| | | |  | BY STEPHANIE MURRAY | Presented by Public Transit Public Good Coalition | GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. KENNEDY'S FAREWELL — Rep. Joe Kennedy III will say a formal goodbye to Congress this morning. The congressman, whose term ends in a few weeks, will deliver his farewell speech on the House floor at around 10 a.m. Kennedy has served in Congress for eight years — he was elected in 2012 at 32 years old. He gave up his House seat to challenge Sen. Ed Markey in September's Democratic primary. Kennedy lost to Markey, and Jake Auchincloss, a former Newton city councilor and fellow Democrat, will fill his House seat. He does not regret running for the Senate, he said during an interview with Rhode Island television station WPRI, which aired Tuesday night. The four-term congressman will give another interview tonight on GBH's "Greater Boston." "I don't regret anything about that race," Kennedy said. "If we're going to do the big, hard things that are necessary in order to deliver on the change that so many want, then I think different voices have to be at the table." As for what's next, Kennedy said he's looking forward to spending more time with his family. The congressman did not rule out a role in President-elect Joe Biden's administration, or another run for office. "I've had a bunch of conversations with folks from the Biden team. Look, if there are ways I can contribute to that, great. I also like my home. And Massachusetts is home. It's where Lauren and I are raising our family. I'm hopeful this next chapter in my life means a little less time on an airplane than the last eight years," Kennedy said. Kennedy did not say whether he'll run for office again, especially on the heels of a particularly grueling primary race during the coronavirus pandemic. But he left his options open. "I think at the moment, I put everything out there over the course of the last campaign. I'm proud of the race that I ran," Kennedy said. "I think now is a time for me to spend some more time with my family, to figure out how I can continue to find ways to contribute. And if those opportunities come up again, we'll evaluate them when they do." "I wouldn't say never to anything , but I'm looking forward to this next chapter," Kennedy added. BAKER AND CUOMO RECOGNIZED FOR LEADERSHIP — Gov. Charlie Baker and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York are about to have something in common: The pair will be honored by the Kennedy Institute for their leadership during the coronavirus pandemic at a virtual event tonight. Baker and Cuomo will both receive the Edward M. Kennedy Institute Award for Inspired Leadership. The award was created to "reflect the best leadership qualities" of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who championed public service and civic engagement. The Kennedy Institute's annual event, the "Celebration of Inspired Leadership" comes at a particularly fragile time in New York and Massachusetts. Coronavirus cases are on the rise in both states, which were early hot spots during the first wave of the pandemic in the spring. Making matters more difficult is a months-long stalemate over Covid-19 relief funding in Washington. Both Baker and Cuomo have called on lawmakers to hash out a deal in recent days. Co-chairs of tonight's event include Anne Finucane, vice chairman of Bank of America and chairman of the Board of Bank of America Europe; and Martin Luther King III, human rights activists and co-founder of Drum Major Institute. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius is a guest on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio.” Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu hosts a “Millennials of Color Meet and Greet” event. Rep. Joe Kennedy III gives his farewell speech on the House floor, and is a guest on GBH’s “Greater Boston.” Rep. Lori Trahan hosts a Facebook Live discussion on challenges faced by health care workers during the pandemic, and participates in an Armed Services Committee hearing. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a guest on WBZ's “Nightside with Dan Rea.” | |
| | 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/ | | | | |
| | TRACK THE TRANSITION & NEW ADMINISTRATION HEADING INTO 2021: President-elect Biden is pushing full steam ahead on putting together his Cabinet and White House staff. These appointments and staffing decisions send clear-cut signals about Biden's priorities. What do these signals foretell? 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 |
