Happening Today
Sessions in Boston, Polito-Palfrey debate, MBTA Control Board, and more
— Treasurer Deb Goldberg speaks at an event recognizing winners of the 8-Spoked Salute, a program of the Boston Bruins and Massachusetts Lottery that recognizes members of the U.S. Armed Forces, Warrior Ice Arena, 90 Guest St., Brighton, 10:10 a.m.
— Both legislative branches meet in informal sessions with the possibility of revisiting civics education legislation that Gov. Baker returned over the summer with an amendment, House chamber and Gardner Auditorium, 11 a.m.
— U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions comes to Boston for an event hosted by the Boston Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society, according to the group, and will be joined by senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom Jordan Lorence and possibly U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, Omni Parker House, 60 School St., Boston, 11:30 a.m.
— The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board meets to discuss a South Station air rights extension, a Gloucester drawbridge replacement, water transportation, MBTA policing, AFC 2.0, the Corporate Pass Program and other topics, Transportation Board Room, second floor, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, 12 p.m.
— Republican candidate for Secretary of State Anthony Amore holds a press conference regarding alleged signature forging in the race for Hampden County Register of Deeds, 21 North Main Street, East Longmeadow, 2 p.m.
— Candidates vying for the state Senate’s 1st Middlesex District and Massachusetts’ Third Congressional District seats debate in front of an audience of students and faculty at UMass Lowell, University Crossing, 220 Pawtucket St., Lowell, 6 p.m.
— Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Democratic nominee Quentin Palfrey meet for their first and only debate on ‘Greater Boston,’ WGBH-TV Ch. 2, WGBH-FM 89.7, and WGBHNews.org, 7 p.m.
— Treasurer Deborah Goldberg is a guest on ‘NightSide,’ broadcasting from Nichols College as part of WBZ’s live Talk the Vote series, WBZ NewsRadio 1030, 8 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
‘Among the great teams of all time’
Think the above headline is a case of local cheerleading after the Sox’ victory last night to win the World Series? Think again. It comes from the NYT’s coverage of the game, the team and the entire amazing Sox season. The Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy is also calling this year’s Red Sox “one of the greatest teams” ever – and he’s not exaggerating. In Los Angeles, the LA Times reports fans are in mourning over their 30-year “championship drought.” They have no concept of a true championship drought. None whatsoever.
Baker gets Globe’s endorsement—and a challenge
The Boston Globe has endorsed Gov. Charlie Baker for re-election, but in doing so is urging Baker to take to heart some of the criticism sent his way during the campaign, most notably his frequent embrace of the “safe middle ground” and to take ownership of scandals such as those at the State Police. Meanwhile, the Baker/Polito ticket picked up another endorsement, from the Lowell Sun, where editors wrote that residents of the commonwealth are clearly “better off” than they were before his first term began.
Speaking of the governor’s race: A.) WCVB’s ‘On the Record’ talked with both Baker and his Democratic rival Jay Gonzalez over the weekend. And, yes, we’re aware that last week we inaccurately characterized their scheduled appearances on WCVB on Sunday as a “debate.” It wasn’t a debate. Sorry about that. B.) Check out the Globe’s online voters guide package for all races this year. It’s quite good. Here’s the governor’s race guide.
Patrick says SEC rules keeping him on sidelines as former budget chief vies for governor
Still on the governor’s race: Christian Wade at the Eagle-Tribune explores the anti-pay-to-play rules that are keeping former Gov. Deval Patrick on the sidelines in the Massachusetts governor’s race—even though Patrick has been actively supporting other Democrats across the country and despite the fact that his onetime budget chief, Jay Gonzalez, is the Democratic candidate.
The Pittsburgh synagogue massacre: Local reactions …
After last week’s pipe-bomb scares and the arrest of a suspect, one could be excused for thinking it couldn’t get worse. But it did. Much worse. The Pittsburgh synagogue massacre over the weekend has sent shockwaves far and wide. It’s most definitely being felt in Belmont, where relatives are mourning the death of one of the victims, as the Globe reports. The Herald’s Jonathan Ng reports on local Jewish-Americans’ concerns over rising anti-Semitism here and elsewhere. Gubernatorial candidates Charlie Baker and Jay Gonzalez are both condemning the Pittsburgh attack, the Globe reports. Gov. Baker is also not wild about President Trump’s comment that an armed guard could have prevented the mass shooting, the Herald reports.
One of the more poignant opinion pieces we’ve read comes via the Globe’s Jeff Jacoby, who writes something he never thought he’d write: As a Jew, he no longer feels safe in America. David M. Shribman, a former Globe editor and now executive editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has two first-hand accounts to the shootings in his new hometown, one at the Boston Globe and the other at the New York Times.
A number of post-shooting vigils were held over the weekend in Massachusetts, such as one on the Boston Common (Globe) and another in Easthampton (MassLive).
