08/21/2017 07:43 AM EDT
By Rebecca Morin (rmorin@politico.com; @RebeccaMorin_) and Charlie Mahtesian (cmahtesian@politico.com; @PoliticoCharlie)
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Partly cloudy with a high of 87 today. Don't forget about the eclipse. The peak hour for Boston will be around 2:47 p.m.
Welcome back to playbook! I'm Rebecca Morin and I'm filling in along with Charlie Mahtesian this week while Lauren is on vacation in Minnesota. She'll be back on Sept. 5. Feel free to drop some tips, questions or just to say hello.
'FREE SPEECH' RALLY AFTERMATH: The nation's focus is on the solar eclipse today, not Boston, after local authorities managed to keep a lid on Saturday's volatile counter-demonstration.
More than 40,000 demonstrators gathered in the city's center to protest a "free speech" rally that officials feared could turn violent and would draw white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups such as those in Charlottesville, Virginia, just a week prior.
But the Free Speech Movement, which organized the rally, disbanded it an hour early, with attendees escorted out due to safety concerns.
Thirty-three arrests were made Saturday but, as Police Commissioner William B. Evans said Saturday, "the plan went off the way we hoped to, and ... nobody got hurt seriously, in fact very little injury, very little property damage."
President Donald Trump even weighed in with a series of complimentary tweets, saying that the "police are looking tough and smart" despite "many anti-police agitators." The president later added that he applauded the "many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!"
Local pols kept a lower profile. Gov. Charlie Baker merely retweeted several tweets thanking local police; his office didn't return a request for further comment. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Seth Moulton, the two members of the congressional delegation who were particularly outspoken about Charlottesville - and the president's comments about the events - also didn't respond to requests for comment.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
TODAY - Gov. Charlie Baker will attend Action for Boston Community Development's Field of Dreams event at .Fenway Park. Baker will then head to Providence, R.I., where he will headline the Republican Party of Rhode Island fundraising cocktail reception - Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan will address Melrose YMCA summer campers on ways to stay safe this summer, followed by a round of Summer Safety Jeopardy to highlight tips like wearing a bike helmet and never swimming alone.
DATELINE BEACON HILL
- "What did the Massachusetts Legislature do - and not do - in 2017?" by Shira Schoenberg, Masslive.com: "The Massachusetts Legislature broke for its August recess after a last-minute flurry of activity, but lawmakers still have several major pieces of unfinished business waiting for them when they return. Here is a look at what got done this year - and a few things that didn't."
- "David Sweeney seen as likable, familiar face," by Dan Atkinson, Boston Herald: "Mayor Martin J. Walsh's incoming chief of staff David Sweeney says the sudden shake-up of the mayor's Cabinet won't disrupt City Hall and political watchers predict the chief financial officer will keep a low profile while getting the job done. Sweeney, who will take over the post Sept. 1, will replace Daniel Koh, who is leaving to run for the open congressional seat vacated by Niki Tsongas. And though the shift comes in the midst of Walsh's first re-election campaign, Sweeney said he isn't worried about it being a distraction."
TRUMPACHUSETTS
- "Trump's opioid crisis declaration draws optimism, concerns," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "President Donald Trump's declaration of a national crisis to combat opioid abuse could unleash a massive federal response to curb addiction, but some worry that new policies will focus more on locking people up than getting them into treatment. Trump issued the edict following a recommendation from a 10-member opioid commission - which included Gov. Charlie Baker - to declare a national emergency. Dr. Bertha Madras, a commission member and researcher at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital who studies addiction, said the panel's myriad recommendations are focused on tackling opioid addiction from both the supply and demand sides."
THE WARREN REPORT
- "Warren to hold town halls in Dartmouth, Marshfield, Concord," by the Associated Press: "U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is planning to meet with local residents at three town hall events across Massachusetts this week. The Massachusetts Democrat, who is facing re-election next year, has already held 10 public town hall events this year. The events are free and open to the public. Warren said she welcomes the chance to talk about her work in the Senate and respond to the public's questions."
- "How potential 2020 Democrats are honing their foreign policy chops," by Jeremy Herb, CNN: "[Sen. Elizabeth] Warren's move to the Armed Services Committee this year sparked already mounting speculation that she's gearing up for a 2020 presidential run, as foreign policy is the biggest hole in her presidential resume. ... Warren has used her Armed Services perch to outline a case against Trump's foreign policy. In addition to hammering home the State Department budget, Warren has raised climate change as a national security threat with several Pentagon officials and defended the Iranian nuclear deal ."