| – “COVID cases in Massachusetts jumped 57% last week as state reports 3,627 new cases, 40 deaths on Tuesday,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “State health officials confirmed another 3,627 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the number of active cases statewide to 58,601. Tuesday’s cases are based on 58,501 new molecular tests, according to the Department of Public Health. There have now been 253,649 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Massachusetts since the pandemic began in the spring, data shows.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “Baker rolls back Mass. reopening to Phase 3, Step 1, adds other restrictions,” by Travis Andersen and Martin Finucane, Boston Globe: “Citing rising COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday moved to scale back the reopening of the state’s economy, announcing a range of measures, including closing some businesses, requiring people in gyms to wear masks at all times, and limiting meals at restaurants to groups of six for a maximum of 90 minutes.” – “Gov. Charlie Baker says Massachusetts has enough resources during COVID pandemic to avoid new eviction moratorium,” by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: “While Massachusetts officials are rolling back some aspects of reopening, don’t expect a return of the eviction moratorium anytime soon. Asked whether he would consider resuming the moratorium, Gov. Charlie Baker said the state should have enough resources for tenants and landlords behind on payments to avoid another hold on evictions.” – “How much COVID transmission is in Mass. schools?” by Naomi Martin and Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe: “When Governor Charlie Baker urged superintendents to keep classrooms open, he left a gut-wrenching question unanswered: How often is coronavirus spreading in schools? Baker says most schools should only close if they have seen in-school transmission, which he suggests is rare — an assumption seemingly bolstered by national reports of low rates of infection among those who have returned to school. Yet superintendents have publicly reported spread within their schools.” – “Mass. Lawmakers Want The State's Prisons To Move Faster On Pandemic-Related Releases,” by Deborah Becker, WBUR: “A Suffolk Superior Court Judge is reviewing an emergency motion to allow the home release of some Massachusetts prisoners due to the coronavirus pandemic. Based on documents filed in the court case, some state lawmakers are concerned that the Department of Correction has failed to implement a promised program that would allow more prisoners to finish serving their sentences confined at home .” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “Boston may weigh housing discrimination when it considers development proposals,” by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: “Development projects in Boston could soon be reviewed for housing discrimination and displacement of tenants before they win city approval, just like they are for design, traffic, and environmental issues. The City Council is set to vote Wednesday on changes to Boston’s zoning code.” – “How Has Boston Gotten Away with Being Segregated for So Long?” by Catherine Elton, Boston Magazine: “While Boston itself has certainly become less divided by race over the years, it is still nowhere near as integrated as it could be. Today, there are 10 census tracts that have a white population of 88 percent to 97.7 percent in a city that is majority minority.” – “Poll: Most Mass. Residents Willing To Take Vaccine, But Trust Is Lower Among Black, Latino Communities,” by Laney Ruckstuhl, WBUR: “A new poll finds that an overwhelming majority of Massachusetts residents are willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine, though when they might feel comfortable doing so varies across racial and socioeconomic demographics, raising further concerns about unequal immunization. The MassINC survey of over 1,100 residents found that just 7% of participants said they will never take a COVID-19 vaccine.” – “Stark inequities persist in COVID-19 testing,” by Kay Lazar and Laura Krantz, Boston Globe: “Nine months into the pandemic, the landscape for COVID-19 testing has shifted dramatically, but it continues to lay bare stark inequities. Back in March, it seemed only those with power or prestige had access to timely tests. Today across Massachusetts, there are at least 350 public testing sites, but they have a dizzying array of rules about price, hours, and whether an appointment is required.” – “Boys & Girls Clubs become remote learning centers,” by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: “Tucked inside the $46 billion state budget sitting on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk is a provision funneling $2.2 million to the Massachusetts Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs to help the facilities continue to serve as a home away from home for students doing remote learning. Sen. Eric Lesser of Longmeadow filed the budget amendment to restore state funding provided in previous years.” – “COVID vaccines could reach senior care sites this month, but daunting logistical challenges lie ahead,” by Robert Weisman, Boston Globe: “Nursing home residents and staff could start getting COVID-19 shots as soon as Christmas week, good news for a population that was ravaged by the pandemic last spring. But already administrators are wrestling with daunting logistical challenges as they try to protect their people.” – “‘Forgotten’ communities in Cape Cod, Western Massachusetts take coronavirus testing into their own hands,” by Erin Tiernan and Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: “Leaders of ‘forgotten’ communities in Cape Cod and Western Massachusetts are taking coronavirus testing into their own hands and standing up their own local sites, saying Gov. Charlie Baker’s announcement expanding access doesn’t go far enough to satisfy increasing demand in areas plagued by a dearth of options.” | | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
