Happening Today
Congestion confab, Lottery Commission, more
— Gov. Charlie Baker will play host to the National Governors Association’s Infrastructure Stakeholder Summit. Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will attend to discuss the ubiquitous problem of traffic and congestion. Hogan, the chairman of the NGA, will speak at 8:45 a.m. to open the summit. The governor will also take part in several panel discussions and other events during the day, as will Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. Fairmont Copley Plaza, 138 St. James Ave., Boston, 8:30 a.m.
— Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan speaks to members of the EDCO Collaborative, a group of 16 school districts, about substance misuse and the role schools can play to help students and families. 36 Middlesex Tpk., Bedford. 9 a.m.
— Treasurer Deb Goldberg chairs a meeting of the Lottery Commission with consulting services contracts and other items on the agenda. 1 Ashburton Place, 12th Floor, Crane conference room, Boston, 10:30 a.m.
— Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner John Lebeaux announces the winners of the 35th Annual Massachusetts Tomato Contest. The Kitchen, Boston Public Market, 100 Hanover St., Boston, 11 a.m.
— The Mass. Cultural Council will meet to discuss grant allocations for fiscal year 2020. The meeting will be followed by a public reception at 3 p.m., which Sen. Eric Lesser and other public officials are expected to attend. Springfield Community Music School, 127 State St., Springfield, 12 p.m.
— Gov. Charlie Baker will host several fellow governors for a tour of the Rose Kennedy Greenway and other legacies of the Big Dig. Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston, 1 p.m.
— Housing and Economic Development Deputy Secretary Tim McGourthy will co-chair at meeting of the Seaport Economic Council. Town Hall, 732 Main St., Harwich, 2 p.m.
Today’s Stories
All tied up: Poll says Democratic race a three-way deadlock
No more frontrunner? A new Monmouth University poll says former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead in the Democratic primary has evaporated, with progressive senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders now enjoying about the same level of support as Biden, Steven Shephard reports at Politico. Noting that Biden shed 12 percent support in just a month, the pollster behind the latest survey says his main takeaway is the race has officially transitioned from stable to volatile. In other words, there’s a long way to go.
The poll may yet prove to be an outlier, but Warren’s apparent surge is drawing all kinds of national attention. Citing her growing rally-crowd sizes, Chris Cilizza of CNN writes that Warren is on “a major roll” and the Washington Post’s theater critic breaks down Warren’s stage presence at a recent rally and finds her cutting a “Shakespearian figure.”
Baby steps? Kennedy forms campaign committee, confirms run on table
He’s not exactly running–yet. But U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III is definitely stretching out and getting ready just in case. Kennedy ended weeks of silence on his future political intentions on Monday, acknowledging what everyone has known for some time: That he’s seriously considering a primary challenge to Sen. Ed Markey.
Joshua Miller of the Globe reports Kennedy took to Facebook to acknowledge the obvious and took the more concrete step of forming a fundraising committee, all of its seemingly in response to Markey’s own moves to protect his flanks, including rolling out endorsements from fellow Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others.
Shira Schoenberg of MassLive has more on Kennedy’s thought process and when a decision may come while the Globe’s Jazmine Ulloa previews what is likely to be Markey’s re-election message, which includes a heavy dose of the Green New Deal.
Also: CommonWealth’s Andy Metzger reports that U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley steered all the way around questions about a Kennedy-Markey showdown while Herald columnist Joe Battenfeld wonders if Kennedy is aware he’s bigfooting a whole slate of Democrats who also want to move up the political ladder.
Feds look to remove protections for immigrants seeking medical care
Federal immigration officials are warning foreign-born patients in the U.S. to receive medical treatment that their deferred immigration status is expiring and that they could face deportation proceedings if they fail to leave the country within about a month, Steph Solis reports at MassLive. Immigration officials sought to sound the alarm over the change in federal policy to remove deferred action status for the medical care, while some parents say their children will likely die without the specialized care they receive in Boston and other medical hubs.
Shannon Dooling of WBUR and Michael Levenson of the Globe have more on the policy shift and what it means for families.
