| | | |  | BY STEPHANIE MURRAY | Presented by Public Transit Public Good Coalition | GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy early Thanksgiving! I’m grateful for the opportunity to show up in your inbox every morning, and I hope you find a safe way to celebrate the holiday this year. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will not publish Thursday, Nov. 26 and Friday, Nov. 27. I’ll be back in your inbox Monday, Nov. 30. THANKSGIVING PREP IS UNDERWAY— Thanksgiving is going to look a lot different this year. Massachusetts is in the middle of a surge in Covid-19 cases, and officials are urging people to stay home and celebrate with immediate family to avoid spreading the virus. But an influx in coronavirus tests over the last week is a sign that some people plan to travel for the holiday, Gov. Charlie Baker said earlier this week. And plans are already underway for what comes after Thanksgiving. Littleton school officials are asking parents to sign a form pledging that they did not gather in large groups for Thanksgiving before children can to return to class. The Cambridge City Council is pushing for the city to shut down indoor dining. And Salem is preparing to expand free coronavirus tests for residents after the holiday. According to a nationwide survey, a majority of Bay State families are keeping their Thanksgiving celebrations small this year. Around a quarter of people in Massachusetts plan to spend Thanksgiving with people outside their household, according to a Dynata survey published by the New York Times. That's a higher percentage than people in neighboring states Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island, but slightly less than New Hampshire residents, according to the survey. If cases continue to rise after Thanksgiving, which is likely, expect state officials to face added pressure to shutter in-person schools and call off indoor dining. For now, that's not happening. Baker has pushed back on calls to close schools and restaurants, pointing to Massachusetts figures which show the virus is spreading fastest at informal gatherings, especially those without masks and social distancing. Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus said his city is "desperately" trying to avoid an indoor dining shutdown, during an interview on the "Talk of the Commonwealth" radio show yesterday, citing the economic toll closures would have on the city's restaurants. Worcester has imposed stricter restaurant rules than the statewide guidelines. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — Rep. Katherine Clark is a guest on “Morning Joe.” Rep. Richard Neal and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno visit Oasis Food Bank in Springfield. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh hosts a media availability to discuss Covid-19. | |
| | A message from Public Transit Public Good Coalition: We need a transit system that works for all. This means safe, affordable, and accessible service for all communities. Even as COVID-19 has reshaped our lives, public transit remains essential to the riders who make hundreds of thousands of trips a day, especially to the frontline workers who have kept our communities running during the pandemic. The MBTA’s Fiscal Management and Control Board should vote no on service cuts. Join the fight at http://publictransitpublicgood.org/ | | | |  | THE FIFTY |
| – “How 9 governors are handling the next coronavirus wave,” by Rachel Roubein and Shia Kapos, POLITICO: “President Donald Trump hasn’t been leading on the coronavirus and governors are again in charge of the nation’s response. They’re reacting with a patchwork policy that’s unlikely to head off the long-warned ‘dark winter’ in America.” | | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Massachusetts reports 2,225 new COVID cases, 20 deaths on Tuesday,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “State health officials confirmed another 2,225 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of active cases to 40,449 statewide. The new positive cases are based on 80,819 molecular tests, according to the Department of Public Health. Massachusetts now has 204,060 confirmed cases of the respiratory infection.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “The Legislature’s ‘black box’ committees,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “After months and even years of public debate, the fate of six key pieces of legislation is now in the hands of just 29 lawmakers. The lawmakers are charged with resolving differences between House and Senate bills dealing with the state budget, police reform, climate change, economic development, health care, and transportation bond funding.so-called conference committees on which these lawmakers serve are ‘black boxes’ whose inner workings are unknown.” – “Massachusetts education officials considering at-home MCAS testing in the spring during COVID pandemic,” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “With the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System scheduled to be administered this winter and spring during the coronavirus pandemic, one teacher said it will be a ‘logistical nightmare’ for districts that have been fully remote to administer the test.” – “1-on-1 With Massachusetts First Lady Lauren Baker,” by Alison King, NBC10: “With COVID-19 still raging Massachusetts First Lady Lauren Baker knows it will be a difficult holiday season for most. ‘This is hard on us, just like it's hard on everybody,’ she told NBC10 Boston. ‘We miss hanging out with our family and friends. I haven't been able to see my parents in a year.’” | |
