Hello,
I hope everyone had a great week despite the very hot weather. Before I dive into all that happened this past week I would like to share my sincere congratulations to Tropical Smoothie Café in West Springfield on their grand opening later today.
On Monday, I joined first responders, local officials, and my legislative colleagues from throughout the region at the ribbon cutting of the new WestComm Dispatch Center in Chicopee. WestComm serves multiple communities in Western Massachusetts to help improve emergency response times and increase access to advanced communication technology. I had the opportunity to tour the new facility and see first-hand how technologies like Prepared Live, which enables people who called 911 to send photos and videos from the scene, can help prepare first responders to respond to calls.
A huge milestone for CitySpace as we celebrated breaking ground on Phase 2 of their revitalization project at the historic Old Town Hall building this week in Easthampton! Last year I was proud to join then State Representative Dan Carey in supporting CitySpace’s Community One Stop for Growth grant application that later led to an over $500,000 award from the Commonwealth to make these accessibility improvements possible.
I am also pleased to share that earlier this week the Department of Recreation and Conservation (DCR) announced a grant award for the town of Montgomery! The town received $2,963 in funding through the Volunteer Fire Capacity (VFC) program, a federal grant administered by the DCR. The VFC provides fire equipment, training, and organizational help for small communities to be better equipped to respond to fire emergencies. Congratulations!
Throughout this week I have been speaking with our district local superintendents and nationally renowned researchers from The Anxious Generation to discuss ways we can help give our children a break from their phones during the school day. A few weeks ago, my bill to restrict student’s cellphone use was favorably reported out of Committee, and it is my sincere hope that the Senate will be considering it on the floor in a few weeks ahead of the new school year. The evidence is clear- taking cell phones out of the classroom improve students’ mental health and improve academic performance. With 21 other states having passed phone free school mandates I hope the Commonwealth will not be far behind for the benefit of our student’s education and well-being.
This week Team Velis hosted office hours in Easthampton and Holyoke. Next week Team Velis will be hosting office hours on Tuesday at the Russell Council on Aging from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. If you are unable to make office hours, I can always be reached by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 572-3920, and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Best,
John Velis