| | |  | BY STEPHANIE MURRAY | Presented by Uber Driver Stories | GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday! Let’s start with some personal news... EXCLUSIVE: NEW PLAYBOOK WRITER! — After more than two years and 600 newsletters (really, today is my 600th edition of Massachusetts Playbook) this is my last week. I’m moving over to POLITICO’s campaigns team to write our Morning Score newsletter. I’ll spare you the sappy goodbye until Friday. For now, I’ll just say thank you. Being part of your morning means the world to me. And without further ado, some very exciting news: Massachusetts Playbook will soon be in the hands of the unbeatable Lisa Kashinsky. Lisa is no stranger to the newsletter – her byline is in Playbook daily because she's been crushing the Massachusetts politics beat for years. As a friend and soon-to-be colleague, I can't wait to see what she does with Massachusetts Playbook. More from the editors: “Lisa Kashinsky will join us April 30 on Massachusetts Playbook. Lisa joins us after two years covering state and national politics for the Boston Herald, during which she provided sharp analysis of the marquee Kennedy-Markey Senate matchup and put a lot of miles on her car racing up to New Hampshire to lob questions at presidential hopefuls and potential voters. Her extensive reporting on the intersection of the coronavirus pandemic, politics and policy on Beacon Hill and beyond has driven entire news cycles and led to her selection as a National Press Foundation statehouse fellow.” Follow Lisa on Twitter! AND NOW, THE NEWS … NEW: ROLLINS STILL IN THE MIX FOR U.S. ATTORNEY — Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins is saying privately she is still a contender to be the next U.S. attorney for Massachusetts. The progressive prosecutor hasn’t been chosen yet, but the scramble to fill her current seat is already beginning. This all started with a tweet. A week or two ago, a since-deleted post falsely said that Rollins was leaving her role as district attorney, and would be replaced by Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty. Rollins quickly squashed the rumor with a tweet of her own. “Sad world we live in when fools - who can’t spell my name correctly & don’t know me - speak & people listen. FYI, when DA’s leave, at least all the men that did before I was elected, they recommend (tell) the Governor who should replace them. Going back to real & serious things,” Rollins wrote on Twitter. So the initial tweet was wrong. But the speculation it sparked about Rollins’ next move was real, which is why I'm telling you about a deleted tweet in the first place. Months ago, it was reported that Rollins was one of four contenders to be the next U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, a position appointed by the president. An alleged road rage incident seemed like it might hurt Rollins’ chances, but she was cleared of any wrongdoing when Attorney General Maura Healey investigated the claim, and again by the state Ethics Commission. Rollins is saying privately she is in the mix for U.S. attorney. That false tweet from earlier this month came up in a recent discussion that included Rollins, according to state Rep. Russell Holmes. “We all had to ask the question,” Holmes told me. “The DA said yes it’s real, she’s going through the final stages of the process.” Rollins’ office told me it is “not news” that she is a contender for the U.S. attorney job. But her recent conversation is a sign she’s still a serious candidate, and shines some light on the status of the lengthy selection process. Typically, the U.S. attorney pick is announced in the early fall, around September, and confirmed by the Senate in November or December. “It is not news that DA Rollins and several other qualified candidates are being considered for U.S. Attorney,” a Rollins spokesperson told me in an email. “The DA has said it is an incredible honor to even be in the running for the position. The DA remains focused on her elected job as Suffolk County’s chief law enforcement officer.” Because this is Massachusetts and dominoes are always falling, political watchers are already buzzing about who Rollins’ successor might be. If there’s a vacancy, Gov. Charlie Baker would appoint someone to fill the seat until it is on the ballot in 2022. Flaherty is widely considered to be someone interested in the job, and Holmes said he’d like to see the ACLU’s Rahsaan Hall fill the seat. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. | |
A message from Uber Driver Stories: Meet Olivia. Because of her multiple sclerosis (MS) and fibromyalgia, Olivia has trouble standing for long periods of time. A traditional 9-to-5 job just won’t work for her. Driving with Uber gives Olivia the flexibility to decide when to work, when to spend time with her family, and when to focus on rest. Watch her story in her own words below. | | | | |
