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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TGIF!
FLAVOR BAN ON BAKER'S DESK — For a brief moment, it seemed like President Donald Trump, Gov. Charlie Baker and the Massachusetts legislature could end up on the same page. After a number of mysterious vaping-related deaths, everyone agreed something drastic needed to be done.
While Trump has since backed off his suggestion to ban flavored tobacco products , the legislature has done the opposite. Massachusetts could make history if Baker signs the bill to ban flavored tobacco that lawmakers sent to his desk early Thursday morning.
The flavored tobacco ban is different from Baker's ongoing emergency ban on the sale of all vaping products. That ban on the sale of all vaping products will be back in the news today when the Department of Public Health holds a hearing on the governor's emergency regulations, which expire next month.
The flavor ban bill, on the other hand, is waiting on Baker's desk. There's been some pushback on both the flavored tobacco and vaping sales bans — such as protesters holding "We Vape We Vote" signs gathered in front of the State House last week, and a group of convenience store owners putting pressure on lawmakers, saying the flavor ban would hurt business owners who sell menthol cigarettes.
But there's also been plenty of support for banning flavored tobacco products, which experts say can get teenagers hooked on nicotine. Attorney General Maura Healey is supportive of the bill, and has launched investigations into vaping companies including Juul.
Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Katherine Clark support the flavored tobacco ban, according to their offices. Rep. Joe Kennedy III is "generally supportive" of the policy, though he hasn't read the specifics of the bill passed on Wednesday, his office said. Back in July, Rep. Ayanna Pressley ripped Juul's advertising practices in a congressional hearing and applauded a Massachusetts proposal to ban flavored products.
Even former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is considering a presidential run, urged Baker to sign the bill in a tweet. The New York City Council is expected to vote on a flavored tobacco ban next week, and a House panel on Capitol Hill approved a flavor ban on Tuesday.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will not publish on Thursday Nov. 28 and Friday Nov. 29. I'll be back in your inbox on Monday Dec. 2.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Senate President Karen Spilka speaks at a Massachusetts Association of Health Plans conference. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a guest on "Boston Public Radio." Walsh hosts a "We Are Boston: United We Thrive" event at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new MGM Music Hall at Fenway. Rep. Richard Neal attends a remembrance service for President John F. Kennedy in Springfield.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Lawmakers botch budget bill negotiations," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "BY FAILING TO reach agreement on a major spending bill before the winter break, legislative leaders have squandered much of their control over what goes into it, and they have courted more federal scrutiny of the state's election process. In the wee hours of early Thursday morning, the House and Senate essentially threw in the towel, gaveling out their last formal sessions until January without enacting a bill that would divvy up the roughly $1 billion surplus from 2019, approve some union contracts, close the books on the fiscal year, and establish September 1 as the date of next year's state primary ."
- "Baker: The Idea The State Is Not Investing In Public Transit 'Just Isn't True,'" by Zoe Mathews, WGBH News: "Gov. Charlie Baker told Boston Public Radio on Thursday that his administration stands by his public transportation investment plans, even as he faces criticism for not going far enough to address traffic congestion. The Boston metropolitan region has 300,000 more cars and trucks than it did five years ago, according to an analysis of state data done by The Boston Globe. Baker said Thursday the state has also added 300,000 jobs to the economy over the past five or six years, which strains a "public transportation system that hasn't been invested in forever."
- "Bloomberg, a tobacco opponent, urges Baker to sign ban on flavors," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire and likely presidential candidate who's long waged a fight against tobacco, is urging Governor Charlie Baker to sign Massachusetts' newly passed ban on sales of flavored tobacco and vaping products, calling it a "model for the U.S." The bill, passed after midnight Thursday by the Legislature, is officially on Baker's desk, though the Republican said he still needs to read its details. He has 10 days to act on it."
- "Lawmakers want college athletes to be paid," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "College athletes rake in billions of dollars a year for their schools, cable networks and collegiate associations, but they aren't allowed to be compensated for their talents. A proposal filed by members of the state Legislature's Black and Latino Caucus would open the doors for athletes to get some of that money. It would prevent public and private colleges from revoking scholarships because a student gets paid for the use of their name, image and likeness, or hires a sports agent or lawyer. The bill would also violate current rules by National Collegiate Athletic Association, which governs more than 1,100 schools and nearly 500,000 student athletes across the country."
- "Baker's housing bill stalls again at State House," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "With roll call votes ending for the year, lawmakers raced to pass heavy-duty bills before time ran out early Thursday morning: $1.4 billion in extra school funding, restrictions on cellphones in cars, a ban on flavored tobacco products. Missing in action: Governor Charlie Baker's Housing Choice bill, among his biggest legislative priorities. A year ago, the legislation nearly made it to the finish line. This year, supporters couldn't even get it out of committee, let alone to a floor vote."
