CommonWealth Magazine: "Teachers complain about bump down in vaccination line"

 

"TEACHERS UNIONS ARE criticizing changes Gov. Charlie Baker made to the vaccine schedule that elevate those over 65 but push educators and others lower on the priority list, a shift teachers say will delay a return to in-person learning in some districts.

On Monday, Baker said residents aged 65 to 74 are being moved up from the end of Phase 2 of the vaccination schedule to the second spot, joining those with two or more comorbidities just behind the first priority group – those 75 and older.

Teachers, who previously had been behind those over 75 and those with two or more comorbidities, now fall back along with other groups, including transit operators, grocery store employees, and public health workers. Those groups will now wait longer for vaccinations.

“It’s like the Hunger Games,” said Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, in a statement. “They are forcing communities to compete with one another for a scarce resource rather than establishing a fair system with clear rules. We had not opposed the original prioritization list because it had a rational basis and promised to deliver vaccines to educators in February. Now, those hopes may be dashed.”

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health/teachers-complain-about-bump-down-in-vaccination-line/ 

 

Statements from Senate President Karen E. Spilka on climate legislation and Commonwealth address

Statement from Senate President Karen E. Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano

"Today, the Temporary Senate Committee on Ways and Means is advancing the bipartisan climate bill that passed last session.  The Senate and House have scheduled formal sessions for Thursday and will vote once again to take bold action to combat climate change, protect environmental justice communities, and ensure environmentally responsible economic growth."

 

Senate President Karen E. Spilka on State of the Commonwealth Address

“Governor Baker reminded us of the true strength of our Commonwealth – our people. Like the Governor, I am so grateful to the people of Massachusetts for their perseverance during this most difficult year. It is for them that the Massachusetts State Senate has kept working hard throughout this pandemic, and they are the reason we are getting right back to work. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Governor Baker and the House of Representatives on behalf of the people of this great state.”

 

 

Davis Thayer Facilities Analysis SubCommittee Meeting - Jan 28, 2021

Facilities Analysis Sub Committee Meeting

Jan 28, 2021 - 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

Virtual Meeting

 

• Approval of past minutes ​(1/20/21)
• Discussion:
• Continue to evaluate options (Stage 2 of the DT Facility Analysis process)

 

Full agenda (including connection info) https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/agenda_dt_subcom_1.28.21.docx.pdf

 

Davis Thayer Facilities Analysis SubCommittee Meeting - Jan 28, 2021

Franklin School Committee: Budget SubCommittee Meeting - Feb 2, 2021

Budget SubCommittee Meeting

Feb 2, 2021 - 4:30 PM

Virtual Meeting (Link in agenda)

 

FY22 Budget Development 

 

Full agenda (including connection info) https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/agenda-bsc_2-2-20.pdf

  

Franklin School Committee:: Budget SubCommittee Meeting - Feb 2, 2021

FPS: Community Relations SubCommittee Meeting - Jan 28, 2021

Franklin Public Schools

Community Relations SubCommittee Meeting

Jan 28, 2021 - 3:00 PM

Virtual Meeting (Link in agenda)

 

• Approval of January 7th Meeting Minutes
• Legislative Forum
• Generate ideas to support two-way communication
  

 

Full agenda (including connection info)  https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/community_relations_agenda_january_28_2021.docx.pdf

 

 

FPS: Community Relations SubCommittee Meeting - Jan 28, 2021

Tri-County RVTHS Athletics: Captain's Council

Tri-County PRIDE! 

 

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/TriRvths/status/1354132747527348230

 

Tri-County RVTHS Athletics: Captain's Council

 

Boston Globe: “The electoral system was the cause of the inequity”

"In Everett today, white, non-Hispanic residents make up less than 44 percent of the population, but they dominate city government. Seventy-five percent of the elected councilors and school committee members are white.

That’s no accident, critics say; it’s a natural outgrowth of the city’s electoral system.

Everett is one of several cities in Massachusetts where all local officials are elected at-large, and none by individual wards or districts. For years, civil rights specialists have called that a recipe for exclusion. White residents, even as a minority, often vote as a bloc and drown out the voices of Black and brown voters. Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit legal organization, recently put Everett councilors on notice that they’re vulnerable to a challenge under the Voting Rights Act.

“There’s no shot against anybody because they’re a white man or a white woman. We are violating the federal Voting Rights Act,” Everett City Councilor Gerly Adrien, the first Black woman to serve on the council, warned her colleagues at a December council meeting."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/01/26/metro/how-underrepresented-candidates-mass-communities-can-be-squelched-by-electoral-systems/

Editorial note: Voting for our Town Council or School Committee by precinct rather than "at-large" (as we do today) may be more of a consideration as our population grows. In the meantime, there are other practical ways to increase the diversity of candidates for our local government and ensure a fair and equitable voice "in the room where it happens." We do need to work at being a government "of the people, by the people, for the people."