| | JOIN TODAY FOR A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH ENERGY SECRETARY GRANHOLM : President Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure and climate plan includes boosting investment in clean energy and significantly cutting fossil fuel emissions. Can the administration meet its climate targets? Join Playbook co-author Tara Palmeri for a virtual interview with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on the administration's plans to embrace renewable energy, electric vehicles and new solar technologies as part of Biden's call for an energy transition. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
| – “Massachusetts reports 1,085 new COVID cases, 6 more deaths Sunday as 2.3 million people are fully vaccinated,” by Benjamin Kail, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts public health officials on Sunday reported 1,085 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths linked to the virus. The number of active cases now stands at 29,563, down from Saturday’s 29,717, showing a continued decline over the last week, according to data provided by the state Department of Public Health.” | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – “Debate opens Monday on $47.6 billion proposed House budget,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “House lawmakers on Monday are set to open debate on a $47.6 billion proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The House’s fiscal year 2022 budget avoids any new broad-based taxes while also avoiding service cuts. To square a nearly $1.2 billion boost in spending, lawmakers have proposed drawing $1.9 billion from the state’s shrinking rainy-day account — an amount in line with other pandemic-era budgets.” – “Mass. education board member apologizes for ‘insulting’ comment after Lawrence mayor calls for his resignation,’” by Felicia Gans and Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: “State education board member Michael Moriarty apologized Friday for comments he made about Lawrence and Holyoke schools this week after Lawrence Mayor Kendrys Vasquez called for his resignation. Moriarty’s comments came during a Tuesday meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, where members were asked to delay the state’s annual performance reviews of school districts due to the cancellation of MCAS exams in 2020.” – “Restrictions work, says man who brought Massachusetts gun deaths to record low,” Sarah Betancourt, The Guardian: “No one knows the numbers better than John Rosenthal, a co-founder of Stop Handgun Violence, a Boston-based non-profit. He has discussed the issue with presidents, governors, a supreme court justice and even the former head of Smith & Wesson. Largely thanks to his efforts, the state has the lowest US gun death rate.” – “Tarr seeks limits on use of reserve fund,” by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: “The Senate's Republican minority leader is pushing for limits on the use of the state's "rainy day" fund, with a proposal that would require a supermajority vote by the Legislature to approve any future drawdowns. Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, wants to amend the state Constitution to require a two-thirds vote of the 200-member Legislature to approve withdrawals from the reserves.” | | VAX-ACHUSETTS |
| – “Massachusetts cities ramp up outreach efforts as vaccine hesitancy wall looms,” by Lisa Kashinsky and Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Dr. Richard Herman thought the ‘floodgates would open’ on April 19 when all adults became eligible for a coronavirus vaccine in Massachusetts. But the phones at Brockton’s Board of Health weren’t exactly ringing off the hook this past week, and slots for a city vaccination clinic on Saturday were slow to fill up.” – “State expects about 4,000 Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 doses this week,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts is expected to receive about 4,000 doses of one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, according to the state, after federal officials allowed health providers to resume its use following reports of a rare, though serious, blood-clotting condition.” | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “Amid ‘constant crisis’ since Chauvin trial, preachers at Boston’s Black churches pray for a ‘healed land,’” by Lucas Phillips and Gal Tziperman Lotan, Boston Globe: “After another week of headlines about Black Americans dying at the hands of law enforcement, leaders of Boston’s Black churches again took to the Sunday pulpit to comfort their communities, calling on them to lean on their faith.” – “Students K-8 will fully return to in-person learning in Boston Monday,” by Mark Gartsbeyn, Boston.com: “Spring break is coming to a close, and Boston students from kindergarten to 8th grade will return to fully in-person learning Monday, April 26. The reopening will also include high schoolers in Boston’s special education schools.” – “Bank of America pledges $1 million to King Boston efforts, the biggest corporate gift so