GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
MARKEY APOLOGIZES TO HENRY FAMILY — Sen. Ed Markey issued an apology to the family of Danroy "DJ" Henry on Monday, after Henry's father said he felt dismissed by Markey in the wake of his son's death.
Henry was killed by police when he was a student at Pace University in 2010. The officer who shot him, Aaron Hess, was never charged. Henry's family has pushed for the Department of Justice to reopen his case in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis this spring, drawing similarities between their cases. Celebrities including Beyoncé, JAY-Z and Rihanna have expressed support for reopening the case. Henry was from Easton and was killed in New York.
"My wife and I came to you 10 years ago as grieving parents asking for your help with our son's murder in upstate New York," Danroy Henry Sr. said in the video posted on Monday, addressed to Markey. The Henry family has met with a number of elected officials over the years. "You were the only one who didn't act. Not only did you not act in any way, we felt like you were just dismissing us using even the term 'colored' in the conversation."
"The only thing you offered us was lunch that day," Henry added. He was responding to a Markey television ad, which says the Malden Democrat is focused on justice.
Markey apologized to the Henry family on Monday afternoon, and expressed support for reopening Henry's case. Federal investigators declined to file charges in 2015.
"I strongly support the Henry family's efforts to reopen the case of the murder of their beloved son DJ Henry," Markey said in a statement. "I have reached out to the Henry family to offer my sincerest apologies, and to pledge to them my complete support to take action on this case. I am fully at their disposal, and hope to work with them."
Henry's parents have endorsed Rep. Joe Kennedy III in the Senate primary, and were Kennedy's guests at the State of the Union in 2015. Kennedy's campaign said the congressman remains "committed to doing everything he can to help them get the justice they deserve.”
IN THE MAIL — A new flier from a justice-focused political group landed in 12,000 mailboxes in Rep. Richard Neal's district over the weekend.
The Justice Collaborative is calling on Neal to support additional cash payments to Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. Officials in Washington, D.C. are negotiating another Covid-19 relief package this week, and advocates are encouraging Neal to back $2,000-a-month payments for the duration of the pandemic. The mailer.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III speak at a criminal justice forum hosted by WGBH. Congressional challengers Dr. Robbie Goldstein and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse speak with former 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang about their campaigns.
HAPPENING TODAY - ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC: The coronavirus has caused a record-setting economic decline and tens millions of Americans have lost their jobs. Join POLITICO chief economic correspondent Ben White for an interview with LinkedIn chief economist Karin Kimbrough to discuss prospects for economic growth, the uptick in jobless claims after weeks of decline and how extending unemployment benefits could help in the economic recovery. REGISTER HERE.
 | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
– “Massachusetts coronavirus deaths rise 10, positive test rate dips down,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “Massachusetts health officials on Monday reported 10 new coronavirus deaths and 165 new cases as the average positive test rate ticked down after gradually climbing for more than two weeks. The 10 new coronavirus deaths bring the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 8,648, the state Department of Public Health announced.”
| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
– “Here’s what opened in Phase 3 — and could potentially be at stake if Mass. reopening is rolled back,” by Martin Finucane and Jaclyn Reiss, Boston Globe: “Concerned about worrisome trends in the public health metrics, at least one prominent epidemiologist is advocating that Massachusetts return to Phase 2 of its reopening plan. The move from Phase 2 to Phase 3 happened less than a month ago, becoming effective July 6 statewide and July 13 in Boston. (Somerville has put Phase 3 of reopening on hold.)”
– “As COVID-19 rate rises, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts calls for remote start to 2020-2021 school year,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “Another Massachusetts teachers union is calling for school districts to start remotely, citing the slow rise of COVID-19 rates, testing delays and lack of proper ventilation in school buildings as red flags.”
– “Amid rise in COVID-19 cases, experts urge rollback of reopening in Mass.” by Dasia Moore and Kay Lazar, Boston Globe: “Daily counts of new COVID-19 cases continued to tick upward in Massachusetts over the weekend, approaching what some experts see as the threshold for rolling back the state’s reopening — an action at least one prominent epidemiologist says Governor Charlie Baker should take now to prevent a second surge in infections and deaths.”
– “Massachusetts Has Lost A Greater Share Of Revenue Than Most States Due To COVID-19,” by Mike Deehan, WGBH News: “Massachusetts lawmakers say they're still waiting for word from Washington, D.C., on whether states and local governments will receive more financial aid to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic and the dire state of the 2021 fiscal year budget .”
– “As COVID-19 audits highlight flaws, MassHealth sends initial termination notices to 3 private nursing facilities,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “Three Massachusetts nursing homes have received initial termination notices from MassHealth for failing to meet the state’s safety standards during the COVID-19 pandemic. Town and Country in Lowell, Hermitage Healthcare in Worcester and Wareham Healthcare in Wareham could be removed from the MassHealth program, according to the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
– “State bond bill includes $1M for Union Station cyber security initiative,” by Peter Goonan, Springfield Republican: “A state bond bill that passed the House and Senate last week includes $1 million for a collaborative cyber security initiative at Union Station. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, in a prepared release, praised the Union Station funds and other earmarks for Springfield that were sponsored by state Rep. Angelo J. Puppolo Jr., under an Information Technology Bond Bill.”
