Happening Today
Today | Department of Revenue is due to report on tax collections in October.
9 a.m. | Legislation related to COVID-19, tobacco and other miscellaneous topics goes before the Public Health Committee at a virtual hearing.
1 p.m. | Senate meets without a calendar, but with expectation that a bill allocating American Rescue Plan Act funds will emerge.
2 p.m. | Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee holds virtual hearing on 27 bills related to agriculture and other miscellaneous issues.
6 p.m. | Gov. Charlie Baker is billed as special guest at a fall fundraiser at the Kowloon Restaurant to benefit the campaign of Republican Rep. Donald Wong of Saugus.
Today’s Stories
Michelle Wu becomes first elected woman of color mayor of Boston
Call her Mayor-elect Michelle Wu now.
After over a year on the campaign trail, Wu successfully convinced Boston residents that she is the best fit to run the city for the next four years. A protege of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Wu hopes to usher in a new progressive era for Boston marked by ideas like bringing back rent control and making the T free.
Now, after countless campaign stops, a handful of televised debates, and plenty of skeptical takes of her platform, Wu is faced with making her proposals a reality as she becomes the first woman and first person of color elected mayor of the city. The mayor-elect still has two more weeks until she is officially sworn in, and Acting Mayor Kim Janey will continue serving until then.
Boston Herald’s Sean Philip Cotter and Erin Tiernan report that during her victory speech, Wu said, “We don’t have to choose between generational change and keeping the street lights on, between offering bold solutions and filling our potholes … We deserve both. All of this is possible.”
The results from last night did not come as a surprise to most. Polls from the last few months have shown Wu with a commanding lead including several showing her with a 30 point advantage over Annissa Essaibi George.
Boston Globe’s Emma Platoff and Milton J. Valencia report that Wu won the city by a wide margin after uniting voters in progressive areas and communities of color. More from the duo: “Her victory is a triumph of a new Boston over the establishment, a powerful endorsement of the often irreverent style she has brought to a staid city government.”
One of the many outstanding questions heading into Tuesday was how many Bostonians would show up to the polls to vote. Secretary of State William Galvin predicted 135,000 ballots would be cast and vote counts still remained unofficial late into the evening.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, there are only 370 days until the gubernatorial election. Campaign seasons never end.
One and done: Spicer ousted in Framingham mayoral race
Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer, who made history by becoming the city’s first-ever elected Black female mayor in 2019, was soundly defeated by challenger Charlie Sisitsky on Tuesday, Zane Razzaq of the MetroWest Daily News reports. Sisitsky more than doubled the incumbent’s vote total, a result that mirrored September’s preliminary election count.
Meanwhile, state Rep. James Kelcourse has apparently fallen short in his bid to unseat Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove, State House News Services’s Katie Lannan reports.
Power move: Maine voters back ballot measure blocking hydro-power line
Voters in the Pine Tree State have overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure meant to block the construction of a transmission line that would have delivered hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts, Bruce Mohl of CommonWealth reports. The vote, which could be challenged in court, throws a curveball at the state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions connected to electricity generation.
Congressional draft map draws critiques from South Coast officials
It wasn’t all roses and butterflies after the Legislature released a draft map of new congressional districts as South Coast elected officials called for communities to be united. State House News Service’s Michael P. Norton and Chris Lisinski report that Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) took aim at the decision to split New Bedford and Fall River between two districts, saying the move was “an unjust and inequitable decision.” U.S. Rep. William Keating also criticized the decision.
Man arrested at Mass and Cass sent to Worcester jail after denied treatment
GBH News’ Tori Bedford reports that a man arrested Monday morning as officials were clearing people from the Mass and Cass area was denied medical treatment for substance use disorder and instead sent to a Worcester correctional facility with an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Max Kolodka was arrested on four warrants of breaking and entering, operating under the influence, and drug possession.
More from Bedford: “Despite requests from both Kolodka’s attorney and the prosecution, Boston Municipal Court Judge Paul M. Treseler denied a motion for Kolodka to detox in a treatment facility. Kolodka instead spent the night at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction, where 33 incarcerated people, ranging in age from 30 to 69, and two guards have been placed in quarantine after positive test results for COVID-19.”
Baker asks what’s the ‘big hurry’ over decision on third term
The question keeps getting posed to Gov. Charlie Baker: will he run for a third term. And as CommonWealth’s Bruce Mohl reports, with one election season ending, the gubernatorial race will take center stage over the next year. Baker hasn’t let in on his plans, saying on Monday that a decision would come soon but questions why people are “in such a big hurry for me to make a decision about this.”
Tinseltown comes to Massachusetts
When you think of filmmaking, does Massachusetts come to mind? It should. Boston Globe’s Mark Shanahan that over the past several months a building in Quincy has quietly been transformed into a modern soundstage by owners at Marina Studios in part because of a film tax credit the Legislature made permanent last spring.
More from Shanahan: “The viability of both New England Studios and [Marina] Cappi’s new Marina Studios relies on the contentious tax credits lawmakers approved in 2006 to entice Tinseltown to shoot here. While more than 30 states now offer such incentives, the tax breaks available in Massachusetts are generally considered to be among the most filmmaker-friendly.”
Still drinking: Report says Fatal crashes involving alcohol haven’t waned since legal weed arrived
Not so much. New research suggests that legalizing cannabis has not reduced the use of alcohol or the prevalence of alcohol-related driving deaths as some advocates had predicted. Jessica Bartlett of the Boston Business Journal has the details.
From the WBUR and GBH radio waves
Missed yesterday’s radio shows? No worries, here’s a rundown of some of the interesting conversations that occurred on WBUR and GBH programs.
From GBH’s “Boston Public Radio:” Both Boston mayoral candidates appeared briefly on the show to make one final pitch to voters before the final tally emerges and ACLU of Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose offers thoughts on how Boston officials should handle the situation at Mass and Cass.
From WBUR’s “Radio Boston:” WBUR reporters share what Boston voters have told them and Boston University School of Public Health Dean Dr. Sandro Galea talks about lessons learned from the COVID pandemic and how to prepare for future health challenges.
Mask mandate lifted in Holyoke
Masks no longer required in Holyoke. The city’s Board of Health lifted their COVID-19 mask mandate today and instead issued an advisory urging mask use, reports Dennis Hohenberger for MassLive. Local businesses and industries can still enforce their own mask requirements and the move does not apply to the mask mandate for public schools.
Banned in Dighton: Voters banish LGBTQ and other flags from town property
The question now: Will it pass Constitutional muster? After hours of debate, voters at Dighton Town Meeting approved a ban on the flying of almost all non-U.S. flags outside town hall and other municipal properties. Michael DeCicco of the Taunton Gazette reports the measure stemmed from an effort to fly an LGBTQ flag earlier this year and that many voters question whether it violates First Amendment protections — a question that now lands in the office of Attorney General Maura Healey.
Today’s Headlines
Metro
Nicholson shuts out Cyr in Lynn Mayoral election – Lynn Item
Massachusetts
Incumbent Paul Coogan handily wins Fall River mayoral race – Herald News
Recount expected in Braintree town council race with six vote difference – Patriot Ledger
Nation
Youngkin wins Virginia governor’s race – The Hill
C.D.C. Recommends Covid Vaccine for Younger Children – New York Times
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