The Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill that would direct the state to provide menstrual products free of cost in schools, correctional facilities, and shelters.

It's already election time again. I need your help to get on the ballot, and to let other people know about my work.
Due to redistricting, state senate, state representative, and Congressional districts have changed. For my district, the change is in parts of Cambridge, but some of you will have other changes. There's information on redistricting at the end of the newsletter.

My last newsletter included Boston Globe articles explaining the problems with "clawbacks" and "overpayments" in unemployment benefits.
This one tells about broader problems in the unemployment system, how my staff helped individual constituents, and what I have done as Senate chair of Labor and Workforce Development to solve problems.

The problems with unemployment insurance are many and complex. This is the the first of two newsletters on people being asked to repay "overpayments" even if they did nothing wrong. It's based on important reporting by Larry Edelman and Shirley Leung of the Globe's Business section.

Some recent items in the media help show some of my work.

First, the UGLY: watering down the CSO law
You may remember that, after many years of work, on January 4, the last night of the last session, Rep. Denise Provost, Rep. Linda Dean Campbell and I passed a bill requiring notification of the public when sewage is discharged into rivers. Here's one report on the bill and a previous newsletter on the issue.

Speculators are driving up prices, blocking new home-buyers, and promoting destabilization of neighborhoods, displacement of long-time residents, and gentrification.

Is this inevitable?

When I moved to Somerville, 3-deckers were the way many working families were able to buy their homes, with multiple generations in the apartments or tenants helping pay off the mortgage. (On left, 3-deckers on Marion Street in my neighborhood.)

On Labor Day we celebrate working people, and the achievements of the union movement which make our families more secure and make our society and economy stronger. Among them: unemployment insurance, minimum wage, and workplace safety regulations.

The experience of the pandemic has underscored the vital role of all those protections, and shows we need to act to strengthen them.

Almost everyone recognizes that making people homeless during a pandemic is dangerous to their health and a threat to public health.

Local, state and federal governments have declared multiple (overlapping, confusing and limited) moratoria and created funds with billions of dollars in potential aid to keep people in their homes.

This newsletter is about a candidates' forum in Somerville focused on senior issues AND about the new rest home in Somerville.

Here are some news items you may find useful, or want to pass on to others.