MASSterList: Of floods and avalanches | Hooker demoted? | Warren pushback

March 15, 2018

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By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan

03/15/2018

Of floods and avalanches | Hooker demoted? | Warren pushback

Happening Today

Gaming commission, House harassment policies, Baker's bond bill

-- METCO parents and students hold a lobby day at the State House to advocate for increased program funding , Grand Staircase, 9:30 a.m.

-- Gaming Commission meets with an agenda that includes an MGM opening update, status and schedule review and quarterly report, 101 Federal Street, 12th floor, Boston, 10 a.m.

-- Gov. Charlie Baker, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew Beaton, Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Leo Roy, Scituate Town Administrator Jim Boudreau and lawmakers gather to announce a $1.4 billion Environmental Bond Bill, Scituate Harbor Lighthouse, 100 Lighthouse Road, Scituate, 10:15 a.m.

-- House meets in a full formal session with plans to consider House counsel's recommended changes to the branch's sexual harassment policies, 11 a.m.

-- Reps. Marjorie Decker and Sean Garballey and Sen. Jamie Eldridge sponsor a briefing on 100 percent renewable energy for business and communities, House Members Lounge, 11 a.m.

-- Civil legal services are the focus of a legislative briefing for legislators, ‘Investing in Justice: Civil Legal Services and the FY19 Budget,’ with Reps. Claire Cronin and Ruth Balser and Sens. Will Brownsberger and Cynthia Creem hosting the event, Room 350, 11 a.m.

-- Cannabis Control Commission meets with an agenda that includes a discussion of the application process, approval of job titles and descriptions, and a discussion of municipal guidance, Health Policy Commission Conference Room, 8th floor, 50 Milk St., Boston, 11:30 a.m.

-- Massachusetts Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs hosts its 16th annual Advocacy Day and Legislative Luncheon and will honor Senate President Harriette Chandler as the organization’s 2018 ‘Champion of Youth,’ Great Hall, 12 p.m.

-- During the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce's annual State House visit, Auditor Suzanne Bumpdiscusses her office's work with Chamber members, Room 350, 12 p.m.

-- Worcester Regional Transit Authority holds a public meeting to hear feedback on proposed service reductions and route eliminations, Worcester Public Library: Saxe Meeting Room 3 Salem Square, Worcester, 1 p.m.

-- Gov. Charlie Baker attends a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new U.S. headquarters for Tufin, an Israeli cybersecurity company, 2 Oliver Street, 7th Floor, Boston, 1:30 p.m.

-- Gov. Charlie Baker, North Reading Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto, Rep. Brad Jones and others gather for a MassWorks Infrastructure Program announcement, North Reading High School, 189 Park Street, North Reading, 4:15 p.m.

-- Friendly Sons of St. Patrick holds its annual St. Patrick's Day dinner in Everett, with Auditor Suzanne Bump attending, Connolly Center, 94 Chelsea St., Everett, 6 p.m.

-- Gov. Charlie Baker, Lowell Mayor William Samaras, Sen. Eileen Donoghue, who has applied to become Lowell city manager, current city manager Kevin Murphy and others gather for Lowell's annual St. Patrick's Day dinner, UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell, starting at 5 p.m., governor at 6 p.m.

-- Former Gov. Deval Patrick, who is eyeing a run for president, is among the participants at a sold-out ‘Renewing the Founders' Promise’ event in Philadelphia, Independence Mall, 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, 8 p.m.

-- Today is the deadline for certain Massachusetts businesses -- domestic, foreign and professional for-profit corporations with a fiscal year end date of Dec. 31 -- to file their annual reports with Secretary of State William Galvin'soffice.

