MASSterList: Long waits | ‘Clearly deliberate’ | Calvin's place

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This email may be cut off by your email provider. To see today's full MASSterList, click "View entire message" at the bottom, or view the online version here. By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan 03/27/2018 Long waits | ‘Clearly deliberate’ | Calvin's place

Happening Today

Arming of teachers, Ag Day, Cannabis Control Commission -- Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets with plans to discuss current school safety measures in Massachusetts and a possible vote on a resolution opposing the arming of teachers, 75 Pleasant St., Malden, 8:30 a.m. -- Senate President Harriette Chandler offers remarks at a Citizens Legislative Seminar event, Room 428, 9:45 a.m. -- The Cannabis Control Commission meets with an agenda that calls for executive director Shawn Collins to give an update on the commission's facilities, plans for reviewing license applications and current job openings at the commission, Gaming Commission offices, 101 Federal St., 12th floor, Boston, 10:30 a.m. -- Gov. Charlie Baker attends Agriculture Day at the State House with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, and Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner John Lebeaux, Great Hall, 10:45 a.m. -- Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni and Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Warwickdiscuss social media school safety threats, 1550 Main St. - 2nd floor, Springfield, 10:30 a.m. -- Treasurer Deborah Goldberg will chair the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission meeting, 1 Ashburton Place, 12th Floor, Crane Conference Room, Boston, 10:30 a.m. -- Mayor Marty Walsh offers remarks at the Boston Municipal Research Bureau's annual meeting, Ballroom, Seaport Boston Hotel, 1 Seaport Lane, Boston, 12 p.m. -- Gov. Charlie Baker's $610 million economic package will be up for a hearing before the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, Room B-1, 1 p.m. -- Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation president Eileen McAnneny gives a presentation on the current fiscal climate of Massachusetts, Room 222, 1:30 p.m. -- U.S. Rep. James McGovern is a guest on ‘Radio Boston,’ WBUR-FM 90.9, 3 p.m. -- The Lowell City Council holds a special meeting to interview three finalists for the Lowell city manager position, including Sen. Eileen Donoghue, who is considered the frontrunner for the post, City Council Chamber 375 Merrimack Street, 2nd Floor, Lowell, 5 p.m. -- Gov. Charlie Baker is billed as the featured speaker at MassEcon's 10th Annual Corporate Welcome Reception, Sanofi Genzyme Center Corporate Headquarters, 500 Kendall St., Cambridge, 5 p.m. -- Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss the 2017 safety performance of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, operated by Entergy Nuclear, during a public meeting, Regency Ballroom at the Hotel 1620 Plymouth Harbor, 180 Water St., Plymouth, 6 p.m. For more calendar listings, check out State House News Service’s Daily Advances (pay wall) and MassterList’s Beacon Hill Town Square below.

Today's News

DUH? YOU'RE IN CHARGE CHARLIE!  Baker on missing State Police payroll records: It was ‘clearly deliberate’ From the Globe’s Matt Stout and Matt Rocheleau: “Governor Charlie Baker said Monday that the act of not disclosing years of payroll records for an entire division of the State Police was ‘clearly deliberate,’ and a top state finance official demanded to know if other state agencies were failing to reveal other key documents.” The controversy involves, of course, the now infamous Troop F, the State Police division currently under investigation for alleged overtime abuses by troopers. In an editorial, the Globe is urging Attorney General Maura Healey to investigate the long-missing payroll records as well. WBUR has more on Baker’s comments yesterday. Fyi: Comptroller Thomas Shack said he intends to ask State Police and Massport why his office was kept in the dark about the Troop F payrolls, though he stressed he didn’t know if “nefarious” motives were involved, report the Globe. Fyi II: When are we going to start referring to Troop F as F Troop? We can’t get the latter out of our minds, sorry to say. Boston Globe

CHARLIE BAKER IS INCAPABLE OF GOVERNING!  MBTA eyes raising parking fees for some, lower fees for others Desperate for new revenues to plug a projected deficit, the MBTA is now mulling a plan to raise parking fees at T stations by a total of $7 million, but it hasn’t decided yet exactly who will get hit with the fee increases. Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth magazine reports that the T appears to be considering “a form of congestion pricing” for parking garages, i.e. fees would go up at busy facilities and down at less crowded parking lots. SHNS’s Andy Metzger (pay wall) confirms that the two-tiered fee approach is under consideration. But is it really “congestion pricing”? Looks more like old-fashioned supply-and-demand pricing, i.e. jacking up prices where demand is high and supply is low and lowering prices where demand is low and supply is high.

