Friday, December 11, 2015
By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan
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Today: Fallen Heroes Dinner; Vicky Kennedy addresses education meeting
The Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial Dinner is tonight, and among the politicians attending will be Gov. Baker, Mayor Walsh, and Treasurer Goldberg. Walsh makes remarks at 6:30 pm. It's at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St., Boston.
Victoria Reggie Kennedy gives the keynote address on the final day of the New England Association of School and Colleges Annual Meeting of Conference. Kennedy is the co-founder and board of trustee president at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave., Boston, 12:20 pm.
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh participates in Macy's annual coat drive.....Macy's, 450 Washington St., Boston, 4:45 pm.
The Ghost Train as irresistible metaphor
A Red Line train chugs along north from Braintree yesterday without a conductor, terrifying 50 passengers as it bypasses four stops before T personnel cut power to the third rail. The conductor was left behind after leaving the train to put it in bypass mode after a signal problem.
As the investigation continues into the specific incident, there's rich symbolism everywhere, for the T is a runaway problem careening out of control, burdened with debt, ancient rolling stock, with $7 billion in deferred maintenance and growing operating losses. New management maneuvers like the T control board, privatization efforts and new snow fighting equipment will only go so far. In other words, the Ghost Train is only the tip of the iceberg of a still-broken system.
Going forward, every T misstep large (like yesterday) or small will be magnified. That's because the T, in all its decrepit glory, has become a political and media obsession. Yesterday the Globe threw eight reporters on the Ghost Train story. Yet they didn't answer a basic question: Why was there a signal problem in the first place? The answer is signal problems are epidemic on the T, a product of outdated equipment that regularly jams signals and desperately needs to be replaced. It's 2015, and yet a train conductor working alone had to step outside to manually override a signal problem. That says everything you need to know about the T.
The Globe's Ghost Train team coverage is here: http://bit.ly/1Q3jbVW
There's Ghost Train song list (and Twitter handle)
It was only a few hours before a Ghost Train twitter handle @ghosttrainred surfaced. And Boston magazine wasted no time coming up with a Ghost Train playlist:
MGC calls for agency to oversee daily fantasy
Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby called for the establishment of a regulatory agency to oversee Daily Fantasy Sports, saying the online landscape is changing too fast for lawmakers to keep up with, the Herald reports. "I think it's asking too much for the Legislature to be able to react on an almost weekly basis as all these technologies evolve," Crosby said during a lengthy meeting on the subject Thursday as the commission prepares to present a report on regulation back to the governor. http://bit.ly/1NZB3jW
Meanwhile, both FanDuel and DraftKings expressed support for the state's emerging regulatory approach, the Associated Press reports via the Cape Cod Times. A lawyer for DraftKings called the rules drafted by Attorney General Maura Healey "reasonable" while a FanDuel attorney said they could become a model for other states to follow. http://bit.ly/1Z2ZQ8E
MBTA yanks four GLX contracts
The MBTA has canceled the contracts of four firms working on the troubled Green Line extension project, part of a process the T says will also include revamping its internal project management team, CommonWealth magazine reports. http://bit.ly/1M6YbWh
Why GE might choose Mass.
A day after breaking the news that Boston's seaport is in the running to host GE's new global headquarters, the Globe follows up by analyzing the reasons the Connecticut company would choose to land on the South Boston waterfront. The state's relatively stable finances, a competitive tax environment and recent tax incentive deals to attract companies from out of state are all seen as key advantages. http://bit.ly/1RdVLx2
And Globe columnist Shirley Leung goes into full-on chamber of commerce mode, penning an open letter to GE CEO Jeff Immelt that lays out the case."Here in Boston, GE would be the biggest fish our pond has ever seen," Leung writes. "Boston would become a GE company town." http://bit.ly/1OVLV1e
Factory that overcame fire to close
Meanwhile, an iconic Massachusetts business that became a symbol for corporate compassion and generosity by overcoming a devastating fire is being felled by economics. The Globe reports that Polartec will shutter its Lawrence factory, which owners rebuilt following a devastating fire in 1995, when it was known as Malden Mills. The owner at the time of the blaze, Aaron Feuerstein, won wide acclaim for continuing to pay idled workers while the factory rebuilt. He called the cost-driven decision to move the factory's work elsewhere "a disgrace."http://bit.ly/1IJh3jh
Gov to use HBO film to lobby on opioids
Gov. Baker plans to hold a screening for lawmakers of the upcoming HBO documentary film focusing on the opioid epidemic and its toll on communities on Cape Cod, Boston.com reports. Baker will invite lawmakers to see the film, Heroin: Cape Cod, USA which will debut later this month, next Tuesday at a local hotel, and hopes it will help inspire them to act quickly on his package of opioid-related policy proposals when they return to formal work next month. http://bit.ly/1Qi6bvm
Bill to yank Sanctuary Cities funding panned
A bill that would strip unrestricted state aid from Sanctuary Cities-where police do not share information they come across about undocumented immigrants with federal immigration officials-from was widely panned during a hearing Thursday, with lawmakers, immigration advocates and civil liberties groups lining up against it, the New Boston Post reports. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Marc Lombardo, a Billerica Republican, who did not attend the hearing before the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government. http://bit.ly/1QAejpq
Baker OK with moving DiMasi
Gov. Charlie Baker tells the Herald he'd be fine with former House Speaker Sal DiMasi being moved from North Carolina to a prison medical facility closer to his home to continue treatments for multiple cancers. But the governor, who noted DiMasi's fate is in federal hands, stopped short of joining Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and others who are calling for DiMasi's compassionate release. http://bit.ly/1NK945N
The Globe goes downtown
After a lengthy search, the Globe announced it has found a new headquarters, saying it would move operations in the summer of 2017 to Exchange Place, at 53 State St. The Globe notes that its new home will be just around the corner from its original home along Newspaper Row. The move sets the stage for the sale and redevelopment of the paper's highly visible home for the past 58 years on Morrissey Boulevard. http://bit.ly/1RdYdn2
Former House Dean passes
Former Rep. David Flynn, who passed away on Wednesday, was remembered for his decades of service to the state. In addition to serving two stints in the House, Flynn worked in the administrations of governors Michael Dukakis and Edward King, State House News service reports. http://bit.ly/1TEZUHX (paywall)
Gift guide, part 2: Even better ideas
It's the gurgling cod. Treat a loved one like a visiting ambassador and give him or her the gift that Gov. Baker bestows to visiting dignitaries (thank you, Mark Steffen) http://bit.ly/1NYWD8c
It's a Rand Paul t-shirt that tweaks the NSA (thanks, Scleroplex): http://bit.ly/1RHQZao
Are you a nonessential employee? Then you need this mug (thanks, Christie Young):http://bit.ly/1SRu3nn
Every political junkie needs his or her own deck of "Policards" - the 2016 edition is out (thanks, Andy Metzger): http://www.politicards.com/
Sunday public affairs TV
NECN: This Week in Business, 2:30 pm. Boston Foundation President and CEO Paul Grogan on the agency's 100th anniversary; Peter Cohan, Babson College lecturer on mergers-why some are working and others are not; plus MASSterList editor George Donnelly on some of the week's other big business headlines.
NECN: CEO Corner, 8:30 pm. Massport CEO Tom Glynn on what to expect at Logan Airport this holiday travel season. Plus, the success of the Worcester Airport, the future of The Grand Prix of Boston airport parking and yes-even Disney Cruises.
WCVB Channel 5: On The Record, 11 am. This week's guest: Congressman Bill Keating.The show is moderated by NewsCenter 5 Anchor Ed Harding and State House Reporter Janet Wu.
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