Happening Today
Committee hearings, Campbell press conference, and more
Today | Attorney General Maura Healey plans to release the certification decisions for the 30 initiative petitions filed with her office ahead of an Aug. 4 deadline. Twenty-one groups filed 30 petitions, including 28 proposed laws for the 2022 ballot and two constitutional amendments for the 2024 ballot.
10 a.m. | Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities holds hearing on 12 bills related to the Department of Children and Families and trauma.
12 p.m. | Mayoral candidate and Boston City Council member Andrea Campbell holds press conference on Mass & Cass Plan.
1 p.m. | Committee on Public Service holds hearing on 37 bills related to creditable service and buyback.
5:15 p.m. | Candidate for governor Danielle Allen hosts a 30-minute Facebook Live Q&A with Meira Levinson, co-author of the policy guidance “The Path to Zero and Schools: Achieving Pandemic-Resilient Teaching and Learning Spaces” to discuss best COVID-safety practices that Massachusetts can implement for the school year.
5:30 p.m. | Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition holds a forum for Boston mayoral candidates in honor of former Rep. Doris Bunte.
Today’s Stories
Eviction moratorium set for Boston
No more evictions in Boston. At least for the time being. Acting Mayor Kim Janey ordered an eviction moratorium in the city Tuesday, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck a CDC moratorium, reports Boston Globe’s Danny McDonald, Tim Logan and Zoe Greenberg.
State House News Service’s Katie Lannan reports that Janey also directed the Department of Neighborhood Development to create a $5 million fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosures, insurance, mortgage, and condominium fee costs.
Masks mandated for early education programs
State early education officials approved a indoor mask mandate for staff and teachers at state-licensed day care centers and after-school programs, reports State House News Service’s Matt Murphy. The mandate starts after Labor Day and mirrors policy Education Commissioner Jeff Riley instituted for public K-12 institutions.
Mass and Cass ‘comfort station’ closed
Boston officials permanently closed a ‘comfort station’ near the Mass and Cass intersection, reports Boston Herald’s Sean Philip Cotter. The station, which the Herald reports was controversial, provided basic services like bathrooms and medical care. It has been criticized for ‘a very permissive attitude about active drug use.’
More from Cotter: “The comfort station closed for two weeks in April over similar safety concerns, but then it reopened. At the time, residents in the surrounding areas worried that the closure would push the crowds of the Mile out into neighborhoods.”
Repairing the T could result in more shutdowns
Get read for more shutdowns on the T. State House News Service’s Chris Lisinski reports that state transportation officials are eyeing more shutdowns to help accelerate repairs. Officials said they plan to pursue several more projects that could result in the closure of large swaths of particular branches — similar to the four-week shutdown of the Green Line’s E Branch.
Rollback: Amherst College eases Covid rules after student backlash
Score one for the students. Amherst College is backing off some of its most restrictive COVID protocols after pushback from the student body, 99 percent of which is fully vaccinated. Scott Merzbach of the Daily Hampshire Gazette reports students are no longer required to mask when outdoors and that restrictions on off-campus eating have been dropped after hundreds of students signed a petition calling for more flexibility and rules that more closely resemble those at other colleges in the area.
Search … ‘if necessary’
Worcester Public School Superintendent Maureen Binienda could be heading out the door. Telegram & Gazette’s Steven H. Foskett Jr. reports that an item on Thursday’s School Committee agenda asks members to consider options to hire a consultant and conduct a national search for a new superintendent. All of this is ‘if necessary.’
Rain, rain, rain
More rain is expected as what remains of Tropical Storm Ida makes it way up north, reports MassLive’s Michelle Williams. The National Weather Service predicts up to two inches of rainfall Wednesday for large parts of the state.
Save our station: Lawmakers pledge to fight closure of Scituate Coast Guard post
They’re going to make their case. Members of the Bay State Congressional delegation say they’re planning to meet directly with the head of the U.S. Coast Guard in an effort to get the agency to reverse its decision to close the seasonal Scituate station, Joe DiFazio of the Patriot Ledger reports. The Coast Guard says existing posts in Hull and Sandwich can provide coverage, but lawmakers say response times will grow and argue the move doesn’t take into account the surge in recreational boating tied to the pandemic.
Protestors say Moderna is ‘profiteering’ off the pandemic
Protestors congregated in front of Moderna’s Cambridge headquarters arguing that the company is “profiteering” for charging $16.50 for its COVID-19 vaccine, reports Boston Business Journal’s Rowan Walrath.
More from Walrath: “Leading the protest was the nonprofit AIDS Healthcare Foundation. In an interview with the Business Journal on Monday, the foundation’s senior director of communications, Ged Kenslea, drew a parallel between the Covid-19 pandemic and the AIDS epidemic of the 1990s, noting that the company behind the first FDA-approved antiviral for AIDS set a price point of $8,000 (not adjusted for inflation) for the drug.”
‘Unacceptable’ but not fireable: Williamstown wrestles with police officer’s Hitler photo
The Williamstown Select Board says it largely agrees with two local groups incensed over a local police officer’s decision to post a photo of Adolf Hiter in his station locker, but says it lacks the power to fire him over the offense. Larry Parnass of the Berkshire Eagle has the details.
Giddy up: Developer’s $25 million horse racing, betting proposal ready to run in Sturbridge
Officials in Sturbridge will soon begin reviewing a proposal to build a $25 million equestrian center that would host 10 days a year of live horse racing and off-track betting, pump $1 million a year into town coffers and create as many as 100 jobs. Craig Semon of the Telegram reports that Armand Janjigian’s proposal has the support of the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association, which has been looking for a new home for live racing since Suffolk Downs began winding down operations to make way for redevelopment.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Sheriff Steve Tompkins endorses Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu – Boston Globe
New NSCC President rolls into Lynn – Lynn Item
Massachusetts
Provincetown town manager named to EPA advisory committee – Cape Cod Times
Parent: Camp investigation a ‘witch hunt’ – Martha’s Vineyard Times
Nation
Supreme Court allows Texas’ 6-week abortion ban to take effect – Politico
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