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Weekly Roundup
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February 25, 2009
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Greetings!
ONE Massachusetts knows that you care about your community. We also know that sometimes it is difficult to make every statewide training! So, in addition to bringing our trainings to towns near you, we are trying to bring our ONE Mass to your computer!
 Now you can check our first two online video trainings on YouTube, find updates and participate in discussions on Facebook, and track us on Twitter!
Here's what's been going on across Massachusetts within the three long-term strategic goals of ONE
Massachusetts:
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Goal: By 2013, the voice and input of the state's multi-racial, multi-ethnic communities will create a counterweight to the currently dominant voice and will be tangibly reflected in the public decision making process.
Recent Developments
- MassVOTE EDR
Update:
There are more than 50 co-sponsors in
the House and Senate for the bill. We ask you to continue calling your
representatives and state senators encouraging them to support the EDR bill. Election Day
Registration would enhance civic engagement and it will promote more diversity
and democracy for all our communities across the Commonwealth.
Moving forward the campaign will
continue visiting town clerks in all the state to have conversations about the
implications this bill would have on them if enacted. If you would like to be
part of this effort please contact Cheryl Crawford at MassVote at
ccrawford@massvote.org and sign up
to visit the town clerk of your town or any other town. We need your help to
make this campaign's effort a success!.
[More on Election Day Registration]
- Ya Es Hora: Building on the
momentum of the last presidential election the "Ya es hora" coalition met last
week to talk about further steps for this upcoming electoral year. "Ya es hora" is a
historic and comprehensive civic participation campaign that was launched as a
community response to the pro-immigrant mobilizations of 2006. The campaign
represents the largest coordinated effort to incorporate Latinos as full
participants in the American political process.
In Massachusetts a
diverse of organizations representing communities of color and low income
communities has undertaken efforts to mobilize their memberships and their
communities to become more civic.ally engaged and to register and vote on local and
national elections. ONE Massachusetts recently joined the coalition to
help coordinate bi-partisan forums, registration drives, and other education
campaigns to strengthen civic engagement in the state among communities of color
and ethnic communities.
[More on Ya Es Hora]
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Goal: By 2013, a fair, adequate, and stable tax system will be implemented. It will raise sufficient revenue so that state and local governments can fund the array of services needed.
Recent Developments
- Local Options Taxes: ONE Massachusetts is hosting a meeting Friday of activists interested in organizing around support for local options taxes and other long-term revenue solutions to our current $3.5 million budget deficit. The meeting will be at the 30 Winter Street office of the Public Policy Institute and will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
[More on Local Options Taxes]
Gas Tax: Governor Deval Patrick least week announced his plan to raise the gas tax and institute revenue reforms aimed at saving the state's transportation system from mounting debt. The prposed 19 cent increase would make the state's gas tax the highest in the country.
[More on the Massachusetts Gas Tax]
- Alcohol Sales Tax: Among the $586 billion in new revenues proposed by Deval Patrick is a plan to end the sales tax exemption for alcoholic beverages, candy and soft drinks. Together, ending these exemptions could bring in an additional $150 million.
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Goal: By 2013, a transparent, accessible and accountable state and local policy-making process will be in place.
Recent developments
- Transparency: Public Leaders running on transparency platforms! City Councilors Sam Yoon and Michael Flaherty have both made governmental transparency a hallmark of their respective campaigns for mayor of Boston.
Yoon is calling for a transparent city budget and budgeting process. He has also called for greater transparency in the city's boards and the city council, which currently does not post its minutes on its website or record votes of its members.
For his part, incumbent Mayor Thomas Menino has released his Boston About Results budget document, showing how city departments have performed over the last three years and matching budget expenditures to departmental outcomes.
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Western Mass Connect the Dots:
Wednesday,
March 11
- 1:00pm - 4:00pm Franklin County
Greenfield Community Youth Center
20 Sanderson Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 [Map]
- 6:00pm - 8:30pm Berkshire County
Lenox Community Center
65 Walker Street, Lenox, MA 01240 [Map]
Thursday,
March 12
- 9:30am - 12:00pm Hampshire County
Hampshire Educational Collaborative, Conference Room A/B
97 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA
01060 [Map]
- 4:00pm - 7:00pm Hampden County
Tapestry Health
365 Bay Street, Springfield, MA 01109 [Map]
Stay tuned for more information on Connect the Dots trainings in April, and throughout the year! For more information on scheduling a training in your community or organization, please contact us at info@onemassachusetts.org.
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Stories are coming in from all over our state: Local citizens are working with friends and neighbors to rebuild the
public structures in their communities. Submit stories from your local paper, or straight from your street!
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 Want More Information on ONE Massachusetts?
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