Thursday, February 25, 2016
By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) and Keith Regan
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Today: Homeless coalition at State House; Public records panel
Gov. Baker is speaking to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce at a breakfast meeting this morning. "...Aides to the governor were downplaying the newsiness of the speech that is likely to focus on Baker's goals in the budget process and touch on General Electric's relocation to Boston, as well as status updates on other top priorities"writes Matt Murphy of the State House News Service.
Coalition for Homeless Individuals holds a legislative breakfast to discuss the issues and needs of the provider system charged with responding to homelessness across the state. The coalition is a network of agencies that contract with the state to provide emergency shelter, permanent housing, health care, employment services and other services. At Nurses Hall, 10:00 am.
Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy at Boston College Law School hosts two panel discussions. A panel on public records reform in the digital age and the data stewardship responsibilities of states and municipalities includes Gov. Baker's chief legal counsel Lon Povich. The second panel focuses on data-driven policy decisions and includes Boston Mayor Martin Walsh's Chief of Staff Daniel Koh. Barat House, 885 Centre St., Newton, 3:00 pm.
Romney: Taxes could be issue for Trump
Mitt Romney knows a thing or two about taxes, having been skewered when his were released as the home stretch neared for the 2012 presidential race. He said yesterday that he thought Donald Trump might have a few problems when he releases his taxes, perhaps relating to his income and his charitable giving, Romney said. "We have good reason to believe that there's a bombshell in Donald Trump's taxes," he told Fox News. When it comes to derailing Trump, hope springs eternal. The way things are going for Trump, it could emerge that he paid no taxes and gave nothing to charity and it would only increase his popularity with his base. More from Christina Prignano of the Globe.http://bit.ly/1Q22Xd7
But there seems to be no derailing Trump in Massachusetts as the GOP establishment helplessly looks on ahead of Super Tuesday, reports the Globe's Jim O'Sullivan. "Bill Gillmeister, a state committee member from Brookfield, said the populist appeal of Trump caught the party's bold-faced names unaware, particularly the popularity of his hard-line stance on immigration and appeal to national pride," O'Sullivan writes. Gillmeister is later quoted: "It's a phenomenon that people are having a hard time grasping." http://bit.ly/1QGZHaD
This just in: AG declines to issue opinion on Legislature's exemption from Open Meeting Law
Michael Norton reports this morning for the State House News Service: "Attorney General Maura Healey's office has declined to issue an informal advisory opinion sought by an organization challenging the constitutionality of the Massachusetts Legislature's exemption from the open meeting law." http://bit.ly/1TGKq9S (paywall)
Joyce probe looking at Stonehill solar deal
Federal investigators are exploring the role Sen. Brian Joyce played in working with Stonehill College's effort to install a large solar project on its campus, the Globe's Andrea Estes reports, citing several sources. Joyce represented both the college and the energy company, Solect. Estes reports the school won a battle with National Grid to have the power connected directly to the school, rather than the grid, generating significant savings. "...As Joyce was sparring with National Grid, in his other job as a state senator, he filed legislation that would have weakened utilities' exclusive rights to supply power in their service areas," Estes writes. http://bit.ly/1VGqq5e
Governor pushes for opioid bill progress
Gov. Baker used the bully pulpit yesterday to push for action on opioid legislation, which is tied up in a House-Senate conference committee. "Before we all get tied up in the budget debate, which we begin at the end of March, it sure would be nice to have an opportunity to add one more tool to the toolkit ... by having a chance to enact what, if it gets to my desk, will be the most far reaching and disruptive piece of legislation passed anywhere in the country to kick the teeth out of this opioid epidemic in the commonwealth," Baker said. Shira Schoenberg of MassLive has more: http://bit.ly/1TGJ8eU
Not the time for large fare hike
With a decision looming on fare hikes, transportation advocate Charlie Ticotsky and Mattapan resident Vivian Ortiz challenge the rationale for a fare hike, especially a large one, in an op-ed on the CommonWealth magazine site. "Approving a fare hike in excess of 5 percent, especially given the recent high-profile failures of the transit system, would be a tone deaf response to riders' very real concerns about the T," they write.http://bit.ly/1LeVg4n
Good read: Kevin Cullen's column on retiring police detective Danny Keeler
Globe columnist Kevin Cullen profiles former BPD detective Danny Keeler, whose career spanned changes in Boston and the role of police. "He collected confessions like others collect stamps. In a dozen years in homicide, he closed some 200 cases. It was a good run, but growing skepticism among jurors raised on CSI cop shows, and a handful of cases that went south, saw Mr. Homicide eventually leave homicide. He went back to street work and remained at the center of things, no more so than when the bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon." http://bit.ly/1S3kkg5
Can Baker get Wynn back on track?
Gov. Charlie Baker hopes to break the stalemate that prompted Wynn Resorts to announce it was indefinitely postponing groundbreaking on its Everett casino, putting 4,000 construction jobs at risk, Jordan Graham and Antonio Planas of the Herald report. Wynn officials announced the decision to delay the start of work, planned for this spring and laid blame squarely at the feet of Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone, who appealed the state's issuance of an environmental permit for the $1.7 billion project. Baker said he'll convene a meeting of the two sides of the dispute and the state's environmental officials to see if a compromise can be reached to get the project "Back on track." http://bit.ly/1RpDvyB
Fish: Delay hurts Mass. image
Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish, meanwhile, says the delay risks tarnishing the state's reputation nationally and worldwide as unfriendly to business, Bruce Mohl of CommonWealth magazine reports. Fish, whose company won the contract to develop the Everett casino, said, "We must embrace the opportunity that's staring us in the face today. We cannot afford the country, the world, to look at Boston as a business unfriendly environment." http://bit.ly/21tv5Lo
Uber says it will leave Boston if forced to fingerprint drivers
With lawmakers poised to give local police the authority to fingerprint Uber drivers, the ride-hailing service tells WGBH's Mike Deehan it may pull out of the Boston market if the safety measure is put in place. Boston has begun fingerprinting cab drivers and Commissioner William Evans is asking the legislature to allow him to expand the practice to drivers for Lyft, Uber and similar services. House Speaker Robert DeLeo has indicated he will allow such a bill to be considered. http://bit.ly/1p7GKSe
Detectives, union gave $25K to city officials ahead of pay-raise vote
Mayor Marty Walsh and members of the Boston City Council have received $25,000 in donations from police detectives and their union, a group which will receive a nearly 29 percent pay hike after Wednesday's unanimous vote of the council, the Herald's Brian Dowling reports. Some of the donations date back to 2000 and several councilors have received no donations from individual detectives or the union. http://bit.ly/21trQ6q
Worcester councilor sues for libel
Worcester City Councilor Michael T. Gaffney is suing the InCity Times alleging the newspaper and one of its writers falsely labeled him a racist, Brad Petrishen of the Telegram reports. Gaffney is seeing $1 million in damages. InCity has printed a retraction to a piece that claimed a supporter of Gaffney's attended a function wearing blackface. http://bit.ly/1UmFUgf
Walsh touts local lobbying measure
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says his proposal to require that municipal lobbyists register and publicly report their efforts to influence decisions coming out of City Hall will make local government more transparent, Mark Arsenault of the Globe reports. Walsh, who needs the legislature to approve his proposal, said he doesn't "see the downside of having people who want to be legislative agents register." http://bit.ly/1UmG7A1
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