Happening Today
Abortion rights rally, supervised-injection legislation, and more
— The Supreme Judicial Court hears oral arguments in six cases., John Adams Courthouse, Courtroom One, Second Floor, Pemberton Square, Boston, 9 a.m.
— The Massachusetts Appeals Court will hold a special sitting at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as part of the court’s outreach program, with the three-judge panel hearing oral arguments on six appeals, all open to the public, Campus Center, Room 163C, 1 Campus Center Way, Amherst, 9:30 a.m.
— Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will lead a rally of mayors in support of “Roe Act” to expand access to abortion, with Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera, Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer, Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern and Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday also attending, State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston, 10 a.m.
— Lawmakers convene a hearing on the push for supervised consumption sites, where individuals could use illegal drugs under medical supervision and without threat of arrest, under state laws, to avoid overdoses, Gardner Auditorium, 10 a.m.
— Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight holds a hearing on a number of bills, including legislation to ensure gender parity on public boards and commissions, hearing Room B-1, 1 p.m.
— U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton holds press conference to introduce legislation in response to the New Hampshire crash this summer that killed seven members of motorcycle club, sidewalk in front of the Registry of Motor Vehicles Service Center, 8 Newbury St., Danvers Crossing Plaza, Danvers, 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
Silence of the Lawmakers: Why are scandal-ridden State Police getting a bye on Beacon Hill?
As the Globe headline on Matt Rocheleau’s story suggests, file this one under: “Crickets,” as in it’s pretty damn quiet on Beacon Hill regarding the scandal-plagued State Police, whose union clout and influence seem to have silenced and paralyzed legislators who normally jump at the opportunity to display righteous indignation.
Shop owners sue over vaping ban while lung-injury reports spike
As more vape shops turn to the courts to try to overturn Gov. Charlie Baker’s four-month ban on all vaping-product sales in Massachusetts, the state Department of Public Health says that five new vaping illnesses have been reported in the commonwealth. Christian Wade at the Gloucester Times has the lawsuit angle, while the Herald’s Mary Markos and SHNS’s Matt Murphy (pay wall) have the new illnesses covered.
Fyi: They’re getting closer to pinpointing the causes of the mysterious illnesses tied to vaping, but they’re not quite there yet. From a report at WBUR: “Many vaping illnesses linked to black market ‘dank vapes’ or other THC products.”
Two-track race? Hinds drops support of Great Barrington horse racing bill
Is the field winnowing? State Sen. Adam Hinds is telling supporters he has pulled his sponsorship of a bill that would allow the operators of the now-shuttered Suffolk Downs to bring live racing and off-track betting to the Great Barrington fairgrounds, Heather Bellow reports at the Berkshire Eagle. The move comes amid growing opposition to the move and demands from local officials to have some say on whether racing returns.
‘Trump’s Windmill Hatred’
Maybe this explains the Trump administration’s somewhat mysterious delays in approving the Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts? To wit: The president’s reported hatred of wind mills. “They say the noise causes cancer,” Trump reportedly told a Republican crowd earlier this year. The Associated Press has the details on “Trump’s wind hatred” at Banker & Tradesman – and how a lot of other wind projects are getting delayed.
Warren: She isn’t surging everywhere (yet)
This is not a terrible problem to have, i.e. struggling in South Carolina while surging just about everywhere else. The Globe’s Laura Krantz reports on the challenges U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is facing in South Carolina’s presidential primary race, even as Warren soars in polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
Btw: The NYT’s Paul Krugman has a column on why he thinks Wall Street plutocrats despise Warren. It’s about disrespect. We had no idea the Nobel Prize winner in economics could also read collective minds, but there you go. Still, he’s probably right.
Baker: It’s ‘only fair’ that state employees also pay new tax
The state’s new family-leave payroll tax takes effect today, and the Globe’s Katie Johnston provides a summary of the six things you need to know about the new deductions from your paychecks. Here’s one thing that Gov. Charlie Baker wants public unions to know: It’s “only fair” that their members also pay the tax. SHNS’s Chris Lisinski (pay wall) has more.
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
The epic Cape battle over Hopper House views is over
Bob Seay at WGBH reports that the 11-year-old legal battle over a rich couple’s controversial construction of a sprawling modern abode adjacent to the summer home of American painter Edward Hopper is finally over. Or so they say. Seay has the details on the epic fight over a home that was only recently occupied after sitting empty for a very long time.
Moulton’s radical proposal: Interstate cooperation and coordination on driving records
Gov. Charlie Baker has suggested roughly the same thing, so we have some bipartisan support building here (for a change). From the Globe’s Jeremy Fox: “In the wake of a June crash that killed seven motorcyclists and exposed the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles’ failure to process thousands of out-of-state violations, US Representative Seth Moulton is proposing a bill that would support better collection and interstate sharing of driver data.”
Raisins in potato salad? It’s civil war!
Speaking of radical proposals: If you’re depressed by today’s seemingly non-stop divisive political rhetoric – the latest being President Trump’s warning of civil war if he’s impeached and thrown out of office – take heart: There are still people who can make you smile. The Washington Post reports on the reactions of historians and others to Trump’s civil-war outburst, including this dire warning from Maxine Waters: “Pro tip: when the civil war breaks out do NOT join the side that puts raisins in potato salad.”
Raisins in potato salad? We know which side we’ll be on. Do you?
Round 2: Galvin vs. Chamber over broker-dealer rules
The Globe’s Jon Chesto reports that the dispute over Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s new broker-dealers regulations has entered a new phase, as the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce tries to rally the public against Galvin’s “fiduciary standard” requirement that the chamber says will drive up investor costs and discourage savings.
