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Presented by JUUL Labs
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: THE NEW HARVARD IOP FELLOWS — The Harvard Institute of Politics has announced its lineup of resident fellows for the fall 2019 semester, and the list includes a former senator, the outgoing vice president of Panama, a former White House aide and a seasoned political organizer.
"This group really speaks to the current interests and issues across parties and across sectors," Institute of Politics Director Mark Gearan told me yesterday. The fall 2019 fellows are:
- LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund
- Bob Cohn, president of The Atlantic
- Deesha Dyer, White House Social Secretary under the Obama Administration and co-founder of beGirl.World
- Jeff Flake, former Arizona senator
- Isabel Saint Malo, outgoing vice president of the Republic of Panama and minister of foreign affairs
- Alice Stewart, CNN political commentator and communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign
Each of the six fellows will live on campus this fall and lead issue-oriented study groups for students and hold office hours throughout the semester.
"I feel like I'm in the perfect storm. The timing is absolutely perfect. This course is going to happen in the fall, right on the eve of one of the most critical elections, I believe, in my lifetime," Brown, a political organizer, told me yesterday. "I'm at this really interesting intersection of being a woman and being a black woman and being a black woman from the south, and I think there's a particular perspective that I'm hoping to air."
Dyer, who served in the Obama administration will lead a session titled "Imposter to Impact" that will touch on how she felt like she did not belong at the White House because of her background, and how she pushed past that to make a difference. Dyer went back to college at age 28 and landed an internship in the White House, which led to a role in the administration.
"If you do drop out, you can go back, and you can go back at any age. You can reach different heights like the White House. That's why for me it's very important that I'm honest about my journey," Dyer told me.
SNEAK PEEK: WARREN ON NBC — Sen. Elizabeth Warren will tout her plan to wipe out student loan debt during an interview with NBC News correspondent Harry Smith that airs tonight. The interview is part of the network's "My Big Ideas" series ahead of next week's debates. Smith has been speaking with the Democratic contenders about a single policy idea they are proposing in the 2020 race.
"I'm Elizabeth Warren and I want to cancel student loan debt and provide for universal free college," Warren says during the interview, which airs during "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt" at 6:30 p.m.
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 speaks to the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito attends a Comcast Leaders & Achievers Scholarship Program luncheon. Polito attends the opening of Logan Airport's Terminal B Great Hall. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh attends the One Congress groundbreaking. Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg holds a fundraiser in Boston. Attorney General Maura Healey testifies on a same-day voter registration bill before the Joint Committee on Election Laws.
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A message from JUUL Labs:
Youth vaping is a problem. We're taking action. No youth or non-nicotine user should ever try JUUL products. We've taken a series of actions to greatly reduce youth use of tobacco products, including our own. Learn more about our youth prevention efforts: JUUL.com/youth-prevention
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Baker headlines fundraiser for GOP minority leader," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "House Minority Leader Brad Jones, who has led the super-minority House Republican caucus since Tom Finneran was speaker, will have a special guest at his Lynnfield fundraiser Thursday night. Gov. Charlie Baker is listed as the headliner, according to the event invite, which suggests donations ranging from a $100 "bronze sponsor" to a $1,000 "platinum sponsor." The fundraiser on Sevinor Road is being co-chaired by Ralph and Stacey Sevinor."
- "Massachusetts House votes to let farmers grow hemp on agricultural land," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican:"The Massachusetts House on Wednesday voted to allow farmers to grow hemp on land designated as agricultural. If the bill is signed into law, it could vastly expand the amount of land that can be used to grow hemp in the state. "This simple bill will have boundless opportunities for farmers from the Berkshires to Cape Cod and everywhere in between," said Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, who sponsored the bill. Pignatelli called it "another tool of economic vitality to keep farms alive." The bill was passed unanimously with little public debate, 152-0."
- RELATED: "Restrictive Massachusetts guidelines on selling CBD products worry hemp farmers," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Massachusetts lawmakers are taking steps to make it easier for farmers to grow hemp, which was legalized in Massachusetts in 2016 and federally in 2018. But at the same time, the state agency charged with regulating agriculture put out new guidelines that could severely limit the size of the state's hemp market by banning the sale of certain products. Farmers, retailers and manufacturers said the new rules could make it impossible for small farmers to enter the hemp industry."
