Kim Driscoll

Moran Square project receives $450K state grant

November 1, 2023 by pkzadmin

FITCHBURG — The city recently received a $450,000 MassWorks Design Grant for the upcoming Moran Square Improvement Project.

City administration were presented with the grant at the One Stop for Growth Awards held on Oct. 24, where Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and other state officials announced $164 million in community grant funding.

According to a press release the grant will be used to fund the creation of the design work for the Moran Square project, which is in the preliminary stage. Moran Square is a heavily traveled intersection and gateway to downtown where Main Street, Summer Street, Lunenburg Street, Myrtle Avenue, and Sawyer Passway intersect.

The project is intended to reconfigure the intersection for safer vehicular and pedestrian use, upgrade sidewalks and crosswalks, and support the connection of the Twin Cities Rail Trail terminus with Main Street. The final phase of the construction project will include upgrading water and wastewater infrastructure, specifically the replacement of aged water line and sewer pipe relining to support the on-going growth of the area.

The $450,000 in grant funding will be combined with the fiscal 2024 state earmark of $125,000 received through Rep. Michael Kushmerek’s office to improve storm-water management, including potential green infrastructure as the intersection has experienced recent flooding during extreme rain events.

“This long overdue funding positions the city, in a future round of grants, to receive a MassWorks construction grant to implement this design,” said Mayor Stephen DiNatale. “With the increased development in downtown, and the significant flood events we continue to experience this project is desperately needed.”

For additional information contact Liz Murphy, Director of Community Development and Planning at 978-829-1897.

(Courtesy office of Fitchburg Community Development and Planning)

$8B in federal infrastructure funding to Mass.

October 20, 2023 by pkzadmin

LOWELL — The last time U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey were in Lowell, they came bearing a check for $21.4 million in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for four Mill City bridges that span canals fed by the mighty Merrimack River.

On Friday, both were at UMass Lowell for an Infrastructure Investment Day event to talk about the $8 billion in federal funding the commonwealth is receiving for infrastructure investments such as roads, bridges, public transportation, climate and clean energy initiatives, among other projects.

“Infrastructure is in part about how we move around,” Warren said by phone before the afternoon meetings. “We have to think ahead. What are our transportation needs? Not from 20 years ago, but 20 years out.”

As the chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy, Warren led a Senate hearing on the economic impact of federal investments in Massachusetts. The afternoon consisted of three panels broken out by presentations from federal agencies, state leadership and community leaders.

The senators were joined in the first panel discussion by U.S. Department of Energy Undersecretary for Infrastructure Kathleen Hogan and U.S. Department of Transportation Undersecretary of Transportation for Policy Carlos Monje, followed by Gov. Maura Healey and closing with UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen and other state and local leaders.

UML student and Student Body President Anthony Milisci attended the Senate hearing on behalf of the Student Government Association.

The public health major said his main focus was environmental health and clean energy, and that he was “interested in seeing how federal dollars have been impacting our campus specifically, but also the UMass system generally and Massachusetts as a whole.”

Transportation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, Monje said, and finding ways to improve accessibility and safety while also decreasing the carbon footprint is a goal of the federal dollars, which Markey called a “revolution in infrastructure investment.”

“Clean energy money,” Markey said. “I know a lot is going to be going to UMass Lowell, but the same thing is going to be happening all across the commonwealth. We’re not just the Bay State, we’re the Brain State,” he said to laughter. “We’re six times smaller than California, but in actual dollars, we compete and that goes into our economy and makes a big difference.”

Gov. Maura Healey testifies before the Infrastructure Investment Day panel chaired by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, held at UMass Lowell's University Crossing on Oct. 20. (Melanie Gilbert/Lowell Sun) — Gov. Maura Healey testifies before the Infrastructure Investment Day panel chaired by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, held at UMass Lowell’s University Crossing on Oct. 20. (Melanie Gilbert/Lowell Sun)

Making a difference was the point of Healey’s remarks during the state panel discussion. She said her administration was “chasing hard after these federal dollars” and called the funding of “critical importance to our state’s goals and our future.”

She noted that many of the grants require as much as $3 billion in state matching funds to maximize how much might be awarded. Massachusetts, she said, already has set aside $2 billion.

“As unprecedented as these investments are, there’s still a limited number of federal dollars available,” Healey said. “That means there is fierce competition all across the country to bring these dollars home. Some states put their own funds on the table to combine with federal dollars in order to be competitive to win federal grants.”

