Happening Today
Budget week, Day II
The House resumes deliberations on the House Ways and Means Committee’s $40.3 billion fiscal 2018 budget, 10 a.m.
Senators in D.C.
Six state Senate Democrats plan to spend three days in Washington, D.C. lobbying against potential spending cuts, with Sen. Sal DiDomenico, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, leading the trip.
Providers’ Council
House Speaker Robert DeLeo plans to deliver brief remarks at the Providers’ Council Caring Force rally and lobbying event, Great Hall, 10:30 a.m.
Lottery Commission
Massachusetts Lottery Commission meets, One Ashburton Place, 12th floor, Boston, 10:30 a.m.
Criminal justice reform
Lawmakers plan a press conference to call for criminal justice system reforms, with expected speakers Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and Reps. Christine Barber, Byron Rushing, Mary Keefe and Paul Heroux, outside House Chamber, 12 p.m.
Bill on sexually explicit materials
Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, district attorneys, police chiefs, legislators and others gather to announce the filing of an Act Relative to the Harmful Distribution of Sexually Explicit Visual Material, Boston Latin Academy, 205 Townsend St, Dorchester, 1:30 p.m.
Healey talks gun violence
Attorney General Maura Healey participates in a conversation on gun violence as part of the Rappaport Center Speaker Series, Boston College Law School, East Wing 120, 885 Centre St., Newton, 2:45 p.m.
JVS gala
Gov. Charlie Baker and Treasurer Deb Goldberg attend the Jewish Vocational Service’s spring gala celebrating a skills training program that serves 21,000 people per year, InterContinental Hotel, Boston, 7 p.m.
Today’s Stories
The Aaron Hernandez saga
A lot was going on yesterday in the ongoing Aaron Hernandez suicide saga, including funeral services for the late Pats star and convicted killer (Boston Herald), a call by Sen. Jamie Eldridge to hold hearings on prison suicides (SHNS at WWLP) and a judge ordering the release of Hernandez’s apparent suicide notes (Boston Globe).
Baker commits $78M toward demolishing crumbling UMass-Boston garage
This was fast: Only a day after the Globe reported on UMass-Boston’s crumbling underground parking garage that could cost $150 million to $260 million to fix, the Baker administration has committed $78 million to start demolishing the structure that sits below several campus buildings and plaza, reports the Globe’s Laura Krantz and SHNS’s Katie Lannan at WGBH.
House rejects sales-tax holiday, plows ahead on new budget
House Democrats today resume their budget deliberations, after legislators spent most of yesterday methodically plowing through various proposals, including a GOP call to establish an annual sales tax. Democrats rejected that plan, as well as proposals to increase taxes to pay for spending programs, reports SHNS’s Matt Murphy at the BBJ.
Kraft, casinos, Murdoch and the NFL
We have no way of confirming this Deadspin story, obviously. But the online site is reporting that Patriots owner Robert Kraft has allegedly been violating the NFL’s zero-tolerance ban on casino investment among its owners since 2015, as the Deadspin’s Bart Hubbuch writes, citing reporting he did before being fired from the New York Post earlier this year. Kraft holds a ‘backdoor investment’ in Caesar’s Entertainment through his seat on the board of Apollo Global Management, reports Hubbuch, who wrote about sports for the New York Post for a decade before being fired after sending a critical tweet about the inauguration of Donald Trump. Hubbuch says his Post story on the casino connection was spiked by the paper’s owner—media mogul, and Kraft friend, Rupert Murdoch.
Neal: ‘We have an arithmetic problem’
The Globe’s Joan Vennochi has a good column this morning on how Democrats’ ideological ‘purity’ tests are harming, not helping, progressive and party causes. From U.S. Rep. Richard Neal: “If you consider today that one-third the Democrats in the House come from Massachusetts, New York, and California, we have an arithmetic problem.” Bottom line: Dems need more moderates to reach majority status.
