physical and mental health treatment; and requiring insurance coverage of critical behavioral health services. Continue reading COMPREHENSIVE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PACKAGE →

By Bob Katzen

The House 126-29, Senate on a voice vote without a roll call, approved and sent to Gov. Baker 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. Continue reading ELECTION LAW CHANGES →

By Bob Katzen

The House 155-0, Senate 38-0, approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker, a $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. Continue reading $350 MILLION FOR ROADS AND BRIDGES AND MORE (H 4638) →