On this segment of the “Lynn Lowdown” from the LCTV News News Director discussed the upcoming virtual “Hats & Heels Afternoon Tea” event with event organizer Jodie Smith. The event will be held over Zoom, and will feature keynote speaker Carole Boyce Davies, a distinguished professor and internationally-recognized scholar of African Diaspora Studies and Black women’s writing. For more information please click here.

Click here to watch directly on our website.

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On this segment of the Lynn Lowdown from the LCTV News we discuss the upcoming virtual Black Excellence 5K happening from August 8-12, 2021. News Director Mukala Kabongo & 5K Coordinator Angel Green talked about the history of the 5K, how it will be done virtually, & the organization organizing the event: the North Shore Juneteenth Association. Learn more & Register by clicking here.

Click here to watch directly on our website.

Updates from state government

• As of Wednesday night, DPH reported a total of 643,428 cases of COVID-19. The state reported 1,392 new confirmed cases. The state has now confirmed a total of 17,227 deaths from the virus.
• The House voted 160-0 to approve its fiscal 2022 budget after 2:30 a.m Thursday, after adding tens of millions of dollars to its bottom line across three days. Through its consolidated amendment process, the House took seven roll call votes to add more than $59 million to what began as a $47.65 billion bill. The final bottom line landed at $47.716 billion, according to Speaker Ronald Mariano’s office. The three consolidated amendments adopted Wednesday, one for constitutional officers, state administration and transportation, one dealing with housing, energy and environmental affairs and one involving labor and economic development all passed unanimously.
• The $7.3 million energy, environment and housing amendment also included language that Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee Chair Jeff Roy described as a clarification of the climate policy law passed earlier this year. Roy said the amendment clarifies the Legislature’s intent of procuring 5,600 megawatts of offshore wind “and nothing less.” Before engrossing the bill, representatives also agreed to a final amendment, worth over $7 million dollars, that was described as technical and contained local earmarks. The House plans to next meet in an informal session on Monday, and before adjourning Speaker Mariano thanked representatives for their patience “as we ground our way through” a partially remote budget process.
• The Senate meets in a full formal session today planning to take up legislation (S 2439) authorizing $400 million in bonding for construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home and another $200 million in bonding to boost veterans’ services in parts of the state not served by the Holyoke or Chelsea homes. The funding for geographic equity and long-term care services is a new addition in the Senate version of the bill, which also departs from legislation that unanimously passed the House by not including a project labor agreement governing the Holyoke construction. Governor Baker in February filed an original version of the $400 million bonding request, which his administration believes can be reimbursed up to 65 percent by the federal government, urging lawmakers at the time to finalize its passage by April 1.
• A new coalition of community, business groups and health care providers launched this week to oppose plans by Mass General Brigham to expand in Westborough, Woburn and Westwood. Calling themselves the Coalition to Protect Community Care, the groups plan to call for the Department of Public Health to “thoroughly scrutinize MGB’s proposal through the lens of health equity, community demand, and cost,” according to spokesperson Dan Cence. The coalition so far includes United Way of Central Massachusetts; Central West Justice Center; Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce; Marlborough Regional Chamber of Commerce; Thrive Support & Advocacy; YWCA of Central Mass.; Boys & Girls Club of Worcester; Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester; Highland Healthcare Associates IPA; Worcester Community Action Council; UMass Memorial Health; Shields Health Care Group; Wellforce; Coghlin Electrical Contractors; and Virtual, Inc.
• The Boston City Council voted Wednesday to move the city’s preliminary election up by a week to allow officials more time to facilitate mail-in voting should the Legislature extend the voting reform through the fall or make it permanent. The date change passed with nearly all members voting in favor and Councilor Annissa Essaibi George voting present. The proposal still needs Mayor Kim Janey’s signature to take effect. If Janey signs it into law, the city’s preliminary election would move from Sept. 21 to Sept. 14, a measure that former Mayor Marty Walsh supported prior to his departure. The Committee on Government Operations, led by Councilor Lydia Edwards, held a hearing on the matter last week. At Wednesday’s meeting, Councilor Edwards summarized the testimony and recommended the measure ought to pass.
• Legislative leaders and administration officials closed the State House to the public last year and since then. In a statement House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka said the building will remain closed for the time being. The State House closed to the public on the evening of March 16, 2020 as COVID-19 cases were surging and public health measures were first going into place to protect residents. Senate President Karen Spilka said at the time that the building would remain closed “through the duration of the emergency.” At a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce forum in March, Mariano said the fall may offer some hope for reopening the State House.
• Governor Baker pitched his new omnibus road safety legislation as a way to improve the state’s almost-worst-in-the-nation seatbelt use and cut down on traffic deaths that have not abated during a stretch of pandemic-era decreased travel. Some civil rights and transportation advocates caution, however, that the route to safer roads Baker proposed (H 3706) is too punitive and could exacerbate racial profiling of drivers, a fear that Baker acknowledged. The Vision Zero Coalition, which works to prevent traffic deaths, criticized Baker’s proposal to allow police to pull motorists over solely for failing to wear a seatbelt and to expand penalties on those who drive with suspended licenses.
• Massachusetts law currently requires seatbelt use, but it is a secondary enforcement law, meaning police can only cite motorists for failing to wear a seatbelt when they have already stopped the vehicle for another primary traffic violation such as speeding. Thirty-four other states have laws allowing primary enforcement of seatbelt use, according to Governor Baker.
• A statewide teachers union and its Lawrence local are calling for a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member to resign over comments he made at a recent meeting, days after three state lawmakers, several city officials and Congresswoman Lori Trahan also called for his removal. Board member Michael Moriarty, executive director of the OneHolyoke community development corporation, has apologized for his remarks during a discussion of the state’s school accountability system, saying he “never meant to disparage people who live in Holyoke and Lawrence.”

Special thanks to MassAccess for providing us with these updates.