Senator Spilka: Lifting All Families in the FY 2016 Budget

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Legislature Passes Budget to Lift All Families Dear Friend, Last week, the legislature sent a $­38.145 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2016 to the Governor's desk. I'm proud that my first budget as Chair of Senate Ways and Means lifts all families. These budget line items are so much more than just numbers - they represent values, priorities and meaningful tools for people across MetroWest and the Commonwealth. We invest in the future, strengthening pathways to educational opportunity from early ed through college and workforce training. We provide assistance for those struggling with opioid addiction and help people find stable housing solutions.  The Earned Income Tax Credit increase is a big step to address rising income inequality and put more money in the pockets of hard-working families. Thank you to advocates and constituents across MetroWest and the Commonwealth for making your voices heard on your priorities throughout the budget process! This is my new e-newsletter - stay tuned for more details and updates. Please feel free to share with family, friends and colleagues by clicking on the "Forward to a Friend" link at the bottom of this email.   As always, if you would like additional information or have any concerns or comments, please call my office at (617) 722-1640 or email me at Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov. Warm Regards, Senator Karen E. Spilka 2nd Middlesex and Norfolk Office of State Senator Karen E. Spilka Room 212, State House Boston, Massachusetts  02133 Phone: (617) 722-1640 - Fax: (617) 722-1077 http://www.karenspilka.com

Forward this email Senator Karen E. Spilka | Massachusetts State House, Room 212 | Boston | MA | 02133

Pond St RFP's responses to be reviewed

The next Economic Development Committee meeting is scheduled for Weds, July 15th at 6:00 PM. The meeting will review and discuss the responses to the RFP that was issued for the Pond St property and due to be submitted to Franklin as of July 9th.

At the Town Council meeting on Weds, July 8th, there had been at least one response submitted for solar. Reported to be from the same company that did the solar farm for the Mount St Mary's property. Franklin has an agreement with the solar farm there to purchase the electricity which effectively provides about 80% of Franklin's municipal requirements.

The meeting was discussed as being held in the Council Chambers as the 3rd floor training was unavailable. According to the Franklin calendar, the meeting will be held in the 3rd floor training room so something may have changed.

In any case, I do know the date and time of the meeting at the Municipal building. Worse case we show up to find out what room it is in.

Franklin Municipal Building

Regency Transportation to move "The Wall That Heals"

Franklin trucking company Regency Transportation was selected for involvement with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in transporting “The Wall That Heals,” a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. 

The memorial, unveiled in 1996, was designed to travel, and has visited more than 400 cities and towns in the U.S. 

Regency Transportation driver Gordon Rogers, a Marine Corp veteran, will move the memorial from Fuller Elementary School in Gloucester, where it is currently on display, to Staunton, Virginia. 

For more information, visit vvmf.org/twth.

http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150713/NEWS/150718959/1994/NEWS

"The Wall That Heals"

Rail Good Coffee - open from 5:00 to 11:00 AM Monday through Friday

An update to my post from June 26th, the hours that Rail Good Coffee operate were posted to the window when I went by on Monday morning.

Rail Good Coffee hours Mon - Fri

When getting ready to catch the inbound train Thursday morning, I noticed that the doors to the building were open. This had been closed up for a bit after The Cake Bar and Cafe Dolce both gave it a good try. 

They were indeed open. It had just opened earlier that morning. Newspapers had not yet started delivery but were scheduled. Train tickets can be purchased. The menu board had a listing of prices for coffee, etc. 

Stop in to talk with Randy. Buy a coffee before your ride into Boston the next time you go.

menu board at Rail Good Coffee

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/06/rail-good-coffee-now-open-at.html

Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"

The best way to experience Shakespeare is to see a performance in person. To see an outdoor performance is an opportunity that is just around the corner for folks here in Franklin.

The Star Players of MA is collaborating with Dean College to perform "The Taming of the Shrew" in the open on the Dean quad.

This free performance is scheduled for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before the Franklin Cultural Festival kicks off.

• Friday, July 24 - 7:00 PM 
• Saturday, July 25 - 7:00 PM 
• Sunday, July 26 - 2:00 PM

Star Players and Dean College perform Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"

In case of the rain, the performance will move inside to the Chapel in Dean Hall.

For a quick recap of "The Taming of the Shrew" check the wikipedia entry here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Taming_of_the_Shrew

Parmenter Bird House (photo essay)

Saturday's walk gave me a great chance to capture some photos of the new bird house  put in at the entrance to the Parmenter Nature Walk.

One weekend in June, I happened upon a group of parents and 5th graders working to clean up the trail and to prepare for the installation of the bird house.

entrance to Parmenter Nature Trail (bird house now in its own circle of stones to the left of the trail)

The bird house was supposed to be installed that Monday but the weather (rain) prevented that, time went by, it did get installed (sometime) and I finally did get to take some photos (on Saturday).

The group posed for a photo after their trail clean up work (thanks to Mary Jo Peterson for sharing)

The group posed for a photo (thanks to Mary Jo Peterson for sharing)

The bird feeder

front view

memorial plaque

one side view

other side view

full size  view

Photos of the Story Walk from October 2010 can be found here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_sherlock/sets/72157625155278049/

Note: The "Story Walk" is no longer but the trail is what was recently cleaned up

Photos of the Nature Trail from 2008 can be found here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_sherlock/sets/72157606926154439/

MA Ranked 48 of 50 on Fiscal Condition

Given the agreement between the MA House and Senate on the state budget which is now in the Governor's hand to review and vote on, it would be interesting to know how MA finances compare overall with the other states.

Does your state have its fiscal affairs in order? It’s not an easy question to answer, in part because the question can mean so many different things, including:

• Can the state pay its current bills? (cash solvency)

• Will annual revenues be sufficient to cover budgeted expenditures? (budget solvency)

• Are the state’s long-term liabilities—think bonds and loans—sustainable? (long-run solvency)

• How much room is there to raise additional revenue should the need arise? (service-level solvency)

• Can the state meet its pension and health care obligations? (trust fund solvency)

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University has compiled this information in an interactive manner so you can check on the state by state comparison.

Long-run solvency. Can a state meet its long-term spending commitments? Will there be enough money to cushion it from economic shocks or other long-term fiscal risks?

MA does not do well. We are ranked 48 of the 50. Yes, well down the bottom.

You can find the rankings here
http://mercatus.org/statefiscalrankings

The MA summary is here
http://mercatus.org/statefiscalrankings/massachusetts

A video explanation of the process can be found here