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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: WHERE CLEAN ENERGY IS LAGGING —Municipal light plants aren't keeping pace with the state's clean energy goals, according to a report from the Massachusetts Climate Action Network that will be released later this morning.
Massachusetts has 41 municipal light plants, which serve 52 cities and towns and provide 14 percent of the energy used in the state. While investor-owned utilities like Eversource and National Grid only distribute electricity generation, municipal light plants can own the power generation they supply. That gives them more control over how and where they get energy.
But no municipal light plant in Massachusetts had enough renewable energy in 2017 to meet the state's renewable portfolio standard, according to the report. Instead, light plants "overstate their green content" and their portfolios included less renewable energy than investor-owned utilities like National Grid in 2017.
Lawmakers on Beacon Hill and in Congress have been vocal in their push for clean energy and other efforts to mitigate climate change, from a Green New Deal in Washington to "bold" climate initiatives in the State House. Just yesterday, state lawmakers rolled out a bill that calls for the state to run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2035, according to the State House News Service. But at the smaller utilities where municipalities have the most control, energy providers are falling short of existing goals
The renewable energy portfolio standard requires a portion of a utility's energy portfolio come from renewable sources, and it increases annually. More than a dozen municipal light plants misrepresented the clean energy they provide to customers, and gave different information when reporting carbon pollution to the state. Further, the report found most low-polluting energy the light plants reported was from old nuclear generation, which the Massachusetts Clean Energy Standard doesn't accept.
Of the nearly four-dozen utilities studied, the top-scoring municipal plants are in Belmont, Concord, Braintree, Holyoke and West Boylston for their efforts to meet clean energy goals. Two bills filed this session — Sen. Marc Pacheco's "Act to secure a clean energy future" and Sen. Jamie Eldridge's "Act transitioning Massachusetts to 100 per cent renewable energy" — include municipal light plant updates, according to the Climate Action Network. A provision in Pacheco's bill would expand renewable energy storage, while the Eldridge legislation includes language that would set a "bold but achievable" renewable energy target for light plants.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY - Rep. Ayanna Pressley speaks at a press conference in Washington urging back pay for federal contractors affected by the government shutdown. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito visits Uxbridge High School and Framingham State University. Boston Mayor Marty Walshattends events in Roxbury and is a guest on WBZ NewsRadio.
The Boston Green Ribbon Commission releases its Carbon Free Boston report. Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer is the keynote speaker at the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus annual meeting. Rep. Seth Moulton addresses the New England Council at a breakfast in Washington, D.C. Sen. Ed Markey holds a press conference in Washington to discuss limiting President Donald Trump's ability to launch nuclear weapons.
Columbia Gas announces its "Equipment Repair Plan" to cover appliances installed or repaired after the Merrimack Valley gas explosions at a press conference in Methuen. The Massachusetts Senior Action Council speaks in support of a Medicare provision in Gov. Charlie Baker's budget proposal. Former New York City MayorMichael Bloomberg holds a day of events in New Hampshire.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Senate President Karen Spilka lays out priorities: Education, mental health care, climate change," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Education reform. Climate change. Transportation. Housing. Mental health care. In her first full term as Senate President, Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, has an ambitious set of topics she wants to tackle, and they include some of the state's thorniest problems. But the exact details of what will be considered remain up in the air, as Spilka pledges a 'collaborative' process with other senators to develop final legislation."
- "Baker's Budget Is About A Lot More Than Numbers," by Mike Deehan, WGBH News: "Lawmakers and advocates have had the better part of a week to pour over Gov. Charlie Baker's budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. Baker's plan is a doozy, packet with policy initiatives large and small and calling for increases to some taxes to help cover efforts to better finance schools and prepare for climate change."
- "BAN ON NDAs AMONG PROPOSED RULE CHANGES IN THE SENATE," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service: "Public records access and sexual harassment prevention are among the topics state senators could wade into this week as they debate their rules for the new legislative session. The Senate on Thursday is scheduled to take up its proposed internal rules and joint House-Senate rules for the 2019-2020 session, and by a Monday afternoon deadline, senators had offered up dozens of amendments making further tweaks beyond the changes a temporary Rules Committee had already proposed."
DAY LATE CHARLIE BAKER WAKES UP WHEN THE MEDIA REPORTS PROBLEMS....THAT'S NOT LEADERSHIP!
