Happening Today
Compressor station hearing, Healey at AIM, and more
— Department of Environmental Protection is scheduled to continue the hearing on an appeal of the air quality permit it issued for Enbridge’s natural gas-fired compressor station in North Weymouth, DEP offices, One Winter St., Boston, 9 a.m.
— Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner John Lebeaux chairs a Massachusetts Food Policy Council meeting, Division of Wildlife & Fisheries Headquarters, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, 9:30 a.m.
— Boston Mayor Marty Walsh attends the 401 Park (former Landmark Center) ribbon cutting, 401 Park Drive, Boston, 10:30 a.m.
— Attorney General Maura Healey keynotes the 2019 annual meeting of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Westin Boston-Waterfront, 11 a.m.
— Southeastern Massachusetts business leaders gather for a legislative luncheon with U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, hosted by the SouthCoast Chamber and the Bristol County Chamber, White’s of Westport, 66 State Road, Westport, 11 a.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 latest line: Sports-betting legislation gets punted into fall
The Globe’s Andy Rosen and SHNS’s Colin Young (pay wall) report that Beacon Hill lawmakers are now unlikely to act on legalized sports betting before the fall, or at least that’s the assessment of two key lawmakers who appeared yesterday at a panel discussion hosted by State House News Service. The problem: A consensus on sports gambling is not even close – and lawmakers are still in fact-finding mode. The likely bottom line: No legalized sports betting before the Pats’ opening game in September.
Btw: Callum Borchers at WBUR reports on the scramble by firms to get a piece of the eventual sports-betting action. Even the Lottery wants a cut.
But lawmakers do hope to unveil a new school-aid formula next month
Lawmakers may be kicking the sports-gambling can down the road. But key lawmakers say they hope to have a plan ready by next month that would overhaul the state’s school funding formula, reports SHNS’s Katie Lannan. The possible legislative movement on the education front comes as legal and political pressure builds to change the way the state distributes funds to school districts, as evidenced by yesterday’s State House rally by hundreds of activists and teachers demanding change, as the Globe’s James Vaznis reports.
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
Board suspends license of celebrity psychiatrist accused of sexual misconduct
He was once dubbed the “young Dr. Phil” and was a regular Fox News contributor. But that was before the celebrity curtain was pulled back. From the Globe’s Danny McDonald: “The state Board of Registration in Medicine has suspended the license of a prominent North Shore psychiatrist following allegations that he engaged in sexual activity with patients, finding that he cannot safely practice medicine. Dr. Keith R. Ablow poses ‘an immediate and serious threat to public health,’ the board announced in a statement Thursday.” Colman Herman at CommonWealth magazine has more.
SJC orders serial child rapist Wayne Chapman released from prison
Wayne Chapman, a convicted child rapist, is now a $25,000 bail payment away from being a free man, after the Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that he should be released from prison, citing findings from two court experts who say it’s safe for Chapman to be released, reports Jill Harmacinski at the Eagle Tribune.
At the Herald, attorney Wendy Murphy, who has represented some of Chapman’s victims, is stunned by the decision and says Beacon Hill has to act: “We’re not talking about an ordinary sex offender: Wayne Chapman, by his own admission, raped as many as 100 boys, and fantasized about cannibalizing them. His history of abusing children is as long and disturbing as any I’ve seen.”
State takes a first step toward cannabis cafes
Here we go. From the BBJ’s Jessica Bartlett: “State regulators have taken the first step to launch a pilot program for cannabis cafes, but don’t expect to be smoking at one anytime soon. On Thursday, the Cannabis Control Commission narrowly adopted a policy creating a pilot program for cannabis cafes and cannabis events.”
So what are we talking about here? From Shira Schoenberg at MassLive: “Imagine a cannabis café where diners can buy a marijuana-infused drink or snack. Or an outdoor concert where marijuana joints are sold and smoking is allowed.”
‘The Pink Railroad’
Could abortion be one of the biggest issues of the 2020 elections? You have to wonder, following recent anti-abortion moves by lawmakers in Alabama and elsewhere, and the Globe’s Stephanie Ebbert reports this morning on the early mobilization of women here and elsewhere into the “Auntie Network” and “Pink Railroad” brigades. They’re now focused on helping women get abortions – but it seems almost inevitable they’ll soon be turning their attention towards political candidates of all stripes. We’ll see.
Long-ago stolen Alexander Hamilton letter to Lafayette may be headed home to state archives
This is a wild one. From Universal Hub: “The US Attorney’s office in Boston has begun the legal process to formally return a Revolutionary War missive from Hamilton to Lafayette to the Massachusetts State Archives, some 75 years after it was stolen by a worker there who was stealing and selling historic documents written by such authors as Washington, Franklin, Revere and Benedict Arnold.”
