Marian Thornton Unsung Heroine 2012

I am delighted that the Concord Journal has recognized Marian Thornton for her contributions as an Unsung Heroine.  I am pleased to have welcomed her to the State House.

“I am proud to have passed a budget that increases local aid for cities and towns,” said Atkins.  “Education is the lifeblood of our communities, and this budget shows the state’s unwavering commitment to education while our economy is still recovering.”

The budget for fiscal year ’13 once again shows the House’s commitment to the citizens of Massachusetts by including no new taxes or fees. Conversely, the House budget makes a significant investment in Local Aid to help lessen the burden of the recession on municipalities. Thanks to such sound fiscal management, Standard and Poor’s increased Massachusetts’ bond rating from AA to AA+.

This budget fully funds the Unrestricted General Government Aid that municipalities rely on to balance their budgets each fiscal year. It includes an additional $65M that was sent out last year in the form of a supplemental budget, essentially guaranteeing that money for municipalities up front.

The House budget also places a high priority on education funding by increasing Chapter 70, special education circuit breaker, and regional transportation funding.

This budget guarantees all municipal, vocational and regional school districts an increase over Fiscal Year 2012 Chapter 70 funding for a total increase of $164M. It will assist districts in meeting their special education obligations by funding circuit breaker at $221.5M and for the first time, the House has appropriated funds to offset the expense of the federal mandate (McKinney-Vento) requiring communities to incur the costs of transporting their homeless student population. Furthermore, the House was able to prioritize regional school transportation, funding it at $45.4M.

In an effort to create jobs and help cities and towns, the House budget strengthens the Community Preservation Act (CPA), a law passed in 2000 that allows Massachusetts cities and towns to establish a fund to support local needs. Over the past decade the CPA has promoted cost savings and job creation. By increasing the funding available for the statewide CPA Trust Fund in this year’s budget, the House will provide more local aid and support for local jobs. This legislation diversifies the allowable funding sources that cities and towns can use to fund their local CPA fund.  It will also support the small businesses in our state by allowing municipalities to exempt commercial and industrial properties from a portion of the CPA local surcharge.

This budget also places the Commonwealth’s community colleges in the best position possible to respond to the changing needs of Massachusetts and its residents, particularly in workforce development and continued higher education. The House budget includes increased coordination among the 15 separate community colleges and the Board of Higher Education in order to provide flexibility to adapt to new opportunities for the Commonwealth. This is accomplished while still retaining the local involvement in the administration of the schools that has been a critical part of the success of the community colleges.

In a demonstration of the House’s commitment to serving elders and the disabled, this budget preserves programs such as elder nutrition, enhanced home care services, and elder protective services. Recognizing the high cost of our home services, this budget increases in-home supports for families of the developmentally disabled and makes investments in the areas of transportation and Turning 22. These significant investments ensure there will be a continuum of services to these populations.

Finally, the House seeks efficiencies and re-procurements in many areas of state government, such as Mass Health and the Department of Corrections, in order to achieve savings and maximize our investments. In addition, the budget provides the tools needed to seek out fraud, waste and abuse in state funded programs. The budget includes a provision banning any individual from knowingly using, transferring, acquiring, altering or possessing an electronic benefit transfer card or access device in any manner not authorized by federal or state law.

Ms. Thornton has been contributing to her community for fifty years.  She has been an advocate for clean rivers, open space, and recycling.  In the 1960’s she collected samples of sludge in local rivers to draw attention to pollution.  In the 1970’s she cofounded a recycling program in Concord long before recycling became a statewide trend.  In more recent years she has been a tireless advocate for preserving open space in Concord and surrounding towns in spite of strong pressure from developers and high property values. 

The Unsung Heroines are women who don’t make the news, but make the difference.  They are the women who use their time, talent and enthusiasm to enrich the lives of others and make a difference in their neighborhoods, cities and towns. They are mentors, volunteers and innovators who do what needs to be done without expectations of recognition or gratitude. These women are the glue that keeps a community together, and every community is better because of their contribution.

The ceremony will include a program emceed by NewsCenter 5’s Liz Brunner acknowledging each of the 2012 Unsung Heroines followed by a group photograph on the Grand Staircase and a Just Desserts reception.

A complete list of this year’s honorees is available by contacting the Commission.  To request this list or for additional information please contact the MCSW at 617-626-6520 or mcsw@state.ma.us.

The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women is an independent state agency that was legislatively created in 1998 to advance women of the Commonwealth to full equality in all areas of life and to promote their rights and opportunities. The MCSW provides a permanent, effective voice for the women of Massachusetts.

To see whether you have unclaimed property or to make a claim, contact the State Treasurer’s office at 617-367-0400 or www.findmassmoney.org . You can also call Rep. Atkins’ office at 617-722-2692.

“This commitment to road and bridge maintenance is critical for the efficient operation of our state’s economy,” said Atkins.  “Many individuals and businesses are affected and will benefit from this imperative maintenance.  Drivers need safe roads that are reliable and well-maintained, construction workers will find the job markets expand, and our economy will continue to prosper as people and goods move all over the commonwealth faster and more safely.”

