EVENT: Wed. Feb. 25---Annual Recognition/Support Event for People With Disabilities

Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby keynotes the Barry Price Rehabilitation Center's annual recognition event. The center provides support for people with developmental and physical disabilities.

Where/When: Barry Price Rehabilitation Center, 206 Waltham St., West Newton at 7:00 PM

EVENT: Sat., Feb. 21---Equinox's Cycling for a Cause

Equinox Fitness Club in Boston is set to cycle for a cause. The Back Bay fitness Mecca is joining with Boston Medical Center to promote patient support and funding.

Spinners and teams will “purchase” a bike for four hours for a fundraising minimum of $200. Each team can decide how they would like to split the time on the bike, but the entire event will be led by a certified Equinox Instructor.

WHEN/WHERE: Saturday, February 21, 2009, 11 AM - 3 PM
Equinox Fitness Clubs in Back Bay
131 Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA 02116

EVENT: Fri., Feb. 27---PHYSICAL EXAMS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN

State rules requiring schools to calculate the boddy mass index of students and relay the findings to the student’s parent or guardian are up for a public hearing on Friday in Boston. The Department of Public Health has proposed the rules as modifications to current requirements that schools annually assess the height and weight, and screen the hearing and vision, of all students. A second public hearing on the regulations is planned for March 2 in Marlborough.

(Friday, 2 pm, 250 Washington St., Boston)

EVENT: Fri., Feb. 27---UMASS FEE HIKE

UMass trustees are expected to vote on a $1,500 fee increase for in-state undergraduate students. With the five-campus university system facing a $100 million shortfall in state funding in the coming fiscal year, trustees on the finance committee have advanced a proposal to raise average fees to $11,048 from $9,548. UMass President Jack Wilson said students could receive a rebate if the state funding is replaced with federal stimulus aid. “This increase is designed to preserve academic quality and to ensure stability, but if federal dollars can be substituted for student dollars, we will eagerly rebate some or all of this increase,” Wilson said in a statement. The stimulus carries a $2,500 tuition tax credit. The 15 percent increase in fees comes after a five-year policy to keep fee hikes below or at the rate of inflation that was tied to stable funding from the state. The trustees’ agenda also includes a Master’s and PhD in mathematics at UMass-Dartmouth and appointments of tenure at the Amherst, Boston and Worcester campuses.

(Friday, 9 am, Woodland Commons Center, 285 Westport Rd., North Dartmouth)

EVENT: Thurs., Feb. 26---ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH

Dr. Henry White, clinical director of the Brookline Resilient Youth Team Program, is the guest at a briefing Thursday on an initiative to aid adolescents when they re-enter school after receiving psychiatric care. Event organizers include Rep. Kay Khan, the new co-chair of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee, and Rep. Ellen Story, as well as the Brookline Community Mental Health Center.

(Thursday, 11 am, Room A-2)

EVENT: Thurs., Feb. 26---THE LEGISLATURE MEETS

In addition to the potential Senate formal session, there also may be a formal session in the House on Thursday. No concrete plans were available on Friday. The Senate on Thursday may take up legislation reinstating state financing backing behind risky financing agreements at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

EVENT: Wed., Feb. 25---WOMEN’S ISSUES

The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women hosts a regional hearing on women’s issues. Organizers expect discussion of equal pay for equal work for women, stopping domestic violence and teen pregnancy prevention, as well as other issues.

(Wednesday, 6 pm – 8 pm, Framingham State College, College Center, Alumni Room 309, 100 State St., Framingham)

EVENT: Wed., Feb. 25---MASSHEALTH WAIVER FORUM

Several experts in health care gather for a forum on the renewal of the state’s Medicaid waiver, which sends billions of dollars to Bay State healthcare programs. The waiver was renewed at $21.2 billion over three years, bringing an additional $4.3 billion over the previous waiver. Philip Johnston, former chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the current chairman of the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, moderates a panel that includes Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby, Stacey Sachs from US Sen. Edward Kennedy’s office, Senate Health Care Financing Chair Richard Moore, and Medicaid Director Thomas Dehner.

(Wednesday, 8:30 am, Radisson Hotel, 200 Stuart St., Boston)

EVENT: Wed., Feb. 25---BIGBY KEYNOTES REHAB CENTER RECOGNITION

Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby keynotes the Barry Price Rehabilitation Center’s annual recognition event. The center provides support for people with developmental and physical disabilities.

(Wednesday, 7 pm, Barry Price Rehabilitation Center, 206 Waltham St., West Newton)

EVENT: Wed., Feb. 25---PATRICK REORGANIZATION BILL HEARING SET

Lawmakers will meet next Wednesday to hold a formal public hearing on Gov. Deval Patrick's plan to reorganize several state agencies, including his effort to combine emergency shelter and related services under the Department of Housing and Community Development. Patrick's bill, which was filed under constitutional provisions and may not be amended, also rolls the State Racing Commission into the Division of Professional Licensure, moves the wage reporting program from the Department of Revenue to the Division of Unemployment Assistance, and shifts the home improvement contractor program from the Department of Public Safety to the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, newly helmed by Rep. Steven Walsh and Sen. Brian Joyce, meets at 11 am Wednesday in Room B-2.

(Wednesday, 11 am, Room B-2)