MASSterList: The Downfall | New Partners? | JOB BOARD MONDAY

May 07, 2018

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By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan

05/07/2018

The Downfall | New Partners? | JOB BOARD MONDAY

Happening Today

SJC hearing, housing press conference, MBTA Control Board

-- The Supreme Judicial Court will hear six cases, John Adams Courthouse, Courtroom One, Second Floor, Pemberton Square, Boston, 9 a.m.

-- State Auditor Suzanne Bump attends a legislative breakfast hosted by the Norfolk County Central Labor Council, Quincy Marriott, 1000 Marriott Dr., Quincy, 9 a.m.

-- Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and House Democratic Policy & Communications Committee Co-Chair Hakeem Jeffries hold a press conference to unveil a ‘comprehensive proposal to address the public housing crisis in America,’ Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony, 25 James O'Neil St., Boston, 10 a.m.

-- House Ways and Means Chair Jeffrey Sánchez awards ‘Bridges to College’ grants to adult students, 75 Federal St. – 3rd floor, Boston, 10 a.m.

-- The Senate task force studying ways to strengthen the local retail sector holds a State House meeting to discuss its draft report and possible next steps, Room 428, 11 a.m.

-- Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders and others celebrate the opening of the new graduate house for Hope House, Boston’s oldest long-term residential substance use program, 28-30 Leyland Street, Boston, 11:30 a.m.

-- The MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board meets to discuss commuter rail stations in Newton and Winchester, Green Line investment strategy, the Saugus drawbridge contract, and the Charlestown bus garage, State Transportation Building, 2nd Floor, Transportation Board Room, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, 12 p.m.

-- Gov. Charlie Baker, Senate President Harriette Chandler, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr and House Minority Leader Brad Jones gather for a private leadership meeting, Senate President's office, Room 332, 2 p.m.

-- Author Mark Bailey and Washington Post journalists Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan discuss their new book ‘Nine Irish Lives: The Thinkers, Fighters, & Artists Who Helped Build America,’ JFK Library, Boston, 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

The downfall: It was ultimately about love …

Simon Van Zuylen-Wood has a terrific story at Boston Magazine about the downfall of Stan Rosenberg and a tragic love that was ultimately his undoing. He has a lot of behind-the-scenes details and context that helps explain the Rosenberg-Hefner affair, and it includes an interview with Rosenberg, who, before last week’s release of the devastating Senate Ethics report, blasted all the “innuendo” and “rumors” and “sensationalized stuff” surrounding what he never recognized was, until it was too late, a scandal.

Reading the piece, it’s hard not to wonder if Samuel Butler might have gotten it partially wrong: “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

Boston Magazine

No deadline extension for Stan’s seat

Speaking of the Rosenberg-Hefner affair, the Herald’s Dan Atkinson reports that Senate President Harriette Chandler is “putting the kibosh” on the idea of extending the deadline so more candidates can file to run for now former Sen. Stan Rosenberg’s seat in western Massachusetts. So it looks like it’s going to be Senator Chelsea Kline, who was the only candidate to file to run against Rosenberg, before he resigned last week. The only way she can lose now is if an epic write-in campaign is launched and somehow manages to prevail.

Despite her clear path to the Senate, Kline, a progressive newcomer to politics, says she plans to run hard and ‘earn every vote,’ reports Shira Schoenberg at MassLive. Meanwhile, Schoenberg also reports that other lawmakers are vowing to look out for the interests of Rosenberg’s constituents until a successor is officially chosen. Susan Kaplan at WGBH reports on how some Amherst residents are still stunned by the events of last week. SHNS’s Matt Murphy at Patch.com reports on how the Senate is trying to pick up the pieces after last week’s bombshell Senate Ethics report.

Last but not least: The Herald’s Hillary Chabot joins those raising questions about the timing of the report’s release.

Senators try to find their footing as ‘crunch time’ hits Beacon Hill

As the legislative clock ticks away, the AP’s Bob Salsberg at Boston.com reports on the ‘mountain of unfinished business’ before lawmakers with only three months left in the session, including bills dealing with opioid treatment, gun safety, immigration, Airbnb taxes, health care, ballot questions and more. Meanwhile, the Senate is still reeling from the Rosenberg-Hefner affair, a recent leadership struggle, six out of 40 senators leaving the chamber and the criminal prosecution of a prominent ex-member, reports the Globe’s Joshua Miller.

As for the criminal prosecution of a prominent ex-member, a federal judge is explaining why he allowed prosecutors to take a peek at the normally private correspondence between Brian Joyce and his attorney: Because there’s “reason to believe” Joyce used his lawyer to hide alleged criminal behavior, reports the Globe's Maria Cramer.

