Happening Today
9 a.m. | Public Health Committee holds remote hearing on two dozen bills addressing issues around patient safety and quality, health equity and pharmacy matters.
10 a.m. | Massachusetts State Retirement Board meets virtually.
11 a.m. | House holds full formal session, planning to take up a $3.65 billion plan to spend a large portion of the state’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation and its fiscal 2021 budget surplus. Representatives have filed more than a thousand amendments. Roll calls start at 1 p.m.
11 a.m. | Senate meets without a calendar.
11 a.m. | Environmental advocates with Zero Waste Massachusetts host a virtual event to express their concerns with the Baker administration’s final 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan.
Today’s Stories
A really big storm and a lot of people without power
Good morning, we hope you have power. A powerful storm that hit Tuesday night into Wednesday brought heavy rains, a lot of wind, downed trees and prolonged power outages. We’re no strangers to a big nor’easter, but we definitely had a good one to kick off the season.
Almost 500,000 people in the state were left without power as utility companies raced to restore electricity to households and businesses. Southeastern Massachusetts was hit the hardest, ateam of reporters at the Boston Globe write, where roads and schools were closed.
Gov. Charlie Baker took to the airwaves Tuesday afternoon, saying the recovery process and restoration of power would take multiple days. He said National Grid, Eversource, and other utility companies “are already working to restore power where they can but, in some cases, they do need to wait until the winds come down before it’s really going to be safe to get up into a bucket truck.”
“I’m sure that anybody who lives anywhere between sort of Quincy and the end of the Cape can probably not have to go very far to find really good examples of how rough this storm was on their communities,” he said.
MassLive’s Douglas Hook reports that wind gusts reached up to 90 miles per hour in some parts of the state causing widespread damage and outages. Out-of-state crews from as far as Canada were also brought in to help repair some of the damage that occurred, State House News Service’s Colin A. Young writes.
The Cape and the South Shore experienced most of the outages, reports Boston Herald’s Todd Prussman, with communities reporting 50 percent or more households without electricity. While the storm was expected to move further offshore last night, rain can be expected for the next few days.
A trailblazer and a perennial candidate
Tania Fernandes Anderson faced a difficult task when she was 12-years-old: she delivered her aunt’s premature baby in a Roxbury apartment. GBH News’ Tori Bedford reports that Anderson, now 42, is taking her lived experiences and mounting a run for Boston City Council’s District 7 seat.
More from Bedford: “Anderson’s competition, Roy Owens, is a perennial candidate who has spent a decade running for everything from City Council At-Large to state Senate to Congress. Since 2012, he has run for office 10 times in as many years, never winning.”
Targeted? Framingham’s Spicer says Baker, GOP trying to take over city government
Embattled Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer — who finished a distant second in the September preliminary election — is citing thousands of dollars in support for her challenger from the PAC aligned with Gov. Charlie Baker as evidence of an attempted “conservative” takeover of the city’s reins, Bruce Mohl of Commonwealth reports. Challenger Charles Sisitsky, who has received more than $15,000 in support from the Massachusetts Majority PAC, accused Spicer of “fear mongering” ahead of next week’s vote.
Senate passes redistricting map that adds additional majority-minority districts
Another step in the decennial redistricting process played out Wednesday afternoon: Senators passed a map redrawing political boundaries for all 40 districts. State House News Service’s Katie Lannan reports that the Senate approved the map on a 36-3 vote after two senators voting in oppositions raised concerns about their individual districts and the process that led to changes.
Back of the line: Correia co-conspirator can get restitution after others are paid
Seems about right. Federal prosecutors say Hildegar Camara, who pled guilty to helping former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia extort payments from would-be pot-shop owners, could get some of the $50,000 he invested in Correia’s ill-fated SnoOwl startup — but only after everyone else who was swindled is made whole. Jo Goode of the Herald-News explains.
SJC chief justice highlights ongoing fight against racial inequities
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly Budd offered her first State of the Judiciary address Wednesday, where she said fighting against systemic racial inequities is a top priority. MassLive’s Alison Kuznitz reports that Bud said “we also need to do more to fight another kind of virus that has affected our legal system for far too long: the problem of racial and ethnic inequities.”
More from Kuznitz: “During her address, Budd also praised judges, clerks and all other court system employees for their resilience and ingenuity throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Technological advances will likely continue in the courts, Budd said, even when safety conditions improve.”
Friends at the top: Another Warren aide heads to Democratic headquarters
Kristen Orthman, a longtime adviser to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, is slated to become the next communications director at the Democratic National Committee, making her just the latest political operative to make the move from Warren’s camp to the DNC, Alex Thompson of Politico reports.
Doc fined after leaving operating room to eat in car
This wasn’t the best time to take a snack and nap break. Boston Globe’s Jonathan Saltzman reports that the head of spine surgery at Boston Medial Center was fined $5,000 for leaving an operating room in November 2016 ahead of an ankle surgery to eat in his car, where he fell asleep and missed the operation.
Twisting arms: Worcester Bishop urges parents to opt out of sex ed program
This could explain a lot. Marco Cartolano of the Telegram reports Catholic Bishop Robert J. McManus wrote to thousands of parishioners to urge them to opt out of the new sex education curriciulum being rolled out in Worcester schools — a call that may have helped lead to some 3,000 students, or about 12 percent of the district’s total enrollment, to get parental permission to skip the saucy lessons.
Worcester looks to locals to drive school buses
Worcester is looking to add more than a dozen locals to drive school buses in place of the National Guard. Telegram & Gazette’s Scott O’Connell reports that the city is requesting the National Guard to keep driving buses through mid-November, but are looking for residents to help out.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Michelle Wu won’t say who else is on Boston mayoral transition team – Boston Herald
Massachusetts
At 71%, Middlesex is Massachusetts’ most vaccinated county – MetroWest Daily News
Tyngsboro moves to adopt ‘town manager’ form of government – Lowell Sun
Environmental groups trash state’s solid waste plan – Salem News
Nation
Ex-NYT columnist Kristof launches Oregon governor bid – The Hill
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