Joseph Kennedy III Eyeing Fourth District Seat

Kennedy announced today he is starting an exploratory committee for the seat.

Just over a month after Barney Frank announced he would retire at the end of this term, Joseph P. Kennedy III has added his name to the list of potential candidates.  The Huffington Post reports today that Kennedy has launched an exploratory committee for the Fourth District seat. Kennedy, 31, is also leaving his job as a prosecutor with the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office. Middlesex County Gerry Leone confirmed Kennedy's decision in a statement released this morning.  "I respect and admire Joe’s desire to serve the citizens of the Fourth Congressional District and I am confident that, if the people choose him, he will serve them with the same commitment and distinction that he has served the citizens of Middlesex County," …

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Barney Frank: Changes in District Were a Factor in Retirement Decision

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank announced today he will not seek re-election in 2012.

Citing recent changes to the Fourth Congressional District, Newton Congressman Barney Frank announced this afternoon that he will not seek re-election in 2012.  Frank, 71, made the announcement today in the War Memorial Auditorium at Newton City Hall. Speaking to a sea of media, Frank said the redistricting results would require him to campaign as an incumbent in a district that "is almost half new." "[The district] is so new it makes it harder in terms of learning about new areas," Frank said.  Just last week, Governor Deval Patrick signed off on new congressional districts. The Fourth District, where Frank has been congressman for 16 terms, added more towns from Worcester and Norfolk counties such as Milford, Hopedale, Plainville, …

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Frank to Pick Up More Norfolk County Towns in New Maps

Newton Rep. Barney Frank will lose some of Southern Bristol County, but will pick up more towns in Norfolk and Worcester Counties.

Although Newton residents will see no change for their congressional district, some of the Garden City's neighbors as well as towns from Worcester and East Bristol Counties will soon be in the Fourth Congressional District, currently represented by Barney Frank (D-Newton). A week after Gov. Deval Patrick signed off on new state district lines, the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting released maps today re-drawing the state's congressional districts, which have shrunk from ten to nine districts due to population shifts.  To view the new map (and the old map) click the .pdf to the right. In the new maps, Frank's district will cover Needham, Medfield and Walpole, which are currently in the state's Ninth District represented by Democrat …

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Newton Receives Nearly $4.2M for Economic and Community Development

The funding was part of a $12.4 million package awarded to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

After Mayor Setti Warren and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank made a push earlier this year to keep community development funding coming to Newton, it seems the message got through. According to a press release issued Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Edward Markey's office, Newton will be receiving nearly $4.2 million in federal assistance from the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. More than $2 million will come in the form in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and another $2 million will come through as HOME funding. "Community Development Block Grants play a critical role in supporting important programs in communities throughout the country. I have seen firsthand the positive impact that CDBG funds have had," Warren said in an emailed …

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Barney Frank: Partisan Meddling Watered Down Financial Reform

The Massachusetts Congressman stopped in New Haven, CT to meet with fellow Democrats.

Despite more than 2,000 pages in legislation aiming to regulate Wall Street, Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank said the legislation doesn’t do enough to limit foreclosures. Part of the reason, according to Frank, co-author of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is partisan meddling. “Go tell a Republican,” Frank said at the University of New Haven on Thursday to a crowd of bankers and Realtors. “You have people now who say you got to cut the deficit, you got to stay in Afghanistan, we got to stay in Iraq, you can’t raise the taxes on Warren Buffet and you have to cut the crap out of everything else.” Frank, chairman of the commission overseeing the banking industry from 2007-11, oft cited Republican …

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Barney Frank and Ron Paul Legislation Would End Federal Ban on Pot

The bill would give states the option of whether to legalize pot.

Newton Democrat and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank is reportedly working with Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul to introduce a bill in congress today that would end the federal ban on marijuana.  According to reports from the Huffington Post, the legislation would end the ban on pot and allow individual states to decide whether to legalize it.  The Marijuana Policy Project, an organization sourced in the Huffington Post story, says the legislation "is the first bill ever introduced in Congress to end federal marijuana prohibition." “The legislation would limit the federal government’s role in marijuana enforcement to cross-border or inter-state smuggling, allowing people to legally grow, use or sell marijuana in states where it is legal,” according …

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Steven Epstein

1:37 pm on Thursday, June 23, 2011

P.S. I'm a Georgetown resident and spokesperson for NORML’s state affiliate the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCann/NORML).   more ›

PatchCast

PatchCast: Community Improvement, Cemetery Talks and Steampunk

A roundup of the region's major developments for Wednesday, April 27.

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Week in Review: A Community Rally, the School Budget and a Shooting

Miss something this week in Newton? Here's a roundup of headlines from the last seven days.

The week started out with a rally and roundtable discussion on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding at the Newton Community Service Center. Mayor Setti Warren met with U.S. Rep. Barney Frank and several members of the community to talk about how CDBG funding has impacted the lives of people in Newton and why it is important to continue the federally funded program.  Also on Monday, the School Committee held its first of three meetings for the week. During Monday's meeting, the superintendent gave his fiscal 2012 budget presentation, outlining a $4.4 million budget gap and the suggested cuts to close that gap. The committee would meet again on Wednesday to discuss cuts to regular education programs and again on Thursday to …

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