Monday, January 7, 2013
Due to redistricting, Dwyer will no longer represent Stoneham's Precinct 3 in the Massachusettse House of Representatives.
Editor's note: This letter was provided to Stoneham Patch by Rep. Jim Dwyer. To the Residents of Stoneham: Over the past four years, I have had the honor and privilege to represent Stoneham’s precinct 3 in the Legislature. However, due to redistricting, Stoneham will now be represented by only one member of the House, my colleague Rep. Jason Lewis. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the residents of precinct 3 for their support and the honor of representing them at the State House. I also want to thank the many other residents of Stoneham who supported my campaigns and offered words of encouragement along the way. Sincerely, Jim Dwyer
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The bill both aims to ensure violent criminals stay behind bars while easing prison overcrowding by reducing drug-offense penalties.
A bill that toughens sentences for violent repeat offenders passed the Senate last Thursday after having been overwhelmingly approved in the House on July 18. The so-called "three-strikes" law eliminates parole for someone convicted three times of a violent crime, with at least one conviction having carried a minimum three-year prison term. It passed the House with a vote of 139-14. In the Senate, it passed 31-7. The movement to pass the law was fueled, in part, by outrage over two crimes. In one, Woburn police officer Jack Maguire was murdered by a felon. In the other crime more associated with the law, sometimes dubbed "Melissa's Law," 27-year-old Jamaica Plain schoolteacher Melissa Gosule was murdered in 1999 after being raped and …
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Reps. Jim Dwyer and Jason Lewis and Sen. Katherine Clark penned a letter asking the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to add Stoneham to the list of public hearings planned to discuss proposed cuts and changes to services.
[Editor's note: The information below was issued in a press statement from the Office of State Rep. Jason Lewis. It is a letter to the Massachusets Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Acting General Manager Jonathan Davis on behalf of Reps. Lewis and Jim Dwyer as well as Sen. Katherine Clark.] Dear Mr. Davis, As the legislative delegation for the Town of Stoneham, we are writing to request that an additional public meeting regarding the proposed MBTA fare and service changes be held in the Town of Stoneham. We are deeply concerned that under the proposed fare increases and service cuts - particularly Scenario 2 - Stoneham would face a devastating loss of public transit service. Scenario 2 proposes to eliminate Bus Route 132 which is the …
Monday, July 18, 2011
Check out the latest "Ask Your Official" feature.
Last week we asked our readers to ask State Rep. Jim Dwyer some questions to be featured in our latest "Ask Your Politician" feature. Today Stoneham Patch, in cooperation with Reading Patch and Woburn Patch, we bring you the answers to those questions. We will continue this cycle each month. So, if today's answers inspire a new question, ask it in the comment section below, or email mark.ouellette@patch.com. Important: You must be a current Stoneham resident to ask a question. Here are five questions that the state representative answered for this month's installment: What does the passage of the Municipal Health Insurance Reform bill mean for municipalities? The passage of the Municipal Health Insurance reform will allow cities and towns…
Monday, July 11, 2011
Reading, Stoneham and Woburn Patch take your questions to your officials.
In our ongoing mission to bring our readers solid local coverage, Stoneham Patch, in cooperation with Woburn Patch and Reading Patch, will take your questions this week to State Rep. Jim Dwyer. From your questions, the Reading, Woburn and Stoneham editors will select five to send to Dwyer, who has agreed to take the time to answer them in writing. Important: You must be a current resident of one of the three towns listed above to ask a question. We will accept your questions through 9 a.m. Wednesday. If all goes well, we expect to publish Dwyer's responses on Monday. Post your questions in the comment section below, or email them to Stoneham Patch Editor Mark Ouellette at mark.ouellette@patch.com.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Check out the state representative's updates on human trafficking, pay raises and more.
[Editor's note: The following is a legislative update provided by State Rep. Jim Dwyer’s Office.] Secure Communities Program Governor Patrick recently announced that he would not be signing the Secure Communities program. The Secure Communities program would give local and state law enforcement the ability to run the fingerprints of those arrested through customs enforcement databases. If the person arrested is here illegally, then deportation proceedings would begin. I strongly disagree with the Governor because this is a public safety mechanism that must be in place. The federal government has mandated that all 50 states join this program in an effort to make sure that we deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes. Opponents of …
Monday, June 13, 2011
Dwyer tackles inquiries related to Memorial Day parades, probation, and small business.
Stoneham Patch, in corporation with Woburn Patch and Reading Patch, asked last week what questions you would like to ask State Rep. Jim Dwyer. Today, we bring you the answers to those questions. We will continue this cycle each month. So, if today's answers inspire a new question, ask it in the comments section below, or email mark.ouellette@patch.com. Here are five questions that the state representative answered for this month's installment: From your experience, what are the implications to the public and to the 'clients' of the proposed merger of state Probation and Parole departments? After 34 years in the judicial system as a Juvenile Probation Officer, I was intrigued by the proposal at first. I reviewed the proposal submitted by …
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Reading, Stoneham and Woburn Patch take your questions to your officials.
In our ongoing mission to bring our readers solid local coverage, Stoneham Patch, in cooperation with Woburn Patch and Reading Patch, will take your questions this week to State Rep. Jim Dwyer. From your questions, the Reading, Woburn and Stoneham editors will select five to send to Dwyer, who has agreed to take the time to answer them in writing. We will accept your questions through 9 a.m. Wednesday. If all goes well, we expect to publish Dwyer's responses on Monday. Post your questions in the comment section below, or email them to Stoneham Patch Editor Mark Ouellette at mark.ouellette@patch.com.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Reading, Stoneham and Woburn Patch take your questions to your officials.
In our ongoing mission to bring our readers solid local coverage, Stoneham Patch, in cooperation with Woburn Patch and Reading Patch, will take your questions this week to State Rep. Jim Dwyer. From your questions, the Reading, Woburn and Stoneham editors will select five to send to Dwyer, who has agreed to take the time to answer them in writing. We will accept your questions through 9 a.m. Wednesday. If all goes well, we expect to publish Dwyer's responses on Monday. Post your questions in the comment section below, or email them to Stoneham Patch Editor Mark Ouellette at mark.ouellette@patch.com
Monday, May 16, 2011
Check out our new "Ask Your Official" feature.
We asked our readers as well as those from Reading and Woburn to ask Rep. Jim Dwyer some government-related questions and here are his responses: 1. Based on the below data, how does it make sense that Wellesley gets more chapter 70 aid per public school student than Stoneham or Woburn? Wellesley - Average property value = $724,000, median household income = $114,000 Stoneham - Average property value = $333,000, median household income = $57,000 Woburn - Average property value = $293,000, median household income = $55,000 2. What specifically do you plan on doing to ensure that Swampscott, Woburn, Stoneham and the 55 other communities that are underfunded under chapter 70 will get their appropriate funding for fy 12? Questions 1 and 2 are …
David Whelan
11:12 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Outrageous pensions and spending in general on top of patronage, most of which should be prosecuted for what it is, a criminal offense, has brought the MBTA to it's kness. The MBTA is not a "going concern" and should file for bankruptcy just as any other upsidedown entity would do. Asking taxpayers and computers to bail out this bloated beast is nothing short of kicking the can down the road. … more ›