THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – WEDnESDAy, DECEmbEr 24, 2025 Page 17 Savvy Senior Tips and Tools for by Jim Miller Adapting to Vision Loss Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend some good Beacon Hill Roll Call Volume 50 - Report No. 51 December 15-19, 2025 By Bob Katzen T HE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on the percentage of times local senators voted with their party’s leadership in the 2025 session through December 19. Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 113 of the 116 votes from the 2025 Senate session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls except three that were on local issues. The votes of 32 Democrats were compared to Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem (D-Newton), second-in-command in the Senate. We could not compare the Democrats’ votes to those of Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) because, by tradition, the Senate president rarely votes. Sixteen (50 percent) of the 32 Democrats voted with Creem 100 percent of the time. Not counting the senators who voted 100 percent of the time with Creem, another 15 (46.8 percent) of Democrats voted with Creem at least 90 percent of the time (from 90 percent of the time to 99.9 percent of the time.) Only one Democrat, Sen. John Keenan (D-Quincy), voted with Creem less than 90 percent of the time. He voted with Creem only 88.3 percent of the time (99 times.) Rounding out the list of the top five senators who voted with Creem the least percentage of times are Sens. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) 104 times (92.0 percent); Michael Moore (D-Millbury) 105 times (92.9 percent); and both Michael Brady (D-Brockton) and Nick Collins (D-Boston) 108 times (95.5 percent). Beacon Hill Roll Call contacted all five senators and asked them why they voted among the least percentage of times with Sen. Creem. Only Sens. Keenan and Moore responded: “I have great respect and admiration for my Senate colleagues and appreciate that we represent unique districts and at times have different opinions on issues,” said Keenan. “In the final determination, I will always vote in the way, that in my judgment, best serves my constituents in the Norfolk and Plymouth District and the commonwealth as a whole.” “The people of the Second Worcester District sent me to the Massachusetts Senate to address the challenges affecting their daily lives and to amplify their voices on Beacon Hill,” said Moore. “My ultimate responsibility is to do what is right for my constituents and my voting record reflects that.” Three senators did not respond to repeated requests asking them to comment. They are Sens. Brady, Montigny and Collins. Beacon Hill Roll Call also contacted all 16 senators who voted with Creem 100 percent of the time and asked them to comment and to cite any issues, beyond the ones that came to a roll call vote, on which they disagree with Creem. None of the 16 responded. They are Sens. Mike Barrett (D-Lexington); Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont); Jo Comerford (D-Northampton); Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn); Julian Cyr (D-Truro); Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett); Lydia Edwards (D-Boston); Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington); Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville); Robyn Kennedy (D-Worcester); Joan Lovely (D-Salem); Paul Mark (D-Becket); Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow); Pavel Payano (D-Lawrence); Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport) and Mike Rush (D-West Roxbury). The votes of four Republican senators were compared with those of GOP Senate Minority Leader Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). None of the four voted with Tarr 100 percent of the time. Sen, Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) voted with Tarr the least percentage of times - only 88.4 percent of the time (100 times.) Kelly Dooner (R-Taunton) voted 102 times with Tarr (90.2 percent); Peter Durant (R-Spencer) 106 times with Tarr (93.8 percent); and Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) 109 times with Tarr (96.4 percent.) SENATORS’ SUPPORT OF THEIR PARTY’S LEADERSHIP IN 2025 THROUGH DECEMBER 19 The percentage next to the senator’s name represents the percentage of times the senator supported his or her party’s leadership in 2025 through December 19. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the senator opposed his or her party’s leadership. Some senators voted on all 113 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll calls. The percentage for each senator is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted. Sen. Brendan Crighton 100 percent (0) ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL KEEP DARK MONEY OUT OF TOWN MEETING (H 806) – The House gave initial approval to a bill that would apply the state’s campaign finance election laws to political expenditures of more than $1,000, made by persons, corporations, associations, organizations or other groups of people, to influence the outcome of articles that appear on Town Meeting warrants. The person BEACON | SEE PAGE 18 resources or products that can help seniors with severe vision loss? My wife has diabetic retinopathy, and it’s gotten worse over the past year. Need Help Dear Need, I’m very sorry about your wife’s vision loss, but you’ll be pleased to know that there are many resources and a wide variety of low vision products and technologies that can help with many different needs. According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), it’s estimated that 12 million Americans ages 40 and older are living with uncorrectable vision loss, which is often caused by age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy. These conditions become more common with age and can make daily tasks like cooking, reading or watching television much harder. But optometrists who specialize in low vision – reduced vision that can’t be rectified with glasses – have many aids and technologies that can help. Here are a few different low vision products as recommended by Consumer Reports, along with some suggestions for finding a specialist who can help your wife adapt to her vision loss. Magnifiers and Adaptions Once reading glasses are no longer sufficient, there are other devices that can help. These include handheld magnifiers with a light and magnifying domes that can be placed on top of a page. Telescopes mounted on glasses can work for people who need help seeing farther away. For those who have lost part of their visual field due to a stroke or brain injury, prisms mounted to the lenses in glasses can move an image from an area someone can’t see to the area of their vision where they can. This can help people get around without bumping into obstructions. Driving may no longer be possible, but some people with certain types of low vision can do so safely using a bioptic telescope – a telescopic device attached to glasses – that makes distant objects like road signs visible. And some changes at home can make your space easier (and safer) to navigate, such as putting bright tape on the edges of stairs and getting rid of clutter. High-Tech Tool Most smartphones and computers today have built-in accessibility settings that can help your wife by reading aloud text on the screen, making default text sizes larger, and increasing screen contrast. She can also take a photo with her phone of something she wants to see, then boost the brightness, contrast, or zoom. Televisions, too, may have accessibility features you can adjust to make watching easier. Phone apps for people with low vision can also be a big help. These include magnification apps like SuperVision+ Magnifier and apps such as Seeing AI and Envision AI that can look through your phone’s camera and turn text into speech, describe a scene in front of you, identify objects, or even recognize faces. There are also handheld or wearable devices like OrCam that can read documents or describe the scene you are looking at. Low Vision Specialist To get some help, find your wife an optometrist who is a low-vision specialist. They can help her figure out how to best use the vision she does have and recommend helpful devices. There are also vision rehabilitation services that can make a big difference. These services provide counseling, along with training on how to perform daily living tasks with low vision, and how to use visual and adaptive devices that can help improve quality of life. They also offer guidance for adapting your home that will make it safer and easier for your wife to maneuver. Her regular eye doctor may be able to recommend a low-vision specialist, or you can search the AOA.org website, which lets you filter for specialists in low vision. To locate rehabilitation services and other low vision resources in your area, call the American Printing House (APH) Connect Center at 800-232-5463. Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.
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