Middleboro Review: MASSterList: Rosenberg: Scrutiny of fiance 'offensive' | How tech devices diminish our lives | Aloisi's T poetry in motion

Friday, December 18, 2015

By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Sara Brown

Today: Go west, Baker administration

It's Western Massachusetts Friday for Gov. Baker, Lt. Gov. Polito and the Baker cabinet, who will hold 15 events today, including a school tour and cabinet meeting in Springfield. Shira Schoenberg of MassLive has more on the Western Mass. agenda. http://bit.ly/22bWHpn

International Migrants Day: Activists plan to visit the State House and deliver a declaration outlining positive contributions of immigrants in Massachusetts and knocking the "cynical use of xenophobic and racist scapegoating of immigrants and refugees" by presidential candidates and other public officials. According to Centro Presente and the Brazilian Worker Center, the declaration will be delivered to the offices of Gov. Charlie Baker, Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, 11 am.

A vote for "Reclaiming Conversation"

We strive to master personal technology, but the truth is the gadgets and their apps, in aggregate, are the masters. That is one theme of Sherry Turkle's new book, "Reclaiming Conversation - the Power of Talk in a Digital Age." Turkle is a professor at MIT and has written extensively on the impact of technology on society. For those who wonder if being tethered to a smartphone or Facebook is like eating empty calories, Turkle's book may be a worthy last-minute Christmas present for a tech-addicted loved one. Earlier this week, Turkle chatted on "Greater Boston" with Jim Braude about the consequences of cell phone distraction; her book also received a rave review in the New York Times in October.

Joe K III targets insurance cos. over mental health denials

Congressman Joe Kennedy, picking up a policy theme in his family, introduced a bill yesterday to require insurance companies to report how often they deny mental health or substance abuse claims to federal regulators. "When you think about physical illness, you wouldn't wait for somebody to have stage four cancer before intervening," Kennedy said in today's Globe.

http://bit.ly/1k5oANG

Aloisi on the MBTA: poetry in motion

Today's must-read is former transportation chief Jim Aloisi's public transit version of " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas," easily the best op-ed I've ever seen in rhyme. It starts:

Twas the night before Christmas

And I jumped out of bed

With visions of runaway trains

In my head.

Read this instant classic on the CommonWealth Magazine site:http://bit.ly/1RVrt1x

Library board's lease decision "Curious," leaves money on the table

The owner of the Curious George store in Harvard Square is wondering why his bid for the new Boston Public Library retail space lost, even though he bid more than double the sum of the winning bid - from WGBH. The public broadcaster has plans to install at TV studio at the library and bid $11,000 per month for the 4,500-square-foot space, compared to Curious George's $23,000, reports the Globe's Megan Woolhouse. Annually, that's over $1.4 million per year. http://bit.ly/1PaIvWx

Grogan's op-ed addresses charter school criticisms

Boston Foundation CEO Paul Grogan, a strong advocate of charter school expansion, takes on various charges against charter schools in a Boston Globe op-ed. "To deny the academic success of Massachusetts' charter public schools is disingenuous. If the ultimate goal in this debate is to provide the best learning options for grade-school children, then it is worth considering more charter public schools, and more rapidly adopting charter-like practices in district public schools." http://bit.ly/1RWb50y

Organizers say Seaport Indy race a go

Several state agencies are expected to sign on to a letter of intent today with Grand Prix of Boston that will clear the way for the Indy Car race planned for the Seaport District in September, the Globe reports. The Massachusetts Port Authority, the Convention Center Authority, the state Department of Transportation, and the MBTA are expected to endorse the plans that will be laid out to address safety concerns and issues raised by the neighborhood ahead of the event, clearing the way for organizers to put tickets on sale as soon as next week. http://bit.ly/1QtKbhl

Gaming Commission says MGM can start building

MGM got the green light to begin early construction on its Springfield resort casino, a sign the Massachusetts Gaming Commission believes that the host of design changes brought forward do not materially affect the overall project, MassLive reports. Although they will vote on the specific changes MGM has made at a later date, the vote will "get the ball rolling" on the project, said MGC Chairman Stephen Crosby. http://bit.ly/1k664F2

Rosenberg: Scrutiny of fiancé "offensive"

Senate President Stan Rosenberg says the week's worth of intense media scrutiny around the potential political plans of his fiancé is "offensive" and driven in part by the fact that he is the first openly gay leader of the Senate, the Herald reports. Speculation that Bryon Hefner, Rosenberg's longtime partner, would run for a Senate seat next year centered on the impacts the move would have on Rosenberg's ability to lead the chamber, something he says would not have happened if the gender roles were different. "Everyone who is in politics who has a spouse or significant other has the same situation," he said. "You go home after work, you talk about your work. You have a give and take. It doesn't mean they are driving our decisions or making the decisions." http://bit.ly/1TTzVg4

Boston raises tobacco-buying age to 21

Joining a growing number of communities around the state, the Boston City Council voted to raise the minimum legal age to buy cigarettes and tobacco products from 18 to 21 starting in February, WBUR reports. The council's vote was unanimous and covers e-cigarettes as well and brings to 85 the number of cities and towns in Massachusetts to move the legal age to 21.http://wbur.fm/1PaDVb0

End-of-year charitable giving, part 1

Our request yesterday for end-of-year charitable giving ideas received a wonderfully enthusiastic response. Here is the first batch; we'll run more on Monday and will continue to feature them through the end of the year as long they come in. Send charitable giving suggestions (no more than two sentences and a link for donations) to me at gdonnelly@massterlist.com.

