Robert Kennedy Jr., son of former U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy and cousin of Michael Skakel, will discuss his new book "Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison for Murder He Didn't Commit" with host Jim Braude. Skakel is Kennedy's cousin, WGBH-TV Ch 2, 7 p.m.
| Today's News |
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| A divided Republican state delegation arrives in Cleveland |
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The small Massachusetts GOP delegation has arrived in Cleveland for today’s opening of the Republican Party National Convention, minus some key party players, such as Gov. Charlie Baker and former Gov. Mitt Romney, both of whom have made clear their disdain for the soon-be-nominated Donald Trump, reports the AP’s Steve LeBlanc at SouthCoastToday. And of the state Republicans who are attending, they appear as divided as GOP delegates from other states over Trump, reports the Globe’s Michael Levenson. “My feeling is that we have two of the worst candidates ever running for president of the United States,” said Jim Rappaport, a delegate and former state GOP party chairman, referring to the Republican Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
So is Rappaport an outlier in his contempt for both candidates? Apparently not, with new polls showing deep discontent among voters over the presidential choices they have this year. Other polls, such as a new Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald survey, show Clinton clinging to very narrow lead over Trump. How shaky is Clinton’s lead? Let’s put it this way: Elizabeth Warren polls better in a one-on-one match up against Trump, although even Warren doesn’t poll above 50 percent, reports the Herald's Joe Battenfeld. Meanwhile, Bill Weld’s Libertarian ticket isn’t doing so hot, pulling in just 7 percent of the vote, marginally ahead of Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s 2 percent.
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| Remember: It could always get worse in Cleveland … |
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As divided as they may be in Cleveland, state delegates should always remember: The last time the Republican National Convention was held in Cleveland, Worcester Mayor Walter J. Cookson, only in office six months, died of a heart attack in his Cleveland hotel room early on June 11, 1936, reports Steven H. Foskett Jr. at the Telegram. So hopefully it can't and won't get worse.
The Telegram |
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| 'Berkowitz for President' |
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Roger Berkowitz, head of Legal Sea Foods, is rebooting his tongue-in-cheek campaign for president, taking out full-page color ads in the Globe and Herald this morning on the opening day of the Republican Party National Convention. The ad features a photo of Donald Trump oddly holding his hands in the air like a doctor awaiting the start of surgery. Roger’s message: “I can assure you, it’s not the size of your hands that’s important, but rather, the size of your shrimp – Berkowitz for President #feeltheberk.” That’s what we like about his candidacy: bold, decisive, right-to-the-gut truth. Fyi: Roger’s last media blitz occurred before Super Tuesday, as reported by Restaurant Business.
Restaurant Business |
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| Chaos Syndrome, explained |
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We agree with a Herald editorial that Jonathan Rauch has written one hell of a story in Atlantic magazine about the breakdown of America’s party system, largely due to good-intentioned reforms that have unintentionally led to a bad case of what he calls “chaos syndrome.” From Rauch: “Chaos syndrome is a chronic decline in the political system’s capacity for self-organization. It begins with the weakening of the institutions and brokers—political parties, career politicians, and congressional leaders and committees—that have historically held politicians accountable to one another and prevented everyone in the system from pursuing naked self-interest all the time. As these intermediaries’ influence fades, politicians, activists, and voters all become more individualistic and unaccountable. The system atomizes. Chaos becomes the new normal—both in campaigns and in the government itself.”
Not that he’s pining for the return of Boss Tweed, Mayor Daley or James Michael Curley. But he does make excellent points that parties have lost control of the process and there are consequences to that loss of control, i.e. the forthcoming nomination of Donald Trump as the GOP’s presidential candidate.
The Atlantic |
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| ISIS’s local hit list |
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We’re tempted not to even mention this story, figuring it just plays into the sick publicity game of demented terrorists. But the story is already out there, so here goes: An apparent cyber-affiliate of the Islamic State has issued what appears to be a hit list of more than 200 rank-and-file government employees in Massachusetts, in the latest move by ISIS fanatics to try to strike fear among Americans, reports the Globe’s Jan Ransom. Two other lists released Saturday contained the names of government employees in Rhode Island and Chicago, bringing to ten the total number of similar lists in the US. No one on previous lists have been harmed, officials stress, but FBI, State Police and other law enforcement groups are nevertheless taking the latest lists quite seriously, reports Ransom.
