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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
POT SHOPS TODAY, A NEW INDUSTRY TOMORROW —Consumers are lining up to purchase recreational marijuana in Massachusetts for the first time today, the final step in a long process that began when voters legalized marijuana via ballot question two years ago. And now that Massachusetts has launched this newly-regulated industry, what's next?
DraftKings is hoping the state will take up sports betting. The Boston-based fantasy sports company is hoping to expand its online sports betting operation in Massachusetts.
Although the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on most commercial sports betting earlier this year, it's up to states to give the go-ahead. Massachusetts would have to pass legislation allowing the state to participate in sports betting, determine a tax rate and decide where that extra revenue would go. Sound familiar?
So far, DraftKings operates online sports betting New Jersey, which can be done via web browser or over an app by anyone in the state. DraftKings paid out $150 million to winning bettors in New Jersey since online sports betting started in August, DraftKings Director of Public Affairs Jamie Chisholm told me last week.
Gov. Charlie Baker's office calls it "an issue worth analyzing" and expects the Legislature and the sports industry to discuss it when the next session starts in January. The company has 700 employees and announced its move to a new Back Bay office in January.
Sports betting in Rhode Island will begin any day now, but that state does not allow for online wagers. Instead, betting will happen in casinos. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported earlier this month that gambling revenues at the new MGM Springfield casino dropped in its second month open, and slots parlor and horse track Plainridge Park also saw a revenue decline, according to the Associated Press.
DraftKings is hoping Massachusetts will take the New Jersey route and legalize the kind of sports betting you can do on your phone. And the company has hopes that Beacon Hill can get it done fast.
"We want to see sports betting live in Massachusetts from the start of the 2019 NFL season, or earlier," DraftKings Global Public Affairs Director James Chisholm told me. "That would be ideal."
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Recreational marijuana is on sale for the first time in Massachusetts in Northampton and Leicester. Gov. Charlie Baker announces a MassWorks grant in Grafton with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, state Sen. Michael Moore and state Rep. David Muradian. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh joins a Toys for Tots campaign kickoff.
Baker and Polito attend the Firefighter of the Year Awards alongside Secretary of Public Safety and Security Daniel Bennett, Undersecretary of Homeland Security Patrick McMurray and Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets.
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition hosts its annual Thanksgiving luncheon at the State House. Sen. Ed Markeydiscusses funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program at a press conference. The Cannabis Control Commission meets. Rep. Jim McGovern and Rep. Joe Kennedy III join Monte Belmonte's march against hunger.
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 | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Recreational pot shops prepare for thousands on opening day," by Dan Adams and Felicia Gans, Boston Globe: "Local leaders in Leicester and Northampton are preparing for thousands of eager marijuana consumers to descend on their communities Tuesday, as Massachusetts readies to host the first legal recreational cannabis sales on the East Coast. The two-year wait for recreational marijuana sales in the state will end on Tuesday at 8 a.m., when retail cannabis shops in Leicester and Northampton are set to open their doors."
- "A day of 'fun' and 'education:' Cultivate in Leicester prepares to open for retail sales in Massachusetts on Tuesday," by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: "Hundreds of plants were growing, weed-infused gummies were being made, and medical patients were lining up to purchase products. But tomorrow will be different, a historic day for Cultivate Holdings LLC and for Massachusetts."
- "Cornucopia of products awaits buyers at Northampton marijuana dispensary," by Bera Dunau, Daily Hampshire Gazette:"As New England Treatment Access becomes one of the first businesses to legally sell recreational marijuana in the East, what can consumers expect to buy when they walk in the Conz Street store on Tuesday? There will be marijuana flower and pre-rolled joints of course, but also gummies and chocolate with THC, marijuana infused oils and lotions."
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| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "More questionable spending found at Dorchester charter school," by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "Questionable spending at the embattled Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy runs much deeper than excessive pay to a former executive director, according to a state audit released Monday that found the Dorchester charter school made more than $126,000 in improper credit card transactions and that its former executive director dipped into school funds to pay her mortgage."