- "LAWMAKERS START TALKS ON FINAL HANDS-FREE BILL," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "As a handful of lawmakers began efforts Wednesday to resolve differences in hands-free driving safety bills passed by the House and Senate, they papered over past failures to get similar legislation over the finish line. Rep. William Straus, House chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, described the "legislative history" of the push — branches advancing bills but never agreeing on a final bill — as "secondary at this point" now that conference committee negotiators face the task of producing compromise legislation to effectively ban the use of cellphones and other handheld electronic devices behind the wheel."
- "Baker Wants To Hike Property Tax To Fight Climate Change. Others Say It Should Help Housing Crisis," by Simón Rios, WBUR: "Gov. Charlie Baker wants to increase the tax paid when selling property by 50% and use the money to combat climate change, but some advocates say it should be used to build affordable housing. The deed excise tax already exists in Massachusetts. Sellers are responsible for paying $4 on every $1,000 grossed. So, for a $500,000 home sale, that amounts to a $2,000 tax. Baker's plan would increase that to $3,000. It's estimated that more than $100 million would be raised from the tax. Under Baker's plan, the money would finance investments in climate adaptation — not only on public property, but the state would also have the flexibility to invest in private property."
- "CAMBRIDGE REP OFFERS "HOUSING FOR ALL" PACKAGE," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "Rep. Mike Connolly has offered a preview of what House progressives may push for if and when the House finally puts a housing production bill on the floor for debate. Gov. Charlie Baker and others have been calling for months on the Legislature to make it easier for zoning changes to pass at the local level as a way to help an increasingly strained housing market, but critics of his approach say it fails to address the major problem of housing affordability."
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POLITICO's The Agenda: The New Moon Race issue, presented by Leidos, has landed. America is heading back to the moon, but so is everyone else. This special report brings together POLITICO's growing space expertise with pivotal industry players, including NASA chief Jim Bridenstine, to explore the stakes of the new moon race. Read the full issue now.
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "With Opening Day Looming, Everett Casino Execs Say They're Ready For Traffic — Probably," by Isaiah Thompson, WGBH News: "With the Encore Boston Harbor casino set to open on Sunday, casino executives and city officials briefed the press on Wednesday with preparations for what's expected to be an onslaught of traffic for opening day, and going forward. Traffic has been a major concern for nearby residents and local leaders. The casino is sited between two already-notorious traffic snarls — Wellington Circle in Everett, and Sullivan Square, just across the Mystic River in Somerville. Encore officials have said the casino could bring more than 1,000 extra cars per hour to nearby roadways at peak times."
- RELATED: "You could even swim in the Mystic at Encore," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "ADD SWIMMING TO THE LIST of ways you can get to the Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett. After a massive $70 million cleanup effort by Wynn Resorts, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said the Mystic River in the area of the casino is now rated clean enough to swim in. "That's never happened in the life of this property," he said. Actually, the quality of the water in the Mystic River has been pretty good for years. The water quality received an EPA grade of A-minus in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The rating for 2018 is due out next week, and isn't expected to change."
- "In 'hypergrowth' mode, DraftKings is expanding again in Boston," by Catherine Carlock, Boston Business Journal: " Less than three months after moving into its new 105,000-square-foot headquarters in Boston's Back Bay, online fantasy sports betting company DraftKings Inc. is expanding again. DraftKings has signed a five-year lease for 100 desk spaces at Studio, a new flexible co-working space at 125 High St. developed by Tishman Speyer. DraftKings had moved from its former headquarters at 125 Summer St. to its new headquarters at 500 Boylston St./222 Berkeley St. in March. The Back Bay office is double the size of the company's former home."
- "Boston exam schools and their admission standards are again the focus of controversy," by James Vaznis, Boston Globe:"Incoming Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius could soon find herself ensnared in a legal dispute over one of the most polarizing debates in the school system: Whether to change admission requirements to Boston Latin and other exam schools in an effort to increase student diversity. Cassellius, who begins July 1, was pulled into the dispute Wednesday after the Lawyers for Civil Rights and the NAACP sent a letter to her, Mayor Martin J. Walsh, and the School Committee that asked them to overhaul the admission requirements to the city's three exam schools, which exclusively rely on students' grade point averages and performance on a standardized test to determine admission to elite private schools."
