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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TGIF.
WARREN HEADLINES N.H. DINNER — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is headlining a key Democratic fundraiser in New Hampshire tonight. The 2020 candidate is the featured speaker at the 60th annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner in Manchester.
Tickets start at $100 and go up to a $10,000 for a table of 10, complete with a photo-op and a cocktail reception, according to the event's listing on ActBlue . The Nashua Democratic City Committee dubs it the "biggest fundraiser of the year" on its website.
During the last presidential cycle, candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both spoke at a 100 Club 2016 celebration. And Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering a presidential run this cycle, spoke at the event in 2011.
In the first two months of this year, New Hampshire has been flooded with visits from candidates like Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and plenty of others. But tonight's fundraiser gives Warren a unique chance to make her pitch to around 1,000 Democrats in the early-voting state.
As the Democratic field widens , Warren is following a careful playbook to set herself apart from the pack. Rep. Joe Kennedy III summed it up at a talk he gave in New York City last night.
"If you're going to run you have to be willing to have ideas flushed out as to how you're going to address the concerns our country is putting forth, articulate them, address them and build a coalition," Kennedy told journalist E.J. Dionne during a talk at 92Y.
And that's been Warren's plan in the early days of her 2020 campaign. She set off on a cross-country swing after announcing her presidential ambitions and has been releasing a series of detailed policy proposals, like a wealth tax and a universal childcare plan, that are helping her to shape the conversation on progressive issues.
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 First Lady Lauren Baker attend a lunch hosted by Vice President Mike Pence in Washington, D.C. as part of their trip to the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at the McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner in Manchester, N.H. House Speaker Robert DeLeovisits Greentown Labs in Somerville. Rep. Ayanna Pressley is a guest on WGBH's Boston Public Radio. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh leads a coalition on a Boston-Cabo Verde trade mission.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "LACK OF DIVERSITY PUNCTUATED BY CHANG-DIAZ MOVE, GROUPS SAY," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service: "The Senate's leadership shakeup on a committee that's poised to shape education funding reform legislation this session is prompting a call for greater attention to diversity in the Legislature. When Senate President Karen Spilka last week assigned senators to committees and leadership positions, she tapped Winchester Sen. Jason Lewis of as chair of the Education Committee, replacing longtime chair Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz of Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. On Thursday, Spilka said Chang-Diaz will continue to play a "vital role" on school funding."
- "Reduction in state funding for Massachusetts public colleges has increased tuition costs and student loan debt, study finds," by Kristin LaFratta, MassLive.com: "A reduction in state funding for public higher education in Massachusetts and other New England states has resulted in increased tuitions, fees and student debt, according to a new analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. A report shared by the Federal Reserve of Boston on Thursday, conducted by a team of researchers, found that in 2017, state funding per public college student in New England was lower than in 2008. In that time period, public higher education funding saw a double-digit decline in Massachusetts and every New England state except Maine, according to the report."
- "SAFE CONSUMPTION SITE BENEFITS A DRAW FOR STATE PANEL," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "After reviewing the topic for more than six months, a state commission is likely to note in its final report next week that safe consumption sites are an effective tool for preventing opioid overdose deaths. What comes after that, though, remains the question. The eight members of the 15-person Harm Reduction Commission present at Thursday's meeting all seemed to agree there is significant evidence that lives are saved when drug users inject or consume narcotics under the watch of medical professionals. But the commission, which plans to complete its study next week and submit it to the Legislature by March 1, was not united on the legal and logistical feasibility of such sites in Massachusetts."
- "MassDOT disputes report that it, MBTA are in trouble," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "A new report says the MBTA and MassDOT are falling billions of dollars behind on funding — though the agencies are saying some of the numbers are wrong. The report from the A Better City organization says the T and the Department of Transportation are staring down the barrel of an $8.4 billion funding "gap" over the next decade, and must raise revenue from other sources such as tolling or taxes."
- "Transit boards have a lot riding on state funding," by Elise Takahama, The Lowell Sun: "Local regional transit authorities are joining the fight in pushing for greater funding as state officials continue to work on the 2020 fiscal budget. House Speaker Robert DeLeo recently announced that before the state authorizes additional funding, the commonwealth's 15 regional transit authorities must first demonstrate they're operating smoothly. While officials from local RTAs agree that is a reasonable request, they say they might still have difficulties pulling it off."
- "GROUNDSWELL BUILDING AROUND CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT BILL," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service:"College students from across the state plan to gather in Cambridge Saturday for a summit on addressing campus sexual violence, with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo slated to join them. The event, hosted by the Every Voice Coalition with Jane Doe Inc., the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Know Your IX, and NO MORE, comes as the Trump administration has proposed changes to the federal rules around how schools respond to sexual harassment and assault."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Walsh, city officials to travel to Cape Verde Friday," by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: "Mayor Martin J. Walsh will lead a delegation Friday 3,333 miles across the ocean to Cape Verde, the African country that's served as home to more than 15,000 Bostonians. Walsh and a coalition of city and state officials, as well as business and nonprofit leaders, are aiming to solidify what the mayor called cultural and business ties with local residents, specifically in the capital city of Praia."
