Happening Today
Census count, Walsh on the air, and more
— 2Life Communities will hold a ribbon cutting to celebrate the renovations to the Golda Meir House, where ‘people age 62 or better can age affordably and live well,’ with U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy, state Sen. Cynthia Creem, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and others attending, Golda Meir House, 160 Stanton Ave., Auburndale, 9 a.m.
— Boston Mayor Martin Walsh offers remarks at the 2020 Census: Roxbury Matters event, kicking off the neighborhood’s efforts toward a fair and accurate count, Dewitt Community Center, 122 Dewitt Drive, Roxbury, 9:45 a.m.
— Boston Mayor Martin Walsh is a guest on ‘Boston Public Radio,’ WGBH-FM 89.7, 12 p.m.
— Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs Francisco Urena, Rep. Linda Dean Campbell and Sen. Michael Rush visit the New England Center and Home for Veterans, 17 Court St., Boston, 1:30 p.m.
— The Girl Scouts holds its Gold Awards Ceremony, honoring more than 60 high school Girl Scouts who spent two years working on projects that will make a lasting change in their communities, Great Hall, 1 p.m.
— U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan participates in roundtable discussion with Hispanic business leaders and New York U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, NECC Lawrence, 420 Common St., Lawrence, 2 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
Baker quickly signs paid-leave tax delay
That was fast. From SHNS’s Colin Young (pay wall): “Gov. Charlie Baker made quick work of the bill imposing a three-month delay to the start of a payroll tax to fund paid family and medical leave benefits for all Massachusetts workers, signing it within 90 minutes of its final legislative vote. The bill (S 2255), now a law, delays until Oct. 1 the start of payroll tax contributions to fund the estimated $800 million paid family and medical leave program.”
Shira Schoenberg at MassLive has more on the fast-action passage and signing of the tax-delay legislation.
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
Get your credit cards out: Sales tax holiday set for August 17-18
In other swift action yesterday on Beacon Hill, SHNS’s Chris Lisinski (pay wall) reports that lawmakers have agreed to implement this year’s sales tax holiday on the weekend of Saturday, Aug. 17 and Sunday, Aug. 18.
The T debacle, Part III: The long wait for restored service
Gov. Charlie Baker and T officials now say that won’t know for a few more days when full Red Line service will be restored, following this past week’s subway derailment that knocked out a key signaling station. One thing is for sure: T officials this time aren’t blaming a train operator for the latest derailment mishap. Andy Metzger at CommonWealth magazine and Danny McDonald and Kellen Browning at the Globe have more.
Meanwhile, ride-hailing trips rise by 25 percent in Massachusetts
As if on transit-topic cue, a new report is out showing that ride-sharing trips via Uber and Lyft etc. continued their strong growth last year in Massachusetts, increasing by 25 percent to 81.3 million trips, reports Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth magazine.
Think how many of those passengers could have – but wouldn’t – take public transit. Can you blame them at this point? The Globe’s Shirley Leung is making the same connection between T-service woes and increased traffic congestion, specifically on I-93, now that service has been reduced on the Red Line due to the most recent train derailment.
‘Alternate theory’: DiMasi can’t be a lobbyist because he was already a lobbyist – and an illegal one at that
One gets the impression Secretary of State William Galvin’s office isn’t too confident about its case for rejecting former House Speaker Sal DiMasi’s request to lobby on Beacon Hill, for it’s now offering a back-up “alternate theory” on why DiMasi shouldn’t be allowed to lobby on Beacon Hill, i.e. he was effectively an illegal lobbyist when he accepted bribes as House speaker. The Herald’s Mary Markos and MassLive’s Steph Solis have more on the seemingly novel theory offered by Galvin’s office.
From Cape Wind slayer to climate-change advocate …
The Globe’s Jon Chesto reports that the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, an exclusive business group, is now making climate-change one of its top priorities, even though it once lobbied against the Cape Wind project. There’s an irony here, for sure, but it’s an irony we’ll take, since we now know Cape Wind was a financial boondoggle compared to much cheaper offshore wind facilities planned today off the coast of Massachusetts.
