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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
GROUP PUSHING KENNEDY TO RUN FOR SENATE — Inspired by a recent telephone poll testing Rep. Joe Kennedy III against Sen. Ed Markey in a head-to-head match-up, a group of Democratic activists are trying to draft Kennedy to jump in the 2020 Senate primary.
The emergence of the group is fueling speculation that Kennedy will challenge Markey, who is up for reelection next fall. Shortly after the draft campaign went live yesterday morning, links to a website, a Facebook group and a petition were making the rounds among Massachusetts Democrats.
Behind the "Jump in, Joe!" campaign are a group of people who met while organizing Kennedy's Boston Pride Parade Committee years ago, according to Jamie Hoag, a member of the group. Hoag is director of government relations and assistant legal counsel at the College of the Holy Cross, and previously served as deputy chief legal counsel to former Gov. Deval Patrick. Some members of the group, including Hoag and Greater Boston PFLAG Executive Director Valerie Frias, had worked on the Yes on 3 campaign during the 2018 midterm election.
"This is not about the incumbent, it's not about Sen. Markey. We admire his public service over the past 43 years. This is about Joe Kennedy and why we think he would be the best fit for the U.S. Senate," Hoag told me over the phone yesterday. "The point is to have the dialogue and to create the conversation, to get the congressman to seriously consider jumping in the race."
The "Jump in, Joe!" group decided to launch a draft campaign less than two weeks ago, after hearing about that mysterious telephone poll that had tested Kennedy against Markey for Senate. Hoag said his group did not commission the poll. Hoag pointed to Kennedy's advocacy on LGBTQ issues, health care and local issues like vocational training in Fall River as reasons to support him.
Kennedy has previously said he is running for reelection to his House seat, and told this new group the same thing, according to Hoag. Asked whether he was behind the poll, Kennedy's campaign declined to comment last month.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh attends the 4th Annual Boston Police Department Bike Ride for Peace, and a Paris Village ribbon cutting. Boston City Council candidate Julia Mejia and state Rep. Jon Santiago host a Narcan training.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Vineyard Wind vows to move forward despite fed hold-up," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "VINEYARD WIND ON Monday vowed that it will move forward with its $2.8 billion, 84-turbine wind farm project despite a new delay caused by the federal government, though the project will take shape on a new, yet-to-be-determined timeline. The US Department of the Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Friday put a freeze on a crucial environmental impact statement for Vineyard Wind, once slated to be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in America, so they can study the wider impacts of an offshore wind industry that is quickly ramping up."
- "State revokes background clearances for 9 ride-hailing drivers in RMV scandal's wake," by Lucia Maffei, Boston Business Journal: "The state has revoked nine background check clearance certificates for drivers of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft in wake of the scandal that's engulfed the state's Registry of Motor Vehicles since June. Those revocations by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, which regulates ride-hailing companies, have occurred as the RMV suspended more than 1,600 standard licenses after an internal investigation determined that tens of thousands of written alerts from other states about Massachusetts drivers went unchecked for years. The alerts warned about citations and arrests ranging from drunk driving to speeding."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Suffolk D.A. Rachael Rollins On The 'Methadone Mile' Arrests And More," by Eliza Dewey, WGBH News: "Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins called for increased social services for people with substance use disorders following last week's contentious 'Methadone Mile' police sweep. Rollins also acknowledged growing frustration from both residents and police about the drug problem in the area. "There's a small handful of people [who were arrested] that engaged in violence, and they will be held accountable," she told Jim Braude Monday on Greater Boston. "But when we use words like 'sweep' and engage in behaviors where an entire group of people — irrespective of what their involvement was — are arrested, we're going to get people who might simply just be homeless, or might simply have a substance use disorder addiction, or be suffering from a mental illness." "Operation Clean Sweep," as it was referred to by the Boston Police Department, led to 34 arrests over the course of two days in a part of the South End that has long been known as a gathering spot for drug users due to its proximity to a methadone clinic and other addiction services."
- "The Most Persistent Troublemaker In Massachusetts Classrooms? The Cellphone," by Molly Boigon, WGBH News: "In the fall of 2018, Milford High School Principal Joshua Otlin heard that teachers were losing the war against cellphones. "They had essentially surrendered," he said. "They decided that they weren't going to be the phone police every day. They weren't going to bargain and negotiate and beg and plead and punish. They were going to teach." Otlin said he'd visit classrooms and see up to 15 kids take out phones at some point during class. "You've got a quarter, a third, a half of the kids kind of mentally checked out," he said. So, last April, Milford High started a new policy. If a student gets caught using a phone in class, they go to the principal's office, a family member has to come pick up the device from a "phone locker" in the office and the student has to go to Saturday school."
- "Tin boxes prompted police responses in Boston and Cambridge. Inside each was cash and a note." by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: "Tin boxes marked only with a logo and the words, "Open me," prompted police responses in Boston and Cambridge Saturday. But for the passersby who heeded the directions on the mysterious objects, they found a small treasure: cold, hard cash. Several containers were found throughout the region, including two in Boston and one in Cambridge that spurred law enforcement investigations."