- "Ayanna Pressley Draws Crowd For Youth Jobs Fund," by Mike Deehan, WGBH News: "Hundreds of teenagers and adult activists marched from Boston Common to the State House Thursday, calling on lawmakers to provide $15 million for youth jobs and further measures to cut down on prison time for young offenders. The group We Have A Future is asking the state to spend more on jobs programs for teens, which organizers say is the best way to keep young people from becoming involved in crime. They're also demanding that state leaders provide more funding for public schools to bridge the achievement gap, an issue Beacon Hill failed to deal with last session."
- "Day care is hard to find and expensive. Boston is looking to help," by Kay Lazar, Boston Globe: "For the first time, the City of Boston is including a survey about child care in the annual census it is sending to residents this week. City leaders say they recognize that finding affordable, quality care has almost become a holy grail for many parents, and they want to assist — but they need better data to help shape potential solutions."
- "Mass. AG And Citizens Group Raise Questions About Sale Of Pilgrim Power Plant," by Miriam Wasser, WBUR: "It looks like the proposed sale of the soon-to-be-closed Pilgrim nuclear power plant might not be such a done deal after all. On Wednesday, the state, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, and a prominent citizens nuclear watchdog group, Pilgrim Watch, asked to intervene in the federal review process of the pending deal."
- "'This is my life': Health center chief Laptiste, a Bowdoin St. native, knows what's up in her community," by Daniel Sheehan, Dorchester Reporter: "Phillomin "Philly" Laptiste knows the Bowdoin/Geneva neighborhood like the back of her hand. Born and raised on Bowdoin Street, she "just kind of always stayed local," as she puts it. As the executive director of the Bowdoin Street Health Center and a leader in public health recently tapped for a seat on the city's Board of Health, Laptiste has built a career around community advocacy, dedicating her life to improving the lives of those immediately around her."
- "Newbury College's 7.8-acre campus hits the market," by Max Reyes, Boston Globe: "Newbury College's campus — 7.8 acres in a prime part of Brookline — is for sale, the broker handling the listing said Thursday. In December, the financially strapped school said it would close after the spring semester, leading to speculation that the campus in the Fisher Hill neighborhood — including its administrative buildings, classroom space, and dormitories — would soon be put up for sale. On Thursday, that was made official, with the real estate firm Colliers International named to broker the sale."
- MEDIA MATTERS: "Boston Globe online subscriptions surge at end of 2018," by Don Seiffert, Boston Business Journal: " The Boston Globe increased its digital subscriptions by more than 10,000 in the last three months of 2018, the biggest quarterly increase since at least mid-2016, according to reports the company has filed with a national organization. As of the end of 2018, the Globe's so-called 'restricted access website' paid circulation for weekdays was 107,902, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. While there are many ways to count digital subscribers (and the Globe doesn't disclose what number it counts internally), AAM's senior vice president of client solutions told the Business Journal last year that that category is most likely closest to what the company uses."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "'I own you': Prominent psychiatrist accused of sexually exploiting patients," by Michael Rezendes, Boston Globe: "A prominent North Shore psychiatrist is facing lawsuits from three female patients who say he lured them into degrading sexual relationships, including beatings, conversations about bondage, and, in one case, getting a tattoo of the doctor's initials to show his "ownership" of her, according to court documents. The women allege that Dr. Keith Ablow, an author who was a contributor to Fox News network until 2017, abused his position while treating them for acute depression, leaving them unable to trust authority figures and plagued with feelings of shame and self-recrimination."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "2020 Democrats Embrace Race-Conscious Policies, Including Reparations," by Astead W. Herndon, New York Times: "From the very first day of the 2020 presidential race, when Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts blamed "generations of discrimination" for black families earning far less than white households, Democratic hopefuls have broadly emphasized racial justice and closing the wealth gap in their policy platforms. But in recent weeks, some candidates have started embracing specific goals and overtly race-conscious legislation that even the most left-wing elected officials stayed away from in recent years."
- "One of These Women Could Be Our Next President," Marie Claire: "The 2020 race has only just begun, but already it's looking like a vastly different—and better—kind of playing field. For the first time in our nation's history, there is not just one, or even two, or a few, but a record-smashing, can you believe it six women running for president. At press time in mid-February, there were officially more women seeking the Democratic nomination than men: Four senators and one representative as well as spiritual leader Marianne Williamson."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Stephen Lynch: Congressional Democrats Are More Focused Than Ever," by Arjun Singh, WGBH News: "Rep. Stephen Lynch has been in Congress for 18 years, and according to him, "it's never been better." Despite growing partisanship, the longest partial government shutdown in American history, and a president who's currently under investigation for possibly colluding with the Russian government, Lynch says the House Democratic Caucus is focused and ready to get to work."
