CORONAVIRUS leaves CAMPAIGNS scrambling — Mass. in STATE of EMERGENCY — VIRUS response frees up TRAFFIC
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
CORONAVIRUS LEAVES CAMPAIGNS SCRAMBLING — Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts yesterday, a move he says will help the state combat the growing coronavirus outbreak. Boston's big political St. Patrick's Day Breakfast is off, the Massachusetts Democratic Party canceled the rest of its state caucuses until further notice, and the Legislature is looking at ways to operate "virtually."
The outbreak has thrown a wrench into all sorts of plans . And that includes candidates for Congress, who are grappling with how to campaign during the coronavirus outbreak, even with the September primary still months away.
With most political events closed down and in-person meetings screeching to a halt, it's going to be virtually impossible for candidates to shake hands — or bump elbows — with prospective voters.
"We're all preparing for the worst," said Alex Vuskovic, campaign manager for Newton City Councilor Becky Grossman. "A lot of campaigns are concerned about losing out on prime retail politics time. It's a crowded primary and a small electorate."
"I think it will force campaigns to be a little more creative in how they're organizing and how they're getting out there. We were thinking of putting together some virtual town halls, we're incorporating a lot more public safety messaging," Vuskovic added.
Grossman is part of a crowded field of Democrats running to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy III. Lately, campaigns have been focused on gathering signatures to appear on the ballot, but even sharing pens comes with extra concern. Others running in Kennedy's district echoed similar plans to cancel gatherings or hold virtual events if necessary. Campaigns are also eyeing more online outreach to voters, meaning paid digital ads.
Brookline Democrat Jesse Mermell, who is also running for that seat, is "elbow-bumping rather than shaking hands" according to spokesperson Karissa Hand, and carrying extra hand sanitizer.
"One thing is for sure — this outbreak underscores the critical need for affordable, accessible health care and paid sick leave for everyone in this country," Hand said. "Those who will bear the brunt of this epidemic are those who work hourly wage jobs without sick time and those who can't afford the medical bills that come along with testing and treatment."
As far as the Senate race goes, Kennedy will "double campaign efforts in every way we can" including phone calls and "digital efforts," according to spokesperson Mike Cummings. Kennedy held a coronavirus roundtable in East Boston last week.
Sen. Ed Markey's campaign is banking on "relational, friend-to-friend organizing," campaign manager John Walsh said. That means supporters reach out to people they know, which can be done over the phone — and far away from crowds.
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TODAY — The State House is open, but the state's 42,000 executive branch employees are encouraged to work from home. Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh don't have events on their public schedules today.
 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
— "Baker declares state of emergency as coronavirus cases more than double," by Felice J. Freyer, Matt Stout and Martin Finucane, Boston Globe: "Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency for Massachusetts on Tuesday, as the number of Covid-19 cases in the state more than doubled to 92 and the first cases with no known source broke out in Berkshire County. Seeking to slow the spread of the virus, Baker announced travel restrictions on all 42,000 employees of the state's executive branch, banning out-of-state work-related travel and in-person conferences and seminars. He urged other large employers to do the same. "I would have to say that the risk has increased," Baker said at a State House news conference."
— "Work from home, limit travel: To combat coronavirus Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker issues restrictions for public employees, asks private businesses to follow suit," by Michael Bonner, MassLive.com: "In declaring a state of emergency on Monday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker also announced strict restrictions on travel and group meetings for about 42,000 state employees, while also recommending they work from home when possible to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. The restrictions apply to the majority of state employees — including the department of transportation, health and human services and housing. They don't extend directly to offices not under the governor's office — such as the court system, legislative branch, and state university system — or the private sector ."
— "House cancels public events, evaluating session options," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "The State House will remain open amidst the unfolding coronavirus outbreak but life is changing under the Golden Dome in an effort to protect employees and visitors. In a memo to House members and staff Tuesday night, a top aide to Speaker Robert DeLeo announced that the House is canceling all public events 'for the foreseeable future' and DeLeo is creating a working group to evaluate operations, including committee hearing schedules and formal legislative sessions."
— "Lawmakers propose $15 million for coronavirus response," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "State lawmakers released a plan to create a $15 million fund to respond to the 'recent and rapid rise' in Massachusetts coronavirus cases Tuesday afternoon. 'The Senate's number one priority is to safeguard the health of our residents,' Senate President Karen Spilka said in a statement, noting that the funding will better prepare the state for the impacts of the virus. Senate and House leadership announced that they would take up the supplemental budget next week, just under two hours before a scheduled press conference by Gov. Charlie Baker, who cut short a family vacation in Utah to address the growing public health issue."
— "Highway trip times shorter amidst coronavirus outbreak," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "If your driving commute in the greater Boston area has seemed surprisingly easy this week, you're not alone: traffic has been below average on major highways. An analysis from the state Department of Transportation found that average travel times on several rush-hour routes were lower this week — when many events were canceled amid growing coronavirus concerns — compared to the the same points in 2019 and 2018. Trip durations dropped Monday and then further decreased during the morning commute Tuesday, with travel times down as much as a third on Interstate 93 and as much as half on Interstate 90."
