Today: Pro-choice calls on Governor to help expand terrorism label
NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts Executive Director Megan Amundson will host a press conference call to discuss the group's campaign calling on Gov. Baker to formally request that the US Department of Justice classify violence at reproductive health clinics as domestic terrorism. "The Department of Justice is able to bring more resources to bear in investigations and prosecutions of those who perpetrate violence as domestic terrorism," Amundson wrote in a letter to Baker yesterday. Baker told reporters yesterday: "Anytime anybody engages in that type of activity anywhere - depending upon how you want to use the word terror - I consider those to be - whether they're domestic terrorists, or international terrorists or global terrorists - those are in fact terrorist acts, whether or not they meet whatever the federal standard is with regard to how they define terrorism... is kind of beside the point." See this story by Andy Metzger of the State House News Service for more (pay wall). The press conference will be held at 10 a.m. Call 641-715-3297. Access code: 933362#
Send us your predictions for 2016
Help MASSterList compile a list of political predictions for 2016 - for tomorrow's edition. Will the trains run "adequately" this winter? Will Massachusetts legalize marijuana?
What will be new an unexpected? Dust off your crystal ball and send me a note today atgdonnelly@massterlist.com. Indicate if you want me to omit your name, otherwise I will include it
Opioid legislation diluted in House draft
Two tough and controversial provisions in Gov. Baker's opioid legislation were softened in a redrafted version put forth yesterday by the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee. The House bill replaces Baker's 72-hour supply limit for first-time opioid prescriptions with a seven-day period; and Baker's proposal to allow doctors to involuntarily commit patients for up to 72 hours was struck from the House bill; instead, a new provision requiring a substance abuse evaluation with 24 hours for those suspected of a drug overdose was inserted in the bill. The House is gearing up for action on the bill early next year. More here from the Globe's Joshua Miller:http://bit.ly/1Zyubw9
Meanwhile, if there were ever data showing a need for drug prescription reform, this lead sentence in Felice J. Freyer's Globe story says it all: "More than 90 percent of people who survived a prescription opioid overdose were able to obtain another prescription for the very drugs that nearly killed them, according to a Boston Medical Center study of chronic pain treatment published Monday." http://bit.ly/1OWzgqC
City Hall cleared in "Top Chef" union matter
An independent investigator hired to probe City Hall involvement with union activity surrounding the filming of "Top Chef" has found no evidence of officials meddling on behalf of union interests, the Boston Herald reports. Kenneth Brissette, Mayor Walsh's director of tourism, sports and entertainment, called two venues, the Omni Parker House and Menton, a restaurant owned by celebrity chef Barbara Lynch, to tell them that they were about to be picketed because the production was non-union. Both places subsequently cancelled the filming. Four teamsters from Local 25 members face federal extortion charges stemming from their actions against the "Top Chef" production. http://bit.ly/1MEen1r
Trump to stump in Lowell next week
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump will hold a rally Jan. 4 at Lowell's Paul Tsongas Arena. Meanwhile, Trump called the publisher of the Manchester Union Leader, which editorialized against Trump, "a real low-life." See details in this Boston.com story.http://bit.ly/1mg5CWw
Registry waiting reduced
Waiting times at the Registry of Motor Vehicles have been reduced, and the Baker administration published numbers to prove it yesterday. RMV customers were seen in 30 minutes or less 74 percent of the time in November, a 15 percentage point improvement from a year earlier. Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said her goal was to push the number to 90 percent under 30 minutes. One key strategy for the improvement, writes Shira Schoenberg of MassLive, was stationing an employee at the entrance to direct customers to different lines depending on whether they had completed the necessary paperwork. http://bit.ly/1mfxOZK
Also yesterday, Erin Deveney, who had been serving as interim registrar of motor vehicles since the spring, had her interim title removed by Gov. Baker and is now the official registrar. More here in the State House News Service (pay wall):http://statehousenews.com/brief/20152100
Will Plainridge slump eventually lead back to State House?
The disappointing results at Plainridge Park Casino, whose numbers already have fallen well below projections, may eventually produce a request to lawmakers to rework some details of its agreement with the Commonwealth, writes Globe columnist Dante Ramos. "...Even under the best of circumstances, the creation of a state-chartered casino industry isn't just a one-time event, after which the state can cash checks without getting drawn into gory details. Rather, it's just the beginning of an odd, codependent relationship."http://bit.ly/22w6Ptp
Baker hits communities after records-test failure
Gov. Baker called on Massachusetts cities and towns to do more to comply with the state's public records law in the wake of an investigation that found communities putting up barriers such as high fees to obtaining public records, the Globe reports. "Cities and towns need to abide by the law," Baker said. http://bit.ly/1IAT4mI
IndyCar race was touted as Olympics warm-up
Reams of emails obtained by the Herald appear to show the city saw the IndyCar race scheduled for September as an Olympics warm-up. Some 900 pages of emails about the race obtained through a public records request show the event was seen as a "potential showpiece" the city could use to promote its now-moribund bid to attract the 2024 summer games, the Herald's Matt Stout reports. http://bit.ly/1Ow8zhZ
Warren, Markey warn of student-loan robocalls
The state's senate delegation is warning that a provision slipped into the federal budget approved by lawmakers this month will allow student-loan debt collectors to skirt laws protecting consumers from robot-assisted collection calls, the Gloucester Times reports. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey co-signed a letter to the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to help loan carriers - and their families - from facing "a barrage of unsolicited calls." http://bit.ly/1R5qL0O
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More end-of-year charity donation ideas:
JALSA - the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action - a catalyst for social, economic, and environmental justice - bringing together people in powerful ways to change the world! Recent leadership roles include working for a higher minimum wage, achieving earned sick time for all MA workers, and passing our state's most recent gun violence prevention law. JALSA has Tzedek Salons and Salons in the Suburbs with policymakers to engage people of all generations in the pursuit of social justice. Sign-up for our mailing list at jalsaoffice@gmail.com and go to www.jalsa.org to donate.
Second Chances provides free clothing to homeless and lower income people by partnering with local homelessness, emergency assistance, anti-poverty organizations. Second Chances collects, sorts and stores apparel, then takes requests from social service providers so that those in need get the right clothes in the right size at the right time -- a winter coat for a growing child, or a suit for a job interview. Learn more and donate at www.secondchances.org.
Easter Seals: "I can personally attest that without their adaptive equipment program I would not be able to continue to work!" writes one MASSterList reader. http://bit.ly/1YPoqrC
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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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