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Presented by the American Heart Association
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
EXCLUSIVE: ST. GUILLEN OPENS UP ABOUT SISTER'S MURDER — Boston City Council at-large candidate Alejandra St. Guillen is opening up about her sister's murder in a new video shared with supporters today. If elected next month, St. Guillen says she will use her sister's story to push for "trauma-informed services" in schools and community centers.
St. Guillen's sister, Imette St. Guillen, was murdered by a bouncer in New York City in 2006. Her death drew national attention and was a catalyst for new laws that put in place background checks for bouncers in bars.
St. Guillen said the pain of losing her sister was "almost unbearable," but she was able to pull through with the help of a network of trauma survivors.
"The work that I do and have done as a teacher, a community organizer and an advocate has been guided by the legacy of my sister, Imette, who was taken from us far too soon," St. Guillen told POLITICO in a statement. "Through the experience of losing my sister and the support I received from my survivor community, I know how vital trauma-informed services are and how transformative they can be in the lives of those who need them."
EXCLUSIVE: MEJIA WANTS TO CHANGE 'PAY-TO-PLAY' POLITICS — Boston City Council at-large candidate Julia Mejia will call for a new campaign finance system in Boston's elections process at a meeting with state and city leaders of color and local media this morning. Mejia is blasting the city's "pay-to-play" system that she says keeps people from low-income and working class backgrounds out of politics.
"Many residents in Boston do not have equal access to traditional political networks," Mejia said in a statement to POLITICO. "This limits equal access to capital, which results in the election of fewer low-income and working class candidates, many of whom are people of color, and which leads to further exclusion from political spaces."
Mejia is proposing a system in which small dollar donations to campaigns are publicly matched, a process she says will increase participation and competition in elections. Her announcement comes several weeks before Boston voters head to the polls on Nov. 5.
The meeting will be held at Mejia's campaign office in Jamaica Plain, and will include Chelsea City Council President Damali Vidot, Brookline Select Board member Raul Fernandez and Brockton mayoral candidate Jimmy Pereira, among others. Also expected to attend are former Boston City Council at-large candidates Michel Denis, Domingos DaRosa, and Priscilla Flint-Banks.
NEW: WALSH TALKS CLIMATE IN COPENHAGEN — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will touch down in Copenhagen, Denmark, today for the international C40 World Mayors Summit, where climate change will be the focus of discussion.
Walsh is one of 10 mayors from the United States who will meet with mayors from around the world who are committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement. Walsh announced Boston's updated Climate Action Plan yesterday, which he says puts the city on track to be carbon neutral by 2050. Here's an early look at Walsh's schedule:
On Thursday morning, Walsh will speak at a "Delivery Climate Action" press conference with New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Salvador Mayor Antonio Neto, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. Later in the day, he'll join a Bloomberg Philanthropy American Cities Climate Change press conference, and speak on a panel titled "The Future We Want is Resilient."
And on Friday, Walsh will attend a North American mayoral breakfast, and a C40 Steering Committee meeting. Walsh is a co-chair of the steering committee.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will not publish on Monday, Oct. 14. I'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
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 tours AIS in Leominster. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito chairs a meeting of the Governor's Council. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh travels to Copenhagen, Denmark for the C40 Mayors World Climate Summit.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III visits Interfaith Social Services in Quincy and Brockton Area Multi-Services Inc. Rep. Ayanna Pressley hosts a roundtable on medical deferred action with the ACLU of Massachusetts with Sen. Ed Markey in Boston. Rep. Lori Trahan speaks at UMass Lowell.
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INTRODUCING POLITICO's ENERGY PODCAST sponsored by Chevron: Your daily, five-minute update on the latest in energy and environmental politics and policy from POLITICO's expert ten-person team. Ways to listen: Via your email - click the link in the POLITICO Morning Energy newsletter, or subscribe for free - click here and follow the link for your podcast player.
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 | THE RMV SCANDAL |
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- "RMV still faces a mountain of unresolved problems," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "The Registry of Motor Vehicles has for months scrambled to correct its failure to track alerts from other states about law-breaking drivers, refocusing attention on a long-ignored responsibility that Governor Charlie Baker this week called "a fail." "And I'm glad we fixed it," he said. But an administration-commissioned review also highlighted another reality: The Registry is still facing a lengthy list of other unresolved problems, including backlogs of criminal data and violations by drivers who have ignition interlock devices, and revelations that paper warnings haven't been processed for a decade. One of the tasks could take months — and some say years — to complete."
- "Maura Healey: More Transparency Is Needed In RMV Records Controversy," by Zoe Mathews, WGBH News: "An independent audit released Friday revealed that the failure by the Massachusetts RMV to suspend the license of a 23-year-old truck driver accused of causing a New Hampshire crash in June that killed seven people, was part of a decades-long failure by the agency to stay on top of alerts from other states about Massachusetts residents who broke traffic laws. It also revealed some documents were withheld from the investigating firm by MassDOT attorneys, who claimed attorney client privilege on more than 50,000 records, according to the report."
