Happening Today
Healey-McMahon debate, Keating-Tedeschi debate, Question 1 and 3 debates
— Salem State University hosts a panel discussion on gender identity, discrimination and Question 3, Salem State University, Ellison Campus Center, MLK Room, North Campus, 1 Meier Dr., Salem, 12 p.m.
— Gas workers with United Steelworkers Locals 12003 and 12012 hold a press conference with Massachusetts firefighters to discuss their concerns about public safety due to the National Grid lock-out of workers, DPU, 1 South Station, Boston, 12:15 p.m.
— To celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the United Nations, middle and high school students will gather for a ‘mini-simulation on the topic of clean water, the sixth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal,’ with Rep. Joan Meschino providing opening remarks, Hall of Flags, 1 p.m.
— Actress Laverne Cox, former congressional candidate Alexandra Chandler, Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin, transgender students and others speak at an invitation-only event in support of Question 3, Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth Community Center, 28 Court Sq., Boston, 1 p.m.
— Attorney General Maura Healey and her Republican opponent Jay McMahon meet in their second debate on ‘Radio Boston,’ moderated by Deborah Becker and James Pindell, UMass Boston, Ballroom, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, airing live on WBUR-FM 90.9, 3 p.m.
— Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants delivers his annual State of the Judiciary address, hosted by the Massachusetts Bar, with other speakers including bar president Christopher Kenney, Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey and Trial Court administrator Jonathan Williams, John Adams Courthouse, Great Hall, One Pemberton Square, Boston, 4 p.m.
— U.S. Rep. William Keating and Republican challenger Peter Tedeschi debate at a candidates’ night sponsored by the Standard-Times, with a ‘pre-debate discussion’ with Rep. Geoff Diehl, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, and Jay Gonzalez, Democratic candidate for governor, Cook Memorial Theater, New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, 6 p.m.
— MassDOT convenes a stakeholder task force meeting to discuss the Turnpike interchange project in Allston, 123 Antwerp St., Brighton, 6:30 p.m.
— NBC10 Boston and NECN broadcast a live debate on Question 1, moderated by NBC10 Boston anchor Shannon Mulaire, with Donna Kelly-Williams, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, representing Yes on 1, and Karen Moore, senior vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing officer at Lawrence General Hospital, representing No on 1, Suffolk University, Modern Theatre, 525 Washington St., Boston, 7 p.m.
— U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton and Republican challenger Joseph Schneider are guests on ‘NightSide,’ followed by a debate on Question 3 with former Salem police chief Rep. Paul Tucker arguing in favor of upholding the state’s transgender public accommodations law and Andrew Beckwith of the Massachusetts Family Institute opposed, WBZ NewsRadio 1030, Moulton-Schneider at 8 p.m. and Question 3 debate at 9 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
The cost of legally getting high: Higher auto insurance rates
Just thought you’d like to know. From Alexi Cohan at the Herald: “Massachusetts drivers can expect to see their auto insurance rates go up thanks to legalized pot — even if they don’t smoke it themselves, industry experts say, with a new study showing car crashes are on the rise in states where recreational marijuana is sold ‘You’re looking at an increase of around 4 to 6 percent in overall coverage,’ predicted James Lynch, chief actuary at the Insurance Information Institute.”
Is it Warren vs Diehl, or Globe vs Herald, or is there no difference?
This is one of those mornings that Elizabeth Warren fans wish this was a one-newspaper town, i.e. the Globe has endorsed Warren in glowing terms. But this is one of those mornings when Geoff Diehl fans are thankful this is a two-newspaper town, i.e. the Herald is going full Herald in favor of Diehl and against Warren, with Howie Carr and Joe Fitzgerald and the editorial board and ICE (via Sean Philip Cotter) all weighing in. We assume we’ll soon be seeing this Peter Lucas column in the Herald as well.
Oh no: Baker for president in 2024?
