Category: Brittany Lawonn
State Rep. One of Many Attending Presidential Inauguration
WASHINGTON -Thousands of people keeping warm with fur coats and dressed in cowboy hats and boots stomped through the snow to attend the 55 th presidential inauguration Thursday. The swearing-in of George W. Bush for a second term also drew both Republicans and Democrats from his former opponent’s home state.
About 15 minutes before Mr. Bush walked onto the Capitol steps to take the oath, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry played with a cowboy hat and joked around with fellow senators. The Massachusetts senator’s appearance at the swearing-in ceremony impressed Rebecca Rosen of Salem, Mass.
“I think he was a real gentleman for [attending],” the 53-year-old said while shivering in the cold.
Mrs. Rosen said she and her husband, Alvin, came to Washington because they are “staunch supporters” of Bush.
“We still have friends but different political views,” Mr. Rosen, 53, said with a smile about being a Republican in Massachusetts. Judy Milan, 46, and Lynn McNeil, 56, said they decided to put their political differences with the president aside and travel down from Lynn, Mass., for the inauguration.
“The only reason we came is because she had extra tickets and she needed a driver,” Ms. McNeil, a self-proclaimed Democrat, said. “I’m the designated driver.”
Republican State Rep. Jeffrey Perry said while it was unfortunate flight delays in Providence, R.I., Wednesday night caused him to miss Gov. Mitt Romney’s banquet, hearing Bush speak at the inauguration was ample compensation.
“I was very impressed and very please by the tone and the content of the president’s inaugural speech,” Perry said Thursday. “I thought it was a theme of freedom and a theme of America’s responsibility to promote freedom.”
Perry said he also agreed with Bush’s comments about bipartisanship at a luncheon following the inaugural address.
“The election is over and the president’s been sworn in and we have a lot of problems that we really need to work on,” Perry said.
Perry and Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings were invited to attend the inauguration by White House chief of staff Andrew Card, who served four terms in the Massachusetts legislature.
“I have so much faith and believe in President Bush and I’m just so excited that he was victorious,” Perry said in a telephone interview Wednesday while waiting for his flight to Washington. “I wanted to go down and share in that celebration, and being from Massachusetts we don’t tend to have too many Republican-centered celebrations.”
Ms. Milan and Ms. McNeil both said their first inauguration was worth the trip despite comments from Republicans but added that they did not agree with the money spent on the event. “What Franklin Roosevelt did in World War II should have been done here because we are at war,” Ms. McNeil said. Mr. Rosen said the complaints about the cost of the inauguration upset him because he did not believe it was unusual. “The reality is if John Kerry was elected you’d see the same type of celebrational balls,” he said. “I think it’s really a non-issue.”
Perry said he believed that whatever the cost of the inauguration, it was important to the United States.
“We as a country need to have symbolism to refocus our energies on what’s important after a hard-fought and divisive campaign,” “I think the country needs it and I think the president deserves it.”
During the two-hour parade cheers rang out from the crowd as men and women of the armed forces marched by in uniform. People lined office windows and rooftops along Pennsylvania Avenue to see the parade as protestors below chanted “not a mandate” while waving signs. Those watching from bleachers near where the protestors were fenced in at Freedom Plaza taunted them, yelling “four more years” and attempting to drown out the booing with cheers. Police in riot gear stood near the protest area and Mr. Bush’s motorcade sped up while passing by. Sharpshooters on rooftops and hundreds of Secret Service agents with ear warmers covering their ear pieces made the heightened-security presence known throughout the day, according to Rachael Hasson. Ms. Hasson, of Northboro, Mass., said she noticed the security level was much higher at this inauguration than four years ago but said the extra lines were worth the experience. The 24-year-old said she did not believe the estimated $40 million being spent was unnecessary, despite its being for Bush’s second term. “I think we’re celebrating what our nation stands for no matter who is in office and what else is going on,” Hasson said. ###
Local Fisherman Receive $1.2 Million in National Aid
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 - Local fishermen whose livelihoods have been affected by federal restrictions, falling prices and higher fuel costs were given new hope Wednesday when U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced a $1.2 million national emergency grant to help approximately 249 Massachusetts residents.
The grant, awarded to the Massachusetts Departments of Labor and Workforce Development, will release an initial $395,833 to help train fishermen for jobs in industries with high growth potential.
Linnea Walsh, a spokeswoman for the combined departments, said she was not sure how many of the 249 intended beneficiaries of the money are in the New Bedford area but said the money would help those who needed it most.
"I can't pinpoint a specific number right now at this time," she said. "I know certainly that's an area that's been heavily impacted by the restrictions."
Walsh said the money will be directed to the state's workforce development system, which includes the One-Stop Career Center system. Of the 32 centers, the three in Gloucester, Hyannis and New Bedford include special services for fishermen and their families.
"Certainly these are the regions most heavily impacted by the fishing restrictions," Walsh said.
It will provide job services and retraining for workers in the fishing industry focusing on high-growth, high-demand areas such as health care, marine transportation and technology.
"We want to help them get back on the road to gainful employment," Walsh said.
Massachusetts Democratic Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry and Democratic Rep. Barney Frank said they were pleased the state received the grant. "Fishermen have a proud history and heritage in Massachusetts, and our state needs them in new trades to strengthen our economy," Kennedy said in a press release. Kerry also acknowledged fishermen's importance in a press release, saying, "These kinds of public-private partnerships are essential lifelines that ensure our citizens remain highly skilled and prepared to compete and win in the new economy." Frank applauded the grant's work training opportunities. "It is important that those who are unable to continue working due to reduced fishing opportunities are afforded the opportunity to do so through education and retraining," he said.
The grant will help provide assessment services, career planning, employment development, individual counseling, job readiness preparation and highly specialized occupational skills training. Supportive services also will be available, including child care and transportation assistance.
Many Massachusetts fishermen were displaced by federal restrictions on the commercial fishing industry to comply with the 1996 Sustainable Fisheries Act. The New England Fisheries Council adopted new rules and management plans to comply with the act, , which imposed limitations on catching cod and other so-called ground fish., including a ceiling of 55 fishing days at sea each year.
"People just are not able to sustain themselves on so few days at sea," said Deb Shrader, the director of Shore Support, an eight-year-old organization intended to help fishermen.
Walsh and Shrader both agreed that lower fish prices and increased fuel prices also hurt many fishermen.
"The industry and fishermen are certainly struggling, and they're facing a lot of financial hardship, so today's grant is certainly good news for fishermen in this area," Walsh said.
Shrader acknowledged that "it's very difficult to figure out a way that the government can compensate someone for losing a livelihood. This is the best option that's on the table."
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