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| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Baker wants $18 billion for transportation fixes," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "Gov. Charlie Baker is pushing an $18 billion plan to update the state's beleaguered transportation system — but a watchdog group is warning against "Big Dig"-style spending. Baker told the Legislature's Joint Committee on Transportation on Tuesday: "If the Legislature enacts something that resembles this piece of legislation by the end of this session, Massachusetts will have the biggest arsenal of tools and capabilities it has ever had to make our transportation network safer, cleaner and better able to service the needs and expectations of our residents and our communities." Baker's bill would dole out money for a range of projects over roughly the next five years, including $5.7 billion on the MBTA."
- "State Police head stays in the shadows amid unrelenting scandals," by Matt Rocheleau and Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Massachusetts State Police Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin was quiet after a federal judge suggested that troopers accused of defrauding the department should be charged in a conspiracy case, just like mobsters. She didn't directly address revelations that the department destroyed key records in the sprawling fraud probe. And after allegations surfaced that supervisors were running an illegal ticket quota system? Gilpin kept her head down."
- "Weymouth sergeant's mother, widow support death penalty for cop killers," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "As they held hands under the table, the mother and widow of a Weymouth Police Sgt. who died in the line of duty sat before the Legislature, pleading with them to pass a bill to institute the death penalty for cop killers. Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna, 42, was a married father of two and an Army veteran. He was killed in Weymouth with his own gun while investigating a report of an erratic driver in July 2018."
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| WHAT CITY HALL IS READING |
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- "Marty Walsh: "I've Got A Lot Of Governing Left In Me," by Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly, WGBH News: "The last time Marty Walsh sat down with the Scrum, he was wrapping up his first year as mayor. Now, as he approaches the six-year mark, Walsh finds himself in an unusual position: after winning a second term in a landslide in 2017, he's mentioned as a possible candidate for governor and US Senate — but he's been forced to play defense after scandals at City Hall, and some political observers speculate that he's just not enjoying his job as much as he used to."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Boston mayor: City needs help from suburbs to address housing crisis," by Gintautas Dumcius, Boston Business Journal: "Boston's neighboring cities and towns need to step up and build affordable housing to lighten the capital city's load, Mayor Martin Walsh said Tuesday. Speaking to business leaders at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast, Walsh said there are communities "blocking or hiding behind the fact that their government structure doesn't want to build affordable housing." "You see it a lot in some of our bordering towns here in Boston," Walsh said, without naming the towns. The mayor reiterated his support for Gov. Charlie Baker's proposed "housing choice" bill, which seeks to increase housing production, in part by lowering the threshold for municipal zoning changes to a majority, from a two-thirds majority."
- "Boston Office Towers Hint at Risk of Looming U.S. Recession," by Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg: "There's no clearer sign of Boston's flourishing economy than the office towers expanding its skyline. But along with the flashy amenities inside like free beer and game rooms, the latest trend is caution. For the first time since Great Recession of 2009, tenants in the third quarter cut back on office and lab space in Boston, Cambridge and the suburbs, said Aaron Jodka, who leads the research team at Colliers International Group Inc.'s Boston office. A quarter-over-quarter reduction in occupied space in all three markets has only happened during recessions or in the early stages of a recovery, he said."
- "Suffolk sheriff's department ending contract with ICE," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "The Suffolk sheriff's department said Tuesday that it will end its controversial relationship with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement so it can provide rehabilitative services to more women who will soon be housed at a South End jail. The Suffolk County House of Correction, commonly called South Bay, houses scores of ICE detainees. The facility this week will start receiving pretrial and sentenced women under a new agreement with Essex, Norfolk, and Plymouth counties, the sheriff's department said."
- "New Walsh picks for ZBA to go before Boston City Council," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Mayor Martin Walsh's latest two picks for the scandal-plagued Zoning Board of Appeal come before the City Council on Wednesday. Ann Beha and Timothy Burke, both Boston-based architects, are the choices put forward by the Boston Society of Architects to serve, respectively, in the architectural seat and an alternative for that seat on the ZBA. Walsh submitted both names to the council for action on Wednesday's agenda, seeking approval ."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Environmental group says the I-93 South HOV lane north of Boston should not be open to all traffic," by John R. Ellement, Boston Globe: "The Baker administration is violating the Clean Air Act and state law by opening the HOV lane on Interstate 93 north of Boston to all traffic, and it may soon have to defend that action in court, an environmental organization said Tuesday. The state responded to the Conservation Law Foundation by saying the measure was only temporary and officials planned to meet with the group to talk about its concerns."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Molly Kelly endorses Warren for president," by Jake Lahut, Keene Sentinel: "Former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Molly Kelly of Harrisville endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president Tuesday, Waren's campaign announced in a news release. Kelly ran for governor in 2018, securing the Democratic Party nomination but falling short to incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu in November. She had been mulling a run again in 2020, but last week said she won't seek the office. The Harrisville resident served in the state Senate for 10 years and has been an influential figure in statewide politics since working on Democrat Michael Dukakis' successful 1988 New Hampshire primary campaign ."