The Herald’s Joe Battenfeld goes there: He’s talking up Gov. Charlie Baker for president in 2024. … Quick thought: Not going to happen, unless the Republican Party splinters into different parties, one conservative and the other moderate, and that’s not going to happen, therefore …
One of many reasons why the GOP, as it’s presently constituted, would never let Baker win the nomination: ‘Baker opposes potential Trump administration redefinition of transgender’ (MassLive).
Deval’s secret financial weapon: Dan Fireman
Speaking of potential presidential candidates (of the 2020 variety): A pro-Deval Patrick PAC has already raised an impressive $350,000. But the Globe’s Matt Stout looks at who’s contributed to the committee and finds that one person, Dan Fireman, founder of Fireman Capital Partners and a reliable Dem donor, has contributed $250,000 of that sum. And, oh Doug Rubin, a former Patrick aide who helped launch the PAC, is listed as an operating partner at Fireman’s firm.
Help wanted in Lowell: Full-time syringe collector
This is a sad sign of the times. Officials in Lowell are considering adding a new full-time employee whose sole responsibility would be overseeing the safe collection of discarded syringes. That’s it. Rick Sobey reports at the Lowell Sun has more.
State’s congressional delegation not rising to the defense of defense giant Raytheon
The state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation is leaning towards some sort of arms embargo against Saudi Arabia in the wake of the grisly killing of a Saudi journalist – and that puts them on a collision course with the state’s largest defense contractor, Raytheon, reports the Globe’s Jon Chesto.
Beacon Hill cyber battle: Shack vs Heffernan
From SHNS’s Colin Young: “A turf battle has broken out near the top of state government as executive branch agencies and the state’s independent fiscal overseer tangle over who gets to design and implement computer systems that touch all state agencies, affect all state employees and can access sensitive information. The rift over control of the project to upgrade the state’s payroll and accounting systems broke into public view earlier this month during a contentious meeting with administration officials, constitutional officers and Comptroller Thomas Shack. The belligerency has continued since, largely between Shack and Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan.”
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
National Grid’s leak repairs and service hookups have plunged since it locked out workers
From SHNS’s Matt Murphy at CommonWealth magazine: “After locking out roughly 1,200 union gas workers in late June, National Grid has spent about the same amount money as in previous years on labor, materials and other expenses but fixed fewer gas leaks and hooked up 50 percent fewer new gas customers, according to data provided to the state.” So ratepayers are getting less service for the same amount of money? Doesn’t sound like a good, or safe, deal for anyone, including, it should be noted, the utility’s investors.
Meanwhile, Columbia Gas hit with yet another class-action suit
Speaking of natural-gas utilities: Michelle Williams at MassLive reports that Columbia Gas, now desperately trying to restore natural-gas service to thousands of customers in the Merrimack Valley, has been hit by yet another class-action suit, this one charging that the utility operated a “compromised” distribution system that led to last month’s gas-line explosions and fires.
Couldn’t they have just used all that PAC money to hire more nurses?
Shira Schoenberg at MassLive reports that the two sides in the hotly contested Question 1 nurse-ratio battle have spent a combined $28 million. That’s a lot of nurses they could have hired with that sum. Just a thought.
Healey demands ‘real money on the table’ in return for hospital merger
We’re pretty sure hospital officials are gritting their teeth over this one. From SHNS’s Michael Norton (pay wall): “Calling for ‘real money on the table’ as part of any deal, Attorney General Maura Healey on Monday night said she would prioritize low-income communities and community-based hospitals in her continuing review of the Beth Israel Deaconess-Lahey Health mega-merger.”
Cutting his losses? Third District candidate Green pays back $50K loan to himself
The Globe’s Matt Stout reports that Rick Green, a Pepperell businessman and Republican candidate for the Third Congressional District seat, has repaid himself $50,000 for some of the $170,000 in loans that he’s given his own campaign, just weeks before the November election. In the business world, they’d call this a form of “writing down your losses.” We’re not sure what they call it in the political world.
