Archive for March, 2010
Posted in: Articles, Updates on 03/31/2010 | No Comments
Orlando Claffey/Wicked Local staff photographer
State Rep. Cory Atkins talks with constituents during a campaign event at Ichabod's Cafe in Acton March 27.
By Patrick Ball/Staff Writer
Concord Journal
Posted Mar 31, 2010 @ 06:36 PM
Concord —
Seeking reelection for a seventh term, state Rep. Cory Atkins is knocking on wood that she doesn’t have an opponent and on doors in support of her colleagues who do.
The Democrat from Concord announced March 27 she was seeking reelection, standing beside state Rep. Jen Benson, D-Lunenburg, and U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, during an afternoon reception at Ichabod’s Café in Acton. State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, and state Rep. Charley Murphy, D-Burlington, dropped by to support Atkins and her pals.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Peter Judge, MEMA PIO
March 29, 2010 (508) 820-2002
GOVERNOR PATRICK ANNOUNCES FEDERAL FLOOD AID ON ITS WAY
Financial Assistance Available for Individuals & Businesses in 7 Counties
BOSTON, MA – Governor Deval Patrick announced this evening that federal aid will become available to Massachusetts individuals and businesses hardest hit by the most recent flooding events. The assistance was authorized under a Major Federal Disaster Declaration issued by President Barack Obama after a review of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s analysis of Governor Patrick’s request for federal assistance for those most impacted by the flooding beginning on March 12, 2010 and continuing. The Massachusetts congressional delegation advocated strongly in support of the request.
The President’s action makes Individual Assistance (IA) Programs available to affected homeowners, renters and businesses in a 7 county area. The counties include Essex, Middlesex, Worcester, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth Counties. Given this week’s storm and anticipated flooding, the Governor will expand his request to cover any damage resulting from the ongoing weather event.
“I am thankful to President Obama for recognizing the havoc the storm and flooding has inflicted on communities across the Commonwealth,” said Governor Patrick. “Now that our request for a disaster declaration has been granted, critical federal aid can reach the individuals, families and businesses that need it the most. People dealing with effects of this week’s storm can rest assured we stand ready to make a request for additional assistance so they can get the help we anticipate they’ll need.”
The available Individual Assistance Programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) include Individuals and Households Programs (IHP), Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Crisis Counseling, Legal Assistance, Tax Relief, and Small Business Administration Disaster Loans. This assistance will assist individuals and businesses in their recovery from the impacts of flooding.
Individuals and business owners, who sustained losses in the designated counties, can initiate the application for assistance process by calling the FEMA Teleregistration numbers: 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired or registering on-line at www.fema.gov. The toll-free Teleregistration numbers will operate Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 1:00am, on weekends – Saturday and Sunday from 7:00am to 10:00pm, until further notice.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is the state agency responsible for coordinating federal, state, local, voluntary and private resources during emergencies and disasters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. MEMA provides leadership to: develop plans for effective response to all hazards, disasters or threats; train emergency personnel to protect the public; provide information to the citizenry; and assist individuals, families, businesses and communities to mitigate against, prepare for, and respond to and recover from emergencies, both natural and man made.
For additional information about MEMA and Winter & Flooding Preparedness, go to www.mass.gov/mema. Follow MEMA updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Posted in: Articles, Updates on 03/27/2010 | No Comments
By Jennifer Myers, jmyers@lowellsun.com
Updated: 03/27/2010 06:35:42 AM EDT
ACTON — State Rep. Cory Atkins, D-Concord, will kick off her re-election campaign at 2 p.m. today at Ichabod’s Cafe on Great Road in Acton.
Atkins, 63, first elected to the Fourteenth Middlesex District seat in 1998, is seeking a seventh term. The district includes Concord, Carlisle, and parts of Acton and Chelmsford.
In her capacity as the vice chair of the House Committee on Rules, Atkins worked with Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo on a rules-reform package that limits the speaker’s term to a maximum of eight years and gives the speaker the authority to unilaterally remove a member from a committee or leadership position if he or she is indicted.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2009
CONCORD RTE. 2 PROJECT RECEIVES GREEN LIGHT FOR FEDERAL RECOVERY FUNDS
“Shovel-ready” project advertised for bid
BOSTON – Tuesday, March 24, 2009 – The Patrick Administration and local legislators today announced that a Route 2 resurfacing project in Concord has been advertised for bid as one of the “shovel-ready” transportation projects using federal highway stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The project advertised Saturday involves the resurfacing of two sections of Route 2 in Concord totaling about 2.25 miles in length – Walden Street to Sudbury Road and from Old Road to Nine Acre Corner to Route 2A. It has a project value of $5 million.
