Thursday, November 12, 2015
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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) with Keith Regan
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Today: Meehan inaugural; $15 per hour pushed for Logan workers
* Boston Mayor Martin Walsh offers remarks at a national conference for Mothers Against Violence: Empowering Women to Action, Seaport World Trade Center, Skyline Ballroom, 200 Seaport Blvd., Boston, 9:00am.
* Sen. Sal DiDomenico and Rep. Adrian Madaro and Fast for $15 activists gather to propose legislation that would create a wage floor of $15 an hour for baggage handlers, airplane cleaners and other low-wage workers who toil at Logan International Airport, State House steps, 10:30am. Shira Schoenberg of MassLive has a preview here: http://bit.ly/1Qjqmc2
* Gov. Baker attends the inauguration of UMass President Marty Meehan with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Congressman Neal, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Senate President Stan Rosenberg and State Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Edward M. Kennedy Institute, Columbia Point, Boston, 3:00pm.
Is DraftKings the next Aereo?
There's big-time money on the table, state-by-state regulatory confusion, and a startup playing the innovation card: The DraftKings story continues to unfold as a startup-meets-real-world drama. Oftentimes the real world wins.
It should be noted that we've seen this storyline before. A startup comes along with new technology that ultimately challenges regulators because, cool as it is, it may very well violate longstanding laws. Sounds like DraftKings? Yes, but it also recalls the sad tale of Aereo. Remember Aereo? It was a startup that was going to change the way we watch television. Aereo's cool technology basically captured and digitized broadcast signals and brought them to subscribers' devices for a very modest fee. Rather than pay for hundreds of channels they didn't want, viewers could receive the broadcast stations -- NBC, ABC, CBS, etc. -- for $8 per month with the help of a dime-sized chip. Investors poured in $100 million. Brilliant.
Until the broadcasters put the kibosh on it, claiming copyright violation and winning a Supreme Court decision in June of last year. Aereo declared bankruptcy a few months later, and a few hundred Boston personnel, many of them engineers, were out of work. It's doubtful DraftKings will end up like Aereo. But rather than fighting the regulators, fantasy sports quickly needs legislative relief before it gets eaten alive, state by state, with each state regulatory body taking a different approach.
Speaking of regulation, it's showdown time: A defiant FanDuel is telling its customers to play on, despite the pending order from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. More from Globe correspondent Dan Adams: http://bit.ly/1HAawXK
Healey: It's gambling but is it illegal gambling?
Expect a set of proposed regulations soon from Attorney General Maura Healey as she continues to parse out the meaning of fantasy sports. Healey was chased down by reporters on her way to the New England Veterans Homeless Shelter to serve lunch (no good deed goes unpunished). Gintautus Dumcius was in the scrum and got very interesting quotes from Healey on fantasy sports:
Healey: "I think anybody looking at this acknowledges it's a form of gambling. Just because it's gambling doesn't make it illegal." Asked if she agrees with Schneiderman that daily fantasy sports is online gambling: "It's an online game. You (k)now, we can debate gambling or not gambling. I think that people looking at this acknowledge it's a form of gambling. The question, though, is whether or not that's actionable under the law and do we have in place the right kind of legal and regulatory framework to address that." Here's Dumcius' entire story:http://bit.ly/1NM7z7u
You can drive the Patriots team bus between New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's accusations and the measured approach of AG Maura Healey. Why the hands-off approach? Perhaps, no one wants to be responsible for crushing a local startup. In Massachusetts, it's now a political sin to be seen as anti-innovation.
Coakley plays defense
Meanwhile former AG Martha Coakley is trying to make sure lawmakers don't jump to hasty conclusions and is educating them on the DraftKings business model, the Herald's Matt Stout reports. "There are some (lawmakers) who actually have played the game, understand how it works and are big fans," Coakley told the Herald. "Frankly we're filling them in on the story of how it's grown ... to a thriving industry at this stage of the game." http://bit.ly/1SL01Sx
Trump would channel Ike's ugly episode
Presidential candidate Donald Trump stumped most viewers of Tuesday's Republican debate by invoking an obscure immigration act of President Dwight Eisenhower: A sweep and deportation of mostly Mexican migrant workers beginning in 1954. Globe reporter Matt Viser takes us back to this ugly episode, in which 88 people died watching to be deported. It was a "travesty," according to one Latino conservative. http://bit.ly/1MCwiKL
Catharsis for veterans at Marblehead event
An event organized by Congressman Seth Moulton for veterans to tell their stories drew 150 in Marblehead yesterday. It was the inspiration of author Sebastian Junger, who called for replacing Veterans Day parades with town hall meetings for veterans to relay their experience. The Globe's Stephanie Ebbert covered the event, which included Moulton recounting a traumatic episode in Iraq.http://bit.ly/1MpglE5
Brownsberger: Later bar hours? Maybe later
Sen. William Brownsberger told the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure that his bill to allow some bars to extend their hours is not ready for "primetime." Katie Lannan of the State House News Service reports that Brownsberger believes the concept of allowing municipalities with the MBTA service area to set their own bar hours lacks consensus and requires further study. "That's very controversial within Boston. A lot of people view it as anathema, some people are very enthusiastic about it." http://bit.ly/1NMQxWP
Latinos gain political muscle across the state
This month's municipal elections brought a wave of new Latino politicians into office, WBUR reports, with voters adding three dozen to city councils and school boards statewide. The trend -- which the radio station says has its roots in the 1980s -- is especially noticeable in Chelsea, where Latinos now hold six out of 11 sets on the city council and six of nine spots on the school committee.http://wbur.fm/1kr4n67
Another hat in 9th district ring
A second Democrat has joined the race for the 9th Plymouth District state representative seat vacated by the elevation of Michael Brady to the State Senate, the Enterprise reports. Gerry Cassidy, a member of Brady's legislative staff and previously an aide to the late Thomas Kennedy, joins Brockton City Councilor Shaynah Barnes as the two declared candidates for the election likely to be held in the spring. http://bit.ly/1NsOy5C
Veterans loan program announced
On Veterans Day, the Baker administration rolled out a mortgage loan program aimed at making it easier for service veterans to purchase their first homes, the Associated Press reports via the Herald. The program will allow qualified buyers to receive up to 100 percent financing on homes or condos and is meant to augment Veterans Administration loans that cane difficult for vetterans to secure in the Bay State. http://bit.ly/1WOtTTW
Rosenberg style seen as winner in UMass funding spat
Allies of Senate President Stan Rosenberg say he scored a victory in the maneuverings around providing additional funding to the University of Massachusetts system, the Globe reports. Some see the agreement Rosenberg won from the Senate to deliver funds for pay raises to UMass but have part of it rebated directly to students as evidence that his soft-touch, "leading from behind" approach can be effective. http://bit.ly/1MCLszq
Meehan: Rebates not fiscally prudent now
But, during a meeting with the editorial board of the Springfield Republican on Wednesday, UMass President Marty Meehan said rebating student fee and tuition increases this year would not be a financially sound move given the state of the system's budget. Meehan said he agreed to fund the $10.9 million in negotiated raises -- even without a solid commitment form the state -- as a sign of good faith. Meehan also said he has already exceeded his own goal of raising $1 million for student scholarships in conjunction with his inauguration. http://bit.ly/1llpPcQ
TODAY'S DAY: It's National Chicken Soup for the Soul Day. http://bit.ly/1RQwCWl
REMEMBER: To send your tips to me at gdonnelly@massterlist.com. Op-eds and other commentary invited for publication on Massterlist.
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