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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
GALVIN SLAMS COURT CENSUS DECISION — The Supreme Court cleared the way for President Donald Trump's administration to wrap up the U.S. Census early , leaving some officials in Massachusetts worried that residents will go uncounted.
The once-in-a-decade count was slated to wrap up at the end of October. But the court ruled on Tuesday that Trump can end the census count now, about two weeks early. Census officials plan to wrap up the enumeration on Thursday, which means census-takers can submit their information over the phone or online by the end of the day tomorrow, or mail in their response as long as it is postmarked by Oct. 15.
What that means for the count in Massachusetts is not entirely clear. Census officials say the response rate in Massachusetts is 99.9%. But Secretary of State Bill Galvin says that number is "an obvious fiction." The census was initially slated to end July 31, but was extended due to the pandemic.
"I don't know what Wilbur Ross is smoking, but it must be good," Galvin quipped after seeing the numbers, in a reference to the Commerce secretary, according to a MassLive.com report.
Galvin's office had been preparing to make a final push this weekend with local leaders in undercounted cities and towns to urge residents to take the census.
“This decision by the Supreme Court to allow the Trump Administration to stop the census count early is going to shortchange Massachusetts," Galvin said in a statement to POLITICO. "Allowing the Trump Administration to stop the count now will leave those residents uncounted for the next ten years. Certainly, the phrase 'stop the count' coming from this administration is a chilling one, as we head into November.”
It's likely that students, immigrants and people in urban communities are being undercounted, according to state Rep. Paul Mark, who chairs the House Committee on Redistricting. The impact of undercounting residents is twofold, Mark said. The census count impacts the way districts are drawn and how political power is allotted on the state and federal levels. And a higher census count means more state and federal funding for cities and towns.
"Before Covid, the estimate was every person that doesn't fill out the census costs their community almost $2,400 a year for the next 10 years," Mark said. "With the response to a crisis that could continue for we don't know how long, I think those numbers can only can only go up."
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TODAY — Attorney General Maura Healey speaks at the “People’s Law Firm Outreach Day” virtual summit. Rep. Seth Moulton visits the after school program Campfire of the North Shore. Sen. Ed Markey is a guest on WBUR. Boston City Councilors Lydia Edwards and Michelle Wu hold a press conference in opposition to a proposed electrical substation.
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THE LATEST NUMBERS – “Massachusetts reports 632 new COVID cases, 12 deaths as rate of positive tests increases to 1.2%” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “State health officials confirmed another 632 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the statewide case count to 137,565. That’s based on 13,744 new molecular tests, according to the Department of Public Health. Health officials also announced another 12 COVID-related deaths, bringing the statewide death count to 9,413.”
DATELINE BEACON HILL – “Man broke into Gov. Charlie Baker's Swampscott home, district attorney says, WCVB: “A Massachusetts man is facing charges after he broke into the Swampscott home of Gov. Charlie Baker, according to authorities. The Essex District Attorney's Office confirmed that Lane Forman was arraigned in Lynn District Court last Wednesday on a misdemeanor breaking-and-entering charge.”
– “Baker expects more coronavirus cases this fall, cites growth of cases among young people,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: “Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday said the state is ready for additional COVID-19 cases this fall and urged residents to remain vigilant against transmitting or catching the virus. ‘There’s no question that there will be more cases this fall,’ Baker said during his regular State House press conference.”
– “House Housing Chief Calls For Baker To Extend Eviction Deadline, Double Rent Relief Aid,” by Mike Deehan, GBH News: “House Speaker Robert DeLeo's top housing chairman wants to double funding for rent stabilization and is asking the governor to extend the state's moratorium on evictions for another 90 days while lawmakers work on a bill to solve the state's pandemic eviction crisis. Housing Committee House co-chair Kevin Honan says the plan Gov. Charlie Baker rolled out Monday to replace the moratorium with rental stabilization programs and mediation doesn't go far enough.”
– “Extending eviction moratorium would have deepened debt for tenants, landlords, during COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “Four days before the eviction moratorium is set to expire, Gov. Charlie Baker said extending the moratorium on rent and mortgages in Massachusetts isn’t the right way to address housing insecurity concerns during the coronavirus pandemic. Baker said Tuesday extending the eviction moratorium would deepen debt for tenants and landlords.”
– “State Blamed For Lack Of Guidance, Slow COVID Response To Nursing Homes,” by Chris Burrell, GBH News: “The state’s slow response in March to the coronavirus pandemic is one reason why Massachusetts has one of the country's highest rates of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents and workers, according to testimony state lawmakers heard Tuesday afternoon.”
