New England Public Radio

Mass. Bill To Expand Pre-K Education To Go Before Legislative Panel

A bill up for a hearing this week on Beacon Hill would expand pre-Kindergarten education in some Massachusetts schools.

The proposal would provide grants to schools deemed as under-performing by the state to expand Pre-K programs and ensure qualified teachers would be in place. While there has been much debate about whether early childhood education actually improves reading ability long-term…Springfield State Representative Carlos Gonzales says the bill could only help the situation.

“What we’re doing now is not helping our children, particularly in our urban cities, succeed,” Gonzalez says. “We need to try thinking outside the box and I think that there’s enough evidence to show that this might be a potential solution.”

Both House Speaker Bob DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg have made expanding Pre-K one of their top priorities for the year.

Patrick Vetoes, Including Repairs of Orange Dam, Could Be Reconsidered

The chair of the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee says the legislature may reverse some of the cuts Governor Deval Patrick made to the state budget last week. They include $100,000 to fix a dam on the campus of a high school in Orange.

Mahar Regional High School in Orange is home to a pond and a small dam, which date back to the 1950’s when the school was built.

State Sen. Stephen Brewer of Barre represents some of the towns in the school district. He says the dam serves a physical purpose and is a science resource for students.

“It’s not a very large one, engineering reports have been all over the place on that,” Brewer says. “We figured that by getting $100,000 it would be some good seed money to help the regional school system in repairing the dam.”

Among the items vetoed by Patrick include $300,000 in public safety funds for Ludlow and $250,000 to repair an auditorium in Gardner City Hall. Patrick says he chose to veto funding for these and other items because his team believes the projects would not have much of an impact.

The legislature has until July 31st, the end of the current session, to act upon these cuts.

“Clearly, when we supported a measure in either the House or Senate budget, or as a result of the conference committee, the negotiation between the house and the senate, those are programs that we collectively had agreed on and believed in,” Brewer says. “And, to the extent under our system of checks and balances, we would reserve the right to revisit those.”

Springfield Police Calls Police Profanity Bill a ‘Waste of Time’

The Massachusetts state legislature will hold a hearing Thursday on a bill that would prohibit police officers from using inappropriate language.

Under this bill, a law enforcement officer who uses racial slurs, name-calling, or profanity toward someone else in the line of duty could be dismissed. This is not the first time Rep. Ben Swan of Springfield has tried to pass a bill like this. Swan says derogatory language from police officers can spark violent incidents.

“Most confrontations start with language use, and usually is intentional to express hostility. And that’s not the role for a sworn officer,” Swan says.

Swan says police departments across the state should already be punishing officers for using derogatory language.

A spokesperson for the Springfield Police Department, Sgt. John Delaney, says the proposal is a waste of time for the legislature.

“I’ve been part of thousands and thousands of arrests,” says Delaney. “And not one of them has been caused by a police officer using colorful language.”

The bill is scheduled for a hearing in Boston on Thursday (10/3/2013) at 10:00 a. m.

This story was reported and written by David Chang.

Restored Turnpike Tolls to Start October 15

Toll collection for travel between the six western-most exits of the Massachusetts Turnpike is scheduled to begin October 15th. 

It will cost  $1.75 to drive the portion of the Mass Pike between Exit 1 in West Stockbridge and Exit 6 in Springfield. That’s the same price as in 1996 when then Governor William Weld eliminated those tolls for passenger cars.

The restoration of the fees is part of the transportation bill approved by the legislature this summer. The expected $12 to $15 million in yearly collections will be used for various construction and repair projects on the roadway.

In the meantime, the department of transportation says it needs to reprogram electronic toll transponders and print new tickets to get ready for the change. Motorists can express their opinions at the DOT’s website or at public hearings in Lee and Springfield, scheduled for September.  

Hundreds Turn Out for Gun Hearing in Springfield

Dozens of gun control bills were the topic of a state legislative hearing in Springfield Friday. The proposals include limits on gun purchases, restrictions on high-powered rounds of ammunition and the reporting of mental health data to a national database. 

An overflow crowd of more than 500 people came to listen to or give testimony to a committee of state lawmakers. Several busloads of employees from Springfield gun maker Smith and Wesson were in attendance. Worker Jim Richardson says he’s worried about the impact law changes might have on his job.

“I’m interested in whether or not the company’s going to maintain it’s position here in the community, but at the same time, I’m interested to see what the state has to offer about why they think my business is a threat to the community,” Richardson says. 

Others came to support stricter firearms laws. Ann Krantz is mother of two, who grew up in Western Massachusetts and now lives in the eastern part of the state.

“After the Newtown massacre, I really fear fearful of sending them to first grade and I just felt it really was time for me to speak up. I could not sit by and do nothing anymore,” Krantz says.  

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno told the committee he wants tougher sentences for those caught with illegal guns and people convicted of repeat firearms offenses.

“We need incarceration, we need the sentences to stick, because it becomes very demoralizing when these individuals are let back out on the street, perpetrating these crimes,” Sarno says.

This hearing was one in a series being held statewide. The legislature is expected to take up gun control this fall.