Author: Cindy Friedman

ARLINGTON, Mass. — A statewide nonprofit that advocates for police retracted a trio of columns it published in its newsletter, penned by an Arlington police officer, that rejected police tactics like “de-escalation” and called for violence against offenders, according to the Arlington Advocate.

“I sincerely believe that the troubling views expressed in the newsletter do not reflect the values of our Town, our hard-working and compassionate police department, or our residents,” state Sen. Cindy Friedman said in a statement. “I strongly support the decision by Police Chief Fred Ryan to immediately relieve Lieutenant Pedrini of his police duties. Such inflammatory rhetoric and behavior has absolutely no place in our police force or our community.”

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BILLERICA — The town is expected to receive $75,000 from the state toward the design and construction of a project on Boston Road at the intersections with Lexington Road and Glad Valley Drive, according to a press release from state Senator Cindy Friedman’s office.

The funding for the project was secured by Friedman in the state’s fiscal year 2019 budget, according to the release.

The $2 million project proposes extending the sidewalk and apron near the intersection and landscaping the area between the two roads.

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A news release from Friedman‘s office details testimony from Friedman, Democrat of Arlington; Sen. Patricia Jehlen, Democrat of Somerville; and Garballey, Democrat of Arlington:

The three implored the MBTA’s Fiscal Management and Control Board to promptly provide both short- and long-term plans for repairs to the garage’s infrastructure to increase safety and improve the quality of life for commuters.

“The decrepit conditions of the Alewife garage are well-known to the thousands of commuters who use the garage daily to get to work,” Friedman said in the release. “It’s time for the MBTA to stop with the patchwork repairs and invest in long-term fixes to improve the safety and usability of the garage. There is no reason why people should be paying so much to park in a garage that is in such poor condition.”

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Gov. Charlie Baker was joined by more than a dozen legislators, superintendents and police chiefs on Monday, Aug. 20 for a roundtable discussing his supplemental spending plan to aid public school security.

State Senator Cindy Friedman, D-Arlington, applauded the funding, but also said that unless the state begins to work with insurance providers to enhance mental health coverage, the long term improvements will be hindered by a lack of access to services that would make a difference.

“The members of our public schools and public safety officers are doing a phenomenal job, it is a real honor to be a resident of Massachusetts and working with those officials,” Friedman said. “But if we don’t engage our insurance companies and our providers and people who make decisions about the value they play in our communities, we are not going to solve this problem. It’s all going to be put on the schools and the public safety administrators, so we have to look at that piece really seriously and I think it has to be part of anything we do.’”

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Senator Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington) and Representative Ken Gordon (D-Bedford) recently lauded the passage of the final version of the Environmental Bond Bill. The bill includes local earmarks to benefit the Town of Burlington, including $3 million for the design, planning and preconstruction of a new water transmission main connecting the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s (MWRA) Arlington transmission main line with the Town of Burlington.

“I’m pleased that this legislation includes critical funding to connect Burlington’s water supply with Arlington, especially during a time when our residents are experiencing a water ban,” said Senator Friedman. “This funding will increase access to water supply in town and make necessary infrastructure improvements to enhance the quality of life for our residents while protecting our environment.”

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