POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: SETTI ends his guv bid — PELOSI’s Boston fundraiser — Remembering WBZ’s LANA JONES



SETTI ends his guv bid — PELOSI’s Boston fundraiser — Remembering WBZ’s LANA JONES



04/26/2018 06:57 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @LaurenDezenski) with Brent D. Griffiths (bgriffiths@politico.com; @BrentGriffiths)

BREAKING: SETTI'S OUT - "Setti Warren to end campaign for governor", from the Boston Globe's Frank Phillips : "In a major jolt to the Democratic primary race for governor, former Newton mayor Setti Warren has abruptly ended his campaign, saying he faced insurmountable financial hurdles in trying to unseat Governor Charlie Baker. ... With only $51,644 in his account after a year of campaigning, Warren was expected to send an e-mail to his supporters Thursday morning explaining that he did not have the resources to take on the popular Republican, who has a $7.9 million campaign account and consistently high standing in public polls. ... 'We took a hard look at the numbers and what it would take to run a winning campaign against the incumbent governor,' Warren said in a telephone interview Wednesday. 'I just saw the challenge was insurmountable, based on the ability to raise the money and the resources.'"

ALSO NEW THIS MORNING - PELOSI'S BOSTON FUNDRAISING SWING - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi returns to Boston on Monday for a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser hosted by Rep. Katherine Clark, according to an invite of the fundraiser obtained by Politico.
The noon event at Boston's Liberty Hotel is slated to include a luncheon and discussion, with a minimum donation of $2,500 and a maximum donation (for the "speakers cabinet") of $33,900.
Were Pelosi to head north to the Merrimack Valley while in Massachusetts, she'd find less-than-enthusiastic support among likely voters in the MA-3 Democratic primary, at least according to last week's UMass Lowell/Boston Globe poll. A majority of respondents believe Democrats will retake the House this November, but only 27 believe Pelosi should be Speaker if Democrats gain the majority. Another 55 percent believe someone else should be speaker, while 17 percent are unsure.
Fundraiser host Clark, the DCCC's vice chair of recruitment, isn't the only Massachusetts pol hitting the fundraising circuit with Pelosi. Rep. Joe Kennedy III will also headline a New York City LGBT Equality Council Reception with the Minority Leader and California Rep. Mark Takano on March 14 in New York.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - AG Maura Healey addresses the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Omni Parker House this morning - Sen. Ed Markey and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar hold a telephone press conference with business owners and leaders from rural communities who depend on a free and open internet - It's trout stocking season at Jamaica Pond as Gov. Charlie Baker joins Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton, Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Ronald Amidon, City of Boston officials and students from Mary E. Curley and John F. Kennedy Elementary Schools to help stock the pond with trout.
REST IN PEACE - "Lana Jones, Veteran WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Reporter, Dies," by WBZ CBS Boston: "Lana Jones, a long-time reporter for WBZ NewsRadio 1030 in Boston, passed away Wednesday. She was 62 years old. Jones joined WBZ in 1991 as a news writer, editor and fill-in anchor and reporter. She has been part of the station's award-winning coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, the Whitey Bulger trial, the Aaron Hernandez case, the Priest sex abuse scandal, the crash of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane and the Worcester warehouse fire."
A SWEET REMEMBRANCE - "A Carl Stevens Poem For Lana Jones," by Carl Stevens, WBZ NewsRadio: "I'm looking for words, lord, please give me some... please part these clouds and show me the sun, grief fills my soul like an awful stone... we've lost our good friend, Lana Jones."
DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "House lawmakers push for recovery centers," by Christian M. Wade, Newburyport News: "The prospect of more money for substance abuse recovery centers has lawmakers jockeying to locate the counseling programs in areas hit hardest by opioid addiction. The state House of Representatives, which is debating a nearly $41 billion budget for fiscal 2019, is proposing at least five recovery centers at a cost of $3.5 million. The move is backed by House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, and dozens of other lawmakers."
- "Salary boost helps retain Massachusetts prosecutors," by Shira Schoenberg, MassLive.com: "Turnover among assistant district attorneys has improved as the state has made more of an effort to provide competitive salaries, according to an audit released Tuesday by Auditor Suzanne Bump. The low salaries of the state's prosecutors have been a perpetual problem."

DATELINE DC -
- "7 governors launch 'unprecedented' effort to study gun violence," by Ryan Hutchins, POLITICO: "More than half a dozen governors - most of them Democrats from the Northeast - announced plans Wednesday to launch an 'unprecedented' multistate consortium that will study gun violence as a public health issue. ... Since announcing the group in February, the governors have also won the backing of Republican Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, along with Democratic Govs. John Carney of Delaware and Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico."

- "Ed Markey calls on nuclear regulators to protect plants against rising seas," by David Abel, Boston Globe: "Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey is calling on the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure that the spent fuel at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station and other nuclear plants around the country is safely protected from rising seas. In a letter sent Monday to the commission's chairman, Markey expressed 'serious concerns' about the plant's plans to store the radioactive material in more than 60 large cylinders called dry casks, eight of which are just 200 feet from the shoreline at an elevation of about 25 feet above Plymouth Bay."

