WARREN plays the long game — What hospitals spent on QUESTION 1 — INSIDE the Senate Chamber

Feb 26, 2019

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.

WARREN PLAYS THE LONG GAME — While Sen. Elizabeth Warren didn't offer many public details about her presidential ambitions during her 2018 reelection bid, it's increasingly clear how she used that race to lay the groundwork for a larger campaign infrastructure in 2020.

Warren had an eye on the future when she assembled a large midterm team, even as she held a wide lead in the polls again GOP opponent Geoff Diehl.

"It was a chance to bring more people in who could be part of a campaign, who could get trained on a campaign," Warren said over the weekend. "Who could be in the fight again in 2020. Maybe for me but maybe for somebody else."

And building that campaign machine positioned her to roll forward with the same familiar crew of Massachusetts organizers and volunteers at her recent New Hampshire events.

Warren has also been carefully separating herself from the crowded 2020 field with a series of policy and campaign proposals. Warren announced yesterday she's ditching traditional fundraising tactics like private dinners and calls with big-dollar donors. The move will set her apart from candidates who are wooing donors — even in Warren's backyard — but it's also a risk.

Warren acknowledged at a campaign stop on Saturday that the kind of presidential campaign she plans to run, with a robust infrastructure to attract small-dollar donors and volunteers, isn't cheap.

"It's hard to do it that way. I get it. It's expensive to do it that way because it takes a lot of human beings," Warren said. "But here's the deal: If we build it, if we get this built person to person, it not only means that we win up and down the ballot in 2020 it means we make the changes we need to make in 2021."

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TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker speaks to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Sen. John Keenan, Rep. Jennifer Benson, Rep. Tackey Chan and Rep. Randy Hunt attend a ceremonial bill signing for a consumer protection bill. Senate President Karen Spilka speaks at an event for new lawmakers at the John Adams Courthouse. Former Gov. Bill Weld speaks at New England College in Henniker, N.H.

Sen. Ed Markey holds a roundtable on how technology impacts kids. Rep. Jim O'Day and Sen. Jason Lewis hold a Millionaires Tax briefing. Sen. Anne Gobi and Rep. Smitty Pignatelli attend a Green Budget briefing. Attorney General Maura Healey is a guest on WGBH's Boston Public Radio. Sen. Sal DiDomenico and Rep. Michael Moran host a legislative briefing focused on the 2020 census.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

- "BAKER PLOTTING NEW RUN AT HOUSING PRODUCTION BILL," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "Gov. Charlie Baker will make housing production a central theme of a speech he is slated to deliver to business leaders on Tuesday morning as the governor prepares to file new legislation, possibly as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday, to relax zoning controls in cities and towns. The legislation the governor is preparing to file will be substantially similar to a bill he pushed hard for last session to make it easier for municipalities to waive zoning restrictions in order to facilitate the production of new housing units."

- "Police confiscating weapons under 'red flag' law," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Police seized weapons and ammunition last year belonging to six people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others under the state's new "red flag" law, according to newly released data. The law, passed in the wake of school shootings and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in July, allows police, friends or relatives of a legal gun owner to seek a so-called "extreme risk protection order" if they believe that person poses a risk to themselves or others. The order gives police authority to temporarily confiscate that person's firearms."

- "Deb Goldberg makes push to bring lottery online," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "State Treasurer Deb Goldberg sees the Lottery in a fight for its life: It will either keep up with technology — and grow, or die like a business that falls out of favor. "We can well manage the decline of the Massachusetts State Lottery," Goldberg said. "It won't happen overnight, but it will ultimately happen in the same way that I think Sears and Toys R Us are." Goldberg underscored Monday the urgency for the Lottery to keep its games on track with technology by providing options online, especially as mobile sports betting is under consideration now on Beacon Hill."

- "Photos: Inside The Massachusetts State House's New Senate Chamber," by Steve Brown, WBUR: "After two years of painstaking renovations at a cost of $22.6 million, state senators this week will formally re-open their historic chamber located under the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House. "It is almost an obligation that we owe to the residents of the Commonwealth to keep our State House in good shape. It is the people's house," Senate President Karen Spilka told reporters before they were given a tour of the renovated chamber."

FROM THE HUB

- "Sports' great gamble, Part 2: Phoning it in," by Michael Silverman, Boston Herald: "We read newspaper articles on them, we stream Netflix series and NBA games on them, we swipe right or left, we snap pictures, we Snapchat, we buy diapers, we play Lamar, Sinatra and Hendrix, we play Fortnite, we read memoirs and how-to's, we text and sometimes, we even place calls on our phones. So, across the 50 states of the United States, but especially here in Massachusetts, nobody should be that surprised that the next revolution in sports betting will not take place inside a casino but on your very own smart phone."

- "New Report Finds Promise — And Urgent Problems — Facing Boston Public Schools," by Max Larkin, WBUR: "A new report is asking that the next superintendent of Boston Public Schools be more "change agent" than "caretaker." The report — funded by the nonprofit Boston Foundation — suggests that the district may be in danger of losing its reputation as a leading urban school system. To be clear, the report — called "An Uneven Path" — finds things to praise in BPS's record from 2007 to 2017."

THE OPINION PAGES

- "Stan Rosenberg on Wynn casino, sports betting, and gaming in Worcester," by Stan Rosenberg, Boston Globe: "Back in 2011, the skeptics thought Massachusetts was rolling the dice when we legalized gaming — after all, this had been a state long wary of casinos, and we were in a regional market some said was already saturated. As one of a team of legislators who worked with the Patrick administration to carefully formulate the new gaming law, I believe we've proved the doubters wrong. The bet has paid off quite well so far."