— "Schools weigh challenges of staying open during coronavirus spread," by Carrie Jung, WBUR: "School leaders are facing some difficult decisions as coronavirus concerns grow in Massachusetts, with Gov. Charlie Baker declaring a public health emergency Tuesday afternoon. Among the most daunting is the idea of closing, especially for extended periods of time. So far, schools in Massachusetts have opted to close temporarily for a day or more to allow cleaning crews to thoroughly disinfect facilities. Plainville and Arlington are the most recent districts to announce temporary closures. Both towns shut down at least one elementary school for the day on Monday to investigate infection reports and disinfect after tests came back positive for COVID-19 among their student and parent communities."
| FROM THE HUB |
— "Mayor Walsh: Boston Marathon Is Still On, For Now," by Meghan B. Kelly, WBUR: "Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Tuesday that the Boston Marathon, scheduled to be run April 20, is still on, for now. 'I think this is a very fluid situation,' Walsh said. The marathon is in 41 days — and brings in about $211 million per year, Walsh said during a press availability outside city hall. Boston officials would have to talk with officials from the other towns along the marathon route before any kind of decision could be made, he said. The Boston Marathon, in its entire history, has never been canceled."
— "Rollins: ICE is making it harder for law enforcement to work with immigrant communities," by Arjun Singh, WGBH News: "Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said Tuesday that the federal government — and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in particular — have made it difficult for local law enforcement to keep communities safe. During an appearance on Boston Public Radio, Rollins touted the temporary ruling of a federal judge that bars ICE officers from arresting immigrants in courthouses who are there for 'official business.' 'We're proud [of] our lawsuit. ICE is no longer able to go into courthouses and civilly arrest people around courthouses, because churches, schools, hospitals and courthouses, you should be able to go in and tell the truth, and be as honest as possible when you're there," Rollins said.'"
— "Nursing homes to limit access to residents," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "With the elderly particularly susceptible to the coronavirus, the Baker administration is putting in place a series of measures to shield residents of nursing homes from visitors and workers carrying the disease. Marylou Sudders, the secretary of health and human services, said nursing homes 'will be directed to actively screen and restrict access to visitors to ensure the safety and health of residents and staff.' They will also be asked to confirm their employees are not sick. Anyone who displays signs of infection, such as cough, fever, or shortness of breath, will not be admitted."
— "Logan traffic way down as coronavirus fears spread," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "Passenger traffic through Logan International Airport dropped considerably last week as the Covid-19 coronavirus took greater hold in Massachusetts and affected global travel. About 351,000 passengers passed through security checkpoints at Logan between Monday, March 2 and Sunday, March 8 — down about 53,000, or 13.2 percent, from the same week a year ago. Passenger counts were also down the previous week compared to the year prior, but by a smaller margin of about 4.5 percent. 'All major airports are seeing a reduction in passengers,' said Jennifer Mehigan, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan."
— "Harvard Square businesses brace for slowdown as students switch to virtual classes," by Hilary Burns, Boston Business Journal: "Businesses in Harvard Square are still absorbing the news from Harvard University, which told its students not to return to the Cambridge campus after spring break due to growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. 'That is going to be quite disruptive to the micro-economy of the Square,' said Daniel Andrew, CEO and co-founder of Trademark Tours, which gives tours of Harvard. Local businesses will have to make adjustments in order to survive losing such a large pool of customers in the middle of the semester, according to Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association."
| PRIMARY SOURCES |
— "Nancy Pelosi hinted at her Democratic primary vote during an appearance in Boston," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn't endorsing anyone in the now-narrowed Democratic presidential primary race. However, during an appearance Monday morning at Northeastern University, the California congresswoman did hint at how she 'usually' votes. At the annual Women Who Empower summit, Pelosi was asked about what has effectively become a two-way race between former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, following Sen. Elizabeth Warren's decision to suspend her campaign last week."
| ALL ABOARD |
— "Track info to disappear 1 minute before departure," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "South Station commuters who leave themselves little time to get to their platforms may soon need to change their habits or risk missing their trains altogether. Starting on March 18, display boards inside South Station will remove track information for trains one minute before their scheduled departures. Any passenger who arrives within that range will not be able to determine from the signs where an imminently leaving train is boarding. All signs except displays on tracks themselves will be affected. Commuter rail officials said the change will 'further improve passenger safety' and prevent delayed departures."