Collaboration was the theme of Chen’s remarks during the local impacts hearing testimony. She called partnerships the way to maximize the federal dollars and realize “big things,” citing the university’s geothermal project as an example of that kind of community investment.

“The geothermal project is a great example of a partnership with a company, with the neighborhood, with the city,” she said. “It’s about creating this integrated ecosystem. We can only do big things if we do them together.”

Although no specific projects were presented during the public hearing, general ambitions included clean energy projects, expanding broadband access, rehabbing senior and low-income housing to be climate resilient, clean air, safe water, public safety, research and improvements to roads and bridges.

Senior Advisor to President Biden and White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu met privately with a group of mayors to discuss Massachusetts’ infrastructure needs, but spoke briefly to reporters before he flew back to Washington.

“Massachusetts,” he said, “is punching way above its weight, and it’s a pretty heavyweight place, already.”

Warren agreed with his assessment, offering that “Governor Healey and her administration have been strong partners in infrastructure and other projects that received federal funding.”

That funding includes hundreds of millions of federal dollars to replace the Sagamore and Bourne bridges on Cape Cod and nearly $170 million to replace Lowell’s 40-year-old Rourke Bridge.

“One of the things that make this such an exciting moment, is that there’s enough infrastructure money on the table that local communities can dream a little,” Warren said by phone. “They can think about the kind of changes in their local infrastructure that will improve the quality of life for the people who live there.”

Officials tout state, region’s potential as tourism destination

June 13, 2023 by pkzadmin

LOWELL — State officials touted the Massachusetts tourism economy Tuesday at the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau’s annual Tourism Conference, where a focus was rekindling the tourism industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A ballroom of the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center was packed with state officials and professionals in the Massachusetts tourism industry Tuesday morning, where they heard from local and state officials, including Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, about how the industry is faring in a “post-COVID” world.

Chau touted Lowell as a tourism destination of its own. He said Lowell should continue working to become a “destination city.”

“The city of Lowell is working hard to expand on our strengths, and expand our work to make Lowell a destination city, a place where the rich history, cultural experience, world class events and food and culture make people want to visit again, and again,” said Chau. “Where else can you eat around the world in one day?”

Driscoll delivered the opening keynote remarks, where she said that Merrimack Valley as a whole “has a lot to offer” as a tourism destination.

“The beauty of an authentic place tied to the history of so many things that are so great about the founding of our country, a lot of it started in this region, or the great age of the Industrial Revolution,” said Driscoll. “It makes for a livable city, it makes for a great destination and it makes for a great place to generate tourism dollars for our commonwealth.”

Even beyond the Merrimack Valley, Driscoll said, Massachusetts has several regions that are worth a visit on their own, which is a benefit to the state as a whole.

“Tourism is not about competition. I know we have all of our unique regions, but how lucky are we to live in a commonwealth that goes from the coastline to the beauty of the Berkshires, and you could do it in one day if you had to,” said Driscoll. “That is a collaborative opportunity, not a competition.”

Driscoll and others noted the extreme difficulty the tourism and hospitality industries faced as a result of the pandemic, from which the industry is still working to fully recover.

“It feels like we are still in a messy transition stage post-pandemic. What is going to happen with workforce needs? How are we going to think about remote work? What happens with respect to people’s travel habits?” said Driscoll. “We have seen a lot of people feeling that pent up demand to get out of where they were, which has been good. How can we take advantage of that moving forward and think about how we can bring innovation and technology into this space?”

Driscoll also noted that Massachusetts is not one of the many states passing anti-LGBTQ or anti-abortion legislation, which she said could push people to travel here instead of states that are passing such laws.

“When I think about what is happening nationally, the level of divisiveness tied to reproductive freedoms or how people identify, that is not happening here. We are a beacon for everyone, we are a place that welcomes and works for all, and tourism and art and culture are key pieces of that,” said Driscoll.

The conference later transitioned to a panel discussion between state Sens. Ed Kennedy and Paul Mark, state Rep. Mindy Domb and moderator Charles Stefanini of CS Consulting LLC. The panel of elected officials spanning from Lowell to the furthest points of Western Massachusetts centered on state investment in tourism.

During the panel, Kennedy remarked that the tourism and hospitality industries were impacted by the pandemic “harder than any other sector,” and said that the state put in measures to support it during that period.

