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By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan

07/17/2017

Surprise pick | Slow down, governor | JOB BOARD MONDAY

Tufts lockout ends, UMass tuition hike, Baker to sign budget and more ...

Tufts Medical Center nurses are scheduled to return to work Monday after a one-day strike and four-day lockout. ... U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy joins MBTA mechanics at a campaign kickoff to protest privatization of T jobs, 954 Hancock St., Quincy, 9 a.m. ... University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees is expected to approve a tuition increase of up to 3 percent for students, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, 10 a.m. ... The House and Senate plan informal sessions at 11 a.m. ... House Democrats plan a closed-door caucus, Room A-1, 12 p.m. ... Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and others gather to bid farewell to former Highway Administrator Tom Tinlin at the MassDOT Board Meeting, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, 12 p.m. ... The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors will hear an update on the Green Line Extension at the same meeting, 10 Park Plaza, 2nd Floor, 12 p.m. ... The Marijuana Conference Committee meets to try to hammer out a final compromise bill on regulating pot, Room 348, 2 p.m. ... Gov. Charlie Baker, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and other Beacon Hill leaders meet behind closed doors, Senate President's office, 2 p.m. ... Gov. Baker holds a media availability with Lt. Gov. Polito, Secretary of Administration and Finance Kristen Lepore and Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders to sign and discuss the Fiscal Year 2018 budget, Room 157, 3:30 p.m ... Jay Gonzalez, a Democrat running for governor, visits the Weymouth site of a proposed natural gas compressor station, 6 Bridge Street, Weymouth, 5 p.m. ... Republican Rep. Geoff Diehl, who plans to announce his U.S. Senate candidacy in August, is a guest on ‘NightSide with Dan Rea,’ WBZ NewsRadio 1030, 9 p.m.

Today's News

Surprise pick: Rep. Jeff Sanchez tapped by DeLeo to head House Ways and Means

In a surprise move, House Speaker Robert DeLeo has announced that Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, a Jamaica Plain Democrat who currently heads the Health Care Financing Committee, will replace outgoing Rep. Brian Dempsey as chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, reports SHNS’s Michael Norton at CommonWealth magazine. Sanchez describes himself as a “practical progressive” and will instantly become one of the most influential players on Beacon Hill, reports Joshua Miller at the Boston Globe. Sanchez’s name was not on the short lists of speculated successors before yesterday’s announcement, reports the Herald’s Jack Encarnacao. Even Sanchez was surprised by his selection, Encarnacao writes.

Slow down: Rosenberg, Welch tie Baker’s Medicaid reforms to broader issue of health-care costs

Senate President Stan Rosenberg and state Sen. Jim Welch, in a Globe op-ed, explain why Gov. Charlie Baker’s ‘welcome’ Medicaid reform ideas weren’t included in the recently passed state budget: “The governor’s proposals represent some creative thinking; however, in order to accomplish meaningful health care reform, all stakeholders need to be at the table and the most diverse set of options should be considered. ... We believe this broader conversation must address the drivers of health care costs, not just change eligibility benefit levels and move people from one program to another.”

Boston Globe

There will always be a Lawrence

Lawrence, you never let us down: Former mayor and current candidate William Lantigua, always good for a headline, has been evicted from the storefront campaign headquarters he opened in April, Keith Eddings of the Eagle-Tribune reports. But wait, there’s more: Eddings follows the money that was paid—in cash— for rent in the spring and finds it may amount to an illegal campaign contribution from a local real estate agent who happens to be under investigation by the state attorney general’s office for fraud.

Eagle Tribune

U.S. Senate delays vote on health-care bill that Baker opposes as well

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate has delayed a vote on it latest controversial health-care bill until U.S. Sen. John McCain has time to recover from surgery. The delay comes amid a growing chorus of opposition from governors, Democrats and Republicans alike, including Gov. Charlie Baker. "This proposal would leave more people uninsured, eliminate certain essential health benefits, further destabilize insurance markets, reduce federal funding and negatively impact important family planning services," Baker said in a statement last Friday, according to a report at WBUR.

WBUR

Tufts Medical lockout ends amid acrimony and accusations

A four-day lockout of hundreds of nurses at Tufts Medical Center ends today, following a one-day strike by nurses last Wednesday, and there’s no sign of a contract deal that sparked the showdown, reports the Herald’s Laurel Sweet. Indeed, no bargaining session has been set and the two sides are still far apart on the key issue of retirement plans, reports the BBJ's Jessica Bartlett.

The last day of the lockout was marked by accusations by Tufts Medical that supporters of the nurses were involved in a violent attack on buses carrying replacement nurses, reports Scott Croteau at MassLive. But State Police say nobody threw anything at buses, reports Universal Hub. Mayor Marty Walsh over the weekend urged both sides to hammer out an agreement as soon as possible, according to a report at CBS Boston.