— "MBTA has seen 'lowest crime rate in history for four continuous years,' Transit police boss says," by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: "Violent crime on the T increased slightly in 2019 compared to the prior year, but the transit system continued to see the 'lowest crime rate in history for four consecutive years,' said Transit police Superintendent Richard Sullivan on Tuesday. Sullivan released figures showing there were 779 part-one crimes on the T last year, compared to 770 in 2018. The four-year average for 2016 through 2019 stands at 782, compared to 998 for the previous five years. Part-one crimes include homicide, rape and assault to rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, auto theft, and arson."
| DAY IN COURT |
— "Arguments in Robert Kraft prostitution case appeal slated for May 21 in Fla." by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: "A Florida appellate court will hear oral arguments on May 21 in the appeal of an evidence ruling in New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's misdemeanor prostitution case, legal filings show. The Fourth District Court of Appeal said in a brief order Tuesday that it will hear arguments at 10 a.m. in the West Palm Beach courthouse. State Attorney General Ashley Moody's office is appealing a lower court ruling that tossed video surveillance footage that reportedly captured Kraft paying for sex acts at a spa in Jupiter, Fla."
| KENNEDY COMPOUND |
— "The Kennedy speech that stoked the rise of the Christian right," by John Huntington, POLITICO Magazine: "On a sweaty September evening in Houston, John F. Kennedy stood at the lectern in a downtown hotel facing the gravest threat to his presidential campaign. Arrayed before Kennedy in the opulent ballroom were roughly 300 of the South's most respected protestant ministers. They had invited the young senator from Massachusetts into their lair to do the nearly impossible: disprove their accusations that Kennedy's Catholic faith, and his ostensible allegiance to the pope, would undermine religious freedom in the United States. Kennedy knew that he was unlikely to convince the men in the room, but he hoped that by confronting his detractors head-on he might defuse the kind of anti-Catholic sentiment that had doomed the White House bid of New York Gov. Al Smith a little more than three decades earlier."
| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
— "Eversource substation would add to E. Boston environmental problems, face flooding, critics say," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "Critics are blasting a proposal to build an electrical substation near a harbor estuary in East Boston, a community they say is already heavily burdened with environmental problems. Opponents of the project question whether the infrastructure is necessary and are concerned the site will flood. 'The location of this site, we know, will flood in the future, by the city's own data — within the lifespan of the facility,' said John Walkey, an East Boston resident who works for GreenRoots, a Chelsea-based environmental justice group. 'And we'll be on the hook for paying for it.'"
| ABOVE THE FOLD |
— Herald: "STATE OF EMERGENCY," — Globe: "Biden wins in Michigan, a key setback for Sanders," "Inside the Biogen outbreak."
| FROM THE 413 |
— "Coronavirus concerns cancel Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade and Road Race," Springfield Republican: "The city's annual St. Patrick's Parade and Road Race — a weekend of events that draws hundreds of thousands of people each year — have been canceled amid concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus. Mayor Alex B. Morse said the 'difficult decision' was made Tuesday. 'This decision was not made lightly,' he said. The road race had been scheduled for March 21, with the parade following on Sunday, March 22."
— "US health officials tap Berkshire Sterile in Lee to possibly aid coronavirus vaccine development," by Tony Dobrowolski, The Berkshire Eagle: "As the coronavirus continues to spread, a South County firm that specializes in pharmaceutical drug testing has been approached by the federal government to see if it could help in the early stages of developing a possible vaccine. 'Right now, they're just checking to see if we have an interest in this,' said Shawn Kinney, CEO of Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing in Lee, which uses state-of-the-art technology to produce sterile and injectable drugs for pharmaceutical and biotech companies."
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
— "Worcester St. Patrick's Parade is canceled," by Cyrus Moulton and George Barnes, Telegram & Gazette: "The city and the parade committee have canceled the Worcester County St. Patrick's Parade and road race scheduled for Sunday due to concerns about the coronavirus. 'The city and parade committee jointly decided — especially given the governor's declaration of a state of emergency — the prudent thing for us to do was to cancel the parade,' City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said after a meeting among parade organizers and city officials Tuesday."
— "Cape hospitals, nursing homes restrict visitors over virus concerns," by Cynthia McCormick, Cape Cod Times: "With the number of cases of the new coronavirus in Massachusetts nearing 100, Cape Cod Healthcare and local nursing homes are placing restrictions on visits to patients in their facilities. As of Wednesday, only one designated caregiver — such as a parent, spouse or legal guardian — will be allowed to visit patients at Falmouth and Cape Cod hospitals and JML Care Center in Falmouth, according to new protocols announced Tuesday by Cape Cod Healthcare President and CEO Michael K. Lauf."
— "Weymouth may take state's lead on plastic bag ban," by Jessica Trufant, The Patriot Ledger: "Town officials may wait to see if the Legislature bans grocery stores, restaurants and other retailers from providing single-use plastic bags to customers across the state before taking action locally. Michael Yavorsky, of Regatta Road, went before town council last fall and asked officials to join dozens of other communities across the region in banning businesses from giving out single-use plastic bags. More than 120 Massachusetts communities, including 11 on the South Shore, have banned single-use plastic bags in some form."
PODCAST ALERT — Cohasset Democrat Meg Wheeler, who is running to unseat state Sen. Patrick O'Connor, launched a new podcast titled "Elected" about her campaign and what it is like to run for office as a woman. The podcast.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY — to Alan N. Trefler and Thomas McGill, who celebrated who celebrated Tuesday.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes and yes! The Celtics beat the Pacers 114-111. The Bruins beat the Flyers 2-0.
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