Will Brownsberger — State Senator, Democrat, 2d Suffolk and Middlesex District

Here it is Black Friday, the malls have been mobbed since midnight, and retailers are saying they want to be allowed to open on Thanksgiving Day too. They argue that consumers should have the choice to shop on Thanksgiving, which state law now prohibits. Rep. Colleen Garry has in fact filed legislation (House Bill 00989; [...]

Last week, I again voted against bringing casinos to Massachusetts. In 2008, when I first voted against gambling, I was voting in the majority.

Hi Will – as an intellectual Property worker (software engineer/designer) married to a consulting artist (Powerpoint/photoshop specialist) I’d like to call to your attention the following article and urge you to support reform of this well-meaning-but-misguided piece of legislation. I’m guessing that a fair amount of your constituents fall into the “independent consultant” definition — this potentially [...]

Hi Will – just a note to let you know that I support the bill, filed by Rep. John Binienda, of Worcester,  that would exempt small brewers from the laws protecting wholesalers in MA. The law was written at a time when there were only two or three brewers in the market. Since that time, [...]

Gretchen Morgenson’s new book about FNMA and the mortgage meltdown — Reckless Endangerment — is worth a careful read.

Recently Will spoke out about Massachusetts and Gov. Patrick funding of Evergreen Solar (ESLR). Will is right to condemn it and the state was and remains wrong when it attempts to fund private industry; and for that matter so is Pres. Obama wrong on this allocation of resources. The private sector, often referred to by some at [...]

Will, The news started picking up before the holidays and hasn’t slowed down now with the new year.  Why does DeLeo continue to push for casinos?  Why can’t this topic go away so that our legislature can work on more productive topics? I hope your stance has not changed (I doubt it has).  Is there [...]

Will, can you tell us about your plans for the noncompete reform bill in the upcoming legislative session? Thanks. Happy New Year to all!

I left David Chase and Jim Sloman know that I liked this article on pro-growth economic policies and asked for their comments and they had the exchange reproduced below. As a state representative, I focus on matters of state policy and especially on those matters of state policy where there is some potential for action. [...]

from the centrist New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks: this is a problem coming to Massachusetts as well. If not dealt with soon,  we will see the same social dislocation that is being seen in Greece, Spain, CA, NY and NJ. Op-Ed Columnist The Paralysis of the State By DAVID BROOKS Published: October 12, [...]

A lot goes into choosing an appropriate minimum wage level.  Like most questions of government intervention in markets, it comes down to efficiency and equity.  But even if everybody agreed on a balance between the two, there is still no guarantee that the intentions behind the law will match reality. In the interest of providing [...]

Read the MELA endorsement letter here!

I have worked as a contract IT project manager and computer programmer for the past 15 years. A recruiting agency will find me work, I will work the contract as staff augmentation for a company and usually the same agency will not find me other work before I can find another contract with a different [...]

As previously noted, the state Division of Capital Management has terminated Verizon’s lease on the Exit 59 location. Verizon has pushed back on that, but DCAM has remained firm.

The House approved the gambling bill by a vote of 120 to 37 last night.

I encourage you to continue to oppose casinos here. It’s fun when you win, but usually you lose which is why casinos can spend so much money on advertising and inexpensive drinks. It can be tragic for those who cannot control their gambling and the unfortunate consequences usually effect family members. There has to be [...]

Does anyone know if a non compete covenant can be initiated between an employer and it’s client without the knowledge of there employees.  I am involved in this situation at the present time.  I was laid off in December of 2009 and seeked employment with one of my past employers clients.  They are not a competitor.  [...]

I’ve received almost 100 emails in the last 36 hours in response to my note about my opposition to the casino bill. Although the tally of these responses is over two to one in agreement with my opposition, there are a great many people whom I respect who disagree with me on this vote. For [...]

Speaker DeLeo announced today his plan for gaming in the Commonwealth — essentially two resort casinos and slots at the race tracks with the revenues spread to multiple goals and constituencies. The speaker’s messaging on the bill is primarily focused on the employment benefits.

It’s critical to reduce the length of non-competes as the longevity of startup companies decreases, reducing the average job tenure for many startup employees. During the tech bubble the average job tenures I observed on many resumes decreased dramatically. The trend appears to have continued unabated since then, which is easy to confirm with a [...]