Moderate Dems, including Moulton, open to working with Trump — on some issues
Some progressive Democrats want nothing to do with Republican Donald Trump. But members of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate and pro-growth Dems who include U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton of Salem, signaled yesterday during a swing through Boston that they’d be willing to work with the president on tax reform and transportation, reports Shira Schoenberg at MassLive. “Having a guy in the Oval Office who’s transactional in nature and willing to be ideologically flexible, that opens some doors,” said Connecticut U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, chair of the group. “Absolutely, I would go and talk to him,” said Moulton, citing the importance of infrastructure to Massachusetts.
Ex-Sen. Wilkerson’s son charged in real-estate broker scam
Cornell Mills, 42, the son of disgraced former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson and a former city council candidate, has been charged with the thefts of thousands of dollars from residents while posing as a real estate broker, writes the Herald’s Dan Atkinson. Some of the money was allegedly used for airline tickets and a Caribbean vacation.
Dems to table controversial Israel resolution
From the Globe’s Joshua Miller: “After fierce backlash from state party leaders, Massachusetts Democrats are moving to formally kill a provocative proposal for the state committee to declare opposition to Israeli settlements in the West Bank without specifically mentioning Palestinian violence. A party subcommittee voted over the weekend to recommend that the full Democratic State Committee table the resolution at a meeting on April 29.”
Baker files $1.3 billion housing bill
From Andy Metzker at SHNS: “A $1.3 billion, five-year housing bill filed by Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday would enable local housing authorities to enter public-private partnerships and make it easier for those public housing providers to finance maintenance backlogs, according to the governor’s office. The bill (HD 3911) was referred to the Housing Committee by the House during a lull in its budget deliberations Monday afternoon.”
Law enforcement officials: Sex trafficking worse than thought in Massachusetts
The Herald has another big package on illegal sex trafficking in Massachusetts. The upshot of Matt Stout’s mainbar story: The problem is more vast and complex than previously feared. Attorney General Maura Healey, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and others gathered at the Herald’s Seaport offices yesterday to discuss the crisis.
Battling ‘revenge porn’
From the Herald’s Mat Stout: “Vengeful ex-lovers who post so-called ‘revenge porn’ — making sexual photos or videos of their exes public online — could face up to five years in prison under a proposal from Gov. Charlie Baker, who is aiming to close a criminal loophole. The legislation, set to be to filed today, would follow similar laws in 35 other states and is included in a larger ‘explicit images’ bill, which also seeks to address sexting among minors, according to Baker aides.”
The T’s ‘mysterious malady’
The latest T problem, via Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth: “Just as the MBTA’s commuter rail operator is starting to get a handle on its shortage of working locomotives, the company is facing a mysterious problem with the wheels on its passenger coaches. Since March 9, Keolis Commuter Services has been unable to meet daily requirements for passenger coach availability, racking up fines in the process.” The Globe’s Nicole Dungca reports the coach shortage, not to be confused with the previous locomotive shortage, will continue to cause overcrowding on trains through mid-May.
Recount result: Framingham, yes indeed, will be a city
From Jim Haddadin at the MetroWest Daily News: “It’s official: Framingham will become the newest city in Massachusetts. A recount Monday affirmed the results of the town’s April 4 election, in which residents voted to adopt a new city form of government.”
Diehl: I’d invite Trump to campaign in Massachusetts
If there’s a tabloid god in the sky, he will make this happen: Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl said he would “absolutely” ask Donald Trump to campaign in Massachusetts if he decides to take on U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2018, reports the Herald’s Chris Villani. It would be the political media event of the year in Massachusetts, a true and glorious circus of epic proportions.
And another thing: Diehl says he won’t write a book while in office
Geoff Diehl was also bashing away yesterday at Elizabeth Warren for writing a book (“A Fighting Chance”) while in office and vowing he won’t do the same, if he runs and if gets elected, that is. “That’s the kind of thing that I will not be doing, there will be no book deals for Geoff Diehl while I’m in office after 2018,” Diehl said. Maybe Winston Churchill should have taken the same vow. Then again, maybe not.
