Friday, March 11, 2016
By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan
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Today: Housing announcement, St. Pat's luncheon, rail talks
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Undersecretary of Housing and Community Development Chrystal Kornegay make an announcement related to supportive housing, Tribune Apartments, 46 Irving St, Framingham 9 a.m.
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh delivers remarks at the South Boston Boys & Girls Club St. Patrick's Day Luncheon. Lt. Gov. Polito speaks afterward, 425 Summer Street, Boston, 12 p.m.
Congressman Richard Neal meets with Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and Tim Brennan of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to discuss regional rail efforts. Media availability follows. State House, Office of the Governor, 210 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, 2 p.m.
Civility breaks out at GOP debate
In a way, it was a disappointment. Many people have gotten used to tuning into GOP presidential debates to see if the candidates can outdo themselves in terms of gratuitous insults, outlandish claims and ridiculous posturing. But last night in Florida they were actually sober and calm, reports WaPo's Karen Tumulty and Philip Rucker. "So far, I cannot believe how civil it's been up here," Trump marveled at one point. http://wapo.st/1pBeQxZ
Trump's unintended gift to Latinos
Back in Massachusetts, an ugly racial incident at a Boston Celtics game (and we're talking pretty darn ugly) prompts the Globe's Marcela García to wonder whether Trump may be the best thing to happen to Latinos. "That racial hostility increasingly is out in the open now, laid bare. And that's a Trump outcome that I welcome. It's better to face that resentment and antagonism head on." http://bit.ly/1TzIxMD
Meanwhile, local Dem leaders seem to disagree on how Trump might fare in November in Massachusetts, assuming he wins the GOP nomination.
Last week, it was House Speaker Robert DeLeo telling Boston Herald Radio that he thought Donald Trump might do well in Massachusetts, based on his strong showing last week in the state's GOP primary. This week, it's Senate President Stanley Rosenberg telling Boston Herald Radio the opposite, as reported by SHNS's Katie Lannan. "I believe that the Democrat's going to win the general election here in Massachusetts, and I'm really quite shocked at how well Mr. Trump is doing," Rosenberg said. "I thought he was going to burn out several times, and he still keeps going, but I think in the end people are going to come to their senses." http://bit.ly/1UXZwHS (pay wall)
Ex-Bridgewater State president's retirement bonanza under scrutiny
Former Bridgewater State University president Dana Mohler-Faria's accruing more than $1 million-worth of unused sick and vacation time before he stepped down last year has triggered an inquiry by the state's Department of Higher Education, the Boston Business Journal's Craig Douglas reports.
And the inquiry came even before the BBJ had a chance to post its investigative story on Dana Mohler-Faria's alleged sick-and-vacation time windfall, Douglas notes. http://bit.ly/1MbtVuZ
Mayor Walsh on those proposed school budget cuts: Never mind
Following this past week's school walk-out by thousands of students protesting planned budget cuts, Mayor Marty Walsh is saying he plans to announce that Boston high schools will be spared the cuts, the Globe's Jeremy Fox reports. http://bit.ly/1XhMG5J
Hell knows no fury like a TV affiliate scorned
The split between WHDH-TV and Comcast/NBC was never going to be nice. Now it's getting legally ugly. Yesterday, WHDH smacked Comcast Corp. with a lawsuit over the cable company's plan to move its NBC programming to another channel, writes the Boston Business Journal's Greg Ryan. According to the lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in Boston, WHDH claims the move violates both the terms of Comcast's agreement with its affiliates and federal and state antitrust laws. http://bit.ly/1pkfkJg
The Globe's Shirley Leung: "After being in a relationship with NBC for half a century, Ed Ansin isn't ready to let go. The owner of WHDH-TV (Channel 7) went to court on Thursday, not to end his marriage with the network but to try to save it." http://bit.ly/1TRMyMO
The Herald's Jessica Heslam and Gayle Fee note that NBC may be on the hunt to buy another broadcast channel in the area, perhaps a station like WBPX-TV (Channel 68), that could run NBC programming. http://bit.ly/1UXZYWo
Baker's pick set to become GOP's national committeewomanMassachusetts conservatives are not going to like this. State Rep. Keiko Orrall, backed by Gov. Baker, claims she has enough votes to get elected as Republican National Committeewoman in Massachusetts, the Herald's Chris Cassidy reports. Assuming she's counting the votes correctly, Orrall would replace conservative darling Chanel Prunier. Some conservatives have warned that ousting Prunier would be a sign that Baker's cleaning house within the party. And it sure looks like Baker is brooming aside the non-moderates.http://bit.ly/1RDDg0v
Opioid bill heads to governor's desk for signing
