Hello Westfield!
I hope you all had a great week despite the odd weather we have been having. This was quite an eventful week. This was my Legislative Aide’s first week with us and it has been a busy time even with the August recess. It is a great time for her to learn more about Westfield and be able to best assist all of the great people of Westfield with the issues that are important in our everyday lives.
On Tuesday, there was a great celebration at the Westfield Center for one of their employees who has been working there for 40 years. It was impressive with the residents coming to celebrate with her and much of the staff making their way to the hall where the celebration was. It was a surprise for her, and truly amazing when she walked in to see all the people who cared and appreciated her service to such an important place to the community. The Westfield Center is a nursing and rehabilitation center that has both long and short-term residents and has long been an important facility in Westfield. Her dedication to the center and her patients is amazing, congratulations to 40 years!
On Wednesday, there was a theatre performance in Holyoke that was amazing to experience. The Enchanted Circle Theater and Holyoke Public Schools Sumer Shakespeare Academy put on an abridged performance of Romeo and Juliet with their rising 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students. The aim of this show was to get younger students more familiar with Shakespeare and to have it be more accessible to them. Enchanted Circle Theater is an educational theater company that was founded in 1976. Since a large focus for the program is education, they utilize theatre as a teaching tool. They have received the Commonwealth Award which is Massachusetts’ highest honor in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities. Well done to all those who performed and worked so hard to put this on.
On Friday, the grand opening of Dunkin’ on North Elm St. occurred and it was amazing to be a part of. The manager was presented with citations from our office, Senator Humason, and Mayor Sullivan. We were also lucky to be visited by Cuppy, the Dunkin’ mascot and get to see the new inside of the restaurant. The new Next Generation Dunkin’ is a beautiful building and a perfect spot for the community to gather and enjoy some coffee and meals.
Governor Baker released his 157 page report about addressing congestion in Massachusetts and trying to reduce this issue throughout the state. The report, and study that was released with it, largely looks at traffic during rush hour times for Boston commuting as being the worst location for congestion in the Commonwealth. The study examines how during certain times of day a commute can vary greatly. There are many suggestions from the report to help with this issue, with the overall message being to reduce congestion throughout the state and have travel times be more manageable.
This week marked the beginning of the Babe Ruth World Series with the Greater Westfield Babe Ruth League hosting this year’s 13-year old baseball World Series. It is a very exciting time for the City of Westfield! All of the games will be played at the Bullens Field at Westfield Technical Academy. This series features teams from around the United States and a team invited from Calgary, Alberta Canada, and I welcome everyone to our great city! The opening ceremony happened this week and now the games have begun. I am very excited to announce a game and for the Salute to Westfield Night.
As always, I encourage everyone to reach out to our office with any questions or concerns about bills or other any other issue! We can be found at our office hours in the Westfield Senior Center on Thursday 11-12 and our office can be reached at [email protected] or (413) 572-3920. Have a great week!