- "New Immigration Rule Could Affect Half A Million Mass. Residents," by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: "The Trump administration on Monday introduced a new rule vastly expanding the list of public benefits federal immigration officials may take into consideration when determining whether an individual should be allowed to enter the country or obtain permanent residence. A Boston-based group estimates that it could affect more than 500,000 residents in the state. Known as the "public charge" provision, the process evaluates a person's likelihood to become primarily dependent on government assistance. It is used as a basis for admissibility into the U.S. and as a determining factor when someone is trying to adjust their immigration status to obtain legal permanent residency."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "'Count us as very worried' about Green Line extension project, MBTA official says," by Matt Stout and Maria Lovato, Boston Globe: "MBTA officials said Monday they are concerned about keeping the $2.3 billion Green Line extension project on schedule after being told a key piece of it has fallen months behind. John Dalton, who is overseeing the 4.7 mile extension, told the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's board that the overall project remains on time and that work crews can catch up before service on the route is scheduled to begin in late 2021. "The fact that we are two years away from being done with this project means there is time to recover," Dalton told reporters after the meeting. But pressure is beginning to build. Work to relocate a set of existing commuter rail tracks that the new line will run alongside is now expected to creep into November — two months after it was originally scheduled, Dalton said. With winter approaching and construction spending expected to swell significantly over the next year, the details left board members uneasy."
- "Now arriving: First new Orange Line cars in almost 40 years," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "SIX NEW MBTA Orange Line cars will enter service Wednesday, the first new cars in what will eventually be a complete replacement of the fleet that entered service around 1980. Constructed by CRRC, a Chinese government-owned railcar manufacturer with an assembly plant in Springfield, the six new Orange Line cars have undergone about 3,800 miles of testing over the past year. Equipped with display boards within the cars and a layout that prioritizes space for passengers to stand, plus more room for passengers moving in and out, the new cars will be quite different from the rest of the Orange Line fleet, which is scarred by rust and covered in something like a perma-grime that clouds the windows."
- "MBTA repair shutdowns could extend into 2020, weekdays," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "The T's plans to shut down major downtown train stations for work on weekends this fall could extend into 2020 and even into weekdays — and it's already infuriating straphangers. "We are looking at what we can do in 2020 to accelerate construction on the system, so it will definitely include more weekend diversions, and we are exploring the possibility of weekday diversions," MBTA general manager Steve Poftak told reporters outside Monday's T board meeting. Poftak briefed the board about the T's $27.5 million plan to close the busy downtown stretches of the Red and Orange lines this fall so the struggling transit agency could speed up repair work."
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| ON THE STUMP |
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- "The Republican Running Against Donald Trump Took His Message To The Iowa State Fair. Few Listened." by Rosie Gray, BuzzFeed News: "Democratic presidential candidates descended on Iowa in a flurry of activity this weekend, attending the annual Wing Ding dinner and speaking at the Iowa State Fair, meeting as many voters as they could and kicking off the primary season in earnest. Top-tier candidates like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders attracted huge crowds who followed their every move as they ate corn dogs and looked at the cow made of butter. And then, more quietly, there was Bill Weld."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "HEALEY PLANS SUIT OVER ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT CHANGES," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service: "As the Trump administration on Monday rolled out plans to change the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, Attorney General Maura Healey announced plans to sue over the move she said would dismantle important protections for at-risk wildlife and their habitats. "By gutting key components of the Endangered Species Act, one of our country's most successful environmental laws, the Trump Administration is putting our most imperiled species and our vibrant local tourism and recreation industries at risk," Healey said in a statement. "We will be taking the Administration to court to defend federal law and protect our rare animals, plants, and the environment." Healey and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that the new rules would allow federal agencies to ignore "serious threats to endangered animals and plants," limit the circumstances when a species can be listed as threatened, and eliminate a requirement that agencies consider a species' ability to recover before removing it from the endangered or threatened list."