ON THE STUMP
- "GOP's Beth Lindstrom to launch challenge to Elizabeth Warren in 2018," by Jim O'Sullivan, Boston Globe: "Longtime Republican operative Beth Lindstrom will launch her US Senate campaign on Monday, promising not to hew to the party line and using the occasion to criticize President Trump for his comments in the wake of recent violence in Charlottesville, Va. Lindstrom joins a growing field of Republicans intent on challenging Democratic US Senator Elizabeth Warren, and her break with Trump comes as increasing numbers of national Republicans are becoming more outspokenly critical of the GOP leader ."
- "Massachusetts Gov. Baker headlines Rhode Island GOP event," by the Associated Press: "Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is heading to Rhode Island looking to inspire his fellow Republicans. Baker is the headliner at a Republican Party of Rhode Island fundraising cocktail reception scheduled for Monday night at The Hope Club in Providence."
- "Coakley-Rivera, Again, Changes Contest...& Latinos' At-large Hopes..." by Western Mass Politics and Insight: "In only the past week, Springfield's at-large City Council race received another series of jolts. But this time, rather than shaking the race up further, the news seemly reset the board to its place in late July. Former State Representative Cheryl Coakley-Rivera made a stunning last-minute dive into the race not three weeks ago. This week she ended her bid."
TSONGAS SUCCESSION
-- "Daniel Koh leaves City Hall to run for Congress," by Matt Stout, Boston Herald: "Daniel Koh is leaving his high-profile post as Mayor Martin J. Walsh's chief of staff to begin revving a congressional run in his hometown district, where he'll test his resume, roots and fundraising ability against a potential crowd of well-established Merrimack Valley veterans. Koh, a 32-year-old Harvard grad, intends to move back to the 3rd Congressional District to gear up for a run at U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas' open seat, sources close to the Andover native said yesterday."
WOOD WAR - Herald: "A TRUE KING OF COMEDY," "BACK AT BREAKING POINT." - Globe: "SOLAR ECLIPSE DAY," "Track fans feel Trump split," "New plan, old fears on liquor licenses," "Utility rules to protect elderly failed, leaving this 84-year-old cut off," "Zany puller of heartstrings."
THE LOCAL ANGLE
- "New plan to boost liquor licenses concerns restaurateurs," by Janelle Nanos and Dan Adams, Boston Globe: "The disparities are glaring: Restaurants with liquor licenses are concentrated in Boston's more affluent neighborhoods. Of the city's 1,110 licenses, a negligible number are held by African-American owners. Mattapan has no restaurant that serves alcohol. ... But a recent proposal by city officials to expand access by creating more than 150 low-cost licenses is meeting resistance from restaurateurs who are convinced that the plan would be unfair and jeopardize their businesses."
- "Eastie Pride on display at community festival," by the Boston Herald: "East Boston residents celebrated their community yesterday during the 29th annual Eastie Pride Day. The daylong event kicked off at Piers Park and featured music, food and family-fun activities in recognition of the neighborhood's heritage and diversity."
- "Cape partnerships target MassHealth costs," by Cynthia McCormick, Cape Cod Times: "Cape health centers and hospitals have agreed to participate in what Gov. Charlie Baker's administration is calling a "major restructuring" of the MassHealth program, an attempt to trim costs for the program that is currently more than a third of the state budget. Under the agreements, the health care organizations will use the accountable care model, which makes the providers financially responsible for cost and quality of patient care, when providing services to MassHealth patients."
- "Armored to save lives," by Chris Lisinski, Lowell Sun: "The growing presence of synthetic opioids fentanyl and carfentanil has first responders worried not just about overdose victims, but about their own safety as well. On several occasions in recent weeks, responders have been treated as a precaution after working at overdose scenes where they believe fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine sometimes mixed with heroin, was involved."
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to state Rep. Aaron Vega (Aug 15); former A&F staffer and Westborough selectman Tim Dodd (Aug 16); state Rep. Russell Holmes, VP of communications at CK Strategies Kate Norton, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Amy Deveau, Boston Globe scribe Eric Moskowitz (Aug 17); Treasurer Deb Goldberg's policy director Jon Ostrowsky (Aug 18); City of Boston neighborhood liaison Sam Chambers, former WGBH State House correspondent Sarah Birnbaum, Putnam Partners senior vice president Cayce McCabe, and BNN's Joe Heisler (Aug 19); state Rep. Theodore Speliotis and DC attorney and Deval Patrick administration alum Matt Shapanka (Aug 20);
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Kelley Vickery, director of the Berkshire International Film Festival.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes and no! - The Sox defeated the dreaded Yankees 5-1 yesterday. The Pats fell to the Houston Texans on Saturday 27-23.
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