PRETENSE! FOR PROFIT SCHOOLS = CHARTER SCHOOLS! MASSterList: The case of the dirty laundry | The T seeks repair parts from museums | Why won't the GMO bill pass?

If you weren't suspicious about the BOGUS CHARTER SCHOOL push, maybe your smeller isn't workin' so good.....

How is this GRASSROOTS? Seems like another 'Follow the Deep Pocketed FOR PROFIT SCHOOLS.'

Group plans $18 million charter lobbying effort 

A deep-pocketed nonprofit coalition has launched the first salvos of what could be $18 million worth of spending aimed at swaying lawmakers to ease the state's charter school cap, the Globe reports. Great Schools Massachusetts -- a group led by Gov. Baker's chief campaign strategist -- and other organizations have begun the push with targeted mailings to certain state senate districts, including that of Senate President Stan Rosenberg. http://bit.ly/1ZpCgGK 

 

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan

Today: Fantasy sports returns while Crosby says the Legislature should act Most of the drama in fantasy sports in the past few months has been taking place in New York, where Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been pursuing top fantasy companies FanDuel and DraftKings as illegal gambling entities. Yesterday, in a white paper released by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Stephen Crosby urged the Legislature to actively determine the legality of daily fantasy sports. "Until this legal uncertainty is resolved - which can only be done by the Legislature - the citizens of Massachusetts, DFS players, and DFS companies alike (including one of the leaders, DraftKings, which is located in Boston), will find their activities risky, and the DFS future utterly uncertain," Crosby wrote. This sets the stage for Attorney General Maura Healey's public hearing today on her proposed consumer protection regulations for the fantasy sports industry, which will be held at 100 Cambridge St., 2nd floor - rooms B thru D, Boston, 10:00 am. Also today: Baker on the radio, SOTU tonight - Mayor Walsh offers keynote remarks at the Corporate Mentoring Summit, an annual event hosted by Mass Mentoring Partnership, 11:30 am, at Ernst & Young, 200 Clarendon St. - Gov. Baker returns to the airwaves for an "Ask the Governor" segment, noon, WGBH FM 89.7. - President Obama's State of the Union address begins at 9:00 pm tonight. T closes some of its operating deficit; buyouts coming Some positive financial news emerged from the T's Fiscal Management and Control Board yesterday: the structural deficit has been cut in half for the first five months of the fiscal year, to $51 million. Higher revenues and some cost savings on energy helped. Now the T is getting ready to implement an early retirement program, with the goal of eliminating 300 positions. CommonWealth magazine's Bruce Mohl has more financial details. http://bit.ly/1W20Bgc A new price tag coming for GLX: There's even more T news. The T has brought in a new team to run the Green Line Extension project, including Jack Wright, a former Big Dig manager. A new price tag for the project, which was budgeted at $2 billion but was facing cost overruns of another $1 billion, is expected in April, Matt Stout of the Herald reports. http://bit.ly/1RIUZad The T needs repair parts from museums: And yet capital needs appear to be endless at the T, and the need to replace its fleet of Green Line rail cars came up at yesterday's board meeting. The price tag: about $1 billion. Many of the Green Line cars are old, but the 10 cars that service the Mattapan Line date to 1945, reports the State House News Service's Andy Metzger. "At times we actually need to reach out to trolley museums to get components and parts to be able to keep these vehicles in revenue service," Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gonneville told the board. http://bit.ly/1JGYwoa (pay wall) Almost everybody's in favor of the GMO bill. Why won't it pass? A bill to require labeling of genetically modified food sits in the Legislature with the sponsorship of 155 of 200 lawmakers, writes blogger HesterPrynne. But will Massachusetts move forward and follow Vermont, which passed a labeling bill in 2014 that will go into effect this July if it prevails over legal challenges? Ms. Prynne makes the case for the legislation here: http://bit.ly/1Rj1IZZ Ted Cruz's case against himself Harvard Law professor and constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe weighs in on the recent controversy about Ted Cruz's eligibility to serve as president, saying the candidate's "originalist" judicial philosophy about interpreting the constitution would, ironically, rule him out. http://bit.ly/1Zh4Rsp The Massachusetts Competitive Partnership flexes some muscle It is the business group for big-shots only: The Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, where only CEOs (or former CEOs) of very large Massachusetts companies can join. The Globe's Jon Chesto explores the impact of the group, which includes the likes of John Fish, Abby Johnson, and former Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson. While it conjures memories of the Vault, the once all-powerful group of Boston business leaders, Massachusetts' economy is far more diversified a generation later. http://bit.ly/1ZoS8td Senator Joyce's dirty laundry An offer for free dry cleaning that Sen. Brian Joyce took advantage of for 10 years -- that's the story of a former Randolph dry cleaner. Or was the dry cleaning in exchange for Joyce's legal services? That's what Joyce, through his lawyer, claims. You be the judge, in this interesting tale by Globe reporter Andrea Estes.http://bit.ly/1OnLFnM Group plans $18 million charter lobbying effort  A deep-pocketed nonprofit coalition has launched the first salvos of what could be $18 million worth of spending aimed at swaying lawmakers to ease the state's charter school cap, the Globe reports. Great Schools Massachusetts -- a group led by Gov. Baker's chief campaign strategist -- and other organizations have begun the push with targeted mailings to certain state senate districts, including that of Senate President Stan Rosenberg. http://bit.ly/1ZpCgGK  Be our guests at the SOTU Members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation have announced the guests they will bring to Tuesday night's final State of the Union speech from President Obama, the Globe reports. A 9-year-old Syrian refugee will attend as a guest of Congressman Seth Moulton, while Sen. Ed Markey will highlight the issue of gun violence with his guest and Sen. Elizabeth Warren has invited a UMass Lowell student to illustrate the issue of college debt. http://bit.ly/1ZY4LYM  Supreme Court says no to T speech case  The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a free speech case involving the MBTA, Boston magazine's Garrett Quinn reports. The American Freedom Defense Initiative had sued the T in 2013 after it refused to run their pro-Israel ads. The T has since updated its advertising policy. http://bit.ly/1JHomsl  MGM emails detail tension with city  Emails between MGM and city workers in Springfield show the casino company took steps to avoid being responsible in the future for $64,000-per-day penalties if it was late in delivering its downtown casino, laying some of the blame on disagreements over the preservation of an historic building, MassLive reports. The issue, discussed in emails obtained through a records request, has since been resolved after MGM pushed its expected opening date back a year to avoid nearby highway construction.  http://bit.ly/1RztX6Q  Harshbarger to lead RI school probe   Former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger has been tapped to lead an investigation into St. George's, the Rhode Island private school under fire for its handling of abuse cases dating to the 1970s, the Globe reports. http://bit.ly/1ZhSGM2 Cities face fees in panhandling cases  The cities of Worcester and Lowell, which lost court cases over their ordinances that sought to limit panhandling in downtown areas, now face sizable legal bills from the law firm that worked on behalf of the ACLU in the cases, the Telegram reports. Goodwin Procter has billed Worcester for just over $1 million in costs and fees, and is seeking $736,000 from Lowell. Both cities have called the costs unreasonable. http://bit.ly/1SfEN1y REMEMBER: To send your tips to me at gdonnelly@massterlist.com. Op-eds and other commentary are invited for publication on MASSterList. Subscribe now for free!

