MASSterList: Suspicious winners | Potomac Fever outbreak

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By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan 08/03/2017 Suspicious winners | Potomac Fever outbreak

Happening Today

Rodriguez deportation rally, Gaming Commission, TD Garden protest Northeast Clean Energy Council holds a legislative roundup forum to discuss key clean energy legislation, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, 155 Seaport Blvd., 8:30 a.m. and with panel discuss starting at 9 a.m. ... The Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center presents findings from a new report on clean-energy policies, 1800 Allen St., Springfield, 9 a.m. ... Sen. Sal DiDomenico's office hosts a Red Cross blood drive at the State House, Great Hall, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ... Treasurer Deb Goldberg attends the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board Administration and Audit Committee meeting, 84 State St., Boston, 10 a.m. ... Faith leaders, members of 32BJ SEIU and Jobs With Justice and others gather to ask for the release of MIT janitor Francisco Rodriguez, who is facing deportation, in front of Suffolk House of Correction, 20 Bradston St., Boston, 12 p.m. ... Youth members of Hyde Square Task Force hold a protest about TD Garden’s past failure to help raise funds for recreational facilities, Bobby Orr Statue, TD Garden, Boston, 12 p.m. ... Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, City Councilor Josh Zakim and Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez attend a groundbreaking ceremony for Mission Hill Little League at Killilea Field, McLaughlin Playground, 269 Parker Hill Ave., Roxbury Crossing, 1 p.m. ... Massachusetts Gaming Commission holds a hearing on proposals governing employees, vendors, junket enterprises and representatives, and labor organizations, 101 Federal St., Boston, 2 p.m. ... Attorney General Maura Healey's office holds a hearing on proposed amendments to open meeting regulations, 100 Cambridge St. - 2nd floor, suites C and D, Boston, 3 p.m. ... Gov. Charlie Baker joins New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell at the opening ceremony of the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, Madeira Field, 50 Madeira Ave., New Bedford, 5:30 p.m. ... U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch is a guest on ‘Greater Boston,’ WGBH-TV Ch. 2, 7 p.m.

Today's News

Lottery to crack down on suspicious winners who keep winning and winning The Massachusetts Lottery is vowing to disrupt the operations of so-called “professional ticket cashers” who keep claiming winning tickets after winning tickets, defying all the odds on hitting the jackpot, reports SHNS’s Colin Young. From Young: “In some cases, officials said, these claimants may be presenting winning tickets that belong to another person who cannot or does not want to claim it for any number of reasons. The true winner could be attempting to evade past-due child support payments, taxes or other debts which the Lottery is legally obligated to help collect, officials said, or the claims may be part of a money laundering scheme.” I.e.: We’re also talking about organized crime here, not just deadbeat dads. SHNS (pay wall)

Rosenberg and DeLeo kick sand in Baker’s holiday plan After lawmakers recessed for an August holiday without approving a sales-tax holiday, Gov. Charlie Baker is all of a sudden pushing for a sales-tax holiday. Senate President Stan Rosenberg and House Speaker Robert DeLeo are kicking sand on the idea – and the Herald’s Jordan Graham is reporting the proposal is all but dead on arrival. Ginautas Dumciusat MassLive and SHNS’s Katie Lannan at Wicked Local have more on what sure looks like a half-hearted attempt to curry last-minute holiday favor with bricks-and-mortar retailers.

Galvin says he’s not opposed to same-day voter registration – just the costs The Globe’s Matt Rocheleau has a piece about how other states have adapted to same-day voter registration – and how it hasn’t led to the demise of American democracy as we know it. But what caught our attention is Secretary of State Bill Galvin saying he’s really not concerned about same-day registration per se – just the pell-mell rush to implement it and its costs. Boston Globe

Dozens of bids stream in for clean-energy projects The state has received nearly 50 bids for various projects to meet its new clean-energy procurement goals, with offshore wind plans among the most notable projects, according to reports by Jordan Graham at the Herald and Colin Young at SHNS (pay wall). Fyi: In a related development, Cape Wind’s Jim Gordon says, contrary to reports, his controversial offshore wind project is not dead. Repeat: It’s not dead. Cape Wind opponents counter that, like Generalissimo Francisco Franco, Cape Wind is indeed still dead. SHNS’s Colin Young has the dead-but-feeling-better details (pay wall).

Potomac Fever sweeps Massachusetts, vaccines in short supply Should we blame JFK for the virulent Potomac Fever that’s gripped Massachusetts for decades now? The Globe’s Joan Vennochi thinks so – and she’s not confining her list of current presidential wannabes to Elizabeth Warren, Seth Moulton and Deval Patrick. She’s also mentioning U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, John Kerry and, yes, you, Charlie Baker. The Globe’s Yvonne Abraham actually thinks Deval Patrick would make a fine presidential candidate, but is the country ready for him? Or is it the other way around? Boston Globe

