Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Office for Immigrant Advancement (MOIA), will host the 11th annual We Are Boston Gala, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, 50 Park Plaza, 6:30 p.m.
| Today's News |
| |
| ‘It’s a setup’ |
| |
So former Gov. Mitt Romney plans to meet today with president-elect Donald Trump, presumably about the controversial idea of Mitt becoming secretary of state. The Globe’s Kevin Cullen, drawing on lessons learned from the movie “Goodfellas” and the fate of poor Tommy DeVito, says the whole Foggy Bottom job-offer affair is merely a ruse designed to inflict maximum humiliation on Romney for opposing Trump during the election. “It’s a setup,” writes Kevin.
Meanwhile, the Globe's Joan Vennochi reviews all the recent trash-talk by Trump aide Kellyanne Conway and concludes: “Don’t waste any time shooting Trump’s messenger. Those are Trump’s thoughts coming out of Conway’s mouth.” But the Herald’s Jaclyn Cashman hopes Trump ignores his advisers’ blather and actually appoints Mitt, who she describes as a solid choice. Besides: “Secretary of State Mitt Romney has a pretty good ring to it.” |
| |
|
| |
| Baker: We are not on Trump’s hit list |
| |
Speaking of 'Goodfellas' and people getting whacked, Gov. Charlie Baker wants to make clear that he talked to Donald Trump just prior to Thanksgiving and there’s no indication that he's plotting revenge against Massachusetts and its political establishment (including Baker) for saying nasty things about him and refusing to endorse him during the election, reports Tori Bedford at WGBH. “He did not cast any [aspersions] on Massachusetts,” Baker said on Boston Public Radio, “nor on me.” Baker described his conversation with the president-elect as “polite and cordial.”
WGBH |
| |
|
| |
| ‘All those tokers can hold their breath’ |
| |
Some lawmakers are reportedly holding backroom meetings about how to delay the scheduled opening of retail pot shops on Dec. 15, as stipulated in the just passed Question 4. But Secretary of State Bill Galvin may be helping them a bit by saying the ballot-question vote results may not be officially certified by the mid-December deadline, causing a delay in pot-shop openings, reports the Globe’s Joshua Miller and Frank Phillips. Galvin denies he’s doing the dirty work for lawmakers. “All those tokers can hold their breath a little longer, but they’ll be able to exhale” by early 2017, he joked to the Globe.
Meanwhile, the town of Ashland has become one of the first communities in the state to slap a moratorium on marijuana retail outlets after its town meeting adopted a temporary ban on pot shops, Bill Shaner of the MetroWest Daily News reports. The ban lasts until Jan. 1, 2018 or until the town can put zoning bylaws in place to restrict where such shops can open. |
| |
|
| |
| Risky business: Banks balk at financing pot industry |
| |
Also on the pot front: Only one bank, Medford’s Century Bank, has expressed interest in providing banking services to the new marijuana industry in Massachusetts, reports the BBJ’s Greg Ryan (pay wall). The other banks? They mostly view it as too risky, with too many questions about state laws and federal regulations regarding legalized marijuana, adds CommonWealth’s Jack Sullivan. How big are the risks? Check out MassLive’s list of all the ways the federal government can make life miserable for the nascent pot industry. At the top of potential concerns: Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.
| Corporations have hijacked what were supposed to be citizen petitions |
| |
As the Globe’s Frank Phillips points out, statewide ballot questions were supposed to be a way for regular citizens to let their voices be heard against special interest groups that can often dominate legislative proceedings. But it hasn’t turned out that way, not after this past election in which special interest groups spent a record $57 million on the four ballot questions voters decided earlier this month, Phillips reports.
Boston Globe |
| |
|
| |
| It’s official: Record voter turnout in Massachusetts earlier this month |
| |
From WBUR: “A record number of Massachusetts voters turned out earlier this month to take part in the presidential election. Secretary of State William Galvin said Monday that about 3.4 million votes were cast overall, eclipsing the previous record of 3.18 million votes in 2012. More than 1 million of those ballots were cast early, exceeding expectations for the state's first early voting period.”
WBUR |
| |
|
| |
| Protesters: Yank Hampshire College’s federal funds till it flies Old Glory and screams mercy |
| |
From Diane Lederman at MassLive: “A group has launched a WhiteHouse.gov petition asking the president and U.S. Congress to suspend federal funding for Hampshire College until the school returns the U.S. flag to the campus flagpole. The college has drawn fire in recent weeks -- and was the site of a large protest Sunday -- following a decision not to fly the U.S. flag or any other flags from the pole.” So how much does Hampshire College rely on fed dollars via taxpayers? About $1.7 million in Pell Grants and $5.5 million in federal student loans. And we’re sure there’s other fed and state dollars flowing through the university in various other ways.