- "Parents questioning BPS decision-making process," by Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner: "In one of the more dramatic moments in recent memory at a Boston School Committee meeting, Chairman Michael Loconto locked horns with parent activist Maria Cristina Blanco as the latter attempted to deliver testimony over the committee's two-minute time limit. Loconto summoned a security guard to prepare to remove Blanco from the School Committee chamber before she ended her testimony."
- "After Racist Incident, MFA Opens Its Doors To Change," by Phillip Martin, WGBH News: "Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, with a collection of 450,000 works, is the fifth largest museum in the United States and is rated as one of the country's best institutions of culture. Despite that, large numbers of black and brown Bostonians from neighborhoods just miles away have never been there. The massive edifice on Huntington Avenue, for some, is a source of intimidation; a reminder, according to a group of black students from the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy in Dorchester, of where they are not welcome."
- "Agassiz descendants put pressure on Harvard to give up slave photos," by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: "A Connecticut woman suing Harvard University over slave images that she says belong to her family has gained support from an unlikely corner: the descendants of the professor and controversial scientist who commissioned the pre-Civil War daguerreotypes. More than 40 descendants of Louis Agassiz have signed an open letter to Harvard's president and trustees urging them to relinquish the images to Tamara Lanier, who traces her lineage to the slaves. Lanier filed a lawsuit against Harvard in March, alleging that the university has capitalized on what are believed to be the oldest images of American slaves. The daguerreotypes of a South Carolina slave named Renty and his daughter Delia were taken for Agassiz to bolster his theory of white biological superiority."
- "Earlier trash pickup riles Beacon Hill residents worried about rats," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Frustrated Beacon Hill residents said they fear the city's earlier trash pickup is a "huge step backward" that will lead to more rats. "Once the rats start growing and scurrying, there's no putting it back," Beacon Hill resident Nancy Serveni said. "It's an unbelievable health and quality of life issue." She was one of the 40 or so people who turned out to a Beacon Hill Civic Association town hall meeting about the upcoming move to start trash collection at 6 a.m. rather than 7 a.m. — a change some say will cause more people to put out trash overnight, drawing rats and scavengers."
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| THE OPINION PAGES |
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- "States Are Right to Pursue Big Opioid Maker," by Gov. Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey, Wall Street Journal:"As governor and attorney general of Massachusetts, a state that is suing Purdue Pharma, we couldn't let Chairman Steve Miller's "Litigation Won't Solve the Opioid Crisis" (op-ed, May 28) go unanswered. Massachusetts has been grappling with an opioid epidemic that has killed thousands of residents and changed the lives of thousands more. We have taken a robust, bipartisan approach to tackling the epidemic and are seeing positive results."
- "Municipalities need a seat on the T," by Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, Boston Globe: "As shocking as it was to see two MBTA derailments in the span of a week, the aftermath of yet another major failure of our public transit system has felt all too familiar. An angry region struggles to adjust as traffic thickens with commuters abandoning public transportation, and riders who can't afford alternatives are punished with ongoing delays and impending fare hikes. To reverse the decline of our public transit system and end the transportation disparities that divide our city and region, we must channel calls for change into changed governance."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "Law Schools See 'Trump Effect,' With More Students Studying Immigration Law," by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: "Local law school instructors said there's been a rise in the number of students studying immigration law in response to President Trump's aggressive stance on immigration enforcement. The increased interest started with the president's travel ban, which came down on Jan. 27, 2017, stranding travelers and creating chaos that lasted weeks in airports across the country. In Boston, protesters, journalists, politicians and lawyers flooded Logan Airport's international terminal."
