Happening Today
Moulton Town Hall, Dig Safe hearing, Goldberg cuts ribbon, more
— U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton will hold a veterans town hall in Fairfax, Virginia to mark the re-launch of his Serve America PAC, which helps elect military veterans to Congress. Fairfax Regional Library, 10360 North St., Fairfax, VA, 10 a.m.
— The Department of Public Utilities holds an evidentiary hearing on the petition of Blackstone Gas Company for review and approval of its Long-Range Forecast and Resource Plan for the five-year period 2018-2023. 1 South Station, 5th Floor, Hearing Room C, Boston. 10 a.m.
— The Department of Public Utilities will also hold a separate public hearing on possible amendments to how it determines and enforces violation of the state’s Dig Safe law. 1 South Station, 5th Floor, Hearing Room A, Boston. 10 a.m.
— State Treasurer Deb Goldberg helps cut the ribbon on the new Stoughton High School. 232 Pearl St., Stoughton. 10:30 a.m.
— U.S. Sen. Edward Markey will be among those attending a press conference sponsored by the Irish International Immigrant Center protesting the end of medical deferred action, which allows the families of severely ill children to stay in the U.S. to seek treatment. One State St., Boston, 12 p.m.
— U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley will host a conversation for members of the media on housing equity and affordability. 6 p.m.
Today’s Stories
David Ortiz hires former BPD head to look into his shooting
He’s not buying it either. Red Sox legend David Ortiz has hired former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis to run an independent investigation into the circumstances that led to his shooting in the Dominican Republican in June, Bob Hohler and Aimee Ortiz report in the Globe. Seems Ortiz is just as skeptical as the rest of us about the Dominican government’s constantly evolving explanations for the shooting.
That news came after the Globe reported over the weekend that the man who is the face of the Dominican Republic’s official government investigation into the Ortiz shooting also happens to be on the payroll of Major League Baseball.
And it comes as Ortiz starts to inch his way back into public life, sharing photos over the weekend as his dropped his daughter at college, CBS Boston reports.
See ya, Seth: Moulton bows out
He’s not running, anymore. Stuck at the bottom of the polls and facing another debate shutout, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton exited the 2020 Democratic presidential scramble on Friday, saying he’ll remain active in national politics while focusing on winning reelection to Congress. Alexander Burns of the New York Times says Moulton’s parting shot was a warning about the leftward drift of the Democratic party.
Michael Levenson of the Globe reports on how Moulton’s timing could have been aimed at keeping potential challenges for his Congressional seat at bay. Shira Schoenberg of MassLive reports Moulton–who calls himself a close friend of Vice President Joe Biden–is not ready to endorse anyone just yet, while Ethan Forman of the Salem News reports on the potential challenges Moulton will face to win reelection.
Perhaps the ultimate irony for Moulton was that his departure from the race actually brought perhaps the most viral moment of his entire campaign, when President Trump lobbed a tweet wondering if Moulton’s dropout –and not the president’s own trade-war ranting–was the reason the stock market plunged on Friday, Brett Samuels of the Hill reports.
Warren cries foul on CFPB’s new student loan “watchdog”
No one calls out a fox in the chickencoop as bluntly–and, arguably, as effectively–as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is blasting the appointment of Robert Cameron to be the new student loan “watchdog” for the troubled Consumer Financial Protection Board. According to Cory Turner of NPR, Warren called Cameron’s appointment “an outrageous slap in the face to student loan borrowers across the country,” citing Cameron’s past work as an attorney for a Pennsylvania agency that drew scores of complaints and lawsuits for its handling of student debt.
Elsewhere on the Warren front, Rolling Stone’s Jamil Smith has some advice for the senator, writing the ‘plan for that’ candidate should carry her campaign zeitgeist to its logical end and release a very specific plan on how she would go about defeating Trump next November; Stephanie Saul of the New York Times traces Warren’s conversion from Republican to progressive Democrat; and Perry Bacon Jr. of FiveThirtyEight has a couple interesting Warren-related notes from the most recent batch of polls, including the fact that Warren appears to lead the Democratic pack in the state of Wisconsin.