far,” by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: “The fund-raising efforts to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife. Coretta Scott King. in Boston are finally approaching the organizers’ $15 million goal — and a million-dollar gift from Bank of America is helping them get there.” – “Virtual, in-person, no-guests: College graduation ceremonies vary widely this year, leaving parents and students feeling like they’re missing out,” by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: “It’s not every day that Harvard’s graduating seniors are envious of their peers. But when it comes to this year’s graduation ceremonies, which the college will hold virtually in late May, there’s more than a little bit of wistful yearning among Harvard’s students.” – “They say reimagine the police. What would that look like?” by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: “Picture a public safety system where social workers — not armed police officers — respond to 911 calls for substance abuse or mental health emergencies. Most low-level offenses would be resolved outside of court, including driving infractions, which would be handled by unarmed traffic monitors, not police.” | | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL |
| – “Is Janey in violation of the city charter?” by Colman M. Herman, CommonWealth Magazine: “What’s in a title? Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey thinks a lot. Janey refers to herself as ‘Mayor Janey’ in her bio and in the many press releases she puts out, although the city charter specifically states that she shall be called ‘acting mayor.’” | | YOU'VE GOT MAIL |
| – “We Mailed 100 Letters to Test The Postal Service. We Did Not Get Speedy Delivery,” by Paul Singer, GBH News: “On Monday morning April 5, a GBH News editor dropped a letter into a mailbox outside the U.S. Post Office in Central Square in Cambridge. The letter was addressed to a family member in Memphis, Tennessee. Nearly three weeks later, that letter has not arrived.” | |
| |  
| | | | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Federal corruption trial of former Fall River mayor Jasiel Correia to begin,” by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: “In July 2018, Fall River’s brash, young mayor, Jasiel F. Correia II, knew the FBI was investigating his past financial dealings in a tech startup when he showed up at the home of a mayoral aide to collect a bribe from a marijuana company looking to open a dispensary in the city, according to federal prosecutors.” – “UMass poll finds 'surprising' public agreement on verdict in Floyd murder,” by Larry Parnass, The Berkshire Eagle: “The survey, conducted with WCVB, found that out of 1,000 people asked, nearly 70 percent believe Chavin’s two guilty verdicts in the murder of George Floyd last May in Minneapolis, as well as a third count of manslaughter, were justified.” | | BIDEN TIME |
| – “‘The truth has won out.’ Boston-area Armenians react to Biden’s genocide declaration,” by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: “Herman Purutyan was in front of the computer at his home in Concord on Saturday, refreshing the White House website as he waited for President Biden to release a proclamation 106 years in the making.” - “'Of course it’s genocide': How Biden fulfilled a promise to Armenians that Obama wouldn’t,” by Natasha Korecki. POLITICO: “On the campaign trail in 2019, Biden was at a Boston-area fundraiser hosted by Larry Lucchino, former Boston Red Sox president and CEO, when he saw Anthony Barsamian, co-chair of the Armenian Assembly of America, and reached out his hand. “I know how important the Armenian Genocide is to you. Of course it’s genocide,” Biden said, according to Barsamian. “ I didn’t even need to say anything. He led with that.” - “Why Biden’s Armenian Genocide Declaration Really Is a Big Deal,” by Charlie Mahtesian, POLITICO: “Whether it’s the Armenian American communities of California or Boston or Chicago or Detroit or Philadelphia or anywhere else, we have been trapped in a mourning period with no end, a funeral cortege with no destination, so long as the truth of what happened in 1915 was denied and the searing experiences of loved ones went unrecognized.“ – “Young people are politically engaged, pro-Biden, and depressed, study finds,” by Zoe Greenberg, Boston Globe: “Young millennials and members of Gen Z are strongly supportive of President Biden, hopeful about the state of the country, and far more likely to be politically engaged than their predecessors, according to a new youth poll conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics.” | | FROM THE DELEGATION |
| – “Elizabeth Warren and Katherine Clark press Joe Biden to up childcare funding in new plan,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “President Joe Biden is planning to unveil a new bill next week to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in childcare, paid leave, and education. According to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Katherine Clark, it needs to include more money for childcare.” | | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
