A message from National Grid:

Yesterday we announced our winter heating season rates for National Grid electric and gas customers in Massachusetts, effective November 1. As proposed, overall monthly electric bills are expected to be 27 percent lower than a year ago, driven by winter electricity supply costs 46 percent lower than the 2022-23 winter heating season.  In total, the monthly bill of a typical residential electric customer using 600 kWh will decrease from $293 during the 2022-23 winter heating season to approximately $213 during the 2023-24 season.  The change in electricity supply costs is partly due to stabilizing global energy markets as well as a recent decision by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities that shifted our procurement schedule, allowing for more stable rate fluctuations throughout the year. National Grid advocated for this change, and we’re hopeful this will reduce price volatility for our customers going forward.

For gas customers, National Grid has pending proposals with the Department of Public Utilities which, if approved, would result in a monthly winter bill for an average Boston Gas residential heating customer using 111 therms per month of $263, an increase of $8, or 3 percent, compared to rates last winter. While a decrease in electric rates from last year is welcome news, we’re conscious that many of our customers still struggle to pay their bills.

With that in mind, we will continue our Customer Energy Savings Initiative to provide ongoing assistance this winter, hosting in-person Customer Energy Assistance events across Massachusetts. Customers can meet directly with National Grid representatives and our energy assistance partners at these community-based events to get the help they need, take action to control their energy costs, and enroll in available financial assistance and related programs that can provide support this winter. 

Through the Customer Energy Savings Initiative, over the past 12 months National Grid has

• Facilitated more than $43 million in HEAP funding to help Massachusetts customers supplement energy bills over the last 12 months,
• Helped more than 25,000 customers sign up for Balanced/Budget Billing, and
• Has more than 255,000 customers enrolled in National Grid's discount rate, with participating income-eligible electric customers receiving a 32% discount. 

For upcoming dates and times, please visit ngrid.com/heretohelp. National Grid will remain dedicated to doing all that we can to control our operational costs to offset future delivery side bill impacts.  We will continue to make decisions and prioritize programs to help our customers in the coming years.

The MBTA today announced service changes in October on the Red, Orange, Green, Mattapan, Kingston, Middleborough, Greenbush, and Haverhill lines. The MBTA will continue working to improve service reliability across the system.

The EOPSS Office of Grants and Research (OGR) is pleased to make available several funding opportunities for local municipalities/police departments and nonprofits to competitively solicit funding to address security protection, prevention, intervention, and suppression programming needs.

Listed and detailed below are current funding opportunities available with the appropriate deadlines and links for more information.

We are reaching out to remind you the Sumner Tunnel restoration project moves into its next phase with weekend closures resuming Friday night, September 15. The tunnel will be closed at approximately 11 p.m. Friday night and will reopen to traffic no later than 5 a.m. Monday, September 18.

This is the first of eight planned weekend closures for the remainder of 2023. Closures have also been scheduled for the following weekends: September 22, September 29, October 20, October 27, November 3, and November 10. The date for the 8^th planned closure hasn’t yet been determined.

These closures are the next phase of a project that began in April of 2022 and will continue to work on the tunnel ceiling, roadway, walls, lighting, and additional improvements which will increase safety and climate resiliency.

Additional information can be found on mass.gov/sumner-tunnel.

Great to meet the Joint Committee for Children's Health Care in Everett Executive Director Elvira Pinjic and her team yesterday! 

I look forward to working with you all for the youth of the community. 

You can locate JCCHCE at Everett City Hall 484 Broadway; ROOM 2 Lower Level.

or visit their website https://jcchce.org/

DCR Will Waive Parking Fees at All State Parks to Welcome the Girl Scouts  

Mass Cultural Council has launched the FY24 Local Cultural Council grant program. Local Cultural Council (LCC) Grants are now available to apply for in every city and town in the Commonwealth. These resources contribute funds to approximately 8,000 public projects annually, including everything from field trips to lectures, festivals, and dance and live music performances. Mass Cultural Council allocations to LCCs range from $5,500-$297,200, based on a formula that reflects state aid to municipalities. Funding is allocated by the state legislature in the annual budget.

The Health Connector and MassHealth are hosting a free webinar, Keeping or Getting Coverage through MassHealth and the Health Connector in Spanish on Wednesday, August 30th at 4:00 p.m.  Health Connector Navigators will be presenting on topics such as, how members renew MassHealth coverage, accessing an online account and reporting changes, and getting help with completing renewal or enrolling in Health Connector coverage.

DCR Recreational Advisory: DCR Wading Pools and Many Spray Decks Remain Open Through Labor Day 

WHAT:          Following the closure of swimming pools managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for the summer season on Sunday, August 20, 2023, agency-managed wading pools will remain open through Labor Day Weekend (Monday, September 4, 2023), and many spray decks will remain open through Sunday, September 17, 2023.  

For more information, please visit the agency’s swimming webpage and visit the DCR park alerts page for the most up to date information on park and waterfront closures.  

WHERE:       DCR-managed wading pools and spray decks  

WHEN:          DCR wading pools to close Monday, September 4, 2023 

DCR spray decks to close Sunday, September 17, 2023