Code crackers: Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg
The NYT has a piece on how presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg seem to have “cracked the code” on how to stand out in the crowded Democratic primary field for president. For Buttigieg, it’s all about mobile phones and TV. For Warren, it’s all about churning out public-policy positions like widgets coming off an assembly line.
And the NYT’s Paul Krugman says Warren’s public-policy widgets happen to be first-class public-policy widgets.
Fast track: Warren’s student-debt campaign idea becomes Senate bill
Speaking of Warren’s tsunami of new public-policy positions: Why wait? U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she and a co-sponsor will file legislation that would erase the vast majority of outstanding student loan debt, taking immediate action on what has become one of the most popular proposals in her policy-heavy presidential bid, reports The Hill.
It’s official: Moulton bounced from debates
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton knew it was coming and it came: He didn’t make the cut for the first Democratic presidential debates, according to a report at MassLive. The Globe’s James Pindell counts all the reasons why Moulton won’t be on the stages. The fact he barely registers above 0.0 in polls is among them.
Btw: Moulton is still swinging away, talking Trump, mental health and foreign policy, according to a report at the Salem News.
Martin Feldstein, economist, RIP
Martin Feldstein, the famous Harvard economist and long-time president of Cambridge’s National Bureau of Economic Research, has sadly passed away. NBER and the Boston Globe have more on the life and death of Feldstein, who’s often remembered for his embrace of supply-side economics but who, as the Globe piece makes clear, fought epic battles within the Reagan White House over deficits and the need to raises taxes, as Feldstein ultimately advocated.
At the Wall Street Journal, Larry Summers (pay wall), a Harvard economist and former Treasury secretary, lauds Feldstein for helping so many young economists, including Summers himself, get their start in the profession. The NYT’s Paul Krugman also has kind words about Feldstein, via a Twitter feed that reads like a full column.
AGs office investigating racial incident at Museum of Fine Arts
From Maria Garcia at WBUR: “Attorney General Maura Healey’s office is investigating the allegations that a group of children of color were racially profiled and harassed while on a school field trip at the Museum of Fine Arts on May 16. ‘Our educational and cultural institutions must be welcoming to everyone — especially to our young people,’ Jillian Fennimore, a spokeswoman for Healey’s office, wrote in an emailed statement on Thursday afternoon. ‘We take allegations of discrimination seriously and can confirm that our office is investigating this matter.’”
Healey’s batting 15 for 19 in lawsuits against Trump
Sarah Betancourt at CommonWealth magazine has the latest update on all those lawsuits Attorney General Maura Healey has filed against the Trump administration – 44 of them at last count (including multistate suits). And Healey says her employees can handle the extra workload.
Btw: Betancourt provides an interesting Trump lawsuit scorecard: Healey’s office has won 15 of the suits, lost four, and the others are still pending.
Btw, II: Betancourt also takes a look at Healey’s controversial practice of accepting money from a Michael Bloomberg-backed outfit that pays the salaries of climate-change/environmental assistant AGs in her office, something that Herald columnist Michael Graham was harping on the other week. Our quickie thought: Can you imagine the uproar if a conservative group was paying the salaries of assistant AGs here? Yes, you can image in it
Roxbury Community College’s nursing program loses accreditation
First Quincy College, now RCC. From Deirdre Fernandes at the Globe: “State health regulators have pulled the approval of Roxbury Community College’s struggling nursing program, delivering a blow to a beleaguered campus that educates many of the city’s low-income and black and Hispanic students. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing withdrew its approval of the program this week, citing multiple longstanding leadership and academic problems at the community college.”
There’s hope. Quincy College lost then regained accreditation, albeit after a lot of work and needed changes.
Remains of Massachusetts sailor killed at Pearl Harbor identified
Tim Jones at MassLive reports that the body of a sailor killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and interned for years in a military cemetery have been positively identified as Navy Seaman 1st Class Frank A. Hryniewicz, 20, of Three Rivers (part of Palmer), Massachusetts. Hryniewicz was stationed on the battleship USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941.