- "Bill to strike the 'R word' from Bay State laws languishes in committee," by Marie Szaniszlo, Boston Herald: "As a person with Down syndrome, Dan Bivins still can remember the sting he felt each time he was called "retarded." "I felt lonely, upset and sad, and angry as well," said Bivins, 34, of Weymouth. Each year since 2011, one state senator has filed a bill that would not make use of the "R word" a hate crime but would remove it from the language of Massachusetts General Laws. And each year, the bill has languished on Beacon Hill, often never making it out of committee."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Marty Walsh awards $4.7M to house homeless Boston youths," by Alexi Cohan, Boston Herald: "Over 150 new housing units for Boston's homeless youth will soon be available through a $4.7 million grant awarded by the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development, Mayor Martin Walsh announced Thursday morning. "With a roof over their heads, youth will be able to work on getting jobs, furthering their education, and creating the stability they need to move forward on their path to a self-sufficient future," said Elizabeth Jackson, executive director of Bridge Over Troubled Waters, a non-profit dedicated to serving homeless youth."
- "Opportunity Zones in Massachusetts are off to a slow start in attracting investors," by Greg Ryan and Catherine Carlock, Boston Business Journal: "The executives at TwinFocus Capital Partners have as much as $50 million in client money per year to invest in Opportunity Zones — lands designated by a federal tax program to spur investments in lower-income areas — and they're interested in trying to find something in their backyard, said Wil Ward, head of real estate for the Back Bay wealth management firm. But so far, TwinFocus has invested in three apartment buildings in Philadelphia, student housing in Tennessee and North Carolina, and a multifamily project in Vancouver, Washington. It has yet to invest in a project in Massachusetts, despite its focus on Opportunity Zone sites here."
- "Why Some Boston Doctors Are Taking Up Immigration Advocacy," by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: "A silent protest staged earlier this month outside of Boston Medical Center drew hundreds of BMC employees, as doctors, nurses and other health care providers scrawled messages on white lab coats and held posters that said things like, "More hospitals, less cages." Boston-area health care providers are increasingly finding themselves in the middle of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. New policy proposals and partisan politics are combining, making it more difficult for immigrant patients to access health care and in turn, leading more physicians to push back."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Warren challenges Biden in bid for black women," by Laura Barrón-López and Alex Thompson, POLITICO: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren made a full-throated pitch to black women in a much-hyped speech here on Thursday night as she tries to tear into former Vice President Joe Biden's durability with black voters. "The fighters I want to talk about tonight are black women," Warren said at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college. "When I am president of the United States, the lessons of black history will not be lost. Those lessons will live in every part of my presidency — and I will ask you to hold me accountable for that promise every single day." Warren cast her own campaign as learning from workers battles led by black women, from washerwomen in 1881 to the formation of the National Domestic Workers of America in the 1960s and '70s."
- "'This is corruption': Warren blasts Zuckerberg's secret dinner with Trump," by Cristiano Lima, POLITICO: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren hammered Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for attending a previously undisclosed dinner with President Donald Trump at the White House, accusing the tech mogul's company of cozying up to the administration as it faces mounting pressure over its competitive practices from federal regulators. "Amid antitrust scrutiny, Facebook is going on a charm offensive with Republican lawmakers," Warren tweeted from her campaign account. "And now, Mark Zuckerberg and one of Facebook's board members — a major Trump donor — had a secret dinner with Trump. This is corruption, plain and simple."
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| PATRICK PRIMARY |
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- "Few are giving Deval Patrick a chance, except South Carolina's voters," by Laura Krantz, Boston Globe: "Most politicians don't understand the needs of the East Side, a primarily black neighborhood. But on Wednesday, Demond McElveen had a chance to help explain them to the newest presidential candidate. Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick spent three hours with McElveen, 46, and about 15 other people at a local nonprofit, then walked around their neighborhood and talked to more residents, who sat outside enjoying sunny 60-degree weather."
- "Deval Patrick would like to be president. Only two people showed up to his event at Morehouse." by Katie Mettler, Washington Post: "While 10 Democratic Party candidates for president debated onstage at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta on Wednesday night, another contender — extreme latecomer Deval Patrick — planned to capture his own audience across town at Morehouse College. The historically black school hosted Democratic presidential hopefuls South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Nov. 18 and Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) in the spring. The New Deal Democrats, the student group that had organized Buttigieg's visit, was prepared to welcome Patrick, as well. But as the former Massachusetts governor arrived Wednesday night, just two people had shown up for the event."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Moulton calls for shift in transportation priorities," by Paul Leighton, The Salem News: "Impeachment might be dominating the national political scene, but Congressman Seth Moulton on Thursday night spoke to North Shore business leaders about another contentious topic closer to home - traffic. In a speech before more than 500 people at the North Shore Chamber of Commerce's 101st annual dinner meeting at Danversport, Moulton said improving the state's transportation system is "essential" to economic success."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "Trump Campaign Taps Bristol Sheriff as Honorary Chair," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who has been one of President Donald Trump's most high-profile supporters in Massachusetts, particularly on immigration, was announced Thursday by the Trump campaign as the honorary chairman of the president's Massachusetts re-election effort. Hodgson has visited Trump at the White House on several occasions, including most recently in late September when he presented the president with a plaque on behalf of sheriffs around the country in "appreciation for your strong leadership, unwavering efforts to stop illegal immigration and the burden it places on our citizens, families, neighborhoods in our nation."
