Page 22 THE REVERE ADVOCATE - Friday, June 14, 2019 BEACON | from page 20 improve the quality of our roadways and save taxpayer dollars,” said MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith. Transportation House chairman Bill Straus (D-Mattapoisett) said the current $200 million is sufficient when combined with other state programs to help cities’ and towns’ infrastructure, including $50 million for small bridge repairs. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Sen. Joseph Boncore Yes 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 June 3-7, the House met for a total of six hours and 12 minutes while the Senate met for a total of three hours and 33 minutes. Mon. June 3 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Senate 11:09 a.m. to 11:17 a.m. Tues. June 4 No House session No Senate session Wed. June 5 House 11:03 a.m. to 4:07 p.m. No Senate session Thurs. June 6 House 11:02 a.m. to 11:56 a.m. Senate 11:05 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Fri. June 7 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com. 505 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Tel: 617-387-1120 www.gkdental.com • Family Dentistry • Crowns • Bridges • Veneers/Lumineers • Dental Implants • All on 4 Dental Implants • Emergency Dentist • Kid Friendly Dentist • Root Canals • Dentures • Invisalign Braces • Snap On Smile • Teeth Whitening We are the smile care experts for your entire family by Jim Miller Thrifty Travel: How Retirees Can Find Cheap Travel Accommodations Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend some good websites for fi nding cheaper travel accommodations? My husband and I love to travel but hotel costs eat up our budget so much that we can’t aff ord to go as often as we’d like. We’ve used Airbnb with some luck but are wondering if there are other options for budget-conscious retirees. Retired Travelers Dear Retired, Accommodations are typically one of the costliest travel expenses. But, if you’re willing to do a little research and preplanning, there are a number of ways you can lower (or eliminate) your lodging costs and live more like a local when you travel. Here are some diff erent options to consider and some websites that can help you locate them. B&B Clubs If you like staying in bed and breakfasts and have a spare bedroom yourself, check out the Evergreen Club (EvergreenClub. com) and the Aff ordable Travel Club (Aff ordableTravelClub.net). These are B&B clubs for travelers over ages 50 or 40 that off er aff ordable lodging in the spare bedroom of other club members, or they may stay with you when they’re on the road. You pay a modest gratuity of around $20 per night, with breakfast. And the clubs charge membership fees of $65 to $75 per year. Lower Cost Rentals There are literally millions of privately-owned properties in the United States and abroad that are off ered as short-term rentals. This has become a very popular alternative to hotels for retirees. Renting a fully furnished apartment or house is usually cheaper than hotel rooms of comparable quality, and they almost always off er more space, a homier feel and a kitchen, which can save you the expense eating out every meal. Short-term rentals are off ered through the individual property owners or property-management companies. Some of the best sites for fi nding them include Airbnb.com, HomeAway.com and FlipKey.com. These sites are free to use for travelers. Another nifty site you should check out is The Freebird Club In House Dental Plan for $399 (Cleanings, X-Rays, Exams twice a year and 20% OFF Dental work) Schedule your FREE Consultations today ENCORE CASINO DRIVING OPPORTUNITY!! Everett Car Service has exclusive rights to pick up all visitors in front of new $2.6B Encore Casino. Well over 40,000 visitors estimated daily and Everett Car is the only license holder in the city to service the Casino. Major opportunity to make money driving taxi – 50/50 split. Both day and night shifts available - call us now at 781-322-9400 or email dmorovitz@maldentrans. com. Good driver history a must! Please bring copy of driver history (from Registry) to interview. EOE (FreebirdClub.com) that connects 50-plus travelers with 50plus hosts. Unlike Airbnb and the other previously listed lodging rental sites, Freebird users pay a $31 fee to join and to have their identities verifi ed. They then fi ll out a questionnaire asking where they’d like to travel and how much interaction they’d like to have with their hosts. On the other end, hosts are not offering rental properties and a key in a drop box, but their own homes, along with conversation and companionship, for much less than the price of a hotel. House Sitting If you have a fl exible schedule and you don’t mind doing a few household chores when you travel, house sitting is another option that off ers lodging for free. How it works is you live in someone else’s home while they’re away for a long weekend or even a few months. And in exchange for the free accommodations, you take care of certain responsibilities such as their pets, lawn, garden, mail, etc. To fi nd these opportunities, try sites like Nomador.com, MindMyHouse.com, HouseCarers.com and TrustedHousesitters.com – they all charge a small membership fee. Home Swapping Another way to get free accommodations when you travel is by swapping homes with someone who’s interested in visiting the area where you live. To make a swap, you’ll need to join an online home exchange service where you can list your home and get access to thousands of other listings. Then you simply email the owners of houses or apartments you’re interested in – or they email you – and you make arrangements. Most home exchange sites like HomeExchange.com, HomeLink.org and Intervac-HomeExchange.com charge membership fees ranging from $50 to $150. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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