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Having served as chief Senate sponsor of the proposed “Act Safeguarding the Healthcare Decisions of Young Adults” and as co-sponsor of additional bills to protect the healthcare decisions of Massachusetts women and men, I’m pleased to have received an A+ on NARAL’s first-ever Pro-Choice Massachusetts Reproductive Freedom scorecard. In our state, on the healthcare front, the 2017-2018 legislative session has given us reason to hope. We passed the Contraceptive ACCESS Act, An Act to Protect Access to Confidential Healthcare (the PATCH Act), the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Still, this is but a warm-up. In the next several years, as federal protections for women suffer, state government will need to fill the vacuum and preserve personal rights.

I was delighted to attend the recent ribbon-cutting for the the Anna and Neil Rasmussen Education Center at the Concord Museum (Anna and Neil in the middle, with prominent environmental attorney Gregor McGregor).

The Rasmussen Center features cultural and educational space for learners of all ages from Massachusetts and beyond. It has three state-of-the-art classrooms, including a colonial cooking space with a working hearth, a History Learning Center for up-close encounters with the Museum’s nationally significant collection, and a Lyceum lecture hall for mock town meetings, colonial dance, and public programs.

Adjoining galleries within the facility are closed for renovation, so for now the Center hosts rare objects belonging to the museum, including Paul Revere’s lantern and Henry David Thoreau’s desk.

The Sudbury Valley Trustees and OARS safeguard the fortunes of the Assabet, Concord and Sudbury Rivers.  They don’t stop there; they promote statewide action on drought management, pollution programs, and climate change.  Top left, my introductory remarks at a recent meeting.  Top right, with Lisa Vernegaard, SVT’s Exec. Director.  Bottom, the entire crew.

State Senators, ready to march. What a crowd. What a day. What spirit! What a way to mobilize for the next four years!

I recently took the oath of office to begin a new two-year term in the Massachusetts State Senate.  Thanks for letting me serve. Trust me: I’m there, right in the middle.

Thermo Fisher Scientific supplies scientists with cutting-edge tools — things like gene sequencers to map DNA. The company will be coming up with the latest breakthrough tech. at its new global headquarters in Waltham. Here, welcoming Thermo Fischer alongside Senior VP Alex Stachtiaris; Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy; Travis McCready, President & CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and State Rep. Tom Stanley.

Wolverine makes great shoes (my wife and I love our Merrells).  Very happy the company’s New England operations are now in Waltham.  Here I am, cutting the ribbon with the Guv, his wife Lauren, Waltham Mayor McCarthy, and the Wolverine team.

The pillars of 3rd MAD — 3rd Middlesex Area Democrats, the folks who keep my Senate district on the progressive up and up — really know how to eat breakfast and talk at the same time.  Can be messy!  But always fun.

My dog Juno and I joined local leaders and their pets for the grand opening of Chelmsford’s gorgeous two-acre dog park.