RIP BROKER FEES? — Top Massachusetts Democrats say they want to eliminate broker fees paid by tenants.
But before most renters can drop the upfront cost — usually amounting to one month's rent — from their own budget calculations, lawmakers will have to agree on what legislation changing the way fees are paid should look like.
The fiscal year 2025 budget Senate Democrats are rolling out Tuesday will include a section that would shift the responsibility of paying the fees from tenants to whoever hires a broker, according to a person familiar with the final plan, granted anonymity to discuss private details. In Massachusetts, that’s typically the landlord. The House and Gov. Maura Healey added similar proposals to their versions of the spending bill.
It’s no surprise senators are on board with the plan — it was technically their idea first. The proposal Healey included in her budget mirrored one the Senate approved in its version of the housing bond bill lawmakers passed last session, though that provision didn’t make it into the final legislation. Healey made ending broker fees as we know them one of the highlights of her budget at the start of the year — part of her pitch to make Massachusetts more affordable, a line we’re likely to hear a lot of inching toward next year’s gubernatorial election.
The House also included language in its budget that House Speaker Ron Mariano said would ensure "that the party who hires the broker ultimately pays the fee."
But his chamber’s proposal came with a caveat: Renters would still have to pay the fees if they initiate “contact” with the broker — such as by responding to a listing on a rental website.
That, some housing advocates say, creates a loophole that could mean the fees are easily tossed back onto tenants.
The broker fee debate is one more thing House and Senate budget writers will have to reconcile before we get a final spending package for the upcoming fiscal year.
It’ll have to survive the closed door negotiations – and, likely, some serious lobbying from the powerful real estate industry — before renters see relief.
GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . One thing that won’t be in the Senate’s budget: any new taxes.
“Right now, particularly with what's going on on the federal level, already grocery prices are going up, the cost of everything [is] going up,” Senate President Karen Spilka t old NBC10 Boston in an interview that aired over the weekend.
The Senate is also planning to include a $1.3 billion “boost” in unrestricted local aid in its spending plan, and the chamber is following the House in giving Attorney General Andrea Campbell a bump in her office's budget amid the flurry lawsuits her team is filing against the White House.
TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and state and local officials tour Stoneham’s downtown area and meet with local businesses at 10:30 a.m. Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Rep. Lori Trahan attend a groundbreaking for a mixed-use development at 12:30 p.m. in Littleton. Driscoll and Attorney General Andrea Campbell join a press conference on the implementation of eviction record sealing at 10 a.m. in Boston. Sen. Ed Markeyhosts a virtual roundtable on the Environmental Protection Agency’s termination of environmental justice grants at 4:30 p.m. Sen. Elizabeth Warrenjoins a rally against the nomination of Frank Bisignano for commissioner of the Social Security Administration at 6 p.m. in D.C. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a coffee hour at 9:45 p.m. in Mission Hill and speaks at a groundbreaking for the new Fields Corner Branch Library at 4 p.m. in Dorchester.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com .
DATELINE BEACON HILL
— In millionaires tax bill, House speaker carved out $25m for a parking garage in his hometown. Critics call it a ‘power play.’ by Matt Stout, The Boston Globe: “Moments before passing a bill last month about how to spend surplus cash generated by the state’s “millionaire tax,” the Massachusetts House added a final, sweeping amendment. Its biggest beneficiary: House Speaker Ron Mariano‘s hometown of Quincy, which would receive $25 million from the stockpile for a new 500-spot garage. The measure, inserted at the behest of the chamber’s most powerful Democrat, was by far the biggest local earmark House leaders added to the $1.3 billion spending bill, and made the South Shore city a winner in the jostling for the sought-after revenue.”
WATCH — Republican state Rep. Marcus Vaughn talks federal funding, the House budget and the future of the MassGOP on WCVB’s “On the Record.”