It seems that, all these years later, the letter recently turned up at an Alexandria, Virginia auction house. Scott Croteau at MassLive has more on the case, including how the letter and other historic documents were apparently purloined by a former state archive worker between 1937 and 1945.
Get out! Lawrence mayor calls on Moulton, others to drop 2020 bids
He’s had it. Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera says the 2020 Democratic presidential primary is at risk of becoming a “circus” and wants U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and others to drop out of the race, Keith Eddings reports at the Eagle-Tribune. The launch of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign seems to have been the straw that broke Rivera’s spirit and prompted him to call on Democratic party leaders to step in and start telling long-shot candidates it’s time to go home. Rivera has already endorsed U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, btw.
Best front page of the year? De Blasio isn’t laughing
Speaking of Cambridge’s very own Bill de Blasio, the mayor of some podunk city southwest of here indeed announced yesterday he’s running for president, a move some say is bordering on the “delusional,” as the Herald’s Lisa Kashinsky reports. But you really have to check out the NY Post’s front-page from yesterday. It’s a classic. One thing is clear: Bill isn’t laughing.
Galvin to lawmakers: If you want early presidential primary voting, decide now
One more post on the 2020 presidential race (sort of): SHNS’s Matt Murphy reports that Secretary of State Bill Galvin is pushing hard to get lawmakers to make a decision, preferably as soon as possible, on expanding early voting in order to give people five extra days to vote before next winter’s presidential primary.
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
I.M. Pei, designer of JFK Library and Louvre pyramid, RIP
I.M. Pei, the famed Harvard and MIT-trained architect who designed Boston’s JFK Library and Museum and the glass pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre in Paris, has died at the age of 102, reports the NYT and the Boston Globe. The list goes on and on of the modernist buildings he designed around the country and world – and the list doesn’t include the designs he influenced and sometimes consulted on over the decades.
Healey on State Police OT investigation: ‘It’s not over’
Attorney General Maura Healey is making it clear: The investigation into State Police abuse of overtime pay is “not over” and she’s expecting more indictments of troopers moving forward, reports Scott Croteau at MassLive.
Great Barrington pokes hole in balloon festival proposal
If this is Woodstock in disguise, it’s a pretty good disguise. A hot-air balloon festival organizers hoped to stage this summer at a Great Barrington airport was grounded by the town’s select board before it could get off the ground, after neighbors complained the day-long affair would actually be more akin to a live-music festival. Heather Bellow at the Berkshire Eagle has the details, including the assertion by one neighbor that the event would be “a mini Woodstock that happens to also have hot air balloons.”
Lively passes on run for Congress, blaming ‘Baker Machine’ and taking shots at GOP’s Lyons
It’s the announcement that the political world has been waiting to hear with bated breath, via SHNS’s Matt Murphy (pay wall): “Conservative pastor and former GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Lively said Thursday he would not run for Congress in 2020 after challenging Gov. Charlie Baker last year, blaming the ‘Baker Machine’ and its hold over the state Republican Party.”
But isn’t the state GOP headed by arch-conservative Jim Lyons? He’s merely “joined at the hip with abortion enthusiast Charlie,” Lively says. WGBH’s Adam Reilly raises the prospect that the Mass. GOP may actually be Donald Trump’s party.
Supervise me: Mass residents support injection sites by narrow margin, poll says
Fifty percent of state voters support the opening supervised drug consumption sites as a way to reduce harm to addicts, with 43 percent opposed and 8 percent yet to make up their mind, a WBUR poll finds. The findings are unlikely to alter the already heated debate over the practice, which a state harm-reduction commission has recommended the state consider and which U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has vowed to oppose.
Meanwhile, the most depressing poll stat you’ll see today …
The opioid epidemic really is touching all parts of the state – rich and poor areas alike. From Deborah Becker and Khari Thompson at WBUR: “A new WBUR poll shows that the opioid epidemic is hitting more and more Massachusetts residents close to home. The survey of 660 adults found that more than half (57%) say they know someone who has struggled with opioid addiction over the last year alone.”
Lelling’s prosecution of judge should be applauded, not jeered
There’s been no shortage of local legal types condemning U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s prosecution of state Judge Shelley Joseph on obstruction of justice charges. Ralph Boyd, a former U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights and former member of the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Commission, isn’t among them. In a Globe opinion piece, Boyd says that it’s “rare to find public servants willing to enforce the law regardless of status, privilege, or political considerations” and that “we should be thankful that Andrew Lelling is one who will.”