- "Springfield handed court victory in alternative school case," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "Advocacy groups and students who say they're being sent to in an inferior school because of mental health disabilities cannot continue their lawsuit against the city and the School Department. The Aug. 8 ruling from the First Circuit Court follows and earlier ruling from U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni saying that two groups, Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL) and Disability Law Center (DLC), don't have standing to sue. The appeals court said the two groups don't have standing to sue and that students have an administrative process they can go through to get out of the special school and into neighborhood schools."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris's controversial Michael Brown tweets, explained," by German Lopez, Vox: "Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris marked the five-year anniversary of the Ferguson, Missouri, police shooting of Michael Brown last week with tweets claiming that the cop who shot Brown "murdered" the 18-year-old black man. But the evidence, including a report released by President Barack Obama's Department of Justice, says otherwise. The protests in Ferguson drew national attention to the real problem of police violence and racial bias nationwide — the bigger movement Harris and Warren acknowledged with their tweets. Justice Department investigations after the shooting, though, found that the officer who shot Brown was legally justified, even if the police department that he worked in had serious problems with racial bias and violence."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Seth Moulton wants New Hampshire's vote — and for the state to change its ways," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "It doesn't happen often on the campaign trail: A presidential candidate comes to the first-in-the-nation primary state and tells them what they are doing wrong. But on Monday, US Representative Seth Moulton, the Salem Democrat and long shot for his party's 2020 nomination, had no qualms about slamming laws that have uniquely defined New Hampshire. Speaking to the local chamber of commerce, Moulton noted the state hasn't legalized marijuana, but it puts state-run liquor stores on the highway — "a crazy injustice." The decades-long (and often fraught) project of expanding the number of lanes on Interstate 93 from the Massachusetts border to Manchester, Moulton said, "makes no sense" because it just feeds the congested traffic farther into Boston."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "CAUCUS DEMANDS MEETING WITH FAA CHIEF TO TALK AIRPLANE NOISE," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "The new administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration was sworn in Monday and he will find a letter from Congressman Stephen Lynch awaiting his attention. Lynn co-chairs the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus and that group on Aug. 5 asked Stephen Dickson to appear before them in September to discuss airplane noise that "can dramatically impact the standard of living and even the health of residents" subject to frequent exposure, including those living near airports in Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York City. Specifically, Lynch and others in Congress want to know when the results of a study, which the FAA began in 2015, will be released."
- "Ayanna Pressley tells Trevor Noah that Congress could save lives by passing gun control bills 'tomorrow,'" by Peter Bailey-Wells, Boston Globe: "Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley appeared on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" on Monday night to talk about President Trump, racism, gun control, and the state of Congress. She referenced her eight years on the Boston City Council and highlighted her work on trauma, violence prevention, and immigration in her interview on the program. The congresswoman described gun violence as a "public health epidemic" that affects all Americans, and she outlined the "intersectionality of violence" between mass shootings and community-based violence."
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| DATELINE D.C. |
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- "The US military is run by guys from Boston," by Kevin Cullen, Boston Globe: "Something remarkable happened last week, but we are a peripatetic nation, trying to keep up with incessant tweets, natural disasters, and unnatural disasters, like mass shootings, that rob us of sleep and perspective. So while few noticed, three guys who grew up around Boston played musical chairs at the highest level of the American military. General Joe Dunford, who grew up in Quincy before he joined the Marines, stepped down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replaced by General Mark Milley, who grew up in Winchester, who in turn was replaced as chief of staff of the Army by General Jim McConville, who grew up near Dunford in Quincy."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Living a low-waste life offers a business opportunity," by Janelle Nanos, Boston Globe: "On a recent afternoon, Sarah Levy picked up an empty pickle jar from a shelf in her storefront, sniffed it, and then suggested a customer fill it with soap. There's a take-a-jar, leave-a-jar policy at Cleenland, Levy's new "low-waste, no-shame" store that lets shoppers stock up on cleaning supplies using their own bottles. And as an early adopter of an emerging shift in American consumption habits, she has become adept at getting the gherkin smell out of glass. "This is not a trend; it's a resurgence of interest in re-using instead of recycling," said Levy, who opened Cleenland in Central Square in June. After weighing her customers' jars, she commiserates with them over global environmental challenges."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Globe: "A harrowing portrait of a lair of lechery," "Rules that help save species weakened." |
| EYE ON 2020 |
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| NO PLACE LIKE THE CITY OF HOMES |
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- "In 1st Year, MGM Springfield Has Little Impact On Most Neighborhood Businesses," by Nancy Eve Cohen, NEPR: "As the MGM Springfield casino in Springfield was under construction a few years ago, several local retailers and restaurants said they got a lot of new business. But now — a year after it opened — not so much."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Tempers flare at Fall River city council meeting after embattled mayor arrives," by Brynne Connolly, 7 News: "Tempers flared at a Fall River city council meeting Monday night when embattled Mayor Jaisel Correia stepped into the room. Correia took a seat at the table and was asked by council members to return to the audience. Correia argued that as mayor he has the right to attend any city meeting and urged City Council President, Cliff Ponte, to "show some decorum." That statement did not sit well with Ponte."
- "Southbridge schools: State-appointed receiver says much work remains," by Brian Lee, Telegram & Gazette: The public schools' turnaround plan will be renewed for another three years, state-appointed receiver-superintendent Jeffrey A. Villar said recently. "There's no doubt about it," Mr. Villar said. "Our performance is nowhere near what it needs for the state to say, 'We're done.' " The system, which has about 2,000 students, is preparing for its fourth year under state control. The first day for Grades 1 to 12 is Aug. 26. Administrators and teachers hope to build more trust this year."
FOR YOUR RADAR - "Obama laying low during his annual Martha's Vineyard visit." Link.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Weymouth state Sen. Patrick O'Connor, Job Corps business community liaison Denise Perrault; and Josh Romney, who is 44 .
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Indians beat the Red Sox 6-5.
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