News Clips

Lexington Wicked Local

One major component in the bill — sponsored by Sen. Mike Barrett, D-Lexington — provides new transparency and oversight to the purchase of military weapons by local, county and state law enforcement.

After Ferguson, Barrett said, Americans learned that local law enforcement agencies routinely take advantage of massive federal sales and donations of equipment and gear that would otherwise be too expensive for municipal budgets. Deployment of this material occurs disproportionately in communities of color.

“For Massachusetts, the issue is not academic,” Barrett said. “Many cities, towns and regional organizations are heavy users of these federal programs.”

Barrett’s measure is designed to increase state and local accountability for the acquisition of “military-grade controlled property,” like assault rifles and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles.

Read More Here —>

Waltham Wicked Local

Barrett says that a portion of the money will be used for multi-modal access to Alewife station, an “important change in the fight against global warming.”

“The transportation sector is responsible for roughly 40% of carbon emissions in Massachusetts,” said Barrett.

In addition to allowing more riders to access public transportation, he wants the garage upgrades to allow for “green transportation” like bicycles.

Read More Here —>

Lexington Wicked Local

Each year, the Alewife Station serves as an access point for hundreds of thousands of commuters as they travel around Greater Boston. Unfortunately, after years of wear and tear, Alewife’s car garage is in need of repairs and upgrades.

The station opened to the public in 1985. But, Barrett points out, the garage originally provided for 2,733 parking spots. Nowadays at any given moment, 250 may be unusable due to falling concrete and roof leakage.

“I hear from constituents on a regular basis about the poor condition of the garage,” Barrett said. “It’s insecure and, to be honest, a little creepy at night. At times the garage has had the highest reported crime rate of any station on the entire MBTA.”

Read More Here —>

Lexington Minuteman

“The story of Quock Walker marks an historic moment for Massachusetts and our country,” Barrett said. “It’s a story that needs to be told. I’m grateful to the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington for sharing it with the people of Massachusetts.”

Read More Here —>

Waltham Patch

In January of this year, the Massachusetts State Senate passed An Act Setting Next-Generation Climate Policy, now pending before the House of Representatives. The Senate’s approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions is radical not in its ideology but in its seriousness; we’re determined to get emissions down across the Massachusetts economy, transportation and buildings included.

We should add that the senators who wrote the legislation sat down with a good many commercial interests, listened to what they had to say, and made changes. At the time of the bill’s final passage — with the votes of both Democrats and Republicans, and with only two dissents in the 40-member Senate — its seriousness of purpose seemed to impress the business community without unsettling it.

Read More —>

Bedford Citizen

“It was disturbing to see in-person voting produce chaos in Wisconsin,” said local State Senator Mike Barrett.  “People had to risk getting sick to cast a ballot.  For us, in Massachusetts, revamping elections almost overnight has not been without its problems.  But we’ve adapted and gotten the job done.”

Read More —>

The Concord Journal

Your country, your state, maybe the neighborhood in which you live, are engulfed by three crises at once: climate change, a pandemic, and social unrest triggered by murder and racial injustice. Your mind reels. Your heart breaks.

What to do? What you cannot do is give up. At a demonstration to protest the death of George Floyd, someone held a sign: “We didn’t come this far to only come this far.”

Just so. You get yourself together. You take a deep breath. You look around for things worth doing now.

Read More —>

Waltham Tribune

“A year ago, the survival of the Field Station was in doubt,” said state Sen. Mike Barrett in a statement. “The nonprofit tenants, all involved with heathy eating, sustainable local agriculture, and what you might call food justice, faced eviction. But the Greater Waltham community rallied. Residents demanded that the farm be preserved and the tenants be protected.

“Thanks to the Mayor, the City Council, and the tenants for working together, we took a giant stride forward,” he added.

Rep. John Lawn, Barrett, and Rep. Thomas Stanley will be guides for the legislation to move through the state House and Senate.

“What remains, importantly, is passage of some enabling legislation,” Barrett said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Rep. Lawn to get that final piece done.”

Read More —>

Lexington Minuteman

Lexington officials continue to prepare for a virtual version of the Annual Town Meeting, which was supposed to take place in late March. Malloy now anticipates the virtual session to take place in early June. Presentations will be posted online for viewing by Town Meeting members beforehand, in an effort to make the process as efficient as possible. The town has been working with Senator Mike Barrett and Representative Michelle Ciccolo to push a bill forward in the House of Representatives that would authorize remote participation at town meetings.

The Select Board approved a Special Town Meeting to take place on June 1. The meeting would only have one warrant item, which would provide the authority for the Select Board to confirm the validity of any action that would take place at the subsequent Annual Town Meeting. This would only be necessary if the bill spearheaded by Rep. Ciccolo does not pass in time.

Read More —>

Waltham Tribune

A group of concerned legislators — 15 state senators and 23 state representatives — have sent a joint letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, urging him, as part of the state’s response to the COVID-19 Health Crisis, to step up the screening and release of inmates from Massachusetts penal institutions.

The letter-writing effort, initiated by State Sen. Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, was inspired by an opinion issued earlier this month by the state’s supreme judicial court, five of whose seven current members are Baker appointees.

“Among inmates and correctional officers — we’re concerned about both — the positive cases continue to climb,” said Barrett. “We think it’s quite significant that the court has issued polite but pointed advice on how to speed up the pace of releases.”

Read More —>