Five Things You Need to Know Today

Meet Sen. Katherine Clark Friday in Melrose

A look at what is happening in Melrose on Friday, April 5.

Here is the Melrose Patch 5 Things column for Friday, April 5:  1. Office hours: Sen. Katherine Clark will be having office hours from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Friday at the Milano Senior Center. 2. Partly sunny: It is expected to be partly sunny Friday, with temperatures peaking around 57 before dipping to about 30 at night, according to the National Weather Service's forecast for Melrose.  3. Library program: Here is a look at library sessions scheduled for Friday at Melrose Public Library, according to the library website:  4. Food pantry: The Servant's Heart Food Pantry is expected to be open from 10-11:30 a.m. Friday at the Faith Evangelical Church, 200 Franklin St. The food pantry helps more than 200 families in the Melrose region by …

• Photos (1)

Katherine Clark Announces She Is Running For Congress

Sen. Katherine Clark announced Friday to her supporters that she will be running for Congress.

In a letter emailed to her supporters on Friday afternoon, state Sen. Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) announced that she will be running for Congress. U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-Malden), who represents Melrose in the House, is currently running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry. If Markey wins that Senate seat, it would leave open the Fifth Congressional District seat in the House, which Clark would run for. If he loses his bid, he would retain his current House seat. Two other Massachusetts legislators have also announced their intentions to run for Markey's seat, if he wins the Senate seat: state Rep. Carl Sciortino (D-Medford) and state Sen. Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont). Melrose's …

•  8 Comments
• Photos (1)

Disabilities Group Names Clark Legislator Of The Year

Association of Developmental Disabilities honors Sen. Katherine Clark for legislative work on behalf of disabled.

The Association of Developmental Disabilities has named State Senator Katherine Clark its Legislator of the Year. The Melrose Democrat, whose district also includes Wakefield, received the honor on Tuesday at a luncheon at the State House. Clark chairs the Joint Committee on Revenue and has worked to ensure sufficient transportation funding for community disability programs. Clark has also brought a focus in her work to assisting those with developmental disabilities, said the organization in a statement. “Sen. Clark  has been a tireless worker behind the scenes to make sure that people living with developmental disabilities and their families have the access they need to services and supports so they can fully enjoy independent lives as …

• Photos (1)

Senator Clark to Visit Melrose Library Friday

Community Teamwork will recognize State Sen. Katherine Clark

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Mass. Politics Gender Problem? Women, Minorities Underrepresented in State Legislature

The strong majority of Massachusetts' legislators are white and male.

Despite the gains made over the past few decades, women and minorities continue to make up a smaller share of state legislators than their numbers in the population at large suggest they would. A series of maps published by Wicked Local Wednesday visually display the striking disparity. Blacks or Latinos together comprise 5.6 percent of the House (9 of 160 representative) and 2.5 percent of the Senate (1 of 40 senators) despite being 7.8 percent of the state's population and Latinos being 9.9 percent. Nationally, 8.1 percent of legislators are black and 2.9 percent are Latino, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but these two groups comprise a higher percentage of the national population than they do of …

• Photos (1)

Governor to Sign 'Three Strikes' Crime Bill

Patrick calls the bill "a good start."

Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday ended speculation that he might kill the mandatory sentencing bill he had objected to but the Legislature supported. Calling the bill "a good start," Patrick said he would sign it but wants to see changes made to it in the next legislative session. "I still believe there is a necessary role for judicial discretion when it comes to sentencing and many of the advocates of this bill have pledged to support that next year," he wrote on his website Tuesday. "The Senate President and the Speaker have pledged to return to the subject of mandatory minimum sentencing early in the next session. I take them at their word." As it stands, the so-called "three strikes" bill, also dubbed "Melissa's Law" after a Jamaica Plain…

• Photos (1)

Melrose's Legislators Vote for 'Three Strikes' Bill for Violent Crimes

The bill both aims to ensure violent criminals stay behind bars while easing prison overcrowding by reducing drug-offense penalties.

A bill that toughens sentences for violent repeat-offenders passed the Senate last Thursday after having been approved overwhelmingly in the House Wednesday evening.  The so-called "three-strikes" law eliminates parole for someone convicted three times of a violent crime, with at least one conviction having carried a minimum three-year prison term. It passed the House with a vote of 139-14. In the Senate, it passed 31-7. The movement to pass the law was fueled, in part, by outrage over two crimes. In one, Woburn police officer Jack Maguire was murdered by a felon. In the other crime more associated with the law, sometimes dubbed "Melissa's Law," 27-year-old Jamaica Plain schoolteacher Melissa Gosule was murdered in 1999 after being raped …

• Photos (1)

Clark and Brodeur Unopposed In Fall Election

Melrose's state legislators, Sen. Katherine Clark and Rep. Paul Brodeur, don't have any challengers in their 2012 re-election campaigns.

Editor's note: This article was corrected at 11:35 a.m. on Thursday by adding the Winchester Wards now included in the 5th Middlesex Senate district. While the presidential campaign between incumbent Democrat Barack Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney will heat up this year, the 2012 election will be a little sleepier on the Melrose front. Neither Sen. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, nor Rep. Paul Brodeur, D-Melrose, the city's representatives in the state Senate and House respectively, will face a challenger in this fall's election on Nov. 6, 2012. Would-be candidates for district and county offices, which includes the state Legislature, had until the end of the day on May 1 to submit nomination papers to local election …

• Photos (1)

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Clark, Brodeur Welcome New Superintendent

The city's state delegation welcomes incoming Melrose School Superintendent Cyndy Taymore and thanks retiring Superintendent Joe Casey.

To the Editor: On April 12, we were pleased to join Mayor Rob Dolan, Superintendent Joe Casey, the Melrose School Committee and members of the community at the contract signing ceremony for incoming Superintendent Cyndy Taymore.  With the selection of Ms. Taymore to lead the Melrose Public Schools, the City begins another exciting chapter in our collective effort to build an excellent, innovative school system that supports and challenges all students. We welcome Ms. Taymore to Melrose, and we look forward to working with her, Mayor Dolan and the community to support our schools and address the challenges we face. We thank the members of the superintendent search committee and the School Committee for their many hours of work and their …

• Photos (1)