Thursday, March 10, 2016
By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan
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Today: Rosenberg interview, GOP primary debate in Florida
Senate President Stanley Rosenberg joins Boston Herald Radio's Hillary Chabot and Jaclyn Cashman for an interview on "Morning Meeting," 70 Fargo Street, 9 a.m.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network holds its annual lobby day on Beacon Hill, Nurses Hall, 11 a.m.
Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh present the annual Harvard Allston Partnership Awards, with $100,000 going to 12 local organizations, the Harvard Ed Portal, 224 Western Avenue, Allston, 5 p.m.
Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen.Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich will share the debate stage in Miami, Florida, 8:30 p.m.
Gov. Charlie Baker is vacationing with family in Utah.
The battle escalates to open the T's pension fund books
Though pressure is building in places to consider non-fare revenue sources to address the MBTA's financial woes, there's still a strong consensus on Beacon Hill that major changes and reforms must come first. Among the items on the reform TTD list is getting a public peek at the secretive MBTA's retirement fund books. Yesterday, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge brought that book opening a step closer to reality by ruling that fund finances should be made public because the system gets millions of dollars from taxpayers via the transit authority, theGlobe's Beth Healy reports.
But the skirmishing over the pension fund's books wasn't confined to the courtroom yesterday. Across town, a new report by FTI Consulting, a forensic accounting firm hired by the MBTA Retirement Fund, came out refuting allegations by Wall Street whistleblower Harry Markopolos that the fund's finances were effectively a mess. The report said such criticism were "unfounded" and "lack merit," writes State House News Service's Michael Norton.http://bit.ly/1RSx1s7 (pay wall)
For all those thinking this is nothing but inside baseball stuff, consider the following: The MBTA next year plans to contribute $84 million to the T pension fund, or nearly twice as much as the T expects to raise from the 9.3 percent fare hikes approved earlier this week over angry and anguished objections.
Prez primary update: 'The Democratic race is getting testy'
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders engaged in a raucous debate last night in Florida. Hillary clearly got the worst of it, as the Globe's Annie Linskey notes: "Moderators pointedly asked her to respond to her surprising loss to Bernie Sanders in Michigan this week, her poor poll numbers on trustworthiness, the deaths of Americans in the 2012 Benghazi attacks, as well as the controversy over her personal e-mail server and the investigation it spawned."
Even before last night's debate, most political observers were still shaking their heads and conducting postmortems after Hillary's stunning primary loss in Michigan on Tuesday. The explanations range from a poor ground game by Clinton in Michigan to Sanders tapping into deep anxieties about the economy. But how about cutting through the mustard and just stating the obvious: The Clinton political machine is way overrated in general and Hillary Clinton is a lousy campaigner. She proved that in 2008 and she's proving it again in 2016.
Next up in this crazy, non-stop campaign season: Tonight's GOP debate in Florida.
Ferhnstrom: Throw in the towel, Marco
Gov. Mitt Romney's former spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, thinks it's time Marco Rubio calls it quits. "In politics, you need three ingredients to be successful - money, organization, and message. Lacking all three, Rubio should exit now to avoid an embarrassment in Florida that could damage whatever he hopes to salvage of his political career." http://bit.ly/1RBxqg5
Is Baker facing an intra-party revolt?
Gov. Charlie Baker's slate of GOP state committee candidates may have prevailed in last week's elections. But there's no truce in sight between the moderate and conservative factions within the state Republican party.
Writing in the conservative NewBostonPost, Joseph Tortelli says whether or not Chanel Prunier, the state representative on the GOP National Committee, is re-elected next month will say much about where Baker wants to take the party. "If Prunier loses, then the Big Tent loses,"Tortelli writes. "A new slogan will unfurl for the Massachusetts Republican Party: No room for conservatives in this shrinking tent."
"internecine struggles" within the state GOP. Battenfeld: "The bad blood could even leave Baker vulnerable to a Republican primary challenge in 2018, especially if Trump happens to win the White House and decides to back his own GOP candidate in Massachusetts."
Student walkout was actually promoted by union-tied groups
That idealistic Boston student walkout the other day to protest proposed budget cuts? It was actually promoted by two groups with union ties, the Globe's Michael Levenson reports. One parent expressed support for students taking stands on issues, but said they were being "misguided" and "used as propaganda." http://bit.ly/1pz6oPK
Curtatone: Wynn engaging in 'political theater'
The war of words and actions between the city of Somerville and Wynn resorts shows no signs of letting up, with Mayor Joe Curtatone telling the Herald's Bob McGovern that the casino developer is engaging in "political theater." Curtatone said the city won't move off its position that Wynn Resorts hasn't offered to do enough to fix Somerville traffic in his Everett casino plans. The latest comments come as the state opens a hearing on the city's appeal of Wynn's environmental permit later today. http://bit.ly/1QOrkZW
Baker answers student's opioid-impact letters
Students at North Shore Recovery High School in Beverly wrote letters to Gov. Baker explaining how the opioid crisis has impacted them and before they were even sent, they have already received a response from the governor, Salem News staff writer Paul Leighton reports. Word of the letters - posted on Facebook - got to Baker through a friend of his wife. In his own letter, Baker lauded the students' courage for sharing their stories and noted that he increased funding for similar recovery schools in his budget. "There is no better case to be made for Recovery High Schools than the stories that you have bravely written and shared," Baker wrote.http://bit.ly/1U4QIQR
Lawmakers target state's stiff shoplifting penalties
The Senate's criminal justice overhaul bill is likely to include a measure that will raise the threshold for theft being treated as a felony to $1,500, up from the current level of $250 that makes the state an outlier nationwide, Joshua Miller of the Globe reports. The move has the support of Attorney General Maura Healey, who noted that the state has not changed the threshold since 1987 and said the current level is the third lowest in the country for a theft being treated as a felony. Opponents include the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, which says the move is likely to lead criminals to targeting more expensive items for theft.http://bit.ly/1pa3D7f
Ride-hailing bill advances
Legislation that would establish a new regulatory agency to oversee ride-hailing services, such as Uber and Lyft, passed the House easily Wednesday, Shira Schoenberg of MassLive reports. A two-phase background screening process would be put in place but drivers would not be subjected to fingerprinting. Uber has previously threatened to pull out of the Boston market if it was forced to fingerprint its drivers. http://bit.ly/1UhuREx
Officials fret over cost of early voting
With Massachusetts poised to offer the option of early voting for the first time ahead of the November presidential election, some local officials are worried there will be no additional state funding to support it, Steve Urbon of the Standard-Times reports. A spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin said guidelines are likely to be issued for local clerks to follow within a month. The law, signed by Gov. Deal Patrick in 2014, adds Massachusetts to a growing list of early voting states, allowing ballots to be cast starting 11 business days before the election. http://bit.ly/1R94iCC
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