Striking back? Ousted Harvard dean aims to restore academic freedom on campuses
It’s unclear exactly what Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., a Harvard law professor, plans to do about his recent ouster as a campus dean, following student protests over his legal representation of accused serial sex maniac Harvey Weinstein. But he’s making clear he believes “universities are doing a disservice to its students to allow them to substitute emotion for rigor.” The Globe’s Stephanie Ebbert has more.
Our humble suggestion: He should contact Harvey Sillverglate, who shares similar views, it would appear, on out-of-control student antics on campuses, often aided and abetted by less-than-courageous administrators.
Boiling point: Arrest sparks renewed calls for bail reform from Springfield’s mayor
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is blasting lawmakers for not taking action on proposals that would reform how bail is set in state courts, saying a suspect arrested on murder charges this week had twice been detained — and released — on gun charges. Sarno wants legislators to push through a Gov. Baker proposal to reform bail or to back another measure that would enable prosecutors to appeal a judge’s decision if they feel bail is set too low, Peter Goonan reports at MassLive.
Sanctuary redux? Walsh and Zakim push for stronger ordinance limiting police cooperation with ICE
Here we go again. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and City Councilor Josh Zakim are pushing a proposal to strengthen the Trust Act, which limits what information local police can share with immigration officials — a move certain to reignite the debate over sanctuary cities and the role of law enforcement. Shannon Dooling of WBUR reports the amended act would bar police from inquiring about a suspect’s immigration status or using ICE warrants as the sole reason for detaining someone.
Bernard Sigh, brother-in-law of former Gov. Patrick, found guilty of rape and kidnapping
From Scott Croteau at MassLive: “Bernard Sigh, the 67-year-old brother-in-law of former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, was found guilty of rape, stalking and kidnapping by a Norfolk Superior Court jury Thursday. The jury also found Sign guilty of witness intimidation and other charges, according to Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey.”
Just fyi: The story needs to be reported due to the obvious family connections. But you have to feel for the Patrick family, who, obviously, must be mortified at the actions of the world’s latest example of a ne’re-do-well in-law.
‘They’re gonna need a bigger room’
Organizers said an informational briefing on sharks lurking off the coast of Massachusetts was intended to help raise public awareness. But when a SHNS reporter showed up at the State House briefing, whoa, there wasn’t enough space in the room for members of the media. Sorry. SHNS’s Kaitlyn Budion (pay wall) has the details. Universal Hub’s headline on the affair: ‘‘They’re gonna need a bigger room.’
MassPort CEO search: Still shrouded in secrecy
Speaking of secrecy, they’re at it again. The Herald’s Sean Philip Cotter reports that Massport officials have conducted yet another closed-door session in their search for a new CEO, even though a state transportation leader has previously conceded that a prior closed-door meeting probably violated the state’s open-meeting law. The Herald’s Joe Battenfeld is blasting Massport’s secret search for a new leader.
Help wanted: Marijuana inspectors, solid pay with benefits
The Cannabis Control Commission yesterday issued its first fine against a marijuana company, ruling that Cultivate Holdings of Leicester must pay $75,000 for allegedly selling hundreds of improperly labeled pot products to consumers, reports Dan Adams at the Globe.
The inaccurately labeled pot products were discovered during an unannounced inspection – and, if the CCC has it way, more inspections will be forth coming. Haley Johnson at MassLive reports the board is now looking to hire more investigators, who can make up to $80,000 a year with benefits, to perform inspections of licensed marijuana operations in the state.
Taxpayers’ legal bill for indicted judge: $127K
From the Herald’s Joe Dwinell: “Taxpayers paid $127,000 in legal fees for Judge Shelley Richmond Joseph — right up to the day she was indicted on federal obstruction charges and placed on unpaid leave, accused of helping an illegal immigrant elude ICE agents in her Newton courthouse. The state’s Trial Court administration refused to give the Herald a breakdown of the legal fees.”