Just in time: First of 24 new Green Line cars has arrived Speaking of the T, this is good news. From Adam Vaccaro at the Globe: "After so many years of delay, the MBTA finally has something to show for the Green Line extension. The first of 24 new Green Line cars has arrived in Massachusetts for testing and is expected to join the Green Line fleet this summer, with a second car expected later this spring. More trolleys are expected to arrive through 2018 and 2019, said Jeff Gonneville, the T’s deputy general manager.” Boston Globe

In Swampscott, Calvin Coolidge’s ‘summer White House’ faces the wrecking ball What would our late governor and president say? A condo developer wants to demolish White Court, which served as President Calvin Coolidge’s summer White House in the 1920s, saying the structure that long housed a Catholic college has deteriorated too much to be saved, Ethan Forman reports in the Salem News. The town’s Historical Commission will hold a hearing on a possible demolition delay period Tuesday night.  Salem News

COULD RMV SERVICE GET ANY WORSE? 
THE ANSWER IS YES!

Fate almost worse than death: RMV wait times top five hours for new driver’s licenses The Globe’s Adam Vaccaro reports that motorists yesterday faced “crushing waits” as long as five hours at Registry of Motor Vehicles offices on the first day of the new “REAL” driver’s license system. The waits were longer than what Baker administration officials had anticipated. OK, so it’s only one day. Let’s see how it goes in coming days and weeks. But you have to wonder: Are we witnessing another botched rollout of a new program?  Boston Globe

Everything you’ve always wanted to know about REAL IDs but were afraid to ask Speaking of the REAL program, Gintautas Dumcius at MassLive has all the details on the new driver's licensees that the feds will require if you want to fly on planes or enter federal buildings starting in 2020. Bottom line: It’s going to require more documentation to get the driver’s licenses – which is one of the reasons why the lines were so long yesterday at RMV offices. MassLive

Trump plugs Howie Carr’s new book that all but thanks God that Trump beat Hillary Clinton What a surprise: President Trump wasn’t tweeting yesterday about Stormy Daniels and was instead touting Howie Carr’s new book “What Really Happened: How Donald J. Trump Saved America From Hillary Clinton.” John Carroll at Campaign Outsider has the details and connects some dots between the two pals. John’s post via Universal Hub, whose own headline was “Trump, Carr engage in mutual tongue baths.” Fyi: Howie was gloating this morning over the presidential plug. Campaign Outsider

Advocates take aim at dormant medical dispensaries getting retail pot licenses Lots of people saw this coming and let's hope it doesn't gum up the process: As the state’s Cannabis Control Commission prepares to begin accepting applications for licenses to sell recreational marijuana, some advocates say dispensaries that began the process of getting licensed for medical marijuana but never actually opened their doors should not be given first crack at recreational licenses. Ally Jarmanning reports at WBUR that medical pot advocates are not ruling out a lawsuit, which would could throw the entire licensing process into question as the July 1 target date to open recreational dispensaries looms.  WBUR

New Orleans mayor awarded Kennedy Profile in Courage for stand on Confederate statues From the Washington Post: “New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D), who advocated and ultimately oversaw the removal of four monuments to Confederate figures that had been erected in prominent places in his city, will be awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in May, the Kennedy Library Foundation said Tuesday.” Washington Post

And yet another thing about that Seaport gondola idea … The folks at the wonky TransitMatters sure don’t like the Seaport gondola plan, knocking it earlier this month and then in yet two more pieces yesterday in CommonWealth magazine, both by Ari Ofsevit of TransitMatters. The first article says there’s simply no space for the large gondola infrastructure needed for the system. The second piece says buses are much better than gondolas. Our view: We like the gondola idea in concept – and like even more the fact that Millennium Partners, a private company, is trying to think outside the transit box and is willing to pay for the system itself. But if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. We’ll see.

Meet our next Senate president … The Globe’s Michael Levenson takes a look at the next Senate president, Sen. Karen Spilka, who grew in a troubled home in New York and not surprisingly has dedicated much of her political career helping troubled families and children. Boston Globe

