State House Roundup: Tale of two March 11s
Katie Lannan
March 11 was the first day mass vaccination site signups opened to Massachusetts teachers, the last day - before a preregistration system went live Friday - that thousands of appointments at those sites would be released all at once and swiftly snatched up in a stressful scramble, and the day President Biden said there d be enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for all American adults by the end of May.
Here in the infinite time loop that is daily life in a yearlong (so far) global pandemic, where the length of days and months can seem completely arbitrary and divorced from any traditional structure, Thursday also feels like it could have been March 11, 2020, the day President Trump restricted travel from Europe, the World Health Organization officially called it a pandemic, the NBA suspended its season and Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced they d contracted the coronavirus.
East Somerville’s Tracey Pratt celebrated at Black Excellence Event
Community Content
East Somerville resident Tracey Pratt was recently honored at the 2021 Black Excellence on the Hill event, which is hosted annually by the Massachusetts Black & Latino Legislative Caucus (MBLLC) to commemorate Black community leaders and trailblazers who are making a difference in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
Pratt was nominated for this recognition by Rep. Mike Connolly, D-26th Middlesex. This year, the event was held virtually with opening remarks from Rep. Chynah Tyler, D-7th Suffolk; House Speaker Ronald Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk; and Senate President Karen Spilka, D-2nd Middlesex and Norfolk. The keynote address was delivered by Sean Ellis, founder of the Exoneree Network whose life story of being falsely accused of murder was the subject of the acclaimed Netflix Documentary Trial 4.
State Rep. Andy X. Vargas was recently named vice chair of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. Vargas, who was elected to represent Haverhill in 2017, was appointed by House Speaker Ronald Mariano and won approval from House colleagues. “In addition to taking on this leadership role, I’m proud to serve […]
Relief bill coming together to aid workers, businesses
By Katie Lannan
State House News Service
Top legislative Democrats on Monday sketched out the broad outlines of legislation they said they d pass quickly, perhaps this week, to provide relief to workers and businesses still facing the economic strains of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Ways and Means Committee Chairs Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues said the bill they d agreed upon includes measures around paid leave, exemption from taxes for forgiven Paycheck Protection Program loans and unemployment insurance rate relief.
The measure, the details of which were not available Monday, strikes a balance to ensure that businesses can continue to move forward while protecting those working hard to keep the economy going, they said.