Happening Today
Healey on health care, T service cut opposition, and more
— Attorney General Maura Healey hosts a discussion of health equity priorities and summarizes recommendations contained in a new report on racial justice and equity in health,’ 11 a.m.
— Public health experts host a virtual press conference to urge the Senate to pass a measure providing all Massachusetts workers access to paid sick time if they are diagnosed with or quarantining due to COVID-19, 12:30 p.m.
— Massachusetts Health Policy Forum hosts Zoom event with Mollyann Brodie of the Kaiser Family Foundation, who will discuss national exit polling data from the presidential election, focusing on what voters think about the future of health care reform, 1 p.m.
— Reps. Joan Meschino and Patrick Kearney and Sen. Patrick O’Connor join leaders from Cohasset, Hingham, Hull and Scituate to promote the ‘Save the Greenbush-Save the Boat’ campaign against MBTA service cuts, 1:30 p.m.
For the most comprehensive listing of calendar items, check out State House News Service’s Daily Advances (pay wall – free trial subscriptions available), as well as MassterList’s Beacon Hill Town Square below.
Today’s Stories
Reminder to readers: SHNS Coronavirus Tracker available for free
A reminder to our readers as the coronavirus crisis unfolds: The paywalled State House News Service, which produces MASSterList, is making its full Coronavirus Tracker available to the community for free on a daily basis each morning via ML. SHNS Coronavirus Tracker.
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
The coronavirus numbers: 33 new deaths, 10,098 total deaths, 2,076 new cases
The Boston Herald has the latest coronavirus numbers for Massachusetts.
Breaking news: Cambridge’s Moderna reports COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5 percent effective
This just in, via the Globe’s Jonathan Saltzman: “Moderna said Monday that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was nearly 95 percent effective at preventing infections, in the first glimpse of data from its late-stage clinical trial. The Cambridge biotech said it hopes to seek emergency use for at least some people ‘in the coming weeks.’”
So it indeed looks like we may (repeat: may) have two vaccines relatively soon. And that partly explains why efforts are intensifying to determine who might get vaccines first in Massachusetts, reports the Globe’s Kay Lazar. And this only adds to the sense of anticipation, via the BBJ: “Covid vaccine manufacturer invests $150M in Mass. facility.”
State House outbreak: Three lawmakers test positive for virus, along with staffers
New vaccines couldn’t come soon enough for those at the State House, among others. The Herald’s Erin Tiernan and the Globe’s Abigail Feldman report that three lawmakers and three to four staffers have tested positive for COVID-19, with most of them having worked at the State House last week. Those testing positive haven’t been identified.
SHNS’s Chris Van Buskirk (paywall) reports that disinfecting crews were busy at work at the State House on Friday night.
Baker skips ’emergency’ coronavirus summit called by Cuomo
He says he’s already collaborating. From the Herald’s Erin Tiernan: “Gov. Charlie Baker skipped an emergency meeting with governors from the Northeast this weekend as states clamp down in an effort to get a lid on the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus and health experts predicted more stringent pandemic regulations would soon be necessary.”
As SHNS’s Michael Norton reports (pay wall), New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday called for the emergency summit meeting to hash out potential regional strategies to combat the coronavirus. We wonder if his call had something to do with this, via Asher Klein at NBC Boston: “Mass. to Require Quarantine for Travelers From NY, Washington State and DC.”
Flunking grades: Frustrated Baker takes shots at teacher unions over remote learning
Gov. Charlie Baker has made it clear he wants more in-person learning – and on WBZ’s Keller at Large on Sunday he took swipes at teacher unions for resisting in-person classes. “I wish at some point the unions would take a look at the science because the science at this point is pretty clear,” said Baker.
Faneuil Hall operator says tenants haven’t paid rent since April, so why is the city so upset?
This is a curious development: After the city of Boston last week threatened to evict Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. as overseer of Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Ashkenazy is countering that it’s behind on its city lease payments because Faneuil Hall merchant tenants haven’t paid rent since last April – rental relief the city has urged Ashkenazy to provide. And tenants are confirming they haven’t paid rent since April, reports Colman Herman at CommonWealth.