Chasm between Baker, state GOP grows as lucrative fund-raising operation is dismantled
The ongoing rift between Gov. Charlie Baker and the Mass. Republican Party has apparently led to the collapse of what was a highly lucrative fundraising mechanism, Matt Stout reports in the Globe. Since conservative and Trump backer Jim Lyons was elevated to GOP party chair, the Massachusetts Victory Committee has all but gone silent, after raising $11 million in the five years after it was launched in 2013.
Business groups battle new transport tax threat
State business leaders delivered a “one-two punch” against Raise Up Massachusetts’s campaign to make companies foot the bill for a badly needed public transit overhaul with a new corporate excise tax, Colin Young reports via State House News Service. The Massachusetts Technology Council decried the advocacy group’s campaign in a public policy newsletter sent out to members on Sunday, followed on Monday by an open letter from Associated Industries of Massachusetts President and CEO John Regan, which blasted the group’s proposal in no uncertain terms.
State House News Service (paywall)
Boston Calling verdict defended by unlikely media duo
Like it or love it, the conviction of two top Walsh Administration officials on conspiracy to commit extortion for forcing a music festival to hire union workers has certainly been a game changer, and now it’s making for some very strange bedfellows, Michael Jonas reports at CommonWealth Magazine. The editorial boards of The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald both took aim at a statement by Boston City Council member, which blasted the verdict as a glaring prosecutorial overstretch.
Springfield’s growing marijuana biz ambitions
They want more. Some Springfield officials worry they are in danger of losing out on a chance to capture additional revenue from the cultivation side of the cannabis business and are pushing a plan to expand the parts of the city zoned for the use, Peter Goonan reports at MassLive. Supporters say the change is needed to clear the way for a plan to convert a shuttered Macy’s at the Eastfield Mall into a cultivation facility.
With Moulton’s departure, will any Democrats talk foreign policy?
David Bernstein of WGBH tries to tease out what the failure of Seth Moutlon’s presidential campaign to catch fire means for the foreign policy and national security concerns about Democrats writ large, arguing that the topics Moulton tried to elevate still get scant mention on the campaign trail.
Hampshire College welcomes back more students than projected
Things might just be getting better at Hampshire College. The Amherst school says it has retained more students than it expected heading into the fall semester, Dusty Christensen reports in the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Hampshire now expects as many as 750 students to be enrolled, compared to a projection of 600 to 650 and hopes to admit a full class next fall.
In Fall River, pot politics take another twist
Now it’s the mayor leveling the conflict charges. Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia vetoed a City Council-approved cap on the number of pot-related business licenses available and said one of his reasons for doing so was the potential conflict-of-interest involving one councilor, Jo C. Goode reports in the Herald News. Councilor Shawn Cadime, who is also town administrator in nearby Seekonk and Correia, reportedly creates at least the appearance of conflict. It’s an ironic charge given that Correia himself has taken flack for approving two host community agreements to operate pot shops that would be run by his girlfriend’s brother.
Is Brockton blaze a sign of things to come?
Just how heated is the Brockton mayoral election going to get? If Monday is any indication, hold onto your hats–and fire extinguishers. The fire department says it found one of the candidate’s signs on fire in a supporter’s front yard early Monday, Marc Larocque reports in the Enterprise, and the candidate–current Councilor At-large Jean Bradley Derenoncourt–says it’s not the first time one of his signs has been vandalized.
Welcome governors. Now, please stay off the roads…
As Charlie Baker welcomes fellow governors to the Bay State this week, a meeting that begins today, Baker and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan write in the Globe that state-level investment in infrastructure is more important than ever, a shot at the federal government’s inability to pass a large-scale infrastructure package. The two governors also tout the value of public-private partnerships. One thing for sure: We think they picked a pretty good backdrop against which to discuss this particular issue.
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
Boston only has 7 statues representing women. On Monday, that changed – Boston Globe
1,000 UMass Boston students get big T discount – CommonWealth Magazine
Massachusetts
Three plastic bans on warrant for Rockport town meeting – Gloucester Times
Crime and road conditions at center of Pittsfield mayoral forum – Berkshire Eagle
Yankee Candle moves jobs to Philippines, other sites – Daily Hampshire Gazette
Nation
Trump promotes his Doral Miami resort for next G7 – Politico
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