Rep. Jake Auchincloss

The Pentagon pitched Barney Frank on funding for the B-2 stealth bomber, pointing out that it was undetectable by the enemy’s surveillance systems.

‘So why not just tell the Russians we have it and spend the money on something else?’ Congressman Frank responded.

This & many other anecdotes peppered a wonderful celebration of life for my predecessor representing the MA-4. Barney was beloved by my constituents, who elected him 16 times to work on issues ranging from marriage equality to financial regulation. He was voted by Republicans as both one of the fiercest partisans — a man who defended Democratic values — and one of the legislators they most sought to work with on bipartisan policy.

Chairman Frank, may your memory be a blessing.

Barney Frank is remembered as funny and fierce, a fighter for underdogs Frank fought for civil rights, affordable housing and women’s rights, Rep. Jim McGovern said at the service. And he fought for gay rights, "not only because he was gay, but because he saw a community that was being persecuted and bullied by people in power, and he could not tolerate a bully.”

Millville officials hosted me at town hall for a discussion on local infrastructure priorities. After supporting their efforts to address concerns about the elementary school's water supply, I wanted to hear what's next. Most urgently: a diesel generator. Also on deck: brownfield redevelopment on the Blackstone River and (potentially) a new well.

To celebrate the re-opened elementary school, my staff & I organized a scavenger hunt for third-and-fourth-graders at the vernal pool in the school's backyard. Students paired up to find different insects, plants, fungi, and birds on their bingo card. I explained to the students how the fun outdoors activity also relates to legislation I'm co-leading in Congress: America’s Living Library Act.

This bill envisions a project to collect, catalog, and sequence genomic information of animals, plants, fungi, and microbes on U.S. public lands (starting with National Parks). The effort would establish collections of the physical samples in addition to a public database for genomic data storage.