Happening Today
Hynes-sale proposal, Senate in session, and more
— Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Board meets with an agenda that includes Gov. Baker’s plan to expand the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and partly funding it through the sale of the Hynes Convention Center, BCEC, Boardroom 201, 10 a.m.
— Supporters of the 2006 law authorizing tax incentives to lure film productions to Massachusetts gather to recommend that the law’s 2022 sunset clause be eliminated, Room 428, 10:30 a.m.
— Gov. Charlie Baker appears on the semi-regular ‘Ask the Governor’ radio segment with Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, WGBH-FM 89.7, 11 a.m.
— Attorney General Maura Healey is a guest on ‘Boston Public Radio,’ WGBH-FM 89.7, 12:30 p.m.
— The Massachusetts Senate holds a formal session, its first since July 31, Senate Chamber, 1 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
He’s going for it: Kennedy will challenge Markey
The suspense is over. From the Globe’s Victoria McGrane: “Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, the last member of the Democratic dynasty serving in Washington, plans to formally announce Saturday that he is launching a primary challenge to Senator Edward J. Markey, an audacious political move that could open fissures within the Democratic Party and reshape the Massachusetts political landscape.”
The Washington Post and the New York Times have more on what will be one of the most closely watched primary races in the nation over the next year. Locally, the race to fill Kennedy’s House seat is going to be closely watched too, needless to say.
Things are getting testy at the Governor’s Council
At what’s being called a ‘raucous’ Governor’s Council meeting yesterday, some council members made it clear they weren’t happy with recent clerk-magistrate nominations politically tied to Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito – nor Polito’s handling of a recent vote as chair of the council. The Herald’s Mary Markos and SHNS Colin Young (pay wall) have the details on the meeting that apparently included more than a little finger pointing and desk pounding.
Collateral damage: Baker’s ‘War on Wait Times’ took precedence over RMV safety matters
File under ‘Law of unintended consequences’ or ‘collateral damage,’ or whatever, for it sure looks like the Baker administration’s focus on the “War on Wait Times” at the RMV may have diverted attention and resources away from things like, oh, keeping track of driver’s licenses that should have been suspended. The Globe’s Matt Stout has the details on what may, or may not have, led to current the RMV records-keeping scandal.
‘The Warren Paradox’: She wants to help working class, but they don’t want to help her
In a NYT opinion piece, Paul Starobin, a journalist on the Cape, recounts his visit to Rockland to try to better understand what he calls the “Warren Paradox,” i.e. Elizabeth Warren’s attempts to court white working class voters who mostly seem uninterested in her overtures. There’s a clear class divide here – and it could hurt Warren down the road, Starobin writes.
No reply: Calls to Cape suicide hotline go unanswered
This is disturbing. Calls to the suicide prevention hotline numbers posted on the bridges to Cape Cod are going unanswered due to a lack of volunteers at the Samaritans and some lawmakers want action to be taken, Cynthia McCormick reports at the Cape Cod Times. One woman says she tried to call the hotline only to have it disconnect after ringing for a while and reporters got similar results when they dialed the numbers.
Markey and Healey: Trump’s emissions move in California is an ‘attack’ on Massachusetts too
It’s our version of a NATO pact. From Barbara Moran at WBUR: “Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and U.S. Sen. Edward Markey are protesting the Trump administration’s plan plan to revoke an Obama-era waiver allowing California to set its own standards for automobile fuel economy and emissions. … ‘An attack on California’s waiver is an attack on all of the 150 million of us currently living with, and benefiting from, the California standards,’ said Markey.”
The Sackler family’s ‘special protection’ plan
Speaking of Attorney General Maura Healey, we’re sure her office has noticed this one, following what now looks like a wise decision to stay clear of the recent Purdue Pharma settlement. From the Washington Post: “Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan includes special protection for the Sackler family fortune.”
They’re still brawling at Encore Boston
Last month’s melee. Now this, via CBS Boston: “The State Police Gaming Enforcement unit and Everett Police arrested nine people over the weekend at the Encore Boston Harbor casino. Some of the charges are serious and include, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and drug possession.”
Correia’s November opponent warns voters against complacency
A cakewalk? Far from it. Paul Coogan, who finished well ahead of indicted Fall River Mayor Jasiel Corriea in Tuesday’s preliminary election, is warning that there remains work to be done to ensure Correia is ousted in November, Jo C. Goode, Amanda Burke at Peter Jasinski report at the Herald-News.
Meanwhile, the Fall River city council is still trying to oust Correia from office, election or no election, reports Tori Bedford at WGBH. And just in case you can’t get enough of the Correia story, both the Herald’s Jessica Heslam and the Globe’s Kevin Cullen have columns on Correia’s uncanny ability to retain followers despite multiple indictments.
Preliminary elections leftover: Rep. Brodeur advances in Melrose mayoral race
Speaking of Tuesday’s preliminary election results, we missed this one yesterday, via SHNS’s Chris Lisinski (pay wall): “Rep. Paul Brodeur cleared a hurdle toward becoming mayor of Melrose after he topped the five-person ballot in Tuesday’s preliminary election, but he could be in for a battle in November.”
Flexing their out-of-state muscle: Massachusetts GOP rips U.S. Reps. Omar and Tlaib
Maybe this is part of their recently touted plan to win 24 legislative seats in Massachusetts, by attacking two congresswomen from Minnesota and Michigan? Anyway, Andy Metzger at CommonWealth magazine reports that the Massachusetts Republican Party has passed a resolution “officially condemning Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for alleged anti-Semitism.”
Gov. Charlie Baker, a moderate Republican who has warred with conservative factions within the state party, apparently wasn’t consulted about the resolution.