– “Advocates Celebrate As Legislature Gets One Step Closer To Passing Environmental Justice Law,” by Miriam Wasser, WBUR: “María Belén Power, of the local nonprofit GreenRoots, was supposed to have a ‘date night’ with her husband Friday evening, but says she couldn’t stop checking her phone for updates on floor proceedings at the State House. The Massachusetts House of Representatives was working its way through more than 100 amendments attached to a sweeping climate bill known colloquially as the 2050 Roadmap.”
– “Massachusetts pensions keep bulging with state paying out $5.44B,” by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald: “UMass retirees top the state’s $5.44 billion pension system, with the university’s former President William ‘Billy’ Bulger set to pocket nearly $272,000 this year, records show. The retirement fund — obtained by the Herald through a public records request — lists 1,540 pensioners who are set to earn six-figure payouts as the state struggles mightily during the coronavirus pandemic.”
– “Qualified Immunity Is Under Fire. Here's How The Legal Defense Has Played Out In Mass. Cases,” by Ally Jarmanning, WBUR: “When officers use excessive force and someone sues, police are not always held accountable in a civil lawsuit. That can be, in part, because of a controversial defense known as qualified immunity. Lawmakers at the State House this week are weighing a massive compromise police reform bill that could change that legal avenue.”
| FROM THE HUB |
– “Boston's Latest Racial Equity Push Isn't New,” by Adam Reilly, WGBH News: “For close observers of Boston politics, Mayor Marty Walsh’s recent announcement that he was forming an ‘equity and inclusion cabinet’ raised an obvious question: Haven’t we been here before? The cabinet, Walsh said in June, will be comprised of existing departments but led by a new ‘chief of equity’ and will put racial equity at the center of city policymaking.”
– “New effort aims to lift city’s valedictorians,” by Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: “Warren Tolman couldn’t get the story of Michael Blackwood out of his mind. Blackwood, a former valedictorian at The Engineering School in the Hyde Park Education Complex, received a full ride to Boston College in 2006. But part-way through that experience, his girlfriend got pregnant, and Blackwood decided to get a job and take classes part-time to take care of his child.”
– “Mass Technology Leadership Council calls on its members to double state’s Black, Latinx tech employees as part of ‘2030 Challenge,'” by Michael Bonner, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts’ largest group of tech companies is calling on its members to double the percentage of Black and Latinx employees in the state by the end of the decade. Introduced on Monday, the 2030 Challenge by the Mass Technology Leadership Council aims to push the percentage of Black employees at tech companies in Massachusetts to 10% and Latinx workers to 14%.”
– “City’s Black clergy express support for schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius,” by Bianca Vázquez Toness, Boston Globe: “A prominent group of Black ministers on Monday said that they remain confident in Boston Superintendent Brenda Cassellius after a difficult first year on the job, arguing that the last thing the school district needs is more uncertainty amid a pandemic that is challenging educators and students as never before.”
– “Boston beer scene takes a hit: Somerville’s Slumbrew closes; Lord Hobo CEO speaks out on challenges restaurants face amid virus,” by Hayley Kaufman, Boston Globe: “‘I don’t know.’ That was the first line of an ominous Facebook post by Daniel Lanigan, CEO of Lord Hobo, who said that’s his only answer when people ask when his popular Cambridge bar and restaurant will reopen. In the post, Lanigan enumerates the litany of challenges he and so many others in the restaurant industry face in the COVID era.”
| PRIMARY SOURCES |
– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: “Professor Cornell William Brooks, Former President And Ceo Of The NAACP, Endorses Alan Khazei, City Year Co-founder, For Congress In The 4th District Of Massachusetts,” from the Khazei campaign: “Professor and Reverend Cornell William Brooks, Former President and CEO of the NAACP, and Director of The William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School is endorsing Alan Khazei for Congress in Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District.”
– “Election 2020: Rep. Adam Schiff, Massachusetts native and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, endorses Joe Kennedy III for Senate,” by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: “Rep. Adam Schiff, a Massachusetts native and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, endorsed Rep. Joe Kennedy III this week in the congressman’s bid to unseat Sen. Ed Markey in the Massachusetts Democratic primary.”
– “Kennedy Visits Pittsfield Encampment For Unhoused City Residents In Senate Campaign Swing,” by Josh Landes, WAMC: “Congressman Joe Kennedy campaigned in Pittsfield, Massachusetts this morning in his Democratic primary battle against incumbent Senator Ed Markey. Kennedy delivered supplies to unhoused city residents currently living in an encampment at Springside Park. Kennedy was joined by backers like Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington, State Senator Adam Hinds, and city councilors Dina Guiel Lampiasi, Yuki Cohen, and Pete White.”
