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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
NEW THIS MORNING: RAUSCH AND DONATO TO FILE VACCINE BILL — State Sen. Becca Rausch will file a new bill with Rep. Paul Donato today, with the aim of standardizing immunizations requirements across the state. The bill also seeks to streamline the application process for vaccine exemptions.
"Currently, Massachusetts has no consistent process for obtaining or approving immunization exemptions. Multiple communities have fallen below medically established immunization rate thresholds necessary to protect the general population from certain infectious diseases," according to a release from Rausch's office.
The bill, called the Community Immunity Act, would streamline immunization requirements and exemption processes for child care centers, schools, summer camps, colleges and universities. It also calls for "the creation and use of statewide medical and religious exemption application forms," and the Department of Public Health would process those applications, rather than individual schools or school districts.
Religious exemptions to vaccines reached an all-time high in Massachusetts last school year, according to a recent WGBH report. State Rep. Andy Vargas has filed legislation to eliminate the religious exemption, and New York recently passed a state law that eliminates religious exemptions for schools and child care centers.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito declare September as Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month. Baker and Politohold a press conference to promote housing legislation. Polito chairs a meeting of the Governor's Council.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh attends a Building Trades Stand Down to honor construction workers who die due to opioid addiction. Walshspeaks at a naturalization ceremony for 200 new citizens, and speaks at the Washington Post's live event "Chasing Cancer" in Boston. Today is the last day to register to vote in Boston's Sept. 24 preliminary election.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Tran's proposal would make illegal for protesters to cover their faces," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "Following a weekend that saw three dozen people arrested when counter-protesters and police clashed in downtown Boston, one state senator is proposing to make it a crime for protesters to cover their faces during public events. Four police officers were injured and 36 people were arrested Saturday after a series of fracases between law enforcement and protesters demonstrating against a straight pride parade that wended its way through downtown Boston. Many of the protesters, some of whom were affiliated with the leftist group Antifa, wore bandanas, masks or other items to shield their faces."
- "Farley-Bouvier renews push to allow undocumented in state to get driver's license," by Tony Dobrowolski, The Berkshire Eagle:"State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier thinks it's important that all motorists in the state are licensed drivers — regardless of immigration status. Farley-Bouvier is renewing her push — this is the third time she has proposed legislation on the topic — to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver's licenses in Massachusetts. A bill she filed in 2014 landed in a dead-end study. Legislation that she filed in 2015 had more than 50 co-sponsors and drew public hearings, but no action ever was taken."
- "Mass. lawmakers seek early intervention for opioid babies," by Christian M. Wade, Newburyport News: "Babies born to mothers who used heroin, fentanyl and other opioids during pregnancy can suffer from emotional and physical problems as they age, studies show. But while children with disabilities as a result of exposure to alcohol during pregnancy can qualify for developmental services, those exposed to opioids cannot. Some lawmakers want to change that by expanding programs and services offered by the state Department of Developmental Services to children diagnosed with opioid-related systems from their mother's drug use."
- "LESSER PRESSES BAKER ANGLE IN INTERVIEW ABOUT RMV," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "A key state senator called for continued scrutiny on the Registry of Motor Vehicles as the Baker administration addresses a years-long failure to suspend licenses, reiterating skepticism over whether the governor knew about the problems before a fatal crash brought them to light. Sen. Eric Lesser, the second-ranking Senate member of the Joint Committee on Transportation, told WCVB's On the Record program that the committee is planning further hearings to seek answers to "a lot more questions," even after grilling RMV and administration officials for more than seven hours in July about how the department allowed thousands of driver violation warnings from other states to pile up unprocessed."
