Happening Today
MBTA overseers meet
The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board plans to discuss new technology initiatives, local means of financing transportation infrastructure and changes to the authority’s paratransit service, 10 Park Plaza, third floor, 12 p.m.
Baker to address social workers
Gender pay equity
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh will be joined by 100 Boston-area business officials that have agreed to sign the Women’s Workforce Council’s 100 Percent Talent Compact, a challenge to “cultural barriers to pay equity,” Boston City Hall, 3rd floor mezzanine, 1 City Hall Square, 10 a.m.
Future of infrastructure and transportation in Mass
Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola, Transportation Committee Co-chair Sen. Thomas McGee and President and CEO of A Better City Richard Dimino will participate in a panel discussion on the future of infrastructure and transportation in Massachusetts, hosted by Edward M. Kennedy Institute and WGBH, Edward M. Kennedy Institute, Columbia Point, 6:30 p.m.
Today’s Stories
‘One of the most contentious political contests in Massachusetts’ recent history’
In case you missed it, the battle over expanding charter schools has become ‘highly racialized’ and ‘one of the most contentious political contests in Massachusetts’ recent history.’ No kidding. And as the Globe’s David Scharfenberg points out, it’s really a battle being played out among liberal Democrats, who normally prefer to see issues in clear-cut moral terms, especially racial issues. Except the debate over charter schools is anything but clear-cut, morally or racially, judging by who’s lined up on which side of the issue. So many Democrats are, frankly, confused.
Framingham poised to tackle city question
Voters in Framingham will go to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to establish a Charter Commission to study whether the state’s largest town should-again-consider a move to a city form of government, Danielle Ameden of the MetroWest Daily News reports. This is a big deal in Framingham. The ballot features 26 candidates for the nine-member commission that would look at alternatives to the current representative town meeting approach, as well as races for Selectman and School Committee.
BC prof: Bernie’s ‘vanishingly small chance of actually winning’
Despite impressive weekend wins in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington, Bernie Sanders still has an uphill battle to win the Democratic presidential nomination, the Herald’s Lindsay Kalter reports.”He’ll still have quite a ways to go even with the success he’s had today,” Dave Hopkins, political science professor at Boston College, is quoted as saying. “He has a vanishingly small chance of actually winning the nomination, so his continued campaign could have another purpose to it – certainly exerting pressure on the Democratic party to move leftward.”
The changing face of Waltham
Waltham’s office market is booming these days. But it’s no longer Waltham’s suburban office parks that employers really covet. Rather, they want to be in, or near, Waltham’s more urban-like neighborhoods, the Boston Business Journal’s Catherine Carlock reports. “Real estate experts say there is demand among up to 10 tenants seeking build-to-suit spaces for between 150,000-and-250,000 square feet of office and lab space in Waltham, and that the city’s recent surge in Class A construction is sending rents upward. As of the end of 2015, Waltham rents were hitting $51 per square foot, compared to a range of $22-to-$30 in other MetroWest markets, according to Colliers International.
Opioid-related hospital visits spike
The number of opioid-related hospital visits almost doubled between 2007 and 2014, Felice J. Freyer reports in the Globe, with nearly 57,000 people seeking treatment in 2014. Three-fourths of those visits ended up being paid for at least in part by state and federal governments, according to data presented by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.
Second Democrat enters Cape rep race
Margeaux Weber, a lawyer from Centerville and chair of the Barnstable School Committee, has joined the race for the Second Barnstable District representative seat, Sam Mintz of the Cape Cod Times reports. Weber will face off against Aaron Kanzer in the Democratic primary for the right to run for the seat being vacated by now Senate candidate Brian Mannal.
Will Mass become pot-tourism destination?
Legalized marijuana, boosted by “canna-tourism” that draws out-of-state visitors, could become a $1.1 billion a year industry in the Bay State by 2020, new research suggests, Dan Adams of the Globe reports. The numbers from ArcView Market Research and New Frontier are in line with the size of the pot industry in Colorado, where total legal marijuana sales came in just below $1 billion last year.
