Happening Today
SJC in Worcester, Long Island Bridge hearing, Baker in D.C.
— The Supreme Judicial Court hears oral arguments in four cases in a special sitting in Worcester, 225 Main St., Worcester, 9:30 a.m.
— Working fishermen will visit the State House to explain more about their work and the economic value of the fishing industry for Massachusetts, Grand Staircase, 11 a.m.
— Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone host a press conference at which the Metro Mayors Coalition is expected to announce a new regional target for housing, 39 Tufts St., Somerville, 12:30 p.m.
— Boston City Councilors Annissa Essaibi-George and Michelle Wu host a hearing to review the plans to reconstruct the Long Island Bridge and reopen recovery and shelter facilities on the island, Boston City Hall Council Chambers, 5th floor, Boston, 1 p.m.
— The Boston College Innocence Program and the New England Innocence Project host Geraldine Hines, formerly of the Supreme Judicial Court, as a featured speaker at a wrongful-convictions program, Great Hall, John Adams Courthouse, Pemberton Square, Boston, 1 p.m.
— Harvard Kennedy School’s Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston hosts a ‘Planes, Trains, Automobiles (and Bikes) Seminar Series’ on ‘The Role and Impact of Technology in Transportation,’ with featured guests David Block-Schachter, the MBTA’s chief technology officer, and Evan Rowe, MBTA director of revenue, Room L-130 (Bolton Room), 1st floor of the Littauer Building, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, 4:30 p.m.
— Gov. Charlie Baker joins the Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-LGBT rights group, as keynote speaker at the group’s 2018 Spirit of Lincoln event, the Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, D.C., 6 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
Flake Day in Boston
As expected, protesters were out in force yesterday as Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake took the stage at City Hall Plaza at a Forbes Under 30 event. There were either hundreds of protesters, as Spencer Buell at Boston Magazine reports, or thousands, as Adam Gaffin at Universal Hub reports. Either way, they were angry at the Republican Flake – and demanded he oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among the headline speakers at the protest yesterday, reports the Herald’s Mary Markos. U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Senate President Karen Spilka also spoke at the rally, reports SHNS at the Lowell Sun. As for Flake, he insisted that an FBI investigation into Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual misbehavior, and anything else agents may find, is warranted, reports the Globe’s James Pindell and Travis Andersen.
Harvard flunks Kavanaugh
Speaking of the local furor over the Supreme Court nomination: Amid student outrage and protests, Harvard officials have announced that embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh will “not return to teach at Harvard Law School in January, according to an email administrators sent to Law students Monday evening,” reports Aidan Ryan at the Harvard Crimson. The Boston Globe has more.
About those groping allegations against Gov. Baker’s son A. J. …
And speaking of politics and alleged sexual misbehavior: The Globe’s Joan Vennochi has a column this morning saying that the public has the right to know about what’s happening in the investigation, or whatever it’s called, into groping allegations against Gov. Charlie Baker’s 24-year-old son, Andrew ‘A.J.’ Baker: “It’s time to be transparent with the results, when he (Baker) knows them. Of course, Baker loves his son and wants to protect him. But given the governor’s trademark caution as he faces reelection this November, he may also be trying to protect himself from any negative fallout from this incident.”
As Trump road-tests his 2020 insults, Warren may soon hit the road to New Hampshire
In Tennessee yesterday, President Trump “road-tested a series of aggressive attack lines against some of the top 2020 (Democratic) prospects,” the NYT reports. Yes, he called Elizabeth Warren ‘Pocahontas’ again. But he also rolled out “one percent Biden” for Joe Biden, “Da Nang Blumenthal” for Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal and, while not coming up with a nickname for him, he accused Cory Booker of having “destroyed Newark.” We assume Booker’s final name will be something like the “Newark Terminator.”
Meanwhile, the Herald’s Hillary Cabot reports that many believe Warren will soon hit the campaign trail in New Hampshire and Iowa, now that she’s acknowledged she’s seriously thinking of running for president in 2020. In an editorial, the Herald is blasting Warren for eyeing the White House while running for re-election in Massachusetts. And, yes, Joe Biden is indeed eyeing a run for president, but he may have a Thomas-Hill problem, reports both the Boston Globe and the NYT. The Globe’s Scot Lehigh looks at Jeff Flake’s White House ambitions.
MGM scores major victory in federal ruling on Connecticut casino
Score one for MGM. A federal judge handed the casino company a major competitive victory by tossing out a lawsuit brought by the state of Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequot tribe seeking to force the Interior Department to rule on the proposed Winsdor Locks casino, just 12 miles from the recently opened MGM Springfield. Patrick Johnson of MassLive reports some believe the ruling raises doubts about whether the new casino will be built at all. If nothing else, MGM has won more time to solidify its foothold in the Springfield-area market.