It’s blame game time for pols and pundits …
In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre and the arrest late last week of the alleged Florida pipe bomber, the political blame game was in full swing on Friday and over the weekend, with Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone getting the local ball rolling by comparing the suspected pipe bomber’s van, covered in political bumper stickers, to Geoff Diehl’s mind, as Spencer Buell reports at Boston Magazine. Perhaps someone can give Curtatone a copy of Jonathan Haidt’s excellent ‘The Righteous Mind’ to read on his next air flight to central America? It might improve the quality of his tweets.
Needless to say, the Herald’s Adriana Cohen is all over Curtatone’s remarks. The Herald’s Joe Battenfeld is warning of political blowback for Dems if they overplay the pipe-bomber incident. But to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s credit, she says it’s time for both sides to tone down the rhetoric, reports Sean Philip Cotter at the Herald. The Herald’s Kimberly Atkins reports on one miserable failure to tone down the rhetoric at the national level.
In case you haven’t noticed the byline pattern, the Herald seems to have cornered the blame-game market in Boston. Here’s some more blame-game punditry from the Herald’s Howie Carr and Hillary Chabot and Joyce Ferriabough Bolling.
‘Mile by RV-driven mile, Diehl is taking on Warren’
Speaking of Geoff Diehl: Is his campaign RV the rough equivalent of Scott Brown’s truck in 2010? If he wins, perhaps. The Globe’s Victoria McGrane reports on how the Republican Diehl, far behind incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in polls and fundraising, is pressing on “mile by RV-driven mile” in his quest to unseat Warren.
As for Diehl’s claim that he’d be more effective in Washington than Warren due to his willingness to work with others, McGrane also reports that Diehl’s record on Beacon Hill has been anything but bi-partisan. Btw: As for Warren’s near-constant ancestry controversies, Michael Socolow writes in an opinion piece at the Globe that says she can learn a thing or two from … George Foreman? He explains.
Convicted of punching a woman and expelled from House, ex-Rep Henriquez finds a new $89K job at City Hall
We’re sure more than a few others are also asking themselves, in this MeToo era, ‘Huh? What Why?’ The Globe’s Andrea Estes and Meghan Irons report that former state Rep. Carlos Henriquez – convicted of punching a woman who refused to have sex with him and expelled from the House – has landed a job at City Hall as an $89,000-a-year “special assistant for community engagement, working on antiviolence issues, among other things.”
Merrimack Valley residents are going to need more space heaters …
Thousands of residents got the bad news on Friday: The restoration of full gas service in the Merrimack Valley has now been pushed back by a month, to Dec. 16, reports Lisa Creamer and Quincy Walters at WBUR. Needless to say, residents and businesses, desperate to see their heat restored as temperatures outside steadily fall, aren’t happy and see “no end in sight,” reports the Eagle-Tribune. The Herald’s Jordan Graham has more on the weekend meetings in which frustrated customers gave recovery officials an earful.
The Globe’s Adrian Walker wonders why, if this is such an emergency, more than 1,200 locked out National Grid workers aren’t being deployed to help out in recovery efforts. Meanwhile, John P. DeVillars and Daniel L. Sosland write at CommonWealth magazine that the recovery effort presents a good opportunity to implement some green solutions in the Merrimack Valley.
‘Dig Safe’ is anything but safe …
As Merrimack Valley residents have to cope with no heat until mid-December due to last month’s gas-line disaster, the Globe’s Shelley Murphy takes a look at routine work on natural-gas pipelines across the state and what she finds is disturbing: “Construction crews puncture gas lines with alarming frequency — more than two a day, on average, in Massachusetts, according to data provided by the Department of Public Utilities. The culprit is usually some form of human error.” Repeat: More than two a day.
‘Liberal hypocrisy in college admissions?’
The historic Harvard admissions-discrimination trial now under way in Boston has uncovered a number of embarrassing practices by the university – and the NYT’s Nicholas Kristof thinks one of them, so-called “legacy preferences,” is, or should be, an embarrassment to the political left. “Here’s our dirty little secret: Some of our most liberal bastions in America rely on a system of inherited privilege that benefits rich whites at the expense of almost everyone else.”
The Globe’s Deirdre Fernandes has a good story on the 200 variables used by Harvard in its admission process. Here’s her lead: “Take Greek instead of coding. Skip the figure-skating lessons, play hockey. Move to Wyoming, get a part-time job, develop spark, cultivate grit, learn with joy! And if you can afford to buy Harvard University a new building, do.”
MIT grads target DeLeo in non-binding referendums in Winchester and Revere
The Globe’s Joshua Miller reports that two MIT grads, angered at House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s record on climate change, have gathered enough signatures to get two “pointed” non-binding measures on the ballot in his hometown of Winthrop and in parts of Revere. Pointed indeed. One deals with the environment and the other deals with DeLeo’s elimination of term limits for speakers, legislative pay raises and lawmakers-turned-lobbyists revolving doors. The two grads don’t live in the district, btw.
Knock on wood: State congressional delegation poised to regain its mojo if Dems take House
Thomas P. O’Neill III, the former lieutenant governor and head of O’Neill and Associates, writes at CommonWealth magazine that Massachusetts is poised to regain some of its old congressional clout if Democrats win back the U.S. House next week, especially with Richard Neal and Jim McGovern in line to take over the powerful House Ways and Means and House Rules committees, respectively.
