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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday!
MOULTON SILENT ON SENATE RACE — Rep. Seth Moulton says he has no regrets when it comes to his attempt to oust House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from leadership in 2018. But on the topic of new leadership closer to home, the congressman is staying quiet.
Moulton said Pelosi is doing a "great job" standing up to President Donald Trump during an interview on WCVB's "On the Record" which aired Sunday morning. So does he regret trying to replace her after Democrats flipped the House?
"No, absolutely not, because I was elected on a promise to bring a new generation of leadership to Washington. There are a lot of people who talk about generational change but there aren't many of us who actually fight for it," Moulton said. "I'm going to keep upholding that promise. That's why I'm working so hard to endorse and support a new generation of servant leaders running in seats across the country."
But given the chance to support a new generation of leadership at home in Massachusetts, Moulton is staying quiet. The Salem Democrat declined to say whether he'll back Sen. Ed Markey, 73, or Rep. Joe Kennedy III, 39, in the Democratic Senate primary. Moulton won his congressional seat in a primary against former Rep. John Tierney in 2014.
"I am focused on the Senate races that we need to win across the country to take back control of the Senate. That's what we need to be focused on," Moulton said.
NEAL ON THE AIRWAVES — Rep. Richard Neal's reelection campaign is airing a new TV ad highlighting how he helped a local business navigate the coronavirus crisis.
The ad features the owner of Nick's Nest, the Holyoke restaurant best known for its hot dogs, talking about how Neal helped the business qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program. The ad also takes place on the home turf of Neal's primary opponent — Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse.
"We applied for the PPP loan when it first came out. We didn't make the cut. Congressman Neal and his staff got in contact with me and they were just wonderful. We were able to get a little of the weight lifted off of us," restaurant owner Jenn Chateauneuf says in the 30-second spot. "Congressman Neal's help has been tremendous." The ad.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: CAVELL'S NEW OPIOID PLAN — Dave Cavell, a Brookline Democrat running in the crowded race to replace Rep. Joe Kennedy III, is rolling out a new plan today aimed at addressing the opioid crisis. Cavell is pitching an Opioid National Emergency bill that would allow for safe consumption sites, increase accountability for pharmaceutical companies and provide more prevention education. Cavell is a former White House aide and most recently worked for Attorney General Maura Healey. The plan.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Rep. Seth Moulton, Dr. Alexandra Piñeros-Shields and Rev. Dr. Andre Bennett host a virtual town hall. Rep. Joe Kennedy III speaks to the New England Council. Former Gov. Deval Patrick is a guest on WGBH’s “Greater Boston.” Rep. Ayanna Pressley talks about housing with Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse on Instagram Live, and joins a racial justice town hall hosted by All In Together and She The People.
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HAPPENING TODAY 9 a.m. EDT - "INSIDE THE RECOVERY" PART III: PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH MIKE SOMMERS, CEO OF AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE: Global oil markets took a plunge, and worldwide demand for fuel remains weak — making the expectation the industry’s recovery will be lengthy. Join POLITICO Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman for a conversation with Mike Sommers focused on how Covid-19 has slammed the energy industry, the role API could play in the upcoming 2020 election, and what the industry needs from the federal government moving forward. REGISTER HERE.
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 | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
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– “Massachusetts health officials announce 48 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday and 208 new COVID-19 cases,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts health officials on Sunday announced another 48 people have died from coronavirus. The commonwealth’s death toll from the pandemic now stands at 7,624. Officials also reported another 208 new cases of the virus, for a total of at least 105,603 confirmed and probable cases across the state.”
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| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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– “Pandemic highlights Baker’s sweeping — and indefinite — emergency authority,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “For seven decades, Massachusetts law has granted governors sweeping emergency authority during crises: record-setting snowstorms, hurricanes, floods. Normally these are brief calamities, and the orders stop soon after the threat recedes. But now, amid a global pandemic, the vast and indefinite nature of the governor’s emergency power has rushed into focus.”
– “Beacon Hill leaders plan to overhaul law enforcement policies,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Beacon Hill leaders are planning to overhaul law enforcement policies, from banning the use of chokeholds to creating a state office that will oversee police standards.The move comes amid nationwide protests over the deaths of black Americans in police custody — including George Floyd, who was killed last month while being arrested by Minneapolis police.”
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| FROM THE HUB |
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– “Coronavirus takes $65M bite out of Boston revenues,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “Coronavirus is taking a $65 million bite out of Boston’s revenue — more than double initial projections — prompting cost-cutting and hiring freezes across nearly every city department except schools and affordable housing, which will both see funding expansions next year. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s administration on Monday is submitting a revised budget for the fiscal year starting in July with coronavirus-induced losses now in clearer view.”
