PLYMOUTH – Accompanied by striking images of the Mayflower II under sail off Plymouth Rock, a new film that airs this week uses the original handwritten history of Massachusetts' first settlers to tell the story of the Plymouth Colony and the religious conflict that helped to create it.
Director Ric Burns makes clear in his latest project, "The Pilgrims," that the narrative of religious radicals seeking freedom to worship as they chose is a far more tragic and substantial tale than the turkey, corn meal and merrymaking normally associated with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
In an overwhelmingly partisan vote, the Massachusetts House of Representatives last week decided it was exceptional.
On the very last legislative day before the holiday recess, the House finally took up long-promised legislation to clarify and simplify access to state government records. The legislation (H 3858) requires municipalities and state agencies to designate a public records officer to make government documents available to the public upon request and requires agencies to make electronic documents available in electronic form and post common public records online. The American Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause, and the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance (an organization on whose board I sit) support the measure, which passed the House 157-0.