Overall, the bill authorizes $200 million for the maintenance and upkeep of municipal roads and bridges across the Commonwealth. This $200 million marks a high for annual transportation funding and demonstrates the House’s strong commitment to local road and bridge funding.

To determine if you qualify for this tax benefit, please consult with your tax professional, or to learn more about this program contact::

Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Toll Free: 800-392-6089 www.mass.gov/dor

If you haven’t filed for the Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit for the following tax years you may qualify to receive…

2008 up to $ 930

2009 up to  $960

2010 up to  $970

2011 up to  $980

In total up to $3,840

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

• You or your spouse – if filing jointly must be a Massachusetts resident age 65 or older by December 31, 2011.
• You must own or rent residential property in Massachusetts which you occupy as your primary residence.
• You’re annual “total income” under DOR guidelines must be: $52.,000 or less for a single filer who is not the head of a house-hold, $65,000, or less for a head of a household filer, and $78,000 or less for joint filers.
• Your residence that you own must have an assessed value-before exemptions & after abatements- on January 1, 2011 of $729,000 or less. (multi-family /multi-use dwellings, residences of more than 1 acre or residences owned by a trust may still qualify under special DOR guidelines)

WHO IS NOT ELIGIBLE?

• Married people who file separately.
• Dependents of other filers.
• Renters who receive a government rent subsidy directly, or those who live in a property tax exempt facility.

To apply, if you’re a qualifying senior, for each respective tax year you’re required to file a completed “Schedule CB” with your state income tax return or an amended tax return-if you have already filed your return.

Sandel is a board-certified pediatrician at Boston Medical Center, associate professor of pediatrics and public health at Boston University School of Medicine, and interim executive director of the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership. Through her work at Boston Medical Center’s Grow Clinic providing comprehensive care for children from Greater Boston referred with Failure to Thrive, Sandel has seen first-hand how homelessness and housing insecurity endanger young children.

Children’s HealthWatch, the pediatric research center at BMC’s Grow Clinic, has shown that children living in housing insecurity, often with inadequate food, are 50 percent more likely to be in poor health and 70 percent more at risk of developmental problems. Expectant mothers without stable housing are 30 percent more likely to have pre-term deliveries and 50 percent of their babies are likely to be low-weight. Sandel will discuss how to advocate for public policy issues to help this most vulnerable population.

In Massachusetts, family homelessness remains at very high levels due to unemployment and foreclosures. In the year ending July 2011, more than 42,000 families sought state housing assistance, 30 percent more than in 2010. Currently, more than 2,000 families are in shelters nightly plus more than 1,300 families are in motels, placing at great risk the health of families and their children.

Last year’s increase in families seeking emergency housing far exceeded funding for HomeBase, the state’s homelessness prevention plan. Robert Pulster, associate director, Department of Housing Stabilization, Mass Department of Housing and Community Development, will speak about the progress and funding needs of the state’s shelter reform program.

From a legislative perspective, state Sens. James Eldridge, D-Acton, and Susan Fargo, D-Lincoln, and state Reps. Cory Atkins, D-Concord; Jennifer Benson, D-Lunenberg; Kate Hogan, D-Stow; Tom Conroy, D-Wayland; and Jay Kaufman, D-Lexington, will comment on the issues in a panel discussion and will take questions from the audience.

For more information, contact N. Carl Miller, ANEFH coordinator, 978-369-3755 or normancmiller@comcast.net.

Read more: Sandel to speak at Homelessness Forum in Concord – Concord, MA – The Concord Journal http://www.wickedlocal.com/concord/news/x587878064/Sandel-to-speak-at-Homelessness-Forum-in-Concord#ixzz1oRYXXWpC

By Kyle Cheney and Colleen Quinn

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MARCH 6, 2012…..Sharpening their messages for what is poised to be a fierce campaign season fight over physician-assisted suicide, proponents of the policy contended Tuesday at a State House hearing that terminally ill patients with months to live should be empowered to take their own lives.

“Everyone must be allowed to make their own choice with their own beliefs,” said Rep. Louis Kafka (D-Stoughton), sponsor of legislation that would allow patients to self-administer life-ending drugs if they are deemed by doctors to have no hope of recovery and fewer than six months to live.

Kafka spoke at a standing-room-only hearing of the Committee on the Judiciary, which took testimony on the legislation two weeks ahead of a deadline to act on the bill.

“We are used to being in charge of our lives, and so it’s not unusual that we would want to be in charge of also the circumstances of our death,” added Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord), who joined Kafka in support of the bill. Proponents of the measure are casting their lot not with the Legislature but with voters. A ballot measure similar to Kafka’s bill cleared most major hurdles last year and, barring unexpected support by lawmakers, is likely to come before voters in November as a binding ballot question.

