Dear Neighbor,
This is an extremely busy time in the legislature, with multiple budgets (FY 27, supplemental, and Fair Share) and lots of bills. When we passed the FY 27 budget, I spoke about how our constrained budgets are not keeping up with the needs of the increasing numbers of older adults.
Last week, I was happy we passed the Retirement Plus bill; I'd heard from many teachers about its importance. Coming up soon are comprehensive bills on child welfare, primary care, and energy affordability.
Also last week the House and Senate finally - after months of language review - gave final approval to our Archaic Language bill, which I wrote about here.
I'm focusing on passing bills I've worked on for many years - before the end of formal sessions on July 31. After that, only non-controversial bills can be taken up. Among them: Wrongful Convictions, Medical Parole, Home Care Licensure, establishng a Transgender Commission, and Rent Stabilization.
Compromise on rent stabilization?
Homes for All has gathered enough signatures to place on the ballot in November a question that would create a strong rent stabilization law across the commonwealth. They have negotiated a compromise with some major real estate developers. If the legislature passes it this month, both sides could avoid an expensive and divisive campaign. WBUR reported on the compromise; here's a link to details.
The opposition focuses on the fact that the ballot question is state-wide. The compromise is local option. The opposition says the ballot question is too strict. The compromise has higher limits on rent increases, longer exemptions for new development, and the opportunity for local rent boards to consider special circumstances like property tax increases.
The developers involved say that this less restrictive, local option bill would not stop production of new housing.
If the legislature adopts the compromise by July 1, Homes for All has agreed to take the more restrictive and universal question off the ballot.
Death Master File
You may remember the case of an 82-year old Seattle man who stopped getting his Social Security payments. His wife received a condolence note from the bank, who'd been told by Social Security he was dead. (I wrote about this story in 2025.)
Now it turns out 6000 people were marked as dead by Social Securit last year, in an attempt to scare immigrants into leaving. That was a scaled down version of a plan by DOGE, revealed this week, to classify 2.7 million people as dead. Luckily, that larger plan was dropped.
Poop Blitz in the Fells
The Friends of the Fells collected more than 100 pounds of dog waste during “PoopBlitz,” an 2-hour event where volunteers removed harmful pet poop from the Middlesex Fells. Friends of the Fells has installed two pilot pet waste stations in collaboration with DCR's Be Kind campaign. Thanks to Gotta Know Medford for this news!
Sewage in the river? in your basement?
In 2021, we passed a bill by former Rep. Denise Provost and me, requiring notification of residents when there are Combined Sewer Overflow discharges into rivers. (More on that here.). You can sign up here to be notified of discharges here. More awareness has added to activism to stop these discharges, especially into Alewife Brook. The cleanup will cost up to four billion dollars, as Mayor Jake Wilson points out in a Globe op ed. How much of a cleanup to do, and who will pay for it are open questions.
My favorite part of summer:
For 40 years, children, teens and adults have learned circus skills from the OPENAIR Circus. Everyone of all ages is welcome to learn new skills and join the circus community!
Classes this year include Costuming/Set Design, Baton Twirling*, Devil Sticks*, Diabolo*, Hula Hoops*, Jumprope, Juggling*, Poi*, Stilting*, Tiny Tots Trio, Unicycling*, and Yo-yo. Classes with asterisks are offered at beginning and intermediate levels. All classes are an hour, except Tiny Tots, which is 30 minutes.
Classes begin June 24 and run through July 23, with performances August 1-3. Classes will be 4:30pm-7:30pm on Tuesdays at Prospect Hill Park and Wednesdays at Powderhouse Park in Somerville.
Registration is free. A donation of $30 per person, $50 per family is suggested but not required and includes as many classes as the student wants.
For more information, including schedule, online registration, and infectious disease precautions, go to www.openaircircus.org
Advice of the Month:
People ask what I plan to do when I retire. I quote Barney Frank: “I tell people that in retirement you should have two lists. A bucket list, and another list that rhymes with bucket.”
Trivia Winners:
Seven readers correctly answered that 1496 of the 1499 refugees admitted to the US in the past 6 months were Afrikaners. Three were from Afghanistan. On the other hand, translators and other Afghan allies and their families who risked their lives for American troops are now banned from entry to the US and are faced with detention and possible deportation, Some may be moved to places like the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Stay in touch,
Pat Jehlen