Happening Today
Baker in Chicago, Markey presser and more …
— Gov. Charlie Baker and First Lady Lauren Baker are in Chicago, where the governor will give the commencement address at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, his alma mater. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito will serve as acting governor while Baker is away.
— State and U.S. flags are ordered to half-staff by Gov. Baker in honor of PFC John William MacDonald, U.S. Marine Corps, who was killed in action at Tarawa in 1943 and whose remains have been identified and will be buried at Bourne National Cemetery today.
— Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito tours the Aquacultural Research Corporation, which last year received $100,000 in state tax credits through the Economic Development Incentive Program to support a shellfish farm, 99 Chapin Beach Road, Dennis, 10 a.m.
— U.S. Sen. Edward Markey holds a press conference with medical and health professionals to discuss the impacts of family separations on children at the southern border, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, 20 Maverick Square, East Boston, 11:15 a.m.
— State Auditor Suzanne Bump attends the Brockton Housing Authority Annual Meeting, the Conference Center at Massasoit, 770 Crescent St., Brockton, 12 p.m.
— Health Policy Commission Executive Director David Seltz speaks at the Center for Primary Care learning session to discuss ‘the promise of Accountable Care Organizations and value-based care in reducing burnout,’ Joseph B. Martin Conference Center, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, 12:45 p.m.
— Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and BHA Administrator Bill McGonagle cut the ribbon to celebrate phase one of the redevelopment at Orient Heights Overlook Terrace and announce the city’s commitment of more than $10 million to launch phase two, 212 Waldemar Ave., East Boston, 1 p.m.
— The MBTA joins the Boston City Council in a public forum regarding the fare payment system, Automated Fare Collection 2.0., which is currently being developed by the MBTA, Boston City Hall, Iannella Chamber, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, 1 p.m.
— Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan attends a forum on restorative justice to discuss the new criminal justice reform legislation, Concord District Court, 305 Walden St., Concord, 3 p.m.
For more calendar listings, check out State House News Service’s Daily Advances (pay wall – free trial subscriptions available) and MassterList’s Beacon Hill Town Square below.
Today’s Stories
Windfall for Massachusetts in Wayfair sales-tax ruling?
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday ruled that, yes, states can indeed collect sales taxes on online purchases through out-of-state retailers, in a case that involved Boston’s very own e-retail giant Wayfair Inc., reports the BBJ’s Greg Ryan.
So does this mean a potential sales-tax windfall for the usually cash-strapped state? The Globe’s Jon Chesto writes that a recent Government Accountability Office report issued before yesterday’s ruling suggests the Bay State could collect anywhere from $169 million to $279 million in additional taxes. The Retailers Association of Massachusetts thinks the number could be as high as $300 million. Not bad, considering the SCOTUS ruling came only a few days after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled against the proposed millionaire’s tax.
But, wait, the Department of Revenue says it doesn’t expect much to change because the state had already begun to force some Internet retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made in-state, reports SHNS’s Matt Murphy (pay wall) as well as Chesto.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors, brought to you by Suffolk Construction, Airbnb and the Trades Council
Watchdog groups are sounding the conflict-of-interest alarm over news that the recent U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering in Boston was largely underwritten by corporate and union “sponsors” doing business with the city. Dan Atkinson at the Herald has the details.
Immigration protests, Part IV: Dems off to Texas, Healey joins lawsuit, Baker says no separated families are in Mass.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other national and local Dems plan to visit the southern border over the weekend as Democrats press their attacks over the Trump administration’s immigration policies, according to a report at WBUR. … Meanwhile, Attorney General Maura Healey is joining a lawsuit meant to force the Trump administration to reunite immigrant families who were separated as a result of the now-changed ‘zero tolerance’ border policy, reports Danny McDonald at the Globe. … Gov. Charlie Baker, who’s been the target of Dem criticism over his immigration and border-patrol stances, says he doesn’t believe there are children separated from their families at the border currently within the Bay State, reports Gintautas Dumcius at MassLive. … Finally, the Globe’s Akilah Johnson reports the US Supreme Court ruled yesterday in favor of a Brazilian immigrant who lives on Martha’s Vineyard in his fight against deportation.