Meanwhile, Third candidates debate sanctuary cities
Speaking of the Third District race, Lisa Kashinsky at the Eagle-Tribune reports that last night’s candidates’ debate covered a wide range of topics, including the hot-button issue of sanctuary cities in Lawrence and elsewhere.
What do you call 200 million gallons of wastewater dumped into the Merrimack River? A ‘spectacular improvement’
Downriver communities aren’t happy with the upriver practice of dumping raw sewage into the Merrimack Valley. But the head of the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility says the 200 million gallons of wastewater that his city’s treatment plant discharges into the river actually represents a “spectacular improvement” from the days of 1 billion gallons of wastewater discharges. Rick Sobey at the Lowell Sun has either the encouraging or the discouraging details, depending on where you live along the Merrimack.
‘A full Rhode Island’
We’ll just go right to the nut graf of Mark Arsenault’s Globe story on the wild gubernatorial race in Rhode Island: “This year’s freewheeling six-way race for governor has turned into what locals might refer to as “a full Rhode Island” — with one candidate charged with possessing 48 pounds of pot, and another fending off revelations of a 43-year-old alleged assault with a caulking gun against a future speaker of the state House of Representatives.”
A caulking gun?
Two dots: Historic tax credits and campaign donations in the secretary of state race
After Monday night’s testy secretary of state debate between Democratic incumbent Bill Galvin and Republican Anthony Amore, Christian Wade at the Eagle-Tribune dove into campaign finance reports and found that, yes, a contractor and its executives who got historic tax credits from Galvin’s office also donated funds to Galvin’s campaign. Galvin has denied any sort of quid pro quo.
Btw: Did you know there’s a Green-Rainbow candidate also running for secretary of state? He wasn’t invited to the debate earlier this week and wants to know why. More at SHNS (pay wall).
State’s reserve fund tops $2 billion after Baker signs budget bill
It’s official: The state’s emergency ‘rainy day fund’ now exceeds $2 billion, after Gov. Charlie Baker yesterday signed a budget bill that appropriates more money to the reserve account. Matt Murphy at SHNS has the details.
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
Good luck trying to ideologically diversify Democrats
The Herald’s Michael Graham wishes the founders of the new Left of Center PAC well. But he doesn’t think they’ll succeed in making more room for centrist Democrats in the leftward-drifting Democratic Party.
Report: Airbnb making Cape even less affordable for year-round residents
Housing advocates on the Cape are raising alarms about the impact of Airbnb and similar home-sharing sites are having on the affordability of long-term apartment rentals — and they’re urging local officials to act before the problem gets even worse, Doug Fraser reports at the Cape Cod Times. The Housing Assistance Corp. report says the region has lost some 3,000 year-round housing units in the past six years, many converted to take advantage of the new short-term rental opportunities.
To boldly go where no exchange-traded fund has gone before: Outer space
This is interesting: With its newest exchange-traded fund, Boston’s State Street Corp. is teaming up with a Cambridge-based artificial intelligence firm to develop three products that track some of the most cutting-edge industries, including the commercialization of outer space. The BBJ’s Greg Ryan has more on the voyage of the State Street ETF and its mission to explore strange new investments, to seek out new profits and new clients, to boldly go where no ETF has gone before.
’Tis but a scratch: Diehl dismisses polls that show him getting trounced by Warren
U.S. Elizabeth Warren holds commanding leads in the polls and fundraising. But Republican U.S. Senate candidate Geoff Diehl said he remains confident about his prospects in two weeks, questioning the accuracy of polls and asserting his message is gaining traction, reports Shannon Young at MassLive.
The No. 1 issue for businesses: Transportation
The Globe’s Jon Chesto reports that finding talented employees and health-care costs are no longer the biggest concerns among some business groups. So what is? Getting employees to work. I.e. the state’s transportation system.
