| | |  | BY STEPHANIE MURRAY | GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. PROGRESSIVE WIN DRAWS ATTENTION TO NEAL CONTEST — This year, whenever a progressive Democratic challenger pulls off an upset victory, a familiar scene tends to unfold. There’s an uptick in attention to Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse‘s primary bid against powerful House Ways and Means chair Richard Neal, followed by excited speculation about what a big opportunity it is for a progressive victory. Then people who live in the district cast doubt on Morse's chances, pointing to the region's demographics, the size of Morse's political operation, Neal's massive war chest and his congressional clout. That was the case yesterday, after Missouri progressive Cori Bush unseated longtime Democratic Rep. Lacy Clay. Morse sent out a memo after the primary results were tallied, with the subject line: "Why Richard Neal is Next." Neal responded swiftly as well, unveiling his new ad from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "If we're going to beat Trump, I need a leader like Richie in the fight," Pelosi says in the 30-second spot. There's no way to know for sure what's happening in the primary, because there hasn't been any public polling. Neal bested his 2018 primary challenger, Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, with around 70 percent of the vote. But regardless the outcome on Sept. 1, this is the most action Neal's district has seen in decades. There's a flow of outside money eating up TV airtime in Western Mass. On Neal's side, a super PAC called American Working Families is running ads. The National Association of Realtors just filed with the FEC to run digital spots for Neal. Justice Democrats and a group called Fight Corporate Monopolies are cutting ads for Morse. Plus, there's lots of mail. Neal hammered Morse as a "no-show politician" in a piece of campaign mail, while another group called the Justice Collaborative is pushing Neal to negotiate more pandemic assistance money for Americans. The bottom line: Expect things to get tense when Neal and Morse meet for their first televised debate on Aug. 17. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: STEINEM BACKING MARKEY — Gloria Steinem, the author, journalist and feminist leader, is backing Sen. Ed Markey for reelection, his campaign will announce today. "Never has the United States Senate been more crucial to our survival, and never have we needed the bold and innovative leadership of Ed Markey more,” Steinem said in a statement. “As his past and future vision show, he is a champion of equal rights, racial justice, universal health care, and climate action." Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — Rep. Joe Kennedy III is endorsed by Merrow Manufacturing CEO Charlie Merrow in Fall River. | |
| | TUNE OUT THE NOISE AND TUNE INTO THE NEWS: It's getting tougher to keep up with so much going on in the world around us. From the latest on the 2020 election to updates on the race for a vaccine and an economy fighting its way back, POLITICO Dispatch is our short, daily podcast that cuts through the daily clutter and keeps you up to speed on the day's essential news. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | |  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Massachusetts reports 2 new coronavirus deaths, 338 cases; Global deaths top 700K,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts health officials announced two more coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, bringing the statewide death toll to 8,438. Officials also confirmed another 338 cases of the virus, for a total of at least 111,371 across Massachusetts.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “Here’s what you need to know about positive test rates, the key coronavirus stat that people are talking about,” by Martin Finucane and John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “The percentage of people in Massachusetts who are found to be infected when they are tested for coronavirus is back in the news nowadays. Here’s what you need to know: While it is one of a group of key metrics the state says it is monitoring, its move upward has received repeated mentions from Governor Charlie Baker and other officials in recent days.” – “Legislators rally for Joe's Playland in Salisbury,” by Jim Sullivan, Newburyport Daily News: “Work to reopen a popular beach-area arcade has begun at the Statehouse. ‘Joe's Playland is Salisbury Beach and Joe's Playland needs to open back up,’ state Rep. Jim Kelcourse, R-Amesbury, said Monday. ‘I will do everything in my power to see that it opens immediately.’” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “'A Naturalization Crisis': 10,000 Would-Be Voters In Mass. Might Miss Out In November,” by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: ““The federal agency in charge of naturalizing new U.S. citizens is in turmoil, with furloughs, budget shortfalls and paralyzing backlogs. And now three months before the presidential election, all of this is affecting who will be able to vote in November, with thousands of people in Massachusetts watching their dream of casting a ballot this year slip away.” – “Boston Police Paid $5.8 Million In Overtime Tied To Protests,” by Chris Van Buskirk, State House News Service: “The City of Boston delivered nearly $5.8 million in overtime pay to police in connection with shifts associated with the wave of protests in May, June and July where thousands gathered to object to police brutality and systemic racism, the News Service has learned.” – “Boston Public Schools Issues First Draft Of Reopening Plans, Outlining Hybrid Learning Groups,” by Carrie Jung, WBUR: “With about a month until classes begin and amid a pandemic churning up endless questions, Boston parents got their first detailed peek at what the school week might look like this fall. Officials with Boston Public Schools (BPS) publicly released a first draft of its state-required reopening plan Tuesday night.” – “In calm before the storm, hospitals prepare for second wave of COVID-19,” by Felice J. Freyer