FOR PROFIT MERGERS:

Partners and Harvard Pilgrim in preliminary merger talks

One presumes regulators – and lawmakers on Beacon Hill – will give this deal close scrutiny, if it ever comes to fruition. The Globe’s Priyanka Dayal McCluskey reports that Partners Health Care, which is the largest hospital network in the state and which already owns one health insurance company, is now in early talks to take over the state’s second largest health insurer, Harvard Pilgrim. “It’s going to be incumbent on them to make the case for why this is a good idea,” said Gov. Charlie Baker, the former chief executive of Harvard Pilgrim.

WGBH’s Martha Bebinger has an excellent piece explaining what Partners and Harvard Pilgrim hope to get out of the deal. But it’s unclear what consumers would get out of the deal – or how it would impact other providers and insurers. The Herald’s Lindsay Kalter and Jordan Graham have more.

DA Morrissey: Is Walsh’s Long Island goal really about high-end development to seal his legacy?

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, a Quincy resident, gets as close as you can get in politics to calling another pol a liar without calling him a liar, asserting at CommonWealth’s magazine that there’s no way Boston Mayor Mary Walsh would spend $100 million to rebuild the Long Island Bridge merely for an addiction recovery center. Instead, he says the “most convincing theory” is that the real goal is to open up Long Island for high-end development for Walsh’s development pals.

CommonWealth

Healey moves to put Roxbury Community College’s foundation into receivership

Citing turmoil and a recent wave of resignations, Attorney General Maura Healey will file suit seeking to have the Roxbury Community College Foundation placed into receivership, Max Stendahl reports in the Boston Business Journal. The AG’s office has been investigating the foundation since late 2016, when Auditor Suzanne Bump referred questions about possible criminal activity tied to its fundraising efforts.

BBJ

Meanwhile, Healey’s track record of siding with secrecy

For a political leader who touts the need for more government transparency, Attorney General Maura Healey apparently has a knack of siding with government agencies when it comes to not releasing public records, including documents related to a 67-year-old murder case, reports Todd Wallack at the Globe.

Boston Globe

Family asks for prayers for hospitalized Felix Arroyo

This sounds serious: The family of Felix D. Arroyo, the Suffolk register of probate, is asking everyone to pray for the 70-year-old Arroyo after his hospitalization on Friday. Relatives and friends held a prayer vigil for him yesterday, reports Jeremy Fox at the Globe.

Boston Globe

Rep. Scaccia’s greatest re-election allies: His progressive rivals

Universal Hub reports that a third candidate has jumped into the race to challenge state Rep. Angelo Scaccia, further splitting the already split progressive vote. The latest candidate: Virak Uy, who lost to Scaccia two years ago.

Universal Hub

As UMass costs keep rising, many students and parents can’t keep up

The Globe’s Deirdre Fernandez takes a look at rising tuitions throughout the UMass system and the students and parents who are struggling to pay for the increases. The Globe’s Yvonne Abraham has a sort of companion piece about the affordability of all public universities and colleges in Massachusetts, not just at UMass, and the lack of state funding.

The two elephants in the room not mentioned: Rising administrative costs and UMass-Amherst’s proposed $70 million takeover of Mount Ida College. We just thought we’d point them out.

Crazy guy who stopped school bus in middle of the Pike: I’m not crazy

He was just concerned about the tinted windows on the school bus. So says the Dorchester motorist who stopped his car in the middle of the Mass Turnpike, amid onrushing traffic, to climb on the hood of a school bus that he forced to stop in the middle lane. “It takes a village to raise a child and that village is out of the loop when windows are tinted,” said Kevin Crowe, 42, as the Herald’s Joe Dwinell reports. “Why are they putting tinted windows on a bus? ... It was not road rage (but) just me being a concerned citizen. ... I’m not this crazy guy.” Okaaaaay.

Boston Herald

Puppet explains the administration’s Allston I-90 Interchange plan

Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin finds a YouTube video, courtesy of PeoplesPike.org, that has a scholarly puppet explaining and extolling the rationale behind the Baker administration’s plan to rebuild the Allston I-90 Interchange. Needless to say, PeoplesPike.org is not impressed with the plan. The Globe’s Dante Ramos also isn’t impressed.

Universal Hub

Communities try to get ahead of recycling cost crisis

Neal Simpson of the Patriot Ledger is the latest to report on troubling trends in the fast-changing recycling industry, where decreased demand from China is turning a once profitable part of communities’ solid waste disposal programs into money losers. At one point, Braintree earned $20 per ton for recyclable materials but now pays $50 per ton to dispose of it. While cities and towns can’t control global markets, Simpson reports on efforts to educate residents about recycling properly, which itself can help communities avoid hefty costs.