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| ON THE STUMP |
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- "Boston Teachers Union Endorses Brandon Bowser for Boston City Council in District 9," from the Bowser campaign: " Brandon Bowser, candidate for Boston City Council in District 9, today welcomed the endorsement of the Boston Teachers Union. "I'm very excited to have the support of 10,000+ teachers, support staff, and retirees representing 50,000+ students," said Bowser."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "David Ortiz was not the intended target in shooting, Dominican Republic officials say," by Danny McDonald, David Abel and Aimee Ortiz, Boston Globe: "The country's top prosecutor announced Wednesday that retired Red Sox star David Ortiz was not the intended target of an attempted contract killing at a nightclub here earlier this month but was mistaken for a man who was sitting at the same table in similar clothing. At an evening news conference, Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez identified the man who more than a dozen people had plotted to kill as Sixto David Fernández, a friend of Ortiz's who was at the Dial Bar and Lounge the evening of June 9."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Bernie slams Democrats' 'corporate wing' as it warms to Warren," by Quint Forgey, POLITICO: "Bernie Sanders on Wednesday lashed out at the "corporate wing of the Democratic Party," seizing on a report that centrists in the party are coming around to Elizabeth Warren as a compromise nominee if the alternative is Sanders. "The cat is out of the bag. The corporate wing of the Democratic Party is publicly 'anybody but Bernie,'" Sanders wrote on Twitter, sharing a POLITICO story headlined: "Warren emerges as potential compromise nominee." "They know our progressive agenda of Medicare for All, breaking up big banks, taking on drug companies and raising wages is the real threat to the billionaire class," Sanders added."
- "Elizabeth Warren says she's open to the decriminalization of sex work," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren is weighing in on a burgeoning, if fringe, movement in progressive politics: The decriminalization of sex work. And she's not necessarily opposed to the idea. Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel asked Warren's presidential campaign about her position on the subject Wednesday, after the Massachusetts Democrat endorsed Tiffany Cabán, a candidate for district attorney in the New York City borough of Queens, whose platform includes ending the prosecution of sex work."
- "Warren: 'It's never OK to celebrate segregationists. Never,'" by Rachel Frazin, The Hill: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Wednesday criticized comments made by former Vice President Joe Biden about working with segregationist senators. "I'm not here to criticize other Democrats, but it's never OK to celebrate segregationists. Never," she said, according to tweets from several reporters. Biden has come under fire for touting his work with two segregationist senators in the 1970s as an example of bygone 'civility.'"
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Moulton, Trahan seek timely sewage spill notice," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "Congressional lawmakers are pressing for more timely public notice of sewage discharges into rivers, lakes and other bodies of water in Massachusetts and elsewhere. A proposal filed Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Salem and Lori Trahan, D-Westford, would require local governments anywhere in the country to notify the public within four hours of a sewage discharge from combined sewer overflows. The outfalls are part of decades-old sewer and stormwater systems designed to spill when they are inundated, usually by heavy rain."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Climate change prep will cost $18B," by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: "Massachusetts will have to spend more than $18 billion to fortify its coastline against rising seas and monster storms fueled by a changing climate, according to a new report. The report, compiled by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Climate Integrity — a nonprofit that supports states and communities that sue polluters — estimates the state would have to spend that much over the next 20 years to to fortify seawalls and other barriers to defend against erosion, flooding and other impacts of a warming planet."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Galvin warns marijuana companies, investors over illegal offerings," by Dan Adams, Boston Globe: "Buyer — and seller — beware. Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin is warning marijuana companies and their investors to follow Massachusetts securities rules or risk getting busted in a new "sweep" of the emerging industry by regulators in his office on the hunt for fraudsters. Galvin's announcement Wednesday came as his office unveiled charges against a Holyoke man and his former company, Positronic Farms, which allegedly sold unregistered securities worth $1.3 million to dozens of investors in 2017 and 2018 before folding."
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| EYE ON 2020 |
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- "Jill Biden sidesteps Joe Biden's controversies in New Hampshire," by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: "Jill Biden is hitting back at Democratic criticism leveled against her husband, Joe Biden, for his bipartisan overtures to Republicans in his latest presidential bid. The former vice president and current Democratic front-runner has been slammed for touting compromise on the campaign trail, drawing criticism that he's naive and out of touch. But Jill Biden, campaigning on her husband's behalf in New Hampshire on Wednesday, said, 'He can break down silos; he can bring people together. And I know he's been criticized for saying he would work with Republicans, but like, why not? To make things work, you have to work together.'"