Thomas Aquinas College to open Northfield campus
Here come the Saints: Thomas Aquinas College has won state approval to open a campus as early as next fall on property in Northfield gifted to the California-based school by the founder of Hobby Lobby, Anne Gerard-Flynn reports at MassLive. The college says it will immediately begin accepting applications for an undergraduate major in liberal arts as it simultaneously completes the accreditation process.
Single-payer advocates are closely watching local question results
Single-payer health care will literally be on the ballot in some western Massachusetts communities on Nov. 6 — and advocates will be closely watching the results of the non-binding referendums, Bera Denau reports at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Favorable results could help advocates apply pressure on reluctant lawmakers to take a stand on the issue, which has long been popular among progressives and which polls show is gaining favor among the larger electorate as well.
Governor brushes aside conservative ‘Blank Baker’ campaign, touts bi-partisanship and strong economy
Conservative backlash? What conservative backlash? Gov. Charlie Baker is downplaying a campaign by a conservative group that’s urging Republican voters to leave their ballots blank in the race between the moderate Baker and Democrat Jay Gonzalez. Baker said he’s “proud of the fact” that he’s pursed policies that have won bi-partisan support and helped the economy, reports SHNS’s Katie Lannan at the Lowell Sun.
Take that, Oakland and Hoboken: Worcester may serve as a model for other smaller cities striving for growth
A number of smaller cities across the country live in the shadows of nearby larger cities – Oakland and San Francisco, Hoboken, N.J, and New York, and Worcester and Boston. But Worcester stands out as a second-city that has undergone a major renaissance and may one day “find itself a case study for urban growth,” reports Aaron Schachter at WGBH.
Meanwhile, Moody’s gives Worcester ballpark high credit rating despite high debt
Even though Worcester has a large amount of debt, Moody’s Investors Services nevertheless has given the city a high-quality rating for its planned $27.5 million bond offering to build a new ballpark for the future WooSox, saying the city has recently experienced solid economic growth and it should be able to manage its debt if the growth continues, reports SHNS’s Michael Norton at the BBJ.
But then there’s Worcester’s politicians …
OK, not everything is rosy these days in Worcester. Take the Worcester County DA race. The Telegram has a five-takeaway summary of a debate earlier this week between District Attorney Joseph Early and challenger Blake Rubin. The top takeaway: “The candidates appear not to like each other.” The good news: “Residents care” and turned out in force for the debate.
Goldberg points to Michigan as the Lottery’s future; retailers are not so sure
Treasurer Deb Goldberg says the future of the Massachusetts Lottery is online games, similar to what’s happened in Michigan. But online games would cut out the retail middlemen – and they’re more than a little nervous about any shift to online games. Mary Markos at the Herald has the details.
Move over, Zipcar: General Motors to roll out new car-sharing service in Boston
General Motors has announced that it plans to expand its car-sharing service to Boston and other cities later this year. Though similar in concept to Zipcar’s service, GM’s program has one major catch: Only those who own GM cars can rent out their vehicles to strangers under the company’s “Maven” service, reports the BBJ’s Kelly O’Brien.
Belmont Savings Bank and Boston Business Journal: Maximizing the Value of Your Board
Join the Boston Business Journal, Belmont Savings Bank and distinguished industry experts for an exciting panel discussion and an outlook on how to maximize the value of your board and learn from the local experts who made it happen.
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.
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.
School on the Move Prize Ceremony
EdVestors to present prestigious $100,000 School on the Move Prize. Three Boston public schools will be lauded for outstanding progress toward improving performance and are finalists for the coveted award.
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
GM launches peer-to-peer car-sharing in Boston – Boston Business Journal
Raytheon could take huge hit if lawmakers sanction Saudis – Boston Globe
Massachusetts
Ipswich firm sued over alleged inappropriate content in school databases – Salem News
Framingham City Council backs Steven Trask for police chief – MetroWest Daily News
UMass Amherst again a ‘top green college’ – Daily Hampshire Gazette
Nation
Lotteries: America’s $70 Billion Shame – The Atlantic
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