Senator Stan Rosenberg The Rosenberg Report

Volume X
November 4th, 2002

Hello!

The "24/7 Tour" is complete, and, as always, I had a great time visiting with the residents and town officials who attended the selectboard and city council meetings. Because of various scheduling problems I didn't quite make it to all 24 of the towns in my district during the seven weeks -- I missed Sunderland, Bernardston and Wendell. But I'm going to Sunderland tonight (Nov. 4th) and I'm looking forward to getting out to Bernardston and Wendell as soon as I can, especially before the snow flies!

It wasn't surprising to learn that residents and local officials are deeply concerned about the state's lingering budget crisis. State funding -- in the form of Chapter 70 school aid, Chapter 90 road and highway aid, and local aid from state lottery distributions, to name a few sources -- helps cities and towns deliver valuable services to their residents.

It also wasn't surprising to find out that Question 1, the proposed income tax repeal, was exacerbating those concerns. I won't reiterate here all of my reasons for encouraging a "No" vote, but I will invite you to go to last month's edition if you want to review an op-ed piece I prepared on the potentially devastating impact this question would have on services that we all rely on. (http://www.stanrosenberg.com/issues/oct2002.html) While you're there, please take a look at the information I've provided on Question 2, the proposal to eliminate bi-lingual education, and my reasons for encouraging a "No" vote on this question as well.

But not everything we talked about during the "24/7 Tour" was as gloomy as the economy and Question 1. In Northfield, I had a great dinner with town officials at the Northfield Mount Hermon school cafeteria; in Shutesbury, residents threw a little party for State Representative Ellen Story, who will no longer represent the town because of redistricting, and for State Representative Stephen Kulik, whose district is picking up the town, and we all enjoyed some homemade snacks; in Leyden we talked about how light pollution interferes with star gazing and how some Eastern Mass. senators and representatives know the beauty of many of our rural western towns; and I took the opportunity to walk the Bridge of Flowers while in Shelburne.

It was a great seven weeks and I appreciate all the hospitality I was shown.
 

Yours,                   

Stan

November Focus

November 5th, 2002

Election Day is tomorrow (Tues. Nov. 5th)! As you ponder your choices, here are few links from the Secretary of State's Office that might help answer any last minute questions before you head out to the polls.

Where do I vote?
Voting information from Secretary of State's Office
http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php

What's on the ballot?
http://www.state.ma.us/sec/ele/elebq02/bq02idx.htm

Voter checklist
http://www.state.ma.us/sec/ele/elebq02/bq02chklst.htm

Polls will be open across the state from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hope to see you out there!

Noteworthy

October Revenues

The Swift administration released the October revenue figures on Halloween, leaving us all to wonder whether we would find candy in our bag, or, like Charlie Brown, find nothing but rocks. Unfortunately, we mostly got rocks. According to the Department of Revenue, October 2002 tax collections totaled $932 million, which is $37 million less than October 2001, which was $120 million less than what the state collected in October 2000. The current budget -- fiscal '03 -- is running a tiny $3 million surplus at the moment, that is after the Swift administration cut about $200 million last month. But the fact that monthly revenues continue to fall short of the previous levels shows that an economic recovery remains agonizingly elusive.

There was one small treat among the rocks, however. The tax amnesty program, which is the result of a bill I filed with State Senator Marian Walsh (D-West Roxbury), Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Taxation, and State Representative Cory Atkins (D-Concord), has collected $22 million during its first month of operation. The program will continue until November 30th and revenue officials believe hitting the $43 million target should not be too difficult. For more detailed information on the program, click here:

Department of Revenue home page
http://www.dor.state.ma.us

Tax Amnesty Program
http://www.dor.state.ma.us/Amnesty/welcome.asp

Roundup

State Grants

On October 11th, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) awarded more than $1 million in grants to western Massachusetts organizations as part of the MTC’s “Solar-to-Market” initiative.

The grants are financed by the state’s Renewable Energy Trust, which I helped create while I was chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and the “Solar-to-Market” initiative is designed to expand the production and use of solar photovoltaic technologies.

The following organizations will receive grants:

  • $325,000 for the Center for Ecological Technology for five or six larger photovoltaic installations on farms and businesses in western Massachusetts;
  • $397,173 for the Conservation Services Group for 38 photovoltaic systems built as integrated components of new homes in Northampton, Townsend and Wrentham;
  • $350,000 for the Cooperative Development Institute for 25 photovoltaic systems on homes and businesses in the Franklin Regional Council of Governments area.

Other grants:

  • Hatfield received a $277,000 school repair and renovation grant from the Department of Education for improvements to the ventilation, heating systems and electrical systems at Smith Academy.
  • Hampshire Educational Collaborative received $350,000 from the Department of Education for five after-school programs in the Pioneer Valley.

Just for fun

Based on the temperature during the last week or so, winter is already here. But there's still lots to do around our state. Here's a link to the Mass. Office of Travel and Tourism that has all kinds of guides for winter activities.

Mass. Office of Travel and Tourism
http://www.massvacation.com/html/home.htm

Trivia

The answer to last month's question -- Name the state tree -- is the American Elm, a tree that has, unfortunately, been decimated over the years by Dutch Elm disease. But fairly recently, several disease resistant varieties of the American Elm have been brought to market. So, the species is regaining favor with landscapers. Here are a few links so you can learn more about the elm.

http://www.geobop.com/Symbols/Plants/Trees/Elms/
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/uamericana.htm
http://www.wellesley.edu/Activities/homepage/web/Species/pelmamerican.html
http://www.libertyelm.com/

Site on Dutch Elm Disease
http://www.fs.fed.us/na/morgantown/fhp/palerts/ded/elm.htm

Thanks to everybody who played along. And now the winner of the lunch and State House tour, chosen at random from the thousands (just kidding!) of correct answers is Harry D. from somewhere in cyberspace. We'll send him information on who to contact in my Boston office and we'll look forward to seeing him at the State House. Congratulations Harry! Now to this month's question and another chance to win lunch and a State House tour. Election Day is here, so this month's question is: Name the Constitutional Officers.

Submit your answer to tumitch@sprynet.com and watch this space for the correct answer and the prize winner.

Links

Here are a few links. Until next time, happy surfing!

Stan Rosenburg

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