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| WHAT CITY HALL IS READING |
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- "City Hall aide seen as puzzling figure to be caught up in bribery case," by Tim Logan and Milton Valencia, Boston Globe: "By all accounts, John Lynch was a fairly run-of-the-mill staffer at City Hall, the guy in a suit at a neighborhood business fair, or the one standing at the edge of the picture at a ribbon-cutting. Then he wound up smack in the middle of a bribery scandal. Lynch's plan to plead guilty to charges that he took $50,000 from a developer to influence a vote on Boston's Zoning Board of Appeal has baffled some who know the longtime city worker. In public comments and private conversations, they described Lynch as an unflashy, nuts-and-bolts bureaucrat, an expert in how to get small things done at City Hall ."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Ayanna Pressley calls for 'independent investigation' into cops, protesters," by Jules Crittenden, Boston Herald: "U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who boosted a protester bail fund over the weekend, called for an "independent investigation" into what happened between Boston Police and protesters at the Straight Pride Parade — which devolved into chaos and led to dozens of arrests. Pressley, speaking in Roxbury Tuesday, also pushed for more police body cameras to show what happens in future incidents. "A lot of the reason we don't have a picture of what transpired is because there's no documenting," Pressley said, saying she believes body cameras would show if police used de-escalation techniques, and if people were provoked."
- "ACLU Looking Into Allegations of Police Misconduct At 'Straight Pride' Parade," by Zoe Mathews, WGBH News: "Activists who protested Saturday's self-described "straight pride" parade allege police misconduct, after dozens were arrested and police were seen pepper spraying people. Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, told Boston Public Radio she was troubled with the apparent use of force by police. Rose said the ACLU of Massachusetts is conducting interviews, reviewing footage of Saturday's events and requesting information from Boston Police to try to get more information."
- "As baby boomers watch stocks swing wildly, their future seems less secure," by Robert Weisman, Boston Globe:"Menacing rumbles from Wall Street echoed across the placid waters of Cape Cod Bay last week as a boatload of graying day trippers returned to Sesuit Harbor. It was meant to be a carefree outing: A Hyannis financial planning firm had chartered the S.S. Lobster Roll, a twin-diesel party boat, to fete about 50 clients. But even amid the seaborne laughter, passengers were rattled by the recent market turbulence. Like millions in or approaching retirement, they wondered how the mounting uncertainty might affect their financial future."
- "Women facing 'massive increase in hostility' in workplace, #MeToo-era study says," by Katie Johnston, Boston Globe: "In the two years since the #MeToo movement took off, igniting a firestorm over sexual harassment in the workplace, another form of less incendiary but more insidious gender-based harassment has been building quietly. Women say they are being subjected to sexism far more than they used to be, according to a new study out of the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business.
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "Work continues to get Red Line running on time," by Diamond Naga Siu, Boston Globe: "The Red Line was moving briskly out of Braintree Station Tuesday morning, trains leaving on a frequent and regular schedule, and most even had empty seats. With Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer having passed, and commuters returning to more-regular work schedules, the seemingly uneventful performance of the Red Line was vastly different from the crowded trains and hours long waits in the days and weeks after the June 11 derailment at JFK/UMass."
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| THE OPINION PAGES |
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- "Mass. economy is at risk, four economic development chiefs say," by Ranch Kimball, Dan O'Connell, Greg Bialecki and Jay Ash, Boston Business Journal: "Massachusetts is in a housing crisis. The rising cost of living from increased housing prices is creating a substantial gap in affordable housing stock for cities and towns struggling to meet demand. As renters struggle with paying more than 30 percent of their income toward rent and as potential homeowners deal with single-family home prices that have increased faster than any other state, the progress Massachusetts has made in economic growth and development is at risk."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Judges refuse to dismiss assault charges against protesters at Straight Pride Parade," by Gal Tziperman Lotan and John R. Ellement, Boston Globe: "Two Boston Municipal Court judges Tuesday rejected a move by Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins's office to dismiss charges of disorderly conduct and assault and battery on police officers against people protesting the Straight Pride Parade. Judges Thomas R. Horgan and Richard Sinnott did not agree with the recommendations from Suffolk assistant district attorneys that disorderly conduct charges be dropped once the defendants completed eight hours of community service."
