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News Archive

Jun 17 2016 Mass. teachers union criticizes the new “impact ratings” system
WWLP
By wwlptiffanychan Published: June 16, 2016, 11:08 pm Updated: June 17, 2016, 12:47 am BOSTON (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Teachers Association is urging state lawmakers to eliminate the new “impact rating system,” which requires students to...
May 9 2016 MBTA board approves scaled-back $2.29 billion Green Line Extension proposal
MassLive
By Shira Schoenberg | sschoenberg@repub.com Follow on Twitter on May 09, 2016 at 6:45 PM   BOSTON -- The board of the MBTA on Monday approved a scaled back version of the Green Line extension project. The project includes 4.5 miles of new Green Line track in East...
May 3 2016 Senate Passes Criminal Justice Reform Legislation
Medford Transcript
The Massachusetts Senate continued its work of reforming the state's criminal justice system by passing four reform related bills: S-727, S-728, S-795 and S-2216. The bills address various criminal justice reform issues such as penalties for vandalism and graffiti...
Apr 25 2016 Medford Vocational students meet with state legislators
Medford Transcript
On March 31, Medford Vocational Technical High School Director and Principal Heidi Riccio and the SkillsUSA ​state leadership student team attended the Legislative Briefing and Advocacy Day for Vocational Technical Education event at the Massachusetts Statehouse. Riccio and...
Apr 25 2016 Column: Education funding no longer fair and equitable
Somerville Journal
Column: Education funding no longer fair and equitable   Posted Apr 25, 2016 at 11:09 AM   By Sen. Pat Jehlen In 1993, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Massachusetts has a constitutional obligation to offer all children an...
Apr 15 2016 Time to move terminally ill, aged convicts from ill-equipped prison, jail care facilities
Cambridge Day
By Tim Toomey and Pat Jehlen Friday, April 15, 2016   A prisoner is admitted to a hospital in 2012 for care beyond what his facility could provide. (Photo: Tim Gruber via the ACLU) There is a fiscal crisis looming over Massachusetts’ state prisons and county...
Apr 7 2016 Panel debates in Worcester: Smarter spending or more money for schools?
Worcester Telegram
By Scott O'Connell Telegram & Gazette Staff   Posted Apr. 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM Updated Apr 7, 2016 at 4:08 PM WORCESTER – State Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester said at the start of his speech Wednesday on school funding that he would be...
Apr 5 2016 Medford Girl Scouts Meet With Local Female Leaders
Medford Transcript
  By James Kossuth medford@wickedlocal.com Posted Apr. 5, 2016 at 8:48 AM MEDFORD Medford Junior Girl Scout Troop #65264 hosted a lively and informative panel discussion on March 24 at West Medford Community Center as part of the Juniors’ work on their “...
Mar 25 2016 Senate, House Pass Motor Vehicle License Suspension Bill
BOSTON - This week Senator Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) and her colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature approved final passage of An Act relative to motor vehicle license suspension. This bill repeals the current law that subjects individuals convicted of a non-violent...
Nov 25 2015 Medford Pols Speak Out on Commuter Rail Service Changes- Updated
Inside Medford
Medford Pols Speak Out on Commuter Rail Service Changes- Updated Story Updated 2:04 PM Wednesday, November 25, 2015 Update- statement from State Senator Pat Jehlen: “The new commuter rail schedules that were originally slated to go into effect in December would have caused...
Nov 19 2015 Commuter Rail Concerns Raised by Legislators
Patch
Joined by a number of legislative colleagues, Senator Jason Lewis submitted a letter to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Keolis Commuter Services, the private operator contracted to operate the commuter rail lines, expressing serious concerns over...
Oct 27 2015 Group Of Legislators Push To Remove ‘High-Stakes’ Nature Of Standardized Testing
WBUR
Legislators critical of standardized testing are pushing five bills that could change how much sway test scores have in Massachusetts schooling. It comes just as the Obama administration is urging limits on school testing. While the group of state legislators still want...