- "Dukakis, Weld urge transportation board to get moving on north-south rail link," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "More than 20 years since either served in office, former governors Michael Dukakis and William Weld on Monday urged the state transportation department to link Boston's northern and southern suburbs with a new rail tunnel under the city. Dukakis, a Democrat, and Weld, a former Republican, both played critical roles in planning downtown Boston's last tunnel project, the Big Dig. On Monday, they argued to the transportation department's governing board, it's time for the next one."
- "STATE OFFICIALS RECONSIDERING NATURAL GAS HEARING PLANS," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "The House and Senate are working to nail down dates for a trio of hearings on natural gas infrastructure that could deviate from a schedule publicly announced last week by the Senate. Senate President Karen Spilka's office caught House leaders off guard last week when it announced that senators would hold two hearings on Dec. 4 and Dec. 17 into natural gas infrastructure and the Merrimack Valley gas disaster."
ABSTINENCE ONLY!
- "State funds programs to discourage teen sex," by Christian M. Wade, The Daily News: "The state will use federal money to teach teenagers to abstain from sex before marriage, sparking concerns among some sex-ed advocates who say abstinence-only programs are ineffective. Massachusetts is one of 35 states — including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and West Virginia — to accept a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that must fund projects that teach participants to 'refrain from non-marital sexual activity' and avoid risky behaviors such as underage drinking and drug use."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "'Not normal;' Students stage a 'die-in' outside Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's office," by Jacqueline Tempera, MassLive.com: "About 50 Boston Public Schools students walked out of class on Monday to protest gun violence and proposed school closures. They held signs reading 'Am I next?' and huddled on the ground outside Walsh's office."
- "DNA testing yields new clues in 49-year-old cold case," by Todd Wallack, Boston Globe: "After nearly 50 years, investigators may finally have cracked one of the Boston area's most notorious unsolved murders. The Middlesex District Attorney's office plans to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon to announce a major development in its quest to identify who killed Jane Sanders Britton, a Harvard graduate student bludgeoned to death in her Cambridge apartment in January 1969."
- "City councilors bitter over new smoke shop in South Boston," by Brooks Sutherland, Boston Herald: "Two city councilors are voicing frustration about a smoke shop they say sprouted out of nowhere in Southie, prompting complaints and concerns from nearby residents. A 'King Smoke Shop' sign was hung on the building at 600 East Broadway in South Boston sometime after 7 p.m. last Monday night."
- "Boston to boom, west and Cape shrink by 2040," by Jack Sullivan, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE STATE IS to grow by more than 13 percent by the year 2040 but much of that increase will balloon in and around Boston, with households shrinking and the overall population aging, according to data presented to state transportation officials Monday."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Nevada judge temporarily blocks release of Mass. Gaming Commission report on Wynn," by Danny McDonald and Mark Arsenault, Boston Globe: "A judge in Nevada on Monday temporarily blocked the Massachusetts Gaming Commission from releasing its investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against former casino mogul Steve Wynn. Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez issued a temporary restraining order in the case and said she will hear arguments on whether the commission's forthcoming report includes information and documents that Wynn's lawyers say should be protected by attorney-client privilege and not made public."
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| EYE ON 2020 |
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- "Neighbors wage shadow campaigns in New Hampshire for 2020," Associated Press: " Even before they announce their White House intentions, New Hampshire's ambitious neighbors are in the midst of a shadow campaign to shape the nation's first presidential primary election of the 2020 season. Democrats on the ground expect a rush of presidential announcements soon after New Year's. That could include as many as five high-profile candidates from neighboring states, a historically large contingent of New Englanders led by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders."