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

Dem wins Pennsylvania race, unleashing floods and avalanches of spins and bad metaphors

Conor Lamb, a Democrat, has eked out a narrow victory in the much-watched Congressional race in Pennsylvania. The Globe’s Astead Herndon, noting the “political spin doctors were out in full force Wednesday,” writes that the expected wave of Democratic victories this fall “could become a tsunami,” if Lamb’s victory is indeed a harbinger of things to come. But forget tsunamis. We’re talking earthquakes! From the NYT: “President Trump woke up here in the land of earthquakes on Wednesday morning, but he was 2,500 miles away from the tremor that was really shaking his party.” Yeah, they really wrote that.

The Washington Post’s Dan Balz goes the culinary route, declaring there’s “no way for Republicans to sugarcoat what happened in southwestern Pennsylvania.” The Herald’s Joe Battenfeld (or at least the headline on his piece) plays on the obvious lamb-wolf imagery, saying U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton scored a victory yesterday too for his support of Lamb.

Don’t forget: Tens of thousands still without power

Just pointing it out: About 33,000 customers were still without power as of earlier this morning due to the latest snow storm, MEMA reports. At the Cape Cod Times, Madeline List reports that local legislators are praising the response by utilities and others, but, in a meeting with Gov. Charlie Baker, they also called for improvements to the region’s power grid. The Boston Globe’s Emily Sweeney has a good summary of the outages and damage on the Cape. Baker, who has said he plans to unveil climate-change resiliency measures this week, is headed today to Situate to announce a $1.4 billion environmental bond bill. Stay tuned.

... Wait. What’s this? Another storm on the way? Maybe, the Globe reports.

St. Pat’s parade gets the emerald green light – with a shortened route

From Dan Atkinson at the Herald: “For the third time in four years, the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade through South Boston will be cut short because of snow. ‘Yesterday’s snowfall makes it more difficult to manage this weekend’s parade in South Boston and it has created a situation where we do not feel that it is safe enough for children and families to watch the parade, especially on side streets, which are already difficult to navigate after a storm,’ police Commissioner William B. Evans said yesterday in a statement.”

But what would a South Boston parade be without some controversy? The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, organizer of the annual parade, isn’t happy with the shorter-route decision, reports Danny McDonald at the Globe.

Boston Herald

'Mass. State Police to Masshole drivers: Clear the snow off your car’

The headline comes courtesy of the State Police, which has released a video explaining, patiently, calmly, why it’s a good idea to clear the snow from your car before driving. Trooper Dustin Fitch even provides “step by step” instructions on how to clear snow from a vehicle. It’s a funny video and, thankfully, it calls ‘em like it sees ‘em, i.e. “Massshole drivers.” Video via Patrick Johnson at MassLIve.

YouTube (State Police)

Was that Disney’s Elsa helping a Boston police van trapped in snow?

One last storm-related item: Definitely check out Camila Domonoske’s piece over at WBUR because: A.) It has a video of someone dressed as Disney character Elsa helping out a Boston police van stuck in snow the other night and B.) Camila just says, well, the hell with it, enough with the reporting, and here’s all the links and videos, figure it out yourself, thank you. It’s what every reporter dreams of doing, now and then: Ah, screw it.

WBUR

North Dakota Democrat pushes back against Warren on banking bill

As expected, the Senate yesterday voted to relax restrictions on the banking industry – and, as expected, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth expressed strong opposition to the move, the NYT reports. But the real fireworks, from a local perspective, took place before the vote, with U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat, pushing back at Warren, who has criticized Dems who supported the bill. “I think people in North Dakota don’t care what Elizabeth Warren thinks,” Heitkamp told the Atlantic.

The Atlantic

Across the state, students hold anti-gun walkouts

As Boston Magazine’s Spencer Buell notes, many of the planned student protests were foiled by school closures yesterday due to this week’s snow blizzard, but that didn’t stop hundreds of students from holding anti-gun rallies on Beacon Hill and across the state. Lisa Creamer at WBUR reports, with some accompanying videos, on rallies in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline and Andover. Wicked Local takes a wider view, noting student protests in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and other states, as well as in Massachusetts.

