The People’s Blog

During the Ways and Means hearing I co-chaired with Representative Andy Vargas at Greenfield Community College in early March, we heard comprehensive testimony from Healey-Driscoll Administration [...]

On Wednesday, March 6, I received a Legislator of the Year Award from the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) —- an organization dedicated to supporting people living with [...]

On February 10, an article listing 11 places in Massachusetts that could be ghost towns by 2100 came across my desk. Five of these 11 towns are in Franklin County. […]

This session we are going to make community college free in Massachusetts. It’s an incredible opportunity, and a very complex policy that we have to get right. As Senate Chair […]

Last week, the Joint Committee on Ways and Means kicked off hearings on Governor Healey’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal. (Just as a reminder: The budget process begins with a […]

On February 1, the Senate debated a comprehensive gun safety bill, S.2572, An Act to sensibly address firearm violence through effective reform—the SAFER Act. The following is a summary of […]

This month, my team and I are celebrating five years of service to the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district — that’s 175,000 people in 25 remarkable communities within three counties in […]

Joe Tringali — a 45-year member of the Stavros Center for Independent Living; a passionate, beloved, and fierce leader in the disability justice movement — passed away on December 27. […]

Today, I spoke on the Senate floor in support of An Act facilitating better interactions between police officers and persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The bill passed the Senate with […]

Author Margaret Wheatley wrote, “Whatever the problem, community is the answer.” In that important observation, she captures my own love, appreciation, and respect for local service. [...]