BPS hit with lawsuit over possibly sharing student information with ICE
In other immigration-related news: A coalition of students and legal activists have filed a lawsuit against Boston School Superintendent Tommy Chang, hoping to get more information on whether or not BPS has been regularly sharing information about immigrant students with federal ICE agents, reports James Vaznis at the Globe and Kathleen McKiernan at the Herald.
‘The ol’ Hitler-to-Trump-to-Charlie Baker pivot’
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Gonzalez may be regretting that he ever called into WEEI’s Kirk & Callahan Show yesterday, for he got the predictable grilling from host Gerry Callahan, who demanded to know from Gonzalez: “Do you think Trump is like Hitler?” Gonzalez bobbed and weaved as best he could, ending up muttering something about the governor and … “Ah, yes. The ol’ Hitler-to-Trump-to-Charlie Baker pivot,” concludes the Globe’s Joshua Miller.
‘Mother Teresa could have been nominated and Senator Warren still would have objected’
Congressional Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, are expected to launch ‘fierce’ opposition to President Trump’s nomination of Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Washington Post reports. The White House isn’t happy. “Mother Teresa could have been nominated and Senator Warren still would have objected,” said White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters.
OMG: Kevin McHale spotted, via computer-enhanced photographic analysis, at a Trump rally in Minnesota
Only in sports- and politics-crazed Boston would anyone care that a long-ago former professional sports star now living outside the region was spotted at a Donald Trump rally in Duluth, Minnesota. The Boston Globe has more. … Have people forgotten that more than one million people, living right here in Massachusetts, voted for Trump two years ago? … Then again, McHale is getting slammed across the known political universe, Fox News is reporting.
It’s official: Mass. is considered by conservatives as the bluest of blue states
The local fascination with anyone and everyone who might support Donald Trump may partially explain this: The American Conservative Union has ranked Massachusetts as the most liberal of liberal states in these United States. As the Herald’s Joe Battenfeld puts it: “When it comes to far left liberalism, we’re not just good. We’re the best.”
Only in Everett …
The Herald’s Howie Carr is in his element this morning, writing about the comeback attempt by former state Rep. Stephen W. “Stat” Smith, who is newly eligible to run for office again after serving prison time for voter fraud and who is trying to win back his old House seat from incumbent Joe McGonagle.
You don’t say: Rail link supporter claims state study was meant to ‘scare the public’
Don Seiffert at the BBJ got an advance look at the testimony professor Barry Bluestone planned to give last night at a hearing on the state study that found a North-South rail link could cost anywhere from $12 billion to $21.5 billion. “I have come to the sad conclusion that the consulting team ignored many of the potential benefits of the North South Rail Link,” Bluestone wrote in the statement. “The result has been a report that is unbalanced and appears to have been developed so as to scare the public … ” Seiffert has more.
Put the pen in your hand and … : Galvin plans workshops on how to write in write-in candidates
Secretary of State William Galvin says he’ll host a series of workshops in the Amherst area ahead of the Sept. 4 primary to help candidates, town clerks and voters understand how to cast successful ballots in the Democratic state Senate primary that will feature at least five write-in candidates, M.J. Tidwell reports in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Speaking of Galvin, the Globe’s Matt Stout reports the secretary is starting to ramp up his campaign spending as he faces a primary challenge from Josh Zakim, hiring a communications consultant and planning the launch of campaign offices around the state. Galvin has been outspent by Zakim so far this year, but the 24-year incumbent has the far deeper war chest, with nearly $2.8 million on hand.
MGM gets its 4 a.m. liquor license
It was always a safe bet it would get it – and it did. From Peter Goonan at MassLive: “The Massachusetts Gaming Commission granted a liquor license to the MGM Springfield casino on Thursday, including allowing service of alcohol to ‘active’ gamblers until 4 a.m. The vote was 4-1 in favor, with commission member Eileen O’Brien casting the sole no vote at Thursday’s meeting in Boston.”
In other MGM Springfield news, the soon-to-open casino has also chosen Regal Cinemas to operate the movie theater complex that’s part of the company’s $960 million resort project, reports Goonan in a separate story.
Mayor wants to find a new home for Quincy College
As the city-owned Quincy College slashes spending to balance its book, Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, who’s now personally overseeing the struggling school, sees a day, or hopes to see a day, when the college owns its own campus, instead of leasing classroom and faculty space, reports Erin Tiernan at the Patriot Ledger. Koch said he would present a plan for a new campus building in or near Quincy Center this fall.