Baker: Transit-oriented deals poised to create 2,000 housing units, generate big bucks for state

Since the Baker administration launched its Open for Business campaign two years ago, some 100 transit-oriented projects in 48 municipalities are in various stages of development – with 27 of them under agreement and anticipated to create 2,000 housing units and more than half a billion dollars in cash payments to Massachusetts, reports Catherine Carlock at the BBJ.

BBJ

Retailers hold out hope for tax holiday while holding ballot initiative in reserve

The AP’s Bob Salsberg reports at WBUR that the Retailers Association of Massachusetts and merchants are still clinging to hope that lawmakers, who have already sent a new state budget to Gov. Charlie Baker, might still approve a state sales tax holiday in the waning weeks of the session. They’re also still holding a bargaining chip (i.e. a threat to push a sales-tax cut via a ballot question) as leverage.

WBUR

GOP’s John Kingston launches exploratory committee to challenge Warren

John Kingston, a wealthy Republican activist and fundraiser, opened an exploratory campaign account last week and is “strongly considering” a bid against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, writes the Herald’s Joe Battenfeld. If he runs, Kingston must first defeat Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who said last week he intends to seek the GOP nomination to take on Warren, a Democrat.

Boston Herald

How did it get off rattlesnake island?

Springfield police were called Sunday to remove a timber rattlesnake that had somehow made its way into the city's dense South End neighborhood, Dave Canton of MassLive reports. Fish & Game authorities -- who captured and released the snake back into the wild on Mount Tom before rattled residents could smash it with a shovel -- have varying theories for how the serpent ended up in the city.

MassLive

Ballot initiative could return abortion debate to Beacon Hill

In blue-state Massachusetts, the issue of abortion rights seems to have been settled long ago. But maybe not. A proposed ballot question that would halt state funding of abortions could, if eventually passed, “return a thorny political debate long silenced by the judiciary to the legislative arena,” writes Stephanie Ebbert at the Globe.

Boston Globe

Down to the wire for the state’s horse racing industry

CommonWealth’s Bruce Mohl takes a long look at the state’s horse racing industry -- and its special state-supported racing fund that lawmakers curiously decided not to eliminate this year – and concludes that legislative inaction may ultimately spell doom for the industry. Here’s the graf we found most interesting: “The number of thoroughbred races in Massachusetts has plunged from 956 in 2006 to 63 last year, and the number of race days has fallen from 103 to 6. The number of Massachusetts-bred foals has dropped from 50 to 9.”

CommonWealth

Meet Brady Toensing, the man trying to take down Jane and Bernie Sanders

The Globe’s Laura Krantz takes a look at Brady Toensing, vice chair of the Vermont Republican Party, former head of Donald Trump’s Vermont presidential campaign, a candidate for attorney general in Vermont, perhaps the next U.S. attorney for Vermont – and long-time nemesis of Bernie and Jane Sanders and chief instigator of the ongoing fed probe into Jane Sanders’ role in a controversial bank loan to the now defunct Burlington College.

Boston Globe

Saugus cop says Baker is soft on illegal immigration

From Hillary Chabot at the Herald: “A Bay State police officer who is leading the charge against drug-dealing identity thieves is slamming Gov. Charlie Baker as soft on illegal immigration yesterday, joining a growing chorus of critics who say the GOP governor has backtracked from his tough stance on the issue.”

Boston Herald

Will Plymouth turbines be next to stop?

Neighbors of a wind-energy farm located near the Plymouth-Bourne border are hoping a judge’s ruling that found town-owned turbines in Falmouth are a nuisance will boost their own fight, but the cases have several important differences, Ethan Genter of the Cape Cod Times reports.

Cape Cod Times

Imagine if Beacon Hill had a CBO to settle marijuana and health-care disputes

As conference committee members meet today to try to hash out a compromise on marijuana regulation – with some saying negotiators may be close to an agreement – the Globe’s Evan Horowitz wonders how much easier things would be on Beacon Hill if lawmakers had their own non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to settle financial disputes, such as how high to tax marijuana or how much savings Gov. Baker’s Medicaid reforms would actually achieve.

Boston Globe

Trump’s Mass. voters aren’t that blue as prez marks six months

So far, so good? Jim Hand of the Sun-Chronicle checks in with Bay State Trump voters at the president’s six-month mark in office and finds his supporters wish he’d tweet less but otherwise are happy with his job performance—and undeterred by rolling Russian revelations. Says one: “I don’t like his style, but the substance is what matters.”

Sun Chronicle

Today's Headlines

Metro

The Harvard finals club debate is a reflection of generational differences - WGBH

Mayor, top lawmakers join striking nurses at Tufts - Boston Globe

The interview: Marty Walsh - Boston Magazine

Massachusetts

Warren headlines town hall event to rally Democratic base - Cape Cod Times

Worcester business to make its pitch to White House - Telegram & Gazette

A reimagined Quincy Center begins to take shape - Patriot Ledger

Baker signs off on Lowell High School - Boston Herald

Dispensary brings in $331K for Salem - Salem News