THE HOUSE AND SENATE:  Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ and representatives’ votes on roll calls from the week of April 22-28. Some of the House roll calls are on the House version of a $58 billion fiscal 2025 state budget. A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE BUDGET “DEBATE” — Most of the decisions on which representatives’ amendments are included or not included in the budget are made behind closed doors. Of the more than 1,500 budget amendments proposed, most of them were bundled into consolidated “mega” amendments. This year there were seven mega amendments and all were a ..read more

Say what? I stumbled across a recent news article about drivers in Connecticut, and the headline seemed bizarre. The state’s Department of Transportation urged CT drivers to “Drive less” during the month of May. Then, I kept reading. It’s a climate challenge that the Constitution State hopes will send a message to residents about the serious impact of greenhouse gas emissions. “Private vehicles remain our state’s largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. This Earth Day, I encourage all residents to drive less and use greener alternatives to get to where th ..read more

BILLERICA — A sea of people converged on the Billerica Memorial High School courtyard on Sunday evening to mourn the loss of Sgt. Ian Taylor, of the Billerica Police Department, who died two days earlier due to the injuries he sustained while working on a road construction site. Tears flowed from the crowd and from those who spoke during the vigil. A memorial set up nearby the speakers included a photograph of Taylor in uniform, as well as his service cap resting on a folded American flag. His service boots stood at the base of the memorial. An emotional Billerica Police Chief Roy Frost powere ..read more

The Lowell High boys and girls track teams starred at the Division 1 State Relays on Sunday in Franklin. The Red Raider girls finished sixth with 33 points. The long jump relay team of Samantha Bartlett, Drea Defreitas and Quinn Petzold won the meet with a school record of 52 feet. Also winning was the 4×200 relay team of Defreitas, Petzold, Ava Conroy and Britney Ogiegor (1:45.37). The sprint medley relay of Defreitas, Ogiegor, Petzold and Sabrina Cady claimed third place (4:15.10). The javelin relay of Hannah Laderoute, Noora Tanner and Leah Taylor finished fourth (231-8). Laderoute and Tayl ..read more

LOWELL — The trial for alleged killer, Timmy Chan, has been delayed. The opening statements in the trial for 21-year-old Chan, of Lowell, accused of gunning down 20-year-old Nathaniel Fabian in October 2021, will now begin with opening arguments from attorneys on May 6 in Middlesex Superior Court. The trial was previously scheduled to begin this week, but according to Chan’s attorney, Jeffrey Sweeney, the court was forced to slightly delay the trial in order to accommodate “a witness scheduling issue.” As previously planned, jury impanelment is still slated to begin on Monday, and is expected ..read more

DRACUT — The School Department likely will use $750,000 in unexpended COVID relief funds as a one-time fix to cover at least some of its share of the town’s fiscal 2025 budget deficit. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has adjusted Chapter 70 reimbursement to the town, making an extra $270,000 available, but Superintendent of Schools Steven Stone anticipates this will be wiped out by an unexpected increase in special education enrollment and transportation costs. “We would be stable for another year, but in (fiscal 2026) we could be in difficulty,” Stone said. This mov ..read more

LOWELL — Dozens gathered in the Lowell Memorial Auditorium Thursday evening to see a performance by six-time Grammy Award-winner and recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dionne Warwick for Middlesex Community College’s annual Celebrity Forum. Warwick performed hits like “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “Close to You” and “What the World Needs Now,” among many others over the two-hour performance. MCC President Phil Sisson said before Warwick’s performance that the annual Celebrity Forum is the college’s “lead fundraiser to support student scholarships.” “This event is a critical sour ..read more

LOWELL CITY Councilor Corey Robinson’s status hearing on his two counts of assault and battery on his on-again/off-again girlfriend at her home in Dracut is set to take place Tuesday morning in a Lowell Judicial Center courtroom. Whether or not the case moves to trial, the Centralville district representative will join his colleagues at City Hall for that evening’s council meeting. Robinson is the first sitting city councilor to be arraigned on criminal charges in the history of Lowell’s Plan E government. The Sun has been tracking this case, which began Nov. 15, when, according to court docum ..read more

FITCHBURG — The Twin Cities high school jazz bands, along with Fitchburg State University’s Fitchbyrds, will be putting on a free performance that will feature Grammy-winning jazz drummer Neal Smith. The concert will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, at Kent Recital Hall in the Conlon Fine Arts Building, 367 North St. Admission is free and the community is welcomed. Smith will also be giving a master class for university and high school students the afternoon of the performance. Assistant Professor Amy McGlothlin of the university’s Humanities Department leads the Fitchbyrds Modern Jazz Band ..read more

ASHBURNHAM — The Historical Piano Concerts’ 38th Spring series continues with a solo program of late piano works by Franz Schubert at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at the New Dawn Arts Center/Ashburnham Community Church, 84 Main St. “Late works” might make one think of an old master; in fact, Schubert died months before his 32nd birthday, leaving a huge repertoire of wonderful vocal and instrumental music, mostly under-appreciated until years after his death – overshadowed by the music of his older contemporary, Beethoven. Pianist Ivan Gusev, in his fifth appearance on this concert series, will play t ..read more