In the News

BURLINGTON — Students and adults did not agree when it came to the contested races in the town election on April 7. Town Clerk Amy Warfield said last week that the approximately 125 children participating in the annual Student Vote elected Joe Morandi and Nick Priest in the selectmen’s contest; the adults went with Morandi and Mike Runyan.

To that end, she would be interested in working with the schools to provide more civics education in the classroom. In fact, there is a bill before the state legislature to re-instate civics in the curriculum. Warfield said she hopes that Burlington’s State Rep. Ken Gordon and State Sen. Cindy Friedman would consider partnering with her to provide civics information in the schools.

Read more

LEXINGTON, MA – The Minuteman High School building project reached a major milestone Thursday, as the final steel beam was put in place. The “topping off” ceremony saw the 24-foot beam, signed by students, teachers, elected officials and well-wishers, put into place over what will become the new high school’s main entrance. Jack McCarthy, executive director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, celebrated the workers on the project and singled out Ironworkers Local 7 for special recognition.

Also in attendance were state Sen. Cindy Friedman, state Sen. Dean Tran, Rep. Jay Kaufman, Rep. Jennifer Benson, town managers, select board members, area school officials, members of the Minuteman School Committee, the Minuteman School Building Committee, the school’s Program Advisory Committees, the Minuteman Futures Foundation and the Campaign for Minuteman’s Future.

Friedman praised state and town officials for keeping the project moving forward over the past 10 years. “We did it for all those people back there – all those kids,” Friedman said. “We are so proud of Minuteman.”

Read more

Town officials and state representatives celebrated National Community Development Week in Arlington on April 3. The event started at the Thompson School where attendees heard from CDBG Administrator Julie Wayman, Sen. Cindy Friedman, Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine, Selectman Joe Curro and Rep. Sean Garballey. All reflected on the importance of the program to the town and took pride in the community-based programs supported by the Community Development Block Grant program.

“The Community Development Block Grant program is a prime example of what government does really well,” said Friedman. “Through this program, we are able to improve the quality of life for Arlington residents and ensure that many individuals have an equal chance at success as well as the ability to live in an environment that meets their needs. I’m pleased to live in and represent a town that values the importance of community development and is committed to making a positive impact on our neighborhoods and residents.”

Read more

BOSTON — Eight months after the number of women in the Massachusetts Senate tied an all-time high-water mark, their ranks are now on track to reach a low last recorded nearly two decades ago.

As the Senate has elected its second-ever female president amid leadership turmoil and coalesced behind a lawmaker who’s on track to become the third, three women have made plans to leave the chamber for other jobs and two others have announced they won’t seek reelection.

Arlington Sen. Cindy Friedman’s swearing-in in July 2017 brought the number of women in the 40-seat Senate up to 13, all Democrats.

Read more

LEXINGTON — With early spring snow falling steadily on their dress uniforms, retired Lexington Fire Department Lts. Bob Walton and Mike Fulton laid a wreath of red roses and white daisies and Fuji mums at the base of the fire department’s flagpole to remember state Senator. Kenneth Donnelly on Monday, April 2, the one-year anniversary of his death.

The pair had exited the Lexington Fire Department headquarters garage out a fire truck-sized door. Inside, approximately 50 people, including state Sen. Cindy Friedman, state Rep. Jay Kaufman, Lexington’s Town Manager Carl Valente and the town’s five selectmen, were on hand for the ceremony.

“I miss him,” said Friedman. Friedman, elected to fill Donnelly’s seat representing the 4th Middlesex District last summer, was as the late senator’s chief of staff. “I think about Ken every day,” she said, “he’s ever-present.” Friedman added that Donnelly’s legacy guides her as she faces tough legislative decisions. She said that Donnelly had first shown courage as a firefighter.

Read more

BOSTON — Senators faced some criticism from internet industry leaders at a hearing Wednesday, where a new Massachusetts Senate proposal on net neutrality was up for discussion.