Disaster relief: Baker’s campaign coffers fueled by Eversource donations following Merrimack Valley debacle
There may be some good explanations about the timing of this. But it still looks awful. From the Globe’s Matt Stout: “In the weeks after Governor Charlie Baker tapped Eversource to lead restoration efforts for a series of gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley, executives at the Fortune 500 company poured thousands of dollars into his reelection campaign, state records show.”
Unfortunately, the donation story overshadows something important Baker said yesterday related to gas lines in general, to wit: That the all-out gas-line repair work in the Merrimack Valley, coupled with the lockout of National Grid workers over a contract dispute, is stretching natural-gas industry resources to the limits – and Baker is calling on National Grid and union members to resolve their contract standoff, reports SHNS’s Katie Lannan (pay wall).
That’s a lot of news to announce …
Switching gears to the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts, give him credit: Republican Geoff Diehl makes himself more available to the media than his U.S. Senate rival, Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Maybe too available. According to SHNS’s Daily Advances calendar (pay wall), Diehl has scheduled six separate press conferences for today – with no details provided. That’s a lot of news to announce, or perhaps he meant they were “press availability” events.
Despite scoring as well as white students on MCAS tests, minorities still under-represented at Boston Latin
The enrollment imbalance of whites and minorities at the elite Boston Latin school? It apparently comes down to student scores on a second, non-MCAS test given to students – a test that covers subjects not taught in public schools. The Globe’s James Vaznis has the details. There seems to be a rather simple solution to this problem. We’ll see how long it takes for officials to acknowledge the obvious.
Meanwhile, there’s an uproar at Simmons University over the appointment of a white male as dean of a new school named after pioneering black journalist Gwen Ifill, reports Deirdre Fernandes at the Globe.
Walsh defends city against SNL’s latest Hub-is-racist skit
Speaking of racial issues in Boston, here we go again. From Aimee Ortiz and Jaclyn Reiss at the Globe: “After ‘Saturday Night Live’ once again took a jab at Boston’s racist reputation, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Monday that the city has to ‘acknowledge our past’ and keep moving forward. ‘We have to continue to work every day on improving relations in our city,’ he said.”
Framingham to hire consultant to study racial equity in schools
And speaking of schools and racial disparities, the Framingham public school system will hire a consultant to study the issue of racial equity in the district, though officials have yet to work out exactly what the audit will examine, Zane Razzaq reports in the MetroWest Daily News.
Gonzalez and even legislative candidates score endorsements from Obama
It’s not a big surprise, but it’s still good news for the underdog Jay Gonzalez. From SHNS’s Michael Norton at the BBJ: “Democrat Jay Gonzalez has scored the endorsement of President Barack Obama. Obama on Monday also formally endorsed Gonzalez’s running mate and former White House aide Quentin Palfrey, candidate for Congress Ayanna Pressley, and state Sen. Cyr of Truro.” The ex-president endorsed other local candidates, including Tram Nguyen, who’s seeking to defeat Republican state Rep. Jim Lyons.
GE update: ‘Cautious Charlie Baker gets to take a bow’
A day after General Electric canned its chief executive, the BBJ’s Kelly O’Brien (pay wall) tries to explain how $23 billion basically vanished overnight at GE, a financial phenomenon that partly explains why former CEO John Flannery was ousted on Monday. Answer: It has to do with a “goodwill impairment charge” by the conglomerate.
One thing that won’t disappear: The state’s more than $100 million in various economic incentives that were used to lure GE to Boston. The Globe’s Shirley Leung writes that, despite GE’s woes, the state’s investment in GE is relatively safe, thanks to the “cleverly crafted” state agreement that the “cautious Charlie Baker” negotiated. Meanwhile, the Globe’s Tim Logan and Jon Chesto report that GE’s new chief executive, Larry Culp, may be a little-known, nuts-and-bolts kind of guy, but he has a stellar record running another industrial conglomerate in Washington, D.C.
Lowell faces $2 million bill for decades-old landfill contamination
The city of Lowell is facing a $2 million bill in connection with permanent contamination of a former landfill where a condo complex was built in the mid-1980s. Rick Sobey at the Lowell Sun reports the city is on the hook for $1.4 million in lost value to condo owners and more than $850,000 worth of interest in the case, which the Supreme Judicial Court revived earlier this year.