– “Challengers take aim at Moulton in 6th District debate,” by Ethan Forman, The Salem News: “The first debate of the 6th District Congressional Democratic primary took place Sunday night as two candidates took aim at the incumbent U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton in a virtual Nahant Town Hall with Sept. 1 fast approaching.”
| DAY IN COURT |
– “Feds appeal ruling in Mashpee Wampanoag land case,” The Associated Press: “The Department of the Interior is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that blocked it from rescinding a reservation designation for land belonging to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts.”
| WARREN REPORT |
– “Elizabeth Warren Is Still Campaigning,” by Gabriel Debenedetti, New York Magazine: “Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren didn’t know each other extremely well until March. They’d been crossing paths for well over a decade, most uncomfortably in 2005 at a Capitol Hill hearing, where they collided over bankruptcy law and the Delaware senator called the Harvard Law professor’s argument ‘very compelling and mildly demagogic,’ and most closely ten years later at Biden’s official residence in D.C.”
| THE PRESSLEY PARTY |
– “Rep. Ayanna Pressley: Preventing an ‘eviction tsunami’ is a matter of public health,” MSNBC: “Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts says her proposed Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program, or HELP Act, will reduce transmission of coronavirus by keeping people in their homes.”
| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
– “What will happen to 620,000 quarantined marijuana vapes?” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “What does one do with 620,000 quarantined marijuana vapes? The answer, according to the state Cannabis Control Commission, is retest and resell them; use the material in another product; or destroy them. That answer was arrived at after the commission took the unusual step of acknowledging that it had no idea what to do with the quarantined vapes.”
| ABOVE THE FOLD |
— Herald: “ARE SCHOOLS READY?" "BULGING POCKETS,” — Globe: “Cities take initial steps in reparations over slavery," "Some experts urge rollback of reopening as COVID cases rise.”
| FROM THE 413 |
– “Vicar general of Springfield diocese won’t accept reappointment, says he was ‘unfairly’ portrayed in Weldon report,” by Anne-Gerard Flynn, Springfield Republican: “Fallout continues in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield as the diocesan vicar general, the Rev. Monsignor Christopher Connelly, will not seek reappointment, saying he was ‘unfairly and unfavorably portrayed’ in the recent report into allegations of sexual abuse by the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon.”
– “Gunmaker Smith & Wesson’s board approves company split; two companies will be official Aug. 10,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “Smith & Wesson, the historic Springfield-based gunmaker, said its board of directors has approved the long-planned split of the company into two: Smith & Wesson Brands which will include the firearms business and be headquartered in Springfield and American Outdoor Brands Inc. which will include the outdoor products and accessories business.”
– “Mask-less visitors violating state rules not challenged at Mass Pike shop in Lee,” by Caroline White, The Berkshire Eagle: “The crowd of men, about eight of them, hopped out of their vehicles and stood in a semicircle in the parking lot, talking and stretching. They then strode into the Massachusetts Turnpike Service Plaza in Lee — all without face masks.”
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
– “Weston schools superintendent tests positive for coronavirus,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: “Weston Public Schools Superintendent Marguerite ‘Midge’ Connolly has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a local official. Town School Committee chair John Henry confirmed the news during a meeting of the panel that was held remotely last week and streamed online.”
– “Gateway Pub reopens after bureaucratic bungling,” by Bill Kirk, Eagle-Tribune: “Sometimes, it does pay to fight City Hall. In the case of Amy Wenzel-Mellman, owner of the Gateway Pub, vs. the City of Lawrence, Mellman fought to reopen her small neighborhood bar and won.”
– “Black Families Together lays out school, police reforms it seeks in Worcester,” by Scott O’Connell, Telegram & Gazette: “From removing police from schools to reforming the city’s chief diversity officer position, a local group representing Black city residents laid out a list of changes the black community would like to see in Worcester at a town hall meeting Monday evening.”
REMEMBERING JOHN DELUCA … via MetroWest Daily News: “With a sly grin almost always on his face and a sometimes sarcastic sense of humor, it was sometimes easy to forget Framingham District Court Clerk Magistrate John Deluca had been battling cancer for more than a decade. Early Saturday morning, Deluca, 70, died from complications from treatment of his cancer.” Link.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to former President Barack Obama, who is 59; Dorchester Reporter founder and Boston Irish Reporter publisher Ed Forry; and Jordan Maynard of Gov. Charlie Baker’s office.
NEW EPISODE: THE ENDORSE RACE – On this week’s Horse Race podcast, host Jennifer Smith and guest host Katie Lannan discuss what’s happening on Beacon Hill, and Stephanie Murray weighs in on the race between Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III. 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.
POLITICO'S "FUTURE PULSE" - THE COLLISION OF HEALTH CARE AND TECHNOLOGY : As the United States remains stuck in a screening crisis, a worldwide competition has been launched to find the top Covid-19 rapid testing solutions. The contest aims to find a system with a painless sample and quick turnaround for results. When will a breakthrough come? From Congress and the White House, to state legislatures and Silicon Valley, Future Pulse spotlights the politics, policies and technologies driving long-term change on the most personal issue for voters: Their health. SUBSCRIBE NOW.
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