Dear Neighbors,
Belated wishes for a healthy and happy 2023!
We started the new year with a 13 hour session January 3, finalizing 86
bills but leaving a lot of unfinished business for this next year.
We began the new legislative session by being sworn in on January 4.
After being re-elected, Senate President Spilka spoke of hope, and urged
greater support for public education, from pre-K to public colleges and
universities and workforce training.
 On
January 5, I was happy to join colleagues to watch Governor Maura
Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll be sworn in. It was great
to greet the new governor in person, as the front page Globe photo
showed. Among the many issues the governor pledged to tackle, I was
especially glad to hear of her focus on housing, and her plan for free
community college - for those over 25.
Lt. Gov Driscoll is among very few leaders who spoke about older people,
saying we should be able to "grow old with dignity." She was mayor of Salem when
it became the third city in Massachusetts to join the AARP's network of
Age-Friendly Communities. (Somerville is also a member; click here to
see how we rate on AARP's "livability index."). Lt. Gov. Driscoll may
also have been thinking of her 89 year old father, who was in the
balcony.
Affordable housing in Union Square: for whom?
I'm happy to share the below announcement
of a January 25 lottery for two "affordable" condos near Union Square.
One has one bedroom, the other has three. If you know someone who's
qualified and interested, they should apply by 2 pm on January 23.
To apply, you must be within the income limits. You can’t apply for these condos if your income is too low.
The limits are different depending on how many people there are in your
household — they’re higher for larger households. If your household
has just one member, you can only apply for the 1-bedroom unit. Keep
reading for more about affordability.
The details of this announcement helped me
understand "affordability." These particular units are for people with
household income at 81-110% of Area Median Income (AMI). Other units,
projects, and programs are for people with less income. For example,
most housing vouchers in Somerville are for people with less than 30% of
AMI. The AMI for the Boston area in 2022 was $140,200. Here's a table showing what "extremely low," "very low," and "low income" mean, and what people with those incomes qualify for.
Many state house staff members would not qualify for the condos listed above - because their income is too low!
The same is true for many human services workers. I wrote about the shortage of home care and nursing home aides due to low pay in December. The Globe reported this week that non-profits can't recruit enough workers - also due to low pay.
The housing crisis is due to high costs - and to egregious income
inequality, with pay below a living wage for some of our most essential
workers.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day in our District
 Speaking
of income inequality: On Monday we remember Martin Luther King Jr. for
his leadership in struggles against segregation, poverty, and war. We
also should remember all the generations of millions of people who were
and are part of the ongoing struggle for equality and peace. I often
think of Fred Small's song, Love's Gonna Carry Us:
"Beware of the heroes, beware of the stars, cause the victory is hollow
if it ain't really ours...They say that freedom is a constant struggle
and you can't ever stop."
All of our district's communities have scheduled events on Monday:
Cambridge's Peace Commission holds its annual Commemoration at 11 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Central Square, with a community lunch at 12:45.
Cambridge's Many Helping Hands Day of Service starts at 10 in Central Square
West Medford Community Center holds its
Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration: Creating the Change at 11:00
AM. The in-person free event is sold out but you can watch by clicking
the link during the event MCM Live Viewing.
Somerville is scheduling an MLK Day of Service Youth Workshop and Community Clothing Drive from 1 - 3 at The Dojo at SomerNova (15 Properzi Way).
Winchester's MLK Day of Service will be from 10 - 1 at the High School.
Stay safe and stay in touch!
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