Kind of sheds new light on the controversy, doesn’t it?
BU to students: If you go home for Thanksgiving, don’t come back
Boston University has put its students in a terrible bind: choosing between a home-cooked turkey and all the stuffings on T-Day or staying on campus through the rest of the semester. Universal Hub has more on BU’s leave-and-don’t-come-back ultimatum.
Help not wanted: Why are Boston-area hotels suffering more than hotels elsewhere around the country?
The Globe’s Katie Jonnston reports that Boston-area hotels are suffering far more than hotels in other parts of the country, due to a number of factors, including the state’s tough spring lockdown and overreliance on luxury hotels serving corporate travelers. And thousands of area hotel workers, including those at Marriot Copley, are paying the price.
Coronavirus updates: Worcester field hospital, hospitals ready, DOC testing, couple fined over teen party
Obviously, a lot is going on amid the second coronavirus surge to hit Massachusetts, so we’ll just go with brief summaries and headlines in this post, starting with the Telegram’s Elaine Thompson, who reports on the state’s plan to build a new field hospital in Worcester’s DCU Center, as the city reels from a surge in virus cases. … Meanwhile, from MassLive: “Massachusetts couple fined $500 after police discovered teens partying at a home amid COVID pandemic.” …From the Globe: “Mass. hospitals better prepared for a second virus surge.” … From CommonWealth: “DOC ordering second round of universal COVID-19 testing for prisoners/Staff mandated system-wide testing for first time.” … From WBUR: “Survey Of Mass. Residents Ties Viral Surge To Increased Indoor Gatherings.”
It’s not over: Beacon Hill Dems may yet change Senate vacancy law
So it’s not over. SHNS’s Michael Norton reports that House Dems last week may have nixed a proposed budget amendment that would have stripped the governor of authority to appoint a temporary U.S. senator, should Elizabeth Warren vacate her seat to take a cabinet post in the Biden administration. But the House action doesn’t mean the idea is dead, says House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Aaron Michlewitz. It’s all a matter of timing, said Michlewitz, with no mention of him winking as he spoke.
SHNS (pay wall — free trial subscription available)
Pro-Trump protests and rumbles
No, we haven’t forgotten about last week’s presidential election and how one side, despite the facts, continues to insist their guy didn’t lose. There were a number of pro-Trump rallies across the state and nation over the weekend, including in Ludlow (MassLive), in Bourne and Boston, where there were skirmishes with counter-protesters (Herald), and in the nation’s capital, where there was also post-rally violence (Post).
South bound: Mass. progressives gearing up for Senate runoffs in Georgia
And there’s always another election. Bera Dunau at the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports grassroots voter-mobilization groups and local Democratic committees have already moved from celebrating Joe Biden’s presidential victory to focusing squarely on the two U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia that will decide which party controls the chamber — and the fate of Biden’s agenda.
Wampanoag chairman out after arrest on casino-related extortion charges
The other shoe just dropped. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has removed Chairman Cedric Cromwell from his role following his Friday arrest on federal extortion charges, Jessica Hill at the Cape Cod Times and Tanner Stening of MassLive report. Federal prosecutors allege Cromwell secured about $60,000 worth of bribes from an architecture firm in exchange for favorable contracts from the tribe’s gaming authority in connection with the stalled First Light casino project in East Taunton–money feds allege he used for personal enrichment.
‘Unhappiness’: Baker hits the way the House passed abortion measure via budget amendment
CommonWealth’s Bruce Mohl reports that Gov. Charlie Baker is criticizing how House members last week passed an abortion-access measure via a budget amendment, saying Dem leaders had previously said they wouldn’t use the budget bill to push non-budget policies. Though sharing the procedural “unhappiness” of fellow Republicans, Baker isn’t saying where he stands on the so-called ROE Act.
The Herald’s Erin Tiernan reports that a Senate budget proposal, expected to be debated later this week, now includes 437 amendments, one of which is the same ROE Act measure.