| – “The T’s next set of battery-powered buses wouldn’t much reduce pollution,” by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: “The MBTA has hardly been a pioneer among transit agencies in weaning itself off fossil fuels altogether, with just 33 electric-powered buses in its overall fleet of nearly 1,100, the rest mostly a mix of diesel powered or diesel-electric hybrids. But the agency is planning to take a measurable step forward in 2021 by launching a plan to buy at least 35 battery-powered buses, its biggest acquisition yet of a technology that despite its many promises is still unproven.” | | CABINET WATCH |
| – “Rochelle Walensky to have 'transformative impact' as head of CDC, say colleagues,” by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Business Journal: “In a spare moment while caring for patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, Rochelle Walensky emailed two Yale researchers she knew to say the human toll of the pandemic had become hard to bear. As chief of the division of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Harvard Medical School professor, Walensky spent her time studying public policy for the treatment of AIDS and HIV. But months into the pandemic, coronavirus had become all-consuming.” | | THE OPINION PAGES |
| – “Americans Need Help While Awaiting a Vaccine,” by Gov. Charlie Baker, The Wall Street Journal: “The seven months of hard work by the federal government and private industry will soon produce several highly effective vaccines—an example of American ingenuity. But cases are spiking again across the country, hospital beds and intensive-care units are reaching capacity, and employees who want to work, can’t because of Covid. Things feel desperate and the U.S. remains a nation at risk.” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “‘Donald Trump Was Doing Things That Were Illegal and Unconstitutional’: Massachusetts A.G. Maura Healey on Prosecuting a President,” by Emily Jane Fox, Vanity Fair: “As a new era dawns in Washington, state attorneys general, who have filed nearly 140 lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration over the last four years, are also preparing for what is to come in the next administration. It’s a welcome change for someone like Maura Healey.” – “Former GOP candidates sue Massachusetts seeking to throw out millions of mail-in, early ballots,” by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: “A federal judge laid into five failed Massachusetts Republican state and federal candidates who sued the state this week seeking to throw out millions of ballots cast in the Nov. 3 election over their claims that pandemic-related changes to voting laws were ‘unconstitutional.’” – “Pandemic problems: Court hearing halted over basic request,” by Breanna Edelstein, Eagle-Tribune: “A virtual court hearing Monday involving accused murderer William Argie stopped abruptly after the defendant asked to speak privately with his attorneys –– a complicated request in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Parties were convened on the court system’s video streaming platform to discuss pending motions, including what evidence can be presented at trial, postponed by the pandemic until June 2021.” | |
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| | | | | WARREN REPORT |
| – “Warren says she will vote against waiver for Biden's Pentagon pick,” by Jordain Carney, The Hill: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Tuesday that she will oppose granting a waiver to retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden's pick to lead the Pentagon. ‘I have great respect for Gen. Austin. His career has been exemplary, and I look forward to meeting him and talking to him more, but I opposed a waiver for Gen. [James] Mattis, and I will oppose a waiver for Gen. Austin,’ Warren told reporters.” | | MARKEYCHUSETTS |
| – “As residents grapple with COVID and harsh winter, Sen. Ed Markey, advocates call for $10B boost to low-income home energy assistance,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “With temperatures falling and COVID-19 cases rising across the country, Sen. Ed Markey and advocates urged the federal government Tuesday to boost energy assistance programs by $10 billion to help Americans heat their homes and avoid debt.” | | THE CLARK CAUCUS |
| – “Rep. Katherine Clark On The Push To Pass A COVID-19 Relief Bill Before The Year's End,” by Bob Oakes, WBUR: “Time is running out for Congress to pass a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill before the end of the year. This week, The Democratic-led House and Republican-majority Senate are expected to approve a one-week stopgap funding bill. That would allow more time to negotiate a broader spending plan, which could include around $900 billion in coronavirus relief funds.” | | TRUMPACHUSETTS |