MassLive
| Lynch sides against Pelosi in growing rift |
| |
Another sign the state's Congressional delegation ain't happy with current House Dem leadership: U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch said on Monday he will support Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan’s bid to unseat Nancy Pelosi as the leader of House Democrats, the Associated Press reports at Boston.com. Lynch said his decision, which could have ramifications should Pelosi prevail, as widely expected, stems from the Democrat’s disastrous Election Day results and a desire to regain the trust of working-class voters. U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, among others, is another Bay Stater rocking the Pelosi ship these days.
Boston.com |
| |
|
| |
| Setti’s cyber foes |
| |
First came the fake Setti Warren tweets designed to embarrass the Newton mayor, who’s thinking of running against Gov. Charlie Baker in 2018, as reported by the Herald’s Hillary Chabot. Now the head of a conservative group has snapped up four domain names of potential interest to Warren, reports SHNS(pay wall). Republicans, who also have filed a campaign finance complaint against Warren, sure appear nervous about his potential candidacy. |
| |
|
| |
| Privatization update: T seeks private-sector bids to run call center |
| |
From SHNS’s Andy Metzger at CommonWealth magazine: “The MBTA plans to go out to the market for private bidders to run its call center operations, which will likely be privatized, according to a member of the T's control board.” The move comes after the T received an unsolicited proposal from an Ohio firm seeking to run the call center, followed by a couple of other unsolicited offers, Metzger reports.
CommonWealth |
| |
|
| |
| To avoid winter shutdowns, Red Line will be shut down |
| |
The Red Line will be shut down this weekend so the MBTA can make further preparations to avoid a shut down this winter. Got it? WGBH’s Mike Deehan explains.
WGBH
| Uber and Lyft agree to early state background checks |
| |
Ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft have agreed to submit their drivers to state background checks a year earlier than scheduled, with a new division at the Department of Public Utilities, called the Transportation Network Company Division, overseeing the program, the Baker administration announced yesterday, as reported by the BBJ’s Kelly O’Brien.
BBJ |
| |
|
| |
| Boston City Council eyes bag fees |
| |
Business groups are sounding the alarm ahead of a Wednesday hearing on a proposal by two Boston city councilors to require grocery stores to charge customers 5 cents for paper or plastic bags, Dan Atkinson of the Herald reports. The proposal also requires that plastic bags be biodegradable and authorizes fines of up to $200 for stores that violate the rule.
Boston Herald |
| |
|
| |
| Despite court action, TJX to comply with Obama’s overtime wage rule |
| |
From the BBJ’s Greg Ryan: “The TJX Cos., the largest public company based in Massachusetts by revenue, plans to comply with the Obama administration’s rule expanding overtime pay for workers even though a judge last week blocked the rule from taking effect.”
BBJ
| Healey takes aim at Remington’s complaint |
| |
Attorney General Maura Healey is hitting back at the gun industry, asking a judge yesterday to dismiss a complaint by gun-maker Remington that challenged Healey’s request for company documents, reports Shira Schoenberg at MassLive. Healey filed the motion in Suffolk County Superior Court weeks after a judge ruled in her favor in a similar case involving Glock, writes Schoenberg.
MassLive |
| |
|
| |
| And the most diverse parts of the country are in … the south and southwest? |
| |
MASSter List has another post on our Facebook page, this one on a fascinating Washington Post story and graphic measuring the ethnic diversity of different regions of the country. For all its progressive credentials, Massachusetts and New England are actually among the least diverse areas of the country. Check it out.
Facebook MassterlList |
| |
|
| |
| Elizabeth Dewar named state solicitor |
| |
Elizabeth "Bessie" Dewar, the state’s assistant state solicitor, has been named the new state solicitor who will handle appellate strategy under Attorney General Maura Healey, the AG’s office announced yesterday. Dewar replaces Peter Sacks, who left to join the state Appeals Court earlier this year.
Mass.gov
| DeLeo to attend Swan’s swan-song retirement party |
| |
House Speaker Robert DeLeo is expected to be among the guests at the retirement party tomorrow for Springfield’s Rep. Ben Swan Sr., who is stepping down after 22 years in the House, at the Barney Carriage House at Forest Park in Springfield, reports Peter Goonan at MassLive. Members of Springfield’s legislative delegation and elected officials are also expected at the event.
MassLive |
| |
|
| |
| Has Boston’s luxury housing boom finally peaked? |
| |
The Boston Foundation will issue a report saying the number of new housing units under construction will drop by 20 percent this year, the first decline since 2011, Tim Logan of the Globe reports. The drop may suggest builders have satisfied much of the demand for high-end luxury housing in the city of Boston, although the market for more affordably priced units remains very strong.
Boston Globe |
| |
|
| |
| Holyoke’s Morse defends fundraising letter |
| |
Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse is defending a fundraising email he sent that references harassment he’s received because he’s gay, Mike Plaisance of MassLive reports. Morse said he was not trying to exploit the harassment, which resulted in police telling a Northampton man to stop contacting the mayor. In the missive, Morse suggests one way that his supporters can show disdain for slurs against the LGBT community and is, well, to support his campaign for re-election.
MassLive
| Today's Headlines |
| |
| Metro |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Massachusetts |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Nation |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment