Letter regarding process of government web site development

Senator Brownsberger passed on the ideas of a constituent for improving the process by whicvh government enters into contracts for web site development. December 9, 2013     John Letchford Chief Information Officer and    Assistant Secretary Administration & Finance 1 Ashburton Place, Room 804 Boston, MA 02108  Dear Mr. Letchford,  I have recently met …

Charles River Basin Connectivity Study

On Tuesday night, I attended a community meeting hosted by DCR and MassDOT to present the Charles River Basin Bike and Pedestrian Connectivity Study. This study was commissioned as part of Governor Patrick’s Accelerated Bridge Program to identify connectivity gaps that place constraints on bike and pedestrian traffic throughout the Charles River Basin and make …

Video games and violence

About this time last year, after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a constituent from Watertown approached me with concern about the role that “first person shooter” games play in training people to commit acts of violence.  We developed and, with the support of Representatives Hecht and Lawn from Watertown, filed legislation to study …

Natural gas: cost of extending service

Natural gas is getting cheaper and is projected to stay cheaper than oil for the foreseeable future, due to reserves discovered in New England and new techniques for extraction (the infamous ‘fracking’). Looking around in my town, Lexington, there are thousands of houses heated with oil and propane. The snug is that extension of gas …

Early Voting and other election reforms (H 3772)

I’m glad to see the House passed H 3772 (Early voting) and I hope the Senate works on passing it as well. It’s about time we made it easier for people to vote — we are way behind many other states in this area. Editors note, May 23, 2014: Please see this post for information …

Senate passes Minimum Wage Increase

Please find below the text of a senate press release on our bill to increase the minimum wage. I was pleased to support this legislation.  While a recognize that a drastic increase could have a severe impact on jobs and that even a modest increase will lead to job reductions in a few businesses, I’m …