Up in the air: Cape Air owner holds out hope for more pandemic aid
They’re in a holding pattern. Cape Air owner and former state senator Daniel Wolf tells Ethan Genter at the Cape Cod Times that he is again delaying any decisions on job cuts or other major structural changes to the airline in the hopes the federal government will come through with another pandemic relief package. Cape Air has nearly exhausted $15 million in aid to keep the airline operating at reduced capacity.
Clean-energy boost: Municipal utilities sign major hydro-power deal
We missed this story from last week. From the Globe’s Jon Chesto: “Municipal utilities in three New England states are plugging into hydropower in a big way, with a contract to buy 200 million kilowatt-hours per year of electricity from FirstLight Power’s two dams on the Connecticut River in Montague, just east of Greenfield.’
SHNS’s Michael Norton (pay wall) reports on the participation of 18 Massachusetts utilities in what’s being described as the “largest municipal electric department purchase of renewable power in New England.” As they say: More, please. history.”
Tipping point: GOP loyalists helped flip their town blue
They mattered. Bill Doyle at the Telegram catches up with the Esler family of Sutton, longtime GOP loyalists and fundraisers, whose votes helped flip the town of Sutton from red to blue in this month’s presidential election. Biden won the community by a single vote.
Howie Winter, former Winter Hill Gang leader, dies at age 91
From the Globe’s Shelley Murphy:“Howie Winter, the longtime leader of Somerville’s notorious Winter Hill Gang and a former crime partner of James “Whitey” Bulger’s, died Thursday of a heart attack at his home in Millbury, according to his lawyer. He was 91.”
The Herald’s Howie Carr has one of his patented gangster-nostalgia pieces on Howie Winter, who was ultimately undone by none other than fellow gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger.
Arlington soldier among 5 Army personnel killed in Egypt helicopter crash
WCVB reports that Chief Warrant Officer 2 Marwan S. Ghabour, a 27-year-old from Arlington, was among Army peacekeepers in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula who were killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed, apparently due to mechanical malfunction. From CBS Boston: “Arlington Remembers Marwan Ghabour As Student, Hardworking Soccer Player.”
8th Annual 2020 Startup of the Year Summit
For the first time in its eight year history, the Startup of the Year Summit will be held online, allowing a global audience to participate from afar in the annual conference and have a behind-the-scenes experience for the 2020 competition. Date: November 16-18,2020. We are waiving all fees this year. We want you to join us.
Energy Policy Seminar: Brenda Mallory on “Clean Energy Priorities in the Southeast”
Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar featuring Brenda Mallory, Director of Regulatory Policy at the Southern Environmental Law Center. Ms. Mallory will speak on “Clean Energy Priorities in the Southeast”. The seminar will be hosted by HKS Professor Joe Aldy.
Harvard Kennedy School and Belfer Center for Science and International Afffairs
The State of the State Department & Transatlantic Diplomacy
WorldBoston’s annual State of the State Department is a high-level speaking event, serving as an annual occasion to assess the strength of a critical instrument in the pursuit of U.S. national interest within a policy context. In addition to critically evaluating the current of the State Department, we will also look at the U.S diplomacy through the lens of the transatlantic relationship.
Harvard Kennedy School and Belfer Center for Science and International Afffairs
Make Shift Happen with EDIE
Join MassBio’s Edie Stringfellow for a bi-weekly conversation on equity, diversity, inclusion, and engagement (EDIE). For the month of November, MassBio is dedicating Make Shift Happen to support and salute our life sciences colleagues who are service members in observation of November National Veterans & Military Families Month.
MassBio (Massachusetts Biotechnology Council)
Local Voices Network Conversation: Civic Engagement (Honan-Allston)
Join the Boston Public Library and Local Voices Network for an online discussion about civic engagement. LVN conversations are focused on sharing our lived experience, rather than beginning the conversation with our positions on issues. We are doing this in order to help build connections and to foster conversations that improve our understanding of one another.
Modern Mobility Aloft: Elevated Highways, Architecture and Urban Change in Pre-Interstate America
Join the Boston Public Library and the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library for an online talk with Amy D. Finstein, author of Modern Mobility Aloft: Elevated Highways, Architecture and Urban Change in Pre-Interstate America.