Pine Street Inn ends homelessness for men and women by moving them off the street, out of shelter and into housing. Pine Street also offers job training and placement to help individuals rebuild their lives and move toward self-sufficiency.

www.pinestreetinn.org/donate

Science Club for Girls (SCFG) has been providing free, fun, STEM-focused after school programs for girls for over 20 years. What began as one kindergarten club in 1994 is now serving more than 1,000 girls in grades K-12 annually in Boston, Cambridge, Newton, Brookline and Lawrence, led by over 200 volunteer mentor scientists. To support SCFG's work with a donation, please visit: www.scienceclubforgirls.org/make-a-donation

OARS restores the health of the Assabet, Sudbury and Concord rivers through sound science, education and advocacy. Successful in setting precedents for pollution reduction, OARS works to protect the recreation, drinking water and wildlife resources of these wild and scenic rivers in the face of climate disruption.

http://www.oars3rivers.org/take-action/Donate

Massachusetts Public Health Association is a private, non-profit, statewide membership organization that promotes a healthy Massachusetts through advocacy, education, community organizing, and coalition-building. Donate to MPHA here: http://mapublichealth.org/joindonate/donate/

PHENOM (the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts) is a grassroots, member-led organization that promotes well funded, affordable, accessible, well staffed and democratically governed public higher education in Massachusetts, by uniting key stakeholders, including students, staff, faculty, and alumni. bit.ly/supportPHENOM

MathPOWER's mission is to transform the lives of urban youth by developing proficiency in advanced mathematics and personal resiliency. We particularly focus on Boston Public School students in middle school and high school and provide after school programming, an Algebra Plus Summer Academy and coaching/professional development of math teachers.

https://mathpower.thankyou4caring.org/

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts works to defend our individual rights and liberties as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Leading the fights to fix our public records law, protect access to abortion and reproductive health, adopt usage of police body cameras, reform the criminal justice system and end mass incarceration, and to take a public health approach to the opioid crisis, the ACLU is often there when we are at our most vulnerable and our rights and liberties are facing their gravest threats.https://aclum.org/take-action/give/

The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations supports local, resident-led community development organizations that help low and moderate income families and the communities where they live. MACDC leverages policy advocacy, capacity building and research to help these high-impact organizations to succeed. Donors that give $1,000 or more can also receive a 50% tax credit through the Massachusetts Community Investment Tax Credit.https://macdc.org/donate

Excel Academy is among the top-performing public school networks in the country for low-income Latino children and is growing with a new high school. Please consider supporting a transformational educational environment for students from East Boston and Chelsea who deserve the best tuition-free public school to prepare them to not just get into college, but to succeed in college. excelacademy.org.

Doctor Franklin Perkins School, Lancaster, MA:As the Boston Globe said about Perkins, "Four our most challenged children, a school that offers hope and love." http://perkinsprograms.org/opportunities-for-support/

St. Francis House is the largest day shelter in the Commonwealth, serving more than 600 poor and homeless men and women a day, 365 days a year on their road out of homelessness. In the past year, SFH has provided 300,000 meals, provided 10,000 changes of clothes, 9,161 showers, 10,000 counseling sessions, 8,761medical appointments, and provided 56 units of permanent housing, all in addition to providing ongoing life skills and vocational training for guests. Donate to St. Francis House.

Sunday public affairs TV shows

NECN, 10 am - DC Dialogue. Guests: Jim Brett, New England Council CEO; James Pindell, the Boston Globe; Jim O-Connell, MD, President of Boston Healthcare for The Homeless; Topics: Presidential politics; meet a doctor who literally provides health care on the streets to the homeless; and highlights from Capitol Hill in 2015.

NECN, 12:30 pm - This Week in Business. Jim Lowell, Chief Investment Officer, Adviser Investments takes us through the Fed interest rate change and the potential implications in the long and short term; Matt Light, former New England Patriots Player and Founder and President of the Light Foundation talks about his work and the transition from football to the foundation.

NECN, 8:30 pm - CEO Corner: Marjorie Ringrose of Social Venture Partners (SVP); Mike Wasserman, MA Executive Director of Bottom Line, a college mentoring organization; and Jeff Kushner, a skilled volunteer with SVP talk about this global organization and its unique approach to giving, which involves a monetary commitment and a time commitment.

WCVB TV Channel 5, 11 am - On The Record. Guest: Robert DeSalvio, president of Wynn Everett. Moderated by NewsCenter 5 anchor Ed Harding and State House reporter Janet Wu.