Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here"We want to continue to get public input and allow that input to direct the design," he said.
A major proposed improvement is to create two-way traffic on Emmons, Main and West Central streets.
------Despite an executive branch headed by the state's first black governor, no one keeps track of the racial makeup of the Legislature's work force - not the state Human Resources Division nor any central office in the House or Senate.
Lawmakers can hire whomever they want, however they want, and since they exempted themselves from the public record law years ago, they don't have to tell anyone.
Only 18 of 200 elected officials agreed to provide information on their staffers' race, age and gender to The Patriot Ledger.
Reached last week, no MetroWest legislator, with the exception of state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, responded to the Daily News' request for information regarding staff demographics. Some offices did not return calls. Other offices referred the News directly to the House Speaker's office. Other offices referred the News to the Legislature's human resources department, which then referred a reporter to the House Speaker's office.
Affirmative action - a hiring policy that encourages minorities to apply for jobs where they are underrepresented - was a phrase first used by President John F. Kennedy nearly 50 years ago. In the years that followed, it was the basis for federal equal opportunity hiring regulations that states, cities and towns had to follow, or risk losing federal aid.
But the same rules affecting all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts and more than 50,000 state employees don't apply to lawmakers, their employees or committee staffs.
Friday, Governor Patrick attended the Massachusetts Municipal Association Annual Meeting and outlined proposals including municipal pension relief, a limited early retirement incentive program and a new Green Communities grant program to encourage development of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to relieve local budgets “The Lieutenant Governor and I value the partnership we have built with local officials across the Commonwealth,” said Governor Patrick. “This relationship has allowed us to work collaboratively to bring real change to the way local government provides for the residents of the Commonwealth. The tools we introduce today, coupled with the changes we have already made, will allow us to provide key services in communities today, while reducing local pressure on the property tax.” Learn more here.
....In a time of dwindling state revenue, we funded public schools at the highest level in history. In the budget I file next week, I will propose to do it again by fully funding the education budget through Chapter 70 next year, so that no school will see a cut in state support. But because schools need innovation as well as money in order to be great, we made law and history this week by signing an education reform bill that will put a great school within reach of every child in every corner of this Commonwealth. We made it personal. Thank you.
....We, all of us, have worked together to give local communities new tools to cut costs and raise revenues, to regionalize more municipal services. But I will not be satisfied until we find a way to bring property taxes down.
... these young people did not sit around wondering and worrying what to do and who was going to do it. They didn’t accept that they were powerless. They saw a need and met it, and found power in service itself. And through that not only have they inspired me and many others, but they have built a better, stronger Commonwealth.
Brick by brick. Block by block. Neighborhood by neighborhood. Town by town. That is what each of us must do. That is who each of us must be. That is the opportunity this crisis presents. If we seize it, I am certain our best days lie ahead.