“One of the things we were able to do is to do away with the requirement for matching funds for regional tourism councils, so that during those years they didn’t have to come up with matching funds, which was going to be impossible for them,” said Kennedy. “We were also able to argue successfully for [American Rescue Plan Act] funds for the industry.”

All three of the elected officials in the panel currently serve in the state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development. Mark said that 2023 is going to be a test of where the industry truly stands in a post-COVID environment.

“What we are going to find out is if behaviors have changed forever, or was it just a condition of, ‘this is where we were and how people felt safe,’” said Mark. “Are there people that have decided they just want to sit home and watch Netflix?”

Domb said that the pandemic decline of the tourism industry should make people realize how important it is to Massachusetts.

“Now we recognize, if we didn’t before, how important it is to the economy,” said Domb. “I am looking forward to building upon the successes. I think that the Legislature has done a good job on that in other aspects.”

Sunday Notebook: The other side of the bridge

January 8, 2023 by pkzadmin

We’ve had Climate Week and Infrastructure Week. Let’s belatedly call this one “Bridge Week.”

When Beacon Hill stirred back into action from a quiet holiday weekend, it was still in the realm of the Baker administration. Now, after a couple of days of symbolic artifact exchanges and oaths of office and a basketball-themed gala funded by groups with state government interests, we’re officially in Healey territory.

The transition did not end when Gov. Charlie Baker exited the building in the ceremonial “lone walk” back into civilian life — Baker continued to work signing bills from his Swampscott home afterward — nor when Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll stood before a packed House chamber to deliver their first remarks as the new executive team.

In her time as attorney general and on notably on the campaign trail as well, Healey often praised Baker and his work over the past eight years. Healey returned to that well in her inaugural speech, saying he “governed with integrity and care,” hinting that she intends to take a roughly similar approach to the top job despite their partisan differences on paper.

Indeed, state government will retain a Baker strain for the foreseeable future with many Baker holdovers keeping offices running at least in the early days of the Healey administration, and perhaps longer.

Healey kicked off her first full day in the corner office Friday by convening her first Cabinet meeting, bringing together a still-incomplete group of top deputies who will oversee the vast network of executive agencies. That list includes Baker appointee Terrence Reidy, who will remain in the position of public safety and security secretary for Healey, and Jennifer Maddox, Baker’s housing undersecretary who will serve as acting housing and economic development secretary until Healey pick Yvonne Hao takes the oath of office as a standalone economic development secretary. Healey plans to file legislation to create a separate housing secretary position, and she has not yet said who she will pick for that important new role.

Even in departments where Healey has named her own secretary, Baker appointees remain in charge of day-to-day tasks. Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, who stepped into that role during Baker’s first term in 2017, appeared live on WBZ Friday morning to talk about road conditions amid ongoing winter weather, and Baker-era Department of Transportation Communications Director Jacque Goddard tweeted a plug for the segment.

On Baker’s final full day in office Wednesday, his administration named Audrey Morse Gasteier as acting executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, putting in place another official who will stick around at least partly into the Healey administration.

It’s an open question how long some Baker veterans will stay in their roles under Healey. They might be happy to hand the reins over once the new administration is ready, or see valuable opportunities outside the halls of state government as employers clamor for talent. Or they might simply enjoy the work enough to stay on board if Healey will have them.

The Healey policy agenda became clearer this week, too.

An ongoing theme during the campaign was a lack of specificity from Healey, who published lengthy plans online but also drew criticism for regularly stopping short in her public comments of outlining exactly how she would tackle a given issue or problem. Her inaugural speech was far more granular and detailed, and she even circled a few specific dates on the calendar.

That gives the press and the public a few early milestones to watch. The first annual state budget Healey needs to file by March 1 will “include funding to hire 1,000 additional workers focused on the operation of the MBTA.” By March 6 (“in the next 60 days”), Healey expects to appoint a new MBTA safety chief; by April 15 (“in my first 100 days”), she plans to file legislation to create a standalone secretary of housing separate from the combined housing and economic development secretary under Baker; and by the time Healey hits the one-year mark on Jan. 5, 2024, she said those 1,000 T workers would be on board and her team will have finished its work to identify unused state land and facilities that can be converted to rental housing.

Problems are already piling up for the Democrat to address, beyond the near-omnipresent issues she’s targeted like high costs of living, child care access and clean energy.

