Monday, April 29, 2019

Meetings the Week of April 29, 2019

Meetings the Week of April 29, 2019

Monday    4/29/19
Agri.                                 JK Crossroads                      7:00 pm 
 
Tuesday   4/30/19
Town Clerk                   PCS Town Hall*           11:30 am           
Light                             Bridge St                       6:00 pm
Water                            Bridge St                       7:00 pm
 
 
Wednesday 5/1/19
MT $$$                            Fitchburg                                 5:30 pm
MT SC                             Fitchburg                                 7:00 pm
Scholarship                      Boynton PL                            7:00 pm  
BOS                                 PCS Town Hall*                    6:30 pm 
   

 
 
Meeting materials
 
Thursday 5/2/19
Adv. Com                         PCS Town Hall*                6:30 pm
 
 
 
 

Thank You Representative Whipps. S1209

These Legislators DID NOT Sponsor the Anti-Life Bill, S.1209

THEY’RE NOT SPONSORING THE ANTI-LIFE BILL S.1209
...THEY NEED TO HEAR WHY YOU NEED THEM TO OPPOSE IT.


Suggested comments to each legislator:

May I speak to… My name is… I’m from _______ district. I’d like to thank [ legislator ] for not sponsoring S.1209, which seriously endangers our women, children and infants. I’m calling also to ask you/them to actively oppose it.

We strongly suggest you first check to see if any of the below represent your
district and call them first!  As a constituent, you have that much more influence when you call.
 
You can also look these legislators up online, and reach out to them via email, FaceBook or Twitter, and via traditional mail. All of their contact information is easily accessible at Mass Legislature.
 
Use our Quick Fact Sheet for reference during your calls here
 
Review the in-depth analysis of S.1209 here for better understanding of the mechanics of this legislation here


  • SENATE Members who did not sponsor S.1209 -

RYAN FATTMAN 18TH WORCESTER [617-722-1420 ]
MIKE BRADY 2ND PLYMOUTH AND BRISTOL [ 617-722-1200 ]
SONIA CHANG-DIAZ 2ND SUFFOLK [ 617-722-1673 ]
NICK COLLINS 1ST SUFFOLK [ 617-722-1150 ]
VINNIE DEMACEDO PLYMOUTH AND BARNSTABLE [
*DIANA DIZOGlIO 14TH ESSEX [ 617-722-1604 ]
ANNE GOBI PLYMOUTH AND NORFOLK [ 617-722-1540 ]
DON HUMASON 2ND HAMPTON AND HAMPSHIRE [ 617-722-1415 ]
JOHN KEENAN NORFOLK AND PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-1494 ]
EDWARD KENNEDY 1ST MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-1630 ]
MARK MONTIGNY 2ND BRISTOL AND PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-1440 ]
MICHAEL RODRIGUES 1ST BRISTOL AND PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-1114 ]
KAREN SPILKA 2ND MIDDLESEX AND NORFOLK [ 617-722-1500 ]
BRUCE TARR 1ST ESSEX AND MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-1600 ]
WALTER TIMILTY NORFOLK BRISTOL AND PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-1643 ]
DEAN TRAN WORCESTER AND MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-1230 ]


  • HOUSE members who did not sponsor S.1209 -

BRIAN M ASHE 2ND HAMPDEN [ 617-722-2430 ]
BRUCE J AYERS 1ST NORFOLK [ 617-722-2230 ]