- "Husband of former Senate president might change plea in sexual assault case," by Matt Stout Globe, Boston Globe: "Bryon Hefner, whose criminal case sparked a reckoning on Beacon Hill and engulfed the political career of his once-powerful husband, is weighing a guilty plea ahead of his trial on multiple counts of sexual assault, court officials say. Hefner and prosecutors are scheduled to appear Sept. 10 in Suffolk Superior Court — one day before jury selection is scheduled to begin — for what a court clerk said Tuesday is a possible change of plea."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "How Elizabeth Warren would address climate change," by Eric Wolff, POLITICO: "Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued an aggressive climate change plan on Tuesday that echoed the Green New Deal, calling for spending $3 trillion under a 10-year plan to move the U.S. to 100 percent clean energy, spur economic development with a raft of new jobs and protect poor communities dependent on fossil fuels. Warren's plan praises the proposals pushed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who had built his presidential campaign around climate change but dropped out of the race last month after failing to attract national support."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Trump tariffs hurting small businesses," by Ethan Forman, The Salem News: "U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton got a first-hand look Tuesday at how trade wars are affecting a small local cheese shop just around the corner from his district office in Salem, and a small family-owned high-end carbon fiber bicycle manufacturer just over the bridge in Beverly. Both businesses' owners say they are getting squeezed by proposed or present tariffs. For North Shore foodies, the Cheese Shop of Salem at 45 Lafayette St. is facing up to 100% tariffs on cheese, olives and other specialty food items coming from the European Union."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Mintz Levin, ML Strategies steer clear of pot clients," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE POWERHOUSE LOBBYING FIRM ML Strategies and its corporate parent, the law firm of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, are not pursuing clients in the recreational marijuana business while the legal status of pot remains murky. While other law and lobbying firms have plunged head-first into the marijuana arena, Mintz Levin and ML Strategies have charted a very different course. Nancy Sterling, a spokesperson for both the law and lobbying firms, said the policy on marijuana clients is not a blanket prohibition, but it comes pretty close."
— Herald: "STAY OUT OF BOSTON!" — Globe: "With market swings, no rest for retirees," "Judge won't let protesters off hook." |
| NO PLACE LIKE THE CITY OF HOMES |
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- "Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno 'miffed' as seniors plan rally for lower-cost meals, transportation at Raymond Jordan center," by Peter Goonan, Springfield Republican: "Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said he is "miffed" that a group of senior citizens is planning a rally at City Hall Wednesday to protest the cost of meals and transportation at the Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center at Blunt Park. The Massachusetts Senior Action Council announced that dozens of seniors are expected to gather at 11 a.m., protesting that the price of lunch is $3.50 — compared with a previous price of $2 — and that the cost of a round-trip van shuttle to the center is $6. Van trips are provided by the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Weymouth residents want relief from digital billboard," by Jessica Trufant, The Patriot Ledger: "A group of South Weymouth neighbors are asking town councilors for help after they say a brightly lit, three-sided digital billboard was built on the northbound side of Route 3, across from their neighborhood, without proper notification or oversight. Kipling Road resident Amy Kabilian went before town council on Tuesday night regarding the digital billboard that she said has impacted her neighbors' property values and quality of life since it appeared in April. She said she turned to the council for help with the issue after months of no action from town officials."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "MassLive sees over 6 million unique visitors in June, surpasses Boston.com in digital audience in July," by Ed Kubosiak, MassLive.com: "MassLive's statewide growth strategy continues to show impressive results with the site topping six million unique visitors in June and topping competitor Boston.com in digital audience for the first time in July, according to the most recent data for Massachusetts and New England digital media properties from independent media analytics company comScore."
TRANSITIONS - Delia Harrington joins state Sen. Becca Rausch's office as communications director.
WEEKEND WEDDING - "Alicia Christoff, Adam Hinds," from the NY Times: "Alicia Jean Mireles Christoff and Adam Gray Hinds were married Aug. 24 at August Moon, an events space in Sheffield, Mass. Ms. Christoff, 37, is an assistant professor of English at Amherst College in Amherst, Mass. She is also the author of "Novel Relations: Victorian Fiction and British Psychoanalysis," which is to be published in December by Princeton University Press. Mr. Hinds, 43, a Democrat, is a Massachusetts state senator. He represents the Berkshires area district, in Western Massachusetts." With a pic, and an Insta pic.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to Carl Nilsson, president of Field First, LLC, who celebrated Friday; and state Sen. Becca Rausch, who turned 4-0 on Saturday.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Twins beat the Red Sox 6-5.
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