News

Waltham Rep's Bills Advancing

Richard Conn for The Daily News Tribune (Feb. 2, 2010)

WALTHAM--Two bills sponsored by a local legislator--one that would ban junk food from schools while ushering in healthier fare and another which would allow victims to obtain restraining orders against stalkers with whom they have no prior relationship--passed crucial legislative hurdles last week. 

State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, said yesterday both bills were passed on the House floor on Thursday and now just await approval from the Senate.

Koutoujian first filed a bill several years ago which would ban junk food in schools and require new and healthy nutritional standards for food sold in school cafeterias and vending machines--requiring schools to sell fruits and vegetables and non-fried foods, 100 percent fruit juice and water without additives.

"What this does is not only get junk food out of schools, but it gets healthy food back in our schools," Koutoujian said.

Koutoujian said the legislation was modeled after the recommendations of a 2007 Institute of Medicine report.  The bill passed by a 152-4 vote.

Other provisions of the bill include provisions for the continuing education of school nurses, a requirement of nutrition and exercise instruction in schools, collection and reporting of obesity trends and the establishment of a farm-to-school program developed by the state departments of Elementary and Secondary Education and Agricultural Resources.

Meanwhile, and anti-stalking measure sponsored by Koutoujian also passed the House's muster on Thursday.  The bill effectively closes a hole in state law that prevents victims from taking out restraining orders against abusers or stalkers with whom they have not had a relationship. 

Koutoujian said the impetus for the bill was the case of Sandra Berfield, a waitress from Everett who, in 2000, was repeatedly stalked by a customer and then killed by a small bomb delivered to her home by him. 

Koutoujian said that because Berfield wasn't in a relationship with the stalker, nor was she a roommate or a relative of that man, she was only able to gain a civil injunction from Superior Court.

"She wasn't entitled to a restraining order that one can get in a district court," he said.

"This created a great deal of hardship for her and eventually she was murdered by this very stalker."

Steven Caruso, a Medford handyman, was convicted of killing Berfield in 2003 and is serving life in prison.

The bill passed unanimously in the House.

Richard Conn can be contacte4d at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.