Massachusetts has received the authority from the federal government to spend a total of $437.9 million on highway projects through the federal recovery law. At least $153.2 million will be committed to “shovel-ready” projects that will be advertised by June 27, 2009.
“Funds from the President’s recovery bill come to us at a critical moment, and we are well prepared to put these funds to work,” said Governor Patrick. “Thanks to a careful review process, we will soon have shovels in the ground on necessary road and bridge projects throughout the Commonwealth and start to put people back to work.”
“This investment will enable much needed repairs on one of the most heavily-trafficked roadways in Concord, while simultaneously creating jobs in our community. I want to thank Governor Patrick and Lt. Governor Murray for their support of this project, as well as for their efforts to ensure that the funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are used to create jobs and make much needed investments in our infrastructure,” said Congresswoman Niki Tsongas.
“Local officials have been working with the state highway department on Route 2 improvements for many years,” said Senator Susan Fargo. “This is a solid step in the right direction and I am pleased to see federal stimulus funds put into action.”
“I’m delighted that this project is included as one of the “shovel-ready” transportation projects,” said Representative Cory Atkins. “Route 2 is used by thousands of commuters. It is critical for the economic development of the state.”
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Posted in: Newsletters on 03/23/2010 | No Comments
When you sign up for our newsletter, you’ll periodically receive updates from Rep. Atkins.
You can unsubscribe at any time.
Representatives Atkins and Benson and Senator Eldridge help present the Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council with a Gold Star Award.
Each year, the Gold Star Award program recognizes model projects funded through the Local Cultural Council Program. Gold Star Projects build common ground among people of diverse interests and cultures, engage people in community life, and foster community pride. The cultural program “Re-Visioning Acton: A Creative Model-Building Activity,” funded by the Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council, received a Gold Star Award.
On March 4, the Massachusetts Cultural Council honored the project and the funding Local Cultural Council as part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the MCC’s Local Cultural Councils at the State House.
Read below of a description of the project:
Re-Visioning Acton: A Creative Model Building Activity:
Nominated by the Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council
Architect and MCC creative teaching partner Ann Sussman led Re-Visioning Acton as a community planning and design project that invited residents to explore alternative possibilities for an underutilized local intersection. Through public workshops, exhibitions, and internet accessibility, participants used large scale aerial maps, planning diagrams, craft materials, and online 3-D virtual reality site “Second Life” to create their own vision of an improved and walk-able community.
By Patrick Ball/Staff Writer
Panel of four area state legislators (from left, Rep. Cory Atkins, Sen. James Eldridge, Rep. Kate Hogan and Rep. Jennifer Benson) at the sixth annual Forum on Family Homelessness, held at First Parish in Concord on Feb. 28.
Concord Journal
Posted Mar 04, 2010 @ 01:34 PM
The world is at war. People are running out of food and water. Men, women and children are spending their nights in shelters or on the streets.
It is, the Rev. Liz Walker says, a Kairos moment.
“We are living in a time that we’ve never seen, and we may never see again of global economic meltdown,” Walker said Sunday afternoon at First Parish in Concord. “Now is a Kairos moment. … From the pulpit, I would say this is a moment when God says, ‘Don’t make me come down there.’”
And that’s why Walker was OK with preaching to the choir as keynote speaker at the “How Faith Communities Can Help end Homelessness: A New Vision,” the sixth annual forum on family homelessness, co-sponsored by the Advocacy Network to End Family Homelessness and the Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries.
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Posted in: Articles, Updates on 03/04/2010 | No Comments
By State House News Service
Concord Journal
Posted Mar 04, 2010 @ 12:30 PM
Concord —
A state representative on Wednesday called for local public safety officials to have quick access to gas main controls when a leak occurs.
Rep. Cory Atkins, a Concord Democrat, said that during construction of a new elementary school in her district a problem occurred with one of the gas mains. But the company that owns the gas line is in Framingham and their representatives have to make a lengthy trip to Concord, she told the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, which is investigating gas leaks and explosions that have occurred around the state.
“Everybody was standing around, wondering if anything was going to blow in the hour and fifteen minutes,” Atkins said. She added: “None of the public safety officials in Concord had access to turnoffs. If it had been a more immediate emergency, there was nothing the officials could do.”
Atkins said when she sought to propose legislation providing local fire chiefs with access to the information, kept confidential by natural gas companies for safety reasons, the fire chiefs were “reticent” because they did not have training available and, because of budget cuts, fewer personnel.
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