The People's Blog

Greetings, We have a Senate budget!  Read on for a summary of our team’s budget priorities, followed by a calendar of events (and pictures of the cutest possible goat and lamb). On Thursday [...]

Greetings, MassDOT will be terminating the proposed roundabout project at Hatfield and North King Streets. MassDOT has expressed that its decision stems largely from the public comments they [...]

Greetings,  The top of this newsletter is all about redistricting. The bottom half contains a lot of important updates. Once every decade, the U.S. takes a census — a count — of the people living [...]

As part of my commitment to equity and opportunity in education, I introduced legislation to amend state law requiring the MCAS test to be used as a high school graduation requirement and as the [...]

Join me in celebrating the dozen incredible humans who are helping to power the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester State Senate team. These interns and public health fellows are engaged in issue [...]

Greetings, Beginning Monday, April 19, all Massachusetts residents ages 16 and older become eligible for a COVID vaccine. Since the vaccine first became available, Sam Hopper from our team has [...]

Greetings,  Read on for an invitation to an April 26 Town Hall where we’ll look together to the future of our district, post-COVID. The legislature jumped right into the 2021-2022 session. In [...]

Today the Senate passed important legislation that aims directly at workers and employers recovering from the COVID pandemic and economic crisis. As shots go into arms, and federal American [...]

Today the Senate sent an omnibus climate — A Next Generation Climate Roadmap — bill to the House, before it goes to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Here are 10 things to know: [...]

On Wednesday, February 24, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) collaborated with our [...]

Greetings, This Thursday, I am convening a Legislative oversight hearing on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as the Senate Chair of the newly-formed Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency [...]

Greetings,  We’re writing with a reminder of MassDOT’s virtual public meeting and virtual public information platform which will stay open through this evening.  Related documents and meeting [...]

At the beginning of every legislative session, the House and Senate vote on their own chamber’s rules and what are called “Joint Rules.” In Massachusetts, the initial consideration of bills takes [...]

Greetings,  What follows is another update regarding the Northampton roundabout project. As we shared on January 12, MassDOT explained that it would be conducting a public process to evaluate and [...]

It’s a new day. Yesterday, all eyes were on Washington, D.C. as President Biden and Vice President Harris were sworn into office — elected by a people determined to make this nation a place [...]

Greetings, We’re writing again in partnership with Representative Sabadosa to share a fourth update on the archeological site in Northampton and the construction of the roundabout.*** You may [...]

Tuesday was a whirlwind. There’s really no other word. I came to think on Wednesday morning (Jan. 6), mindful that our last day of the previous session (Tuesday, Jan. 5) stretched until 4:30 [...]

Greetings from our district, We won’t soon forget 2020 and the countless ways that people and communities rose to the daunting challenges of a historic global pandemic, massive economic crisis, [...]

On December 15, Representative Jim Hawkins and I sent the following letter to the Joint Committee on Education Chairs Lewis and Peisch regarding the urgent need to waive the MCAS graduation [...]

Conference Committee Report on S.2963, An Act Relative to Justice, Equity, and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth In June, in the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd and [...]

It’s outrageous — the pesticide the state uses in its mosquito spraying program has been found to contain PFAS, a group of highly toxic chemicals. In a Boston Globe article that was published [...]

I delivered these remarks during the Senate FY21 budget debate: I ask for unanimous consent to make a brief statement. Madam President, I’d like to speak to amendment number 82 — Revenue for a [...]

During the FY21 Senate budget debate, I recorded this video message about why we must cancel MCAS.  

I delivered these remarks during the Senate FY21 budget debate: I ask for unanimous consent to make a brief statement. Please let me take a moment to extend my deep thanks to the Senate President [...]

Greetings, all. As many have said, in the hours following this weekend’s seismic news: The work begins anew. To build a nation — a Commonwealth — with dignity and respect for all. A place [...]

(I offered these remarks at an 11/4 Every Vote Count rally in Northampton.) You are beautiful. Thank you to Debby Pastrich-Klemer and all who organized today. Thank you to MoveOn, Indivisible, [...]

Did you know that many low-income people with MassHealth coverage who are over age 55 have to pay back the state for the cost of their medical care — after they die? It’s true: The “Estate [...]

Greetings from your State House, As fall rushes in, I’m reminded of the unparalleled beauty of our district. This email is event-packed, including information on a day-long paddle down the [...]

The following letter went out on October 15 to constituents who emailed or phoned about the Commonwealth’s eviction crisis. There is a great deal of misinformation about the legislation [...]

What’s Happening? Department of Revenue (DOR) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) are doing a report on “the equity, predictability and accuracy of the method of [...]

Greetings from your State House, Transitions. Everywhere. And uncertainty. We’re in the grips of a massively high-stakes election cycle. Amid an ongoing pandemic and economic crisis — rife with [...]

This is a joint response from Mindy and Jo — as we work as partners in our accountability to the University of Massachusetts Amherst and its wider community.  This is an absolutely wrenching time [...]

All year long, our team benefits immeasurably from the skilled, dedicated, and passionate work of interns and fellows. We welcome interns in the fall, spring, and summer. This summer’s crew, amid [...]

A public hearing has just been announced for An Act responding to the COVID-19 emergency by instituting a moratorium of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. Hearing details: The [...]

On Friday, the Senate passed the Conference Committee Report for what was called the General Government / IT Bond Bill, a $1.8 billion investment to modernize our Commonwealth’s general [...]

Greetings, We’re writing again in partnership with Representative Sabadosa and Congressman McGovern, to share a third timely update on the archeological site in Northampton and the construction [...]

Greetings from your State House, July was a sprint inside a marathon. During any other two-year session of the General Court, July 31 of the second year would have marked the final day of what’s [...]

Thank you to everyone who raised your voices about S.2842, An Act to encourage new development and usher in a recovering economy, otherwise known as (The ENDURE Act), an economic development and [...]

Information alone is powerful Earlier this week, I sent an email to constituents who had weighed in on K-12 education which contained links to guidance from DESE. I believe all constituents [...]

Rep. Mindy Domb and I wanted to provide some clarification on the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s plan to return students in the fall and the University’s budget picture. These are [...]

EDIT TO ORIGINAL POST: All, I imagined this post to be about information sharing — getting what a state agency said out to constituents so that everyone has the same information, BUT I fear that [...]

On July 16, the House and Senate enacted the final version of the Mosquito Control Reform bill and today the Governor signed the bill into law. I wanted to provide a summary of the bill and how [...]

I was honored to be appointed by Senate President Spilka to the Senate Advisory Group on Racial Justice, which generated the initial text of the Reform, Shift + Build Act. My team’s contribution [...]

Early on Tuesday morning (like, 4:30 AM early) the State Senate passed S.2800, known as the Reform, Shift + Build Act, by a vote of 30 – 7. The comprehensive bill is designed to increase [...]

Meet Seth McKenzie. Seth is one of the incredible interns on the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester team this summer. He has a message for all of us about the power of Gen Z. The power of the vote. [...]

Thank you for your strong advocacy for the expansion of voting rights and the ability to vote by mail during COVID-19. I’m delighted to tell you that this week the Governor signed An Act relative [...]

This statement was updated in February 2021: Rep. Sabadosa and I drafted this joint statement. It’s the second communication we’ve sent out on the issue of the Northampton roundabout. [...]

In response to resounding calls for racial justice, the Senate’s An Act to Reform Police Standards and Shift Resources to Build a More Equitable, Fair and Just Commonwealth that Values Black [...]