| | |  | BY STEPHANIE MURRAY | Presented by the American Heart Association | GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Welcome to December! POLICE REFORM ON THE MOVE — Six months after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, Beacon Hill lawmakers are poised to vote on a much-anticipated police reform bill in Massachusetts as soon as this week. The push comes after months of protests across the country in the wake of Floyd's death. The state House and Senate passed respective versions of the bill over the summer; a conference committee of lawmakers negotiated a compromise for months behind closed doors. The 129-page compromise bill was released Monday evening, and both chambers plan to meet in formal session today. House Speaker Bob DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka said in a joint statement that the legislation is "intentional in bringing better transparency and accountability to policing in Massachusetts." The proposed law would create a commission to standardize the certification, training and decertification of police officers, ban the use of choke holds and limit the use of deadly force, according to a bill summary. Additionally, the bill would create a "duty to intervene" for police who witness officers using unnecessary force, and place a moratorium on facial recognition technology. The bill would also put some limits on qualified immunity, the judicial doctrine that shields public officials from being personally liable for violating constitutional rights, for officers whose conduct results in decertification. It would establish a commission to more broadly study qualified immunity. The Legislature's two-year session was set to end July 31, but it was extended due to the coronavirus pandemic. If approved by the House and Senate, the legislation would go to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk. The governor presented his own police reform proposal in June. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh briefs reporters on the coronavirus pandemic at City Hall. | |
A message from the American Heart Association: The facts on sugary drinks are simple. They pose a real health risk. Kids especially are drinking too many of them. All those sweet drinks contribute to major health problems, like diabetes and heart disease. And with Massachusetts already spending nearly $2 billion per year treating obesity-related diseases, we need to address the problem. Massachusetts should take a page from a growing number of places across the country and adopt a tax on sugary drinks. Learn more here. | | | | |
| | 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. | | | | | |  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Massachusetts reports 1,166 new COVID cases, 25 deaths Monday as hospitalizations rise to 1,174,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “State health officials confirmed another 1,166 coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the number of active cases to 43,856. Monday’s cases are based on 29,195 new molecular tests, according to the Department of Public Health. There have now been 218,329 confirmed cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “Lawmakers unveil police reform compromise after months of secret negotiations,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts legislative leaders said Monday they reached an agreement on ‘landmark’ policing legislation that would create a new system for holding officers accountable, including stripping them of legal protections in some cases of misconduct. The 129-page compromise bill announced by a committee of House and Senate members capped four months of behind-closed-doors negotiations in which leaders from both chambers worked, they said, to meet the calls of demonstrators who took to the streets this spring and summer pushing for reform.” – “Beacon Hill Moves Toward Making State Spending More Minority Friendly,” by Mike Deehan, GBH News: “After years of criticism by civil rights groups and reports by GBH News that the state is not fulfilling its commitments to patronize minority-owned businesses, lawmakers are considering empowering the office that oversees state supplier diversity.” – “2 Mass. Prisoners Hospitalized With COVID-19 Die A Day After Being Granted Medical Parole,” by Deborah Becker, WBUR: “Criminal defense attorneys are criticizing how the Massachusetts Department of Correction handles medical parole cases and reports prisoner deaths from COVID-19 following several outbreaks of the virus inside state correctional facilities over the past six weeks. The attorneys pointed to the deaths of two prisoners who were granted medical parole only after they were hospitalized with COVID-19. In both cases, the men died less than a day after they were granted medical parole.” – “Top Baker aide says full steam ahead with TCI,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Gov. Charlie Baker’s top environmental official indicated on Monday that the administration is moving full steam ahead with a regional effort to put a price on the carbon contained in motor vehicle fuels. The governor himself has sent signals in recent weeks that his administration was re-evaluating its support for the so-called transportation climate initiative, or TCI, given the downturn in driving prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.” – “Is Massachusetts Shaming Divorced Parents?” by Catherine