Poll: Blacks have less faith in city cops and courts As lawmakers on Beacon Hill prepare to debate a compromise criminal-justice reform bill unveiled last week, a new poll shows that city of Boston blacks have less faith in the criminal justice system than whites and other ethnic groups, reports the Globe’s Meghan Irons, citing poll data contained in a new report by the Hymans Foundation. Lawmakers propose a net neutrality end-around on FCC From SHNS’s Colin Young at Wicked Local: “Massachusetts would create a central registry of internet service providers and promote fair internet practices through government contracts under a bill released Monday from a special Senate committee created to respond to the Federal Communications Commission's decision to repeal net neutrality rules.” Other states are mulling similar action, i.e. using state government contracts as leverage to force providers to abide by net neutrality, FCC be damned. Shira Schoenberg at MassLive has more. Wicked Local Supreme Court won’t review deceased-person’s email case Speaking of the Internet, from Bob McGovern at the Herald: “The U.S. Supreme Court won’t overturn, or even address, a Bay State high court decision declaring that federal law doesn’t bar companies from disclosing a dead person’s emails to representatives of their estate — a decision that has eCommerce businesses fearing for the future of privacy in digital communications.” Boston Herald To keep or not to keep town meeting? Amherst decides that question today Amherst voters will decide today whether to keep the 240-member representative Town Meeting and five-member select board or create a 13-member town council form of government. Diane Lederman at MassLive has the details on the contentious issue that could lead to a higher-than-normal voter turnout today. MassLive Meanwhile, Amherst College student to challenge Rep. Whipps John W. "Johnny" Arena, an Amherst College senior majoring in political science, has announced he will run as a Democrat in the 2nd Franklin District, taking on state Rep. Susannah M. Whipps, an Athol Independent who is seeking a third term on Beacon Hill, reports Mary Serreze at MassLive. Arena, of Gill, has worked summers for state Rep. Claire Cronin, D-Brockton, and in U.S. Rep. James McGovern's Northampton office. MassLive GateHouse GOBBLE! ANOTHER PAPER BITES THE DUST INTO THE BIN OF POOR QUALITY AND INADEQUATE COVERAGE!

GateHouse buying Gardner News, one of the oldest family-owned papers in New England Considering the fate of other newspapers here and elsewhere, it’s amazing the Gardner News held out this long. From a report at the Telegram: “GateHouse Media LLC, owner of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, is acquiring The Gardner News. Kirk A. Davis, chief executive officer of GateHouse Media, made the announcement to employees Monday morning in Gardner. ... The Gardner News, which has been one of the oldest family-owned newspapers in New England, began publishing in 1869.” Telegram Banker & Tradesman’s parent company plans to sell two units, lay off half of staff Speaking of family-owned media firms with a long and proud history, the Warren Group, owner of Boston’s Banker & Tradesman newspaper, is selling off two business units and laying off nearly half its staff, reports David Harris at the BBJ. While jettisoning its custom publishing and events businesses, the Warren Group is keeping Banker & Tradesman, the Commercial Record of Connecticut and its data-research business. BBJ Attleboro mayor: Cut my pay, please Wait, what? Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux wants his position removed from the city’s job classification plan, which would eliminate automatic annual raises and chop his current salary by more than $15,000, George Rhodes reports in the Sun Chronicle. The change would mean any future increases would have to be negotiated with the City Council and the proposal comes as Attleboro voters prepare to vote on whether to agree to a tax increase to fund the city’s portion of a $260 million high school project.  Sun Chronicle Mass. Dems want to give the boot to superdelegates The Herald’s Hillary Chabot reports that several top state Democrats are now backing a bid to eliminate superdelegates who are given extra clout in determining the party’s presidential nominees. If you recall, backers of Bernie Sanders hated the special-status delegates that Hillary Clinton had on her side in 2016.  Boston Herald Lawmakers quickly pass – and Gov. Baker quickly signs – bill to avert huge premium hikes for retirees From SHNS’s Matt Murphy: “Urgent legislation required to spare a group of retired public employees, mostly teachers, from a spike in health care costs next year sped through the legislative chambers on Monday and Gov. Charlie Baker quickly signed his name to the bill he filed just over a week ago. The new law will merge roughly 10,000 retirees into the main pool of Group Insurance Commission members, enabling them to avoid cost spikes, according to the governor and GIC officials.” SHNS (pay wall) So what was the Saudi crown prince up to in Cambridge this past weekend? Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia was in the Boston area over the weekend, visiting MIT and IBM, in an attempt to focus "on nurturing ties between the private sector and academia of the two nations," reports the BBJ’s David Harris, who has more on some partnership agreements announced after the visit. BBJ Worcester mayor wants city to explore gun divestment Springfield’s Smith & Wesson is not going to like this. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty wants the city to look into divesting its pension fund from holdings with direct ties to gun manufacturers, Nick Kotsopolous reports in the Telegram, a move that mirrors a statewide proposal floated by Treasurer Deb Goldberg. The City Council will take up Petty’s proposal early next month.  Telegram

Today's Headlines Metro How Boston could cover the cost of hosting the World Cup - Boston Magazine Boston could find itself under water on flooding costs - Boston Herald Massachusetts Police say Ware man lied, told authorities that MS-13 gang was responsible for killing West Brookfield family - MassLive Problems at Pilgrim nuclear plant continue - Cape Cod Times Brockton woman who dispatches overdose calls —let her ‘rot’ - Brockton Enterprise Feasibility study: Berkshire Flyer passenger rail would cost $420K yearly to operate - Berkshire Eagle Nation 2020 Census to add question on citizenship status - Boston Globe Poll: Americans believe women over Trump on affair allegations - Politico

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