Dear friends,
I am writing to you today with Cambridge, legislative, and public health updates.
In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I would like to call attention to the toiletry and gift card drive that Transition House and YWCA Cambridge are running. You can find a full list of the items they are hoping to collect on the flier below. Items can be dropped off or shipped to YWCA Cambridge at 7 Temple Street, Cambridge, MA 02139. Donations are being collected until Friday, November 1.
This month, I would also like to highlight Cradles to Crayons’ request for children’s pajamas. Cradles to Crayons provides clothing to low-income and unhoused children in Massachusetts and relies on donations to combat clothing insecurity. If you’d like to donate, their Amazon wishlist can be found here.
Table of Contents
Cambridge Updates
Legislative Updates
Public Health Updates
A Glimpse at the Past Week
Recent Press
Services and Resources
Cambridge Updates
Head of the Charles Regatta
This weekend Cambridge will be hosting the Head of the Charles Regatta. The Head of the Charles is always a wonderful event that brings athletes and spectators from across the country and world to Cambridge to enjoy highly competitive crew competition over the course of the weekend.
To accommodate the regatta and the spectators, Memorial Drive will be closed from Saturday, October 19, at 7 a.m. through Sunday, October 20, at 9 p.m. For those wishing to participate in the festivities, it is recommended that you travel to Central Square or Harvard Square via public transportation and walk from there. You can read the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s traffic advisory here.
DCR Traffic Advisory for Memorial Drive Improvements
From Tuesday, October 15, through Tuesday, November 26 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will intermittently close lanes and implement detours along Memorial Drive from Magazine Street to Audrey Street via the BU Bridge rotary to accommodate more than $1.5 million in safety upgrades for pedestrians and cyclists.
The safety improvement work includes widening the shared use path leading to the BU rotary; improving and reconfiguring wheelchair ramps and median islands at the intersection of Memorial Drive and the BU Bridge; replacing nearly 700 linear feet of existing Boston Pattern Fence; restriping the crosswalks; and implementing a speed limit reduction to 25 mph along the BU Bridge corridor. Traffic patterns will be clearly marked, and a police detail will be on site. More information on the work can be found here.
Flu and COVID Vaccine Clinics
Throughout October, the Cambridge Public Health Department will be offering COVID-19 and flu vaccines to adults and children who live in Cambridge. Registration is encouraged, and you can bring your insurance card if you have one. Medical staff will be on-site to answer any questions. You can learn more about the clinic and sign up here. The schedule for the clinics is below:
Friday, October 18, from 1-4 pm: Cambridge Community Center (5 Callender Street)
Wednesday, October 23, from 3:30-6:30 pm: Reservoir Church (170 Rindge Avenue)
Thursday, October 24, from 4-6:30pm: Pisani Center (131 Washington Street)
Legislative Updates
Conference Committee Negotiators Agree on Framework for Climate Bill
I am happy to announce that the lead Conference Committee negotiators have agreed to a framework for an omnibus package to address climate change. I am grateful to Chair Jeff Roy, the House Chair of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy (TUE), for his steadfast leadership and commitment to getting this bill over the finish line, as well as Speaker Ron Mariano for his dedication to addressing the climate crisis. I have remained in constant communication with them, highlighting the importance of this bill, and appreciate all the advocates who have continued to reach out about it.
While the complete bill language has not yet been published, I am proud to announce it will include comprehensive clean energy citing and permitting language that will facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy and create high-quality jobs in the process. I will continue to update you on this bill as it moves through the process toward passage.
House passes FY24 Closeout Supplemental Budget
On Thursday, the House passed a supplemental budget to close out fiscal year 2024. The bill includes money to support MassHealth, over $7 million to fund the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program, and $8.7 million to fund the school breakfast program, among its many important appropriations.
Governor Announces New State Partnership with Utility Companies to Provide Discounts to Families with Low Incomes
This week, Governor Healey announced a new partnership with utility companies that will save families with low incomes significant money moving forward. Massachusetts residents enrolled in Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC), SNAP benefits, MassHealth, and other programs will be automatically enrolled in this new partnership and will save up to 25% on natural gas costs and 42% of electric expenses.
I applaud the Governor and Commissioner Jeff McCue from the Department of Transitional Assistance for this creative and innovative partnership to assist our most vulnerable families, especially as costs are set to increase as temperatures drop.
Public Health Updates
Study Finds Hormonal IUD Use is Linked to Increased Risk of Breast Cancer
A new study out of Denmark found that hormonal contraceptive intrauterine devices (IUDs) that release levonorgestrel to prevent pregnancy were associated with a 40% increased risk of developing breast cancer. Levonorgestrel is a form of synthetic progestin that is commonly used in many popular brands of hormonal IUDs in the United States, such as Kyleena, Skyla, Mirena, and Liletta. This data builds upon well-established evidence that oral hormonal contraceptive options are also associated with an increased breast cancer risk. The elevated risk of breast cancer between oral contraceptives and IUDs is fairly similar. This study included data from 78,595 women using levonorgestrel IUDs across Denmark between the ages of 15 and 49. Researchers matched participants currently utilizing IUDs with former users who had similar hormonal contraceptive use patterns in the past to identify if a significant increase in breast cancer was present between the two groups. The study’s data is limited by the fact that researchers did not consider how frequently women receive breast cancer screenings.