FROM THE HUB
***BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG: HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO REGURGITATE THE SAME INFORMATION? A LITTLE OCD ARE WE?****
****BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG: WHAT'S YOUR POINT? THE MAYOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RUNNING A CITY - EVEN IN HER ABSENCE! IN ADDITION, SHE HAS LEGAL REQUIRMENTS TO ADHERE TO - NOT OF HER CREATION! ****
— Boston Mayor Wu’s office trip to DC hearing cost taxpayers $10k, records show by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu dropped nearly $10,000 of taxpayer funds on travel accommodations for her March trip to Washington, D.C., where she faced down a Congressional oversight committee probing the city’s sanctuary policies. Wu brought along 11 staff members to her high-stakes D.C. appearance, at a total cost of roughly $9,909, when factoring in hotel, flight, ride-share and other accommodations, per receipts provided to the Herald after a public records request.”
MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS
****OUT OF CONTROL ICE ABUSE NEEDS TO BE REIGNED IN!***
— ICE actions at courthouses creating climate of fear for immigrants, advocates say by Dan Glaun, The Boston Globe: “One was arrested by immigration agents in the middle of his criminal trial in Boston. Another tackled by agents at a courthouse in New Hampshire, a third taken from his lawyer’s car and arrested outside the courthouse in New Britain, Conn. They are recent examples of what lawyers and advocates say are bold intrusions on the local justice system by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement that are making immigrants so fearful they are now reluctant to appear in court as victims, witnesses or defendants.”
***THESE STUDENTS HAVE NOT COMMITTED CRIMES, BUT HAVE SPOKEN OUT OR PROTESTED GENOCIDE IN GAZA - TRUMP HATES FREE SPEECH & PROTESTS THAT ARE ALLOWED UNDER THE FIRST AMENDMENT! IT'S SIMPLE:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
THOSE RIGHTS (AMONG OTHERS) PROTECTED PEOPLE FROM A KING - DELUSIONAL TRUMP MAY BELIEVE HIMSELF TO BE KING, BUT THE CONSTITUTION THAT HE IS INCAPABLE OF READING APPLIES! ****
While the government temporarily reversed many of its visa terminations late last week following dozens of lawsuits, uncertainty and fear remains across many campuses.
As WBUR previously reported, more than 100 of the roughly 80,000 international students studying in Massachusetts lost their visas before the pause.
The Trump administration "reversed course, because they were sued more than 60 times,” said Sarah Sherman-Stokes, a law professor and associate director of Boston University’s Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic. “The reason fear and uncertainty remains is because we know that the administration throws stuff up against the wall and tries to see what can stick.”
Though many students received word their visas were restored, some reported this week that they'd yet to see their statuses reversed. At Tufts University, seven out of nine terminated visas were reactivated as of Thursday.
In the high-profile case of Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts doctoral student from Turkey, her visa has not been restored. She was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in late March and remains in custody at a Louisiana detention center.
On Monday, the federal government released rules to allow ICE officials to detain students deprived of their visas and begin deportation proceedings. In the past, students who lost their visas could not reenter the U.S. if they left, but were allowed to stay on American campuses to complete their studies.
Shaking up rules to offer support
Several college leaders said as staffers and students keep a close eye on visa databases, the schools have expanded choices for international students.
Harvard College announced to prospective international students that they could create a "backup plan" for their educations by accepting admission to both Harvard and a non-American institution this year,according to the Harvard Crimson.
Northeastern said in “some cases” students couldstudy remotely, or at one of its international campuses in the United Kingdom or Canada. About 40 students and recent grads had their visas revoked — the most reported by any university in Massachusetts. Each saw their statuses restored.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst pointed its campus community to an existingemergency grant application programthat can offer students "adversely affected by changes in federal immigration" help with "legal, academic, housing, living and counseling needs." All13 international studentswho saw their visas taken away later had their statuses restored.
Some schools, like Boston University,adopted new policiesafter calls from faculty and students. In early April, students rallied outside the Dean of Students office to demand BU establish a “sanctuary campus” byimplementing measureslike barring ICE entry into private buildings without a judicial warrant. (Boston University owns WBUR's broadcast license. WBUR is editorially independent.)
