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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Governor’s Environmental Bill A ‘Holiday Gift’

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Monday, December 24, 2007   

Boston, MA – A holiday gift for the environment in Massachusetts – that's the way Bay State environmentalists are reacting to Governor Deval Patrick's environmental bond bill.

The $1.4 billion measure, unveiled Friday, is the largest such bond bill in the state's history. If it's approved by the legislature, the money will go to a variety of environmental efforts, including land acquisition and improvement of water and air quality.

Ian Bowles, the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, says the funds would also help the state Department of Conservation and Recreation clear its backlog of repair and maintenance on bridges and other public facilities.

"We've inherited a system that's had a decade or more of lack of investment, so Governor Patrick is making a large step to address a big part of the problem."

James McCaffrey, director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club, believes the money would be well spent.

"We applaud the administration and Secretary Bowles for filing such a landmark environmental bond. It's a tremendous opportunity for Massachusetts' forest and park systems to get back on track."

Other parts of the bill would fund air and water monitoring, and cleanup of solid waste facilities. Bowles says he's optimistic the bill will be approved, partly because of widespread support among environmental and business organizations.




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