GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
PANDEMIC IS SHRINKING THE NEWS BIZ — It's a story that's playing out across the country: Businesses have taken a hit during the coronavirus pandemic, and the news ecosystem in Massachusetts is no exception.
Cities and towns are faced with an historic pandemic that is reshaping everything — including schools, health care and the economy. Consequential elections are weeks away. And there are fewer reporters than ever to cover it all.
News of layoffs and furloughs at Bay State papers has been trickling in since the economy closed down in March. But considered together, the list is striking. Perhaps the most recent example is at WBUR. The public radio station laid off more than 10 percent of its staff last month, and ended its polling partnership with the MassINC polling group this week (for transparency, the podcast I co-host is a product of MassINC).
The Boston Globe also went through a round of layoffs , though the paper has also made several hires in recent months including Kimberly Atkins, formerly of WBUR, who was named to the Globe's Editorial Board last week.
The Boston Herald has gone through two rounds of layoffs during the pandemic, along with asking employees to take a series of unpaid furlough weeks. The Lowell Sun shares a parent company with the Herald, and reporters there also took unpaid time off. In Attleboro, well-known political reporter Jim Hand was among those laid off at the Sun Chronicle in March.
In Western Mass, employees at the Springfield Republican and MassLive.com are cycling through furloughs, and employees at the Berkshire Eagle also faced furloughs, though another outlet is actually expanding in the region. Unionized employees at the Daily Hampshire Gazette are pushing to preserve 29 jobs that were eliminated when the company said it would outsource its printing business.
The Eagle-Tribune adjusted its print schedule. The North Andover-based paper dropped two print days — Tuesdays and Saturdays — due to the coronavirus, the company announced in April. And workers at newspaper publishing chain Gannett, which owns a number of Massachusetts publications including the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, took furloughs in June.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: O'MALLEY TOUTS KENNEDY'S RECORD ON ENVIRONMENT — Rep. Joe Kennedy III is a "progressive leader" with a strong record on climate change, Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley says in a new video the Kennedy campaign will release this morning.
"As a proud progressive and as a passionate environmentalist, I'm endorsing Joe Kennedy for the United States Senate," says O'Malley, who endorsed Kennedy in October. "He is the progressive leader we need because not only will he fight to save the planet, he will fight to remedy decades and decades of injustice."
The spot features clips of Kennedy and O'Malley campaigning with face masks on, and is part of a series of endorsement videos the campaign has rolled out in recent months.
The video is also a chance to throw some shade at Sen. Ed Markey, whom Kennedy is running to unseat in September. Markey has made his work on the Green New Deal a central focus of his campaign, and he knocked Kennedy as a "progressive in name only" at their last debate. The video.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Rep. Richard Neal is a guest on WBUR’s “Radio Boston.” Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III speak at a virtual youth forum hosted by the Boston Climate Strike and March for Our Lives Massachusetts. Markey and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins hold a virtual rally. Rep. Seth Moulton meets with Dr. David Roberts, president of the North Shore Medical Center.
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 | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
– “Massachusetts reports 10 new coronavirus deaths, 203 cases as state launches site for public to report businesses in non-compliance,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts health officials announced another 10 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 8,125. Officials also confirmed another 203 cases of the virus, for a total of at least 105,986.”
| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
– “Baker administration asks schools to prioritize in-person instruction this fall and not announce final plans until August,” by Felicia Gans, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley has asked schools to prioritize in-person instruction this fall and not announce any final plans about reopening until early August. In a new guidance released Friday, Riley said officials are asking schools to ‘ prioritize in-person instruction’ because of the current low transmission rate of coronavirus in Massachusetts.”
– “Police push back on reform bill,” by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: “Without a public hearing and in the wee hours of Tuesday morning at the Statehouse, the Senate approved controversial reforms for policing in Massachusetts that would include a ban on choke holds, limit the use of tear gas and require training police officers in the history of racism. The vote in the upper chamber now shifts the focus of the debate over racism and policing to the House with just weeks left to finalize a bill that has vaulted to the top of the Legislature's end-of-session agenda.”
– “Velis can’t back Senate’s police reform bill,” by Dusty Christensen, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “When the state Senate took a vote on a sweeping police reform bill just after 4 a.m. on Tuesday, 30 of the Senate’s 40 members voted in favor. One of the seven who voted against it was a member of the western Massachusetts delegation. Newly elected state Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, voted against the legislation together with four other Democrats and two Republicans.”
– “Advocates ask lawmakers not to move on Charlie Baker’s Holyoke Soldiers’ Home reforms,” by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: “Veterans’ advocates are urging state lawmakers to delay action on Gov. Charlie Baker’s legislation to increase oversight of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, saying it would do little to change the ‘dysfunctional chain of command’ at the facility where 76 residents died of coronavirus and that more input was needed.”
– “Massachusetts teachers unions call for phased reopening of schools, mirroring state’s business reopening during COVID-19 pandemic,” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “Teachers unions in Massachusetts are calling for a phased reopening of schools, suggesting a plan that mirrors the four-phased reopening of the state’s economy, as the calendar ticks closer to the start of the school year.”
