Page 8 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE - Friday, February 22, 2019 ~ Malden Neighborhood Basketball League Update ~ Sen. Lewis appointed as Chair of Joint Committee on Education and member of other committees Season 34, Week 7 Saturday, Feb. 16-19 Game 1 – Bullets 70, Hawks 31 Boys in blue put away the Hawks early and late, gaining a halftime lead of 29-15 then adding on another 23 in the 3rd alone, thanks to B. Chen (17), A. Jonassaint (15) and J. Kelley (12). It was a tough off ensive game for the Birds as A. Nguyen was the high with just nine points. All of it came in the 2nd half as he did his best to help get some points on the board. Game 2 – Pistons 65, Celtics 58 Undefeated no more as four hungry aggressive players took down the unblemished. The Emerald were led as usual by J. Kelley (22), A. Cohen (14) and S. ChereBASKETBALL | SEE PAGE 12 BOSTON – Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka announced last week that Senator Jason Lewis has been appointed Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education in the Massachusetts Legislature. Senator Lewis was also appointed to a leadership position on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for crafting the annual state budget and reviewing most fi scal and policy matters. “I’m excited to Chair the Education Committee, since the challenge of ensuring adequate and equitable funding for public schools was the issue that fi rst motivated me to run for the state legislature,” said Senator Lewis. “While we should celebrate the Commonwealth’s national leadership in student performance and educational excellence, we must also redouble our eff orts to address unacceptable achievement and opportunity gaps that plague our low-income students, students of color, and English language learners. It is both a moral and economic imperative that we address these fundamental inequities.” Several years ago, Senawww.reverealuminumwindow.com tor Lewis filed legislation that created the Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC). This bipartisan commission spent a year studying school finance issues and received input from education stakeholders across Massachusetts. The FBRC’s 2015 report confirmed the gaps in the foundation budget and estimated that we are shortchanging our public schools by $1-2 billion annually, with the greatest harm being done to our poorest communities. In the years since, the Massachusetts Senate has twice passed legislation to implement FBRC’s recommendations. Unfortunately, at the end of the previous legislative session in 2018, the House and Senate were unable to reach fi nal agreement on the details of the necessary changes to the foundation budget and Chapter 70 formula. Leaders from Beacon Hill and beyond have all indicated that fi xing the formula is a top priority this year, and as Senate Chair of the Education Committee, Senator Lewis will play a key role in deliberation and negotiations on any education-funding legislation. Senator Lewis was also appointed Vice Chair of the State Senator Jason Lewis Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, where he served during the last legislative session as committee chairman, accomplishing major policy achievements, such as the passage of a $15 per hour minimum wage and the adoption of paid family and medical leave statewide. He plans to continue his work to foster economic justice and greater opportunity for working families across the Commonwealth. Senator Lewis was appointed to serve on the Community Development and Small Businesses Committee, where he intends to use his role to continue to advocate for downtown revitalization in the communities of the Fifth Middlesex District and to support small businesses throughout Massachusetts. Additionally, he will serve as a member of the Marijuana Policy Committee, as the Legislature continues to guide the safe implementation of legal adult-use marijuana in the state. CANNABIS | FROM PAGE 1 Businesses that meet zoning and site requirements must then negotiate a host community agreement with the Mayor’s Office which will be approved by the City Council. The next step is the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, which reviews applicants and issues state licenses for retail shops and other marijuana-related businesses, including growers, manufacturers of cannabis products and testing labs. A local license is one of the * A Delta Dental Premier Provider Dr. Mario Abdennour, Dr. Bhavisha Patel, Dr. Priti Amlani, Dr. Bruce Goldman and team. fi nal hurdles. It will be up to Malden’s new Cannabis Control Commission to ensure that marijuana businesses are in step with their host community agreements.
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