Fyi: Killing sharks and seals is an increasingly popular idea on the Cape …
A growing number of Cape Cod residents and officials are lining up behind the idea of a large-scale cull of great white sharks and/or the seals that they feed on in the wake of September’s fatal shark attack and amid concerns about the long-term impacts it could have on tourism, Doug Fraser reports at the Cape Cod Times. Federal officials are unlikely to give their blessing to such a plan, however. Fraser has the details.
Just what she always wanted: An 800-pound spoon sculpture
Two activists dropped off a present at the State House last week for Attorney General Maura Healey: An 11-foot, 800-pound sculpture of a burnt heroin spoon, meant as a “dark symbol of the opioid epidemic” and a gift to Healey for the work she’s done in exposing the pharmaceutical industry’s role in getting people hooked on opioid painkillers. SHNS’s Colin Young at CommonWealth magazine has the details.
In the Plymouth DA race, it’s personal
One says it’s not about “revenge.” The other says it’s indeed all about revenge. Either way, the race between Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz and challenger John E. Bradley Jr., who used to work in the office before he was fired by Cruz, has most definitely taken on a testy and personal tone, reports Maria Cramer at the Globe.
Not so lucky anymore: 80-year-old Lynn man charged with operating multimillion-dollar Lottery scam
As Massachusetts Lottery officials figures out what to do with one amazingly frequent winner of lotto games, as WBUR reported last week, the Globe’s Danny McDonaldreports the feds have charged an 80-year-old Lynn man with running a multimillion-dollar scam that allegedly involved buying up millions’ worth of winning tickets at a discount in order to help ticket holders circumvent taxes on prize money.
Gants urges focus on lawyers’ mental health, from depression to alcoholism
We missed this story from last week – and it’s an important one. From SHNS’s Colin Young at the BBJ: “While so much of the criminal justice system is focused on victims and defendants, Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph Gants is urging a new focus on the lawyers who represent victims and defendants and the ways their profession affects their mental health and well-being. … Gants cited a 2016 study published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine that surveyed 13,000 practicing lawyers and found that as many as 36 percent qualified as problem drinkers, about 28 percent were struggling with depression, 19 percent struggled with anxiety and 23 coped with stress.”
It’s been a long overlooked problem and it’s good to see Gants focusing on the issue.
Opponents of Boston Olympics bid still doing victory laps around the world
The Globe’s Jon Chesto reports that Chris Dempsey and Andrew Zimbalist, both critics of Boston’s Summer Olympics bid three years ago, are in high demand around the world in cities that are also mulling Olympic bids. It seems Boston has become the global “model” on how to block pricey Olympic Games.
Plan to import hydro-power from Canada takes another hit
From SHNS’s Michael Norton: “Environmental activists in Maine are celebrating a decision by regulators in that state to delay consideration of the transmission line project that Massachusetts officials are counting on to deliver hydropower from Canada. Intervenors in the Central Maine Power Company transmission line case before the Maine Public Utilities Commission asked the panel this week to suspend hearings, citing documents recently submitted by the company that ‘are highly relevant to critical issues.’”
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
Clark on passage of opioids bill: ‘The way Congress is supposed to function’
Never say Rep. Katherine Clark can’t put partisanship aside when it comes to getting important legislation passed and signed by President Trump. The BBJ’s Jessica Bartlett has more on how Clark found herself an unlikely ally of the president to get two key bills passed to address the opioid epidemic.
Fizzling out: Coke pulls plug on Needham soda-making
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. says it will stop producing beverages at its 40-year-old Needham plant and will lay off 146 workers as a result, Max Stendahl reports at the Boston Business Journal (pay wall). Coke plans to retain ownership of the plant and convert it to a warehouse.
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
2018 Distinguished Real Estate Awards Gala
Join NAIOP Massachusetts for the 2018 Distinguished Real Estate Awards Gala as we honor Related Beal for their achievements in real estate, charitable activities and community betterment. David Begelfer will be honored with this year’s Edward H. Linde Public Service Award in recognition of his 27 years of service to NAIOP.
TEDxBeaconStreet
On November 17, TEDxBeaconStreet will return to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum for a second year! Some of the most inspiring minds and speakers in the world will come to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum for the final day of TEDxBeaconStreet.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos spotted having dinner in Kendall Square – Boston Globe
How Somerville is riding the train to a high-tech hot spot – Fast Company
Massachusetts
Bernie Sanders endorses nurse staffing ballot question – MassLive
Holy Cross in Worcester reports campus hate crime – Worcester Magazine
Rivera backs off showdown over city attorney – Eagle-Tribune
$21M Berkshire Line upgrade to bolster ailing rail route – Berkshire Eagle
Nation
9 hours of ‘Executive Time’: Trump’s unstructured days define his presidency – Politico
Father dresses his son as Hitler for Halloween and is shocked at backlash – Newsweek
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