‘Guy who isn’t a career politician running for register of deeds’
Adam Gaffin at Universal Hub once again cuts to the heart of the matter by noting that a non-career politician is actually running for Suffolk County Register of Deeds. Really. It’s true.
Brockton casino faces critical meeting
The proposal to transform the Brockton Fairgrounds into a resort casino faces a final public hearing in the city at 4 p.m. today, likely the last chance for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to gauge public sentiment on the proposal before unpacking the complex legal and economic issues it raises, Marc Larocque of the Enterprise reports. A hearing earlier this month drew a deeply divided crowd and more than four hours of testimony.
In its fight against the FBI, Apple is no angel
Sure, Apple has gotten some good press for standing up to FBI demands that it unlock iPhone codes so government agents can access information. But Apple is taking its case too far when it claims the issue is also about the First Amendment, according to a Globe editorial: “So if the government makes a company add up lines on a spreadsheet to comply with financial transparency requirements it dislikes, does Apple believe that would be unconstitutional compelled speech too? Virtually any regulation of any company would seem to be in peril if Apple defeats the government on the basis of its First Amendment claim.” Also keep in mind: Big companies like Apple and Google and Facebook are constantly writing new software code to keep track of what people are doing and looking at on the web. Do their alleged First Amendment rights to write code override other people’s rights?
Coming to a theater near year (hopefully): Market Basket documentary
A documentary on one of the area’s most famous work stoppages will soon hit the big screen in Boston. ‘We the People: The Market Basket Effect’ will be shown in select Boston area theaters April 14, according to an Associated Press report at CBSBoston. The distributor, FilmBuff, says it will also be released on-demand. No specific theaters have been mentioned yet.
Have we lost our public works pride?
The Globe’s Yvonne Abraham praises the recently renovated Government Center T station – and wonders why we can’t consistently produce similarly beautiful public projects. Our forebears didn’t do this to us. They dreamed big, and beautiful. Even – or especially – when it came to public spaces. The new Government Center stop shows we’re capable of it. But nobody is asking for iconic when it comes to the Green Line. We’re just talking about fulfilling its promise. Surely we owe our grandchildren at least that.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Social workers to gather at Statehouse to lobby lawmakers – Lowell Sun
Pivotal meeting looms Monday on Brockton casino proposal – Brockton Enterprise
Marty Walsh: “There’s Going To Be, At Some Point, Consolidation Of Schools” – WGBH
Baker’s hydro-power plans cause stir – Gloucester Times
In charter school fight, a racial complication – Boston Globe
MBTA to unveil online performance dashboard – Boston Globe
Property tax surcharge may be coming to Boston – Boston Globe
This Northeastern dorm is the first of its kind in Boston – Boston Globe
Massachusetts hospital visits for opioid abuse soar – Boston Globe
Bye-bye bottle bill? Statehouse proposal seeks end to 5-cent deposits – Worcester Telegram
Massachusetts
Bill offers Lyme sufferers some financial relief – Cape Cod Times
Baker’s economic plan boosts local projects – Salem News
Charter question, races up for vote in Framingham town election Tuesday – MetroWest Daily News
Races on tap for Tuesday’s Natick town election – MetroWest Daily News
State officials come out against Sudbury Eversource plans – MetroWest Daily News
State Senate candidates divided over tougher penalties for drug traffickers – Patriot Ledger
Mass. Audubon’s new chief sees both forest and trees in conservation goals – Worcester Telegram
Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe’s exit gets national attention – MassLive
State OKs broadband expansion in ‘partially served’ Comcast cable towns – MassLive
Nation
Trump wants to study proposal to allow guns at convention – Boston Globe
Petition seeks to allow open carry of firearms at Republican National Convention – MassLive
Sanders wins 3 states; Clinton retains big delegate lead – Boston Globe
How to Contact MASSterList
Send tips to Matt Murphy: Editor@MASSterList.com. For advertising inquiries and job board postings, please contact Dylan Rossiter: Publisher@MASSterList.com or (857) 370-1156. Follow @MASSterList on Twitter.