POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: BAKER's coastal concerns — WARREN’s $265K boost to state Dems — Charter schools’ bad news
BAKER's coastal concerns — WARREN’s $265K boost to state Dems — Charter schools’ bad news
03/08/2018 07:13 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) with Brent D. Griffiths (bgriffiths@politico.com; @BrentGriffiths)
GOOD SNOWY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. It's a snow day: Non-essential executive branch state employees have the day off thanks to the weather. Expect the snow to taper off as the day continues.
GUV SEEKS 'DIFFERENT ANSWERS' FOR COASTAL CONCERNS - With Massachusetts' latest storm highlighting concerns over crumbling seawalls and inundated coastlines, let's take a moment to revisit recent insights by leaders on Beacon Hill around tackling these issues.
Gov. Charlie Baker signaled on Monday that officials need "some different answers" when it comes to protecting the coast from increasingly strong storms - and said that the state has "a lot of work to do." As for potential fixes, Baker told reporters those answers could involve diverting water into marshes and culverts or changes to zoning and flood planes, but didn't get into specifics.
Should the state seriously pursue those options, it would be an opportunity to get out front on an issue that is increasingly prompting concern. Following this weekend's storm, climate activists gathered outside of Boston's Aquarium T-station calling for a moratorium on waterfront development and immediate action to protect against the flooding caused by sea level rise.
But it's not exactly an easy path. Any sort of solution for the coastline seems far away in part because the state House and Senate have no quick consensus in what those different answers would look like. The Senate has passed five different pieces of legislation calling on the state to create a climate change adaptation plan. The House hasn't moved on any of the Senate's proposals - House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Monday told reporters he preferred a more incremental legislative approach rather than through a sweeping Senate plan.
And all the while, deeper measures to not only rebuild but create newly resilient coastal infrastructure would likely be an expensive proposition - and Baker signaling an interest is still far from an actual financial investment.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - Non-essential executive branch state employees have the day off - Gov. Charlie Baker is scheduled to get his annual buzz cut in the fundraiser for Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Quincy alongside Mayor Tom Koch - AG Maura Healey delivers opening remarks at an International Women's Day event at Boston's Mandarin Oriental.
DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "Massachusetts Gaming Commission chairman Stephen Crosby expresses interest in becoming head of UMass Boston," by Gintautas Dumcius, MassLive.com: "Crosby's interest in the job comes as the Gaming Commission prepares for the opening of MGM's Springfield casino and grapples with the scandal surrounding Steve Wynn and allegations of sexual misconduct against the casino mogul. After the allegations were laid out in the Wall Street Journal, the commission launched an investigation into Wynn Resorts, which holds the lone eastern Massachusetts casino license."
- "Marshfield's Cantwell leaving House to join Markey's staff," by Andy Metzger, State House News Service: "State Rep. James Cantwell is ending his decade-long run in the House, planning to resign at the end of March to join U.S. Sen. Ed Markey's staff as state director. The Marshfield Democrat's departure will leave an opening in a competitive district. Since first winning the seat, Cantwell has had a general election opponent every year except one - 2010."
- "Another uncontested special election," by Andy Metzger, State House News Service: "Lynn Democrat Brendan Crighton joined the Senate on Wednesday after cruising uncontested in a special election on Tuesday. Just 2,854 votes made Crighton the newest senator, according to the official tally. As of the most recent statistics from about a year ago, the district had 110,093 voters, meaning Crighton won the formal support of just 2.6 percent of the voters."
ICYMI - "Quincy's Keenan is latest to vie for Senate president," by Matt Stout, Boston Herald: "State Sen. John Keenan, a Quincy Democrat and attorney, said yesterday he is actively campaigning to become the next Senate president, the latest to publicly vie for the powerful post. Sens. Karen Spilka, Sal DiDomenico, Eileen Donoghue and Eric Lesser have all emerged as candidates to replace current Senate President Harriette Chandler, who said she intends to depart the post at the end of this year."
THE WARREN REPORT -
- "Warren invests $265k for Democrats nationwide," by Edward-Isaac Dovere, POLITICO: "In her first major national political move amid widespread assumption that she's preparing a run for president, Elizabeth Warren announced Wednesday that she's donated $5,000 to every state Democratic Party in the country. ... The Massachusetts senator announced the checks from her campaign account at a Democratic National Committee dinner in Washington."
DATELINE DC -
- "US Rep. Richard Neal urges business leaders to invest tax savings into employees' retirement plans," by Shannon Young, MassLive.com: "U.S. Rep. Richard Neal called on American business leaders this week to take money they have saved under the Trump administration's recently enacted corporate tax cuts and invest it in employees' retirement plans. The Springfield Democrat, in a Tuesday letter to Business Roundtable Chairman Jamie Dimon, argued that while the country's most profitable companies are expected to see a substantial benefit under the GOP tax overhaul, studies suggest many Americans have saved little-to-no money for their retirements."