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| MIDTERM POSTMORTEM |
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- "Split-Ticket Voting Hit A New Low In 2018 Senate And Governor Races," by Geoffrey Skelley, FiveThirtyEight: "Our hypothesis was mostly right — most Americans did vote for the same party in their Senate and governors race. But there were five states — Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio and Vermont — where voters chose a Republican governor and a Democratic senator. And while we were interested in what happened in these five states (more in a moment), we also wanted to look at every state that had both a Senate and governor race on the ballot to see just how far apart the voting margins were."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Rep. Seth Moulton faces town-hall pushback for opposing Pelosi," by Stephanie Murray, POLITICO: "The push by Rep. Seth Moulton against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's bid to become speaker took center stage on Monday night at a town hall in his district, where constituents shouted and interrupted Moulton and one another in a lively debate over the future of the chamber. Moulton (D-Mass.) and some of his constituents say the midterm elections show that it's time for new leadership in the House, while his critics on Monday night called his opposition to Pelosi a product of sexism and ageism."
- "Seth Moulton, Stephen Lynch sign letter opposing Nancy Pelosi as speaker," by Bill House, Bloomberg News: "Sixteen House Democrats indicated in a letter Monday they won't support Nancy Pelosi for House speaker and instead will vote for 'new leadership.' While thanking Pelosi — who served as speaker from 2007 to 2011 — for her years of 'historic' leadership, the letter said it's time for change when their party takes control of the House in January. Representatives Seth Moulton and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts signed the letter."
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| KENNEDY COMPOUND |
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- "Rep. Joe Kennedy III: It's time to legalize marijuana at the federal level," by Rep. Joe Kennedy III, STAT: "One thing is clear to me: Our federal policy on marijuana is badly broken, benefiting neither the elderly man suffering from cancer whom marijuana may help nor the young woman prone to substance use disorder whom it may harm. The patchwork of inconsistent state laws compounds the dysfunction. Our federal government has ceded its responsibility — and authority — to thoughtfully regulate marijuana."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "BAKE SALE," — Globe: "Peril in being point man in anti-Pelosi push," "Another tech shock drubbing," "A holiday temptation: the precooked turkey," "Ivanka Trump's emails queried." |
| NO PLACE LIKE THE CITY OF HOMES |
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- "Springfield Council approves 'welcoming city' ordinance, protects undocumented immigrants," by Jeanette DeForge, Springfield Republican: "The City Council took the first step to pass an ordinance that would help protect immigrants - especially those without documentation - after more than a 100 people flooded the meeting and spoke in support of the proposal ."
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| IT'S RAINING PUMPKINS |
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- "OH ... MY .... GOURD!" by Aaron Curtis, The Lowell Sun:"Imagine this: A massive pumpkin dropped from the sky. It's an idea Donny McClaren Jr., owner of Wamesit Lanes, had for years, and one that came crashing down in the parking lot outside his family entertainment center on Route 38 on Sunday."
REMEMBERING MARC MYERS - per his obit: "He was a partner at Ernst & Young and an active member of the Church of the Redeemer community in Chestnut Hill. Marc's faith was his compass and his family was his cornerstone. His wife Beth and his children Janey and Curt were the center of his universe. ... Family and friends are cordially invited to attend his funeral service at The Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill at 379 Hammond Street on Tuesday November 20 at 2:00 p.m." Link.
REMEMBERING ANDREW FITZGERALD - per his obit: "Andrew Fitzgerald, the last surviving member of a Coast Guard crew that took a lifeboat out into the Atlantic in a raging blizzard in 1952 and rescued 32 of 33 merchant seamen clinging to the remains of a tanker that had split in two off Cape Cod, died on Thursday in Aurora, Colo. He was 87." Link.
NEW — The Boston Globe has created a cannabis vertical.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Rep. Jim McGovern, who is 59; Framingham state Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis (h/t Brent Lewis); and Samuel Gebru, founder and former CEO of the Ethiopian Global Initiative.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Hornets beat the Celtics 117-112.
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