A committee of Senators has been working to develop legislation in response to the current wave of opioid drug use. Perhaps the most innovative and possibly controversial concept in the legislation is to verbally screen middle-school and high school students for substance abuse. Your thoughts on this proposed program or any aspect of the legislation would be very welcome.
Author Archives: Will Brownsberger
A Step in the Right Direction
This week the Senate took an important step towards making it easier for people who have gotten in trouble to get out of trouble and get back to work. We voted unanimously to repeal provisions of state law that automatically suspend the driver’s licenses of people convicted of drug offenses and require them to pay reinstatement fees of $500 or more.
Trapelo/Common Intersection
There has been serious confusion at the reworked Trapelo Road/Common Street intersection, especially for traffic coming from Watertown. Everyone involved is very aware of the confusion and are all working together to make the situation safer, including immediate changes listed in this post. The bottom line: Don’t continue across Trapelo on Common except on the straight green.
Cleaning up the Foreclosure Mess
The first major piece of legislation that the Senate will take up this Fall is “An Act clearing titles to foreclosed properties.” The bill in essence states that allegations of defects in foreclosure procedures must be raised within three years. It came through the Judiciary Committee which I chair, and it’s a solid bill that I fully support. Here is some background on this complex issue; please let me hear your questions!
A step forward for commuters
On September 8, the state put out to bid a corridor study for Mount Auburn Street. This is the next step towards improving the permanent traffic snarl at the intersection of Mount Auburn Street and Fresh Pond Parkway. The formal study process won’t start for a couple of months. But it’s not too early to start brainstorming in this space — your comments would be much appreciated.
A New Challenge for Belmont and the MBTA
The MBTA faces an imminent legal obligation to make the Waverley Square station accessible to people with disabilities, and disability access issues face the Belmont Center station as well. We have to contemplate the possibility that we may eventually need to close at least one of Belmont’s commuter rail stations. Representative Rogers and I are committed to ensuring a transparent and public process to examine all the potential options.