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| ON THE STUMP |
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- "Trump has no appreciation for rule of law, Weld says," by Adam Sexton, WMUR: "As former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld contemplates a Republican challenge to President Donald Trump, a clear theme is emerging on the campaign trail in New Hampshire: the rule of law."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "State could offer 'social-justice loans' for pot startups," by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: "Concerned that the state's fledgling marijuana industry is dominated by white men, Massachusetts regulators are considering an array of new tactics to fulfill their social justice mandate, including offering interest-free loans to cannabis businesses owned by people who were hurt by the war on drugs. As the first state in the country to include in its marijuana legalization law a requirement to include historically disenfranchised groups, Massachusetts was supposed to be a model for others to follow. But a year and a half after regulators started work, 112 businesses have received licenses, but only nine are woman-owned, and two are minority-owned."
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| EYE ON 2020 |
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- "Electability: What Is It? Who Defines It?" by David S. Bernstein, WGBH News: "The buzzword of the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination campaign, to date at least, is "electability." Journalists report, and polls support, the observation that Democratic primary voters are prioritizing victory in the general election as they size up the large and growing field of candidates. What exactly that means, however, remains an open question."
- "What These 2020 Candidates' DC Neighborhoods Tell Us About Them," by Brittany Shepherd, Washingtonian: "More and more members of Congress are declaring their intentions to run for president next year. While John Delaney is already from the region, most hail from out of town and have to start fresh when they establish District digs. So what can voters glean from their neighborhood choices?"
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "DREAM COME TRUE," — Globe: "State eyes loans for marijuana startups," "Noted psychiatrist accused of preying on female patients," "SURVIVORS SPEAK, BUT WILL CHURCH LISTEN?" |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Holyoke reaches agreement with federal government to cease dumping of sewage into Connecticut River," by Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: "The city of Holyoke has reached agreement with federal and state environmental agencies to take steps to end the release of raw sewage from its sewer collection system into the Connecticut River. By entering into a consent decree in federal court, Holyoke has agreed to develop "an enforceable, long-term plan" to control discharge from its sewer system by the end of this year. The city already has begun work on such a plan and has submitted it to state and federal agencies for approval."
- "ACLU reaching out to drug defendants cleared in state lab scandal," by Bera Dunau, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Following the Supreme Judicial Court's October decision to overturn thousands of drug convictions because of misconduct at an Amherst testing lab, a campaign has been launched to inform the defendants that they have been cleared of those charges. The campaign is being led by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Committee for Public Counsel Services, which is the state's public defender agency."
- "Barbieri Abruptly Bounces, Leaving More Questions than Answers," by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight:"In a dramatic turn of events, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno announced Thursday in a hastily scheduled press conference that Police Commissioner John Barbieri had retired. Adding to the intrigue, Barbieri's exit was immediate, rather than serving until his contract expires on May 31. Deputy Chief Cheryl Claprood will serve as interim commissioner ."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Local delegation's committee assignments and legislative priorities are set," by An Peng, Sun Chronicle: "Attleboro-area legislators say they are pleased with their committee assignments for the 2019-2020 session, adding they will enable them to pursue their top priorities. "I am very excited," said Sen. Paul Feeney, D-Foxboro. "The Senate president made it clear that she took great detail and time in making sure that the committee assignments were reflective of each of us as individual senators and attach priorities that we've been working on."
- "Locals tell Trahan change needed in opioid fight," by Zoe Matthews, Eagle-Tribune: "Although fatal opioid overdoses are down across the state, public safety and medical leaders in the Merrimack Valley told U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan the tide will only turn on the opioid epidemic with sweeping systemic change. Trahan, D-Westford, on Thursday gathered more than a dozen people who are in the trenches of the opioid epidemic - from public safety officials to medical professionals to parents who have lost loved ones to the disease - in a roundtable discussion in Methuen."
- "South Weymouth base redevelopment enters new era of uncertainty," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "If it's always darkest before the dawn, you have to wonder when the massive Union Point redevelopment on the South Shore will finally see the sunrise. The Southfield Redevelopment Authority, the agency that oversees the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station, on Wednesday took the long-expected step of terminating LStar's role as the master developer of the 1,450-acre site. With all the finger-pointing and dysfunction among LStar's ranks, nearly everyone involved actually sees this decision as a step forward for the project. Someone else will need to drive this crazy train."
REMEMBERING NICK CAFARDO, from the Boston Globe: "Nick Cafardo worked in a profession peppered with competitive souls, jealousy, and millionaire athletes accustomed to being praised unconditionally. One of the best baseball writers of his generation, Nick managed to cover the sport without generating any hard feelings. Everybody liked Nick. The man had no enemies. For a baseball writer in 2019, that's impossible." Link.
FOR YOUR CALENDAR: The Massachusetts College Democratswill hold their 2019 state convention at Clark University in Worcester on April 6.
TRANSITIONS - Dante Ramos is joining The Atlantic's Ideas section as a senior editor; he had led the Ideas section at the Boston Globe.
HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND - to Maria Olano, communications director for Climate XChange, who celebrates Sunday.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Bucks beat the Celtics 98-97.
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