The National Transportation Safety Board appears to have broken news about a two-year delay to an MBTA safety project that is already overdue. In a report published Thursday about a July 2021 Green Line crash, the federal agency said anti-collision technology it first recommended more than a decade ago is slated to come online by June 2025 — roughly two years after the most recent target the T mentioned publicly.

MBTA officials refused to explain the June 2025 timeline. On Friday, a day after the NTSB revealed the development, T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said only that agency staff would provide an update about the anti-collision technology at a board meeting “this month.”

Meanwhile, adding to our Bridge Week theme, the federal government dealt a major blow to the Cape Cod region by rejecting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ latest application for nearly $2 billion in grant funds for replacement of the Bourne and Sagamore bridges connecting mainland Massachusetts to the Cape.

It was the second time in the past four months that an effort to secure federal dollars for the project stumbled, and while there will be other grant rounds and options available, questions about how to pay for a project whose price tag has soared to almost $4 billion remain unanswered.

Massachusetts has an all-Democrat delegation in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate who ostensibly have good relationships with President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, but so far that has not delivered much-needed money for the effort to replace the decades-old spans that shuttle millions of visitors every year.

Based on the way the U.S. House has been functioning this week — a dozen rounds of voting for speaker across four days, and Republican Kevin McCarthy still unable to wrangle enough support to win the gavel — serious questions are forming about how much Congress can accomplish during at least the first two years of Healey’s tenure. That could make a big difference for every state.

STORY OF THE WEEK: New lawmakers and a new executive team took their places atop Beacon Hill, but the celebrations won’t last long as looming issues and tough questions are already piling up.

SPEECHES OF THE WEEK: On a hill where decision-making is centralized — claims to the contrary notwithstanding — a person can learn a lot about the year ahead by listening to the inaugural speeches from incoming Gov. Healey and Lt. Gov. Driscoll, returning House Speaker Ronald Mariano, and reelected Senate President Karen Spilka.

SONG OF THE WEEK: For those who missed the inaugural bash at TD Garden, where Grammy-winner Brandi Carlile helped write the opening chapter of the Healey-Driscoll story.

Local leaders react as Maura Healey celebrates historic inauguration

January 6, 2023 by pkzadmin

The story of Gov. Maura Healey’s administration is yet to be written.

But if the energetic crowd at the TD Garden on Thursday night is any indication, there’s a lot of people excited for the stories to be told and the work that lies ahead. Under a sports theme, a nod to Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll’s days on the basketball court, was history.

For the first time in state history, women occupy the governor and lieutenant governor positions. Additionally, Healey is now the first woman elected governor and first lesbian woman to hold the office in Massachusetts — the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004.

Healey’s election is also a step forward for LGBTQ representation in state houses across the country, following the election of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a bisexual woman elected in 2016, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a gay man, elected in 2019. A second lesbian woman, Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon, was also elected in 2022.

The energy inside the TD Garden in Boston at the Jan. 5 inauguration ball for Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll was absolutely electric as thousands gathered to celebrate history in the making. The festive basketball themed fete featured speeches from the dynamic female duo, musical acts and performances from the Boston Gay Men's Chorus, Grammy award winning artist Brandi Carlile, who brought her wife up on stage for a duet, and many more. (DANIELLE RAY/SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE) — The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus performs at the TD Garden in Boston on Thursday as part of the inauguration celebration for Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. (DANIELLE RAY/SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE)

Sitting in the front row of the TD Garden, Judy Maruca of Charlton said she thought Healey did a tremendous job as attorney general and was excited to be a part of the historic event. She added that she enjoyed seeing the peaceful transition of power with now-former Gov. Charlie Baker.

“I think she’s a strong negotiator and a passionate advocate for housing,” Maruca said of Healey.

The history of Healey’s inauguration was not lost on Maruca.

“It bothers me that [gender] is even still an issue that that should be a factor in how somebody performs a job. There’s reason to celebrate and there’s reason for us to continue to ask why it’s still relevant,” Maruca said.

Supporter Sue Smith-Scott of Charlton said she liked that Healey wasn’t afraid to stand up to the administration of former President Donald Trump.

“The first time I heard her speak was at the [Boston] Women’s March, right after Trump was elected,” Scott-Smith said. “And she gave me hope.”

