| | |  | BY STEPHANIE MURRAY | GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Take it easy today. The final presidential debate of the 2020 cycle begins at 9 p.m. PAY-TO-PLAY NEWS SITES TARGET MASS. — As local newspapers struggle, more than a dozen pay-to-play news websites that allow clients to dictate some coverage have cropped up in Massachusetts. Many of the websites are part of a network called Metric Media, which that allows Republican political operatives and corporate public relations firms to order up news stories and dictate some coverage, according to a New York Times investigation. The rise of pay-to-play websites comes as already-shrinking local news operations see staff cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic. Staffers at a significant share of local news outlets in the state faced furloughs and layoffs when the virus hit in the spring, including the Boston Herald, the Springfield Republican and WBUR. The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover cut down its print schedule to save money. The 16 sites targeting Massachusetts bear names that are similar to local newspapers and television stations, according to a list compiled by the Times. The title of the Metric Media-affiliated "Metro West Times," for example, is similar to the "MetroWest Daily News." Others have more unusual names, like the "Bean Town Times" and "Mid Massachusetts News." The sites are often populated with press releases, posts about campaign donations and government salaries and stories about local government. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden debate ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Rep. Katherine Clark speaks at a virtual Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce forum. Former Gov. Deval Patrick speaks at a Boston Globe virtual event titled “The Justice Department and the Rule of Law." | |
| | THIS WEEK - NEW EPISODES OF POLITICO'S GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST : The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, but many of those issues exploded over the past year. Are world leaders and political actors up to the task of solving them? Is the private sector? Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, unpacks the roadblocks to smart policy decisions and examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. Subscribe now for Season Two, launching Oct. 21. | | | | | |  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Massachusetts reports 646 new COVID cases, 22 deaths on Wednesday as week-over-week numbers rise,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “State health officials confirmed another 646 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the statewide tally to 142,941. That’s based on 12,722 new molecular tests, according to the Department of Public Health. Officials also announced another 22 COVID-related deaths, for a total of 9,559 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “Baker to send tens of millions to help small businesses and Main Streets,” by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: “As debate over an additional federal stimulus package drags out in Congress, Governor Charlie Baker is unveiling a plan to deploy nearly $51 million from a previous round of federal aid to small businesses reeling from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Baker plans to announce the new grant program Thursday as part of a multipronged economic rescue strategy with a total price tag approaching $775 million, funded by a mix of federal and state dollars.” – “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker files interim $5.4 billion budget to cover costs in November,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “The Baker administration filed an interim $5.4 billion budget to cover costs for the next month as lawmakers and Massachusetts officials draft a final budget plan for the rest of fiscal 2021. The interim budget filed Wednesday comes as the Joint Committee on Ways and Means takes questions from cabinet officials about the revised $45.5 billion budget Gov. Charlie Baker proposed last week.” – “Baker Endorses Salem's Anti-COVID Measures,” by Isaiah Thompson, GBH News: “Gov. Charlie Baker joined Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll on Tuesday to stress the need that the historic seaside city not become the site of a mass COVID-19 spread. Salem has already effectively shut down its traditional weeks-long Halloween celebration, and will be implementing new measures to deter visitors from coming to town for the rest of October.” – RELATED: “Salem businesses to close early, limited train service to city on Halloween,” by Dustin Luca, The Salem News: “Businesses in Salem will be ordered to close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 31, one of several measures the city announced Wednesday in an effort to curb Halloween crowds in Salem due to health and safety concerns related to the ongoing pandemic. MBTA commuter rail service will also be limited over the next two weekends.” – “Massachusetts faces tight deadline to spend federal COVID funds, Baker administration official says,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “The clock is ticking for spending the roughly $550 million in coronavirus relief money Massachusetts pulled into the fiscal 2021 budget, Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan told lawmakers Wednesday. Both that $550 million for state spending and the roughly $502 million in municipal aid under the Coronavirus Relief Fund, created out of the CARES Act, has a deadline of Dec. 30. Whatever isn’t used, goes back to the U.S. Treasury.” – “MassHealth enrollment surges during pandemic,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “The state’s Medicaid program is experiencing a big increase enrollment, with officials worried about its long-term impact on state finances. MassHealth, the state Medicaid program, is meant to cover the lowest