For Immediate Release: Contact: Matuya Brand
November 8, 2005 617.722 .1673
Cell 617.694.1255

WILKERSON DELIVERS BIG FOR DISTRICT IN SENATE ECONOMIC STIMULUS BILL

BOSTON — When the Senate adjourned on Thursday, November 3, 2005, Senator Dianne Wilkerson (D-Boston) had much to celebrate. The Second Suffolk District won big! The Senate passed a comprehensive economic stimulus bill of nearly $500 million, designed both to create jobs and to encourage business growth in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Nearly $50 million of the bill will benefit Wilkerson’s district.

Wilkerson was able to secure significant funding for the Second Suffolk District in the Commonwealth Investment Program. The bill responds directly to the needs of Massachusetts businesses and employees by targeting resources to encourage economic development through academic institutions, small businesses, community development, and workforce development while also easing regulations which often slow permitting.

“The Second Suffolk has many items in this package which I know will stimulate job growth and promote sound economic development for all residents of the District,” said Wilkerson. “This is a comprehensive package that will stimulate economic growth where it is most needed in Massachusetts.”

Wilkerson secured provisions in the bill that signified gains in areas of transportation, economic development, education, workforce development, the environment, and diversity. These items include:

TRANSPORTATION

• A portion of the $16 million allocated for public transportation enhancements to the Fenway, Kenmore, and Longwood Area and an additional commuter rail platform at Ruggles Station;
• $5.6 million for traffic management changes in the City of Boston including improvements on the Melnea Cass Blvd, Ruggles Street and in and around the Longwood Medical Area;
• Over $2.5 million for the construction of a Back Bay Connector in the Allston Landing Area;
• $90,000 to the MBTA to study, evaluate, and report on the benefits of a transit tunnel connecting Ruggles Station to the Fenway Area;

 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• $4.3 million to move the Columbus Center Project in the South End/ Bay Village area which will create over 2000 jobs;
• $2 million for a grant program providing technical assistance or training programs for businesses with less than 20 employees including non-profits;
• $75,000 for the Boston Public Market Association to perform pre-development activities relative to creating a year-round market in Boston, including the establishment of interim markets in the South Station and Longwood Medical Areas.

EDUCATION & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

• An additional representative from both a minority and female-led firm on the Goddard Council on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education;
• $1.5 million for a workforce development program at O’Bryant High School in collaboration with the Longwood Medical and Academic Area (“MASCO”);
• $600,000 for job placement for Year Up of Boston;
• $350,000 for Junior Achievement of Eastern Massachusetts’ in-school and after-school community based workforce development program for at-risk youth;
• $350,000 for a pilot program targeting Roxbury, Mission Hill, and Dorchester residents, for a workforce development recruiting and training program center at Roxbury Community College in collaboration with community based organizations and MASCO in the Longwood area;
  

ENVIRONMENT

• $30 million for a brownfields redevelopment fund;
• $2 million for environmental remediation and clean up at the Modern Electroplating site in Roxbury;

“The Second Suffolk made significant gains during this phase of the budget and I thank my colleagues for supporting so many important items for the district,” said Wilkerson. “I hope the conference committee resolves these bills and sends the final version to the Governor’s desk right away.”

Currently serving her seventh term in the Massachusetts Senate, Senator Wilkerson’s Senate District includes the Boston neighborhoods of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Roxbury, the South End, and parts of the Fenway, Dorchester and Mattapan. Wilkerson serves as Chair of the Joint Committee of State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.