Opponents of the measure, including Massachusetts Citizens For Life, the Massachusetts Family Institute, the Catholic church and some advocates for the elderly and disabled, plan to mount a vigorous campaign to defeat it, contending that it is fraught with the potential for error and could be used to compel older, ill adults to end their lives.

“I think we as a society, the commonwealth of Massachusetts, using our intellect and our ingenuity and combined energies, we define ourselves not by allowing our citizens to die with dignity but by empowering our citizens to live with dignity while they’re dying,” said Rep. John Rogers (D-Norwood). “And in that distinction, we define ourselves as a great, humane society.”

“The only thing worth killing,” he said to committee members, “is this bill. And I hope you do so.”

Rogers, a former chairman of the judiciary committee, said the committee had previously rejected the bill in favor of revamping the state’s end-of-life care programs.

Legalizing physician-assisted suicide would open a “Pandora’s box” of problems leading to unnecessary deaths, mainly among the elderly and disabled, opponents argued. They said doctor-assisted deaths are not the answer to help the terminally-ill when hospice care is so widely available around the state.

Laura Tuttle, a registered nurse from Raynham who was diagnosed with ALS disease several years ago, broke down in tears talking about her eventual death.

“I will most likely die from respiratory failure within the next few years,” she said. “But I am not afraid of dying because I know all of my needs will be taken care of by hospice professionals.”

John Kelly, who suffers from a spinal cord injury and is a member of the organization Second Thoughts, said the law is unnecessary because patients already have control over their destiny with the ability to refuse any life-saving treatments or through advanced directives detailing their care wishes. Many people toward the end of their life choose full-pain relief medication “which effectively lets you die in your sleep,” Kelly said.

Other opponents pointed out a misdiagnosis would prove fatal for those who choose suicide.

John Norton told committee members he had a “cautionary tale” about assisted suicide. In 1956, shortly before his 19th birthday he was diagnosed with ALS, which turned out to be wrong.

“The caution I have is I was almost 19 at that time, and it affected me greatly as it would anybody,” he said. “If I had access to physician-assisted suicide I would have probably taken it at that time. As you can see I am not 19 years old, or 25. I am 74,” he said.

Kafka spent much of his testimony emphasizing the safeguards in his proposal: patients seeking life-ending drugs must be warned of the effects of the medication, must receive at least two medical opinions that they aren’t suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder, receive verification from two witnesses that the request for the medication is genuine, must wait 15 days to obtain the drugs after receiving a prescription and must be informed about the availability of hospice care and pain management services.

Currently, Oregon and Washington are the only states that allow physician-assisted suicide. According to advocates, 65 people in Oregon ended their lives this way in 2010.

Health Clish, an advocate for the bill from Reading, said her father used Oregon’s law to end his life at age 66 last year, when his bout with brain cancer left him and his loved ones suffering.

“His choice was not a choice between living and dying. His was a choice between dying one way or dying another way,” she said. “He didn’t come by his ultimate decision light. But when he made the choice, he was calm, certain, at peace and surrounded by his family, able to tell us he loved us, an able to unersatnd how much we loved him.”

In written testimony to the committee, the Massachusetts Medical Society offered a window into the challenges proponents will face in winning support for the measure.

“At the Medical Society’s most recent House of Delegates meeting, which is the Society’s policy making body, there was overwhelming support to reaffirm the Medical Society’s long standing policy of opposition to physician-assisted suicide,” said Lynda Young, president of the organization, which represents 23,000 physicians and medical students. “As the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics states, ‘It is understandable although tragic, that some patients in extreme duress…may come to decide that death is preferable to life. However, allowing physicians to participate in assisted suicide would cause more harm than good. Physician assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.’”

Advocates for palliative and hospice care also testified against the proposal. According to the Hospice and Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts, the state’s 59 licensed hospices served more than 21,000 terminally ill patients in 2011, and eight hospices served about 235 children. Hospice and palliative care, they argued, presents an alternative to longtime suffering or immediate death that the bill’s proponents and opponents have debated.

A pharmacist testified that the bill lacked a “conscience clause” that would allow her to opt out of dispensing a life-ending drug, and several nurses testified against the bill as well.

-END-

3/6/2012

3/2/12 thomas.mills@mahouse.gov | 617-722-2014

*Media Advisory*

Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators to Screen Miss Representation at State House

BOSTON – On Monday March 5th, the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators will be joined by The Barbara Lee Family Foundation to screen Sundance Film Festival film Miss Representation at the Massachusetts State House. The Women’s Caucus has invited members of the legislators along with the public to attend the screening. Barbara Lee and members of the Women’s Caucus will offer remarks about the film before the screening.

What: Screening of Miss Representation

When: Monday, March 5, 2012

Time: 1:30pm (Film to start approximately at 1:50pm)

Where: Gardner Auditorium*, Massachusetts State House, Boston

*No food or drinks are allowed in Gardner Auditorium

About Miss Representation: Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation (90 min; TV-14 DL) uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.

In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors.

Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective. (From http://www.missrepresentation.org/the-film/)

View the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gkIiV6konY

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