Elton, Boston Magazine: “In the 1990s the Massachusetts legislature and courts determined that it would be in the best interests of children for all parents who are splitting up—no matter how amicably, no matter how long they have been living apart—to take a class about the effects of divorce on children. Using videos, PowerPoint presentations, and breakout discussion groups, the courses emphasize that it isn’t good to fight in front of children and seek to improve relations between divorcing parents.” – “Beacon Hill goes green: Pilot program looks to swap gas lights for LEDs,” by Ainslie Cromar, Boston.com: “Tucked behind the golden dome of the State House on the North slope of Boston’s historic Beacon Hill neighborhood is Temple Street, a picturesque scene dotted with lampposts that stay lit by a flickering flame day and night. But soon, the methane-fueled fire may be swapped for its more energy-efficient counterpart: an LED bulb.” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “So you had a nice Thanksgiving, but you might have been exposed to the coronavirus. Here’s what public health officials say you should do,” by Martin Finucane, Boston Globe: “The best official advice was: Don’t travel — and celebrate Thanksgiving only with your own household. But some people certainly did travel and gather in larger groups for the turkey, the fixings, and the holiday cheer. Now, some may also be learning they were exposed to the coronavirus during the get-togethers.” – “Despite COVID-19 spike, patients are urged to not skip medical appointments,” by Kay Lazar, Boston Globe: “Health leaders, even as they confront a tidal wave of COVID-19 infections, are urging anxious patients not to defer critical screenings and appointments as they did during and in the weeks after the spring surge of the virus.” – “Are Mass. Schools Safe As COVID-19 Rates Rise?” by Meg Woolhouse, GBH News: “At Clark Avenue Middle School in Chelsea, there's this surprising sight: students sitting at desks, in a community with one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in Massachusetts. They come to school to put on their headphones and log into classes remotely. Like a silent rave, a dozen classes occur simultaneously, but the room is mostly quiet.” – “Massachusetts small businesses closed by coronavirus at 37%: Report,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “As the coronavirus pandemic has triggered shutdowns and restrictions across the state, a staggering number of small businesses in Massachusetts have closed their doors amid plummeting revenues, according to Harvard researchers. The number of Bay State small businesses that are open has dropped by 37% since the start of the year, the researchers at Opportunity Insights estimate on their Economic Tracker.” – “Parents concerned about PB & J Café that opened next to Boston Children’s Museum,” by Steve Annear, Boston Globe: “Peanut butter and jelly are a perfect match, most would agree. But the pairing of a new PB&J cafe and a children’s museum has sparked calls for a quick separation. The Boston Children’s Museum and an adjacent storefront and cafe responded to a cascade of comments this weekend from parents on Facebook, many expressing concerns that children with peanut allergies would be accidentally exposed to the eatery’s namesake dish: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.” – “Market Basket to pay $17.5M to settle lawsuit over retirement plan,” by Greg Ryan, Boston Business Journal: “The company that operates Market Basket has agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit that claims it mismanaged its retirement plan for employees by making super-conservative investments.” – “We asked officials about law-breaking Boston police officers. Here’s what they said,” by Andrew Ryan and Evan Allen, Boston Globe: ““Boston police officers accused of crimes face a much kinder, gentler justice system than civilians, according to a new Globe investigation. Allegations that would likely get anyone else arrested disappear into drawn-out internal affairs investigations that rarely end with criminal charges or firing, even when the department concludes that officers broke the law.” | | HEALTH CHECK |
| – “Covid-19 Likely in U.S. in Mid-December 2019, CDC Scientists Report,” by Betsy McKay, The Wall Street Journal: “The new coronavirus infected people in the U.S. in mid-December 2019, a few weeks before it was officially identified in China and about a month earlier than public health authorities found the first U.S. case, according to a government study published Monday.” | | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