and Kay Lazar, Boston Globe: “As COVID-19 cases tick up in Massachusetts, no one is eyeing the numbers more keenly than the hospital leaders who will have to respond to a second surge. Hospitals officials are watching the case counts daily, with memories still fresh of legions of sick people filling wards in the spring.” – “Fauci: Death threats are sign of anti-science sentiment,” by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: “Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is receiving death threats while working on mitigating the spread of COVID-19. ‘Getting death threats for me and my family and harassing my daughters, to the point where I have to get security is just — I mean, it’s amazing,’ Fauci said Wednesday during an interview organized by Harvard’s School of Public Health with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta.” – “Smith, Regis are the latest Massachusetts colleges to move entirely online,” by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: “Citing the escalating spread of the coronavirus and failed attempts this summer to safely reopen schools and camps, Smith College and Regis College on Wednesday both pulled back their plans to bring students to campus this fall, joining an increasing number of higher education institutions to reverse course.” – “Massachusetts hospitals bleeding money,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “Even as Massachusetts hospitals were coping with an influx of COVID-19 patients this spring, they were losing massive amounts of money. While some hospitals got large sums of federal relief money, a new report from the Center for Health Information and Analysis shows the aid was nowhere near enough to offset the losses.” | | PRIMARY SOURCES |
| – FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: “State Representative, Gun Control Champion David Linsky Endorses Becky Grossman,” from the Grossman campaign: “Today, Becky Grossman’s campaign announced that State Representative David Linksy has endorsed her candidacy. Linsky, who represents the 5th Middlesex district on Beacon Hill, was first elected to the legislature in 1999, and he has been an unwavering champion for common-sense gun safety legislation in Massachusetts.” – FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: “Alan Khazei, City Year Co-founder And Democratic Candidate For Congress, Launches Taunton For Khazei,” from the Khazei campaign: “Alan Khazei, City Year Co-Founder and Democratic Candidate for Congress in the Fourth District, today announced the launch of Taunton for Khazei co-chaired by Senator Marc Pacheco and Democratic State Committee Member Estele Borges. Taunton for Khazei is made up of 15 community leaders working to elect Alan Khazei to Congress.” – “Joe Kennedy to Worcester: Invest in community, not law enforcement,” by Cyrus Moulton, Telegram & Gazette: “He’s a former prosecutor by trade, but U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III said providing opportunity and upfront prevention, education and intervention - rather than necessarily the long arm of the law - was best to quell the recent gang activity rattling the city.” – “Super PAC backing Kennedy expands TV push,” by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: “The new super PAC supporting Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III in his bid to unseat incumbent Senator Edward J. Markey has reserved more than $800,000 in additional airtime ahead of the Sept. 1 primary, bringing the potential TV ad buy to almost $2.5 million, according to a Democratic media buyer familiar with Massachusetts campaigns.” – “Ed Markey urges William Barr to reopen case of Easton native killed by police, after criticism of his own response,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Sen. Ed Markey is calling for Attorney General William Barr to open a new investigation into the killing of Danroy ‘D.J.’ Henry by police in New York, after apologizing to the parents of the Easton native this week.” – “6th District candidates spar over Moulton's Pelosi challenge,” by Ethan Forman, The Salem News: “A question about promoting women in politics had two challengers to incumbent U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, criticizing his opposition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the 2018 midterms. In Wednesday’s Northern Essex Debate, Moulton, who is seeking a third term and a chance to move beyond the Sept. 1 primary, batted back criticism of his record, including opposition to Pelosi’s again becoming speaker, from challengers Jamie Zahlaway Belsito and Angus McQuilken, both of Topsfield.” – “Endorsements, issues at play in 12th Suffolk campaigns,” by Katie Trojano, Dorchester Reporter: “With just a month to go before the Sept. 1 primary election, the three-person race to fill what will be a vacancy in the 12th Suffolk state representative district is one of the most competitive in the city. Three candidates— Brandy Fluker Oakley, Jovan Lacet, and Stephanie Everett, all running as Democrats— are seeking to replace Rep. Dan Cullinane, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election.” | | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
| – “T eliminating plastic-paper/cash price differential,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “The MBTA said on Wednesday that starting September 1 it plans to eliminate the significant price differential between those who pay their fares with rechargeable plastic CharlieCards and those who pay with cash or paper CharlieTickets.” – “I Hate Cars, but Thanks to COVID I’m Buying One,” by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: “I have a confession to make: I’m buying a car. When I moved into Boston proper five years ago, my wife and I couldn’t have been happier to be rid of ours, and to surrender our fates to the MBTA, for better or worse.” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Lawyers say changes to controversial qualified immunity doctrine would move Mass. into uncharted legal waters,” by Gal Tziperman Lotan, Boston Globe: “After George Floyd’s death under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer sparked nationwide protests about racism and policing, advocates and lawmakers seized on the legal doctrine of qualified immunity, a defense police officers can use in court cases, as a target for reform. Massachusetts lawmakers, like colleagues elsewhere, are tackling the issue as part of a police reform bill now being negotiated on Beacon Hill. But, like many other issues that deal with systemic racism, policing, and the law, it’s complicated.” | | WARREN REPORT |