The Northboro-based Gun Owners’ Action League, not happy with the student walkouts, was asking members to take videos of the protests, the Globe reports.

Meanwhile, Boston Teachers Union chief outlines gun-control agenda

There are student protesters. Then there are the teachers (at least in Boston) behind them pushing for more gun-control measures. Jessica Tang, president of the Boston Teachers Union, outline her union’s own gun-control agenda at CommonWealth magazine. “It is time to stand up in truly organized opposition to the NRA and the gun lobby in every state, including in Massachusetts, and to demand action,” she writes.

CommonWealth

Rep. DuBuois: Time to rename the General ‘Hooker’ entrance at the State House

As Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin notes, Rep. Michelle DuBois was tweeting photos of yesterday’s student anti-gun rally at the State House when she tweeted: “R U a ‘General Hooker’? Of course not! Yet the main entrance of the Mass State House says otherwise. #Metoo it’s not all about rape & harassment but also women’s dignity A ‘funny’ double entendre misrepresented as respect for a long dead general? 1 Keep statue 2 Take sign down.” The reader response at UH has been swift and brutal, some noting the endless number of other double entendre names that might have to be changed. One reader does make a good military point: Hooker was a lousy general.

Universal Hub

Holy Cross ditches Crusader logo and mascot

Speaking of names: They’re still the Crusaders, they’re just less Crusade-ish now. After deciding against ditching its nickname because of its hostile holy-war connotations, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester has nevertheless decided to tweak its logo and mascot, Bill Shaner reports in Worcester Magazine. The school’s logo will be changed and its knight-costumed mascot will be phased out, the school revealed in an email to students.

Worcester Magazine

‘Democratic political universe’ turns out in force for Campion funeral

The Globe’s Joshua Miller reports on the funeral yesterday for long-time political operative Chuck Campion, an event that attracted a who’s who of Democrats in Massachusetts and across the nation, including former U.S. Sen. John Kerry, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Mayor Marty Walsh. It wasn’t all tears. Kerry revealed, among other things, that Campion helped craft his famous St. Patrick’s Day breakfast line: “Who said I don’t have the matzo balls to be here?” RIP, Chuck.

Boston Globe

Lindstrom claims she’s a ‘real’ Republican, unlike that johnny-come-lately Diehl

You knew it was coming. A day after the Globe reported on Republican U.S. Senate candidate Geoff Diehl’s long (and rather recent) record of voting for Democrats, campaign rival Beth Lindstrom pronounced yesterday she’s the “real” Republican in the race, reports SHNS’s Matt Murphy at the Lowell Sun. Lindstrom called Diehl's past voting record and party affiliations "a kick in the gut to all of us who have worked so hard to elect Republican candidates at all levels of office."

Lowell Sun

Logan express: Now you can fly to China’s panda bear capital

From David Harris at the BBJ: “Logan International Airport will be adding another Chinese airline to its growing list of international carriers next year — offering service to Chengdu, one of China's biggest cities that's also considered the country's panda capital. Sichuan Airlines will start service from Boston to its home base in Chengdu starting in spring 2019, pending regulatory approvals, the Massachusetts Port Authority said Wednesday.”

BBJ

MassPort: No ‘dramatic’ impact on taxis from Uber opening

Speaking of MassPort: Six months after allowing ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft to pick up passengers directly at Logan Airport, data released by MassPort suggest the move has not had a ’dramatic’ impact on the use of taxi cabs, which largely opposed the move, Kelly O’Brien reports in the Boston Business Journal.

BBJ

So why isn’t Baker fretting over fed crackdown against legal-pot states?

As SHNS’s Colin Young notes at the Salem News, Gov. Charlie Baker doesn’t seem so concerned these days about a possible fed crackdown on states, like Massachusetts, that have legalized marijuana. Baker says U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has made it “pretty clear” he’ll be focusing on combating other drugs.

