"The governor has made remarkable strides to protect the environment, but there's more work to be done," commented Lora Wondolowski, Executive Director of the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters. "We look forward to working closer … [Read more...]
FYI Governor Patrick Town Hall meeting Monday night
Happy to hear he is getting out there to help us "get it", as we have been asking him rather loudly to do. It is terrific that he is coming to Western MA. It will be streamed live at this link Monday night at 8PM. . The questions will … [Read more...]
Senator Pat Jehlen hosts 9th annual Budget event
The evening started with a presentation by Noah Burger from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center www.massbudget.org Noah offers both a look back history on what we have done in the past and how we arrived at this place and time. In … [Read more...]
Recording of the Joint Committee On Ways & Means Fy2010 Budget Hearing
This is interesting, once you get through the initial chatter. It would be fun to do a live blog while watching. Joint Committee On Ways & Means Fy2010 Budget Hearing Pt. … [Read more...]
DMR Facility Closings
The truth of the matter is that our communities have proven that people with mental retardation can thrive in smaller settings while accessing the medical and recreation necessary to support their needs. While the community setting has … [Read more...]
The Commonwealth Wellness Fund: Paying for Prevention
And, while Massachusetts has done a good job addressing the problem of underage drinking, the Commonwealth still ranks as one of the states with the highest rates of underage drinking and adult binge drinking. Youth, in particular, … [Read more...]
Human Services Make Up Small Percentage of Recent State Hires
Last week I posted Pioneer Institute's recommendations for where Governor Patrick should begin cutting the state budget before he cuts safety net programs. One of our recommendations is to roll back the state's workforce by the 6,000 … [Read more...]
Start Here Before Cutting Into the Safety Net
The Governor needs to find at least $750 million in savings to bridge the budget gap in this fiscal year. The Pioneer plan urges that he and legislative leaders start with emergency and targeted cuts that will save $311 million in the final … [Read more...]
Governor Patrick Announces Closure of Four Facilities — abstract questions
1. Does anyone know of another disability group that is so severely split by severity of diagnosis as Mental Retardation/Developmental Disability? 2. Does anyone know of another issue on which the dominant coalition includes budget cutters, … [Read more...]
Health Care Reform Financing
The following is an op-ed piece issued to major newspapers and now being released on BlueMassGroup: Massachusetts Healthcare Reform has been successful due to the confluence of the interests of businesses, healthcare providers, … [Read more...]