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Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2021 A note from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call: Join me this Sunday night and every Sunday night between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. for my talk show “The Bob Katzen Baby Boomer and Gen X Show.” Jump in my time capsule and come back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. My special guest on Sunday, May 23 at 6 p.m. will be Tony Dow, best known for playing Wally Cleaver on the beloved and iconic television series “Leave it to Beaver.” Listeners are always invited to call in and talk with Tony. There are many ways you can listen to the show from anywhere in the world: • If you have a smart speaker, simply say, “Play WMEX on Audacy.com” • Download the free Audacy app on your phone or tablet • Listen online at www.wmexboston.com • Or tune into 1510 AM if you have an AM radio. • Visit us at www.bobkatzenshow.com THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local senators’ roll call attendance records for the 2021 session through May 14. The Senate has held 28 roll calls so far in 2021. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator votes and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record. In the Senate, 39 of the 40 members did not miss any roll calls and have 100 percent roll call attendance records. It is a Senate tradition that the Senate president only votes occasionally. Senate President Karen Spilka follows that tradition and only voted on 11 of the 28 roll calls while not voting on 17 of them. Sen. Spilka’s offi ce did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on her voting record. We specifi cally asked if Spilka was in the Statehouse building for all the formal and informal sessions; how the tradition developed that the president rarely votes; has she ever thought of breaking that tradition and being recorded on all roll calls; and how does she choose on which roll calls she will vote? The vast majority of the 40 senators are not in the Senate chamber during a session because of the COVD-19 pandemic. Most are watching and listening to the session from their home, business or Statehouse offi ce and voting remotely. Senators’ votes are communicated to Senate offi cials during the session or prior to the session if senators are informed in advance that there will be a roll call vote. If a member wants to speak on an issue under consideration, they do so on a separate “debate phone line” and their voice is then heard in the Senate chamber and by anyone watching the broadcast online. 2021 SENATE ROLL CALL ATTENDANCE RECORDS THROUGH MAY 14 The percentage listed next to the senator’s name is the percentage of roll call votes on which the senator voted. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that he or she missed. Sen. Joseph Boncore 100 percent (0) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of May 1014, the House met for a total of two hours and 48 minutes while the Senate met for a total of two hours and 46 minutes. Mon. May 10 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:16 a.m. Senate 11:14 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. Tues. May 11 No House session No Senate session Wed. May 12 No House session No Senate session Thurs. May 13 House 11:00 a.m. to 1:35 p.m. Senate 11:26 a.m. to 1:46 p.m. Fri. May 14 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com ~ GUEST COMMENTARY ~ May is Mental Health Month: Learn from it By Sal Giarratani W hile reading last week’s Revere Advocate, I read a piece concerning Revere City Councilor Jessica Giannino who fi led a motion recognizing May as Mental Health Month at a May 10 City Council meeting which passed unanimously. And I congratulate both her and the City Council itself for helping to raise awareness of the impact this health issue can have on so many individuals of any age, families and communities. As someone who retired from the state Department of Mental Health in 2013 with over 40 years of service in both direct care and as a police officer, I understand the importance of having mental health and celebrating recovery from mental illness. I saw the struggles in real time over decades and I saw the successes of many gaining control back over their often tortured lives. It was never easy for any of them, that’s why it’s called a struggle and not a vacation. Getting mentally healthy GOAL | FROM Page 4 (CDC). On June 15, Governor Charlie Baker will end the State of Emergency. The Administration also announced updates eff ective May 18, 2021, to revise face covering requirements for youth and amateur sports and other guidance relating to childcare programs and K-12 schools. The Administration will release updated guidance for summer camps. The Administration can take these steps to reopen the Commonwealth’s economy because Massachusetts is on track to meet the goal set in December to fully vaccinate more than four million individuals by the first week of June. The Commonwealth is a leading state in vaccinating residents. To date, more than four million residents have received a fi rst dose, with 3.2 million fully vaccinated. New cases have dropped by 89 percent since January 8, 2021. COVID-19 hospitalizations are down 88 percent since January 1, 2021, and the positive test rate is down by 88 percent after peaking at 8.7 percent on January 1, 2021. Effective May 29, all industries will be permitted to open. Except for remaining face covering requirements for public and private transportation syssometimes means seeking help and there are so many out there doing the helping. Grammy Award and multi-platinum singer Michelle Williams’s greatest success was not her music or writing career but her battle within herself. She still might have low moods but now she understands why and has developed the necessary tools to combat those feelings. All of us, myself included, can be very complicated machines, at times more so than ever, and from time to time are in need of a good tune-up that gets us back on track. We all want mental wellness which goes without saying. Giannino is so right. She stated, “As someone who has struggled with anxiety for most of their adult life, it’s so personal to me that I acknowledge the importance of mental health and the impact it has on not only ourselves, but on our friends and families...It is so important to me to end the stigma of mental health issues.” People should never feel ashamed of seeking help because seeking help is not tems and facilities housing vulnerable populations, all industry restrictions will be lifted, and capacity will increase to 100 percent for all industries. The gathering limit will be rescinded. All industries will be encouraged to follow CDC guidance for cleaning and hygiene protocols. Last May the Administration published the reopening phases, which called for ending restrictions when vaccines became widely available. There are now more than 975 locations for Massachusetts residents to access vaccines without delay. Face covering guidance In line with updated CDC face covering guidance, the Administration will rescind the current face covering order and issue a new face covering advisory effective May 29. Non-vaccinated individuals are advised to continue wearing face masks and to continue distancing in most settings. The advisory will also recommend that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a face covering or social distance indoors or outdoors except for in certain situations. Face coverings will still be required for all individuals on public and private transportation (including rideshares, livery, taxi, ferries, MBTA, Commuter Rail and transportation staa sign of weakness but strength. About two weeks ago, I read a magazine article about Michelle Williams, who was a member of the popular 90s R&B girl group Destiny’s Child, along with Kelly Rowland and Beyonce Knowles, before she became just the one word, Beyonce. Williams just finished her memoir which will hit the bookshelves later this month. Her book is called “How Getting Real About Depression Saved My Life and Can Save Yours.” In it she talks about her struggles with low mood. She struggled with it before she was rich and famous, and getting rich and famous didn’t stop the struggle. In 2018, she checked herself into a treatment facility and faced up to her depression and now wants to help others get to where she has arrived. There’s a great quote of hers that sums up quite well the struggle to recognize and get to mental wellness: “Depression is not who you are. It is certainly not who I am. There is so much more to you than what you’re feeling. And there’s so much more to me.” tions), healthcare facilities and providers, congregate care settings and health and rehabilitative day services. Face coverings will also remain required indoors for staff and students of K-12 schools and early education providers. Youth and amateur sports face covering guidance On May 18, 2021, the youth and amateur sports guidance was updated to no longer require face coverings for youth athletes 18 and under while playing outdoor sports. Eff ective May 29, all youth and amateur sports restrictions will be lifted. K-12, early education and summer camp guidance On May 18, 2021, guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Early Education and Care was updated to no longer require masks for outdoor activities, such as recess, and to allow for the sharing of objects in classrooms, in both K-12 and childcare settings. This guidance will remain in eff ect beyond May 29. The Administration will release updated guidance for summer camps, eff ective May 29, which will include no longer requiring masks for outdoor activities.

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