new bedford

We're almost to the finish line with the final redistricting plan.  Several scenarios are being discussed to reduce the House seats from 10 to 9. One that has bubbled to the surface has two eastern MA districts merging - those represented by Stephen Lynch, South Boston, and William Keating, Quincy.  Under this plan, Congressman Barney Frank's current district boundaries would also change.  Stay tuned....there's more yet to come...

“It is a hard decision,’’ said state Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg, the committee’s cochair. “It produces many sleepless night between now and the finish line. You could be making a decision that could end someone’s career as well as harming the Commonwealth’s clout in Washington. What you decided in fact could affect national policy."  [Full Article:  The Boston Globe]

As part of Governor Patrick's summer listening tours, he stopped in Westport to talk with around 100 people about the extension of the commuter rail to New Bedford and Fall River.

He answered a range of questions on topics including education reform, agricultural policy and health care costs. He was asked about the PCB contamination at Westport Middle School and how the state might help.  [Full Article: SouthCoast Today]

Check out our news round up at the top of this page, and you will see dozens and dozens of similar "worry worry worry" stories from all over the state.

Saturday's Globe includes quotes from a numer of Mayors including Scott Lang from New Bedford.

Take New Bedford, which lost $2.8 million immediately and could lose another $8.2 million next year. Mayor Scott W. Lang is asking the city's nearly 4,000 employees to accept an across-the-board 10 percent pay cut this year, the elimination of some holidays, and a pay freeze next year.

If unions do not agree, Lang said, he will have to lay off hundreds of people.

"Crime's not taking layoffs, fires won't be subject to attrition, and the day-to-day necessary services certainly aren't going to diminish as a result of these constrictions to the budget," said Lang, whose city covers roughly half its $285 million budget with aid from the state. "What we need to do is find a way to keep people in jobs, which is the most important task we can accomplish right now in this economy."