– “Mayor Walsh declares racism a public health crisis in Boston, will seek to transfer 20% of police overtime budget to social services,” by Dasia Moore and Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: “Racism is a public health crisis in Boston, Mayor Martin J. Walsh declared Friday, responding to glaring racial inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and massive protests against police abuse that he said served as a call to action.”
– “Black People Made Up 70 Percent Of Boston Police Stops, Department Data Show,” by Isaiah Thompson, WGBH News: “Seventy percent of people stopped by Boston Police officers through the department’s ‘Field Interrogation and Observation’ program throughout most of last year were black — even though black residents comprise less than one quarter of the city’s population. That’s according to data collected by the Boston Police Department itself and reviewed by WGBH News that represents the first public glimpse in years into thousands of routine stops made by the BPD as part of its field interrogation program — which includes, but is not limited to, police actions known elsewhere as ‘stop-and-frisk .’”
– “Thousands March In Boston For Black Transgender Lives,” by Quincy Walters, WBUR: “A day after the Trump administration rolled back healthcare protections for transgender people, a day after the U.S. queer community paused to recognize the 49 people killed in the Pulse night club shooting four years ago, and just days after two transgender women were murdered in the U.S., thousands gathered in Franklin Park for the ‘Trans Resistance Vigil and March’ Saturday.”
– “Some members push back as Mass. Asian American Commission head stands firm on Black Lives Matter statement,” by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: “Several members of the state’s Asian American Commission publicly dissented Saturday with controversial language used in a statement the panel issued in support of Black Lives Matter, while the commission’s president stood firm against the critics.”
– “Hospitals are trying to coax you back — and convince you that it’s safe — as the COVID-19 outbreak eases,” by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: “For the first few months of the pandemic, reports from hospitals around Massachusetts were grim: medical workers in spacesuit-like protective gear scrambling to care for infected patients, many on ventilators. Now, with the number of coronavirus cases falling and health care providers resuming routine and elective care, hospitals are trying to coax back regular patients — and reassure them that it’s safe.”
– “Mayor Marty Walsh Plans To Repair, Return Christopher Columbus Statue,” by Elie Levine and Fausto Menard, WBUR: “Dr. Francis Mazzaglia, chairman of the board of the Italian American Alliance, says Boston Mayor Marty Walsh plans to repair the Christopher Columbus statue and return it to its former location — the Christopher Columbus Park in the North End — with added security cameras. The statue was found beheaded Wednesday morning.”
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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– “Markey lets it rip in ‘Massachusetts family fight,’” by Stephanie Murray, POLITICO: “The Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary faded into the background here in recent months as the coronavirus pandemic overshadowed everything else. But if the most recent Senate debate between Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III is any indication, that’s about to change .”
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| PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
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– “Commuter rail service expands as state reopens,” by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: “Commuter rail platforms will soon look more like they did before the state shut down businesses under the threat of COVID-19, as the MBTA brings back trains to accommodate passengers returning to work. The T's commuter rail is restoring service to 85% of pre-pandemic schedules beginning June 22, adding more regular trains to morning and evening peak periods, as well as midday service.”
– “As the economy recovers, that same old problem is resurfacing — Boston traffic,” by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: “Perhaps there is no greater sign that things are slowly but surely returning to some semblance of normal than the traffic backups on the Southeast Expressway. Eduarda Berry found herself in her first traffic jam in months this past week, her short commute home from the overnight shift at Boston Medical Center suddenly jumping to 20 minutes, from under 15.”
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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– "Effort to keep state’s largest power plant open fuels concern about climate, public health,” by David Abel, Boston Globe: “The towering smokestacks of the state’s largest power plant have loomed for decades over the Boston area, spewing pollutants that produce smog, warm the planet, and exacerbate asthma and other respiratory illnesses, such as the coronavirus.”
VERETT — The towering smokestacks of the state’s largest power plant have loomed for decades over the Boston area, spewing pollutants that produce smog, warm the planet, and exacerbate asthma and other respiratory illnesses, such as the coronavirus.
One of the region’s few remaining fossil fuel plants to continue operating in such a densely populated place, the Mystic Generating Station was slated to be closed two years ago, when Exelon Corp., its Chicago-based owner, said it was no longer profitable.
But then the operator of the regional power grid threw the Mystic plant a lifeline. Executives of ISO New England worried they needed the plant in order to keep the area’s lights on. So they awarded the company a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars — subsidized by New England ratepayers — to continue operating Mystic through 2024.
