Councilor Connolly asks for support for Autism Insurance Bill
June 25, 2010
The Massachusetts Legislature is considering a bill entitled: An Act Relative to Insurance Coverage for Autism. This bill will require health insurers to provide the coverage necessary for individuals to be screened and treated for Autism Spectrum Disorders. As Chair of the Boston City Council’s Committee on Education, a former teacher, and a parent, I care deeply about the education of all of our students and I make no exception for the 11,520 Boston Public School students with special needs of which more than 500 are diagnosed with ASDs.
Beyond providing life-changing medical assistance to those affected by Autism, this bill will improve the effectiveness and quality of our classrooms and provide much needed support to families. Currently, lack of early detection places students in inappropriate learning environments. By increasing health coverage to include Autism diagnosis, affected students can be quickly identified and placed into the appropriate classrooms with the support and attention that will provide them with the best education possible. The current system places the financial and social burden of identifying and treating special needs students on the school districts. Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, projects that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would be able to save approximately $7 million dollars in early intervention costs, should insurance companies be required to expand their coverage.
On April 27, 2010, I sponsored a City Council resolution urging the State Legislature to quickly vote in favor of this vital bill. I’m proud to report that the City Council unanimously supported this resolution. Please join me in encouraging our state lawmakers to support this important legislation.
At-Large Councilor John Connolly, Chair, Committee on Education
The Boston Fire Fighter’s Contract. What’s your opinion?
June 3, 2010
The Boston Fire Fighters Union Local 718 and the City of Boston have been embroiled in a contract battle for the past few years. Recently, an independeant arbitrator awarded the BFD members a 19% pay raise. The contract is now in front of the Boston City Council for thier approval.
From Centre Street to City Council Chambers, everyone seems to have an opinion. What do you think?
Letter to the Editor
April 26, 2010
An editorial by Marie Watson.
People have long regarded West Roxbury as the ideal town in which to raise children in the City of Boston. It is small, but not too small. It’s close to downtown, but far enough away that you feel at peace with kids walking by themselves. It’s old homes with pristine lawns and white picket fences have had people flocking here for the chance to get their kids the best. This is the image we portray, but I am now well aware that this is all a facade that West Roxbury residents have built up, but will not back up.
In the past few weeks many people in and around West Roxbury have been reading about the issues my family has been dealing with since August of 2008. I feel no need to go into the details of the situation, as many people can refer to the Bulletin and Globe articles as well as the comments section on the Globe article which is where a lot more was said. Long story short, my brother was harassed and tormented in Cooperstown,NY on a trip that while not sanctioned by Parkway Little League (PLL), was made up of all PLL players as well as PLL coaches. The head coach was Nick Nasuti. Read more
Stopping House & Car Break-Ins
April 9, 2010
Answer lies in addressing root cause and trends associated with crime.
An Op-Ed by Paul Sullivan
Like many residents, I am disturbed by the recent rash of house and car break-ins in and around West Roxbury. As a former assistant district attorney for nearly 3 years, I worked with victims and the police to prosecute those who perpetrated these types of crimes.
Those who commit these types of crimes often possess common traits: lack of education, substance abuse issues, and unemployment. Instead of trying to address these issues, we seek a quick fix and continue to lock up offenders rather than addressing the root of the problem. Police and those in law enforcement are not at fault and sometimes we are left with no other choice but to seek incarceration. The real problem lies with policies. Rather than continuing with the status quo and hoping things will change, I want to break the chain by addressing the issues that lead to these behaviors. Read more
Happy New Year!!
December 31, 2009
Well it is almost 2010 can you believe it? The decade of the 00′s went by so fast that it is hard to believe what has happened over the past 10 years. From September 11th to the Gulf War & Afghanistan, from George Bush to Barack Obama, from Loserville to a Decade of Dominance in Boston sports. It makes you wonder what the next 10 years will bring.
When the decade began no one ever heard of Facebook or Twitter. Texting was primitive at best, and difficult. ParkwayBoston wasn’t even a word and most people still read the newspaper.
In 1999, “Wait til next year” was the expression most spoken when referring to Boston sports, since then the Red Sox won 2 World Championships, the Patriots have 3 Super Bowls, and the Celtics raised banner 17. Even the Bruins have been making a go of it lately.
Ten years ago Theo Epstein had just graduated from law school, Tom Brady was getting ready to lead Michigan in an Orange Bowl Victory, Coach Bill was a Defensive Coordinator in New York and Rondo had just started high school.
Here we are at the dawn of a new decade and it will be interesting to see what will be different. Will the print media become obsolete? Will tweeting become a fad, or the norm? Will there be a Middle Eastern Perestroika? Will the US be hit again? Will the Bruins win the Cup? Will there be a new Mayor in Boston?
Let us know what you think.
T’was the Night Before Thanksgiving!
November 23, 2009
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for several reasons. Not only is it one of the only holidays that nearly everyone celebrates (regardless of background or religion), but the whole point of the day is to stuff your face. You don’t have to buy any presents for anyone and the night before is like a holiday in and of itself.
I don’t know about the rest of the country, but here in Boston there has been a long running tradition of “going out” the night before Thanksgiving. It is a great night to see old friends, catch up, and build up an appetite (or headache) for the next day’s feast.
I remember the Wednesday before Thanksgiving being a big deal going back to high school. In those days it was all about the big rally for the Latin v English game. It was usually followed by a post rally party after school (which was around 10:30am) at a nearby field, or friends house and it was often hosted by some of the upper classmen (or upper classmen that had been “kept back”). Read more
My 150 Cents
June 9, 2009
This morning I was listening to the news when I heard that the Boston Newspaper Guild, which represents around 700 Boston Globe employees, voted down the recent contract that may have helped to save the paper. As a result the NY Times Company (owners of the Globe) decided to impose a 23% pay cut.
Now being a life long resident of the Parkway, I know a lot of people that work for the Globe; in fact I have more than a few relatives there. All I could think of was how tough it would be to take a 23% pay cut. I can’t imagine what I would do if I had to endure a cut of almost 1/3 of my salary. With that in mind, I told myself I would go and buy the Globe today. Yes the actual paper (remember that).
I have always been one to love the paper. There is something about holding it in your hands and flipping through the pages to not only see what has been happening in news and sports, but to check up on the local pols and what kind of nonsense they are up to today.
Up until recently the Globe and the Herald were delivered to my doorstep every morning. I loved going down the driveway and picking it up to read the headlines, especially on snowy days when I knew I wasn’t leaving the house all day. However, with financial times being what they are the newspaper delivery was the first to go. It has been difficult but I do have ParkwayBoston.com (shameless plug) with the links to all my favorite media outlets. But I digress. Read more
Loading ...
