Point: There’s more good than bad to casino gambling
As printed in the Eagle Tribune March 23, 2008
The extremes in the casino debate have hijacked the reality of the debate itself. Those in the opposing camp predict economic devastation predicated by catastrophic social costs. Those in the camp favoring casinos point to them as a panacea for all of the commonwealth’s current fiscal difficulties - the solution to local aid and the myriad other costs currently crippling communities and families. Putting aside these polarizing views, neither of which is likely to happen, let’s take a look at the facts.
Bill would boost juries’ role in sex crime cases
Sponsors cite a recent attack
A group of lawmakers filed legislation yesterday to give prosecutors power to demand that juries decide whether offenders nearing the end of their prison terms should be placed in a state treatment facility.
The proposal was filed a week after convicted Level 3 sex offender Corey Saunders was arrested on charges he raped a 6-year-old boy in a New Bedford library. Level 3 is the most dangerous category and is considered likely to reoffend.
The lawmakers, along with community activists and Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr., said the legislation would give more power to prosecutors and community members to decide which sex offenders are released. (more…)
Valley seniors give transit authority an earful
By Katie Farrell
Staff writer
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MERRIMAC — Some elderly residents had to wait so long they missed their doctor appointments. Others say they found drivers inconsiderate and impatient. And there were others who waited for buses that never arrived.
For more than two hours yesterday, area Council on Aging directors took turns telling Beacon Hill lawmakers about the problems bus passengers face when taking public transportation with the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority and urging legislators to fix it.
The meeting, held in a crowded room at the Merrimac Senior Center, was chaired by Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation. (more…)