Seth ‘He's not running for president’ Moulton to visit Iowa Speaking of Potomac Fever: As Shannon Young at MassLive reports, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, who’s been knocking heads with Dem leadership and drawn speculation as possible presidential candidate in 2020, will visit Iowa next month “for an event traditionally frequented by presidential hopefuls.” Says Moulton’s spokesman: “He's not running for president.” Technically true. Not now.  MassLive New Bedford mayor for Lieutenant Governor? He’s running for re-election. But is New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell also running for lieutenant governor, possibly on a ticket with Newton Mayor Setti Warren, a Dem gubernatorial candidate? Jack Spillane has the details on Mitchell’s plans. South Coast Today RMV clerks arrested for alleged fake ID scam Four clerks at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles were among six people arrested yesterday in connection with an alleged scheme to produce false identification documents, reports WBUR’s Benjamin Swasey, who notes the feds believe some of the fake IDs were used to “fraudulently register to vote in the City of Boston." Gintautas Dummies at MassLive also reports that the gang was allegedly “selling (the IDs) to people living in the country illegally, some of whom had been deported in the past.”  WBUR Courtroom update: Testimony ties mayoral aide to ‘Top Chef’ shakedown scheme Not a good day for Mayor Walsh at the Moakley courthouse yesterday. The Herald’s Laurel Sweet and the Globe’s Maria Cramer both have stories on how testimony in the ongoing ‘Tom Chef’ trial yesterday tied a top City Hall aide to the alleged Teamsters shakedown scheme of TV producers. Put it this way: Kenneth Brissette isn’t coming across as the type who would have sided with Marlon Brando’s in ‘On the Waterfront.’ Dry Dock No. 4: The next Esplanade or glass-covered condo tower? The Globe’s Shirley Leung says Boston has a golden opportunity to re-develop a city-owned dry dock into an Esplanade-like park for the people. But will the lure of money (i.e. property taxes) be too much for the city to pass up? She doesn’t sound optimistic. Meanwhile, the Conservation Law Foundation’s Bradley M. Campbell and Deanna Moran write in a Globe op-ed that it’s time for developers to do the right thing for the public – voluntarily or involuntarily. Boston Globe Beyond shocking: Sexy looks used to drive ratings on newscasts They’re now debating how sexy is appropriately sexy to attract television viewers to local newscasts. The Herald’s Jack Encarnacao has the details on the increasingly shocking sleeveless dresses, low necklines, large earrings and heavy makeup. Boston Herald One more time: Convention Center eyes a Mini-Me expansion The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center has issued a new request for proposals to design a master plan for the Seaport complex’s 70-acre site, reports the Globe’s Jon Chesto. David Gibbons, head of the state convention center authority, lists all the ways a potential future expansion proposal might be different from the $1 billion expansion proposal killed by Gov. Charlie Baker after he took office. Boston Globe Baker to Trump administration: Preserve federal health-care subsidies In a joint letter issued by the National Governors Association, Gov. Charlie Baker and other governors are asking the Trump administration to fund federal payments that help subsidize health insurance costs for consumers, even though the president has threatened to cut the program, reports Jessica Bartlett at the BBJ. Meanwhile, Attorney General Maura Healey is praising a court ruling that allows her office and 15 other AGs to intervene in the subsidies case, reports the Globe. BBJ Harvard and Trump on collision course over higher-ed affirmative action Just as Harvard hits an enrollment milestone of minorities outnumbering whites on campus, along comes the Trump administration and its focus on higher education’s affirmation action policies, reports Deirdre Fernandes at the Globe. Boston Globe Globe finally finds a buyer for its Morrissey Boulevard property As the BBJ’s Catherine Carlock puts it: “If at first you don’t succeed, try again. And then again.” And the Globe did – and it’s paid off with the paper finally selling off its now largely abandoned Morrissey Boulevard property to local developer Nordbolm Co., as the Globe and Dorchester Reporter also report.  ‘Globe to Bostonians: It's not too late for you morons to do the right thing’ Speaking of the Globe, Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin absolutely uncorks on a Globe editorial: “The Editorial We at our Paper of Record wakes up from a long slumber and sighs and tut-tuts today that we lost the Olympics, but says it’s not too late for us to learn from our stupid, pitiful yahoo mistake in turning our noses up at the Opportunity of a Lifetime.” Adds a reader in the UH comments section: “Crediting an Olympics with making Boston aware and proactive about fixing its existing problems is the public policy equivalent of ‘if I get pregnant, he'll stay with me.’" Universal Hub Capuano on Foxboro rail service: Slow down and listen to critics U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano says he isn’t necessarily against tentative MBTA plans to start regular rail service to Foxboro, but he warns that “we’ll have a problem” if the T pushes forward without consulting other communities along the Fairmont Line, reports Mike Deehan at WGBH.  WGBH Compressor station review pushed back till February Get ready for at least six more months of compressor-station stories. The Office of Coastal Zone Management says it will now review the controversial proposed Weymouth facility in February, instead of this month, a delay proponent Algonquin Gas Transmission has agreed to, Jessica Trufant of the Patriot Ledger reports. Weymouth’s mayor said the delay is a sign that local opposition is having an impact. Patriot Ledger Today's Headlines Metro Get ready for Convention Center Expansion, 2.0 - Boston Globe Top Chef chief: City Hall call pushed hiring of unneeded Teamsters - Boston Herald City plots a series of defenses for East Boston’s coast - WBUR Massachusetts 9 Auburn cruisers out of service after officer is overcome by CO - Telegram & Gazette Gov’s tax holiday bill likely dead on arrival - Boston Herald Worcester board approves plan for apartments at Notre Dame site - Telegram & Gazette Job seekers meet opportunity at Amazon facility - Herald-News Stoughton selectmen address controversy; Redevelopment Authority votes no confidence - Brockton Enteprise Nation Trump backs bill that favors immigrants with skills - New York Times James Comey has a book deal - NPR To view more events or post an event listing on Beacon Hill Town Square, please visit events.massterlist.com. Beacon Hill Town Square