| – “He helps put the emerald in the Emerald Necklace,” by Thomas Farragher, Boston Globe: “He’s in the green business, a man whose professional life is devoted to keeping Boston’s 40,000 street trees alive and well — green and growing — and forever climbing for the sky.” – “Throwing up roadblocks to Quebec hydro-electricity,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Offshore wind appears to be slowly getting back on track, but Massachusetts’ other big bet on clean energy – hydroelectricity from Quebec – is far from a sure thing. A proposed transmission line carrying the hydropower down into New England is facing two potential roadblocks — a ballot challenge in Maine this fall and a looming deadline for a needed equipment upgrade at the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant in New Hampshire.” | | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE |
| – “Vice President Kamala Harris promotes infrastructure plan in visits to Plymouth, Concord,” Tim Callery, WMUR: “Vice President Kamala Harris touted the administration's infrastructure plan Friday during a trip to New Hampshire. The vice president said the American Jobs Plan will not only improve local roads and bridges, but will also bring technology to smaller towns, all while creating jobs and boosting the economy.” | | ABOVE THE FOLD |
| — Herald: “RIGHT AT HOME," "BORDERING ON NEGLECT,” — Globe: “CAPS and FROWNS," "The divide is wide between parties on racial justice.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “Whose mountain is it?: State stakes claim on old Mount Tom quarry as owners seek bankruptcy protection,” by Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: “The state is moving to claim ownership of the former Mount Tom quarry to stop the current owners from converting the 16-acre site into a clean-fill operation in which truckloads of soil would be dumped in the massive crater on the side of the mountain over the next 20 years.” – “Alternative police services option proposed in Amherst,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “An unarmed and civilian program whose workers would respond to many calls for service in place of town police officers is being proposed by the Community Safety Working Group. The group is also proposing a robust Civilian Oversight Board to monitor police.” | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “St. Vincent Hospital nurses, Tenet Healthcare set to resume negotiations 3 p.m. Monday,” by Telegram & Gazette: “As a labor strike here enters its eighth week, negotiations between St. Vincent Hospital nurses and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare will resume 3 p.m. Monday. The talks will be the first to occur since a contract discussion stalemate last month over improved staffing and patient safety saw the nurses move to strike March 8 with support from the Massachusetts Nurses Association.” | | MEDIA MATTERS |
| – “Why Bay Windows And The South End News Are Being Put Up For Sale,” by Hannah Uebele, GBH News: “Sue O’Connell, co-owner of Bay Windows and the South End News, spoke to Boston Public Radio on Friday about why she and her co-owner Jeff Coakley are putting their publications up for sale.” TRANSITIONS – Aaron Agulnek is launching Boston-based 27 South Strategies, a government and community relations practice, and leaving his role as director of government affairs for Jewish Community Relations Council. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to former Rep. Niki Tsongas , who is 75; Katie Prisco-Buxbaum, campaign manager for Andrea Campbell’s mayoral bid; AKPD Message and Media’s Larry Grisolano, who is 57; Ronald Leibowitz and NBC10’s Nathalie Sczublewski. NEW EPISODE: RECOUNTING THE DAYS – On this week’s Horse Race podcast, hosts Jennifer Smith, Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray discuss the race for mayor of Boston, and the Boston Globe’s Matt Stout breaks down a legal battle involving the secretary of state, the city of Boston and the MassGOP. 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 Uber Driver Stories: When Olivia was diagnosed with MS in 2017, it became clear to her that having a regular job would no longer be possible.
“I drive with Uber because I love to drive,” she says. “It just puts the MS far out of my head. There’s no way I could work a regular 9-5.”
With Uber, Olivia can choose when, where, and how long she wants to drive. This flexibility lets Olivia be there for her daughter and for her own health needs.
If she’s not feeling well, or her daughter needs her, she doesn’t have to worry about asking her boss or requesting time off—she can take the time she needs to focus on herself and her family.
To see more stories like Olivia’s, click here.
*Driver earnings may vary depending on location, demand, hours, drivers, and other variables. | | | | |
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