Neonicotinoids were developed in the 1990s, when crop-destroying insects such as aphids, leafhoppers, beetles and caterpillars demonstrated increasing resistance to existing pesticides. This family of pesticides had the additional benefit of being less toxic to vertebrates, and were more easily absorbed by neurotransmitters in insect brains.
Neonicotinoids became the pesticide of choice, the most widely used and studied in the world, and they are found in approximately 300 insecticide products, according to Deirdre Cummings, legislative director for the public interest group MASSPIRG.
But concern about the affect neonicotinoids were having on non-targeted insects, pollinators in particular, led MASSPIRG, the Northeast Organic Farming Association, the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association and dozens of other agricultural, environmental, climate and pollinator advocacy groups as well as Massachusetts legislators and other state government officials to campaign for a ban on their
Central Mass. Democrats criticize state vaccine rollout
Democratic Legislators from Central Massachusetts and the MetroWest sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, and Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders raising concerns about various aspects of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Representatives James O Day of West Boylston, Carolyn Dykema of Holliston and Sen. Michael Moore of Millbury were among the legislators that signed the letter. They urged the Baker-Polito Administration to take additional steps in preparing for the next vaccination phases.
Among the concerns addressed in the letter are:
How aligned the current vaccine supply is with timelines for the vaccination phases. and how frequently timelines will be adjusted based on actual availability.
Beacon Hill Roll Call Bob Katzen, Telegram & Gazette
Beacon Hill Roll Call
THE HOUSE AND SENATE
Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on a roll call from the week of Jan. 25-29. There were no roll calls in the Senate last week.
CLIMATE CHANGE (S 9)
House 144-14, Senate on a voice vote without a roll call, approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker a 57-page climate change bill. A key section makes the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal net zero by 2050.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Mike Barrett (D-Cambridge) and Rep. Thomas Golden (D-Lowell) who led the successful charge for legislative approval of the legislation for several months in 2020. An identical measure had passed the House 145-9 and the Senate 38-2 in 2020 - margins that were large enough for the Legislature to easily override any gubernatorial veto. But it was too late for that. The 2020 Legislature ended on January 5 and under legislative rules, any vetoe
Transportation legislation supported by Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, and Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, was recently signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker.
A note from Bob Katzen, publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call:
My guest on Jan. 24 on my WMEX 1510 AM Radio and online show will be Jordan Rich, beloved WBZ Boston radio personality, national voice-over artist, mobile disc jockey, emcee, philanthropist, all-around good guy and a mensch, to boot. He is also well-known for his support and work on behalf of many charities. Jordan will talk about his new book “ON AIR: My 50-Year Love Affair with Radio.”
Jordan currently hosts a podcast at www.jordanrich.com and is co-owner with Ken Carberry of Chart Productions, an iconic Boston-based audio-video production company. His book is available on Amazon. All proceeds from the sales of the book benefit Boston Children’s Hospital one of Jordan’s favorite charities.