- "Baker wants to pursue out-of-state drivers' unpaid tolls," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "Gov. Charlie Baker says he wants to go after the more than $5 million in overdue tolls that Connecticut drivers owe Massachusetts, after a Herald report showed the Nutmeg State tops the list of scofflaws who have racked up nearly $21 million in long-overdue bills. Massachusetts has reciprocity agreements with Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island to prevent people living in those states from renewing their license and registration if they haven't paid the toll after 90 days. But the state doesn't have the same deal with Connecticut, which is the biggest offender."
- "Massachusetts political leaders still preparing for another potential federal shutdown," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "The government shutdown may be over for now, but Massachusetts leaders say they are still preparing contingency plans in case a shutdown is renewed. 'I don't think we can leave here today saying this is an issue that's gone, it's finished, we don't have to worry about it,' said House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop. 'I was hoping that might be the answer, but I can't say it is.'"
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Abrupt closure of Boston Language Institute spurs review by state Attorney General's office," by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: "The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office is reviewing the abrupt closure earlier this month of the Boston Language Institute, a Kenmore Square school that for nearly 38 years helped students learn Spanish, Vietnamese, and dozens of other languages, along with teaching English-language learners. The school lost its bankruptcy protection in mid-January, allowing creditors, including the bank to seize its accounts."
WHERE IS CHARLIE BAKER? THESE ARE HIS POLITICAL HACKS!
- "MassHousing books show lobster dinners, parties and pricey hotels," by Joe Dwinell and Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald: "The state agency charged with creating affordable housing has racked up tens of thousands of dollars in spending for parties, junkets and pricey meals, records show, including a $4,808 'welcoming party' for executive director Chrystal Kornegay — who was just appointed to oversee the beleaguered MBTA's budget."
- "CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2050 REQUIRES BOSTON TO GO ELECTRIC, REPORT FINDS," by Kaitlyn Budion, State House News Service: "Boston must improve energy efficiency and convert completely to cleanly produced electricity in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, according to the new Carbon Free Boston Report. The study, set to be released Tuesday, focuses on three main strategies: energy efficiency, buying 100 percent clean energy and eliminating the use fossil fuels. Buildings, transportation systems, waste processing and energy consumption would all have to be upgraded, according the report."
- "Walsh says Mass. 'not ready' for safe injection sites," by Felice J. Freyer, Boston Globe: "Massachusetts is 'not ready' to open a facility where people can inject illicit drugs under supervision, Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston told a commission considering the idea Monday, even though he was impressed when he visited such centers in Montreal and Toronto. The state lacks the infrastructure to accomplish what those much larger Canadian cities have done, and faces many open questions about who would fund and operate such sites, Walsh said."
- "Nevada regulators to fine Wynn Resorts over sex allegations," by Michelle L. Price, Associated Press: "Nevada gambling regulators announced a settlement Monday with casino mogul Steve Wynn's former company over allegations that former executives failed on multiple occasions to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against him. The Nevada Gaming Control Board detailed at least seven allegations of misconduct by Wynn dating to 2005 in which former executives and managers of Wynn Resorts became aware of the claims but failed to act."
- "Boston Collegiate Charter School formally opens new Dorchester campus," by Ysabelle Kempe, Boston Globe: "Boston Collegiate Charter School officially opened its renovated and expanded campus in Dorchester on Monday, a milestone school leaders called 'game-changing.' The new space for Boston Collegiate's Upper School is home to 13 new classrooms and 11 small-group meeting rooms, along with labs, art spaces, improved technology infrastructure, and a multi-purpose cafeteria called 'The Commons.'"
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Prosecutors Portray Drug Company Founder As Greedy In Day 1 Of Opioid Kickback Trial," by Jerome Campbell, WBUR: "A federal prosecutor said a pharmaceutical company founder 'put profits over people' by bribing doctors around the country to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray. In the first day of a closely-watched trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lazarus told jurors Monday in Boston's federal court that John Kapoor, founder of Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics Inc., created a 'criminal conspiracy' that paid eight doctors and other prescribers more than $1.1 million to prescribe its drug, Subsys."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Sen. Elizabeth Warren: I'm 'not confident at all' that another shutdown won't happen in 3 weeks," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "As federal workers return to the office after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, said Monday that she is 'not confident at all' that there will not be another shutdown in three weeks. Warren, who is considering a 2020 presidential run, said she is open to talking about a range of ways to ensure that does not happen, from passing an automatic continuing resolution, a temporary budget to keep government agencies funded, to not paying members of Congress during a shutdown."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "People Want Democrats To Get Trump's Tax Returns, Please," by Arthur Delaney, Huffington Post: "Most people want Democrats to get copies of President Donald Trump's tax returns and make them public, something Democrats said they would do but haven't done yet. Sixty percent of Americans say Democrats in charge of the House of Representatives should use their power to obtain and release Trump's tax returns, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. Now that Democrats control the House, they control its committees, and can make the request whenever they want. Some experts have criticized House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) for not doing so immediately."