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said BU is not considering remote degrees or studies at this time. It is, however, allowing students to apply for campus summer housing — and financial assistance for it — even if they are not enrolled in classes.
Students walk by a Boston University sign on Commonwealth Ave. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Sherman-Stokes said while BU’s moves are a start, she wants it and universities across the country to provide students with full legal representation and adopt policies saying they won’t cooperate with ICE. It's also important to evaluate disciplinary policies, she said, especially regarding protected free speech.
Many lawyers, politicians, free speech experts and local community members have decried what they argue is a targeted federal crackdown against students, likeÖztürk, who have spoken out against Israel's war in Gaza.
“There’s a direct line between discipline and detention," she said. Boston University "needs to be more mindful of that. It’s not inconceivable that those disciplinary records could be demanded by the Trump administration and used to target non-citizen students.”
In its efforts to ramp up pressure on Harvard, federal officials have asked the university to share disciplinary records of international students. The school did share some records, but did not specify what those documents detailed.
Sherman-Stokes said BU students have streamed into her office to share travel fears. Some aren't sure whether to upend plans to study overseas and disrupt their degree paths, she said. Others expressed worry a return home for summer break could prove disastrous when they try to return for the fall semester.
One BU student, who asked not to be identified because she fears repercussions, landed a "dream" summer internship in her home country — but hasn't yet decided if it's worth the risk. She was one of many students who sued the government after her visa was terminated last month.
Her visa status has since been restored, she said. She added that she's grateful for the university's consistent communication and its offer for her to contact university police if ICE comes to campus.
Still, she said little has been able to alleviate her anxieties over the past month.
“Getting my [visa] active feels like I can finally breathe again,” she said. “But at the same time, it doesn't erase the stress and fear that so many of us went through.”
This story is part of a partnership between WBUR and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
FROM HARVARD YARD
— Trump targets Harvard as lawmakers call for probe by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “In a letter to the acting Treasury Inspector for Tax Administration Heather Hill, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey called on her to open an investigation into “alarming reports” that Trump is pressuring the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the schools nonprofit status, forcing it to pay federal taxes.”
PAY WALL
THE RACE FOR CITY HALL
****CARPETBAGGING NEWTON NEBBISH OFFERS NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE! SPENT HIS LIFE SURROUNDED BY AFFLUENCE IN SPITE OF HIS PRETENSE! SCRUTINIZE HIS SUPERFICIAL RHETORIC! SCRUTINZE HIS CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS! HAS HE EVER HELD A FULL TIME JOB? HIS SOLUTION FOR MASS & CASS IS MEANINGLESS! YOU CAN'T PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG!****
— Josh Kraft is prioritizing winning over Black voters in Boston’s mayoral race. Is it working? by Niki Griswold and Tiana Woodard, The Boston Globe: "More than two dozen interviews with Black Boston voters, including some civic leaders and political strategists, indicate Kraft will find at least some willingness to hear his message in these communities, but he has a lot more work to do before November."
YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK —Lisa Field ,a Taunton Democrat running to fill the seat held by late former state Rep. Carol Doherty, is out with a new digital ad touting her experience working for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, co-founding the group Clean Air Taunton — and taking on Democratic Gov. Maura Healey and Steward Healthcare, to “fight healthcare cuts.”
“I know what families in Taunton and Easton are going through because I’ve lived it,” Field says in the 66-second long video . Her campaign is putting $10,000 to run the ad on Facebook and streaming services.
***BOSTON HERALD PROPAGANDA RAG - WE CAN EXPECT GLOSSY WARPED COVERAGE OF THE WEALTHY MAGA GOP CLOWNS - IF THIS UNKNOWN WEALTHY CANDIDATE HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE STATUTE, WHY DIDN'T HE CHALLENGED THE LIMITS WITH THE SJC? TOO CHEAP?