- "Sen. Warren Asks DOJ Inspector General To Investigate Private Prison Transport Companies," by Ally Jarmanning, WBUR: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking the Department of Justice's inspector general to investigate private prisoner transport companies, and examine whether the DOJ is doing its job to oversee an industry frequently under fire over abuse allegations. Companies like Prisoner Transportation Services of America, or PTS, have been the subject of harrowing stories of alleged prisoner abuse, neglect and sexual assault. That includes the alleged sexual assault of a Massachusetts woman."
- "NEW MARKEY, WARREN BILL TARGETS ENERGY EXPORT PROJECTS," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "Singling out a project in Weymouth that they say will help send natural gas to Canada, Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren announced plans Tuesday to file legislation blocking construction of any compressor station built as part of a pipeline project meant to export natural gas internationally. Under the Community Outreach, Maintenance, and Preservation by Restricting Export Stations from Subverting Our Regulations (COMPRESSOR) Act, the question of whether a project facilitates exports would be resolved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. They introduced it Tuesday as the Baker administration moves the gas project planned along the Fore River, in an industrial area near densely populated neighborhoods, through its permitting phases."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "GRONK TV!" "BARRED," — Globe: "Taking note: Doctors turn to 'virtual scribes,'" "White House says it won't cooperate." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Former Chicopee student accuses mayoral candidate Joseph Morissette of outing him over school intercom," by Jeanette DeForge, MassLive.com: "A former student is accusing mayoral candidate and Comprehensive High School Vice Principal D. Joseph Morissette of outing him as being gay to the entire school during a disciplinary incident. In a YouTube video over an hour long, Timothy Vadnais said he was 15 or 16 when Morissette called him to his office to discipline him. Vadnais says Morissette left the intercom on in his office, so every student, teacher and staff member could hear him talking about a sexual encounter Vadnais had with a fellow student."
- "Getting a complete count: State reps in Amherst Thursday for census conversation," by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Two state representatives who are at the forefront of making sure everyone in Massachusetts is counted during the 2020 census will have a discussion with the community on Thursday afternoon. State Reps. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, who is part of the town's Complete Count Committee, and Paul W. Mark, D-Peru, who chairs the House Committee on Redistricting, will continue what began when the Complete Count Committee met for the first time Sept. 16, identifying obstacles to an accurate tally in town."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Columbia Gas files plan with DPU," by Bill Kirk, Eagle-Tribune: "The Department of Public Utilities is reviewing a plan filed Monday by Columbia Gas on how the company plans to address 2,200 locations across the Merrimack Valley at which interior gas meters were moved outside of homes and businesses during last year's rebuild of the damaged system. The plan was a required by the DPU following a revelation in early September that a number of pipes had been abandoned around homes and businesses when new gas service was installed. At that time, the company was ordered to inspect some 713 meter replacements in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence."
REMEMBERING MARGARET XIFARAS ... from the Standard-Times: "Margaret 'MarDee' Xifaras, successful New Bedford lawyer, national political activist and former national Democratic Party committeewoman, died early Tuesday of metastatic breast cancer at the age of 74. Xifaras served as a national Democratic campaign committeewoman and played key roles in managing state political campaigns for the Democratic presidential candidates, including in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Among those she worked on were the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama." Link.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Pon Hunter, Peter Billerbeck,Kristin Palpini Hale, Olivia Paulo, Victoria Danberg and Amy Dacey.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Bruins beat the Golden Knights 4-3.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: PLANET OF THE VAPES - On this week's Horse Race podcast, we break down the #mapoli angle on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Rich Parr of the MassINC Polling Group walks us through the voting map for the Boston City Council preliminary election. Cannabis Control Commissioner Shaleen Title talks about why she opposes Gov. Charlie Baker's ban on vaping sales, and Boston Globe City Hall reporter Milton Valencia brings us up to speed on the bribery scandal playing out on the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE: Health care is deeply personal for most Americans and is the number one issue for many voters heading into 2020. We will bring a special edition of the POLITICO Pulse newsletter to the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit where more than 125 speakers will discuss trends in biomedical innovation, aging and longevity, health financing, philanthropy, mental health, addiction and stigma, drug pricing, food and sustainability, health data, neuroscience, and technology. Dan Diamond will take you inside this highly influential gathering and keep you apprised of the key takeaways from these important conversations. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the Summit in Washington, D.C. from October 28 - 30.
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