Is it possible? Mayors hope to build 185,000 more housing units by 2030
This would be great if it ever comes to fruition. From SHNS’s Michael Norton: “Fifteen metropolitan Boston area communities are coalescing around plans to build even more new housing than Gov. Charlie Baker proposed in his statewide bill. The Metro Mayors Coalition, at a press conference on Tuesday, plans to announce its ‘landmark’ regional housing production goal of 185,000 new units by 2030.”
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
Baker, Spilka and DeLeo call for more transparency within state’s ‘secret court’
From the Globe’s Nicole Dungca and Matt Stout: “Governor Charles Baker and legislative leaders called Monday for greater transparency within the state’s closed-door clerk magistrate system, the private criminal sessions highlighted in a Boston Globe investigation published Sunday. Baker, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, and Senate President Karen E. Spilka told reporters they would support further study of the concerns raised in the Spotlight report.”
If you haven’t already, definitely read the original Spotlight piece. It’s pretty amazing that this clerk-magistrate system, apparently unique in America, even exists.
Police: DCF investigating claims couple kept children in cages, sexually assaulted them
Definitely file this one under ‘What the f&*#.’ Jordan Deschenes at the Taunton Gazette reports that police arrested a Taunton woman following a confrontation with a police officer – and then that incident led to DCF removing three children from the apartment. “A brief overview of why the Department of Children and Families was attempting to remove the three children can be categorized as both neglect and abuse consisting of a variety of specifics which included sexual assault and the keeping of children in cages,” the police report stated.
At long last: MBTA approves final contract to upgrade Red and Orange Lines
From CommonWealth magazine’s Bruce Mohl: “The MBTA’s oversight board on Monday awarded the final major contract needed to complete an overhaul of the Red and Orange Lines, but the milestone agreement was another reminder of how long it takes to implement change on the state’s transit system.” The bottom line: The full benefits of the infrastructure upgrades won’t be achieved for another five years – at the earliest.
Healey endorses Harrington in contentious Berkshire DA race
Attorney General Maura Healey traveled to Pittsfield Monday to formally endorse Democratic Berkshire District Attorney candidate Andrea Harrington, in a race that now features the former temporary DA, also a Democrat, running as a write-in candidate. Haven Orecchio-Egresitz at the Berkshire Eagle has the details on the endorsement and Healey’s sit-down with the Eagle’s editorial board.
Navy captain with experience in information warfare tapped to become state’s first chief of MassCyberCenter
This is arguably cooler than NCIS: Gov. Charlie Baker has appointed U.S. Navy Captain Stephanie Helm, who has years of experience in information warfare and cyberspace operations, to become the first director of the MassCyberCenter at the Mass Tech Collaborative. SHNS’s Colin Young at Wicked Local has the details.
Pot advocates: C’mon, commissioners, pick up the pace and approve some licenses
Gintautas Dumcius at MassLive reports that pot advocates, frustrated that no marijuana retail shops have opened yet in Massachusetts, are calling on the Cannabis Control Commission to “pick up the pace” and approve some licenses, for crying out loud. Commissioners say the licenses are coming soon. Be patient.
If and when the CCC starts approving retail licenses, Prithvi Tikhe at the Telegram reports that Worcester County is poised to emerge as a major pot player, with more than 40 retail applications now pending before the commission, more than any other county.
New State Police union chief tapped amid fed probe of campaign donations
Sergeant Mark S. Lynch has been appointed president of the powerful State Police Association of Massachusetts, following last week’s resignation of the union’s former boss amid a federal probe into possible illegal reimbursements of campaign contributions by union members, writes Mark Rocheleau at the Globe.
JP Morgan Chase to open 50 retail branches in Boston area
Didn’t Citibank recently try a similar retail-branch expansion in the Boston area? Yes it did. And it failed. Anyway, from Greg Ryan at the BBJ: “JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to open 50 retail branches in Greater Boston over the next several years, the megabank said Monday, confirming recent speculation that its intentions for the region were much bigger than just a handful of offices.”
BU unveils its ‘stack of books’ building
We think it sort of looks like a Lego building. But what do we philistines know? From Catherine Carlock at the BBJ (pay wall): “Boston University has released more details on its proposed data sciences center at 645-665 Commonwealth Ave. on the school’s Charles River campus. The 350,000-square-foot tower will reach 20 stories and 291 feet at its full height. … Toronto-based KPMB Architects designed the facility, which ‘resembles a stack of books,’ BU said in a release Monday.” The story is accompanied by a design sketch.