– “Mail-In Voting Lawsuit Delayed As Lawmakers Advance Funding,” by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: “A scheduled hearing Tuesday in a mail-in voting lawsuit will take place Friday instead, officials announced, two days after the deadline for Secretary of State William Galvin to send ballot applications to all 4.5 million registered voters.”
– “Dispatchers to receive CPR training under proposed state bill,” by Kim Ring, Telegram & Gazette: “A single piece of legislation, if passed, could save as many as 500 lives a year in Massachusetts, according to a UMass Memorial Medical Center doctor. Joseph Sabato, a emergency medicine doctor, said that when a heart attack happens, it’s critical to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation within 90 seconds. As time marches on, so do the victim’s chances for survival, he said.”
| WHAT CITY HALL IS READING |
– “Marty Walsh ducks question about Boston mayoral re-election bid,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Mayor Martin Walsh still isn’t saying whether he’s actually running for a third term — even though he’s now almost a year closer to the upcoming election than he was when he announced he was running for a second time. Walsh, when asked on Tuesday at a press conference whether he had plans to run for re-election, chuckled and demurred, saying, ‘I’ll be making an announcement at some point in the future, I’m sure.’”
| FROM THE HUB |
– “Moderna releases new Covid-19 vaccine data, final trial start date,” by Allison DeAngelis, Boston Business Journal: “Saying it plans to launch what will likely be one of the largest clinical trials the drug industry has seen before in less than two weeks, Moderna Inc. revealed more evidence from an early-stage trial of its potential vaccine that indicated it could be successful.”
– “‘A fairly devout group of Neo-Nazis.’ Local white supremacist group has been active in recent weeks,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “Among the dozens of rallies and street protests held across Boston in recent weeks, one at the foot of the State House last month stood out: There was a flag featuring a Nazi symbol, a swastika tattoo on one of the attendees, and a few men with shirts that read ‘Nationalist Social Club’ — an organization that experts say is a New England white supremacist group.”
– “Walsh Announces Public Hearings For Boston Police Reform Task Force,” by Paul Singer, WGBH News: “Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Tuesday that the police reform task force he created will hold a series of public hearings over the next few weeks to take input from the community on hot-button issues such as use-of-force policies and the deployment of body cameras. Walsh announced the creation of the Boston Police Reform Task Force in June as he declared racism a public health crisis in Boston, with a promise to take action on anything the task force proposed.”
– “Boston granting relief to businesses that pay rent to city,” by Colman M. Herman, CommonWealth Magazine: “With the pandemic shutdown wreaking havoc on hundreds of businesses across Boston, city officials are stepping up to provide relief to one group of enterprises with a direct tie to municipal government. Between businesses housed in city-owned buildings and those that operate on land owned by the Boston Planning & Development Agency, dozens of businesses pay rent to the city or to its development agency — and they are getting big breaks from their landlord.”
– “Demonstrators Call On Boston Companies To Bolster Black Employment,” by Adrian Ma, WBUR: “About 30 people from an array of community groups demonstrated in front of the Seaport headquarters of the biotech firm Vertex on Tuesday, calling for changes that they say would give the city's Black residents greater access to jobs in the tech and biotech sectors. Organizers of the rally pointed out that Black residents have been historically excluded from these industries due to systemic racism.”
– “Food trucks are coming to Boston neighborhoods this week as part of pilot program during coronavirus pandemic,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced that a pilot program to bring food trucks into the city’s neighborhoods will begin this Friday. ‘This summer we are piloting temporary food truck sites across our neighborhoods, including in city parks, playgrounds and public spaces,’ Walsh said during a press briefing on Tuesday.”
| PRIMARY SOURCES |
– “Daily Kos endorses longtime ally and progressive champion Ed Markey for Senate in Massachusetts,” by Joan McCarter, Daily Kos: “Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey has for years been a stalwart ally of Daily Kos and the progressive movement in a way few others have been. That’s why we’re proud to endorse this singular public servant in the Democratic primary on Sept. 1 .”
– “Meet Alex Morse, the gay progressive mayor taking on a 30-year Democratic incumbent,” Roger Sollenberger, Salon: “At age 22, Alex Morse was elected mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, while still a senior at Brown University, becoming the youngest openly gay mayor in America. It's the only job he's known for his adult working life. Morse trying to change that now, running as a progressive in the Democratic primary against Rep. Richard Neal, who chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, and has represented Massachusetts in Congress for almost as long as Morse has been alive.”
| PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
– “The Allston Mass. Pike project strikes some critics as too car-centric,” by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: “At its heart, the problem plaguing the massive Massachusetts Turnpike project through Allston appears to be one of geometry: How do you squeeze an eight-lane highway, a four-lane parkway, bike and walking paths, and four railroad tracks into a narrow strip of land without spilling into the Charles River?”