But, in a little-noticed AP story over the weekend (Globe), U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions bluntly said federal prosecutors won’t take on small-time marijuana cases, saying the feds lack the resources to take on “routine cases.” In other words, the feds are going to look the other way, though whether they consider banks handling marijuana-company cash “routine” is still not clear.

Salem News

Troopergate update (we think): Worcester DA shells out big bucks for law firm

Gintautas Dumcius at MassLive reports that Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. has shelled out more than $11,000 on a high-powered Boston law firm over the first two months of 2018. Hmmm. What possibly could have happened during that time period to warrant such as an expense? Ah, yes. Troopergate! Dumcius has the details.

MassLive

Suit against Healey’s copycat assault weapons ruling to continue

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit that says Mass. Attorney General Maura Healey overstepped her authority when she banned the sale of ‘copycat’ assault-style weapons, Shira Schoenberg reports at MassLive. Judge Timothy Hillman said the lawsuit raised “genuine questions” about whether gun dealers were given enough notice and whether her interpretation deprived them of their right to due process.

MassLive

House to vote on new sexual harassment policies today

From Shira Schoenberg at MassLive: “The Massachusetts House on Thursday plans to vote on whether to change its rules in response to House Counsel James Kennedy's review of sexual harassment policies. Kennedy, who worked with outside lawyers including former Attorney General Martha Coakley, recommended hiring an equal employment opportunity officer, who would be in charge of investigating complaints and providing additional training for members and staff. Under his proposal, the human resources office would be expanded, and there would be a new director of employee engagement.”

Chamber calls for long-term transportation funding

This isn’t the first time the chamber has pushed for more transportation revenues, it should be noted. From Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth magazine: Warning that congestion in and around Boston is bringing the city to a standstill, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday called on state policymakers to come up with a long-term, reliable revenue source for building road and public transit infrastructure. ‘Rather than ad-hoc fare and gas tax increases, the state should develop a long-range plan to fund investments in transportation infrastructure,’ the chamber said in a policy brief.”

CommonWealth

Field in Franklin First grows to seven

Jonathan Edwards, a member of the Whately Select Board, is the seventh candidate to declare for the 1st Franklin District House seat being vacated by Steven Kulik. Edwards hope to lean on his 14 years of experience on the board as a differentiator in the race to represent the rural, 19-community district, Andy Castillo reports in the Greenfield Recorder.

Recorder

Feds win small victory: Judge agrees to revisit his jury instructions in City Hall extortion case

From Laurel Sweet at the Herald: “The judge overseeing the looming corruption trial of two City Hall officials has agreed to revisit his interpretation of Hobbs Act extortion after prosecutors — worried his definition will sink their case — argued yesterday they have 60 years of Supreme Court law on their side.”

Boston Herald

Herald’s new owner sued for allegedly not keeping stockholders informed

Sounds like a Geico commercial: A news company not providing news? Anyway, from Greg Ryan at the BBJ: “The Boston Herald’s new owner has been hit with a lawsuit from one of its stockholders that claims the company may be investing its money outside of its core media business without informing all of its investors. The lawsuit, filed last week in state court in Delaware, targets the alleged actions of the hedge fund Alden Global, which owns a majority stake in MNG Enterprises, a corporate entity related to the Digital First Media firm that is acquiring the Herald.”

BBJ

Today's Headlines

Metro

Seaport ferry, funded by business, would be open to public - Boston Business Journal

Organizers of St. Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston balk at route change - Boston Globe

Massachusetts

Gov. Baker hears concerns about power, cell service on Cape - Cape Cod Times

Lynn school committee considering a tip line as way to prevent tragedies - Lynn Item

Foxboro site to be removed from Superfund list - Sun Chronicle

State board votes to ban dogs off-leash at wildlife management areas - Telegram & Gazette

Nation

In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up trade claim in meeting with Justin Trudeau - Washington Post