income individuals in Massachusetts but in fact, it covers more than a quarter of the state’s population.” – “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announces over $150 million for affordable housing across the state,” by Douglas Hook, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced over $150 million in affordable rental housing awards Wednesday during the Western Massachusetts Developers Conference on Wednesday, which will be used to create and preserve housing in 28 projects in 19 communities across Massachusetts, including two projects in Springfield and one in Worcester.” – “This Thanksgiving ‘might be a good year not to travel’ due to COVID pandemic, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says,” by Heather Morrison, MassLive.com: “Gov. Charlie Baker is encouraging Massachusetts residents to think about not traveling this Thanksgiving due to the coronavirus pandemic. ‘This might be a good year not to travel,’ he said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “Boston Schools Will Go Fully Remote, Walsh Says,” by Meg Woolhouse, GBH News: “Boston Public Schools will return to an all-remote learning schedule Thursday as the city’s seven-day positive test rate for the coronavirus climbs to its highest point since last May. The shift will immediately affect 2,600 high-needs students who are currently attending city schools in-person two days a week as well as students from kindergarten through third grade who were poised to return to city classrooms later this week.” – “Boston School Committee votes to drop admissions tests for city’s exam schools for one year,” by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: “After a marathon meeting, the Boston School Committee early Thursday morning unanimously voted 7-0 to approve a controversial proposal to drop admissions tests for the city’s prestigious exam schools for one year because of the pandemic, instead determining eligibility and acceptance by using grades, MCAS scores, and ZIP codes. The vote came shortly before 1:45 a.m.” – “Andrea Campbell pushing for transparency on BPS tech as district switches to remote,” by Alexi Cohan, Boston Herald: “Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell is pushing for more data on technology distribution for BPS students as classes go fully remote, but the district said more than 40,000 Chromebooks have been handed out.” – “Council mulls action on student debt,” by Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner: “City Councilors heard testimony Monday from recent college graduates and higher education activists about the impact of student loan debt on Bostonians — a crisis some characterized as a 'second pandemic' that disproportionately affects Black and Latino borrowers.” – “City Council passes proposal to keep Boston tenants informed during evictions,” by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: “The Boston City Council on Wednesday unanimously passed a measure from Mayor Martin J. Walsh aimed at keeping tenants informed of their rights during evictions, days after the state’s pandemic-induced moratorium on such actions expired. The initiative requires property owners and any constable who serves a notice-to-quit (the first step in an eviction) to also provide a document containing information about tenants' rights and the housing resources available to them.” – “The Boston-area housing market was a scorcher in September,” by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: “The region’s housing market remained red hot into the fall season, with prices and sales surging in September as would-be buyers scrambled to find new places to live. That’s according to data from the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, which said the median price of a single-family home surged 12.4 percent to $680,000, a record for the month.” – “Police chiefs cite increase in shootings in Mass., say they’re working with federal authorities to put offenders behind bars,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: “Police chiefs in Boston and other Massachusetts cities on Wednesday said they’re working with US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling’s office to bring federal firearm cases against repeat offenders, citing an uptick in gun crime in recent months and a willingness by state courts to quickly release such defendants on GPS bracelets.” | | NOVEMBER IS COMING |
| – “Nearly 1.2 million people have already voted in Massachusetts. The disparities are stark,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “One of every four registered voters in Massachusetts — and nearly 1.2 million in total — have already cast a ballot for the Nov. 3 election, underscoring a surge in early action that’s highest in wealthy, mostly white suburbs where most voters have embraced mail-in balloting.” | | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
| – “South Shore jockeying to save ferry as T eyes cuts,” by Joe DiFazio, The Patriot Ledger: “South Shore commuters and politicians are jockeying to protect the ferry service between Hingham, Hull and Boston as the MBTA eyes cuts amid declining ridership and a major potential budget shortfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic. ‘The ferry is our primary mode of public transit, so without it we would lose access to transit,’ said Jason McCann of Hull, a founder of a South Shore group called Save the Ferry.” | | BALLOT WARS |
| – FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: “Massachusetts Teachers Association Endorses Yes on 2,” from the Yes on 2 campaign: “The Yes on 2 Campaign announced today that the citizen’s initiative to bring ranked choice voting to Massachusetts has received the endorsement of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA). ‘Educators, families and students must have elected leaders who listen to them and represent them in government,’ said Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.” – “Massachusetts ballot questions: Millions pour into ‘right to repair,’ ranked choice voting debates,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “With election season in full swing, the organizers behind the two questions on the Massachusetts ballots brought in millions more in campaign contributions in recent weeks. The Massachusetts Right to Repair Committee, which seeks to give independent mechanics more access to telematics data in vehicles, reported $2.9 million in political donations between Oct. 2 and Oct. 15, the last reporting period, campaign finance records show.” | | YOU'VE GOT MAIL |
| – “Ballot blunder as New Jersey sends mail-in voting form to Massachusetts watchdog,” by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald: “In the latest ballot blunder, New Jersey is asking anyone who received a mail-in voting form who no longer lives in the Garden State to simply ‘rip it up.’ ‘That’s nuts,’ said Paul Diego Craney, spokesman for the MassFiscal Alliance. Craney, a registered Republican, said he dropped off his Massachusetts ballot at his town hall on Tuesday — and tossed the one from New Jersey. He kept his vote confidential.” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Former staffer for Boston mayoral candidate City Council President Michelle Wu sentenced to federal prison for selling cocaine, fentanyl as part of ‘Operation Landshark,'” by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: “The former director of constituent services for Boston City Council President Michelle Wu, who is running for mayor, was sentenced to serve several months in federal prison for selling nearly 350 grams of cocaine and fentanyl, authorities said. Gary ‘Jamal’ Webster was arrested in 2016 after a cooperating witness told investigators the 36-year-old man was selling controlled substances, court records showed.” | | TRUMPACHUSETTS |
| – “Right Turn: The Mass. GOP Goes All In On Trump,” by Adam Reilly, GBH News: “The last time a Massachusetts Republican was elected to Congress, it was January 2010, and the win was national news. Scott Brown, a formerly obscure state senator, topped then-Attorney General Martha Coakley in a race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy. Brown’s pitch wasn’t nonpartisan, exactly: Among other things, he vowed to oppose President Obama’s push for health care reform. But he also pitched himself as a sensible everyman who would think independently, focusing on the needs of Massachusetts rather than ideology.” | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
| – “Massachusetts is moving forward to allow a controversial new type of marijuana delivery business,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Despite pushback from some lawmakers and local municipalities, Massachusetts marijuana regulators are moving forward with plans to allow a new class of weed delivery business. During a three-hour meeting Tuesday, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission approved some ‘contentious’ changes to its draft regulations, allowing standalone recreational marijuana retailers without storefronts to deliver products to customers’ doorsteps.” | | ABOVE THE FOLD |
| — Herald: “TOO CLOSE TO CALL,” “LOCKOUT,” — Globe: “Virus on rise, Boston shuts schools to all," "Early start on ballot counting may bring clearer Nov. 3.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “This high-risk Massachusetts town hired a COVID inspector to enforce ‘vital public health regulations,’” by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: “One Massachusetts community deemed high risk for coronavirus transmission stepped up its enforcement of public health restrictions by hiring a COVID-19 inspector this month. Officials in Winthrop, who announced the hire Monday, said the new town Health Department employee will be focused on helping combat the spread of the viral respiratory infection.” – “Cape police, poll workers on alert for Election Day,” by Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times: “A contentious political climate, mail-in voting, and social distancing and mask protocols put in place because of COVID-19 promise to make this presidential election different from all the rest. Even here on Cape Cod. Communication between town clerks and police department officials has been part of the overall preparation for this election.” – “Steven Hall takes second run against Sen. Anne Gobi,” by Craig S. Semon, Telegram & Gazette: “In the Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex District, incumbent state Sen. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, is again running against Steven R. Hall, a Republican from Sturbridge who unsuccessfully challenged Gobi two years ago. The district spans 21 towns from Ashburnham and Winchendon on the New Hampshire line to Sturbridge on the Connecticut line.” – “This fall, only one Worcester Public Schools student hasn’t logged on at all for remote learning out of more than 25,000, superintendent says,” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “Attendance for remote learning this fall has been much better than in the spring when students struggled with a lack of Chromebooks and internet access, Worcester Superintendent of Schools Maureen Binienda said. In Worcester, where all students are currently learning remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic, attendance rates since school started last month have been around 93% and 94%, said Binienda, who is only aware of one student who has not logged on for a single lesson since September.” HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to state Rep. John Rogers, Jonathan Carvalho, deputy chief of staff and public information officer for the city of New Bedford and Mayor Jon Mitchell; Atlantic Council’s Trey Herr, Lindsay Kalter, Jenna Lamond, and Massachusetts Playbook #1 fan Connor Meoli, who is 26 today. 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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