Bay State Bike Week Begins

The week encouraging bike-based activities is May 11-19.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation along with several other public and private entities have banded together to tell you to get out of your cars and onto your bikes this week. May 11 to 19 is Bay State Bike Week, a week unique to Massachusetts which celebrates all things bicycle. Stoneham residents are encourage to bike to work. There are bike-based events going on around the Bay State this week, and several in the Boston area. The Bay State Bike Week website has provided a searchable calendar to find dates, locations and times for events closest to you. What would a statewide bike week be without a little friendly competition? The MassCommute Bicycle Challenge will award those who log the most miles by bicycle. Other local …

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Transit Needs $13B Investment Over Next Decade

The board of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation released its 21st Century Transportation Plan, which outlines the state’s budgetary needs over the course of the next 10 years and beyond.

With infrastructure in need of repairs and the major city transit system steeped in billions of dollars of debt, the state may need to increase revenue from car registrations, license renewals, taxes and tolls. The Board of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation released its 21st Century Transportation Plan on Monday, which calls for a $13 billion overall investment in state transportations systems over the next decade. The breakdown is as follows, according to a statement associated with the plan released by Transportation Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey: To raise the necessary funds these recommendations will include an increase in the gas tax, payroll tax, sales tax or income tax; a new green fee on vehicle registrations; a …

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Governor Deval Patrick's Milton Home For Sale

The governor's Milton residence is listed for $1,500,000.

Governor Deval Patrick’s Milton residence is on the market. The 6,880-square-foot colonial at 75 Hinckley Road is currently listed for $1,500,000. The home, which is located in the Columbines section of Milton, has six bedrooms and five bathrooms. The real estate listing for the 1923 colonial is available here. Patrick, who is currently serving his second four-year term as Massachusetts Governor, has said he will not seek reelection in 2014.  

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Stoneham Faces Local Aid Cut in Governor's Proposal

Stoneham may see about $31,000 in local aid reductions, according to Town Administrator David Ragucci.

As part of the half-billion worth of cuts recently proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick, in anticipation of the "fiscal cliff" combined with projected state tax revenues that are more than $500,000 lower than previously expected, Stoneham could lose about $31,000 in local aid from state government, according to Town Administrator David Ragucci.  "The uncertainty of the fiscal cliff and the resulting slow down in growth, is the direct cause of our budget challenges," Patrick said. "Congress and the President must come to terms on a solution so the private sector will continue to make the kind of investments that create jobs, grow state and federal tax revenue collections and contribute to a lasting economic recovery." "It sounds like some grant (…

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Celia Jones

10:39 pm on Sunday, December 16, 2012

Agreed Mark, you would think that the administrative staff would figure that out right? Many residents should be up in arms over this. Residents, you should be fired up and advocating for the schools!!!! The children won't be doing it. If you sit back and expect someone else to do it then animals like Orloff will be the ones running the school in your town!   more ›

Stoneham to Receive Funding to Renovate Vacant Public Housing Units

The Department of Housing and Community Development announced Dec. 6 that $2.2 million in funding to 33 housing authorities to assist in the cost of re-occupying vacant, state-funded public housing units.

The state Department of Housing and Community Development recently announced that $2.2 million in funding to 33 housing authorities—including Stoneham—will assist in the cost of re-occupying vacant, state-funded public housing units, according to a press statement from Gov. Deval Patrick's office. Stoneham will be receiving $69,310 to revamp three vacant two-bedroom units on Washington Avenue, according to Sharon Wilkins, executive director of the Stoneham Housing Authority. The plan is to overhaul the kitchen and bathroom, paint the walls and replace the flooring, she explained. If Stoneham can complete the renovation work and fill the vacancies before March 31, 2013, the town will then receive the state funding awarded to them on Dec. 6…

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Patrick Says He Won't Leave Governorship for Washington

Rumor has it that Gov. Deval Patrick could be asked to be the next U.S. attorney general.

Governor Deval Patrick said he will not resign from his job even if President Obama asks him to become the next U.S. attorney general.  “I like what I do, and I have more that I want to accomplish in the next two years,” Patrick said, according to a Boston Globe article. “And then I promised [my wife] Diane that I’d go back into the private sector, and I’m going to keep that promise.” This means that Patrick will remain governor until his term expires, in January 2015.  Rumors have been swirling about Patrick's possible departure after Obama won re-election and a few nights later Patrick was among the few to attend what was called a "social dinner" at the White House. Patrick said there was no talk at the dinner about him joining the …

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Massachusetts Gets $141 Million in Federal Heating Fuel Aid

More than 200,000 low-income households expected to benefit.

More than 200,000 Bay State households will receive help paying for heating fuel this winter thanks to a federal grant of $141 million Massachusetts received Friday.  Gov. Deval Patrick said that the state will get $8.2 million more this year than last in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program money. The money, provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is intended to help eligible households pay winter heating bills. Eligibility for the program is based on household size and the gross annual income of every adult household member. The maximum income eligibility for the program is 60 percent of estimated state median income. Benefit levels vary depending on household income. Nationwide, the funds help  more than 4.6 …

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PATCH CHAT: Governor Pledges to 'Do Right By Each of Those Folks' Who Had Evidence Against Them Tainted by 'Rogue Chemist'

In a live chat on Patch Thursday, Gov. Deval Patrick said he approves of the extraordinary step of allowing release to defense attorneys of State Police interviews with alleged "rogue chemist" Annie Dookhan.

Gov. Deval Patrick took part in a live chat on Patch Thursday afternoon. In it, he spoke about the scandal engulfing the State Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain. That's where so-called "rogue chemist" Annie Dookhan is alleged to have tainted the evidence in as many as 34,000 cases. Thousands of drug dealers behind bars could go free (and some have already been released.) Asked by Patch for a progress report on the mammoth task of dealing with the fallout, here's what the governor typed: The criminal investigation is ongoing. Yesterday, in a very unusual move, prosecutors gave defense attorneys all the notes of State Police interviews of witnesses to date, including the notes of the interview of Annie Dookhan, the chemist at the center of this. …

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Read the Transcript of Our Live Chat with Gov. Deval Patrick

Check out the complete chat from Thursday below.