| – “Do Trump support and COVID go together?” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Does how a city or town votes for president help predict whether that municipality will be at high-risk for COVID-19? That’s what one of our readers suggested last week after the release of the state’s report breaking communities down into four COVID categories – red for high-risk, yellow for moderate risk, and green and gray for minimal risk.” | | FROM THE DELEGATION |
| – “Following Holyoke ‘tragedy,’ Reps. Joe Kennedy III and Richard Neal introduce bill to overhaul safety standards at soldiers’ homes,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “U.S. Reps. Joe Kennedy III and Richard Neal proposed an overhaul of federal safety standards at soldiers’ homes nationwide on Tuesday, building on a Kennedy proposal earlier this year after the COVID-19 pandemic took the lives of 76 veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.” – “Jake Auchincloss sets priorities, slams Trump, GOP as he heads to D.C.,” by Julie M. Cohen, Wicked Local: “As Jake Auchincloss gets ready to begin his new job in Washington, D.C., as the U.S. representative for the state’s 4th Congressional District, he’s taking mementos of his hometown with him, including an ‘I Love Newton’ mug and an old map of Newton Centre. The former city councilor-at-large and his colleagues will be sworn into the 117th U.S. Congress on Jan. 3, 2021.” | | ABOVE THE FOLD |
| — Herald: “ROLL BACK," "GHOST TRAINS,” — Globe : “Baker tightens rules as virus cases spiral," "Ex-student alleges abuse, sues R.I. school.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “Agawam Mayor William Sapelli tests positive for COVID-19,” by Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: “Mayor William Sapelli confirmed Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend and is now self-quarantining at his home. Sapelli, in response to inquiries from The Republican, said he is not showing any symptoms related to the coronavirus, but is staying in isolation as a precaution through Dec. 16.” – “Springfield to pay $6.5 million in Mark Schand wrongful imprisonment case,” by Peter Goonan, Springfield Republican: “The City Council on Monday approved paying a $6.5 million settlement to Mark Schand, who spent 27 years in state prison for a murder he says he didn’t commit. The settlement, negotiated and recommended by the Law Department, came more than a year after a federal jury awarded more than $27 million to Schand.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “'A Matter Of Our Health': Some Mass. Municipal Leaders Vow To Get COVID Vaccine To Set An Example,” by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “With the Baker administration poised to reveal more details about the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts, local leaders are considering how to cultivate confidence among skeptical constituents. Public confidence has already been identified as a barrier as the time for scheduling and administering vaccines draws near.” – “Tewksbury teachers union votes no confidence in administration,” by Stefan Geller, The Lowell Sun: “Members of the Tewksbury Teachers Association overwhelmingly voted no confidence in the town’s superintendent and assistant superintendent on Nov. 23, accusing the two of being ‘derelict in their duty to operate the Tewksbury Public Schools.’” – “Health workers battle COVID-19 and burnout,” by Cyrus Moulton, Telegram & Gazette: “For Colleen McGuinness, a registered nurse in the critical decision unit of the emergency department at UMass Memorial Medical Center, the hardest COVID-19 moment came while setting up a call for a comatose patient and her family.”
| | MEDIA MATTERS |
| “STAT News plans major expansion following banner year,” by Sara Fischer, Axios: “STAT
News is planning a big expansion next year, thanks in part to explosive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The big picture: The health, medicine and science outlet brought in over $10 million in revenue this year — up about 66% from last year, executives tell Axios .” REMEMBERING LARRY ADAMS … “By the time he died on Oct. 29 at the age of 70, Adams had gone from a man living on the streets to a fierce advocate for the street people he viewed as his community. For years, he served as a board member of Health Care for the Homeless, collecting honors along the way for his volunteer work.” Boston Globe. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to James Pindell, Boston Globe political reporter; and Brian Muldoon.
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| | 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/ | | | | |
| | HAPPENING THURSDAY - CLOSING THE ORAL HEALTH CARE GAP : Oral health care remains out of reach or limited for millions of people living in the United States, particularly for those with low income, those living in rural communities, and in communities of color. What will it take to improve access and quality of oral care for Americans, especially for the most vulnerable? Join POLITICO for a virtual conversation exploring the challenges in oral care disparities and the policies and strategies that can help solve them. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
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