MAC: Changes in Housing Authorities
By Joe DeFeliceDid you know …
The state legislature recently made some major changes that will affect all housing authorities throughout the state of Massachusetts. By a vote of 145-4 (House) and 38-0 (Senate), a bill was approved changing the regulation of local housing authorities. The main provision requires that one of the five members of the authority in a town must be a tenant of public housing. The provision also includes establishing performance benchmarks requiring training for board members and executive directors; requiring an annual report from each authority; mandating annual audits by independent auditors; and each authority will be required to conduct an annual survey asking public housing residents about the maintenance and repair of units and the services provided.
The Canton Housing Authority and the Board of Selectmen recently voted to appoint Adam Brothers to fill the term of Martin Dorian, who passed away in June. Marty served on the board of the Canton Housing Authority for 47 years, probably the longest serving board member in the state and one of the longest serving public officials in the history of Canton. He was involved in the construction of most of the public housing in Canton, and he was always fighting on behalf of low-income elderly, handicap, and family residents. Marty will be greatly missed.
State Senator Brian A. Joyce wrote on his Facebook page: “The amount of deer in the Blue Hills now poses a serious health risk. We are seeing a rapid increase in ticks, and the ecosystem is being damaged by the amount of grazing that’s occurring. The reservation simply cannot support the amount of deer present.” Senator Joyce has proposed a bill that would fund a program to cull the herd on the Blue Hills Reservation as well as on Cape Cod and the islands.
The Massachusetts Division of Wildlife’s Deer Management Program estimates that there are 85,000 to 95,000 deer in Massachusetts. There are an estimated 700 deer in the Blue Hills.
Governor Deval Patrick recently signed a bill that will allow liquor stores to open at 10 a.m. on Sundays. The current law allows stores to open at noon on Sundays.
Dr. Lester Hartman, a pediatrician with practices in Westwood and Mansfield, is at it again. He has successfully lobbied the Foxboro Board of Health to change the legal age to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 effective on August 1, 2014. Dr. Hartman’s lobbying efforts have been successful in Canton, Sharon, Norwood, Dover, Dedham, Wellesley, and Needham.
The House and Senate recently approved a bill that would increase the salaries of the state’s 11 district attorneys from $148,843 to $171,561.
The very popular Life is good Festival, which has been celebrated for the past four years at Prowse Farm in Canton, will not take place in Canton this year.
The Canton A’s semi-pro baseball team lost a heartbreaker in the first round of the Cranberry League playoffs 6-5 to Rockland. The team had won 10 of the last 11 games to finish the regular season 13-11.
Hanningtons won the Canton Men’s Softball League for the ninth time in the past 13 years, finishing this season with 19 wins and only one loss.
The Hanningtons of Massachusetts 70 and over senior softball team recently won the Northeast Regional Championship held in Syracuse, New York. The win qualifies the team to play in the United States National Tournament of Champions in Lakeland, Florida, in February 2015. Hanningtons won the Tournament of Champions in 2012.
Pequitside Farm on Pleasant Street is a 33-acre park facility acquired by the town of Canton in June 1971.
When the Fox 25 Morning News crew broadcast live at Devoll Field this past June, it was their 188th “Zip Trip” over the past 11 seasons in New England communities.
Selectmen recently accepted the resignations of Wally Gibbs and John Burke from the Canton Historical Commission and promoted alternate members Sue Gibbs and Sepp Bergschneider to full voting members.
DPW staffer Joe Welch retired after 26 years of service to the town of Canton.
The Canton High School tennis court renovation project includes the removal, reconstruction, and installation of five tennis courts. New pavement, fencing, sidewalks, and seating areas will be included in the construction of the new tennis courts.
The Canton High School Bulldogs will again face archrival Stoughton High twice this coming football season — on October 10 at 7 p.m. at home and again on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, at Stoughton High at 10 a.m.
And finally, rumor has it that Amazon.com may be moving its Massachusetts headquarters to the old Reebok building in Stoughton.
Your body is a factory which runs according to the thoughts you produce in it; and it depends upon you whether you “run it” or “ruin it.”
This is all for now folks. See you next week.
Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=26452
Posted by Joe DeFelice
on Aug 13 2014. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion.
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