Stricter Seat Belt Laws — continued

Thanks to all who have commented on my previous piece on seat belts. I have read all of your comments and am duly informed. On balance, the comments make me less likely to support the legislation. Perhaps the best argument against the proposed new law is that there are a lot of more important laws on the books that we are not enforcing today.

Belmont legislators and stakeholders weigh in on Gov. Baker’s opioid bill

The Belmont Citizen-Herald asked Senator Brownsberger about his stance on “One of the more controversial components of the bill would expand the state’s civil commitment laws by allowing doctors to involuntarily commit drug addicts for up to 72 hours without a court order.” Senator Brownsberger replied, “I am not sure it (the 72-hour hold provision) translates so readily into the opioid context.” And he added, “I am giving it a lot of study over the next few weeks. I am pleased to see the governor has some great people working on this issue.”

Chabot: Gov. Charlie Baker ripped over rehirees

Senator Brownsberger commented for the Boston Herald? on the rehiring of 70 MassDOT employees after they participated in the early retirement program. “When you really do the math and you factor in the true value of the increased pension benefits, it works out to a $90,000 gift to each person retiring,” said state Sen. William N. Brownsberger (D-Belmont), referring to the bump-up in pension benefits that were awarded to get people to accept early retirement. He added that refilling those jobs defeated the purpose. “The savings only happens if you keep the person off the payroll. So, to the extent that people are coming back, the economics looks worse.”

Bowker Overpass Repairs Update

The Bowker Overpass Repair Project is moving towards completion. Phase 4 demolition started last week and will continue into December on the western lane of the northbound side of the overpass. This is the final phase of demolition, which has been the noisiest and most disruptive work for neighbors. The repair project is expected to be complete by summer of 2016.

I-90 Allston Interchange Project Finance

The funding for the highway component of this project will come from toll money. However, the rest of the project remains without identified funding sources. At both the state and federal level there is a finite amount of money available for transit projects. Solving the funding challenges for this project is a top priority for Senator Brownsberger and other neighborhood legislators.