‘The Cambridge Homeless Court’
WGBH’s Isaiah Thompson has an interesting story about how Cambridge District Court First Justice Roanne Sragow has transformed the First Parish church in Cambridge — normally home to a Unitarian Universalist congregation — into a once-a-month courtroom handling legal cases related to the homeless or those struggling with homelessness.
Sunday public affairs TV: David Paleologos, Arline Isaacson and more
Keller at Large, WBZ-TV Channel 4, 8:30 a.m. This week’s guest: David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, who talks with host Jon Keller about the latest Suffolk/Globe poll on education funding, the presidential race and other issues.
This Week in Business, NECN 10 a.m. Shirley Leung of the Boston Globe and Doug Banks of the Boston Business Journal share their thoughts on plans for the merger between Raytheon and United Technologies, recent MBTA train derailments and the Encore Boston Harbor casino opening.
CEO Corner, NECN, 10:30 a.m. Grillo’s Pickles CEO Travis Grillo tells how he went from selling fresh pickles from a push cart on Boston Common to selling millions worth of pickles at grocery stores all over the country.
On The Record, WCVB-TV Channel 5, 11 a.m. This week’s guest: Arline Isaacson, the co-chair of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus, talks with hosts Janet Wu and Emily Riemer, followed by a discussion with Democratic political analyst Mary Anne Marsh and Republican political analyst Patrick Griffin.
This is New England, NBC Boston, Channel 10, 11:30 a.m. With host Latoyia Edwards, this week’s topic: A discussion, via the Family Nurturing Center, on how a father’s job is to teach children to be confident, independent and caring, among other topics.
CityLine, WCVB-TV Channel 5, 12 p.m. With host Karen Holmes Ward, this week’s topic: BAMS (Boston Art and Music Soul) Festival.
Boston College Chief Executives Club, NECN, 1 p.m. Phebe Novakovic, the chairman and CEO of General Dynamics, talks with Tom Kennedy, chairman & CEO of Raytheon, at the Boston College Chief Executives Club event held earlier this week.
Massachusetts Food is Medicine State Plan Launch Event
The event, co-sponsored by Sen. Julian Cyr and Rep. Denise Garlick, will mark the release of the Massachusetts Food is Medicine State Plan, a two-year initiative to create a vision for fully integrating food and nutrition interventions into the state’s health care system.
Community Servings and the Center for Health Law & Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School
31st Annual Charitable Golf Tournament Benefiting Heading Home
Join us for NAIOP’s 31st Anniversary Golf Tournament at The International! If you haven’t played there yet, it is a golfer’s paradise that features two award-winning 18-hole golf courses, including The Pines, designed by Robert Trent Jones.
Author Talk and Book Signing with Christine M. DeLucia
History professor and author Christine M. DeLucia will speak about her recent book, Memory Lands: King Philip’s War and the Place of Violence in the Northeast.
State Library of Massachusetts
Launching Young Leaders: An Intensive Workshop
For CRE professionals with less than five years business experience.
Boston Unity Cup – Kick Off Party
Boston Unity Cup is a citywide World Cup style adult soccer tournament powered by the City of Boston and Mayor Walsh to bring together Boston’s diverse and immigrant communities around the shared passion for sport. Join us for a live viewing of the Women’s World Cup knockout round match (teams to be determined), meet the teams and event organizers, and learn more about the tournament weekend.
Suffrage Centennial Kick-Off Celebration
Kicking off a year of commemorations celebrating 100 years since the 19th Amendment was adopted in 1920, enabling women to vote.
The Women’s Suffrage Celebration Coalition of Massachusetts and The Greater Boston Women’s Vote
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Pot shop proposals popping up across Mattapan, Dorchester – Dorchester Reporter
Massachusetts
State approves two new early college programs in central Mass. – Telegram & Gazette
Nantucket ZBA approves 60-unit Surfside Crossing 40B – Nantucket Inquirer-Mirror
Nation
With comments, Trump smashed months of FBI work to thwart election interference – Politico
New York bans religious exemptions from vaccinations – New York Times
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