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| DATELINE D.C. |
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- "Tesla should shut off 'Autopilot' that lets drivers snooze: senator," by Noah Manskar, New York Post: "A US senator is pressing Tesla to shut down its so-called Autopilot system until it can prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel. Sen. Ed Markey said Tesla owners can trick the driver assistance tool by simply wedging an object into the steering wheel — potentially allowing them to snooze on the road. Tesla's autopilot function has also been used to make a sex flick, as The Post reported in May. Autopilot helps Tesla's cars accelerate, brake and steer in their lanes, but does not make the vehicles entirely autonomous."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Students call out state legislators for lack of climate action," by Hannah Schoenbaum, Telegram & Gazette: "Youth climate activists from around the state, in a lobbying day Wednesday at the Statehouse, demanded that lawmakers act on a series of environmental justice bills immediately after the legislative recess. Rep. Maria Robinson, who worked with Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, to organize the gathering of students and state legislators, said she hopes her colleagues will realize the urgency of the climate crisis and prioritize environmental regulations in early 2020."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Dozens of marijuana workers vote to unionize, a first in Massachusetts," by Dan Adams, Boston Globe: "Employees of Massachusetts marijuana firm Sira Naturals have unionized, the first workforce to do so in the state's rapidly expanding legal cannabis industry. More than two-thirds of Sira's 115 eligible workers— including 85 at the firm's Milford cultivation and manufacturing facility, plus another 30 at its dispensaries in Needham and Somerville — voted Wednesday to join the Local 1445 chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, or UFCW. The vote followed a so-called labor peace agreement between Sira and the UFCW, under which the company allowed union representatives to organize workers at its locations without objection or interference."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "TEXT ON TRIAL, AGAIN," — Globe: "Russia expert pushes back on 'fictional narrative,'" Mass. ban on menthol cigarette sale would be 1st." |
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "This state trooper was convicted in the OT scandal. He and his wife scooped up 32 Brockton apartments." by Ben Berke, The Enterprise: "A former state trooper who pleaded guilty this year to embezzling money through a troop-wide overtime scheme has quietly pivoted to real estate, amassing a portfolio of rental properties in Brockton and filing more than a dozen eviction cases since 2016. Once the highest paid trooper in the Massachusetts State Police, Eric Chin purchased his first apartment building in Brockton in 2014, paying $305,000 for a rundown triple-decker on Davids Street that's missing two of its namesake porches."
- "Eight Years Later, Lack Of A Casino In Southeastern Mass. Leads To A New Kind of Proposal," by Craig LeMoult, WGBH News: "In the eight years casino gambling has been legal in Massachusetts, a series of hurdles has beset the industry, leaving the state one casino short of what lawmakers envisioned. Lower than expected gaming revenues and uncertainty around a proposal made by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to build a casino in Taunton have created uncertainty around whether the Southeastern part of the state would be able to support a casino."
- "MassGOP spending questions feature in Quincy councilor's confirmation," by Anastasia E. Lennon, Patriot Ledger: "Questions about spending practices at the Massachusetts Republican Party are being raised anew in the confirmation of Kirsten Hughes, a Quincy city councilor and former MassGOP chairwoman seeking a job as clerk-magistrate for Stoughton District Court. Hughes, a Quincy native who led MassGOP for six years before leaving in January, was asked repeatedly during a confirmation hearing this week about a state investigation into party spending during her tenure and a separate ongoing spending probe at the state party. Pressed about the investigations, she defended her actions while leading the party and called the spending "prudent."
TRANSITIONS - Taylor Lovejoy joins Davis Malm as an associate in the firm's business litigation and employment practices.
- Kathryn Droumbakis joins Sherin and Lodgen as an associate in the firm's litigation department.
ONE COOL THING: A robot chasing state Rep. Dan Ryan around the State House yesterday. Tweet.
SPOTTED: at a fundraiser for 4th District congressional candidate David Cavell in Washington, D.C. last night ... Paulette Aniskoff, Stephen Krupin, Kyle Lierman, Eric Waldo, Katie Waldo, David Litt. Tweet.
REMEMBERING E. HENRY TWIGGS ... from Western Mass Politics & Insight: "E. Henry Twiggs, Springfield City Councilor and local civil rights icon, has died following a recent illness. The five-term Ward 4 Councilor had marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, fought to restore ward-based seats in city government and lived to see the election of the nation's first black president." Link.
HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND - to Chicopee City Councilor Joel McAuliffe, who celebrates Saturday. And to The Horse Race super host Jennifer Smith, a law student at Northeastern and a Dot News alum; and the wonderful Sonia Ballard, who both celebrate Sunday.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Bruins beat the Sabres 3-2.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: DEVAL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL - On this week's Horse Race, hosts Jennifer Smith, Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray discuss Boston's traffic problem, in light of a recent Boston Globe Spotlight report. Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell talks about her work on the council as her term wraps up, and her endorsement of Sen. Kamala Harris in the 2020 race. Former Gov. Deval Patrick aide Alex Goldstein gives his take on Patrick's last-minute entry into the presidential race. 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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