One Massachusetts
Coalition for Social Justice
Coalition Against Poverty

Invite you to Connect the Dots
(Flyer attached)

Major cuts to important programs and services are already being implemented with more on the way. State legislators say that they're out of options; but what are the options?

We all want and deserve to live healthy, happy lives, and there are some things that we must work on together because we just can't do them on our own - clean water, safe roads, reliable emergency services and much more. Sometimes, it's all too easy to take these things for granted.

There is a pervasive disconnect between those things we
expect from our government, and the way that those public structures are maintained. 

Please Join Us !

When: January 21, from 5:45-8:00 pm (dinner included)
Where: Bristol Community College, 777 Elsbree St. Fall River

Bldg. G (Cafeteria)

Speakers include:
Noah Berger: Executive Director of Mass Budget
                           and Policy Center
Patrick Bresette: Associate Program Director for Public Works: The     
                                 Demos Center for the Public Sector

Please reply ASAP! so I can better organize seating and dinner:
Deb Fastino, Coalition for Social Justice 508-982-3108

In the news yesterday:
The House voted 131-22 and the Senate 32-6 to send Gov. Deval Patrick legislation allowing him to impose midyear local aid cuts as part of a second major effort in three months to bring the state budget into balance.

Supporters and opponents of the expanded powers predicted the local aid cuts would harm local services, like police, fire and education, but said they had run out of options to spread the impact of spending cuts in a $28.2 billion budget undercut by an economic downturn that has dried up state tax collections.

During debate, DeLeo, chairman of the House budget committee, said another huge problem looms: the gap between fiscal 2010 spending and revenues could hit $4 billion, the largest estimate to date of that problem.