Neal endorses Harrington for Berkshire County district attorney
Pittsfield —Â Andrea Harrington, the Democratic nominee for Berkshire County district attorney, has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield. Harrington, who won the Democratic primary in September, has earned other prominent endorsements in recent weeks, including the Berkshire Brigades, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Attorney General Maura Healey, Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer and former Mayor James Ruberto, North Adams City Councilors Marie Harpin and Jason LaForest, and over a dozen other local elected officials.
Neal said: “Andrea Harrington is committed to building a safe community, protecting the vulnerable, and combating the opioid epidemic. Democrats will win in November by making this election about standing up for our values and I’m proud to support Andrea Harrington for Berkshire County District Attorney on November 6th.”
Harrington said, “I am honored to have Congressman Neal’s endorsement. Our campaign is about bringing needed reforms to the Berkshire County District Attorney’s office and ensuring that every resident of Berkshire County feels safe in their community. As District Attorney, I will work closely with partners in local, state, and federal government, like Congressman Neal, to ensure that Berkshire County has the resources needed to take on the opioid crisis, invest in community-based programs that prevent crime, and aggressively prosecute traffickers of heroin and fentanyl and those who prey on others.”
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Baker-Polito administration announces MassTrails program
Boston —Â The Baker-Polito administration has announced the MassTrails program, an interagency initiative that will provide funding and resources to municipal and public entities in order to expand and connect networks of off-road, shared-use pathways and recreational trails for all users across Massachusetts.
MassTrails will provide a total of approximately $5 million in matching grants through the first round of funding in fiscal year 2020 and will also offer technical assistance and resources to individuals, municipalities, non-profits and other public entities to design, construct and maintain high-quality Massachusetts trails. The grant application for the program will be available beginning Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, and the deadline for the first round of applications will be in February 2019.
The program is being managed by the administration’s interagency Trails Team. Established by Gov. Charlie Baker in 2017 in order to develop a unified vision for a trails network, the Trails Team is led by the governor’s office and comprised of staff from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
In addition to managing the MassTrails program, the Trails Team is continuing other efforts to develop a unified network of trails across the Commonwealth. The Trails Team has doubled the amount of federal Recreational Trails Program funding distributed in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 over recent years, addressed the permitting of trail projects at the state and local levels, leveraged partnerships with public and private-sector entities, and aligned resources to assist municipalities with the full range of trail issues.
These resources include a planning primer on moving a path project from a vision to a reality and a cost estimator tool and accompanying guidance document that help approximate the cost of a shared-use path project. Additionally, the Trails Team will soon provide a Shared-Use Path Planning and Design Guide that will cover path planning, feasibility, design criteria, engineering, construction and maintenance.