- "'We are a healthy blended family,' Ayanna Pressley says of being a stepmom," by Dialynn Dwyer, Boston.com: "Rep. Ayanna Pressley has a message for those who think she should stop referring to her husband's child as her 'stepdaughter' — thanks, but no thanks. The Massachusetts congresswoman said someone approached her at an event on Sunday with the argument that she shouldn't use the term 'stepdaughter.'
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| KENNEDY COMPOUND |
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- "Joe Kennedy III gains friends as Dems ready for 2020, by Hillary Chabot, Boston Herald: "Establishment loyalist U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III is keeping his 2020 support under wraps amidst a young, progressive upheaval on Capitol Hill — even advising liberal superstar Beto O'Rourke while Bay State colleague Sen. Elizabeth Warren launches her race ."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "MBTA says it needs to raise fares by 6.3 percent this summer," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "Subway rides would cost an additional 15 cents, bus rides would go up by a dime, and the popular monthly pass would rise $5.50 to $90 under a proposal revealed Monday by the MBTA to increase fares by a systemwide average of 6.3 percent. If approved by officials later this winter, the new fares would go into effect in July and mark the fourth increase for the transit system since 2012."
- "T analysis: Time for long goodbye to Mattapan trolleys," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: AN MBTA ANALYSIS concludes the trolley line running between Mattapan and Ashmont Station on the Red Line requires a significant infrastructure investment over the next decade and suggests the historic-but-broken-down trolleys that currently carry passengers should be replaced - most likely with redeployed Green Line vehicles. Most of the concern about the Mattapan line has focused on the trolleys, which date to the 1940s."
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| EYE ON 2020 |
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- "Wall Street freaks out about 2020," by Ben White, POLITICO:"Bankers' biggest fear: The nomination goes to an anti-Wall Street crusader like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) or Sanders. 'It can't be Warren and it can't be Sanders,' said the CEO of another giant bank. 'It has to be someone centrist and someone who can win.'"
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "Lobster, Vegas and more at MassHousing's... HOUSE PARTY," Globe: "Man with gun ends wild road-rage ride," "T seeks fare raises to improve services," "Vt.: A carbon culprit." |
| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "In Vermont, a progressive haven, emissions spike forces officials to consider drastic action," by David Abel, Boston Globe: "It's a state that prides itself on purity: its pristine land, progressive politics, even its ice cream. So it was no surprise when Vermont sought to lead the way in cutting carbon pollution, vowing to reduce greenhouse gases from the state's power plants, cars, and other sources by 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 and 50 percent by 2028. But 14 years later, the zeal in the Green Mountain State has yielded not so much cleaner air, but embarrassment."
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| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Immigrant rights activist Eduardo Samaniego to be deported," by Dusty Christensen, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "After 100 days of incarceration, local immigrant rights activist Eduardo Samaniego has accepted so-called 'voluntary departure' and will be deported to Mexico, a country he left a decade ago. In October, Samaniego was arrested in Georgia after forgetting his wallet and failing to pay $27.75 in cab fare — a misdemeanor charge his supporters say has since been dropped after the fare was paid. But because of his immigration status, Samaniego was transferred from jail to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and on Friday Samaniego decided to accept deportation before an immigration judge."
- "Longmeadow Furtively Moves to Revive School Committee," by Matt Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: "Five days after simultaneous resignations essentially paralyzed the School Committee, the administrative clean up of the fallout has begun. The Select Board met in a special session Monday night with the Committee's remnants. Together, they charted a course to resuscitate the school panel and, eventually, restore it to full strength."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Abuse Claims Persist For Canton-Based Special Needs School," by Jenifer McKim, WGBH News: "The Rotenberg center has been frequently cited by state agencies for abusing and neglecting some of its 270 adult and juvenile wards diagnosed with major mental illnesses, autism and other developmental disabilities, state records show. During 2016 alone, the school was cited 27 times by two state agencies that monitor the care of adults and children at special education schools for violations mostly related to abuse and neglect. That was more than any other school of its kind that year, according to records obtained by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting."
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to Massachusetts Democratic State Committee member Diego Sanchez, who turned 62 on Jan. 21.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who turns 3-0; state Rep. Claire Cronin, state Rep. William Crocker, the Boston Globe's Marcela García, and queen of Massachusetts connections CNN's Lauren Dezenski.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Celtics beat the Nets 112-104.
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