Oct 26 2015 Obama’s Push to Limit Testing Fuels Mass. Debate
The Boston Globe
President Obama’s call for schools to reduce time spent taking standardized tests fueled the debate in Massachusetts over the role of assessments, and injected a new element into a looming vote on whether the state should adopt a new test, keep the old one, or develop a...
Oct 16 2015 Senators from Cambridge Vote to Pass Opiate Addiction Prevention Bill
Cambridge Chronicle
Senators from the Cambridge delegation recently joined their colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to pass legislation that addresses the ongoing substance abuse crisis in the Commonwealth. The legislation focuses on prevention and reducing the number of opiate pills...
Oct 8 2015 Local Legislators Call For Open Records for University Police
Somerville Journal
Legislators from Somerville and other areas with a heavy college presence are calling for more transparency from university police departments, which unlike city police have greater power to keep information about arrests and incidents from the public. The push...
Sep 19 2015 Soaring Home Insurance Rates Questioned
Somerville Journal
Following a winter that caused an estimated $2.4 billion in losses in the Northeast, a recent spike in Massachusetts home insurance premiums is drawing the scrutiny of lawmakers and consumer advocates alike. “I’m keeping an open mind here, so I’m stopping short of...
Sep 18 2015 Legislators Stand Together in Support of Reforms for Police Investigations
Somerville News Weekly
BOSTON, MA – Senator Pat Jehlen, Representative Evandro Carvalho, and Representative Mary Keefe joined in testimony before the Joint Committee on The Judiciary yesterday in support of reforms for police investigations into officer-involved deaths. Representative Carvalho...
Sep 17 2015 Report: Unique Challenges Face Older Gay Residents
WBUR
By The Associated Press BOSTON - Aging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents in Massachusetts face unique challenges, according to a report released Thursday by a special legislative commission. The report offers a number of recommendations to address the needs...
Sep 5 2015 Jehlen announces 75th Citizens' Legislative Seminar in October
Medford Transcript
Sen. Pat Jehlen, D-Somerville, announced the Massachusetts Senate is seeking nominees to participate in the 75th Citizens’ Legislative Seminar, which will take place Oct. 20 and 21 at the State House. CLS is a semi-annual educational seminar geared towards adults of...
Jul 31 2015 Equal pay bill advances in state Legislature
Winchester Star
On July 30, the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development released H.1773/S.983, an act to establish pay equity, with a recommendation that the bill ought to pass. Also known as the Massachusetts Equal Pay Bill, this legislation was sponsored by Rep. Jay...
Jul 13 2015 Funding for Mystic River Included in State FY’16 Budget
Inside Medford
Senator Patricia Jehlen, Representative Paul Donato, Representative Christine Barber, and Representative Sean Garballey announced that two crucial appropriations for the Mystic River were included in the legislature’s final FY 2016 Budget. Both the $250,000...
Jun 29 2015 Jehlen, Colleagues Host Briefing on Tipped Workers’ Wages
Inside Medford
On Tuesday, June 23, Senator Patricia Jehlen, Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Boston (ROC Boston) hosted a briefing at the State House about eliminating the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers that drew almost 100...
Jun 17 2015 Letter: Many tax relief options available for Somerville seniors
Somerville Journal
More senior homeowners in Somerville have options to cope with property taxes, thanks to the Board of Aldermen, and Mayor Curtatone, with the leadership of Alderman Mark Niedergang. The aldermen raised income and asset limits, enabling more people to qualify for all the...
Jun 2 2015 LETTER: More needs to be done for ‘baby boomers' reaching retirement
Cambridge Chronicle
To the editor: As a growing number of “baby boomers” reach retirement age, we need to do more to address the needs of older Massachusetts residents. The state’s population is expected to grow by 6 percent between 2010 and 2030, almost entirely in the...
Apr 19 2015 Legislators Recognized for Passage of “Fresh Air” Bill
Inside Medford
Senator Patricia D. Jehlen (D-Somerville) and Representative Denise Provost (D-Somerville) received awards on Wednesday, April 15, for their work to secure passage of H. 3804, An Act regarding to persons receiving services from programs or facilities of the Department of...