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Massachusetts Playbook
Lauren Dezenski's must-read rundown of what's up on Beacon Hill and beyond.
KANDER on the Vineyard — WARREN’s overseas education — Introducing: TSONGAS ARENA
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com ; @laurendezenski) and Rebecca Morin (rmorin@politico.com; @RebeccaMorin_)
TGIF, MASSACHUSETTS. Mostly sunny with a high of 83 today.
KANDER’$ VINEYARD VI$IT — Rising Democratic party star Jason Kander, of Missouri, is headed to Martha’s Vineyard this weekend for the first Bay State-based fundraiser for his iVote initiative that highlights voting restrictions being pushed in different states. Tickets for the high-dollar Saturday morning event begin at $500 and max out at $10,000, according to the invitations. It’s being held at the Chilmark home of Christina Lurie, an Oscar-winning documentary producer and part-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles.
This isn’t Kander’s first visit to the state this summer. He spoke at the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention in June where he touted his iVote initiative and testified how he specifically saw Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s connection to voters when she stumped for him during his unsuccessful Missouri Senate bid last year. Kander’s also made stops in New Hampshire, Iowa, and other locales, generating “presidential-ish buzz.”
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.
DATELINE BEACON HILL —
— “Inspector general gets pay hike to $170G — even more than Gov. Baker,” by Matt Stout, Boston Herald: “State Inspector General Glenn Cunha's annual salary was boosted to $170,000 today, thanks in part to the controversial pay raise bill that lawmakers jammed into law this year.”
— “Baker boosters raise big bucks in Bay State,” by Frank Phillips, Boston Globe: “The Republican Governors Association continues to collect significant donations — up to $250,000 — from some of Massachusetts’ most wealthy residents (including the wife of a cabinet official) and corporations whose interests depend on Governor Charlie Baker’s administration.”
— “Advocates say pot board underfunded,” by Christian M. Wade, Salem News: “Gov. Charlie Baker and other top state leaders are vetting candidates for the new Cannabis Control Commission, but some say a six-figure salary isn’t enough to attract the talent needed to oversee a multimillion-dollar weed industry. … But marijuana advocates say a cap on compensation for the commission’s chairman, at $161,522, makes it difficult to find viable contenders for the post.”
— “State approves major new rules to cut carbon emissions,” by David Abel, Boston Globe: “A little more than a year after the state’s highest court ruled Massachusetts had to do more to cut carbon emissions, state officials Friday will issue sweeping new regulations that set specific limits on sources of greenhouse gases, the emissions linked to climate change.”
— “Western Massachusetts advocates rally against Gov. Charlie Baker's immigration detainer bill,” by Shannon Young, Masslive.com: “Activists from a series of Springfield-area advocacy groups came together Tuesday in opposition to a bill that would allow Massachusetts police officers to cooperate with federal immigration officials by holding people who have been deemed ‘dangerous.’”
TRUMPACHUSETTS —
— “Rep. Keating Warns Of 'Present Danger' From North Korea, Calls Trump's Approach 'Disturbing,’” by Tori Bedford, WGBH: “Congressman Bill Keating warned of a ‘present danger’ of nuclear attack from North Korea, following President Trump’s threats to unleash ‘fire and fury’ on the nation, should it threaten the U.S. with its nuclear weapons program. … ‘There’s a present danger there, and it’s escalating,’ Keating told ‘Boston Public Radio’ Thursday. ‘It should make people…be cautious.’”
THE WARREN REPORT —
— “Elizabeth Warren’s overseas education continues in Poland and Estonia,” by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: “Elizabeth Warren continued her overseas military education this week, traveling to Eastern Europe and Germany to discuss the Russian threat. … Warren’s five-day trip started in Poland, where she met with US and Polish officials, and visited US troops stationed in Poznan and Powidz, including having dinner with a unit of Army reservists from Brockton. On Wednesday, she continued on to Estonia, before finishing her tour in Germany.”
INTRODUCING: TSONGAS ARENA
— A source familiar with former Romney aide Beth Lindstrom’s thinking tells me she is not running for Congress. Lindstrom is currently looking at a run for Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s seat.