| | TRACK THE TRANSITION: President-elect Biden has started to form a Cabinet and announce his senior White House staff. The appointments and staffing decisions made in the coming days send clear-cut signals about Biden's priorities. Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, it tracks the appointments, people, and the emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “A database of 10 years of Boston Police disciplinary action,” by Brendan McCarthy and Evan Allen, Boston Globe: “Amid heightened scrutiny of law enforcement across the nation, the Boston Globe sought to assess the extent of misconduct and discipline within the Boston Police Department. The City of Boston does not provide a comprehensive, transparent system that allows residents to keep tabs on its police. So, the Globe decided to amass public records, cross reference the data, and create its own.” – “Prodded by Racial Reckoning, Colleges Aim To Increase Minority Contracting. Will They Succeed?” by Kirk Carapezza, GBH News: “As the first chief procurement officer of the University of Massachusetts, David Cho centralized spending across the system's five campuses, giving him the opportunity to analyze the diversity of its vendors. What Cho found in that data earlier this year was admittedly not great.” – “Enrollment in Massachusetts public schools has dropped by 37,000 students during COVID pandemic; more than half of students now ‘high needs,’” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, schools in Massachusetts have seen a decline in enrollment by more than 37,000 students, education officials said Tuesday. Young learners represent a majority of the decrease, officials said, and some of those students may return to the state’s school system.” – “Surge in demand at food pantries called ‘mind-boggling,’” by David Abel, Boston Globe: “They’ve come in heavy rain and waited in long lines in the morning cold, some in tears, sharing stories of desperation, of lost jobs, sick relatives, empty bank accounts, a pervading sense of hopelessness as winter nears. At the Family Pantry in Harwich, Christine Menard arrived this week to find dozens of people waiting before the pantry opened for free turkeys — something she had never experienced before.” – “The Greater Boston housing market is hotter than ever, with one exception: downtown,” by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: “Greater Boston’s housing market remained red-hot in October, with prices surging and the number of sales at record highs. All except for in one place: Downtown. The recent split between increased sales of single-family homes in the suburbs and declining sales of urban condominiums ― particularly high-end condos in the the core of Boston ― became more marked as the fall housing market hit its peak.” – “It may look more crowded at the supermarket, but stores say they’re still playing it safe,” by Andy Rosen, Boston Globe: “Early on in the pandemic, many people went grocery shopping as infrequently as possible, lining up outside stores on a mission to stock up like they were preparing for the apocalypse. Workers, meanwhile, wore protective equipment and ― in some cases — received hazard pay for their bravery. Nearly nine months into the COVID-19 era, however, a sense of normalcy ― or at least routine ― has returned.” – “Back-to-Back Earthquakes Are a Reminder: Massachusetts Is on Shaky Ground,” by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: “If you’re the average Massachusetts resident, earthquakes are probably about the millionth thing on your mind—especially, you know, right now. But after a pair of them shook the South Shore this month—first, a rumbly 3.6 magnitude quake on November 8, followed by a gentler one registering a 2.0 on the Richter scale on Sunday—experts on the geological phenomena hope Bay Staters will take some time to acknowledge the truth.” – “Harvard gets its first Black, elected student body president,” by The Associated Press: “A 20-year-old from Mississippi has become the first Black, elected student body president at Harvard University. Noah Harris, of Hattiesburg, was elected president of Harvard’s Undergraduate Council on Nov. 12, the Hattiesburg American reports. He is a junior who is majoring in government and co-chairs the Undergraduate Council’s Black caucus.” | | HEALTH CHECK |
