Controversial transgender bill headed for vote in House, Senate

The Boston Globe reports that on Friday, the co-chairmen of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, Senator William N. Brownsberger and Representative John V. Fernandes, told the Globe that committee members were being polled on two versions of the bill. Brownsberger, the Senate chairman, said he believes both versions of the bill “are intended to fully protect transgender people from discrimination.”

Breakthrough on transgender rights bill?

The Lowell Sun reports on the transgender bill to be debated on May 12th according to Senate President Stanley Rosenberg who said, “I am glad to hear the Joint Committee on the Judiciary plans to release the Senate and House Public Accommodations bills,” Rosenberg said. “The Senate has been prepared to debate this since November, and we will go forward as planned on May 12th with our debate. It is imperative that legislators get a bill to the Governor’s desk as quickly as possible to end discrimination under the law for all transgender individuals. I thank Senate Chair Will Brownsberger, Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, and the other members of the committee for their leadership in moving this bill forward.”

Changing Expectations for the Green Line

At our recent forum about the Green Line’s future, MBTA General Manager Frank DePoala offered hope for continuous improvement of reliability and modest resulting capacity increases, but no hope for big capacity increases within the visible planning horizon. The dose of reality he offered about the long term will require some time to digest.

Senior CharlieCard Day in Watertown on May 11

Senator Brownsberger is sponsoring a Senior CharlieCard Day on Wednesday, May 11, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Watertown Senior Center, 31 Marshall Street, Watertown. Seniors age 65 or older can save a trip to the MBTA offices in Downtown Boston and apply for a Senior CharlieCard at the Senior Center on this one day. Staff from the office of Senator Brownsberger will be on hand to take a photo and process applications which will be provided.

New Commuter Rail Schedules which will go into effect on Monday, May 23, 2016

Last fall Keolis and the MBTA announced new Commuter Rail schedules but delayed implementation – those schedules were rolled out with limited notice and limited public input.  Secretary Pollack  postponed the rollout to this spring …