– “Since summer, Massachusetts has had more deaths per capita than nearby states, and it’s not clear why,” by Dasia Moore, Boston Globe: “Months after COVID-19 began to ravage the Northeast, leaving thousands dead and countless communities in mourning, the disease began to loosen its deadly grip: Fatalities in the hardest-hit states declined sharply, and by the start of summer, it seemed that the region could let out a sigh of relief. But while the death rates in other Northeastern states continued to decline rapidly throughout the summer, almost in lockstep, progress in Massachusetts slowed.”
– “Charlie Baker rejects calls to carve jails, colleges out of Massachusetts town coronavirus risk data,” by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: “Frustrated Middleton and North Andover officials vowed to keep pushing the state to rethink its coronavirus risk assessment system after Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday rejected their calls to carve out the jail and college campus outbreaks they say are unfairly skewing their town numbers and stalling their reopenings.”
FROM THE HUB – “Boston's Diversity Hiring Mandate For Construction Projects Is All Bark, No Bite,” by Paul Singer, GBH News: “The city jobs policy, first passed in 1983 and updated by Mayor Marty Walsh in 2017, requires work crews to be 51% Boston residents, 40% people of color and 12% women for most major building projects in the city, whether private or city-funded. As of July, contractors working on the Beth Israel project had employed 20% city residents, 24% people of color and 7% women.”
– “Mayor Walsh announces series of broad Boston police reforms,” by Gal Tziperman Lotan, Boston Globe: “Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced a slate of reforms to the Boston Police Department on Tuesday, embracing a series of sweeping changes proposed by a task force that spent months examining the operations and culture of the nation’s oldest police force. The city will move to create an independent police watchdog office with full investigative and subpoena powers, expand the police department’s body-worn camera program, and enhance the agency’s use of force policies, Walsh said at a City Hall news conference.”
– “Without State Support, Mass. School Districts Band Together To Provide Coronavirus Testing,” by Angus Chen, WBUR: “Just before lunchtime on October 1, a blue tent popped up outside Watertown middle school. In a sky checkered with clouds, a cool breeze rustled trees tinged with the yellows and oranges of fall. It was perfect weather for collecting coronavirus tests. Every few minutes, teachers and staff from around the school district pulled up in their cars and took a swab kit from one of two nurses, who mimed the twirling of the cotton fluff with their fingers.”
– “A ‘debt crisis’ among renters mounts in Massachusetts,” by Zoe Greenberg, Boston Globe: “Now, six months later, the eviction moratorium is about to end, and many renters and homeowners find themselves staring down thousands of dollars in debt. A new plan announced by Governor Charlie Baker this week might save some, infusing an additional $65 million in rental assistance for a total of $10 million a month through June, and increasing the amount available per family from $4,000 to $10,000 per year. But the rental shortfall far exceeds that, housing advocates say.”
– “Could you buy stock in the Red Sox? Explaining Fenway Sports Group’s potential deal to go public,” by Michael Silverman and Larry Edelman, Boston Globe: “John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group is having a moment. Not only is the parent company of the Red Sox negotiating a deal that would put it on the New York Stock Exchange, just like Walmart or Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, but ‘Moneyball’ legend Billy Beane may leave the Oakland Athletics and Major League Baseball to join the FSG effort, according to The Wall Street Journal .”
– “Boston city councilors take aim at large house parties amid coronavirus hike,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Party’s over — or else. That’s the message city councilors want to send to people in South Boston and elsewhere around the city who continue to hold large gatherings in violation of coronavirus guidelines.”
– “As Boston Music Venues Struggle To Survive, Great Scott Becomes An Unlikely Hope,” by Amelia Mason, WBUR: “Since Great Scott announced its closure in May, Lavin, the club's longtime talent buyer, has been on a quest to save it. His triumphs, and disappointments, have been breathlessly chronicled in the press. Fueled by a surge of community support — a "Save Great Scott" petition accrued over 25,000 signatures — and hundreds of thousands in crowdsourced investment dollars, Lavin, improbably, now appears on track to resurrect the 44-year-old dive bar, a rare hope for live music in the age of COVID-19.”
ON THE STUMP – “Republican challenger struggles for foothold in ‘purple’ Andover-based rep district,” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: “Against a generally bleak landscape for Massachusetts Republicans in state legislative races next month, the contest for an Andover-based state representative seat seems like it ought to offer some hope to the state’s beleaguered GOP. It’s a rare swing district, where a Democrat was ousted 10 years ago by a conservative Republican who held the seat for four terms before it flipped back into Democratic hands two years ago.”