That was fast. In less than a week, a compromise opioid-abuse bill is unveiled, passed in both the House and Senate, and is sitting on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk by week's end for his expected signing, MassLive's Shira Schoenberg reports. http://bit.ly/1QJw9pC
Interestingly, lawmakers in Washington are in the process of whisking through their own opioid-abuse legislation, in a rare display of bi-partisanship on Capitol Hill, though there's been a little partisan jousting along the way, of course. http://bit.ly/1RbSrgM
McGovern to travel to Cuba with Obama
U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern will be among the delegation joining President Obama for his historic visit to Cuba on March 21, the Telegram's Cyrus Moulton reports. Speaking in Worcester, the Democrat said he hoped to lay the groundwork for future exchanges between universities in the city and in Cuba as relations with the island nation are normalized.http://bit.ly/1QL3vWv
Senators urge state to engage millennials
Writing in MassLive, the co-chairs of the senate's Millennial Engagement Initiative lay out the case for working to get more members of the millennial generation involved in state politics. Sens. Eric P. Lesser and Ryan C. Fattman noted that just 7 percent of millennials say they're engaged in government affairs, but a third are involved in community service, showing they are disposed to greater involvement. "Public leaders can do a better job appealing to that sense of service. When challenged to make a difference, young people answer the challenge, the lawmakers wrote. http://bit.ly/1SDj03P
Beekeepers buzzing with anger at state spraying
Bay State beekeepers are breaking out in hives over a new state plan to protect the important pollinators, saying it downplays the impacts that pesticide use has on long-declining bee populations, David Abel of the Globe reports. Beekeepers had submitted their own plan, but agriculture officials set it aside in favor of their own, which emphasizes hive inspection and other measures and downplays pesticide reduction. "This is egregious," said Ann Rein, president of Plymouth County Beekeepers Association. "The beekeepers' plan would help bees. [The department's] plan will not." http://bit.ly/1SFgQAJ
Somerville questions Wynn's ferry plan
Lawyers for the city of Somerville say Wynn Resorts' Everett casino failed to fully analyze the impact of a ferry service it wants to operate from the Boston waterfront to the new resort, Brian Dowling and Bob McGovern of the Herald report. The issue is one the city intends to raise as the Department of Environmental Protection hears its appeal of Wynn's environmental permit. After hearing initial input from attorneys, the DEP set June 2 as the next hearing date in the case. http://bit.ly/1Rb0Rv1
Tsongas backs female draft registration
U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas says she supports requiring women to register for the military draft when they turn 18, Grant Welker of the Lowell Sun reports. Meeting with the Sun's editorial board, Tsongas said the move is a necessary step toward creating gender equality in the armed forces. "Given the nature of war today, women are virtually always in the fight," Tsongas said. http://bit.ly/1QM5720
Did T skip a step in fare hikes?
Although the MBTA Control Board looked at three equity impact studies before it voted to raise T fares earlier this week, none of those studies addressed the final fare plan, Isaiah Thompson of WGBH reports. The T says the board's vote included a condition that a new report be prepared and accepted, but Thompson reports that Federal guidelines make it clear the studies are to be completed before changes are approved. http://bit.ly/1RDy7W1
Goldberg stands with rallying Stop & Shop workers
State Treasurer Deb Goldberg joined a crowd of 300 Stop & Shop workers rallying for a new union contract in Braintree on Thursday, according to a story by Liam Hofmeister of the Patriot Ledger. Goldberg's family founded the iconic New England grocery chain. "These people are my family," Goldberg said, urging workers to continue fighting. The union also got support in absentia from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. http://bit.ly/24TUPDj
Should NE permanently spring forward to a new time zone?
It's that time of year again, when clocks up and down the East coast are turned forward an hour as Daylight Savings Time takes effect. And as in past years, some New England lawmakers are looking to remedy the situation, this time by having the region secede from the Eastern Time Zone and move into the Atlantic Time Zone, Matt O'Brien of the Associated Press reports in a story carried by the Cape Cod Times and other outlets. A bill in Rhode Island modeled after the Massachusetts legislation is expected to die a quiet death in committee.http://bit.ly/228k964
Sunday public affairs TV
On The Record, WCVB, 11 a.m. Guest: Former Congressman Barney Frank.
DC Dialogue, NECN, Sunday 10 a.m. Guests: ISO New England CEO Gordon van Welie talks about the major transformation underway in New England's power structure; Spradling Group President Scott Spradling talks presidential politics.
This Week in Business, NECN, 12:30 p.m. Boston Business Journal Editor Doug Banks and Boston Globe Associate Editor Shirley Leung talk about some of the week's top business stories.
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