Friday, September 18, 2015
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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) with Keith Regan
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The action today: Baker to PA, Rosenberg to Quebec, Walsh to DC
Gov. Baker gives the keynote speech at the Republican Party of Pennsylvania's Fall Dinner in Harrisburg, Penn. tonight... Senate President Stanley Rosenberg departs Logan International Airport bound for Quebec City to attend the Massachusetts-Quebec Cooperation Conference... Boston Mayor Marty Walsh participates in the panel "My Brother's Keeper: Igniting a Movement & Investing in What Works" at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 2015 Annual Legislative Conference, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C... Baker also gives the keynote address at the Boston Bar Association annual luncheon, where House Speaker Robert DeLeo will be honored with a presidential citation and House Judiciary Chair Rep. John Fernandes with a distinguished legislator award, Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Blvd., Boston, 11:30am.
The Democrat-fest in Springfield
The Democrats convene Saturday as some 3,000 delegates gather at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield. Among the headliners: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, AG Maura Healey, Speaker Bob DeLeo, and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean. The convention begins at 7:30am.
The Baker agenda: Ideological conflicts will surface, eventually
Can Charlie Baker remain a likeable, wonky Mr. Fix-it bipartisan for the long-term? That's the question the Globe's David Scharfenberg raises in today's well-written think piece on Baker and the vision thing. It almost goes without saying that delivering first-rate government services from a state of dysfunction and disrepair is in itself a worthy vision. But in the end, ideological confrontation is inevitable, and not just with the unions. Through the quote of state Sen. Brian Dowling, the story alludes to a major one that's just beginning gain steam locally: economic inequality. It is the mantra of the Democrats and it will surface here most noticeably in the ballot referendum to tax millionaires at a higher level. Baker may very well be defending the millionaires, not an easy position. Another wedge issue will be energy and environmentalism -- most blatantly played out in the Kinder Morgan pipeline. In some areas there simply won't be any middle ground, and Baker will continue to try to accumulate as much political capital in the meantime. Here's Scharfenberg's story: http://bit.ly/1Fk7wNR
Speaking of income inequality, some rich folks are perfectly fine with the millionaire tax, Globe columnist Shirley Leung writes in today's column. "These deep pockets believe they should carry a heavier burden so government can do more." Among the wealthy advocates, Arnold Hiatt, former CEO and chairman of Stride Rite. http://bit.ly/1QLfuRz
Mass. Transit: The future of transportation on Oct. 13 -- a MASSterList/State House News Service event
Join us for a panel discussion featuring Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Charlie Chieppo, principal of Chieppo Strategies, and Rick Dimino, CEO of A Better City, on the vision for transportation in Massachusetts. It will be held Oct. 13, 7:30-9:30am at the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education center, 10 Winter Place, Boston. More details and registration here: http://bit.ly/1FiAKNa
Will state elbow in on the fantasy sports action?
Following New Jersey Congressmen's call to review the legality of fantasy sports sites, whose ads are all over NFL telecasts, AG Maura Healey also wants to weigh in on the action. All this isn't exactly great news for DraftKings, the downtown Boston startup that's now valued at close to $3 billion. This summer, Fox Sports invested $300 million for an 11 percent stake. The Kraft Group is an investor. So are National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Madison Square Garden and Major League Baseball. The irony here is as one state official explores the legality of fantasy sports, another is trying to figure how the state can capitalize on it by launching its own online site. "The future of gaming is before us, and it's changing very, very quickly," said state Sen. Michael Rush. "It's important that we as the commonwealth grasp it, enhance the technology, and move with it." Andy Metzger of the State House News Service broke this story and has more: http://bit.ly/1KUKiAu
Meanwhile, the Boston Business Journal's Sara Castellanos reports that DraftKings is in the process of hiring "hundreds" of new employees with its recent cash infusion. The company has four full-time recruiters.http://bit.ly/1MguF3A
Globe weighs in on Kennedy Library controversy
Pointing to the "polarizing" style of Heather Campion, the CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, a Boston Globe editorial calls for addressing the dual leadership structure at the institution. Thomas Putnam, the highly regarded library director, announced his resignation Tuesday, following about one-third of the staff that either has resigned or been fired since Campion, a politically connected former bank executive, took over in 2014. http://bit.ly/1KqgLbi
The Globe's Joan Vennochi takes aim at the Kennedy myth-making that pervades at the Kennedy library, writing: "For visitors of a certain age, the rose-colored glasses you put on when you enter will have you misty-eyed and nostalgic for a past you now know is much more complicated than presented. And that's what really needs to change at the Kennedy Library if it wants to remain relevant to Americans too young to remember where they were when JFK was shot." http://bit.ly/1LC29q9
Bank of America CEO faces key vote
Wellesley's own Brian Moynihan, who rose from the ranks at the former Fleet Bank to eventually take over at the Bank of America, faces a test on whether he will retain his role as both chairman and CEO. He was made chairman without a shareholder vote last year, and the faces a shareholder vote Tuesday on the matter. "Is this a referendum on him? Absolutely," BU's Cornelius Hurley told Globe reporter Deirdre Fernandes. http://bit.ly/1imauHg
Pilgrim owners mull shutting down
The owners of the Pilgrim Station nuclear power plant say it may consider shutting the plant down instead of spending millions needed to address safety issues flagged by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Globe reports. Pilgrim -- which the paper notes provides an average of 12.5 percent of the state' electric power -- is ranked in the lowest in the country on safety after a recent downgrade by the NRC.
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