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Packed room at a recent Chelmsford Board of Selectmen meeting.  I joined the town’s House delegation to report on the successful passage of local bills, troubling shortfalls in state “non-tax revenue” once expected from the operation of a new casino in Southeastern Mass. and pending legislation to help homeowners and businesses deal with gas leaks.

Many baby boomers want to age on their own terms, among friends and as part of a larger community. Lexington at Home is a creative exercise in mutual assistance, a growing network of people committed to helping one another as the years go by.

Taking the long view, Nancy and I joined Bill Durkee and Alexi Joannidis (Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay) for a New Year’s Day climb up Prospect Hill in Waltham.

Full-time caretakers for the elderly and people with disabilities often don’t have the support they need. That’s where the Chelmsford Companion Respite Care program comes in. Run by the Council on Aging, the service lends a hand by providing temporary supervisory work so that caretakers can take time for themselves. The initiative recently won praise from the Mass. Office on Elder Affairs for its distinguished work. From left to right: Annie Smith, Council on Aging Board Member, Companion Coordinator Betty Chaput, and Colleen Normandy, Supportive Day Program Manager.

The Concord, Assabet and Sudbury Rivers are regional treasures — hot spots for local recreation and storied settings in the history of Massachusetts. In 1999 the federal government designated parts of all three waterways as “wild and scenic” for their ecological features and cultural importance. As it happens, they’re the closest “wild and scenic” rivers to a major metropolitan area in the entire U.S.

I recently dropped by OARS’ annual cleanup. On that day, 200 people chipped in to help spruce up the Assabet, the Sudbury and the Concord. Pictured here with a local Girl Scout troop, employees of Concord-Littleton Lumber, stalwarts of the Environmental Law Club at BU Law School, and members of the Concord-Carlisle High School Fishing Club. That’s me, over there. I’m the, um, older guy….

The engineering wizards at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology want to reduce fossil fuel use and lay the groundwork for safe nuclear fusion.  The science of getting this right is tricky but, if anyone can do it, the talent at MIT can.  On the left, I meet with MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Director Dennis Whyte (center) and inventor and entrepreneur Reiner Beeuwkes of Concord.  On the right, with “Wiyj Alcator C-Mod Project” Head Earl Marmar.  Photos thanks to Paul Rivenberg.

My friend Carol Cleven submitted the original legislation to create the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.  Carol passed away recently, and the Chelmsford legislative delegation made a donation in her name to help maintain the rail trail. Read more →

Pleased to mark the lifesaving work of the New England Organ Bank, which serves more than 160 hospitals and 12 transplant centers across the region. From left to right: Kenny Laferriere, a heart recipient; Waltham Mayor Jeanne McCarthy; moi; Congresswoman Katherine Clark; NEOB CEO Alex Glazier; advocate Ann Linehan; Matt Boger, Director of State Relations for NEOB; Rep. John Lawn; Rep. Tom Stanley; Mike Slama, a heart recipient; Jim Pazzanese, a lung recipient.

 

Joined Gov. Baker last Friday to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Somber moment, lightened by survivors’ strength embodied in an entire nation. Huge turnout of Armenian Americans, their friends, and their admirers.