Finally, on Sunday, Warren drew a massive crowd–15,000 people, her team tells The Hill’s Owen Daugherty, the largest crowd of the campaign to date–to a rally in Seattle. Wonder if–ahem, anyone–will notice a crowd that large?
Markey taps Walsh ahead of possible Kennedy challenge
He believes it. Sen. Edward Markey has named John E. Walsh, the former head of the state’s Democratic party, his top campaign aide, perhaps the clearest sign yet that a daunting primary challenge is coming from U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, Joshua Miller reports in the Globe. Walsh arrives as another politico, Paul Tencher, will wind down his work with Markey after being blasted for amplifying a harsh social media post telling Kennedy to focus on his family’s “considerable mental health issues.”
Elsewhere in the Globe, Victoria McGrane traces how Kennedy went from under-the-radar Congressman to high-profile possible senate candidate. Hint: It has to do with President Trump. And Christine Pagnano reports that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has not ruled out a run for the Senate should a seat become available.
Vineyard Wind: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again
So this is what optimism looks like. Vineyard Wind’s first off-shore wind proposal may be currently stuck in federal regulatory purgatory, but that doesn’t seem to be discoursing the wind power developer. On Friday, state officials fielded proposals for a second, off-shore wind project and Vineyard Wind was among three companies that fired off bids, Bruce Mohl of CommonWealth Magazine reports. The interest by Vineyard Wind, as well as Mayflower Wind Energy and Bay State Wind was welcome news for state officials. Some feared the loss of a federal tax credit, combined state rules requiring a lower bid than one second off-shore wind project than the first, would cripple interest.
New round of school construction sticker shock
First it was grade inflation, now this. The Globe’s John Laidler reports that just over a decade after the new Newton North High School made headlines with its nearly $200 million price tags, a slate of new school projects are shattering those old records. A new Lowell High is expected to cost at least $343 million and a new high school in Waltham could be pushing $400 million when all is said it done. So maybe the only question left is which town will build the first half-billion-dollar school?
Orange Line blaze is the latest T black eye
Yes, another one. A fire on the MBTA’s Orange Line disrupted service for thousands of commuters Friday afternoon on both the T and commuter rail, prompting nearly immediate calls from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and others for quicker action to address the system’s problems, Megan O’Brien reports via Boston.com.
CommonWealth Magazine’s Andy Metzger reports the fire on or near the tracks forced the evacuation of two Orange Line cars, forcing some passengers to walk along the tracks near the third rail. It also came at the end of a week that saw two pedestrians killed after being struck by commuter rail trains.
Weld gets more company in GOP primary
Welcome to the party. Former Gov. William Weld says he’s glad to see former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh join him in challenging President Trump for the GOP nomination. Weld tells Jon Keller of CBS Boston that he welcomes the company in the race and is hopeful the networks will broadcast debates, even though Trump is likely to try to stay above the fray.
A year in the life: MGM marks history-making anniversary
Casinos are so cute at this age. MGM Springfield turned one over the weekend and the state’s first resort casino threw itself a party fitting for the occasion, complete with multiple Aerosmith performances and the debut of a new “stadium gaming” area in the casino, Dave Canton reports via MassLive.
The anniversary comes with mixed results for the state’s first resort casino, which missed revenue forecasts and laid off workers even before Encore Boston opened for business, the Associated Press reports via the Herald.
Elsewhere, Ryan Trowbridge and Audrey Russo of Western Mass News update the status of non-gambling development going up around the casino at the one-year point while Peter Goonan of MassLive reports the casino has pumped millions into city coffers as expected–but that hasn’t stopped local property taxes from climbing all the same.