| – “Study: Lax behaviors of Mass. residents has contributed to second COVID-19 wave,” by Arianna MacNeill, Boston.com: “As Massachusetts enters the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s one factor that could either help or hurt the spread of cases within the next few weeks: human behavior. The key is how humans behave during this time, according to a study published by a group of researchers at Northeastern, Harvard, Rutgers, and Northwestern universities.” – “975 Doses Per Delivery And Other Coronavirus Vaccine Details For Massachusetts Hospitals,” by Martha Bebinger, WBUR: “Doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, the first expected to gain federal approval, could arrive in Massachusetts in mid to late December. Hospitals should expect 975 doses in each cooler, identify their first 975 frontline staff who will receive it and then the next 975.” – “What does it mean when you have COVID-19, but you don’t know how you contracted it?” by Deanna Pan, Boston Globe: “You’re fastidious about hand-washing. Your social calendar primarily includes trips to the supermarket and Zoom happy hours. You’ve perfected the art of turning down invitations to parties, weddings, and Scrabble nights, until a coronavirus vaccine becomes available. But somehow, somewhere you still got infected with COVID-19. What gives?” – “Nurses’ union: Healthcare workers still ‘exhausted and traumatized’ from first surge,” by Arianna MacNeill, Boston.com: “With the second surge of COVID-19 bearing down on Massachusetts, the largest nurses’ union in the state, representing thousands of nurses and healthcare workers, has voiced concern over workers being ‘already exhausted and traumatized’ from the initial surge in the spring.” | |
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| | | | | CABINET WATCH |
| – “Biden keeps the peace with first Cabinet picks,” by Holly Otterbein and Laura Barrón-López, POLITICO: “Progressives don’t love Joe Biden’s first round of cabinet picks. But they can live with them. Antony Blinken? A ‘solid choice’ for secretary of State, according to Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign manager. Alexandra Rojas, executive director of the left-wing group Justice Democrats, said she is ‘encouraged’ that Biden tapped John Kerry as his international climate czar. Elizabeth Warren said Janet Yellen, Biden’s expected nominee for Treasury secretary, would be ‘outstanding.’” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Maura Healey is suing Boston Sports Clubs for unfair billing practices,” The Associated Press: “The Boston Sports Clubs gym chain continued to charge membership fees even after closing its facilities in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, then failed to refund those fees when requested in violation of state consumer protection laws, the Massachusetts attorney general’s office said in a lawsuit Tuesday.” – “'We've Never Seen These Orders Issued Before': New Deadlines In Immigration Court Have Attorneys Scrambling,” by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: “Immigration attorneys in Boston say new filing deadlines could, in some cases, mean the difference between their clients being able to stay in the U.S. or being ordered removed from the country. The new deadlines were established by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), an office of the Department of Justice which oversees the nation's immigration courts.” – “Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber seek second delay in replying to prosecutors’ bid for SCOTUS review of case after death penalty vacated,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are seeking a second delay in responding to the Justice Department’s request for the US Supreme Court to review a ruling that vacated his death sentence, legal filings show.” | | MARKEYCHUSETTS |
| – “Sen. Ed Markey pledges to fight for better severance packages, protections for laid off Boston Marriott Copley workers,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “Sen. Ed Markey on Tuesday pledged to fight for laid off workers of Boston Marriott Copley Place, arguing employees have been left in the cold with sudden terminations, no insurance and unexpectedly reduced severance packages.” | | THE CLARK CAUCUS |
| – “Rep. Katherine Clark On Her New Role, What Lies Ahead For Congress, And Divided Democrats,” GBH News: “When Rep. Katherine Clark was elected Assistant Speaker of the House last week, she became the second most-powerful Democratic woman ever in Congress. She joined Jim Braude to discuss the new role, concerns about divided Democrats in Congress and whether lawmakers might ever reach another coronavirus relief deal.” | | TRUMPACHUSETTS |
| – “Trump made gains in urban areas of Mass.” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: “Voting trends that showed shifts in heavily Hispanic communities in Massachusetts toward President Trump in this month’s election are also apparent in other urban areas, including huge swaths of Boston, results that seem to defy expectations that four years of often racially-charged rhetoric from the president would further depress his already weak standing in communities of color.” | | ABOVE THE FOLD |
| — Herald: “FREQUENT FLYER," "SUBTRACTION,” — Globe: “Public schools take hit in pandemic," "'I've never seen anything like this kind of need,'" "With so much spread, virus harder to avoid.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “Williams prof disavows own finding of mishandled GOP ballots,” by Francesca Paris, The Berkshire Eagle: “A Williams College professor has apologized for a ‘lack of clarity and due diligence’ after his statistical analysis of Pennsylvania mail-in votes was used by conservative lawmakers to push unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.” – “In lawsuit, public defenders say Springfield is stonewalling requests for police misconduct records,” by Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: “Massachusetts public defenders are asking the courts to force the city to turn over internal police records regarding a number of officers accused of misconduct or civil rights abuses in recent years. The state Committee for Public Services on Friday filed a complaint in Hampden Superior Court claims the city has ignored a request for public records for nearly a year.” – “COVID Can’t Stop a 277-Year-Old Town Hall Tradition,” by David Kidd, Governing: “The citizens of Pelham, Mass., filed into their new meeting house for the first time on April 19, 1743. They have continued to do so, at least once annually, uninterrupted, for the next 277 years. Still the site of the town’s annual meeting, the Pelham Town Hall has the distinction of being the oldest meeting house in continuous use in the United States.” | |
| | DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT 2020: POLITICO will feature a special edition Future Pulse newsletter at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators determined to confront and conquer the most significant health challenges. Covid-19 has exposed weaknesses across our health systems, particularly in the treatment of our most vulnerable communities, driving the focus of the 2020 conference on the converging crises of public health, economic insecurity, and social justice. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage from December 7–9. | | | | | | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “Salem plans to add additional resident-only COVID-19 testing,” by Erin Nolan, Berkshire Eagle: “The city wants to add additional, resident-only COVID-19 testing after Thanksgiving. The exact dates and locations of this drive-thru testing, offered through the Salem Coronavirus Awareness Network, are still to be determined, according to Dominick Pangallo, the mayor's chief of staff.” – “Six NB bars fined for violating COVID-19 regs,” Standard-Times: “The Health Department has issued fines to six New Bedford businesses for failure to comply with the city’s COVID-19 regulations. The regulations are designed to protect city residents, a press release from the city said.” – “Ashburnham police arrest man who spat at hikers, claiming he had COVID-19,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Police in central Massachusetts have arrested a man who spat at two female hikers claiming he had COVID-19, after confronting them for not wearing masks on a popular trail near the New Hampshire border. Ashburnham police announced Tuesday afternoon that Hale Powell, a 71-year-old Westford resident, is being charged with assault and battery, as well as making a false threat of a biological agent.” – “Norwell schools budget for full time, in-person schooling,” by Wheeler Cowperthwaite, The Patriot Ledger: “Norwell school officials say they are not planning to wait until 2022 to go to full in-person learning, despite rumors circulating on social media. Superintendent Matthew Keegan said confusion appears to have started after the school committee discussed the budget assumptions for the 2022 budget.” – “Pilgrims who sought freedom, denied same to Wampanoag,” By Emily Clark, Cape Cod Times: “The traditional Thanksgiving story tells of a friendship between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, who helped the European settlers to survive. But for many Wampanoag, Currence said of his paradox, Thanksgiving marks the attempted obliteration and annihilation of their people and culture, as the children of the Pilgrims who sought land, independence and religious freedom denied those rights to the Wampanoag.” – “Retailers Scramble To Fill Early Demand For Christmas Trees,” by Marilyn Schairer, GBH News: “On 112 acres of rolling hills in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, Dan Pierce and his wife grow thousands of Fraser firs, balsam firs and blue spruces. He expects to sell more than 2,000 of them this Christmas season.” TRANSITIONS – Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian was appointed to a new steering committee to guide Justice Counts, a national initiative to improve the availability and utility of criminal justice data. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Leah Regan and Allie Strom. HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY – to Ben Gubits and Bob Dunn, who celebrate Thursday. And to the Boston Business Journal’s Catherine Carlock, who celebrates Friday. HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND – to Saturday birthday-ers Sarina Tracy and Doug Rubin of Northwind Strategies, Deloitte’s John Kim, state Rep. Louis Kafka, Nicole Dungca, Terry MacCormack, Erin Forry and Glen Johnson. And to House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s chief of staff Seth Gitell, Katherine Forde, Dominique Manuel, Trent Spiner and Maddie Kilgannon, who all celebrate Sunday. | |
| | A message from Public Transit Public Good Coalition: The essential workers we rely on during the pandemic need reliable and uncrowded public transportation to get to and from work safely. Service and job cuts not only threaten the frontline workers who rely on the T; it would also leave thousands of people without access, threaten our environment, and delay our economic recovery. The MBTA’s Fiscal Management and Control Board members should vote no on service cuts. Join the fight at http://publictransitpublicgood.org/ | | | 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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