TSONGAS ARENA -
- "Former ambassador Rufus Gifford adds celebrity sizzle to congressional race," by Mark Shanahan, Boston Globe: "With the primary still months away, it might surprise some voters to learn there are no fewer than 13 Democratic candidates running to succeed US Representative Niki Tsongas in the Third Congressional District, which includes Lawrence, Lowell, and Haverhill. It might also surprise them to learn that the race has a little celebrity sizzle, mostly because of Rufus Gifford, the openly gay former ambassador to Denmark who was the subject of his very own reality show during his diplomatic service in Copehagen."
- "Barbara L'Italien blasts 3rd District rivals for ties to Walsh, Meehan," by Hillary Chabot, Boston Herald: "State Sen. Barbara L'Italien, with a blistering attack against her politically wired congressional rivals, is blasting their deep ties to powerhouses pols such as Mayor Martin J. Walsh and University of Massachusetts President Martin T. Meehan. L'Italien - one of 12 Democrats running for the 3rd Congressional District seat, anchored by Lowell - accused, in an interview on Boston Herald Radio yesterday, the Boston mayor of playing a strong role in his former chief of staff Daniel Koh's $2.5 million fundraising haul."
- "4 get names on the ballot," by Sun Staff, the Lowell Sun: "Four candidates are officially on the ballot for the 3rd Congressional District race after state Sen. Barbara L'Italien announced that her campaign team turned in the necessary 2,000 signatures to the state on Monday. The other Democratic candidates on the ballot as of Monday are: Dan Koh, former chief of staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh; Rufus Gifford, former U.S. ambassador to Denmark; and Lori Trahan, former chief of staff to Marty Meehan when he represented the area in Congress."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "BAILED TO KILL" Globe"Justices appear to support travel ban," "Massport eyes a people mover for Logan," "HAPPINESS 101," "House won't vote on Seaport policing plan," "Setti Warren to end his campaign for governor."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -

- "Medicaid needs to change, head of program says in Boston, and that includes spending caps," by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, Boston Globe: "Seema Verma has one of the biggest jobs in health care: She runs the massive federal agency that insures 130 million Americans on Medicare, the health program for seniors, and Medicaid, the health program for the poor, low-income, and disabled. Verma visited Boston Wednesday to speak to doctors, scientists, investors, and executives at the World Medical Innovation Forum, run by Partners HealthCare."

- "Springfield wants MGM and its casino to stay - very badly," by Thomas Farragher, Boston Globe: "The news was stunning, and it landed like a solid punch to the gut of this city that has been staggered by too many of them. To the degree a city can speak in one voice, here's what the reaction sounded like after reports emerged that MGM Resorts International just might leave Springfield at the altar and place all of its chips in Everett:Uh-oh."

- "'Boston's not up for sale,' Wynn Resorts CEO says day after hinting otherwise to investors," by Michelle Williams, MassLive.com: "Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox appeared on CNBC Wednesday to speak of a "refresh" within the company. His comments focused on Wynn properties in Las Vegas and Macau until he was asked, "What about Boston?"


- "For the first time in 25 years, Worcester did not see a homicide by firearm in 2017, here's why," by Scott J. Croteau, MassLive.com: "Anytime there is a murder or shooting in Worcester, the comments start: New England's second-largest city is unsafe and crime-ridden. While the number of shootings in Worcester are higher than some gateway communities in the state, years of strategized patrols and specialized units aimed at putting the pressure on the city's most violent offenders appears to be paying dividends."

- "Worcester marijuana store applicant gets priority review," by Nick Kotsopoulos, Telegram & Gazette: "At least one local company is among 25 in the state that have been granted a priority review by the Cannabis Control Commission as so-called "economic empowerment" applicants. Ross Bradshaw, a city resident, said his family's company, New Dia (Diversity-in-action), was among the first nine awarded priority certification under that designation last week."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, Peru Rep. Paul Mark, former analyst for the city of Fall River Ralf S. Rho, and Katie Prisco Buxbaum, current finance director for Gavin Newsom and former campaign manager for Andrea Campbell and Renee Korgood, a Brandeis University second-year student and a student leader with Brandeis #NeverAgain.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Bruins crushed the Maple Leafs 7-4, in Game 7 and the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 4-3.
POLITICO's Ben White is bringing Morning Money to the Milken Institute Global Conference to provide coverage of the day's events and evening happenings. The newsletter starts on April 29th. Sign-up to keep up with your daily conference coverage.
NEW THIS MORNING - THE LATEST HORSE RACE PODCAST EPISODE: The Ballot Stakes. It's a busy week in the bunker with Voter Choice Massachusetts' Adam Friedman on ranked choice voting, and - in a return to the pod -- our senior campaign finance correspondent Sean Curran on the funding behind ballot question campaigns. Then, Steve and Lauren dig into the latest polling and upcoming debate in the race for the MA-3. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud
Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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