ON THE STUMP -
- "Civil rights hero John Lewis endorses Mike Capuano," by Joshua Miller, Boston Globe: "Congressman John Lewis, the Georgia Democrat who has spent more than five decades fighting for civil rights in marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and in speeches and protests on the floor of the US House, is endorsing Representative Michael E. Capuano in his Democratic primary against Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley. The endorsement is significant because of Lewis' role in US history, but also because Capuano, who is white, faces Pressley, who is black, in a Boston-area district where the majority of residents are minorities."
- "Hawkins, Hall win Attleboro special primary election," by Jim Hand, Sun Chronicle: "Democrat Jim Hawkins and Republican Julie Hall won their parties' special primary elections for state representative Tuesday and will face each other in a general election April 3. Hall, 60, squeaked out a 21-vote victory over fellow Republican Jeff Bailey, getting 50.73 percent of the vote compared to his 49.27."
- "2018 elections bring out expanding cast of candidates," by Yawu Miller, the Bay State Banner: "With a special election looming for the 1st Suffolk Senate district seat recently vacated by Linda Dorcena Forry, [Longtime District Attorney Dan] Conley's surprise move may mean a cake-walk for South Boston state Rep. Nick Collins, who now has no opposition for the senate seat on the Democratic or Republican ballots. While Nick Collins will likely sail into the 1st Suffolk seat with little resistance during the special election, he'll be facing off against one of the city's most tenacious and least successful campaigners in the fall regular season election: Althea Garrison."
TSONGAS ARENA -
- "Latinos are making crowded 2018 primaries even more so," by Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News: "An unprecedented number of Latinos are running for office in the 2018 primaries, but crowded fields have toughened the challenge of getting elected for some candidates of color and women. In Massachusetts, state Rep. Juana Matias is seeking to become the state's first Latina elected to Congress, but first she must get past 12 other Democrats in the primary."
- WOOD WAR - Herald: "Dear Julia," "WHAT A TEAM EFFORT!" - Globe: "Records trace odd behavior of suspect," "History's dustbin offers chilling context," "Charter schools struggle amid lost momentum," "With 93-7 rout, concerns pile up," "IRS agent raped, choked intern, indictment alleges."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Gloucester again at center of drilling fight," by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Times: "In the late-1970s, an unlikely alliance between environmentalists and commercial fishermen in this storied seaport helped block plans to open up Georges Bank to oil exploration - an effort that ultimately led to a federal moratorium on offshore drilling. ... And, once again, Gloucester is poised to play an oversized role in opposing the efforts."
- "For charter schools, recently it's been bad news galore," by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "The steady stream of unflattering news, which seems to portray a movement in a tailspin, comes as charter schools are trying to recover from a crushing defeat in November 2016, when state voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot question to accelerate charter expansion."
- "Some support from the Berkshires as Deval Patrick considers presidential run," by Heather Bellow, the Berkshire Eagle: "In the Berkshires, he's right at home, with his love of the arts, farm-to-table food, beekeeping, cider doughnuts from Bartlett's Orchards, and padding around the house in jeans and bare feet. [Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox] said Patrick in the White House would be a good thing, based on his experience working with the governor for eight years."
- "Cyber threats are 'coming at us from all sides,' FBI director says," by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: "In a highly anticipated speech on cyber security at Boston College, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said Wednesday that the threat of digital warfare is 'coming at us from all sides.' 'We're worried - at the FBI and with our partners - about a wider range of threat actors, from multi-national cyber syndicates and insider threats to hacktivists,"'Wray said during a keynote address at the Boston Conference on Cyber Security on the BC campus. "And we're concerned about a wider gamut of methods, from botnets to ransomware, from spearfishing and business e-mail compromise, to illicit cryptomining and APTs."
- "Hundreds of students in several Mass. cities walk out to protest gun violence," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: " Hundreds of students walked out of local high schools at 8:17 a.m. Wednesday and observed a 17-minute silence to protest gun violence in schools and demand new laws to help make children safer. Organizers from the group Students Against Gun Violence chose the number 17 in memory of the 14 students and three adults killed last month in a shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla."
- "Massachusetts Looks To Baby Boxes To Promote Safe Infant Sleeping," by Tina Martin, WGBH News: "O'Connor is not the only Massachusetts lawmaker sponsoring a baby box bill. State Rep. Diana DiZoglio, a Democrat from Methuen, has proposed the Department of Children and Families create a safe sleep program with online training and boxes."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY -- To morning email veteran, nacho trivia/GIF maestro and WGBH's own Mike Deehan.
MAZEL! - State House reporter Matt Stout has left the Boston Herald for the Boston Globe.
THE HOME TEAMS DID NOT PLAY LAST NIGHT
NEW THIS MORNING - THE LATEST HORSE RACE PODCAST EPISODE: This week we continue our tour of the commonwealth with hot takes from Suffolk County and western Massachusetts. The Dorchester Reporter's Jennifer Smith and MassLive's Gin Dumcius join us in the studio, and "West Mass" correspondent/MassINC Polling Group Research Director Rich Parr calls in to break down all the movement. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud
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