Managing Change to Grow Business – Part II: Growing Your Business in a Virtual World
Please join Middlesex Savings Bank and the Boston Business Journal for this conversation about managing business change in our new normal.
Boston Business Journal and Middlesex Savings Bank
Data + AI Summit Europe 2020
Data and AI are converging. The Success of Apache Spark has accelerated the evolution of data teams to include data analytics, science, engineering, and AI. Date + AI Summit brings together thousands of data teams to learn from practitioners, leaders, innovators, and the original creators of Spark. Delta Lake, MLflow and Koalas.
“Virtual” 125th Annual Meeting and Awards
You are cordially invited to join members of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce , its Board of Directors, and our special guests as we celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Chamber. Our theme this year is Resiliency & Recovery. We will feature a Virtual night of sharing, recognition, and ceremony, celebrating our members and their contributions to the community.
Climate Change, Survival, and Deepening Our Humanity
City of Boston’s Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola leads a panelist discussion on how the belief systems that define and maintain our societies impact the planet and influence our survival. Register for this free virtual Kennedy Library Forum to receive an email reminder with a viewing link before the event.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
MIT: AI and the Work of the Future Congress
Join MIT’s Task Force on WOTF, MIT CSAIL, and MIT Digital for this year’s Congress which will be a virtual event highlighting research findings from the MIT Task Force on WOTF’s final report that will be released in November. Given the rapidly changing environment brought on by Covid-19, this topic is more important and relevant that ever.
An Evolving Retail Revolution: Gen Z and Beyond
Gen Z navigates the digital landscape just as often as the physical, treating technology as an extension of themselves. Join us as we explore how this generation is reshaping retail, what they are expecting from the industry and how 5G technology could help brands keep up with Gen Z demands. Once you RSVP, you will receive the attendee link.
Disinformation and Digital Citizenship: Disinformation and Election Psychology
Disinformation and Digital Citizenship is a Learning Circle that meets weekly to discuss disinformation and its effect on civic institutions and society during an election year. Learning circles are small groups of individuals who explore and area of shared interest through discussion in a collaborative, friendly and mutually supportive environment.
35th Annual Meeting of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau
On November 18th, the WRRB will host its 35th Annual Meeting via Zoom to celebrate another year of activity and hear from keynote speaker, nationally renowned author & thought leader: Dr. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Arbuckle Professor, Harvard Business School; Founding Chair & Director, Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative (2005-2018).
Worcester Regional Research Bureau
Israel and Palestine on Screen
James S. Snyder, HKS/MEI Senior Fellow, in conversation with Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers Joseph Cedar and Tawfik Abu Wael. This is part of the fall 2020 MEI series, James Snyder in Conversation: A series of dialogues on art, culture, politics, and the possibilities for transcending conflict through cultural connections in the modern Middle East.
Harvard Kennedy School and Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Managing Climate Risk in the US Financial System
This webinar will be given by Robert Litterman, Chairman of the Risk Committee and Founding Partner, Kepos Capital, and Stephen Moch, MBA and MPP candidate at HBS and HKS. It is part of M-RCBG”s weekly Business and Government Seminar series. Registration is required.
Harvard Kennedy School of Business/Mossavar-Rahmani center for Business and Government
Interrupting Hatred Can Save Someone’s Life
This presentation, part of the Town of Lexington’s No Hate November series, will focus on lessons learned after the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Vincent Chen. The event is co-sponsored by the Lexington Human Rights Committee, Association of Black Citizens of Lexington, Chinese American Association of Lexington.
The Future of Higher Education
As schools around the country plan, react, and adapt during the Covid-19 pandemic, the presidents of Greater Washington’s top universities will gather virtually to discuss health and safety, diversity and inclusion, and budgeting and development of the future of higher education. Join the Washington Business Journal for a look behind the scenes with the decision makers.
AARP Innovation Labs’ Innovation Challenges
AARP Innovation Labs and Mass Challenge HealthTech are excited to offer themed innovation challenges. Do you have an innovative entertainment solution that curates the fun in life for older adults? We are highly encouraging our 50+ entrepreneurs and founders to apply to this challenge.