MIDTERM POSTMORTEM

- "Hospitals spend record $25M to defeat nurse patient ratio ballot question," by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Business Journal:"Hospitals spent more to defeat last year's ballot question on nurse staffing ratios than has ever been spent on a ballot question in state history, according to data released Monday by the Office of Campaign Finance. The Coalition to Protect Patient Safety, a lobbying group supported almost entirely by hospitals, spent $24,733,966 on the ballot initiative in November against Question 1, which would have put strict caps on the number of patients each nurse could have. The Coalition received 99 percent of its funding from the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, a lobbying group representing 70 hospitals in the state."

WARREN REPORT

- "Warren creates purity test unseen in modern presidential politics," by Natasha Korecki and Maggie Severns, POLITICO:"Sen. Elizabeth Warren's decision to block big donors from having special access to her presidential campaign amounts to voluntary disarmament - a major risk that could send precious dollars to competing campaigns. But the Warren camp is betting the move to ban donor calls, private donor meetings and high-dollar private fundraisers will elevate her as the principled leader in a crowded primary race, one in which she has issued among the most stringent self-imposed presidential campaign finance restrictions in modern history."

DAY IN COURT

- "Robert Kraft Is Formally Charged With Solicitation Over Visits To Florida Day Spa," by Bill Chappell, WGBH News: "The Florida state attorney's office in Palm Beach says New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution, days after police alleged surveillance video had caught Kraft during two visits to the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla. State Attorney Dave Aronberg said at a news conference Monday that Kraft, a resident of Massachusetts who also has a home in Palm Beach, is among 25 people facing first-degree misdemeanor charges of soliciting another to commit prostitution."

FROM THE DELEGATION

- "Environmental activists to press US Rep. Richard Neal to support 'Green New Deal,'" by Shannon Young, Springfield Republican: "Dozens of environmental activists from across Massachusetts will gather in Springfield Tuesday to urge U.S. Rep. Richard Neal to join fellow delegation members in supporting Democrats' "Green New Deal" agenda. The Boston chapter of Sunrise Movement, a youth-led effort that seeks to force political action on climate change-related issues, announced Monday that it will hold a late afternoon rally with local high school students, college students and other environmental activists outside the Springfield Democrat's State Street office."

DATELINE D.C.

- "Gov. Charlie Baker gets a shout-out from VP Mike Pence," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Gov. Charlie Baker spent the weekend in Washington, D.C., hobnobbing with governors from around the nation as well as President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence — who gave the Massachusetts governor a public shout-out on Friday. Although Baker has often been critical of the Trump administration, Pence called Baker out by name when he talked about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's partnership with state governors."

KENNEDY COMPOUND

- "US Rep. Joe Kennedy III 'hopes' Mueller report finds no evidence of collusion with Russia," by Shannon Young, Springfield Republican: "Congressman Joe Kennedy III, D-Newton, said Monday that he hopes Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the 2016 presidential election uncovers no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, solidifying Americans' confidence in the country's electoral process."

ALL ABOARD

- "MBTA management and union square off over pension fund," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "THERE IS A chasm between how MBTA management views the agency's pension fund and how the union that represents the biggest share of T workers sees the retirement account. The Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday spoke with one voice, raising the alarm about a pension system that board members said is worryingly underfunded."

TRUMPACHUSETTS

- "Former US security officials to oppose emergency declaration," Associated Press: " A group of former US national security officials is set to release a statement arguing there is no justification for President Trump to use a national emergency declaration to fund a wall along the US-Mexico border. The statement, which was reviewed by The Associated Press, has 58 signatures from prominent former officials, including former Secretaries of State Madeline Albright and John Kerry, former Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta and former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano."

ABOVE THE FOLD

— Herald: "THEY WERE WATCHING," — Globe: "Affidavit details allegations against Kraft," "Party backs new vote on Brexit."

FROM THE 413

- "Has Chicopee Reached the Edge of the Kosmos?" by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: "Not long after pulling papers for reelection, Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos has declared he will not seek reelection in 2019. In press conference Monday, the chief executive of the 413's second largest city announced plans to return to private practice after serving three terms in his second mayoral stint. Kos also served as mayor from 1995 to 2003. That return to Chicopee City Hall in 2013 came at the expense of then-mayor Michael Bissonnette, whom Kos defeated. After Bissonnette, who had served four two-year terms before his defeat, failed to reclaim his seat, Kos seemed secure for as long as he wanted the position. But the grueling hours and passive-aggressive nature of Chicopee politics probably made a return to law more attractive."

- "Opioid overdose deaths still on rise locally," by Greta Jochem, Daily Hampshire Gazette: " Although opioid overdose deaths declined by 4 percent statewide in 2018 compared to the previous year, Hampshire County saw a small rise in drug-related fatalities. Thirty-two residents are suspected to have died of opioid-related overdoses in 2018, compared to 28 in 2017, according to figures from the Northwestern district attorney's office."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

- "South Coast LGBTQ Network planning wide range of programs in New Bedford," by Aimee Chiavaroli, Standard-Times: "The network is gearing up for a big year. It's turning five years old, it's the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and the 15th anniversary of marriage equality in Massachusetts. It's holding an event at the Harbor Hotel on Union Street, May 31 from 6 to 9 p.m. to celebrate the two anniversaries, including hosting a meet and greet with Stonewall veterans and recognizing those on the SouthCoast who were instrumental in the fight for marriage equality."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Cathey Park and Laura Oggeri, chief communications officer for the City of Boston.

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