In Lynn, proposal to reuse Garelick Farms factory hits snag
Not so fast. A Boston-based developer’s plans to purchase and transform the shuttered Garelick Farms dairy facility in Lynn is running into opposition from the city council over worries about what the 17-acre property will look like as a mixed-use site, Gayla Cawley reports at the Lynn Item. The developer has said a zoning change is needed to make the project work but at least one councilor says the range of uses being contemplated risks the site becoming “a junkyard.”
CLF’s industrial-strength legal sword rattling
The Globe’s Jon Chesto reports that the Conservation Law Foundation is once again rattling the legal sword over a proposal to redevelop a former industrial waterfront site into high-end housing. This time it’s about a former cotton storage facility in Charlestown, not in the Seaport District.
Wayfair cracks Fortune 500 list, joining 15 other Mass. companies
Congratulations to Boston’s Wayfair, the Boston-based online furniture retailer that yesterday became an official member of the Fortune 500 club, joining 15 other state companies on the coveted list. The BBJ’s Jessica Bartlett has the details. Btw: General Electric remains the state’s top company, in terms of revenues, though it’s been falling fast on the list, as Bartlett notes.
Family awarded $30M after baby delivered at MGH with severe damage
We normally don’t run posts about malpractice awards by juries, but this one is a doozy: A Suffolk County jury has awarded a local family $30.6 million after a baby was delivered at Massachusetts General Hospital with severe brain damage that the jury determined was caused by delivery-room negligence. The Globe’s Michael Levenson has the details.
Sunday public affairs TV: Healey, Weld and more
This Week in Business, NECN, 10 a.m. Kronos CEO Aron Ain on building his business; Jim Rooney, CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, on the MBTA, China tariffs, housing and and the Baker-Walsh DC trip; Doug Banks of the Boston Business Journal on Encore Boston jobs, MGM Springfield revenues and more.
CEO Corner, NECN, 10:30 a.m. Dana Ehrlich, co-founder and CEO of Verde Farms, talks about the evolution of his 100 percent grass-fed, 100 percent free-range organic beef business.
On The Record, WCVB-TV, 11 a.m. This week’s guest: Attorney General Maura Healey, followed by a discussion with Democratic analyst Mary Anne Marsh and Republican analyst Rob Gray.
DC Dialogue, NECN, 11:30 a.m. Former Gov. Bill Weld talks about his campaign for president; Katherine Newman, interim chancellor of UMass Boston, on the nation’s retirement crisis; plus prospects for a marijuana banking bill with New England Council CEO James Brett and Peter Howe.
CityLine, WCVB-TV Channel 5, 12 p.m. With host Karen Holmes Ward, this week’s topic: May Arts Show.
The Fletcher School Class Day Ceremony address
The Fletcher School is welcoming Susan Rice, former U.S. National Security Advisor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will deliver the Class Day speech at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University on Saturday, May 18.
Conversation in Civic Innovation: The Role of Apprenticeships in the MA Innovation Economy
Is there another path to preparing candidates for tech careers? Apprenticeships have served as a thoughtful method of workforce development in the US for decades. In Europe apprenticeships have evolved to support careers in the innovation economy. Some states in the US – South Carolina and Washington state – are thinking about how apprenticeships can help prepare more candidates for tech jobs.
NAIOP/SIOR Mid-Year Market Roundup
Please join NAIOP and SIOR for one of the industry’s premier market forecasts. Explore the drivers and market fundamentals behind the statistics, including trends, new growth areas and a general outlook for the future.
NAIOP Massachusetts & SIOR New England
Old North Speaker Series: James Farrell – The Child Independence is Born
Did the Revolution begin with the writs of assistance trial? To answer that question, we will review the purpose and function of writs of assistance within the political, legal, and economic environment of colonial Massachusetts, and discuss the constitutional dispute over writs of assistance in the 1761 trial.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Two days into Weymouth compressor hearings, safety of emissions disputed – WGBH
Massachusetts
Worcester planning board OKs zoning for Polar Park – Telegram & Gazette
Framingham still searching for health clinic space after getting no bids – MetroWest Daily News
Proposed state rule changes rekindle biomass debate – Berkshire Eagle
Northampton mayor calls for override vote in November – Daily Hampshire Gazette
Nation
Trump’s new immigration plan may be DOA, but it’s really about 2020 – Politico
Collins: Alabama abortion bill ‘very extreme, terrible’ – The Hill
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