In Lawrence, crowds flood Columbia Gas claims center amid anger over new leak
Scores of Lawrence residents overwhelmed a temporary claims center established by Columbia Gas for residents impacted by last week’s gas leak and related evacuations, Bill Kirk reports at the Eagle-Tribune. Some residents reported being in line for hours and didn’t hold back in expressing their frustration over the leak.
Meanwhile, the Eagle Tribune also reports that city and the utility are feuding over who was responsible for the most recent incident, with Mayor Dan Rivera saying the utility bears the blame, while Columbia Gas says its shares responsibility with city public works crews who disturbed a gas main.
Endangered species alert: Boston dive bars
There’s a disturbing trend underway regarding critical area watering holes. First, Doyle’s pub announced it’s closing. Now, in rapid-fire succession, we learn Courtside in East Cambridge is apparently closing (Boston Restaurant Talk) and the Beacon Hill Pub, perhaps the divest of dive bars around, is being converted into a high-end restaurant (Beacon Hill Times). Both the Courtside and Beacon Hill Pub items via Universal Hub.
Update: Climate activists still furious at Kennedy for challenging Markey
The Globe’s Victoria McGrane has an update on the relationship between climate-change activists and U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III: They’re still mad at him for challenging U.S. Sen. Ed Markey. We’re talking really mad.
Mark it down in your calendar. Or maybe not
Speaking of the coming Ed Markey-vs-Joseph Kennedy primary showdown, there’s a small problem in the scheduling: No one’s quite sure when the primary election will be held next September. SHNS’s Michael Norton tries to find an answer to the, as of yet, unknowable.
Franklin Institute moving to Dudley Square
The South End’s loss is Dudley Square’s gain. From the BBJ’s Catherine Carlock: “The Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology has decided to move from its 111-year-old home in Boston’s South End to Roxbury’s Dudley Square. The institute has acquired its new site at 1011 Harrison Ave. in Roxbury’s Dudley Square neighborhood for $6 million, and plans to open an 85,000-square-foot campus there by fall 2021. The site, formerly the home to Harrison Supply Co., is located off Melnea Cass Boulevard.”
UMass Medical School to build $75M VA outpatient clinic in Worcester
Melissa Hanson at MassLive reports that Worcester’s UMass Medical School is planning to build a new state-of-the-art, $75 million outpatient facility for veterans, on behalf of the Veterans Administration, which plans to lease two floors of the future complex starting early next decade.
All politics are local: Baker backs mayoral candidates in Melrose and Amesbury
SHNS’s Katie Lannan reports that Gov. Charlie Baker is out there helping mayoral candidates in Melrose and Amesbury, i.e. Melrose Alderman Monica Mederiros and Amesbury Mayor Ken Gray. File under: Helping hand.
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
It’s possible: Heroux won’t quite rule out run for Congress
He’s leaving the door open just a crack. Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux says it’s “highly unlikely” he’ll stage a run for the Congressional seat being vacated by Joe Kennedy III, but stopped short of ruling it out completely, Jim Hand reports at the Sun Chronicle. Heroux, who served as a state representative before being elected mayor, has expressed interest in serving in Washington in the past but now says he’s focused on his campaign for re-election.
Meanwhile, Globe columnist thinks he’s found the perfect candidate for Kennedy’s seat
The Globe’s Kevin Cullen thinks he’s found a perfect candidate to run for Joseph Kennedy’s congressional seat, assuming he decides to run: Jake Auchincloss, perhaps the ‘future of real, decent politics.’ Cullen explains why.
Legacy enhanced: Scholarships will reward future teachers who return to Brockton
This sounds like a win-win. Bridgewater State University says it will offer a tuition-free education to two Brockton seniors who promise to return to the city as teachers, Corlyn Voorhees reports at the Enterprise. The scholarships were established in the name of late Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter, who died in July.
Cocktails and Public Policy: On Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, and Ethics
This event explores the ways artificial intelligence affects human life, and the emerging ethics and human rights-related questions. Please see website for full speaker bios and info.
Harvard Kennedy School New England Alumni Association
Author Talk and Book Signing with Edwin Hill
Mystery writer Edwin Hill will speak at the State Library about his new psychological thriller, The Missing Ones. To register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SLM-Edwin-Hill
State Library of Massachusetts
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)
In Pursuit of Equity, Accountability and Success: Latinx Students in MA
In Pursuit of Equity, Accountability and Success (PEAS) seeks to unite multiple systems and sectors around community, policy, and practitioner-centered solutions to addressing the current system of unequal outcomes in educational attainment and institutional treatment. There will be 10 workshops and we will have three dynamic speakers.
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.
Discussion: Building Urgency and Political Will
There are many policy solutions that could have impact, but their viability is challenged by the lack of urgency and broad political will that is needed to get municipal leaders to lead on a crisis that their constituents may not currently feel.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Suffolk U. pitches up to 280 student beds at Ames Hotel – Boston Business Journal
Lynn’s high schools could soon offer birth control, condoms – Lynn Item
Massachusetts
Brockton pantry funds 18,000 meals through social media campaign – Brockton Enterprise
Worcester schools lose momentum on improving attendance – Telegram & Gazette
Tall building guidelines up for debate in Beverly – Salem News
Nation
Trump may have lied to Mueller, Democrats say – Politico
Democrats’ plans to tax wealth would reshape US economy – New York Times
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