Click the map to zoom in on the district.
Please note: accuracy not verified.
Tuesday, April 24th
The Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR) will hold a meeting to discuss the feasibility of
providing a pedestrian crossing over the Mystic River in the Vicinity of
the Amelia Earhart Dam located in Somerville and Everett, Massachusetts
at Winter Hill Yacht Club, 85 Foley St., Somerville, at 7:00 p.m.
Sludge Plant Update:
Good News!! MEPA
has extended the comment period for us from Feb. 26 to March 10th.
Below is the place that you should send letters once they are fully
prepared.
Letters should be sent to Nicholas
Zavolas, MEPA Analyst by March 10 by
fax, e-mail or snail mail:
Update: Boston Water and Sewer
Commission Proposes Locating Sludge Plant
The Sludge plant continues to be a messy situation. Last month, the BWSC
stated that they had not agreed to re-file their proposal which would
have allowed the citizens of Charlestown, Everett and Somerville to
weigh in on the situation. That blatantly contradicts statements made to
me by former Secretary of Environmental Affairs, Bob Golledge.
In response, the City of Everett recently filed a “Third Party Change of
Notice,” which is required whenever there is a material change to a
project, such as “change of project site or address". The Boston Water &
Sewer Commission’s original applied to the Executive Office of
Environmental Affairs (EOEA) to locate the sludge plant in South Boston
but decided to relocate the plant due to community opposition. Everett
filed the Change of Notice as a third party in order to assert its
jurisdiction arguing that the sludge facility abuts Everett land.
Everett is petitioning the EOEA to reopen the process to give residents
of Everett, Somerville, and Charlestown the right to voice their
opinions on the location of the plant. Having a third party file a
change of notice is relatively unusual; most of the time the proponent
of a project who files a Notice of Project Change petition. If Everett
is indeed an abutter, the Everett Conservation Commission will have
jurisdiction, as well as Boston. Stay tuned.
Senator Barrios is recognized for his
efforts in support of gay marriage
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Religious
Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (RCFM) honored Cambridge Democrats
Sen. Jarrett Barrios and Rep. Alice Wolf for their efforts to stop the
anti-gay marriage petition. Feel free to check out the
full article from the Cambridge Chronicle.
Watch Senator Barrios' show
"The State of Safety: Is Mass. Safer 5 years after 9/11?"
Somerville Community Access Television
(SCAT) Channel 3:
Every Tuesday at 4:00pm
Fighting Crime
Senator Barrios has worked to get tough
on crime and the causes of crime. As Chair of the Public Safety and
Homeland Security Committee he created and passed an $11 million Charles
E. Shannon Gang Prevent Grant program in honor of the former Senator and
Winchester policeman. The grant program funded youth programs and gang
prevention activities in cities throughout the state, including
Somerville. In 2005 and 2006 he secured worked with Somerville’s mayor
and legislative delegation to secure a $250,000 budget amendment to
support anti-gang prevention and youth leadership programs in
Somerville.
Green Line Extension with Spur
to Union Square
Senator Barrios led the fight in the
legislature to force the state to live up to its commitment to build the
Green Line extension from Lechmere station through Somerville. In 2005,
working with Somerville
Transportation Equity Partnership and Mayor Joe Curtatone, he won a
big victory for residents in Somerville when the state announced the
Green Line extension would include a spur to Union Square. He is now
working with Senator Jehlen and the rest of Somerville’s delegation to
make sure the state stays on track to complete the Green Line extension
by 2014.
Increasing Access to
the Mystic River
Senator Barrios has long been an advocate
for the Mystic River, promoting increased awareness and access for
residents who live along the river. In 2006, he was honored as a “Mystic
River Mover and Shaker” by the Mystic River Watershed Association for
his work to protect the Mystic River. He is now leading the effort to
create a Mystic River Legislative Caucus to help push advocate for the
Mystic River in the State House.
In 2006, he secured $250,000 to support a Mystic River Master Plan to
help guide the state’s activities along the Mystic River. Because of
Senator Barrios’ involvement he has secured a promise from the state’s
parks agency to include the lower Mystic communities of East Somerville,
Charlestown, Chelsea and Everett in the Master Plan.
Senator Barrios has been actively working to increase access to the
Mystic River by pushing the state to develop a bike and pedestrian
crossing across the Amelia Earhart Dam. The Mystic Crossing project
would connect Somerville to Everett and would allow residents in
northern communities with quick and easy access to Assembly Square and
Sullivan Square. Additionally, Senator Barrios has been actively pushing
the state to quickly design and create a bike and pedestrian path along
the Mystic River bordering the MBTA bus facility in Charlestown that
would link the Amelia Earhart Dam area with the Rte. 99 bridge.
Supported effort to
increase education funding
Over the last five years public schools
in the Commonwealth have struggled to keep up with rising education
costs. In its Fiscal Year 2007 budget the legislature acknowledged this
reality and increased education funding to cities and towns. While
altering the formula that provides Chapter 70 aid to localities, Senator
Barrios and the State Senate also drove the legislature’s efforts to
increase overall funding for education. In its Chapter 70 increases the
legislature removed the 4.5% cap on inflation to better reflect the
inflation rate of close to 6% for FY ’07; increased the English language
learner per pupil allotment by $50 and increased the low income student
per pupil allotment by $25. Under this new formula, Somerville will get
$19,994,839 in Chapter 70 funding in FY 2007, an increase of $200,000
from the current formula.
Cleaning Up Foss Park
Senator Barrios partnered with Representative Sciortino, Senator Jehlen
and the Foss Park Neighborhood Association to pressure the state’s parks
agency – the Department of Conservation and Recreation (or DCR) – to
take better care of Foss Park with better lighting, more law care and
trash clean-up.
Somerville's
recreation commission offers a men's and women's basketball league
with different divisions.
The
Boys & Girls Clubs
has three locations in Somerville. Contact the individual location for
information on what programs are offered.
CASPAR Youth
Services is a non-profit organization that provides prevention,
intervention and treatment services to people affected by alcoholism,
focusing on young people.
Somerville
Community Corporation is a membership organization that develops
and preserves affordable housing and leads community organizing
projects to support low to moderate income residents.
Community
Action Agency of Somerville works to help low-income people in
Somerville become self-sufficient while also addressing the root
causes of poverty. CAAS runs the Head Start program, which provides
comprehensive services to more than 200 children ages 3-5 and their
low-income families at three locations, including the Allen Street
center that opened in 2005. CAAS also offers an eviction prevention
program and a leadership development program for Latino youth. CAAS
helps to coordinate the efforts of many Somerville and Cambridge
agencies to prevent homelessness and to put low-income families on
the path to economic self-sufficiency. For more information, or to
volunteer, call (617) 623-7370. Look for the new CAAS website, under
construction at
www.caasomerville.org, later this summer.
The Jarrett Barrios
Website is privately paid for and authorized by
The Barrios Committee, Daniel Schlozman, Treasurer
PO Box 391254, Cambridge, MA 02139
Problems? Contact
webmaster@senatorbarrios.org