– “Front boarding returns to MBTA buses, trolleys next week,” by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: “After nearly four months, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on Monday will again require bus riders to enter through the front doors, rather than the back, a change that effectively ends a brief era of fare-free trips. The rear-door policy, which was also enacted on the Mattapan trolley line and at above-ground stops on the Green Line, was intended to create separation between riders and drivers as the coronavirus spread.”
| DAY IN COURT |
– “Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey suing Uber, Lyft over classification of workers as independent contractors,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Attorney General Maura Healey is filing suit against Uber and Lyft, alleging the companies have misclassified their workers as independent contractors to avoid having to provide the benefits enjoyed by employees under Massachusetts law. Healey said the state is asking for declaratory judgment on the question of whether ride-hail workers are independent contractors or employees under state law.”
| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
– “Trump administration reverses course on international student ban,” by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: “In a stunning reversal, the Trump administration has agreed to abandon its earlier order for international students to leave the country if their college or university is only offering online classes during the fall. US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs made the announcement in a brief video hearing Tuesday afternoon in a lawsuit brought by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology challenging the government rule issued eight days ago.”
– “‘I can’t take this anymore’: Video of Mendon resident and former Trump supporter lambasting president goes viral,” by Steve Annear, Boston Globe: “Sitting in what appears to be a lounge chair, with noise crackling in the background, a reluctant Jeffrey Farmer stares into his smartphone’s camera and details — in a profane rant — the various reasons he won’t be voting for President Trump a second time.”
| KENNEDY COMPOUND |
– “Massachusetts Democrat calls for Voice of America chief to resign,” by Rafael Bernal, The Hill: “Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) called Tuesday for the resignation of Michael Pack, CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), accusing him of managing the agency in an openly partisan manner. Pack, a Trump appointee who took over as head of the USAGM in June, has since removed or pushed out the heads of the agency's news outlets — including Voice of America (VOA) — and replaced the members of the organization's bipartisan advisory board with conservative appointees.”
| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
– “Environmental groups hail Baker's lift on reusable bags, and plastic bag ban suspension,” by Heather Bellow, The Berkshire Eagle: “Shoppers once again can bring their own reusable bags to grocery stores and pharmacies and no longer will have the option to use single-use plastic bags in places with municipal bans on them. Environmental groups are thrilled .”
| ABOVE THE FOLD |
— Herald: “MODERNA LOVE,” “BIDEN HIS TIME,” — Globe : “Police unions criticize bill passed in late Senate session," "US drops international student ban," "BACK IN THE PICTURE.”
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
– “In Framingham, calls to drop a president’s name from school,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “Framingham officials are considering a proposal to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from a public elementary school over criticism of the former US president’s racist policies while he was in office. About 900 people have backed a petition supporting the name change, pointing to similar efforts at other educational institutions, including at Princeton University, to drop Wilson’s name.”
– “Vacationing mayor saves Cape Cod wedding,” by Jessica Hill, Cape Cod Times: “A couple who recently moved to Cape Cod tied the knot on the beach over the weekend, despite a couple of hiccups on their wedding day. Matt Kalliath and Naomi Kalliath, both physicians, received help from Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, who stepped in at the last minute to perform the ceremony.”
– “Dueling Peabody protests highlight national divisions,” by Ethan Forman, The Salem News: “National divisions over policing and police brutality, social and racial justice, and the pandemic were on display at the head of the Big Y Plaza at 687 Lowell St. Tuesday afternoon in side-by-side rallies.”
– “Indian out as Grafton mascot after School Committee vote,” by Sandy Quatro Bowles, The Grafton News: “The Grafton Indian mascot will fade into history. Citing opposition to the Indian from both the student body and the local Nipmuc Tribe, Grafton School Committee members voted unanimously Tuesday to remove the Indian as a mascot for the school district.”
– “Nudist campgrounds in Massachusetts open under strict guidelines,” by Douglas Hook, MassLive.com: “The two nudist resorts in Massachusetts have opened their gates to visitors for the 2020 season but have seen a drop in numbers attending. Sandy Terraces in Marstons Mills is a 10-acre nudist campground is entering its 69th season after opening for the first time in the late 1940s. At a resort where clothing is optional, masks having to be worn is a very new feature at the campground.”
TRANSITIONS – Bruce A. Percelay was elected incoming chairman of the board at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.
– Suleiman Benabderrazik joins Meg Wheeler’s campaign for state Senate as deputy campaign manager and communications director.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Dr. David Lippman, who is 75; Ariel Zirulnick, Jon Hurst and Stefanie Coxe.
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.
NEW THIS WEEK – POLITICO’S “FUTURE PULSE” NEWSLETTER : 2020 has wrought a global pandemic that has accelerated long-simmering trends in health care technology. One thing is certain: The health care system that emerges from this crisis will be fundamentally different than the one that entered. From Congress and the White House, to state capitols and Silicon Valley, Future Pulse spotlights the politics, policies and technologies driving long-term changes on the most personal issue for Americans: Our health. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.
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