-- Within 30 minutes of Rep. Niki Tsongas announcing she wouldn’t run, State Sen. Barbara L’Italien says she received a phone call from national PAC EMILY’s List about taking a look at the seat, L’Italien tells me. The state senator is currently weighing her options and announced her interest in running in a statement early Wednesday afternoon.
— “Before Tsongas, vets had a friend in Edith Rogers,” by Felice Belman, Boston Globe: “But Edith Nourse Rogers, a Republican who served 35 years in the US House beginning in 1925, was far more interesting than that quirk of trivia.”
WOOD WAR — Herald: “IN THE NICK OF TIME” — Globe: “Trump stirs rhetorical cauldron,” “Some hope seen in fight vs opioids,” “The commander in tweets is making lexicography great again,” “New greenhouse limits will target electricity sector,” “$110M Waltham fire set by arsonists, officials say.”
THE LOCAL ANGLE —
— “Fatal opioid overdoses have declined in parts of Eastern Mass.,” by Catie Edmondson, Boston Globe: “Still, officials interviewed on Thursday — the same day President Trump declared the opioid crisis a national emergency — cautioned that the statistics reported by a number of district attorneys’ offices do not mean the epidemic is easing.”
— “10 pipeline protesters booked, released after arrests for disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace,” by Derek Gentile, Berkshire Eagle: “The 10 protesters arrested on Wednesday morning have all been charged with disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace in the wake of their attempt to block two of the access roads to the Otis State Forest in Sandisfield.”
— “MBTA scraps WiFi project, citing public outcry over monopoles,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Following a public outcry, the MBTA has scrapped plans for a controversial Wi-Fi project that has caused a furor in communities along commuter rail lines. On Thursday, MBTA officials said they have informed BAI Communications that the project is ‘not consistent with the license agreement’ signed by the transit agency in 2014. The Australia-based company proposed installing 320, 74-foot tall monopoles along the rails in at least 80 communities.”
— “Report faults Cape Cod’s regional government for leases, financial controls,” by Geoff Spillane, Cape Cod Times: “The state auditor’s office officially released its yearlong review of Barnstable County finances on Thursday, and it’s still not good news for Cape Cod’s regional government. The findings in the 14-page audit report are no surprise: longtime improper leasing, and capital expenditure and expense documentation practices have caused significant loss of income.”
CHOMP — “12-foot shark spotted eating seal in Chatham Harbor,” by Ethan Genter, Cape Cod Times: “A great white shark was spotted feasting on a seal inside Chatham Harbor near Lighthouse Beach on Thursday afternoon, according to town officials. An alert was sent out on the Sharktivity app around 3:15 p.m to warn beachgoers.”
— “Area police agencies open to transgender recruits,” by Rick Foster, Sun Chronicle: “If the U.S. military won’t take transgender recruits, there may be another alternative: working for a local police department or sheriff’s office. Spokesmen for a number of local and regional law enforcement agencies said they are open to transgender people who want to apply for jobs or serve on the force. Their statements parallel declarations by a number of metropolitan mayors and police departments recently indicating an openness to transgender recruits.”
— “Brockton medical pot dispensary seeks to extend hours,” by Anna Burgess, Brockton Enterprise: “The city’s first medical marijuana dispensary is looking to stay open later every night, citing a desire to accommodate patient requests for additional hours. In Good Health, which opened in 2015 as an operation growing and distributing medical marijuana, now hopes to expand its open hours to 14 hours a day, seven days a week. David Noble, the president and CEO of In Good Health, came before the city Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday night to request a special permit modification for the dispensary at 1200 West Chestnut St.”
REST IN PEACE — “Mansfield selectman George Dentino dies,” by Rick Foster, Sun Chronicle: “Town selectman and well-known political figure George Dentino has died, the town's board of selectmen confirmed Thursday morning. Dentino, 73, who suffered head trauma in a fall in mid-July, died Thursday morning according to a statement by board Chairman Michael Trowbridge.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Cape Air founder and former Sen. Dan Wolf and Sen. Jamie Eldridge of Acton.
HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Lauren Collins Cline, director of comms and public relations at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, on Saturday and Sunday birthday-ers Weymouth Sen. Patrick O’Connor and Job Corps business community liaison Denise Perrault.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! — The Patriots lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in preseason play 31-24.
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