January episode of GLSS TV now out!

From Greater Lynn Senior Services: On January’s episode of GLSS TV, we begin the year with a conversation with a leading epidemiologist about coronavirus vaccines and the safest masks to use for the best protection. We take a look at previous and notable presidential inaugurations, and get some safe and beneficial tips on ways to travel on foot when conditions are snowy or icy.  In our “Kelly’s Corner” segment Kelly offers easy and valuable ways to stay positive during the dark of winter, and CEO Kathy Burns wishes viewers a Happy New Year!

New Renewable Energy Contracts in
Effect at MBTA

New contracts will significantly reduce the MBTA’s carbon footprint and save the T over $3 million per year.

Taking effect this week, two new 100 percent renewable energy contracts with BP Energy Company and Direct Energy LLC will reduce the MBTA’s carbon footprint and save the T over $3 million per year. These contracts also

“These important investments in fully renewable energy, highlighted by the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits for the entirety of our electricity load, mean that the T has a dedicated commitment to electricity produced from renewable energy sources,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. “With the beginning of these new contracts, the T continues to expand its use of renewable energy in its portfolio, and furthers its commitment to supporting sustainable transit.”

Finalized in October 2020, these contracts make the MBTA the largest transit agency in the United States to be 100 percent renewable and result in a significant reduction in the MBTA’s carbon footprint. Previously, approximately 36 percent of the MBTA’s carbon emissions came from electricity usage. As of January 1, those carbon emissions are effectively avoided.

The combined 100 percent renewable power contract total is approximately $12.13 million per year for a three-year term, down from approximately $15.5 million per year during the previous five-year contract with BP. The contracts include the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for 100 percent of the MBTA’s electricity load as well as provisions for providing 70 percent of the electricity at a fixed price. Purchasing RECs means the MBTA has purchased electricity from a renewable power source with each certificate equivalent to the generation of one-megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity.

The MBTA has a number of additional renewable energy projects completed and currently underway. Two wind turbines in Kingston and Bridgewater help power MBTA facilities with power at both able to be sold back to the power grid. Small scale solar projects are complete at Orient Heights and Braintree Stations with solar canopy installation recently completed at three additional MBTA sites and more sites currently being explored. Upcoming renewable energy projects to develop include the launch of a new solar power purchase agreement, the development of solar arrays at upcoming new construction locations like the Quincy bus garage and at Riverside Station, and research into the MBTA becoming an anchor customer for upcoming offshore wind projects.

For more information, visit mbta.com/sustainability, or connect with the T on Twitter @MBTA, Facebook /TheMBTA, or Instagram @theMBTA.

Updates from state government

• As of Sunday night, DPH reported a total of 371,097 cases of COVID-19. The state reported 3,110 new confirmed cases. The state has now confirmed a total of 12,341 deaths from the virus.
• House Speaker Bob DeLeo resigned his position and the House elected former Majority Leader Ron Mariano as the new Speaker. Speaker Mariano will be re-elected by the House on Wednesday, January 6th when the new legislature is sworn in.
• The Governor signed two major pieces of legislation into law dealing with police reform and healthcare. Additionally, the legislature overrode Governor Baker’s veto on expanding abortion access
• After six months of private talks, legislative negotiators on Sunday afternoon reached an agreement on a major bill to accelerate the state’s pace toward addressing the global problem of climate change. The bill (S 2995) would establish in state law a “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions limit for 2050 and establish statewide emissions limits every five years over the next three decades. Within that plan, the bill creates mandatory emissions sublimits for six sectors of the economy: electric power, transportation, commercial and industrial heating and cooling, residential heating and cooling, industrial processes, and natural gas distribution and service. And within the 2050 “net zero” target, the bill says gross emissions by 2050 must fall at least 85 percent below 1990 levels. The statewide emissions limit for 2030 shall be at least 50 percent below the 1990 level, according to the bill, and the limit for 2040 must be at least 75 percent below the 1990 level. The six-member conference committee’s report will be put before the House and Senate for up-or-down votes during the final two days of sessions for the current sitting of the General Court.
• By Tuesday, Massachusetts will learn whether legislators are able to bridge their differences and finally deliver economic development, and transportation bills that have been on hold in private conference committee talks since the summer. Agreements on those bills are due by 8 p.m. Monday if lawmakers intend to comply with their own fair notice rules that would give members time to review the bills before voting on them Tuesday.
• Manufacturers and retailers in Massachusetts will be banned from selling or importing covered products like bedding, furniture, children’s products, window treatments and carpeting that contain 11 flame-retardant chemicals under legislation signed last Friday by Governor Baker. The new law, which does not apply to inventory manufactured prior to Dec. 31, 2021.
• On Wednesday, the Legislature will show the state how it plans to swear in 199 members during a public health emergency that nullifies any prospect of the traditional packed ceremonies in the House and Senate chambers. There are 17 new representatives set to join the House and two new senators. The branches are expected to quickly re-elect Speaker Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka. The new members will spend the early part of the year drafting and filing bills while Mariano and Spilka make decisions on which members will get higher paying leadership and committee chair posts and which ones will serve amongst the rank and file.
• Two years after Governor Baker certified a raise of 5.93 percent for the 200 members of the House and Senate for the 2019-2020 session, the governor in a letter to Treasurer Deb Goldberg on Wednesday advised her that a 6.46 percent increase is warranted in the base pay of legislators based on changes in median household income. A 6.46 percent increase works out to a $4,280 raise to $70,536. In early 2017, legislators voted for pay raises for themselves and other public officials, outside of the changes in compensation that the governor is required to make every two years. The adjustments in legislative base pay are required biennially under the state constitution, based on changes in the median household income statewide. Lawmakers got a 4.2 percent raise at the start of the 2017-2018 session. The 2017 law raised the pay for constitutional officers and stipends for legislative leaders and committee chairs. That law also awarded office and travel expense budgets of between $15,000 and $20,000 for every lawmaker, based on how far they live from the State House, and called for all of that compensation to be adjusted every two years based on wage and salary changes over two years as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the Department of Commerce. Accepting or rejecting the raises is up to individual lawmakers and constitutional officers.
• Former State Representative Jim Lyons was re-elected as GOP State Party Chairman over State Representative Shawn Dooley.

Special thanks to MassAccess for sharing these updates with us.

From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 1,912 with 73 new cases today. 9,633 Lynn residents have recovered and 161 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 11,706. Please visit the City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.

We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 and any Snow Emergency Parking Bans through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).