The official list was announced by former district Rep. Eric Turkington last week at the State House in Boston. The former Representative chaired the 1,000 Great Places Commission responsible for identifying and recognizing the 1,000 most special places in the Commonwealth in order to celebrate pride in our history and culture, increase knowledge of our natural surroundings, and encourage regional and international tourism.

 The 1,000 Great Places program is administered through a partnership of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development; the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and its regional tourism councils; and the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). The goal is to celebrate what is unique about the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its communities, and its people. It aims to boost visitation to Massachusetts as well as give local residents the opportunity to visit known and unknown historic sites, cultural venues, and natural landscapes.

“I am proud to represent and support these local treasures that enrich our lives and contribute to the vitality of our communities,” said Representative Timothy R. Madden. 

 A complete list of the 1,000 Great Places can be found on the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism’s (MOTT) website: http://www.massvacation.com.

 The bill is now before the Governor awaiting his signature.

“This legislation will be a big boost for Falmouth, and given the town’s commitment and initiative with regard to renewable energy sources, they deserve it,” Senate President Therese Murray said. “It will go a long way toward mitigating energy costs and advancing efficient, cutting-edge energy projects. I’m happy to see this bill move forward.”

 “It’s great that the bill passed,” Representative Timothy R. Madden said. “I would like to thank Heather Harper for all her help and assistance. This will truly be an asset for Falmouth in financing future renewable energy projects and their maintenance. The fund established by the legislation will give the town more freedom and flexibility to continue implementing renewable energy projects.”

The bill establishes a dedicated fund for revenues generated by the town’s current and future wind-energy facilities. In addition to facility operations and maintenance, the money from the fund will also be used to pay the cost of future facility improvements, to offset the town’s other energy expenses, and to pay the principal and interest on any energy-related bonds.

 Falmouth recently completed a 1.65MW turbine at its wastewater treatment facility that will save the town approximately $300,000 a year.

In January of 2009, the Massachusetts General Court enacted Chapter 479 of the Acts of 2008, which authorized individual towns, districts and counties, including the County of Dukes, to create Other Post Employment Benefit Trust Funds (OPEB). OPEB benefits are retirement benefits other than a pension, such as health, life and other insurance for which employers have a liability for current and future retired employees. 

The 15 municipal employers in Dukes County have already been pooling their retirement funds in the Dukes County Contributory Retirement System since 1939. The Act creates a means to pool post- retirement benefit trust funds which will reduce the cost per invested dollar, as a further goal of attracting higher caliber investment managers and will serve to offset the rising costs of health insurance. It is similar to that which permits the retirement liability to be forward funded under the Public Employment Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC). The initiative has had support from Dukes County, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, the Land Bank, the Oak Bluffs Water District, the Refuse District, the Regional Transit Authority, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, the Oak Bluffs Water District, all six towns and the Up-Island Regional School District.  

“This is a positive step in the ability of the Dukes County employers to forward-fund their accounts in times of surplus, preparing for times of economic uncertainty,” said Rep. Madden, “representatives of the local municipal employers have done a great job advocating for it this session, particularly Kathy Logue, Noreen Flanders, Russell Smith and Nell Coogan.”  

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“This provision will increase business for restaurants and provide a boost to our economy in these uncertain fiscal times,” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said.

“Given my district and its nature of tourism and hospitality, I am sure this comes as great news to both restaurants and patrons this Fourth of July weekend”, said Representative Madden.

Prior to this measure, restaurants were prohibited from serving alcohol before noon on Sunday.

 The act took effect immediately upon its signage.

Joy Onash of TURI, Jim Miller of the Wampanoag Tribe and Rep. Madden at the State House

BOSTON- Earlier this month Representative Madden joined the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at UMass Lowell to recognize Massachusetts companies and community organizations for reducing the use of toxic chemicals.  The Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah was chosen as a “Community Champion” for their “Greening Cleaning” Project. The Tribe’s initiative is to replace conventional cleaning products in Tribal homes across the Vineyard with those are less harmful to one’s health and the environment. The project team provides sample cleaners for professional home cleaning services and Tribal Administration, as well as provides outreach to the community through printed materials about the hazards and offers feasible alternatives that are safer and less expensive. “This is great project” said Representative Madden. “I am delighted they were able to receive funding and support local merchants by using Eco MV products. As usual the Tribe is leading the way on many environmental issues and I hope their good work will spread to other communities.”

Comments with the subject line of “RE: Massachusetts Electric Company and Nantucket Electric Company d/b/a National Grid Agreement with Cape Wind Associates, LLC (D.P.U. 10-54)” can be sent to:

Mark D. Marini, Secretary

CC: Laura Bickel, Hearing Office

Department of Public Utilities

One South Station, Second Floor

Boston, MA 02110

When Amy, who is a physical oceanographer at Woods Hole National Geographic Institute, began to lose her sight due to macular degeneration in 1988, she soon became involved with the Perkins School for the Blind. Over the years she has helped them secure funding from the National Science Foundation and has been an innovator in creating a blind-accessible science curriculum. “Amy serves as a role model for young girls in the field of science, as well as for those who are confronted with unexpected challenges” said Representative Madden. “I am pleased to see her accomplishments acknowledged here at the State House and it was a pleasure to meet her”.

Falmouth Youth Hockey PeeWee A team in the Senate Chamber with Rep. Madden and Senate President Murray

(BOSTON, MA) – Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) and Representative Timothy Madden (D-Martha’s Vineyard) recently welcomed the Falmouth Youth Hockey PeeWee A team at the State House to celebrate their Tier II State Championship. 

“I am very excited to be able to congratulate the Falmouth Youth Hockey team,” said Murray. “Through their hard work and dedication they were able to rise to the top of their tier and claim the title of state champions.”

“It was hard to tell who was more excited- the parents or the players,” said Representative Madden. “Both should be proud of what this team has accomplished and this bodes well for the high school hockey team in the coming years”.

The team was led to victory on March 14^th by Coaches Todd Taylor, Ronnie Bowman and Matt Rocheleau.

The coaches, the 15 team players and their families visited the state house for a lunch and tour.

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From left to right: Jonathan Burke of Daybreak, Tony Omer of The Times, David Grey of Daybreak, and Representative Tim Madden. Photo by David Fox

BOSTON- Representatives of the Daybreak Clubhouse, along with Representative Tim Madden, honored the Martha’s Vineyard Times at the annual Massachusetts Employment Celebration at the State House. 

The Martha’s Vineyard Times has been a long time supporter of Daybreak and has provided employment to a number of members. Every week and month members mail out the subscriptions and bills for the Times.

“I am honored to present this award to The Martha’s Vineyard Times,” said Representative Madden. “For over fifteen years they have been loyal supports of the Daybreak Clubhouse in Transitional and Supported Employment program. The Times sees the person, not the illness, and recognizes the business opportunity to hire excellent employees. Congratulations on receiving this prestigious award from the Massachusetts Clubhouse Coalition and Daybreak Clubhouse.  Thank you for providing outstanding opportunities for people with disabilities.”

Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Judy Ann Bigby told the crowd of over 300 legislators, employers, Clubhouse members and staff, family members and organizations “we know that Clubhouses not only help individuals recover, but they are part of our economic engine as well… The earning power of members also shows that employers have tapped into a pool of talented, skillful, hardworking individuals who have overcome the greatest odds and found their strengths as productive employees.”