Good buddies: Moulton hopes more of that Bloomberg money flows to veteran candidates
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have been pals ever since Moulton surprisingly didn’t pester Bloomberg while the former was eating a burger in New York. Now Moulton is hoping that Bloomberg, the billionaire media mogul who’s throwing $80 million at getting Dems elected this fall, throws some of his money to veteran-candidates backed by Moulton, reports Liz Goodwin at the Globe.
From cars to Albert Camus: Will ‘McSweeney’s Presents’ replace Car Talk?
A contest to possibly fill the void left by the demise of WBUR’s hit Car Talk show has been won by Chris Monks’ proposal for a new show called ‘McSweeney’s Presents,’ a sort of spinoff of the popular online literary site McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, where Monks serves as managing editor. Amy Gorel at ‘BUR says the concept for the pilot program “involves bringing the online literary magazine to the airwaves with a satirical look at politics and pop culture.”
If the show is anywhere as good as one of the magazine’s more hilarious pieces (‘If Bostonians Loved Other Local Institutions the Way They Love Their Local Sports Franchises’), it should be fun. Adam Gaffin at Universal Hub is psyched that a real Bostonian will host the pilot show, pointing to this past ‘Fake Massachusetts towns’ list as a hopeful sign.
Stay back, Part II: Self-driving cars may soon be cruising in 14 other towns
From the BBJ’s Max Stendahl: “One day after nuTonomy got the green light to test its self-driving cars across Boston Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a memorandum that paves the way for testing in 14 other communities across the Bay State. The memorandum of understanding, which Baker signed on Thursday, establishes a pathway for companies to apply to test their autonomous vehicles in the following cities and towns: Arlington, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Newton, Revere, Somerville, Weymouth, Winthrop and Worcester.”
The Globe’s favorite news day: Friday
Jack Sullivan at CommonWealth magazine recounts the number of times the Boston Globe has admonished others for dumping bad news on a Friday, a favorite tactic of PR types trying to bury the news. Except the Globe did the exact same thing by posting news late last Friday afternoon that it was suspending Globe columnist Kevin Cullen, Sullivan writes. The Globe denies it was trying to bury the news.
Meanwhile, BU journalism professor John Carroll, who’s quoted in Sullivan’s story, also talks with WBUR’s Meghna Chakrabarti, host of Radio Boston, about Cullen’s three-month suspension.
State Police Sgt. Maureen Wesinger-Lewis, RIP
Melissa Hanson at MassLive reports on the sad death of Maureen Wesinger-Lewis, the State Police sergeant and leader of the agency’s Mounted Unit who passed away after a long battle with cancer.
U.S. Marine PFC John McDonald, RIP
More sad news: Universal Hub has a photo of the honor guard at Logan Airport that greeted the return of the body of John MacDonald, a Somerville native and U.S. Marine who was killed on the first day of the battle of Tarawa in the Pacific in 1943. His body was only recently discovered and identified. His remains will be buried in the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne today.
Senate passes wage theft legislation
From Shira Schoenberg at MassLive: “The Massachusetts Senate passed a bill Thursday that will make it easier to prosecute wage theft cases. ‘This legislation takes crucial steps to protect workers from this illicit practice and holds employers accountable for their actions,’ said Sen. Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, assistant majority leader and the lead sponsor of the bill.” The legislation, which has previously been passed by the Senate, now heads to the House.
Commission issues first pot license. But what comes next?
As expected, the Cannabis Control Commission yesterday issued the state’s first non-medical pot cultivation license to a Milford marijuana grower, Sira Naturals, as reported by Charlene Arsenaultat the Patch. Commission chair Steven Hoffman says to expect more license approvals over coming weeks and months. But SHNS’s Andy Metzgerat the Enterprise reports that experts believe it will ultimately take years to develop the cultivation infrastructure needed to meet the demand for pot in Massachusetts.
Btw: Canada has approved legal marijuana, making Canada only the second nation in the world to make pot legal across the country, reports the AP at MassLive.
‘My God, that looks like the Clampitts’ truck’
You gotta check out the photo posted by State Police of a truck stacked high with chairs and other items – and eventually stopped by a trooper, who cited the driver for violating Mass General Law, chapter 85 section 36, “Unsecured/Uncovered Load.” As the State Police note: “Before starting up a vehicle, Massachusetts State Police want drivers to ask themselves a simple question: ‘What could go wrong?’” At MassLive, a reader (see comments) excitedly exclaims: “My God, that looks like the Clampitts’ truck’” He spelled Clampetts wrong, but he’s right: The Clampetts did have one hell of a truck.
