After the tragic death of a Belmont child, I have received several inquiries about what could be done to prevent such an occurrence in the future.
Blanchard Road Traffic
Blanchard Road residents have ongoing concerns about traffic congestion, truck traffic and speed.
Information on the House and Senate Safe Driving Bills
Many have expressed interest and concern about the safe driving bills. Here is a status report.
Speeding
Will, In yesterday’s Globe, I read that Denise Provost has sponsored a bill to reduce urban speed limits by 5 mph in the state. Here’s the article: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2010/06/by_danielle_dreilingerglobe_co.html In a collision with a pedestrian, a 5 mph reduction in speed makes a huge difference in the probability of injury. There’s a chart that illustrates this …
Municipal Health Insurance in Conference Committee
What is the status of the health insurance bill? I remain very concerned that this will be done in a way that allows municipalities to make unilateral changes in negotiated labor agreements — I gather that such a power is in fact a provision of the Senate bill, but NOT of the House bill.
State Stabilization Fund
The state’s stabilization (or “rainy day”) fund is designed to buoy the state through tough economic times, and it has certainly been used in the recent recession. This post will examine the set-up of the fund, the recent history of its use, and its future in getting the state through the Great Recession. The stabilization …