| – “Thanksgiving Travel Out Of Logan Was Down Compared To Last Year, But Up From Weeks Prior,” WBUR: “New Massport data show passenger traffic increased around Thanksgiving, but it was still well below last year's numbers. More than 111,000 people departed from Logan International Airport last week. That's down 73% from 2019, but it's a 32% increase compared to the first week of November.” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “DA Rachael Rollins Plans To Re-Examine 'Dirty' BPD Officers In Sean Ellis Case,” by Tori Bedford, GBH News: “With a new Netflix documentary bringing renewed attention on the case of Sean Ellis, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins says she plans to re-examine the case. ‘This is not the last time you'll hear me speaking about Sean Ellis,’ Rollins said on Greater Boston Monday.” – “Healey not saying why she didn’t join Apple lawsuit,” by Colman M. Herman, CommonWealth Magazine: “Attorney General Maura Healey is refusing to say why she never joined a large coalition of attorneys general who sued Apple and recently won a $113 million legal settlement, which probably would have netted the state millions of dollars. A Healey spokeswoman declined to speak on the record about Healey’s reasoning.” – “Mob-related extortion case involving Anthony Scibelli plods along in federal court,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “An extortion case against city resident Anthony J. Scibelli continues to move at a glacial pace in U.S. District Court. Not much of note has developed in the case over the past several months, as criminal prosecutions for defendants out on bail have fallen near the bottom of the priority list during the COVID-19 pandemic.” | | WARREN REPORT |
| – “Elizabeth Warren voices support for Bedford native Neera Tanden’s nomination to run Biden’s budget office,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Neera Tanden could face stiff Republican opposition to her nomination to join President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet. However, the Bedford native at least has one of the left’s most influential voices on her side. A spokesperson for Sen. Elizabeth Warren confirmed Monday afternoon that the Massachusetts Democrat plans to vote to confirm Tanden, who Biden nominated earlier in the day to be his administration’s Office of Management and Budget director.” | |
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| | | | | THE CLARK CAUCUS |
| – “Katherine Clark on what it means to become the second-highest ranking woman in Congress,” by Errin Haines, The 19th: “When the 117th Congress begins in January, Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Katherine Clark will become the second-highest ranking woman in Congress after Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the second woman ever to be elected to one of the top four positions in leadership in the House of Representatives.” | | MEANWHILE IN VERMONT |
| – “Bostonians Are Moving to Vermont—and Vermonters Aren’t Happy About It,” by Mike Ross, Boston Magazine: “The man in the yellow Subaru was not happy when he spotted my Massachusetts license plate. My wife and I were parked outside the farmer’s market in South Hero, Vermont, one of four northern islands in Lake Champlain near the Canadian border. I couldn’t hear the exact words, but through his wildly gesticulating hands and angry looks, the message seemed clear: ‘They’re coming from Massachusetts and bringing COVID with them!’” | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
| – “Massachusetts approves new marijuana delivery rules, as dispensaries threaten lawsuit,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “Massachusetts marijuana regulators approved final regulations Monday that pave the way for a new type of business to deliver adult-use cannabis to residents’ homes. But not if the state’s existing marijuana dispensaries have their say on the matter.” – “No marijuana ‘apocalypse,’ but legalization brings concerns,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “When Massachusetts voters were considering the 2016 ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana sales, opponents, including Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, and a raft of public health and safety officials, raised concerns about everything from youth use to drug trafficking to impaired driving.” – “‘Part of something historic and monumental’; Cannabis Control Commission thanks outgoing Commissioner Britte McBride,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “Members of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission on Monday lamented the exit of outgoing Commissioner Britte McBride, thanking McBride for her service and dedication to establishing regulations that could bolster the durability and safety of the commonwealth’s young marijuana industry.” | | ABOVE THE FOLD |
| — Herald: “LOW-GRADE WIN," "TAPPED OUT,” — Globe: “Moderna seeks emergency vaccine OK," "State plan tightens oversight of police," "R.I. opens field hospitals as cases surge” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “Pittsfield restaurant owners push back on in-person dining suspension; mayor to meet with petitioners Tuesday,” by Amanda Burke, The Berkshire Eagle: “Almost three weeks into the suspension of indoor dining in Pittsfield, several local restaurateurs are fed up. And on Monday, representatives of six popular eateries brought their message directly to City Hall. The Board of Health issued an emergency order Nov. 12 suspending indoor dining, after Mayor Linda Tyer and city health officials determined that table service was contributing to surging coronavirus infections in the city.” – “Pittsfield Plan To Evacuate Parks Tuesday Looms Over Unhoused Residents,” by Josh Landes, WAMC: “A plan to remove unhoused residents living in city parks is set to go into effect in Pittsfield, Massachusetts Tuesday. Pittsfield’s unhoused population has been thrust into the limelight in 2020 amid much-criticized efforts on the part of the city to provide shelter for the dozens without permanent residences during the COVID-19 pandemic.” – “Baystate Health tops 100 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 for first time since May,” by Peter Goonan, Springfield Republican: “Baystate Health topped 100 patients hospitalized with coronavirus on Monday, marking the highest daily number since mid-May. Dr. Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, said there were 103 patients with COVID-19 at Baystate Medical Center and other Baystate hospitals, as of Monday morning.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “National Guard helping set up DCU field hospital,” by George Barnes, Telegram & Gazette: “With supply-filled tractor-trailers, the Massachusetts National Guard arrived at the DCU Center early Monday to help set up a field hospital for COVID-19 patients. The operation is expected to help increase hospital capacity if pandemic cases continue to increase this winter.” – “Methuen police chief doled out favors to councilors after they made him one of the nation’s highest-paid law enforcement officers,” by Andrea Estes, Boston Globe: “The Methuen City Council had just approved a contract that would make police Chief Joseph Solomon one of the highest-paid law enforcement officers in the country, setting him up to earn $326,707 in 2019. Councilors would later say they didn’t know what was in the contract, but not a single member asked any questions before the February 2017 vote.” – “Should Taunton City Council return to the chamber? The majority voted no, but it was close,” by Susannah Sudborough, Taunton Daily Gazette: “As Taunton's COVID-19 cases trend in the wrong direction — a percent positivity rate of 4% for the last two weeks — Taunton City Council considered whether to move to in-person meetings in their newly renovated chamber at City Hall on Summer Street. The newly renovated Taunton City Hall is ready to use, but City Council cannot yet meet there because of the coronavirus pandemic.” – “In North Attleboro, the 't' in Chestnut Street is not only silent, it's not there,” by Tom Reilly, Sun Chronicle: “‘Can you tell me how to get to “Chesnut St.?’ Well, no, not really. That’s because it exists only on the detour signs around the ongoing Chestnut Street bridge replacement project in North Attleboro, thanks to a subcontractor who, as Public Works Director Mark Hollowell joked, ‘didn’t use spellcheck.’” – “Cape Cod Healthcare prohibits hospital visitors, with few exceptions,” by Cynthia McCormick, Cape Cod Times: “As the number of coronavirus cases on Cape Cod continues to climb, Cape Cod Healthcare officials announced they are closing their doors to visitors in all but a few circumstances. The new visitation restrictions that went into place Monday allow patients at the end of life to have two visitors and women in labor to have one support person for the duration of their stay.” – “Lowell to offer free drive-up coronavirus testing for residents,” by Alana Melanson, The Lowell Sun: “On Thursday, the city will offer free COVID-19 testing for Lowell residents only at Cawley Memorial Stadium, the first in a series of free testing opportunities in December. The Thursday testing session will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the stadium parking lot, located at 424 Douglas Road. It is a drive-up only site, and residents must register for specific time slots in advance.” | | MEDIA MATTERS |
| – “Gannett’s staff reductions, asset sales take toll on Boston-area newspapers,” by Don Seiffert, Boston Business Journal: “Gannett’s aggressive cost-cutting measures have taken a toll on its papers in the Boston area, with at least a dozen journalists at four of its local dailies taking buyouts in the past month, several more leaving for other reasons and an effort to sell its building in Taunton. In recent weeks, staffers of the Taunton Gazette and the Brockton Enterprise — who have been working remotely since March due to the pandemic — were told that the newsroom at 5 Cohannet St. in Taunton will be closing permanently.” TRANSITIONS – Aisha Miller will serve as chief of civic engagement for the city of Boston. – Reesa Fischer is leaving NAIOP Massachusetts and joining Keller Augusta as national managing director of business development and strategy based in Palm Beach. NAIOP is promoting Taylor Pederson to vice president of programs and education and Anastasia Nicolaou to vice president of policy and public affairs. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to John Murray and Joe Murray, the official twins of Mass Playbook; and Jennifer Jordan. NEW EPISODE: TALKING TURKEY – On this week’s Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela, Jennifer Smith and Stephanie Murray discuss voting trends with MassINC’s Rich Parr, and look at regional differences in what people eat for Thanksgiving. 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. | |
A message from the American Heart Association: The facts on sugary drinks are simple. They pose a real health risk. Kids especially are drinking too many of them. All those sweet drinks contribute to major health problems, like diabetes and heart disease. And with Massachusetts already spending nearly $2 billion per year treating obesity-related diseases, we need to address the problem. Massachusetts should take a page from a growing number of places across the country and adopt a tax on sugary drinks. Learn more here. | | | | |
| | NEXT WEEK - 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. | | | | | | |
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