Onetime Senate hopeful Herr says farewell to GOP
Brian Herr, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014, says he has left the GOP over President Trump’s border policies, Gintautus Dumcius reports at MassLive. Herr made the change from Republican to ‘unenrolled’ this week and said it was the culmination of ‘months of pain, frustration and embarrassment.’ Asked about the latest defection, Gov. Charlie Baker emphasized that he is part of a particular moderate Massachusetts brand of Republican in the mold of Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci.
On Nantucket, scrimshaw artists nervously watch ivory ban proposal on Beacon Hill
Artists on Nantucket say proposed Beacon Hihll legislation that would ban the sale of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horns in a bid to target illegal poaching is too broad and would all but put them out of business, Joshua Balling reports in the Inquirer & Mirror. Scrimshaw artists say regulations are already in place on the federal level to ensure the raw materials they work with are fossilized and not from hunted or poached animals.
Day after picketing threat, Attleboro firefighters get their contract
That was fast. Only a day after Attleboro firefighters said they would picket the home of Mayor Paul Heroux during a political event this coming weekend, the city and the union have struck a preliminary deal on a new contract, Jim Hand reports in the Sun Chronicle. Firefighters say the picket threat helped move negotiations along, while Heroux says it made no difference.
Sunday public affairs TV
Keller at Large, WBZ-TV Channel 4, 8:30 a.m. This week’s guest: UMass president Marty Meehan, who talks with host Jon Keller about upcoming tuition and fee hikes, future consolidation of state colleges and universities, and the future of UMass football at Gillette Stadium.
This Week in Business, NECN, 10 a.m. This week’s topics: How businesses can prepare for the equal pay law that takes affect July 1 and a discussion on the recreational marijuana industry and the license approval timetable; Politico’s Lauren Dezenski weighs in on Beacon Hill’s ‘grand bargain,’ the SCOTUS Wayfair ruling and other business stories.
CEO Corner, NECN, 10:30 a.m. MGM Springfield president and COO Michael Mathis gives an update on this summer’s opening of Springfield’s new casino, with MGM’s human resource vice president Marikate Murren talking about the hundreds of jobs the casino still needs to fill.
On The Record, WCVB-TV Channel 5, 11 a.m. This week’s guest: Bob Massie, Democratic candidate for governor, who talks with anchor Ed Harding and co-anchor Janet Wu.
This is New England, NBC Boston Channel 10, 11:30 a.m. With host Latoyia Edwards, this week’s guests are Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, who discusses new ways to reach out to the community, and contemporary gospel singer Bebe Winans, who discusses his brand new musical for Boston.
CityLine, WCVB-TV Channel 5, 12 p.m. With host Karen Holmes Ward, this week’s topic: Summer fun and what you can do.
Boston Neighborhood Bike Forum
This gathering is meant to bring together Boston residents to connect, share, learn and envision what biking could be in our neighborhoods. The day will include discussion, information sharing, networking and skill building.
Boston Public Health Commission
Kennedy Library Foundation’s NFN Summer Celebration
Spend your Wednesday evening on the Kennedy Library’s ocean-front patio overlooking the Boston skyline & harbor, while enjoying delicious food, beverages, live music, lawn games & more!
New Frontier Network | John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
ADL’s Glass Leadership Institute Happy Hour & Info Session
Come join us to learn about ADL’s Glass Leadership Institute and meet GLI alumni and ADL staff! Light refreshments will be provided. Registration required at http://www.adl.org/BostonGLIHappyHour
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Experts at hearing agree Boston city officials should get a raise – Boston Globe
Watchdogs: Sponsors of Walsh’s mayoral conference present conflict of interest – Boston Herald
Massachusetts
Moulton urges Homeland secretary to resign – Salem News
Marblehead votes to raise taxes to help repair damaged seawalls – Lynn Item
Rhode Island House of Representatives to vote Friday on PawSox proposal – Worcester Magazine
Supreme Court rules in favor of Martha’s Vinyeard man – Martha’s Vineyard Times
Nation
White House proposes merging education and labor departments – NPR
National Enquirier let Trump sign off on stories, sources say – Washington Post
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer dies – Washington Post
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