Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton is expected to testify at a House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change that’s also expected to cover the issue of the transportation sector's contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, Hearing Room B-2, 1 p.m.
| Today's News |
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| DeLeo on transgender bill: Let’s forgo conference committee and get this done |
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As expected, the House yesterday overwhelmingly approved the transgender anti-discrimination bill, after a long and emotional debate on Beacon Hill. After the vote, House Speaker Robert DeLeo had a suggestion: How about avoiding a conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate bills? “It will be my wish that we're able to avoid a conference committee,” DeLeo told reporters, according to a report by Andy Metzger at State House New Service. “I believe that the governor made it clear that he would sign the House bill. ... I'm hopeful that the Senate will follow our lead and have this pass." Even if the bill does go to conference committee, the Senate will probably cave on the minor differences between the two bills. It’s just not worth the risk and hassle.
SHNS (pay wall) |
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| Lack of contested legislative races prompts Harshbarger to jump party ship |
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The statistics are pretty damning: Of 200 House and Senate seats on Beacon Hill, 127 of them will go uncontested this year – and more than two-thirds of incumbent lawmakers seeking re-election this fall won’t be facing a challenger, according to a Lowell Sun piece by Katie Lannan and Colin A. Young
of State House News Service. Obviously, the lack of competition ensures a continued Democratic dominance of the legislature that now spans more than a half century in Massachusetts.
Enter Scott Harshbarger, the former Democratic state attorney general, gubernatorial candidate and head of Common Cause, who says in CommonWealth magazine that he’s joining for now the United Independent Party. The goal: To promote more competition in legislative races that hopefully will lead to lasting campaign-finance and other reforms. From Harshbarger’s declaration:
“Let’s be clear, in Massachusetts, neither my Democratic Party with its overwhelming majority, nor the on-life-support Republican Party solicits or encourages citizens to run for office against any incumbent of either party. As an official party, the United Independent Party will offer us challengers in races across the Commonwealth under a banner of independent thinkers promoting nonpartisan public policies that deserve to be heard and debated. That fact alone will begin creating the climate for reform.”
CommonWealth
| Baker reverses Patrick’s policy on detaining illegal immigrants |
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Gov. Charlie Baker is reversing former Gov. Deval Patrick’s policy that barred the state police from detaining undocumented immigrants at the request of federal immigration officials, a policy shift intended to capture dangerous convicts, reports Matt Stout of the Herald. As Stout notes: “The move is also likely to draw fire from immigrant advocates, who have regularly railed against Gov. Charlie Baker’s stance on their issues and have long criticized the feds’ approach to deportation.”
Actually, we’d say the move is guaranteed to draw fire from advocates. But will it draw fire from enough pols in an election year to make a difference? Granted, the vast majority of legislators aren’t facing challengers this November. But it’s still a safe – and centrist -- political move by Baker.
Boston Herald |
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| As she blasts Trump, Warren is now ‘communicating regularly’ with Clinton campaign |
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Even though she has yet to endorse Democrat Hillary Clinton, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s advisors are now "communicating regularly" with the Clinton presidential campaign, as Democrats slowly coalesce around Clinton to present a united anti-Trump front, reports Abby Phillip and Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post. The piece notes that both sides insist there’s no formal coordination, but that’s what appears to be happening behind the scenes.
The WaPo story adds that there likely will be “no endorsement by Warren until after the last round of primaries” between Clinton and Democratic rival Bernie Sanders. Warren's fence-sitting on an endorsement has drawn criticism from some quarters amidst worries that Democrats are too divided heading into this summer's party convention.
Washington Post
| Layoffs loom as T offers buyouts |
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The MBTA will begin offering retirement buyouts to its workforce today, hoping to cull hundreds of workers voluntarily from payrolls, Nicole Dungca of the Globe reports. Two separate buyout programs will target those eligible for retirement. The T says it will save more than $37 million annually with the cuts and has not ruled out layoffs if needed to reduce headcount.
Boston Globe |
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| Retail association rejects the retail sale of marijuana |
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The president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts says his business group is opposing a proposed ballot measure legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Massachusetts, calling legalization a “real can of worms” that will lead to a very “litigious environment,” reports Gintautas Dumcius at MassLive. Jon Hurst, president of the retailers' group, said the ballot measure has "too many flaws."