The Power of Peers: How networks of educators can work together for lasting improvements
Networks of educators can work together to find solutions for the problems they share, each benefiting from seeing what works and what doesn’t work in other classrooms, schools, or districts. Join us on October 3 to hear about successful networks in Massachusetts and across the nation and learn how this approach can help educators find and implement solutions that stick.
The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy
Demystifying Lobbying
Join Civic Series for this special HUBWeek event to better understand lobbying and how you can be more effective communicating to your elected officials. You’ll hear what it’s like to be on the other side of the lobbying and learn how to effectively communicate to elected officials and become a reliable advocate for your issues. This session includes plenty of time for your questions.
A Reception in Support of Jay Gonzalez for Governor
Please join Former Treasurer Steve Grossman; Former Mayor Setti Warren; Senator Cindy Creem; Representatives Ruth Balser, Kay Khan; Councilors Vicki Danberg, Josh Krintzman, Rick Lipof; Newton DCC Chair Shawn Fitzgibbons, DSC Member Martina Jackson; Hosts Dennis Kanin, Mike Offner for a reception in support of Jay Gonzalez for Governor.
Jay Gonzalez: Democrat for Governor
Get in the Know
Boston School Finder’s “Get in the Know” event will break down recent education data from a variety of sources, taking these insights from ideation to action by enlisting the help of parents and families. The goal is to equip parents and families with the information necessary to advocate for changes within schools and to work toward equitable opportunities for all students in Boston.
11th Annual Public Performance Conference
Please join us for the 11th Annual Public Performance Conference. The goal of the conference is to examine and discuss performance management research and models for the adoption and implementation of compelling practices in the public sector.
Negotiating Skills: Art, Science or Luck?
Learn how to identify the appropriate tactics and counter tactics employed for any type of negotiators to reach a more leveraged position (even when you think you’re at a disadvantage).
Fight Night Boston: Demetrius Andrade vs Billy-Joe Saunders
Matchroom Boxing USA and Murphys Boxing Promotions announce a major world championship boxing event to be held at Boston’s TD Garden on October 20, 2018.
Matchroom Boxing USA and Murphys Boxing Promotions
18th Annual Meeting on Oral Care & Oral Cancer (CSE)
18th Annual Meeting on Oral care & Oral cancer (Oral care 2018) scheduled to be held during Oct 24-25, 2018 at Boston, USA. This Oral care conference includes a wide range of Keynote presentations, Oral talks, Poster presentations, Symposia, Workshops, Exhibitions and Career development programs.
Boston Trade Compliance and Policy Seminar
International trade regulations change constantly—old rules are updated and new regulations are added every day. Attend one of the full-day seminars in a location close to you to stay up to date on the latest information. Learn about changing international trade regulations with industry experts—C.H. Robinson’s Kevin Doucette —who is passionate about this subject.
We The People’s For Creators, By Creators
We The People, the world’s only multi-channel crowdfunding retail chain and community, is hosting a kick-off crowdfunding event where local entrepreneurs from companies such as Rocketbook, Think Board and allocacoc will provide tips on how to leverage crowdfunding to launch products. They will also discuss how to create crowdfunding campaigns and some lessons learned.
Global Summit on Agriculture, Food Science and Technology (CSE) AS
The annual Food & Beverage Conference continues to be the premier environmental event for the food industry, bringing together senior environmental managers from food and beverage companies to share their experiences with sustainable practices, environmental compliance and new technologies and approaches.
Real Estate Finance Fundamentals Onsite Course
This is a two part course that will be held on October 26, 2018 and November 2, 2018. This 2-day course will focus on debt and equity financing of income-producing real property. The course will look at both the private debt and equity markets for real estate finance, and the commercial mortgage-backed securities market for debt financing.
Back from the Brink: A Call to Prevent Nuclear War (Gonson Lecture)
Experts say we are closer to accidental or intentional nuclear war than at any time since the 1950s – and yet, at the same time, also closer than ever to an international ban to dismantle all of these immoral weapons. Come hear about the race for human survival, and what citizens can do to help.
Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Report: Kavanaugh will not teach at Harvard Law this winter – Boston Business Journal
Test for Boston exam schools might hinder diversity – Boston Globe
Massachusetts
Framingham businesses split on parking meters downtown – MetroWest Daily News
Mashpee tribe to hold rally on land rights – Cape Cod Times
Entrepreneur’s plan uses pot as building block to help New Bedford’s economy – Standard-Times
Nation
Where is Elaine Chao? – Politico
Trump hails revised Nafta deal and and sets up a showdown with China – New York Times
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