F JAY BARROWS 1ST BRISTOL [ 617-722-2488 ]
DONALD R BERTHIAUME JR. 5TH WORCESTER [ 617-722-2090 ]
DAVID BIELE 4TH SUFFOLK [ 6177222080 ]
NICHOLAS A BOLDYGA 3RD HAMPDEN [ 617-722-2810 ]
LINDA CAMPBELL 15TH ESSEX [ 617-722-2380 ]
PATRICK O’CONNOR PLYMOUTH AND NORFOLK [ 617-722-1646 ]
MICHAEL RUSH NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK [ 617-722-1348 ]
TACKEY CHAN 2ND NORFOLK  [ 617-722-2014 ]
EDWARD F COPPINGER 10TH SUFFOLK [ 617-722-2080]
WILLIAM  CROCKER 2ND BARNSTABLE  [ 617-722-2014 ]
MARK J CUSACK 5TH NORFOLK [ 617-722-2320 ]
JOSH CUTLER 6TH PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-2810 ]
ROBERT DELEO 19TH SUFFOLK [ 617-722-2500 ]  [SPEAKER ]
DAVID DECOSTE 5TH PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-2460 ]
MARCOS DEVERS 16TH ESSEX [ 617-722-2020 ]
PAUL DONATO 35TH MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-2180 ]
SHAWN DOOLEY 9TH NORFOLK [ 617-722-2810 ]
PETER DURANT 6TH WORCESTER [ 617-722-2060 ]
TRICIA FARLEY-BOUVIER 3RD BERKSHIRE [ 617-722-2240 ]
KIMBERLY FERGUSON 1ST WORCESTER [ 617-722-2263 ]
MICHAEL FINN 6TH HAMPDEN [ 617-722-2676 ]
PAUL K FROST 7TH WORCESTER [ 617-722-2489 ]
WILLIAM GALVIN 6TH NORFOLK [ 617-722-2692 ]
COLLEEN GARRY 36TH MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-2380 ]
SUSAN WILLIAMS GIFFORD 2ND PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-2100 ]
THOMAA GOLDEN 16TH MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-2263 ]
SHEILA HARRINGTON  1ST MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-2305 ]
BRADFORD HILL 4TH ESSEX [ 617-722-2100 ]
RUSSELL HOLMES 6TH SUFFOLK [ 617-722-2220]
STEVEN HOWITT 4TH BRISTOL [ 617-722-2305 ]
DANIEL HUNT 13TH SUFFOLK [ 617-722-2692]
BRADLEY JONES 20TH MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-2100 ]
HANNAH KANE  11TH WORCESTER [ 617-722-2810 ]
KATHLEEN LANATRA 12TH PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-2430 ]
MARK LOMBARDO 22ND MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-2460 ]
CHRISTOPHER MARKEY 9TH BRISTOL [ 617-722-2020 ]
RONALD MARIANO 3RD NORFOLK [ 617-722-2300 ]
JOSEPH MCKENNA 18TH WORCESTER [ 617-722-2060 ]
LENNY MIRRA 2ND ESSEX [ 617-722-2488 ]
DAVID MURADIAN 9TH WORCESTER [ 617-722-2240 ]
JAMES MURPHY 4TH NORFOLK [ 617-722-2220 ]
DAVID NANGLE 17TH MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-2520 ]
SHAUNA O’CONNELL 3RD BRISTOL [ 617-722-2305 ]
NORMAL ORRALL 12TH BRISTOL [ 617-722-2090 ]
JERRALD PARISELLA 6TH ESSEX [ 617-722-2240 ]
THOMAS PETROLATI 7TH HAMPDEN [ 617-722-2575]
ELIZABETH POIRIER 14TH BRISTOL [ 617-722-2100 ]
ANGELO PUPPOLO 12 HAMPDEN [ 617-722-2006 ]
DAVID ALLEN ROBINSON 19TH MIDDLESEX [ 617-722-2210 ]
JOHN ROGERS 12TH NORFOLK [ 617-722-2092 ]
JEFFREY ROY 10TH NORFOLK [ 617-722-2030 ]
ANGELO SCACCIA 14TH SUFFOLK [ 617-722-2230 ]
TODD SMOLA 1ST HAMPDEN [ 617-722-2100 ]
ALAN SILVIA 7TH BRISTOL [ 617-722-2230 ]
THEODORE SPELIOTIS 13TH ESSEX [ 617-722-2410 ]
MICHAEL J SOTER 8TH WORCESTER [ 617-722-2460 ]
ALLYSON SULLIVAN 7TH PLYMOUTH [ 617-722-2014 ]
JOHN VELIS 4TH HAMPDEN [ 617-722-2877 ]
DAVID VIEIRA 3RD BARNSTABLE [ 617-722-2230 ]
ROSELEE VINCENT 16TH SUFFOLK [ 617-722-2210 ]
JOSEPH WAGNER 8TH HAMPDEN [ 617-722-2783 ]
TIMOTHY WHELAN 1ST BARNSTABLE  [617-722-2488 ]
SUSANNAH WHIPPS  2ND FRANKLIN [ 617-722-2090 ]
BUD WILLIAMS 11TH HAMPDEN [617-722-2304 ]
JONATHAN ZLOTNIK 2ND WORCESTER [ 617-722-2080 ]

 

 

Friday, April 26, 2019

Statements from European Health, Water, & Environment Authorities on Water Fluoridation

Statements from European Health, Water, & Environment Authorities on Water Fluoridation

Fluoride Action Network | 2007
Although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control hails water fluoridation as one of the “top ten public health achievements of the twentieth century,” most of the western world, including the vast majority of western Europe, does not fluoridate its water supply.