AARP Innovation Labs and Mass Challenge HealthTech
The State of Race: Police Reform
The State of Race is a virtual forum cosponsored by The Boston Globe, NAACP Boston and World Channel that addresses the impact racial disparities have on key social issues. This month, The State of Race focuses on the controversial topic of police reform. This event is free but space is limited and registration is required.
Virtual Job Fair: MassHire Central Region Honors Our Veterans
Virtual Job Fair featuring 45 employers from diverse industries throughout Central Massachusetts. Free and open to the public and veterans!
MassHire Central Region Career Centers
Policymakers Live: Virtual Briefing with Senator Joan Lovely, Assistant Majority Leader, Massachusetts State Senate
MassBio is launching “Policymakers Live”, a series of virtual briefings with a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Massachusetts Senate or a member of the Governor’s Administrations. MassBio will host these one hour virtual briefings in the upcoming months. Policymakers will outline initiatives they are working on and attendees will have the chance to ask questions.
MassBio (Massachusetts Biotechnology Council)
17th Annual Team Massachusetts Economic Awards: Celebrating 2020’s Massachusetts Corporate Heroes
With our Corporate Heroes Award, MassEcon will honor a sampling of employers, large and small, in every region of the state, that reflect the spirit of Massachusetts businesses to solve problems, serve their communities and provide for the livelihoods of their workers. Register: https://massecon.z2systems.com/np/clients/massecon/eventRegistration.jsp?event=61&
Inno on Fire
The Inno on Fire Awards is our annual celebration of innovators, big and small, people, and organizations in Boston. What makes a company or individual on fire? We are looking at startups that have had a banner year, people and companies with hew funding, recent product launches, hot hires, innovative approaches to solving problems, and creative leaders who think out of the box.
Author Adam Davidson with The Passion Economy The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century
Boston Public Library and the GBH Forum Network present this virtual program in “The Arc of History: Contested Perspectives” series featuring BPL President David Leonard, who will moderate the program.
WBJ Central MA Health Care Forum
Healthcare Post Pandemic: The Covid-19 pandemic has not only claimed over 200,000 lives in our country, but has been a disruptive force to many industries, including healthcare. Join us for this timely and informative webcast where our panel of experts will discuss what has changed since the beginning of the pandemic and what lies ahead.
The State of Innovation: Electrification presented by Analog Devices
Across the network, Innos State of Innovations meetups focus on a specific industry, category, theme or individual and will feature a keynote, fireside chat, panel, pitch, demo or a combination of the five. Join us for a conversation with local innovators and experts.
Author Neal Gabler with Catching the wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour, 1932-1975
Join the Boston Public Library and the GBH Forum Network for an online talk with Neal Gabler, author of Catching the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour, 1932-1975. BPL President David Leonard will moderate this program, which is part of the Arc of History: Contested Perspectives series.
2020 Women Who Mean Business
Join us as we celebrate outstanding women at our fourth Women Who Mean Business awards program. These women represent the scale of business in Greater Boston and have demonstrated significant growth in their companies.
Boston Business Journal and Webster Bank
Kay Ulanday Barrett Performing and Answering Questions at the Intersections of Disability, Trans and Racial Justice
LexPride is thrilled to welcome the one-and-only Kay Ulanday Barrett (they/them) to Lexington. Kay is a poet, performer, and educator, navigating life as a disabled pilipinx-amerikan transgender queer in the U.S. with struggle, resistance, and laughter. They are the author of When the Chant Comes and More Than Organs. Kay will perform and answer questions from the audience.
LexPride. Co-sponsored by Boston Pride, Cary Memorial Library, and the Network for Social Justice.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Walsh appointed to lead Climate Mayors group – Boston Globe
Boston Offers Rent Relief To Businesses Reeling From COVID – WBUR
Massachusetts
Eversource has new strategy in bid to replace pipeline in Ashland – MetroWest Daily News
Retirements bring more new faces to Statehouse from Western Mass. – Berkshire Eagle
Stop & Shop to close all Mass. stores on Thanksgiving Day – MassLive
Nation
Susan Collins reaches peak Senate influencer after Maine shocker – Politico
How sports arenas ran up score on 2020 election, hosting hundreds of thousands of voters – USA Today
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