By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan

06/22/2017

Next up | Billion dollar shortfall? | Moulton’s real message

Governor in California

Gov. Charlie Baker continues his trip to California, attending a TechNet Roundtable this morning hosted at Cisco, San Jose, Calif.

Gaming Commission

Massachusetts Gaming Commission meets to possibly vote on gaming service employee registration and on a fiscal 2018 budget, 101 Federal St. - 12th floor, Boston, 10 a.m.

Cariddi funeral

A funeral will be held for the late Rep. Gailanne Cariddi at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church, 70 Marshall St., North Adams, 11 a.m.

‘David Ortiz Drive’

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, for Red Sox star David Ortiz, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner and others unveil the new ‘David Ortiz Drive,’ formerly known as Yawkey Way Extension, between Brookline Avenue and Yawkey Station, Fenway, Boston, 12:30 p.m.

Senate marijuana vote

Senate meets in full session to take up its version of an omnibus marijuana bill, Gardner Auditorium, 1 p.m.

Auditor’s health-care cost council

Auditor Suzanne Bump hosts a meeting of the advisory council assessing the impacts of the 2012 health-care cost containment law, One Ashburton Place, 10th floor, 1 p.m.

Today's News

Next up: Marijuana showdown

As expected, the House last night approved its expansive rewrite of the Question 4 marijuana-legalization initiative, reports Joshua Miller at the Globe. With the Senate expected to vote today on a less restrictive bill that more closely hews to stipulations within Question 4, the issue is expected to head to a conference-committee showdown, reports the Herald’s Matt Stout and O’Ryan Johnson. SHNS’s Andy Metzger and Colin Young (pay wall) have more on last night’s vote and today’s expected vote.

Baker files contingency budget amid reports shortfall could hit $900M

Gov. Charlie Baker has filed a temporary $5 billion budget to keep state government running through July in case lawmakers fail to craft a permanent budget before the next fiscal year starts in eight days, reports SHNS’s Katie Lannan. The governor’s move indicates he doesn’t think a budget deal is likely by June 30 – and it comes as the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed group, is estimating that revenue estimates for next year may be off by as much as $900 million, forcing lawmakers in the House and Senate to further revise and cut the budgets they’ve already approved.

So what’s Moulton’s hidden message behind calls for a new message?

As noted previously, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton will never escape a NYT report earlier this year that he has his eye on the White House. Though Moulton has denied he’s angling for a presidential run, the Globe’s James Pindell brings the subject up again this morning in a piece about what’s behind Moulton’s post-Georgia tweet storm and endorsement of Dem candidates. Pindell outlines three possible scenarios: Moulton is angling for a House leadership post; a future run for U.S. Senate against Ed Markey; or a future presidential bid. The Ed Markey scenario sounds pretty far-fetched, but not the other two.

The Herald’s Joe Battenfeld isn’t dwelling on Moulton’s future, but he does say Democrats should be listening more to Moulton and U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III’s calls for a better party message.

Don’t forget Katherine Clark. She’s not happy either

Amid all the attention Seth Moulton is receiving post-Georgia election, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark is also expressing her disappointment over the Georgia outcome, but, unlike Moulton, she isn’t calling for a single new party message. Instead, she’s advocating that each Democrat find his or her own voice in races, reports James Pindell at the Globe.

Boston Globe

The knives are out for Nancy Pelosi -- again

Still on the post-Georgia fallout: We’d be curious to hear in coming days exactly what Seth Moulton, Stephen Lynch, Michael Capuano and other members of the state’s Congressional delegation think about the latest talk of ousting Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi, post-Georgia disaster. The knife sharpening, as reported by the NYT, probably won’t amount to much. Why? Because she’s very good at one thing: M-O-N-E-Y. As is in raising lots of it.

NYT

Polarization over Lowell’s $340M high school

How do you get people’s minds off of last year’s polarizing presidential election? Propose a polarizing $340 million new high school. That’ll do the trick. The Herald’s Kathleen McKiernan has more on Lowell’s plan to build one of the most expensive high schools in the nation.

MGM suit comes up craps - again

MGM has lost another legal round in its bid to block a third Connecticut casino. Saying any competitive threat is “purely abstract,” a federal appeals court backed up a lower court ruling that MGM did not have standing to try to block a deal paving the way for a tribal casino near where MGM Springfield is under construction, MassLive reports.

MassLive

Dookham ordered to pay $2M to wrongly convicted man

A million dollars for every year he wrongly spent in prison sounds reasonable to us. The Globe’s Sean Musgrave and an AP report at the Herald have the latest on the harm Annie Dookhan, the disgraced former state chemist, has inflicted on others.

House members remember Gailanne Cariddi

Amid the debate over marijuana regulations and other issues, House members took time out yesterday to remember late Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, who passed away over the weekend and whose funeral will be held today in North Adams. State Reps. Paul Mark and William ‘Smitty’ Pignatelli gave particularly moving tributes. SHNS has the story and video.

