Senator Pat Jehlen

By Rebecca Danvers

The sixth of eight Commonwealth Conversations tours crossing the state comes to the area on March 4. Senators Pat Jehlen, Will Brownsberger, Sonia Chang-Díaz, Sal DiDomenico, Linda Dorcena Forry, and Anthony Petruccelli will tour schools, local businesses, redevelopment sites, Massport, and a union apprenticeship program.

The day will culminate with a public town hall event at Roxbury Community College to listen to the concerns of residents throughout the senators’ districts. Joining the tour will be Senate President Stan Rosenberg and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, and other senators from across the state.

The tour begins at Brighton High School with a panel on education, transportation, and economic development. The public is invited to attend this forum from 9:00 to10:15 a.m. The tour continues with a drive through Beacon Park Yards, the site of the Allston I-90 Interchange Improvement Project.

Senators will then visit the energy tech incubator Greentown Labs in Somerville; hear from the Somerville Community Corporation Community Organizers Team on workforce development; view development sites in Union and Assembly Squares; have lunch at the student-run Crimson Café at Everett High School and tour the school; view development sites along lower Broadway; receive a briefing at Massport in East Boston; visit The New England Regional Council of Carpenters apprenticeship program in Dorchester; take a dinner stop at a local restaurant; and end the day with the two-hour public town hall forum at Roxbury Community College’s Media Arts Center beginning at 6:30 p.m.

“The Commonwealth Conversations Tours are exciting opportunities for Senators to visit other districts and see some of the outstanding projects going on throughout the Commonwealth,” said Senator Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville). “It’s also a wonderful chance to engage with the public about issues that matter to Massachusetts residents.”

The Commonwealth Conversations Tour is a statewide tour of Senate districts led by the local senators to reach out to local residents, businesses, and interest groups to listen directly to their needs and concerns with the hope that it will foster more civic engagement while helping each senator learn more about issues outside of their own districts.

“With our statewide Commonwealth Conversations Tour we hope to hear directly from the people of the Commonwealth about how we can help improve their lives through our work in the Senate,” said President Stan Rosenberg. “We hope these conversations will help us craft our agenda and engage the public in the good work that we hope to accomplish this legislative session.”

All members of the public are encouraged to participate. Written testimony can be submitted at a public forum or through the tour website at the Talk to the Tour tab. To learn more about the tours visit the website at https://malegislature.gov/cc and follow on Twitter at @MA_Senate and #MaConvos.