Human Remains Need Names Every year in this country, over 4,000 unidentified remains are discovered. They are the bodies of mostly missing persons, whose families live in agony each day because they cannot find their loved ones. Many times, people listed as “missing” are actually found and their remains are in a county morgue or cemetery somewhere, preventing the family from having any type of closure. After one year, approximately 1,000 of these remains are still unidentified. NamUs, the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System, was developed in 2009 in an effort to help coordinate law enforcement officials across the U.S. Agencies can input information into this nation-wide database, making it easier for anyone, including individuals, to help give these people a name, and hopefully bring them home. In just a little over a year, NamUs has proved essential in solving dozens of Missing Persons cases. But more funding is needed. As a state advocate for Missing Persons, I urge everyone to contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and ask them to please pass S3019, known as Billy’s Law. Senators’ names can be found at http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/members.cfm or you can visit the Peace 4 the Missing website at http://peace4missing.ning.com. Finally, I have written this page in honor of Gordon Page Jr., an Autistic young man who has been missing since 1991. http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200300496W Toxic Waste In Mass Should Be Regulated Remember when the oil industry said they could regulate themselves? I guess the oil spill serves as proof about how well that worked out. We shouldn’t let the same thing happen with chemical plants. 1 out of 3 Americans are put at unnecessary risk in the case of a terrorist attack or accident. There are 27 plants in Massachusetts alone that could kill or severely injure tens of thousands of people in our community if attacked. This problem doesn’t just stop in Massachusetts though. The 300 most dangerous plants combined have the potential to harm over 110 million Americans— that’s 1/3 of our population. There are already solutions at hand. The Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009 (HR 2868) prioritizes the highest risk plants to convert if feasible (both technologically and economically) and specifically prohibits a conversion if the plant would be forced to shut down or move to another location. Plants have nothing to lose. The House has already passed the bill in support of stronger chemical security legislation. Senator Brown, where’s your support? Bay Staters care about toxins in our community! Do you have something to say? Email [email protected], or call 617.287.7997, leave your message and we’ll publish your thoughts.