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.
Senate bill bars credit checks in hiring
Press Release
To provide a measure of relief to Massachusetts job applicants, the State Senate has approved a bill, sponsored by State Senator Mike Barrett (D-Lexington), to restrict the use of credit reports in hiring and promotions.
“People see their credit reports dinged due to circumstances they couldn’t reasonably foresee — their spouse becomes ill, they get laid off, or they hit a combination of student debt and under-employment,” said Barrett. “All these things are regrettable, but none should stop them from getting back on their feet.”
Read moreDry your tee? Senate brings back the old way
Press Release
To promote energy conservation, the State Senate has taken the surprising step of legally reaffirming residents’ rights to a traditional but increasingly threatened practice — the option of hanging laundry out to dry on a clothesline.
State Senator Mike Barrett, chief sponsor of the policy change, says clothesline use is often barred by condo and homeowner associations. Environmentally speaking, he says, that’s unfortunate.
Read moreHelping the Town, Balancing the Books.
Few states match Mass. in income inequality
Lexington High School Quiz Show team honored at Statehouse
Lexington Minuteman
The Lexington High School Quiz Show team, which won both the WGBH Quiz Show State Championship this year and the Governor’s Cup vs. New Hampshire, was celebrated at the Statehouse on June 15.
3rd Middlesex Area Dems multi-task
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.
Chelmsford leaves no pooch behind
My dog Juno and I joined local leaders and their pets for the grand opening of Chelmsford’s gorgeous two-acre dog park.
Targeted by hate in Orlando
“The attack in Orlando was on gay people. The attack was on Latinos. The attack was on immigrants. The attack was on Americans. The attack was on all of us as human beings. How to repel the attack? In the U.S., the pace of change is painfully slow in the short run — but reaches farther than we ever dreamed in the long run. That’s OK. We’ll take it. For the hard work of making our country a better place, each of us has signed up for the long run.”
— State Sen. Mike Barrett, June 15, 2016, vigil in Lexington, MA after the Orlando massacre.