| – “Kodak stock rally draws attention of Elizabeth Warren and SEC,” Associated Press: “Eastman Kodak's potentially lucrative deal to help the U.S. government make more generic drugs domestically is threatening to turn into a regulatory headache for the fallen photography giant. Kodak's depressed stock price surged last week before the company announced its plans to work with President Donald Trump's administration in exchange for a $765 million loan.” | | THE PRESSLEY PARTY |
| – “Massachusetts students worry coronavirus will spread if they return to school but feel remote learning lacked structure, was difficult for students with disabilities,” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “When Cheyenne Brown, a student at Saint John Paul Middle School in Boston, started to get overwhelmed with online assignments as school abruptly went remote in the spring, she would pause and take a deep breath. The practice helped, Brown recalled Wednesday during a virtual listening session held by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley over Zoom to offer students in her district a chance to discuss concerns about the upcoming school year.” | | THE CLARK CAUCUS |
| – “Demeaned, overlooked, fighting back: What it’s like to be a woman in Congress,” by Kathryn Lyons, Roll Call: “When Katherine Clark first came to Congress, someone manning the House chamber tried to stop her from setting foot inside. They didn’t recognize her. The second time it happened, she wasn’t even all that new. ‘I was walking in with a male colleague. They just looked at us together, assumed we were a couple, and he was the congressman and that I was a spouse going onto the floor when it wasn’t permitted,’ the Massachusetts Democrat recalls.” | | ABOVE THE FOLD |
| — Herald: “DOGGONE-IT! PICK UP YOUR PPE!" "O REALLY?” — Globe: “With infections on the rise, hospitals prepare for a second wave of COVID-19,” "For city's schools, no single answer." | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “Baystate Health CEO Mark Keroack: COVID-19 may be making comeback in Western Massachusetts,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “Baystate Health had 34 in-patients Wednesday with coronavirus — 32 of them at its flagship Baystate Medical Center. That’s far better than back in April when Baystate would report more than 100 coronavirus cases on some days. But Baystate President and CEO Mark A. Keroack said Wednesday that it was only the second time since June that the patient count had been greater than 30.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “Worcester Public Schools considering remote learning for first term of new school year; final decision to come next week,” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “The Worcester Public Schools is considering a remote start to the upcoming school year, though a decision on what class will look like will not be final until next week. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Worcester has been considering two plans: a school year with only online learning versus a hybrid model with in-person and remote classes.” – “There's A Political Divide In Medford, But Activists Demanding Police Accountability Have An Unlikely Ally,” by Stephanie Leydon, WGBH News: “Crystal Chandler spent a couple of hot summer days several years ago turning a sidewalk electrical box into a neighborhood landmark. Some of the bright blue paint is peeling, but cheery yellow letters still read, ‘Welcome To West Medford.’” – “Teachers oppose in-school learning plan,” by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: “Union members on Wednesday afternoon held a peaceful, socially distant protest at the Parthum School to voice concerns over the district’s proposed back-to-school plans for September. Barry said union members are concerned about returning when Lawrence has some of the highest COVID-19 rates in the state.” – “Weymouth cancels high school graduation after unsanctioned football camp led to potential increased coronavirus risk,” by Michael Bonner, MassLive.com: “Weymouth High School’s graduation, which was scheduled for Friday, has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns, school officials announced on Tuesday. Specifically, Superintendent Jennifer Curtis-Whipple and High School Principal Alan Strauss cited an unsanctioned football camp in South Weymouth as the root of the concerns.” – “Falmouth lifeguards work while awaiting virus test results,” by Jessica Hill, Cape Cod Times: “With at least 10 lifeguards testing positive for the coronavirus, the town of Falmouth has encouraged all Beach Department staff to get tested, but it also has allowed those employees to continue working until results come back.” | | MEDIA MATTERS |
| – “Boston Magazine cuts newsroom staff by 20%” by Don Seiffert, Boston Business Journal: “Boston Magazine has reduced its 20-person editorial staff by four, with two layoffs and two indefinite furloughs, according to information from multiple sources and confirmed by the company.” TRANSITIONS – Stefan Geller joins The Lowell Sun as a reporter covering Billerica, Tewksbury and Wilmington. Tweet. – WGBH News announces Carrie Saldo will cover Worcester County for the station’s new Worcester News Bureau, and Megan Woolhouse will head Massachusetts coverage on the station’s K-12 education desk. Tweet. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Maeve Duggan, research director of the MassINC Polling Group; and Evan Ross, a member of the Amherst Town Council. 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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