Now, with the plant’s oil and gas turbines belching millions of tons of noxious pollutants every year, Exelon is seeking to continue operating the 2,000-megawatt plant beyond the next four years. The move has sparked outrage throughout the surrounding communities, where a disproportionate number of residents have long suffered elevated levels of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
Among them is Sean Collie, who has lived a few blocks from the Mystic plant for 23 years. The 45-year-old construction worker suffers from asthma, as does his 12-year-old daughter.
Collie, whose wife gave birth last year to another daughter, worries for his growing family. The air in the neighborhood can be so difficult to breathe that they sometimes have to shut all their windows. The foul-smelling fumes often leave him wheezing, and prone to long spells of coughing, he said.
“We want to see the plant gone — the sooner, the better,” he said, noting there are many other sources of unhealthy air nearby, including Logan International Airport, major highways, and tankers transiting the Mystic River. “The air here can be gross. You can taste it. It’s not healthy.”
Mystic is among the last of what were known as the “Sooty Six” — the state’s most polluting power plants. While state and federal requirements have required Exelon to reduce the amount of soot emitted, the plant still remains one of the state’s largest sources of pollution.
Company officials insist their plant remains vital to the metropolitan area, and that there are good reasons to keep it running.
The plant’s turbines “meet Massachusetts’ environmental and emissions standards, which are among the strictest in the country,” said Mark Rodgers, a spokesman for Exelon, which received a $400 million contract to continue operating the plant from 2022 to 2024.
“Mystic generates reliable, low-carbon power for more than a million homes and businesses in Boston and beyond, and until a transmission solution is in place, keeping Mystic online is the safest and cleanest way to meet regional energy demand and prevent the risk of rolling blackouts,” he said.
Last week, in an effort to extend its operating contract, the company filed a 53-page complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, accusing ISO New England of violating its policies by insufficiently reviewing the region’s energy and transmission needs. Exelon also accused the grid operator of curtailing a competitive bidding process to replace Mystic’s power.
The company filed the complaint two days after ISO New England announced it would reject all but one of 36 proposals to replace Mystic, and that it planned to select a $49 million project by National Grid and Eversource to upgrade substations and build new transmission lines.
Exelon alleged that the grid operator was risking power failures in Boston “by prematurely substituting the uncertain outcome” of the proposed replacements “for the certainty provided by Mystic.”
But officials at ISO New England have defended their decisions and call Exelon’s initial commitment to close in 2024 “irrevocable.”
“Exelon has requested to retire the Mystic plant, and that request cannot be withdrawn,” said Matt Kakley, a spokesman for the grid operator. “The ISO is working to ensure that the regional power system remains reliable following this retirement.”
The company’s effort to keep Mystic running has raised concerns among environmental advocates, who fear the additional emissions would exacerbate public health issues, especially in an area already hit hard by the coronavirus.
In just the past two years, Mystic released more than 3.1 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air over Everett — 21 percent of the primary emissions responsible for global warming from all the state’s power plants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
In the same time, Mystic emitted more than half of all the sulfur dioxide and nearly one-fifth of all the nitrogen oxide released by the state’s power plants, EPA records show. Both gases have small particles that can be inhaled, leading to breathing problems and respiratory illnesses.
The surrounding cities, including Boston, Chelsea, and Revere, already had among the state’s highest asthma rates, while a recent study by researchers at Harvard University found that long-term exposure to air pollution increases the risk of dying from the coronavirus. The study found that a person who has lived for decades in a neighborhood with elevated levels of soot is 8 percent more likely to die of the virus than someone who has lived in a neighborhood with just one unit less of the pollution.
Indeed, the surrounding counties of Middlesex, Suffolk, and Essex lead the state in the number of coronavirus deaths, while infections around the plant have been among the highest in the state, with Chelsea leading Massachusetts with more than 7,500 infections per 100,000 people — five times the state average. Everett and Revere also have among the state’s highest infection rates.
“It’s true that the Mystic plant is cleaner than it used to be, but burning fossil fuels there compounds so many other problems,” said John Walkey, waterfront coordinator of GreenRoots, an environmental group in Chelsea. “The continued operation of that plant will continue the ongoing legacy of environmental insults to our community, and to people’s health. It should have already been shut down.”
Others worry that prolonged operation of the plant could delay or kill proposals to replace its power with renewable energy.
Exelon’s recent complaint and other efforts, they worry, could also delay the selection of a replacement, leaving ISO New England with no choice but to keep Mystic going.
“The Exelon filing is concerning to the extent that it seeks to further delay the retirement of a climate killer,” said Phelps Turner, a senior attorney at the Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation.
He also scoffed at the company’s assertions that its gas turbines are among the state’s safest and cleanest.
