State Rep. Dylan Fernandes and state Sen. Julian Cyr visited the Island late last week to dole out some overdue state funds for local programs.
The money was tied up at the capital after Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed more than $320 million from the $40 billion state budget last summer. With a super majority in both houses, the legislature voted to override some parts of the governor’s veto last fall, restoring some funds for programs around the state.
“Usually we would announce these things earlier in the fiscal year,” said Mr. Cyr during the Island tour on Friday. “But we did have to have a little fight and a tussle [with the Baker administration].”
Mr. Fernandes and Mr. Cyr first stopped at the John T. Hughes Hatchery and research center in Oak Bluffs to distribute funds for shellfish propagation efforts. The funds are to be shared among the Island’s towns and total $58,000. That was a third of the total of $175,000 for shellfish propagation to be shared among the Cape and Islands.
“Shellfish, as we know, aren’t just delicious, but they’re part of our cultural history. They’re a huge economic driver in our community,” said Mr. Fernandes. He also noted the beneficial effects shellfish have on marine ecosystems, saying he’s working on additional legislation to combat ocean acidification. The representatives also thanked Tisbury selectman Melinda Loberg for her efforts to mitigate nitrogen pollution from wastewater on the Island.
Paul Bagnall, Edgartown shellfish constable and president of the board of directors of the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group, hatchery leaders Emma Green-Beach and Amandine Surier, and Division of Marine Fisheries representative Tom Shields also thanked the representatives.
Ms. Green-Beach said 75 per cent of the hatchery’s budget comes from town membership fees, but the remainder has to be found elsewhere.
“We always have a deficit that we have to make up,” she said. “So this money really goes really far with us.”
Next stop was Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, where another $100,000 went to the organization’s health-related transportation access program. The program helps pay for travel expenses for people who need to go off-Island for health treatments.
“This program in particular is really important because Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, they’re Islands. There’s barriers of access to care that other places in the state just don’t have because of the unique geography of this district,” Mr. Fernandes said.
Kim Leaird applied for funds in 2016 to visit her son who was hospitalized off-Island for three weeks. She spoke about her experience with the representatives on Friday.
“I think it’s a really critical, really wonderful thing that it’s been put back,” she told the them.
Alison Mead also used the program when she was being treated for breast cancer in 2016.
“I remember the moment that [they] handed me the ferry tickets, and it’s one of those things where you have so much to worry about, and thank God I didn’t have to worry about that,” she said.
Community services executive director Julie Fay said with the funding, they hope to restore the program by March.
Later Mr. Fernandes and Mr. Cyr both attended a high school walkout to honor the victims of a shooting in Parkland, Fla.
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