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "NOT THE TARGET," — Globe: "Exam schools pushed to change," "David Ortiz was not intended target in shooting, officials say." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Now Playing "Trading Places" Starring Richie Neal," by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: "United States Representative Richard Neal received another key nod last week when Speaker Nancy Pelosi tapped him to lead House Democrats' trade working group. On its face, the appointment was not surprising. The committee Neal chairs, Ways & Means, has exclusive jurisdiction over trade. However, this role ensures he right be in the middle of an issue particularly dear to Donald Trump."
- SHOT: "Former Music Venue Workers Say Labor Laws Routinely Violated," by Ellery Berenger, NEPR: "Former employees of prominent western Massachusetts music venues are coming forward with claims of wage theft and intimidation. Since buying Northampton's Iron Horse Music Hall in 1995, Eric Suher has built a live music enterprise in the region. His five venues are known collectively as the Iron Horse Entertainment Group, or IHEG. Some of the big names who have crossed IHEG stages have publicly criticized conditions at Suher's venues. Public officials have also fought with Suher over liquor licenses he kept for years on vacant properties. But new complaints from former employees suggest a pattern of labor law violations."
- CHASER: "AG's office to look into allegations against Iron Horse owner," by Jacquelyn Voghel, Daily Hampshire Gazette:"The state attorney general's office will look further into allegations of labor law violations leveled this week against Iron Horse Entertainment Group owner Eric Suher, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. The office has not received complaints against IHEG, but workers who believe their rights have been violated should contact the office's Fair Labor Division, said the spokeswoman, who declined to be identified."
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New Directory Available: The new States Directory makes it easy for Pros to identify and contact state-level influencers - like state legislatures, legislative staff, state executives, and state agency officials. Visit Directories.
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Riders' patience wearing thin as Red Line delays continue," by Shaun Robinson, Patriot Ledger: "To get to her weekly doctor's appointment in Quincy on time, Linda Colon says she now has to leave her home in East Boston 3 hours before it starts. Florence Cristiani has a relatively short commute, from the Quincy Center MBTA station to Andrew Square in South Boston, but she now gives herself more than an hour to travel the four-stop trip down the Red Line. Cristiani said taking the Red Line this week has been "terrible." Colon said it's been "horrible." And for Catherine Hayward, of Quincy, getting to work at Logan Airport has been "crazy." More than a week after an MBTA Red Line train derailed near a station in Dorchester — bringing the line to a standstill and throwing the commutes of thousands of people into chaos — passengers continue to face long delays and unanswered questions about how the derailment happened, why delays continue and when service will get back to normal."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "A Newspaper Bucks Layoff Trend, And Hopes Readers Respond," by Alexandra Olson, Associated Press: "These days, the news about local news seems relentlessly bad: Newsroom employment, down by nearly half over the past 15 years. Waves of layoffs continuing to hit both traditional newspaper chains and digital news startups. Cities and towns so denuded of coverage that they're described as "news deserts." But then, there's The Berkshire Eagle. The western Massachusetts daily has an expanded investigative team. There's a new 12-page lifestyle section for the Eagle's Sunday editions. There's a new monthly magazine focusing on the area's culinary and natural charms. There's an advisory board that includes cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Pulitzer-winning writer Elizabeth Kolbert. The newspaper is wider, its paper thicker. There's even a second daily crossword puzzle."
- Erica Thompson is now deputy editor at Talking Biz News. She is an alum of The Boston Globe, Boston.com, 27east.com (The Southampton Press on Long Island) and the N.Y. Daily News.
TRANSITIONS - Rich Thuma joins Montana Gov. Steve Bullock's presidential campaign as New Hampshire state director. WMUR.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Tom Tripicco; Sydney Asbury, principal of DNM Solutions; and Anastasia Nicolaou , government affairs associate at NAIOP.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Red Sox beat the Twins 9-4.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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A message from JUUL Labs:
We're combating the problem of underage vaping by: Advocating for raising the legal age to purchase our products to 21+ nationwide. Stopping the sale of non-tobacco and non-menthol based flavored JUULpods to traditional retail stores. Enhancing our online age verification process. Strengthening our retail compliance program with over 2,000 secret shopper visits per month. Shutting down our Facebook and Instagram accounts and working to remove inappropriate social media content generated by others on those platforms. And investing in new technologies to further prevent youth use. JUUL.com/youth-prevention |
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