Boston Globe |
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Sponsored
Consumers for Sensible Energy promotes responsible energy policies that assure adequate energy supplies at fair prices. We have joined the fight in Massachusetts against natural gas pipelines we don’t need, that transport fossil fuels we don’t want, and at a $3 billion cost to consumers we can’t afford. More information at www.ConsumersForSensibleEnergy.org. |
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| Good near-term news for state budget: U.S. economy humming along |
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For the past year or so (and especially over the past few months), Massachusetts has lurched from one mini-budget crisis to the next – and our immediate fear was that it would only get worse if the U.S. economy significantly slowed, harming not just the state’s capital gains revenues but also its sales and income tax revenues. For the time being, it looks like those fears are unfounded, with reports of recent strong retail spending, factory output and payroll hiring, as reported by the Associated Press. The hunch here is that the next year will indeed be economically rocky – and Gov. Baker was saying over the weekend that he’s “very nervous” about future mid-year state budget hits, reports State House News Service (pay wall). Still, the latest economic news is encouraging, at least in the near term. |
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| Baker imposes hiring freeze within his executive-branch agencies |
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Though the economy remains strong, Gov. Charlie Baker late last week instituted a hiring freeze for all executive branch agencies under his control, as state officials grapple with falling tax revenues (largely tied to capital gains) that are ripping giant holes in the state budget, according to wire reports at the Milford Daily News. But Baker did say, in a memo to cabinet members on Friday, that new hires will be permitted where affordable within existing payroll caps and that cabinet secretaries also can seek a waiver for individual positions. So it’s really a quasi-hiring freeze, right? Looks like it.
Milford Daily News
| Report: Globe has deal to sell HQ but details scarce |
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The Boston Globe said late last it has reached a deal to sell its Morrissey Boulevard headquarters but details are scarce on who the buyer may be and what they have in mind for the high-profile location, David Harris of the Boston Business Journal reports. This is the second time the Globe has reached this stage in its efforts to unload the headquarters since announcing plans to move its news operations downtown, Harris notes, a move planned for Jan. 1. The Globe says it has signed a confidentiality agreement that prohibits it from releasing details at this stage.
BBJ |
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| So who paid for those T-shirts, signs and other knickknacks at the pro-charter schools kickoff last week? |
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Maurice Cunningham at MassPoliticalProfs looks at the photos from last week’s kickoff rally for the charter-schools ballot question and notices something missing: The financial backers who are funding the ballot initiative seeking to expand charter schools in Massachusetts. He has a list of donors to the Great Schools Massachusetts ballot committee, until recently known as Public Charter Schools for Massachusetts.
MassPoliticalProfs
| Somerville loses its $400K environmental-permit bet |
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Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone took it on the legal chin when a Department of Environmental Protection hearing official recommended late last week that Wynn Resorts should be given a controversial waterfront permit to build a new casino in Everett as long as it follows certain conditions, reports Casino News Daily. Though DEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg has final say over the matter, the hearing officer’s recommendation is expected to carry the day and is considered a huge win for Wynn Resorts – and a major and expensive loss for Curtatone and the city of Somerville, which Boston.com recently reported has spent $400,000 fighting the $2.1 billion casino project. Will Curtatone double down on his opposition bet and continue the fight? |
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| Report shows income inequality most stark in Gateway Cities |
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Workers in so-called Gateway Cities such as Brockton would be making an additional $30,000 a year if only their income had risen at the same rate as the overall state average, Marc Larocque of the Enterprise reports. A MassBudget report shows incomes in Brockton rose just 4 percent between 1979 and 2012, compared to 27 percent statewide. As a result, the average Brockton resident earns just $47,000 annually, instead of $76,000 if their salaries had kept pace.
The Enterprise
| Ethics questions posed by Lawrence councilors’ votes |
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An effort by Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera to increase inspection fees the city charges landlords has run into a roadblock, with councilors who own and rent out property helping to derail the proposal, Keith Eddings of the Eagle-Tribune reports. Among those voting to halt the increases is Councilor Modesto Maldonado, who owns 42 properties in the city and would be facing thousands of dollars in new fees. Maldonado said he is not violating state Ethics Commission rules because the increases would affect all the city’s landlords, not just him.
Eagle-Tribune |
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| Getting to know the newest SJC justice |
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Fresh off his confirmation as the latest justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Frank Gaziano sat down with reporter Benjamin Paulin of the Brockton Enterprise and said that while he brings no specific agenda to the court, he is eager to see how certain legal issues unfold, including privacy issues around digital search and seizure. The former state and federal prosecutor said Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Polito never asked him about his politics and that the issue only arose before the Governor’s Council. "A lot of the questions were regarding judicial philosophy, questions regarding my background as a judge and federal and state prosecutor. Questions on legal areas, like corporate law, search and seizure law, it really ran the gamut,” Gaziano said. “It was a very thorough vetting process.”
The Enterprise
| The pay of public college presidents continues to climb and climb … |
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Salaries of public college presidents nationwide continue to rise and the University of Massachusetts system is keeping pace, according to a report to be released today by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Laura Krantz of the Globe reports. The data focus on 2014-2015, so it includes the last year of former UMass President Robert Caret’s tenure, and it found his pay ranked 22d out of 259 presidents across the country.
Boston Globe |
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| Feds sue over Boston Harbor cable placement |
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Federal officials have gone to court to force Eversource and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to move an electrical cable to make way for a $300 million dredging project to allow larger boats to access Boston Harbor, Greg Ryan of the Boston Business Journal reports. The Feds say that the cable was not properly placed by Eversource predecessor Boston Edison, when it was first laid in 1990. The MWRA has also sued the utility to get the cable moved.
BBJ |
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