At present, 97% of the western European population drinks non-fluoridated water. This includes: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and approximately 90% of both the United Kingdom and Spain. Although some of these countries fluoridate their salt, the majority do not. (The only western European countries that allow salt fluoridation are Austria, France, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.)

Despite foregoing “one of the top ten public health achievements of the twentieth century,” tooth decay rates have declined in Europe as precipitously over the past 50 years as they have in the United States. This raises serious questions about the CDC’s assertion that the decline of tooth decay in the United States since the 1950s is largely attributable to the advent of water fluoridation.

STATEMENTS FROM EUROPEAN OFFICIALS:


Austria:

“Toxic fluorides have never been added to the public water supplies in Austria.”
SOURCE: M. Eisenhut, Head of Water Department, Osterreichische Yereinigung fur das Gas-und Wasserfach Schubertring 14, A-1015 Wien, Austria, February 17, 2000.


Belgium:

“This water treatment has never been of use in Belgium and will never be (we hope so) into the future. The main reason for that is the fundamental position of the drinking water sector that it is not its task to deliver medicinal treatment to people. This is the sole responsibility of health services.”
SOURCE: Chr. Legros, Directeur, Belgaqua, Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2000.


Denmark:

“We are pleased to inform you that according to the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy, toxic fluorides have never been added to the public water supplies. Consequently, no Danish city has ever been fluoridated.”
SOURCE: Klaus Werner, Royal Danish Embassy, Washington DC, December 22, 1999.
To read the Danish Ministry of the Environment’s reasons for banning fluoridation, click here.




Finland:

“We do not favor or recommend fluoridation of drinking water. There are better ways of providing the fluoride our teeth need.”

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Taxes are due May 1st! Templeton's Tax Rate 2019 - $ 17.24

The 100 Massachusetts towns with the highest property tax rates

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Veterans want to expand marijuana access to curb opioid crisis

Veterans want to expand marijuana access to curb opioid crisis

Japan Leads the Way: No Vaccine Mandates and No MMR Vaccine = Healthier Children


April 23, 2019

Japan Leads the Way: No Vaccine Mandates and No MMR Vaccine = Healthier Children

The Promise of Good Health; Are We Jumping Off the Cliff in the U.S.?

By Kristina Kristen, Guest Writer

In the United States, many legislators and public health officials are busy trying to make vaccines de facto compulsory—either by removing parental/personal choice given by existing vaccine exemptions or by imposing undue quarantines and fines on those who do not comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) vaccine edicts. Officials in California are seeking to override medical opinion about fitness for vaccination, while those in New York are mandating the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine for 6-12-month-old infants for whom its safety and effectiveness “have not been established.”

The U.S. has the very highest infant mortality rate of all industrialized countries, with more American children dying at birth and in their first year than in any other comparable nation—and more than half of those who survive develop at least one chronic illness.
 
American children would be better served if these officials—before imposing questionable and draconian measures—studied child health outcomes in Japan. With a population of 127 million, Japan has the healthiest children and the very highest “healthy life expectancy” in the world—and the least vaccinated children of any developed country. The U.S., in contrast, has the developed world’s most aggressive vaccination schedule in number and timing, starting at pregnancy, at birth and in the first two years of life. Does this make U.S. children healthier? The clear answer is no. The U.S. has the very highest infant mortality rate of all industrialized countries, with more American children dying at birth and in their first year than in any other comparable nation—and more than half of those who survive develop at least one chronic illness. Analysis of real-world infant mortality and health results shows that U.S. vaccine policy does not add up to a win for American children.

Japan and the U.S.; Two Different Vaccine Policies

In 1994, Japan transitioned away from mandated vaccination in public health centers to voluntary vaccination in doctors’ offices, guided by “the concept that it is better that vaccinations are performed by children’s family doctors who are familiar with their health conditions.” The country created two categories of non-compulsory vaccines: “routine” vaccines that the government covers and “strongly recommends” but does not mandate, and additional “voluntary” vaccines, generally paid for out-of-pocket. Unlike in the U.S., Japan has no vaccine requirements for children entering preschool or elementary school.