SHNS and Video (paywall)

Fidelity was one of five investors pushing Uber CEO’s ouster

Boston’s Fidelity Investments, the giant mutual fund company, usually shies away from social, political and management controversies at corporations. But the NYT is reporting that Fidelity was one of five major investors who simply couldn’t take Uber CEO Travis Kalanick anymore and pressed for his ouster. Greg Ryan at the BBJ has more on Fidelity’s action.

NYT

Hey, the American flag doesn’t belong to Trump. Got it?

The Globe’s Joan Vennochi, no fan of President Trump, recently found herself explaining to an anti-Trump activist who knocked on her door that the American flag hanging outside her home didn’t mean she was a Trump supporter. She basically asks: Have we really come to this? It’s a good column. Read it.

Boston Globe

Islamophobia on the Orange Line, the N-word in the Back Bay

First, Simón Rios’s jaw dropped after he heard a guy screaming the n-word at an African American in Boston’s tony Back Bay, as he recounts at WBUR, and now a 34-year-old is facing charges of rampant Islamophobia on the Orange Line, as also reported at WBUR. Hopefully, comedian Michael Che isn’t paying attention to the latest coming out of our fair city.

State’s toll-taker buyout taking a toll

From the Herald’s Matt Stout: “State transportation officials are shelling out nearly $12 million to cover hundreds of incentive-laden packages they gave ex-toll collectors, completing the pricey deal the state cut to eliminate their jobs in the shift to all-electronic tolling.”

Boston Herald

Post-millionaires tax: Will they stay or will they go?

With apologies to the Clash, the big question over the millionaire’s tax is whether millionaires will stay or go if it’s ever passed. The Globe’s Michael Levenson takes a look at all the studies floating out there on the issue. It’s not as clear-cut as proponents and opponents argue, but basically the consensus answer is: Some will leave, most will stay, revenue collections will increase but become more volatile, and charities may take a big hit. Fyi: Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association, has an opinion piece in the BBJ blasting the proposed millionaire’s tax.

Boston Globe

Markey’s warning: Bay State’s opioid crisis a mere ‘preview of coming attractions’ elsewhere

From Shannon Young at MassLive: “Pointing to the high number of overdose deaths in Massachusetts in recent years, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey contended Wednesday that his state offers a ‘preview of coming attractions’ to those that have yet to be as hard hit by the opioid-epidemic.” Markey is urging his colleagues to support more federal funding to fight the opioid epidemic.

MassLive

New Bedford tackles opioids with a ‘diversion’ plan

The city of New Bedford will launch new initiatives aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic, moves the police chief hope will put the community in a leadership role statewide. Michael Bonner of the Standard-Times reports the city will launch a diversion program to steer addicts away from the criminal justice system and into treatment. The city is also opening a drop-in center for addicts seeking services.

SouthCoast Today

Homeland Security confirms Russians trying to hack into state election systems

A top official at the Department of Homeland Security is generally confirming a recent Bloomberg News report that people connected to the Russian government have tried to hack into election-related computer systems in a number of states, reports the Washington Post. Officials are declining to say which 21 states were targeted.

Washington Post

MIT’s big plans for Kendall Square’s Volpe Center

The Globe’s Tim Logan has the details on what MIT is planning to do with the sprawling Volpe Center in the heart of Cambridge’s Kendall Square. If they can really build new offices, labs and residential units and still preserve 3.5 acres of open and community space, it’s a plan worthy of consideration. Maintaining the current park-like design is key.

Boston Globe

Telegram challenges judge’s order on SWAT case

The Telegram & Gazette is legally challenging a federal judge’s decision to issue a blanket ban on media access to pretrial documents in a lawsuit filed by a Worcester family against the city over an errant SWAT raid in 2015, Brad Petrishen of the Telegram reports. The city has argued that much of what it is producing in the trial needs to be shielded from public disclosure for security reasons.

Retirements set back BPD diversity

A surge of retirements is hampering the Boston Police Department’s efforts to become more diverse, Delores Handy of WBUR reports. Many of the officers now retiring were hired under a consent decree requiring more diversity in hiring— a ruling that was overturned in 2004.

WBUR

Today's Headlines

Metro

MIT plans massive project for Kendall Square - Boston Globe

As more officers reach retirement age, Boston’s police force is becoming less diverse - WBUR

Massachusetts

T&G challenges federal order in Worcester SWAT raid lawsuit - Telegram & Gazette

Judge orders Dookhan to pay $2m to wrongly convicted man - Boston Globe

First Lady Lauren Baker finds her calling with the Wonderfund - Gloucester Times

15-story Quincy Center apartment tower gets green light - Patriot Ledger

Captain, pilot of ferry in Hyannisport crash placed on leave - Cape Cod Times

FERC says no environmental review for variance; says it will trust pipeline company - Berkshire Eagle