‘BPS limbo’: Even Wu’s son gets the bureaucratic treatment in school assignments
The Globe’s James Vaznis reports that City Councilor Michelle Wu’s own son has gotten the school-assignment runaround from the BPS bureaucracy, forcing her to bring her son to City Hall yesterday and venting her frustration via a “BPS limbo” tweet. Well, at least the incident shows Wu didn’t request, and didn’t get, a choice political-favoritism assignment.
Btw: The Globe’s Meghan Irons has another school-related piece on how school counselors, particularly those in non-suburban schools, are overwhelmed these days with ever more duties.
All in the family: Candidate spends thousands on wife’s political marketing firm
From the Herald’s Sean Philip Cotter: “City Council candidate Alejandra St. Guillen’s campaign has paid more than $15,000 of the money she’s raised to her own wife’s highly connected political marketing company — a legal act but one critics say funnels political donations into her own household. Of the $141,201 St. Guillen has raised in her campaign for an at-large city council seat, she has paid $15,655 to Archipelago Strategies Group.”
Speaking of campaign spending, from SHNS’s Katie Lannan (pay wall): “Inspired by a similar policy in place for members of Congress, a western Massachusetts lawmaker’s bill would prohibit elected officials in the state from using public or campaign funds to pay settlements or fines in sexual assault or harassment cases.
State and city eye new vaping restrictions amid mysterious illnesses
WBUR’s Deborah Becker and the Globe’s Matt Stout report that city and state leaders are now eyeing tougher regulations on vaping and flavored tobacco productd, amid increasing concerns about vaping-related illnesses. Meanwhile, Shira Schoenberg at MassLive has an interesting story about how a Massachusetts laboratory believes it’s “developed a way to test for an additive thought to be tied to the illnesses.”
Nowhere to go but up: Poll puts Weld atop pack of would-be GOP Trump challengers
A new poll says former Gov. William Weld is the choice of a whopping 5 percent of Republican voters heading into the 2020 GOP presidential primary, the best showing among the three challengers now in the race, Rachel Frazin reports at The Hill. But President Trump remains the odds-on-favorite to win the nomination — with the support of 86 percent of the Republicans polled.
Female MIT faculty members confront president over Epstein debacle
It’s not quite a Larry Summers moment. But the Globe’s Deirdre Fernandes is reporting that “more than 60 of MIT’s leading female faculty members raised alarms about the university’s ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in a letter Wednesday, and several later questioned the school’s commitment to women academics in a tense meeting with president L. Rafael Reif.” The latter is profusely apologizing again.
Docs: Immigrants are skipping medical care to avoid deportation
From Steph Solis at MassLive: “As lawmakers consider a bill that would limit cooperation between police and federal immigration agents, a panel of doctors and advocates told lawmakers that more patients are shying away from medical care and domestic violence complaints because they lack legal status and fear deportation.”
No hard feelings? Pelosi taps Moulton for conference committee
She’s over it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has named U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton to serve on the conference committee that will hash out a new military spending plan, a sign she is willing to forgive — or at least overlook– his past efforts to oust her from the speaker’s chair, reports Thomas Grillo at the Lynn Item.
‘Statewide women’s rights history trail’
Fellow incurable history buffs, take note. From Sarah Betancourt at CommonWealth magazine: “Reps. Hannah Kane, a Shrewsbury Republican, and Carolyn Dykema, a Democrat from Holliston, are pushing a bill that would create a statewide women’s rights history trail, with a specific focus on the suffrage movement. The plan is to include monuments or landmarks that already exist, along with additional ones proposed by municipalities. The bill won initial approval unanimously in the House on Wednesday.”
Boston Trade Compliance & Policy Seminar 2019
International trade regulations change constantly—old rules are updated and new regulations are added every day. Attend one of the full-day seminars in a location close to you to stay up to date on the latest information. Learn about changing international trade regulations with industry experts—C.H. Robinson’s Kevin Doucette and Jeff Simpson—who are passionate about the subject.
Boston Speakers Series: John Kerry
Kerry served as United States Secretary of State during President Barack Obama’s second term. He represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for nearly thirty years, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 2004.
12th Annual Public Performance Conference
This year’s National Center for Public Performance (NCPP) Public Performance Conference marks the 12th year the nation’s top government and nonprofit performance professionals and academics will convene to emphasize the use of data to improve efficiency and efficacy of public services.
ADL’s Breaking Barriers Speaker Series Presents: Survivor’s Club with Michael & Debbie Bornstein
ADL’s Breaking Barriers Speaker Series presents: Survivors Club with Michael and Debbie Bornstein. Please join us on Thursday, September 26, 2019 to hear from Michael Bornstein, one of the youngest survivors of the Auschwitz death camp, and his daughter Debbie Bornstein, co-author of Survivors Club. Register by Wednesday, September 25: www.adl.org/breakingbarriers2019
Starr Forum: Iran Reframed
A discussion about the evolution of the Islamic Republic and its reaction to President Trump’s Iran strategy
MIT Center for International Studies (CIS)
Boston Speakers Series: John Kerry
Kerry served as United States Secretary of State during President Barack Obama’s second term. He represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for nearly thirty years, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 2004.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Council candidate has spent thousands on wife’s marketing firm – Boston Herald
More than 60 of MIT’s leading female faculty confront president over Epstein – Boston Globe
Massachusetts
New Bedford candidates discuss who’s getting money from cannabis businesses – Standard-Times
Officials lay out proposal to create more affordable housing in Adams – Berkshire Eagle
Nation
‘The ground is shifting’: Arizona emerges as a 2020 trouble spot for Trump – Politico
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