MassLive
| Investigative report: Prosecutors withheld evidence of corrupt narcotics testing |
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We missed this important story, by Shawn Musgrave of the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, that appeared at WGBH over the Memorial Day weekend: “Massachusetts prosecutors withheld evidence of corrupt state narcotics testing for months from a defendant facing drug charges, and didn’t release it until after his conviction, according to newly surfaced documents and emails. The case of Rolando Penate has become a leading example for lawyers calling for further investigation into alleged misconduct by prosecutors who handled documents seized from Sonja Farak, the Amherst crime-lab chemist convicted of stealing and tampering with drug samples.”
We’re sure we’re going to hear a lot more about Sonja Farak and other tainted cases – probably in the thousands -- in coming months and years.
WGBH |
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| Is Massachusetts the next Puerto Rico? |
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With a high debt load and unfunded liabilities, Massachusetts ranks 49th among states for fiscal solvency and the commonwealth is now “walking on the same road as Puerto Rico” in terms of fiscal management, according to the author of a new George Mason University study, reports the Herald’s Jordan Graham. “Massachusetts’ economy is far stronger than Puerto Rico, their debt loads are nowhere near Puerto Rico, but it’s that habit they’ve got to look out for,” said Eileen Norcross, a senior research fellow at GMU’s Mercatus Center. “If it’s an ongoing habit, you might be early on that road, but you’re walking on the same road as Puerto Rico.”
The Baker administration is disputing the report, noting the state’s strong economy and stable credit rating.
Boston Herald
| Gants declares DeLeo leak inquiry closed |
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The state’s highest court says it is closing its inquiry into who leaked a confidential transcript of House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s testimony in the probation department scandal, Bruce Mohl of CommonWealth magazine reports. Chief Justice Ralph Gants said law enforcement agencies involved in the case told the court they were not responsible for leaking the transcript to the Globe.
CommonWealth |
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| Is Mayor Walsh losing the support of the black community? |
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Some members of the Boston black community who helped propel Mayor Marty Walsh into office are wavering in their support as he ramps up his re-election bid, reports Meghan E. Irons of the Globe. Some former supporters are working behind the scenes to recruit challengers to Walsh while others express disappointment about how much Walsh has done to address issues important to the black community, including income inequality.
Boston Globe
| Somerville runs up $400K tab challenging Wynn |
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The city of Somerville has spent $400,000 in the past year to challenge approvals of Steve Wynn’s proposed Everett casino, though the overall cost is likely higher, according to a report from Adam Vaccaro of Boston.com. One of those challenges—to a DEP permit issued for construction of the $1.8 billion project—heads to a state hearing today.
Boston.com |
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| Cops in SouthCoast region say opioid problem ‘out of control’ |
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An overdose on a busy highway in the midst of the holiday weekend and a spate of four overdoses in a 24-hour period are the latest reminders that the opioid problem remains critical in the SouthCoast region, Curt Brown of the Standard-Times reports. "It's out of control," said Detective Capt. Steven Vicente, a spokesman for the New Bedford Police Department. "Every day we have four or more overdoses throughout the city."
Standard-Times
| Anti-Semitic incidents are on the dramatic rise in New England |
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Reports of anti-Semitic incidents are dramatically rising across New England, apparently fueled by vandalism, harassment, and other acts at schools and colleges, according to the Anti-Defamation League, as reported by the Globe’s Steven Rosenberg. According to the ADL, there have already been 56 anti-Semitic acts in the region this year, nearly as many as for all of 2015, when 61 were reported.
“Clearly, people are acting out on some long-held stereotypes and hatred toward Jews, and it’s designed to send a message of intimidation,” said Robert Trestan, director of the New England Regional Office of the ADL.
Boston Globe |
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| 'Court: Man bit off more than he could chew,’ specifically a nose |
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From Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin: “The Massachusetts Appeals Court yesterday upheld a Swampscott man's conviction for a 2012 attack in Revere that left his former business partner with part of his nose missing. The court ruled that Kenneth Michaud, 44, got a fair trial and he just needs to deal with the 3-to-5-year prison sentence he got after a jury convicted him of assault and battery causing serious personal injury and mayhem. "
Universal Hub
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