Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Yesterday's Adventure: attending the Broadband Roundtable with Governor Patrick


I attended the community round table with Governor Deval Patrick in New Salem, MA yesterday with my neighbor Kristen Nicholas who is partnering with me to spearhead efforts for broadband service to the unserved Verizon customers in Leyden.



Photos Courtesy of Kristin Nicholas


The place was swarming with police cars, residents, and other "End of the Road" people who had driven in from all over the State and are desperate for broadband Internet service.
We were impressed with Governor Patrick who was compassionate, caring, smart, and seems committed to all residents of MA having Broadband Service by the end of 2011. Although this seems an eternity, it made us feel a bit better to see and hear personal stories of so many others who are in the same situation. We were Unimpressed by the Blanket Statement that the Verizon Representative read which was just a lot of nothing......Did you know that The State spent 395 thousand dollars to collect information that Verizon had but refused to give them? I am Disgusted!

I was also impressed by the new MBI Director Sharon Gillett. I believe she will be a great advocate for unserved Massachusetts residents and will be able to attain a high ratio of Federal Grant money that will be available to States.
The question still remains....will I get high speed Internet at a competitive price in the near future? or at all? I am still praying!
The MBI and the Connects are updating there Mapping of Western MA.
If you live in Massachusetts and are are unserved by high-speed Internet service, sign up here to help the State map your location: Mass Broadband Mapping Survey for Dial-up users

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Alicia Hunsicker's art is undeniably beautiful. She is an expert at extracting the highly-detailed textures and fibers of the human body, bringing them from darkness, into the light, with a technical precision that rivals any modern-day master.
David Aquino, Brattleboro Reformer