Patriot Ledger

Belichick joins Team Trump’s sports council

The Herald’s Bill Seros, aka Obnoxious Boston Fan, reports on Bill Belichick’s joining President Trump’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. “This makes Belichick 328th in line for the Oval Office — right behind Kanye West,” he reports.

Boston Herald

Kerry’s ‘aggressive yet stealthy mission’ to salvage Iranian deal

This one was getting the Drudge Report and FoxNews treatment over the weekend: Behind the scenes, former Secretary of State John Kerry has been quietly trying to salvage the Iranian-nuclear deal that he helped broker when he was in the Obama administration. The Globe’s Matt Viser has more on Kerry’s ‘aggressive yet stealthy mission.’ The Herald’s political expert on absolutely everything, Adriana Cohen, thinks Kerry should be investigated for collusion.

Boston Globe

Another ex-State Street Corp. employee arrested in hidden-fees scheme

Keep in mind: These aren’t your typical slap-on-the-wrist financial sector ‘settlements.’ They’re outright ‘arrests.’ From Greg Ryan at the BBJ: “A former executive at State Street Corp. was arrested Friday in connection with his role in an alleged scheme to secretly charge a client higher commissions than it had been told to expect. Massachusetts resident Kevin Walker, a State Street (NYSE: STT) employee from 2004 to 2015, has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court in Boston.” The BBJ reports he’s at least the fourth State Street employee to be charged with pushing fraudulent fees.

BBJ

Former AG Reilly to review State Police’s handling of controversial fatal crash

Former Attorney General Tom Reilly has been tapped by State Police to investigate troopers’ controversial handling of a fatal car crash that occurred minutes after police let go a Tyngsborough driver, despite two 911 calls by other motorists warning that she appeared to be driving erratically and on drugs, reports the Globe’s Travis Andersen and Shelley Murphy.

Life's mysteries: Climate activist ponders why the Globe is so adamantly in favor of new pipelines

Craig Altemose, a senior advisor of 350 Massachusetts for a Better Future, a statewide climate-activist organization, now counts seven Globe editorials advocating in favor of new natural gas pipelines, the latest coming late last month, and he writes at CommonWealth magazine that the paper has clearly “adopted the panic playbook of the region’s biggest for-profit utilities.” Charley Blandy at Blue Mass Group is getting in his own licks at the Globe as well.

Fyi: Separately, the Globe’s Jon Chesto reports that Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge has sued Weymouth as part of the company’s “latest effort to gain a legal path to build a natural gas compressor station.”

CommonWealth

Disconnect: Healey and Baker split over retail electric sellers

One wants to eliminate them. The other wants to regulate them. Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth magazine has the details on the contrasting views between Attorney General Maura Healey and Gov. Charlie Baker on the future of the dozens of companies that now sell electricity to retail customers .

CommonWealth

Don’t look now: Boston police resume use of license plate readers

They’re at it again: Boston police are once again using license plate readers to scan thousands of cars’ license plates to find wanted felons and that lowest of the low, parking-ticket scofflaws. Shawn Musgrave at the Globe has more.

Cases cited by Early in Troopergate defense raise more questions than they answer

The office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early has cited 91 other cases in which police reports were either impounded or redacted, but few of the cases are analogous to the Bibaud-Troopergate case, Brad Petrishen of the Telegram reports. Bottom line: Eighty nine of the cases cited involved police reports that were indeed impounded from public view, but were never actually changed.

Four New England elections to watch this summer and fall

The Globe’s James Pindell takes a look at four New England races -- Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District, Rhode Island’s US Senate race, New Hampshire’s First Congressional District and the Bay State’s Massachusetts Seventh Congressional District – that are “generating considerable buzz — enough so that they could draw national attention and money.”

Boston Globe

Now that you’ve built it, will they come to stay?

With the opening of MGM Springfield just a few summer months away, Western Massachusetts tourism officials are starting to tackle the question of whether would-be gamblers can be convinced to turn their visits to the resort casino into extended stays in the region, Kristin Palpini reports in the Berkshire Eagle.

Berkshire Eagle

Today's Headlines

Metro

NECCO faces bankruptcy auction on May 23 - Lynn Item

What’s Walsh’s real end game? - CommonWealth Magazine

Boston police explore using commercial DNA databases - Boston Herald

Massachusetts

Trade group forms to represent marijuana industry - Boston Globe

In 3rd District race, a unique perspective on North Korea - Lowell Sun

Mainland children won’t be taking classes on Cuttyhunk - Cape Cod Times

Nation

Trump team makes the midterms about saving his presidency - Politico