Happy Thanksgiving Everyone,
I hope that dinner on Thursday was spent with loved ones and that amid all the excitement and stress of preparation and travel, everyone also took some time to reflect on what they are thankful for this year. I know for myself that it’s a long list, but at the top of it is my family.
It was a still a busy week in the district ahead of the holiday. Monday morning was the groundbreaking for the Appleton Mills Project in Holyoke. This revitalization project will be restoring the currently unused Appleton Mills building to create 88 units of affordable senior housing. As the cost of housing continues to skyrocket, seniors on a fixed income are some of the hardest hit and this project will go a long way to protecting one of our most vulnerable populations.
On Tuesday, I got to take part in of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions: serving dinner down at the Forum House in Westfield. This organization does amazing work and helps those with disabilities enter and stay in the workforce. They are a great group to work alongside, and I thank them for inviting me to serve their holiday meals. I’m already looking forward to next year.
Tuesday also marked another hearing in the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. Among the many bills that were brought for a hearing, one that I had introduced, S.1133, An Act to establish the Massachusetts judicial security act, was also brought forward. This bill, if enacted, would protect the personal address information of judges from being posted publicly or being brokered by private institutions such as data firms. The functioning of our court system rests on our judge’s ability to do their jobs without fear of retribution. But unfortunately threats to our judges, and their loved ones, has been on the rise in recent years. This bill would go a long way towards protecting them and I was proud to have introduced it.
As many of you know, today is Small Business Saturday. Here in Western Mass, we are lucky to have a thriving local retail economy and the holiday season makes up a significant portion of income for many of these businesses. When out shopping for presents this year, make sure to give the stores owned by our family, friends, or neighbors the consideration they deserve.
This week, my team hosted office hours at the Easthampton COA on Tuesday. Next week, we will be at the Westfield COA on Monday from 12:3pm to 1:30pm, the Russell COA on Tuesday from 11:30am to 12:30pm, and the Southampton COA on Wednesday from 9:30am to 10:30am. If you can’t make office hours, I can always be reached by email, john.velis@masenate.gov, by phone, (413) 527-3920, and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com.
Sincerely,
John Velis