Greetings!

How often do you have one of those moments when you look around you and truly believe that you are among people who not only can, but will make a difference in our world?

Even as folks who work on a daily basis with grassroots organizations and community activists, this Tuesday's trainings - focused on youth organizers and their capacity to make real change - was an inspiring event! Organized by the Youth Policy Initiative, we gathered with nonprofit staff and student activists from across the state to discuss how they talk about government - and how they interact with their communities. For more information on this exciting day, see Community News below.

With the importance of ongoing discussions surrounding our state budget priorities and tax policies, we only hope that we can all be as engaged as these young adults are. That is why we are renewing our offer to provide Train the Trainer sessions in your community!

For more information on how you can be a founding member of one of our regional member-training teams, see below under Civic Engagement.

Here is a look at what else has been going on across Massachusetts:

• Regional Training Teams - Sign Up Now! It is clear to Massachusetts advocates, as well as our legislative and executive leadership, that the revenues currently being debated by the State Budget Conference Committee will not go far enough to address our structural deficit and to support our public structures. This means that we will see ongoing revenue discussions this fall. These debates over state tax policies and budget priorities will have profound implications for the future of all of our communities.
  
  Now more than ever, it is critical for concerned residents to weigh in on the important decisions being made by legislators and state officials.
  

That is why ONE Massachusetts is offering updated trainings - in English and Spanish - designed to give Massachusetts residents the tools they need to understand the implications of tax and budget policies and to advocate effectively on all areas of public policy.

To take place in a free Train the Trainer session - either for your own education, or to become a ONE Massachusetts Regional Trainer - contact one of the following ONE Massachsuetts staff members:

• Western Massachusetts, North Shore, South Shore - Harmony Blakeway
• Central Massachusetts - Carmen Arce Bowen
• Greater Boston - Yawu Miller
  
  
• Boston Residents - Ask Your Questions! MassVOTE wants to know what questions you would like asked of the Boston Mayoral and At-Large City Councilor candidates. Contact Cheryl Crawford at MassVOTE with your questions today!
  

Governor Releases FY10 Budget Rewrite. Gov. Deval Patrick staked out budget veto positions Thursday, challenging lawmakers on politically tricky terrain like police benefits, state employee health insurance contributions, and Medicaid for unauthorized immigrants in a revised version of his fiscal 2010 spending plan.

With policymakers still scrambling to erase the red ink in the current fiscal year, the Senate passed a $646 million supplemental spending bill that includes $64 million for the Boston Medical Center, spending the House opposes, setting up a likely conference committee on budget fixes for the fiscal year that has 26 days remaining. Legally required due to a $1.5 billion downgrade in tax projections, Patrick's budget rewrite, overdue by about two weeks, lowers spending by 2.5 percent below projected fiscal 2009 levels and by roughly 3.8 percent below his original fiscal 2010 budget, calling for $794 million more in cuts. [State House News Service] [More on Governor's Budget - including above video - at Boston.com]


MBTA Fare Increase? James Aloisi announced a possible 15-20% hike in MBTA fares this fall. "We need to have a multi-year solution," Aloisi said. He's hoping this fare increase will prevent another one from being necessary for at least two to three years. [More from Boston.com]

Over one hundred and fifty community advocates - both adults and students - gathered Tuesday to explore deeply-held beliefs in the United States surrounding our government, and the perceptions of youth in our communities. Because research has proven that teens are often somehow seen as both 'our hope for the future' and 'the cause of all of our problems," the group explored ways to effectively communicate about their activities within our communities to build safer, healthier places for all of us to live.

A few facts about the Millenial Generation (those born between 1982 and 2003) that surprised some attendees included the following:

• The Millenial Generation is three million people larger than the Baby Boomers.
• The Millenials are a Civic Generation - groups that come around every eighty years (like the G.I. Generation) that are willing to put aside political and ideological differences to take action and make a real change in how things are done.
  
• The Millenials are the most tolerant and educated generation in U.S. history.
• The Millenials, more than any previous generation, believe in the mission and purpose of our government, and are willing to pay for it.