Research Shows New Cervical Cancer Treatment Lowers Risk of Death from Disease
New research suggests that adding a six-week course of chemotherapy to the typical course of treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer can significantly boost survival rates. Locally advanced cancer is cancer that has spread to nearby tissue, but has not yet spread to other parts of the body. The study concentrated on 500 patients from 32 medical centers in Brazil, India, Mexico and the UK between 2012 and 2022. Of the patients who received a short course of chemotherapy before beginning chemoradiotherapy, a standard treatment for cervical cancer, 80% lived at least five more years and 72% did not have any cancer return or spread. 72% of patients who only received the regular course of chemoradiotherapy lived at least five more years and 64% of those patients had no cancer return or spread.
Biden Administration Invokes Wartime Power to Bolster IV Fluid Supply Amid Shortage Concerns
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory regarding shortages of intravenous (IV) fluids and peritoneal dialysis (PD) fluids supplied by Baxter International. Baxter is the country's largest manufacturer of IV and PD solutions, producing 60% percent of the country's IV fluids at their North Cove manufacturing site in North Carolina, which experienced significant damage last month due to Hurricane Helene. Hospitals nationwide have been rationing IV fluids and even postponing some surgeries in response to these shortages. The federal government has recently taken steps to bolster the production of these critical fluids, with the Food and Drug Administration allowing the importation of products from international facilities to address manufacturing shortfalls. Most recently, the Biden Administration has invoked the Defense Production Act to ensure Baxter International has the materials required to resume IV and PD fluid production and its North Cove Facility.
HHS Restarts Free COVID-19 Test Program
As cases of a new COVID-19 variant, XEC, rise across the United States, the federal government has restarted its free at-home COVID-19 testing program in preparation for the fall and winter season. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is offering another round of free COVID-19 tests for families nationwide. Every U.S. household is eligible to order up to 4 at-home tests shipped for free by the USPS. According to HHS, these test kits will be able to detect the latest circulating variants and can be used through the end of the year. The tests will be available to order at COVIDTests.gov, which also includes additional information to learn more about COVID-19 testing. The available tests also include a more accessible option for people with disabilities to use at ACL.gov/AccessibleTests.
A Glimpse at the Past Week
On Monday, I listened to Dr. Anthony Fauci talk about his new memoir in a conversation between him and Dr. Jerome Groopman, Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. This event, hosted by Porter Square Books, focused on Dr. Fauci’s long and admirable career guiding the United States through the public health crises of AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19. As Chair of the Public Health Committee, I am especially grateful for his steadfast leadership during the COVID pandemic. Hearing him speak about his public service under seven presidents was inspirational, and I greatly enjoyed the stories he shared throughout the evening.
On Thursday, I met with the 585 Arts team and heard about their vision for a new performing arts space in Kendall Square opening in the near future. In 2026, 585 Arts will launch 585 Third Street, a 30,000-square-foot facility containing public areas, gardens, theaters, and a coffee shop. I am thrilled to be welcoming them to Cambridge and am excited about their commitment to fostering a greater presence for global artists in the community! You can learn more about 585 Arts here.
Last night, my family and I went to the Cambridge Health Alliance’s vaccine clinic at the King Open School where we received our flu and COVID-19 vaccines. As a reminder, the Cambridge Department of Public Health will be offering COVID-19 and flu vaccines to adults and children who live in Cambridge. Help keep yourself and your loved ones safe this winter season by getting vaccinated to stay protected!
Recent Press
Craig LeMoult, GBH News
The state legislature’s Special Commission on Poverty has heard from advocates supporting guaranteed income programs, and is expected to put out a report with its recommendations early next year.
“The call of this commission is to listen to people across the state,” said Representative Marjorie Decker, who is co-chairing the commission. “The importance of UBI [universal basic income] for communities that have been able to roll out a UBI program like here in Cambridge, they have been an important part of the listening tour.”
Decker said her commission will look at a range of approaches to reducing poverty, including the roles of federal, state and local governments, as well as nonprofits and the private sector.
“I think it’s important to keep in mind there’s a lot of different ways of reducing poverty, and it is the commission’s job to figure out how they want to frame that,” Decker said
Cambridge Public Health Helpline Supports Residents with COVID-19
To speak with someone, call the confidential COVID-19 Hotline at 617-933-0797. Learn more here.
Intimate Partner Abuse Prevention Helpline
This initiative is designed to prevent intimate partner violence by fostering accountability and change in people who harm or may harm their partner. You can find more information at 10to10helpline.org or by calling 877-898-3411.
SafeSpot Overdose Prevention Helpline
SafeSpot is a virtual spotting/overdose detection service for people who use drugs. Learn more at safe-spot.me or access it by calling 800-972-0590.
De Novo Center for Justice and Healing
De Novo is a Cambridge-based nonprofit that provides free civil legal assistance and affordable psychological counseling to people with low incomes. You can learn more about their services at denovo.org.
MassLegalHelp.org is a resource to help Massachusetts residents learn about their legal rights. The website does not offer legal advice or answer individual questions but has a page about options for finding a lawyer. It does provide resources for those facing legal issues, such as a landlord refusing to make repairs, appealing the denial of SNAP benefits, and questions about getting a CORI sealed.
As always, please contact me with questions or concerns at Marjorie.Decker@mahouse.gov.
Sincerely,
Marjorie