Senator Spilka Votes in Favor of Safe Schools Package
Senator Spilka voted on Thursday to advance a pair of bills aimed at promoting a safe, healthy and productive learning environment for all students through banning bullying and updating nutritional standards in schools.
Globe: Art and culture proving their worth
March 11, 2010
By Denise Taylor, Boston Globe West
Study looks at how six Framingham nonprofits create jobs and help spur local spending
Each year, 30,000 people visit the Danforth Museum of Art. Hundreds of youths participate in its free school programs, thousands of all ages enroll in art classes, and still more view exhibitions.
With this kind of score card, the Danforth finds it easy to convince the community of its value as a cultural asset.
But an economic engine?
MWDN: Mass. lawmakers to take on bullies
March 11, 2010
By David Riley, The MetroWest Daily News
With a vote set today in the state Senate, local lawmakers are lining up behind a bill to require schools to try to prevent bullying and develop plans for reporting and responding to the problem.
“Kids need to know that they can’t bully other kids,” said state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland. “This is a step that we as adults and we as parents and we as staff of schools can take to show that we are serious about bullying prevention and intervention.”
Letter to MWDN Editor: Spilka: Committed to special education
March 10, 2010
I’d like to thank my colleague, Representative David Linsky, for his thoughtful and compassionate column on the need for continued special education funding in the Commonwealth (“Linsky: Special ed funding is critical,” February 28, 2010). As the prior Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, as well as a prior member of the Joint Committee on Education in the Legislature and the Ashland School Committee, I have seen first-hand many times how our investment in special education has benefited individuals, communities, and the Commonwealth as a whole.
MWDN: State grant credited with creating jobs
March 10, 2010
By Paul Crocetti, The MetroWest Daily News
The state’s $2.5 million grant for sewer upgrades in Hopkinton creates a ripple effect of jobs and economic development, Gov. Deval Patrick said at Lonza Biologics, one of three local companies he visited yesterday.
The grant paves the way for Hopkinton to send some of its sewage to neighboring Milford once a cross-border pipeline is completed. The project will increase sewage capacity in the town’s Elmwood Park and South Street industrial areas, allowing businesses such as Lonza to grow.
The Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion grant is projected to create 102 new jobs.
Sometimes people think biotechnology is just about scientists but this project will affect a varied group of departments, including engineering and human resources, Patrick said.
The project marks a partnership between state and local officials, said state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland.
“This is a really big deal, not only for Hopkinton, but also for MetroWest and the state,” Spilka said. “This is exactly the type of targeted investment we should be making and we are making.”