TODAY'S TOP STORIES

National headlines  Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina cut from main GOP debate lineup - The Boston Globe Local Congress members announce guests for State of Union - The Boston Globe State headlines  Charter school advocates launch $18 million campaign - The Boston Globe T wish list in billions Mass. nannies face wage-law violations, survey shows - The Boston Globe A dispute over Sen. Brian Joyce's dirty laundry raises ethical questions - The Boston Globe Supreme Court Declines to Hear MBTA Free Speech Case House unveils its own opioid bill - CommonWealth Magazine T hires interim Green Line ext. team - CommonWealth Magazine T cites progress on structural deficit - CommonWealth Magazine The Green Line extension's fate could be decided this spring Massachusetts House to vote Wednesday on comprehensive opioid bill Opioids to fantasy sports, busy year 1 for Healey Information About Hundreds Of Sex Offenders Will Not Be Public For 'Years' Local headlines  New candidate to run for East Boston Senate seat - The Boston Globe UMass Dartmouth bans hoverboards on campus John George's stashed cash, valuables near $2.5 million, feds say Mashpee tribe members hoist flag to celebrate land victory Watchdog groups question latest Pilgrim inspection Defeated Quincy candidate says he's entitled to vacant city council seat Two Framingham Democrats register campaigns for rep. seat Charlton hires help to collect unpaid police detail payments Keep a lid on taxes, says Worcester City Council Michael Gaffney Grafton residents air worries about proposed marijuana dispensary Worcester, Lowell socked with costs, fees from lawsuits on panhandling limits Meet Boston's most powerful business group - The Boston Globe Longmeadow casino traffic mitigation plan proposed MGM Springfield's $64K question: Emails show MGM sparred with city over historic preservation delays MGM Springfield: Internal emails show both tension and cooperation between city and MGM