Bates Bridge Update

The Bates Bridge project is moving along. We’ve made it to 2% completion—and heavy construction is coming soon.

This fall, cofferdams will be built so that bridge work can continuously take place in the water. What are cofferdams? They are watertight enclosures placed underwater and then pumped dry. Cofferdams allow subsurface support structures to be excavated and constructed with workers inside them.

In preparation for this, contractor Cianbro continues to finalize engineering submittals and environmental permits. Work activities within the water are scheduled to start in mid-November—just as it gets cold.

Utility relocations have been going on in Haverhill along Groveland Street, Old Ferry Road and Orchard Avenue. (These are the road closings we told you about a couple weeks ago.) Also on the Haverhill side, Cianbro is continuing to install new roadway drainage systems and new water mains.

So what’s the story with the underground cable? Still nothing certain. MassDOT is working with National Grid to see if it’s really where the old plans say it is—running parallel to the existing bridge on the downstream side. So far, methods to locate the cable have included probing, test pits and detection devices—all with no results. Divers may be used in coming weeks because it’s always possible that the cable was removed years ago and the old plans weren’t noted.

The last couple of days have been rainy, but the weekend looks good. Enjoy the rest of this spectacular summer and we’ll be in touch when there is more news!

Ongoing installation of drainage structures and piping - August 2010

End of Summer and Fall Fun in the 2nd Essex

As the summer winds down, the Rowley Parks and Recreation Committee has planned a concert for this Sunday, August 29, on the town common as we get ready to say goodbye to summer and welcome in autumn. The concert features a local band, Dangerous Goods, and will be from 5 – 7 pm. For more information, see today's Daily News article.

Looking for some activities this fall? Rory O’Connor’s Irish Pub will be launching open mic nights on Wednesdays, a book club on Monday nights starting Sept. 13, and lots more! For details, see today's Georgetown Record article.

West Newbury Laurel Grange Breakfast Benefit

In a follow up to Rep. Stanley's post yesterday, Jackie Carter has told me the Laurel Grange will be holding a benefit pancake breakfast on August 29th from 7:30 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. Funds raised will go towards CPR and First Aid training for Town of West Newbury employees.

The Grange Hall is located at 21 Garden Street and the cost is only five dollars. If you have any questions, you can call Jackie at 978-352-2986.

The West Newbury Laurel Grange's 2nd Annual Family Fun Day

Stop on by the Grange this Saturday and have some fun! The invitation follows...

2nd Annual Family Fun Day

State House Column

Summer Spectacular! Take the time to drive down Scotland Road in Newbury and check out the Colby Farm’s sunflower field. It says it all about this spectacular summer. (A couple preview photos follow.)

Formally Done. As of midnight July 31st, formal legislative sessions were over. Technically, this means that controversial legislation will not move until the start of a new legislative session. (A special session could be convened if both branches agree. That’s unlikely.) Actually, the end of formal sessions means the end of roll calls. A good deal of business gets done in twice-weekly informal sessions. Everyone thinks that legislators have gone on vacation –some have, but not all.

So, just what did the House do in the last couple of frenzied weeks? Not enough.

Missed Opportunities. Legislators can point to some late-session successes – with bills addressing municipal relief, pension reform, and economic development. Both branches also settled for measures that didn’t go far enough.

One of those was health care reform. Potential premium relief was made available to small business owners through legislation passed at the 11th hour. The bill was said to provide “10% savings” to small business owners, but nothing was put in place to measure those supposed “savings.” If health insurance premiums drop by 10% in March 2011, then the plan worked. If they don’t…

BTW, Rep. Stanley voted against the bill because it avoided the real issues.

The larger issue of payment reform (meaning how to control exponential increases in health insurance policy costs for everybody) was not addressed. Why? Because reform measures were considered to be too “contentious” in an election year. Rep. Stanley disagreed with that decision, too. Premium payments are due every year, whether there is an election or not.

To make matters worse, Medicaid savings initiatives were ignored. Medicaid is the largest and fastest growing part of the state budget and has been for years. It wasn’t time to take a pass on saving $100 million.

“May” vs. “Shall” - The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. The biggest blown bill of the session was gambling. While the Governor, Senate and House agreed on casinos, the sticking point was over slot machines.

In the end, guaranteeing slot machines to the racetracks derailed much of the session.

Debate dragged on between the House and Senate to find the middle ground on slots. The branches eventually compromised on allowing slots at two of the four Massachusetts racetracks in a closed bidding process.

Governor Patrick wanted no slots at all. However, his compromise was to allow one slots location with an open bidding process.

The Legislature’s 127-page Gaming Conference Report was finally filed on Friday, July 30th, to be voted on in less than 24 hours. It included provisions for slots at two racetracks and Governor Patrick was dared to veto it. Essentially, he did.

Amazingly, though, the Senate President got the last laugh.

Seemingly unknown to House members drafting language for the compromise bill, the regulatory commission created to oversee the licensing of slots was authorized that it “may” issue not more than two slot machine licenses.

The proper word was “shall.” Murray was quick to bring this to the Governor’s attention. Within 90 minutes of session’s end, the story was out: as a result of one word, the Governor could sanction one, two or no slot facilities.

You know the rest.

My take? A little rational thinking could have gone a long way and there were two main possibilities: 1) Legislators could have gone with open bidding for one slot location, which the Governor would have signed. Another location could have been added later. 2) The Governor could have signed the bill and used the regulatory commission to ensure just one slot facility.

With the unemployment rate in Massachusetts being in excess of 9% for almost a year, job creation should be the priority – an urgent priority. Instead, we have lots of finger-pointing.

Carriage Town Community. While a sense of community may be hard to find on Beacon Hill, it is alive and well in Carriage Town, aka Merrimac.

Merrimac’s Old Home Days celebration was held this past weekend and it was a sunny success. About 2,500 ‘kids of all ages’ gathered around town for bonfires, pancakes, rock climbs, martial arts demonstrations, chicken BBQ, softball and the world’s best lobster rolls.

Rep. Stanley ate her way through the weekend and enjoyed every bite! A few random photos of the celebration appear below.

Groveland Days will be next!

Upcoming Road Closings in Haverhill

Here’s a quick Bates Bridge project update: next week, August 9 – August 13, a portion of Old Ferry Road in Haverhill will be closed due to construction.

Old Ferry Road Closing: August 9th -- August 13th; Stage 1A of the Groveland/Haverhill Bates Bridge Reconstruction

The following week, August 16 – August 20, a portion of Orchard Avenue in Haverhill will be closed as well. The contractor will be building the new proposed roads at this time.

Orchard Avenue Closing: August 16th -- August 20th; Stage 1B of the Groveland/Haverhill Bate Bridge Reconstruction

We’re on our way to a new bridge with these first two stages getting underway! I hope this helps in planning the next couple weeks accordingly.  Please contact my office if you have any questions.