DAY IN COURT – “Boston Immigration Court Set To Resume Large-Scale Hearings With Little Guidance From Feds,” by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: “On Tuesday, the Boston immigration court will resume what are known as ‘master calendar hearings.’ Even though the court has remained open throughout the pandemic, these proceedings, which bring large crowds of people to court, have been on hold — until now. Several Boston-area immigration attorneys say that it's unsafe to restart master calendar hearings in-person.”
TRUMPACHUSETTS – “Man who allegedly set Biden hay bale sign on fire was Trump supporter, police report says,” by John R. Ellement, Boston Globe: “The Dalton arson fire that drew national attention was started by a supporter of Republican President Donald Trump who told police he was drunk and grieving the death of his son when he allegedly set fire to the hay bale display endorsing Democrat Joe Biden, according to a police report. Lonnie P. Durfee was arraigned Tuesday in Central Berkshire District Court in Pittsfield on a single count of burning property, a felony, for allegedly torching the hay bale political sign created by farmer Dicken Crane and farmhands on Crane’s property.”
– “A Mass. middle schooler says a teacher belittled him for supporting Trump. Now he wants the school to train its staff.” The Associated Press: “A 12-year-old middle school student asked his school to train its staff in facilitating discussions about politics because he says a teacher belittled him when he expressed support for President Donald Trump in class. The family of Jackson Cody, of Gloucester, hired an attorney and wrote to administrators of O’Maley Innovation Middle School in early October asking for the teacher to apologize and for the school to train staff to respect the views of students, the Gloucester Daily Times reported.”
IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN – “The Controversial Natural Gas Compressor In Weymouth, Explained,” by Miriam Wasser, WBUR: “For the last five years, a coalition of South Shore towns, politicians and local activists have tried to block the construction of a natural gas compressor station in North Weymouth. They’ve waged public awareness campaigns, challenged the project’s environmental permits in court, and even resorted to civil disobedience. Meanwhile, the company building the compressor station cleared every legal and regulatory hurdle in its way, and construction has moved forward.”
ABOVE THE FOLD — Herald: “PARTY CRASHERS,” “HERE COME THE JUDGES,” — Globe: “Barrett avoids specifics, makes no promises," "Walsh backs task force's reform plan for police.”
FROM THE 413 – “‘We want people to stay in their homes’: Mortgage lenders don’t expect a flood of foreclosures when moratorium ends,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “At Greenfield Savings Bank, about 20% of mortgage customers are in deferral, said President John H. Howland. These are people who have told the bank they’ve suffered an economic loss from the coronavirus pandemic.”
THE LOCAL ANGLE – “Demonstrators march through Brockton demanding answers in Sgt. Elder Fernandes’s death,” by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: “Two dozen protesters in face masks marched from Brockton High School to City Hall on Monday to demand answers in the death of Army Sergeant Elder N. Fernandes, who disappeared from his base in August and was found dead more than a week later. Leonilde Fernandes, an aunt of the late 23-year-old, held a picket sign reading ‘Justice for Elder Fernandes!’ as she spoke with reporters through a white surgical mask about the pain of her family’s loss and the frustration of not knowing the full circumstances of her nephew’s death.”
– “Worcester teachers object to timeline for in-person schooling,” by Scott O’Connell, Telegram & Gazette: “The city educators union is not on board with the school department’s proposal to begin bringing students back to schools starting next month. Specifically, Educational Association of Worcester President Roger Nugent said the union is concerned that the timeline, which still must be approved by the School Committee, is too short for the district to complete planned HVAC upgrades in the schools that will begin hosting classes again.”
– “Facebook post controversy grows in Braintree,” by Fred Hanson, The Patriot Ledger: “At issue is a comment Flaherty made on a Facebook post by school committee Member Kelly Cobb-Lemire last month. The post was on a delivery Cobb-Lemire made to a veteran on behalf of a local food pantry. In the post, Cobb-Lemire said the veteran had a ‘Veterans for Trump’ sign in his window and was wearing a National Rifle Association T-Shirt. The post was a subject of an item of the Turtleboy Sports website and led to an effort to recall Cobb-Lemire, accusing her of ‘veteran shaming.’”
REMEMBERING JAKE KENNEDY … via the Globe: “Jake Kennedy, who provided presents to Greater Boston’s poorest children for 30 years through the Christmas in the City charity he and his wife launched, died Tuesday in his Salem, N.H., home of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was 65 and had been the fourth member of his family to be diagnosed with ALS.” Link.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to the Boston Globe’s Victoria McGrane and Natasha Silva.
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