Speaking from centerstage, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said, “For all the little girls out there, we may be the first all-female team leading the state, but we will not be the last.”

As Driscoll’s “teammate” Healey took the stage, she pledged both she and Driscoll were committed to having Massachusetts be “truly a commonwealth.”

“We know like any great team, and I will always be a point guard, it’s about the assist,” Healey said to cheers. “That’s the statistic that matters — the assist — and I know I can count on you people, all across the great state of Massachusetts to do just that.”

On the floor of the event, a number of local dignitaries shared reflections of the historic affair.

State Rep. Michael Kushmerek, D-Fitchburg, said the moment was about the “peaceful and democratic transfer of power from one administration to another.”

“Everybody’s working together seamlessly to make sure that from governor to governor, from Legislature Legislature, that everybody is set up for success to ensure that businesses and residents are going to prosper,” Kushmerek added.

Leominster School Committee member and Executive Director of Ginny’s Helping Hand Brandon Robbins expressed optimism about the state’s future under Healey and Driscoll’s leadership.

“As a School Committee member, education is a top priority for me,” Robbins said. “The administration’s track record for support of public education is strong, and the commitment to funding mechanisms such as the Student Opportunity Act was clear in the governor’s inaugural remarks.”

Robbins added, “Their victory and administration provides an opportunity for everyone of us to see themselves in our leaders. I am excited as they ‘move the ball forward’ and bring our commonwealth forward.”

Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau said, “There is a new paradigm of openness and inclusion in Massachusetts. Gov. Healey and Lt. Gov. Driscoll are true leaders making history, putting our commonwealth on a new and successful path. Tonight demonstrates the America we love.”

Like Kushmerek, Lowell’s newest Democratic state Rep. Rodney Elliott was in attendance for the swearing-in ceremony and the nighttime celebration. Elliott said both events marked a significant moment in the state’s history.

“At both events you could feel enthusiasm, energy and electricity in the air. We face a lot of challenges but I feel the governor and Legislature are ready and prepared to tackle issues of mental health, affordable housing, infrastructure, and I am very enthusiastic to be part of the House to play a role,” Elliott said after the ceremony.

For state Rep. Natalie Higgins, D-Leominster, it is an incredible moment to have two women leading the commonwealth with the first LGBTQ governor in the state.

“While Massachusetts continues to bring equity to the forefront of our legislation, we don’t always see that equity play out in our reality. While over 20,000 men have been elected to the Massachusetts Legislature, only 232 women have been elected in that same time,” Higgins said. “Further, while Massachusetts has long been a leader on LGBTQ+ rights, we continue to face increased discrimination of our LGBTQ+ neighbors and legislation targeting LGTBQ+ people in schools, libraries, healthcare and more. This week fills me with so much hope as a queer woman in this Commonwealth, and I know it will pave the way for many more firsts.”

Although Democrat Margaret Scarsdale, the 1st Middlesex District state representative-elect, was unable to be seated this week with the rest of her colleagues, she too paused to reflect on the historic moment. She was in attendance as Healey took the oath at the State House.

“What more powerful and meaningful way to once again demonstrate that Massachusetts is a leader than by our inauguration of Maura Healey, our first woman governor and first openly gay governor,” Scarsdale said Friday. “These are not just symbolic firsts: They are a forceful reaffirmation that we understand the importance and power of diversity, of welcoming all voices to the table. Diversity empowers everyone, and is the path towards a better future for all our residents. Gov. Healey is a dedicated and proven leader, and I look forward to working with her administration.”

Headlining the evening’s festivities was six-time Grammy Award winner and Americana extraordinaire Brandi Carlile. Healey said that if she was allowed to have one performer at inauguration, Carlile was her choice.

“I really admire how much she’s put herself out there,” Healey said. “I admire her voice — not just her singing voice of course — but also the voice she gives to so many, so many women, young LGBTQ people. So many people, from whatever walk of life, may have felt vulnerable, may have felt marginalized, may have been made to feel less than.”

In between songs during her set, Carlile said Massachusetts had chosen a “hellraiser” in Healey and shared her own story as a lesbian woman. When she wanted to marry her wife, Catherine Shepherd, she said they did so in Massachusetts, a place they could feel “legitimized.” Throughout the performance, people from the audience could be heard encouraging to Carlile to move to the state permanently.

Sentinel & Enterprise Reporter Danielle Ray contributed to this report.

Kim Driscoll

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