Under the new bill, internet service providers would be banned from blocking content, charging fees for faster connectivity and intentionally slowing speed of certain websites. Opponents contend the measure oversteps the state’s authority to regulate an industry under federal oversight.

Sen. Cindy Friedman said the bill is critical to protecting the public from “failures” at the federal level. “This bill would impose critical safeguards to preserve equal access to content on the web, protect our consumers, encourage innovation and ensure that tech-start-ups stay in business,” the Arlington Democrat said. “When the federal government fails to protect the free flow of information on the internet, it is imperative for the state to step in.”

Read more

ARLINGTON, MA — After a dog died on a United Airlines flight this week and the Puppy Doe animal abuse case of 2014 went to trial in Dedham District Court, the welfare of animals has been on the mind of many across the state. State lawmakers took up the issue this week and voted on two animal welfare acts.

On March 15, Arlington Sen. Cindy Friedman and the Senate voted in favor of S.2332, An Act to protect animal welfare and safety in cities and towns (PAWS II), and S.1155, An Act relative to protecting puppies and kittens, to protect the health, safety and well-being of animals.

“It is our duty to advocate for those who are unable to advocate for themselves,” said Friedman in a statement sent to Patch. “These bills impose essential health and safety measures to protect animals and pet owners, and reaffirms our commitment to animal welfare in the Commonwealth.”

Read more

For 17 minutes on the morning of Thursday, March 15, hundreds of Arlington High School students stood outside their school as part of a national walkout to protest gun violence. The walkout, organized by AHA Seniors Gayatri Sundar Rajan, Laura Kirchner, Sophie Plotkin and junior Isa Dray, was originally scheduled for Wednesday, March 14.

Griffin Gould, a sophomore at AHS and president of the schools’ Young Democrats club, assembled a group of 35 students who went to the State House in Boston as planned on March 14 alongside hundreds of other Boston-area students. ‘We also demanded of our legislators that they refuse to let private corporations like the NRA and the GOAL pour their money into our politics. We met face to face with Sen. [Cindy] Friedman, Rep. [Sean] Garballey, and Rep. [Dave] Rogers,” Gould told the Advocate in an email.

“I am a huge supporter of gun control legislation, and anything we can do to strengthen our gun control laws,” [Friedman] said. “I’m not against people owning guns but I think we need to do a lot to ensure that we’re safe and that guns are used appropriately.”

Read more

BOSTON – Massachusetts needs two major things in order for a supervised drug use site to open here for the first time, a lawmaker backing the idea said Tuesday.

Sen. Will Brownsberger is the sponsor of a bill (S 1081) that would allow the Department of Public Health to approve the implementation of “safer drug consumption programs” in Massachusetts. Speakers at Tuesday’s panel described the sites as a way to prevent opioid deaths, encourage drug users to enter treatment, and provide a sense of safety and dignity for people who can otherwise be subject to stigma.

An opioid bill (H 4033) filed by Baker, which aims to expand access to treatment and strengthen education and prevention efforts, is before the Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery Committee. Sen. Cindy Friedman, the committee’s Senate chair, said last month that the committee wanted to take extra time to look at its substance use and behavioral health-related bills “and see what, if anything, we should move into the bill that the governor has filed.”

Read more

On Sunday, February 25, Burlington Girl Scouts gathered [at] Memorial School for the international World Thinking Day. World Thinking Day is in honor and recognition of the birthdays of the Boy Scout and Girl Guide founders Lord Robert Baden Powell and his wife Olave Baden Powell.

World Thinking Day is a special day to remind all Girl Scouts and Girl Guides that they belong to an international sisterhood striving to make the world a better place, a release about the event states. This year’s theme was “Impact,” where girls focused on how they can make an impact on their community.

This year the scouts were greeted by State Senator Cindy Friedman who explained to them how she is making an impact in our community through her work in the state government.

Read more