Race issues on Easthampton agenda after Confederate flag appears at school
The Easthampton School Committee has plans to discuss “issues” at the towns’ high school at its meeting tonight, an apparent reference to ongoing racial tensions at the school, where a student now faces discipline after displaying a Confederate flag in the parking lot, Mary Serreze of MassLive reports. An assault at the school last month, apparently triggered by racially tinged social media posts, led to three arrests, and some parents are calling for the school’s principal to be replaced.
Casino makes Plainville a better financial bet
Moody’s Investor Services has upgraded the credit rating of the town of Plainville, citing the new property taxes and dedicated revenue stream produced by the state’s first gaming venue at Plainridge Park Casino. Jim Hand of the Sun-Chronicle reports that Moody’s boosted the town’s rating as it prepares to borrow $4.5 million for municipal purposes, clearing the way for potential savings for taxpayers.
Winthrop Square tower poised for council approval, shadows and all
Former Gov. Michael Dukakis and City Council president Michelle Wu may not like the current deal that would allow the Winthrop Square tower to be built, despite shadows it would shed on Boston Common. But the measure appears to have enough support on the council to pass and move on to the State House, reports the Globe’s Tim Logan. A hearing yesterday on the issue showed just how divisive the issue has become, reports the Herald Dan Atkinson.
Boston’s new generation of business leaders
There are some of the usual suspects, such as Bob Kraft and Abigail Johnson and Amos Hostetter, on Boston Magazine’s new list of the most influential business leaders in Boston, as co-reported by a certain MassterList author and veteran business journalist Scott Van Voorhis. But there are also some new, fresh names on the list — Sara Myerson, John Barros, Amy Latimer, Jason Robins, Andrew Graff and Abbie Celniker, among others – whose inclusion signals a definite shift towards a more diverse and dynamic business leadership in Boston, reflecting a more diverse and dynamic economy. Check it out.
Sen. Rush called to Navy duty in Southeast Asia
From SHNS’s Katie Lannan: “Sen. Michael Rush, an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves, will be on military duty in Southeast Asia until May 9. The Senate on Monday accepted a communication from Rush informing members that he would miss any formal sessions scheduled between April 21 and May 9, and that his chief of staff would take care of his responsibilities until then. Rush, a West Roxbury Democrat, last year spent time in the Middle East for Navy training duty. An Iraq War veteran, he serves as the Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs.”
T takes pass on rail shutdown meeting
A forum on the impacts of the MBTA’s planned shutdown of commuter rail service to the North Shore on some summer weekends will go on as planned Wednesday without the MBTA or the Department of Transportation in attendance, Ray Lamont of the Gloucester Times reports. Three meetings were set up to collect feedback on the impact closing the route will have on the region’s businesses and residents but Sen. Bruce Tarr said he was told the T is still working on alternative transportation offerings that are not ready to be made public.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
After 60 years, Chinatown may finally get is neighborhood library back – WBUR
BPDA, Chiofaro reach secret deal to allow his Greenway tower – Universal Hub
Council leans toward easing of shadow law, despite critics – Boston Globe
Massachusetts
MBTA to skip out of shutdown meeting – Gloucester Times
Koch to announce launch of ‘Quincy 400’ – Patriot Ledger
Pipeline group files for rehearing and stay with FERC, as Neal jumps into fray – Berkshire Eagle
Anti-Semitic incidents spike in Mass. in 2016 – Hampshire Gazette
UMass Medical School to lay off 65 in Shrewsbury – Telegram & Gazette
Mysterious malady plagues commuter rail wheels – CommonWealth Magazine
Pot panel looks to let cons in – CommonWealth Magazine
Prison that housed Hernandez faces inquiry over ‘issues’ – Boston Globe
JetBlue hopes third time’s the charm with Cuba flight bid – Boston Herald
Nation
Trump’s border-wall fantasy is crumbling – Washington Post
Obama returns to public stage, encouraging next generation to ‘take up the baton’ – NPR
Flynn’s Turkish lobbying linked to Russia – Politico
Trump is said to want 15 percent corporate rate in tax-cut plan – New York Times
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