Japan also banned the MMR vaccine in the same time frame, due to thousands of serious injuries over a four-year period—producing an injury rate of one in 900 children that was “over 2,000 times higher than the expected rate.” It initially offered separate measles and rubella vaccines following its abandonment of the MMR vaccine; Japan now recommends a combined measles-rubella (MR) vaccine for routine use but still shuns the MMR. The mumps vaccine is in the “voluntary” category.
Here are key differences between the Japanese and U.S. vaccine programs:
  • Japan has no vaccine mandates, instead recommending vaccines that (as discussed above) are either “routine” (covered by insurance) or “voluntary” (self-pay).
  • Japan does not vaccinate newborns with the hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine, unless the mother is hepatitis B positive.
  • Japan does not vaccinate pregnant mothers with the tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine.
  • Japan does not give flu shots to pregnant mothers or to six-month-old infants.
  • Japan does not give the MMR vaccine, instead recommending an MR vaccine.
  • Japan does not require the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
No other developed country administers as many vaccine doses in the first two years of life.
 


In contrast, the U.S. vaccine schedule (see Table 1) prescribes routine vaccination during pregnancy, calls for the first HepB vaccine dose within 24 hours of birth—even though 99.9% of pregnant women, upon testing, are hepatitis B negative, and follows up with 20 to 22 vaccine doses in the first year alone. No other developed country administers as many vaccine doses in the first two years of life.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

House to Start FY20 State Budget Debate Today

Contact Your Legislator Today


House to Start FY20 State Budget Debate Today

  
Representatives to Decide on All Municipal and School Amendments
  
Please Call Your Representatives TODAY, and Ask them to Support Higher Chapter 70 Minimum Aid, Charter School Reimbursements, School Transportation Reimbursements, PILOT Funding, and Other Key Priorities
Monday, April 22 – Beginning later this morning, the House of Representatives is scheduled to start debate on the fiscal 2020 state budget. During this debate, House members will take up nearly 1,400 amendments, including dozens related to municipal and school aid accounts and important policy issues that affect local government. Debate is expected to wrap up by the end of this week.
  
Now is the time to talk with your State Representatives about budget amendments.
  
The MMA has sent a detailed letter to all House members, forcefully advocating on the major local government amendments.
  
  
A copy of the House Ways and Means budget (H. 3800) and all proposed amendments can be found on the Legislature’s website at:
  
  
Please review the MMA’s House budget letter, and call your Representatives as soon as possible today to let them know how these amendments would impact your community. This is the best time to influence their support for the issues and amendments that matter most. Please call on them to support amendments that would fully fund state obligations, such as charter school reimbursements and school transportation reimbursements.
  
This is a quick reference to the many amendments highlighted in the MMA’s letter to all House members:
  
School Aid
Ask Your Representatives to Support the Following Amendments:
• Chapter 70 Minimum Aid at $50 per Student (#992), instead of the $30 in H. 3800
• Full Funding of Charter School Impact Payments (#615)
• Retaining a 6-Year Charter School Reimbursement Schedule (#340)
• Full Funding for Regional School Transportation Reimbursements (#44)
• Full Funding for McKinney-Vento Student Transportation Reimbursements (#244)
• Funding for Out-of-District Vocational Student Transportation (#480 and #482)
• Funding for Summer Jobs for At-Risk Youth (#1285 and #1011)
  
Ask Your Representatives to Oppose the following Harmful Amendments:
• Increasing the Charter School Facilities Formula Component, which would Reduce Funds that could be Used to Offset Losses to Charter Schools (#615 and #1340)
  
Municipal Aid
Ask Your Representatives to Support the Following Amendments:
• Increased Funding for PILOT – the Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes Program (#878)
• Increased Funding for Shannon Anti-Gang Grants (#127)
• Increased Funding for Local Planning Grants (#836, #233, and #391)
• Increased Funding for Public Libraries (#337, #863, and #339)
• Increased Funding for the Housing Choice Initiative Program (#1215)
• Increased Funding for Labor Relations Staffing (#864, #77, and #798)
• Increased Funding for Complete Count Census Grants (#1354)
  
General Budget Amendments
Ask Your Representatives to Support the Following Amendments:
• Fixing Problems in the Tax Title Law (#100)
• Updating the Outdated Statute Governing Solar Property Tax Exemptions (#803)
• Creating an Extractor Bulk Purchasing Trust Fund (#286)
  
If you have any questions regarding any of these amendments, please contact MMA Legislative Director John Robertson at jrobertson@mma.org or (617) 427-7272.
  
Please Call Your Representatives Today and Ask them to Support Cities and Towns in the House Budget Debate
  
Thank You!!