Kosher Pork

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We hate the term “pork.” The problem is that one man’s pork is another’s Kosher Fakin’ Bacon, and really, they needed that bridge to nowhere in Alaska.

Anyway, with the House Budget amendments in for FY2009, here’s some highlights from what your local legislators have proposed.

One of the bigger single requests comes from Rep. Bob Spellane, who filed an amendment gunning for an extra $7,000,000 to the renovation and refurbishing of Foley Stadium. Spellane acknowledges a truth of many of the amendments. “We will not get this [$7,000,000] in the budget process, we are looking to get it…later in the session.” The money would be for Phase 2 of the Foley Stadium renovations, which would include softball and baseball fields, and locker rooms.

Then there’s Reps. Vincent Pedone and Jim O’Day’s co-sponsored bill (with others) that would up the amount given to safety hospitals, including UMass Memorial, from $251,000,000 to $346,000,000. Pedone says the item is “budget neutral,” and an annual filing. It’s part of a federal reimbursement program; in other words, the state requests the money from the feds, and doesn’t give it to UMass and the other “safety net” hospitals in Boston until it’s approved. “When the state receives the money, the commonwealth gives that money to UMass Memorial…and then there’s the reimbursement. It’s critical to UMass.”

Other highlights, (and a ton of them) after the break.

REP. GERALDO ALICEA:

• $150,000 for a pilot program for preventing violence and hate crimes in Southbridge’s kindergarten through eight grade; the program includes parent education on violence prevention and racial tolerance
• $50,000 for teen pregnancy prevention programs in Southbridge

REPS. JOHN BINIENDA, JOHN FRESOLO, BOB SPELLANE, JIM O’DAY, ALICEA, MIKE RUSH, STEPHEN DiNATALE:

• $1,703,168 for the Worcester County Sheriff for staffing levels, 2 new officer classes, and inmate care

REPS. BINIENDA, FRESOLO, SPELLANE, O’DAY, JEN CALLAHAN:

• $150,000 for Centros Las Americas
• $120,000 for Dismas House programs (Also sponsored by Reps. Gobi, Eldridge, and Flanagan)

REP. CALLAHAN:

• $250,000 for Camp Marion and Mumford River Recreation programs
• $50,000 for historical preservation of Daniels Farmstead Foundation
• $20,000 for historical preservation of the East Blackstone Quaker Meeting House Preservation Program

REP. DiNATALE:

• $150,000 to restore and repair Fitchburg’s Crocker Field

REP. FRESOLO:

• $63,440 for a resident services employment coordinator for the Worcester Housing Authority
• $219,000 for the creation of the “Mosaic Cultural Complex”

REP. PAUL FROST:

• $15,000,000 for statewide schools for textbooks and materials, at no less than $15 per student

REP. ANNE GOBI:

• $50,000 for the Petersham Historical Society
• $25,000 for the Quaboag Historical Society (with Reps. Alicea and Smola)

REP. PAUL KUJAWSKI:

• $300,000 for sediment control in Lake Webster

REP. HAROLD NAUGHTON:

• $2,300,000 for paving and resurfacing of Paul X Tivnan Drive [Worcester County Jail entrance] in Boylston
• $1,000,000 for dam repairs at the Wekepeke Reservoir in Sterling
• $500,000 to repair to the Church Street Senior Housing Complex
• $450,000 for sound barriers on 290 in Northboro
• $175,000 for staffing at the Central Massachusetts Probation Training Academy

REP. O’DAY:

• $1,000,000 to repair the West Boylston Street bridge on Route 12 (with Rep. Fresolo)
• $35,000 as a one-time expense to fund West Boylston’s bicentennial programs (with Rep. Walsh)

REPS. O’DAY, CALLAHAN, FRESOLO, PEDONE, BINIENDA, and others:

• $982,000 for Central Mass Veterans’ Shelter programs and transitional assistance

REP. PEDONE:

• $875,000 for the State Courts Against Road Rage program
• $450,000 for the law enforcement drug lab at UMass Medical

REPS. PEDONE & O’DAY (with others):

• $250,000 for the Center for Women and Enterprise
• $150,000 for the MLK Center

REP. SPELLANE:

• $100,000 for the Worcester Youth Center

As exhausting as this list is, it’s hardly exhausting. For your weekend enjoyment, take a gander at the full list, and post any of your favorites in the comments.

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Tags: house budget amendments, massachusetts budget 2009