Those claims “disguise the plain and undeniable fact that these are old, inefficient, and polluting fossil-fuel-fired units that harm the health of nearby residents and damage the climate,” Turner said.
Exelon’s recent tactics have also raised the concerns of Attorney General Maura Healey, who filed a petition this month with state energy officials, urging them to reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels and arguing the state has sufficient power to keep the lights on.
Healey noted that Mystic has a history of violating limits on emissions of particulate matter, requiring the company to pay millions of dollars in penalties, she noted.
“We need to focus on moving away from highly polluting fossil-fuel power plants like Mystic that have a disparate impact on vulnerable communities," she said, noting that keeping it open would saddle Massachusetts ratepayers with hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs.
Among those hoping that Exelon closes the plant on schedule is Sandra Padilla, who also lives a few blocks from the plant. On a recent afternoon, with her daughters, ages 2 and 5, playing on her porch, the 35-year-old pregnant mother said she worries about the air.
With the smokestacks looming in the distance on a muggy afternoon, Padilla said the air was typically the most fetid in the summer, when the plant often runs at full capacity on the hottest days.
“I hope they know young children live here," she said.
Correction: The story initially cited an incorrect amount of carbon dioxide the Mystic Generating Station released over the past two years. The plant released 3.1 million tons of the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere in 2018 and 2019, or 21 percent of all carbon dioxide released by power plants in Massachusetts.
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: “PRAY FOR PEACE," "CORONA COST,” — Globe: “Baker wields sweeping, indefinite powers," "Scrutiny over police use of force intensifies.” |
| FROM THE 413 |
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– “Holyoke Soldiers’ Home retired superintendent rallying support for expansion, renovation,” by Cynthia G. Simison, Springfield Republican: “Forty-eight days. It’s a short time in which to make a big impact, but Paul Barabani is a man on a mission. A mission to change the narrative about the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke where he once served as superintendent .”
– “Pittsfield teachers union to rally Monday,” by Jenn Smith, The Berkshire Eagle: “Will public school districts be able to safely and successfully reopen and best serve all students in the fall? Hundreds of educators are saying, ‘no way,’ particularly as schools across the commonwealth are bracing for staff and budget cuts and severe reductions in Chapter 70 state aid due unfunded legislation and economic strains caused by the COVID-19 crisis.”
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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– “City officials resist calls to defund police,” by Brad Petrishen, Telegram & Gazette: “The city manager and several councilors last week said they aren’t inclined to heed demands for a reduction in the police budget, opining that the majority of city residents want more services and pointing to reforms they say have already been made. ‘We have been trying to do a lot of what these folks are advocating for,’ City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said Friday, as he ticked off an array of reforms he does not believe have received enough attention.”
– “Sluggish census response may harm Cape Cod region,” by Geoff Spillane, Cape Cod Times: “The Cape and Islands are on a path to diminished political representation and slashed federal and state funding if residents don’t pick up the pace responding to the 2020 U.S. census. ‘The census is of real significance to how we get federal funding,’ said U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., who represents the region. ‘A low participation rate will translate into dollars and cents lost. This is an urgent matter.’”
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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– “WBZ-TV places Phantom Gourmet on hiatus after posts targeting Black Lives Matter protests,” by Ainslie Cromar, Boston.com: “Co-owner of Mendon Twin Drive-In and CEO of Phantom Gourmet Dave Andelman apologized Saturday for a series of Facebook posts on his personal account that mocked the protests against racial injustice and police brutality spurred by the killing of George Floyd.”
SPOTTED: Rep. Joe Kennedy III dining at Quattro in Boston’s North End on Sunday, per a Playbook tipster. Pic.
TRANSITIONS – Ricardo Sánchez joins Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s office as communications director. Sánchez previously worked in Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office as a press aide.
REMEMBERING AUBRI ESTERS … via WBUR: “Veteran Boston activist Aubri Esters, who led efforts to expand treatment for substance use and rights for people who use drugs, was found dead by police in her apartment on Thursday.” Link.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Marie Harf and Hunter Woodall.
NEW EPISODE: RENT – On this week’s Horse Race podcast, hosts Jennifer Smith, Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray speak with MassINC COO Juana Matias, former state lawmaker and candidate for Congress, about racial inequity in the Legislature. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
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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TODAY - A VIRTUAL CONVERSATION ON WATER SECURITY: How can we secure long-term solutions at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic consumes the attention and resources of local and state leaders? Join POLITICO today at 10:20 a.m. EDT for a virtual panel discussion on the policies and legislation needed at the state, regional and federal levels to meet the water needs of Western states. REGISTER HERE.
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