Brockton cruiser involved in fatal pedestrian crash
Lots of questions still to be answered in Brockton, where a pedestrian died after being struck by a police cruiser apparently responding to a disturbance call on Friday night, Ben Berke reports in the Enterprise. The crash that claimed the life of 61-year-old Antonio Tavares happened on a dimly lit stretch of Main Street; the city’s mayor says the officer will be placed on leave pending an investigation.
RIP Gerard O’Neil, who helped form Spotlight team at Globe
The Boston journalism world lost a legend late last week, when Gerard M. O’Neill, a founding member of the Globe’s Spotlight Team who shared directly in one Pulitzer and helped set the stage for others, died at the age of 76, Bryan Marquand reports in the Globe. O’Neil struck fear in the heart of the corrupt from his post the Globe for 35 years and also penned “Black Mass,” the Whitey Bulger story that later became a Johnny Depp-led film and offered O’Neill a well-earned red-carpet moment.
Prison looms for man behind sick threats to Mass. professor
This goes well beyond trolling. A Massachusetts professor who has spoken out in favor of abortion rights wound up on the receiving end of some downright terrifying emails of a 29-year-old Rhode Island man, Scott Croteau of MassLive reports. Now, Matthew Haviland of North Kingstown, R.I. faces some serious prison time after pleading guilty to sending a spate of “violent and threatening emails” to the unnamed professor, including some with disturbingly specific threats about cannibalism.
State keeps shark researchers cooling heels offshore
Some of the nation’s top shark researchers have found themselves stuck miles off the coast of Nantucket, unable to get close enough to actually monitor the predators even as they continued to close beaches on the Cape and Islands on the last full weekend before Labor Day, Doug Fraser of the Cape Cod TImes reports. Despite having lined up 30 scientists from 19 institutions, the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries denied a permit to the Ocearch, raising concerns over fishing for sharks near beaches. Stuck four and a half miles off-shore, the Ocearch researchers, operating on a converted, 126-foot Alaskan crabber, have struggled to get a nibble. Ocearch had hoped to tag 17 sharks, but wound up with only one during the first two weeks.
Millbury officials say redactions in town manager separation deal are A-OK
Nothing to see here. The chairman of the Millbury Select Board says the town’s is not hiding any financial payouts to the town manager who will spend the next six months on paid leave, collecting $50,000 in the process, Susan Spencer reports in the Telegram.
MWPC Young Professionals Summer Soirée
The MWPC Young Professionals group provides young women with the skills and resources they need for professional and personal success and effective civic engagement. Join us for an evening of networking with like-minded people, meeting our endorsed candidates running for office, and learning about opportunities to help women get elected this fall.
Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus
Summer Series | Public Art Tour
Join MIT List Visual Arts Center on a public art tour showcasing highlights of east campus. This tour will begin with a short preview of the Student Lending Art Program exhibition, a unique and popular MIT tradition that allows MIT students borrow original works of art from the MIT List Visual Arts Center.
Authors@MIT | Jay Bolter: The Digital Plenitude
Please join the MIT Press Bookstore in welcoming author Jay David Bolter to discuss his book, The Digital Plenitude: The Decline of Elite Culture and the Rise of New Media.
Model UN Professional Development Workshop @ Democracy Center
Whether you’re an experienced MUN Advisor or brand new to Model UN, you’ll walk away from this workshop with time-saving tools, tactics, and strategies to help your students succeed in Model United Nations.
Best Delegate Model United Nations
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Old South Church observes the legacy of slavery – Boston Herald
Massachusetts
Taser used to subdue Worcester preacher at church – Telegram & Gazette
The river’s ‘booming’: Devices keep Merrimack cleaner, boost image – Eagle-Tribune
Potential neighbors raise a stink over pot-growing proposal for Great Barrington – Berkshire Eagle
Nation
Trump suggested nuking hurricanes to stop them from hitting US – Axios
Trump allies target journalists over coverage deemed hostile – New York Times
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