"R" VOTERS NEED TO SCRUTINIZE THESE WEALTHY MAGA GOP CLOWNS WHOSE FAILURES COST TAXPAYERS $$$$!
MIKE KENNEALY IS JUST ANOTHER MAGA GOP FLUNKIE!
NO ONE IS CONTRIBUTING TO HIS CAMPAIGN:
“This is a request to offer protection for Mike’s family in the unlikely event of an unforeseen tragedy, but if the request isn’t granted, Mike will be contributing $1.8 million,” Hincher said in a statement to the Herald Saturday.
Kennealy raised more than $311,000 in April, a majority of which came through a $200,000 loan to himself, according to his campaign and state data.
A spokesperson for the Office of Campaign and Political Finance declined to comment on the request.
In the letter to campaign finance regulators, Ashby points to the Jan. 30, 1976, U.S. Supreme Court opinion in the case of former U.S. Sen. James Buckley of New York versus Francis Valeo, the then-secretary of the U.S. Senate and ex officio member of the Federal Election Commission.
Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan said Massachusetts voters “have no interest in weak leadership that refuses to stand up to Donald Trump’s actions that hurt Massachusetts every day.”
“The majority of his April fundraising comes from a personal donation because he has no real grassroots support. Voters are sending a clear message: we need a governor who will stand up to Donald Trump, not on the sidelines like MAGA Mike Kennealy,” Kerrigan said in a statement to the Herald.
Kennnealy is the only Republican to have formally entered the 2026 gubernatorial election.
BRAIN DEAD BRIAN SHORTSLEEVE DID WHAT FOR THE MBTA & LEFT A DISASTER BEHIND? FUND RAISING FOR CORRUPT DESANTIS? MASSACHUSETTS DOESN'T NEED ANOTHER INCOMPETENT!
Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA executive who helped fundraise for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, previously said he is considering a bid and enlisted the services of a well-known Republican strategist.
excerpt:
Kennealy made the pitch through an attorney weeks after he launched his bid for governor with a pledge to seed his campaign with $2 million from his own personal wealth. His campaign said that waiving the loan limit is necessary to “protect” Kennealy’s family in the event of a “tragedy.”
WHAT TRAGEDY?
THE MEDIA GAVE THE WHITE TOOTHED GUV A FREE PASS FOR ALL THE DAMAGE HE CAUSED, LEFT BEHIND A DISASTER AT THE MBTA, CHINESE RAIL CARS, DEFECTIVE TRACKS THAT CHARLIE WAS AWARE OF, LEFT BEHIND $2.1 BILLION DEBT....
NOTE TO MAGA CANDIDATES: YOU WERE IN OFFICE WHEN THE WHITE TOOTHED GOVERNER CREATED THE DISASTERS ON THE MBTA...WHERE WERE YOU?
CHARLIE BAKER HIRED OVER PAID OUT-OF-STATE HACKS WHO NEVER TRAVELED TO THE COMMONWEALTH TO OVERSEE CONSTRUCTION & MUCH ELSE!
CHARLIE BAKER WAS FULLY AWARE THAT NEWLY INSTALLED RAILS WERE DEFECTIVE YET NEVER ADDRESSED IT LEAVING IT TO NEWLY ELECTED GOV. HEALEY...
AND THEN THERE'S THE MISSPENT BILLIONS CHARLIE BAKER LEFT THAT WILL BE PAID BACK....WHERE WERE THESE WEALTHY MAGA CANDIDATES WHO WERE IN OFFICE WHEN THIS HAPPENED?
Massachusetts owes the federal government $2.1 billion. Here's why.
— GOP’s Mike Kennealy petitions Mass. regulators not to enforce campaign loan limit law by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Republican gubernatorial hopeful Mike Kennealy petitioned the state’s campaign finance office this past week to reconsider Massachusetts’ $200,000 limit on the amount of cash a candidate for governor can loan themselves each election, according to a letter penned by a D.C. lawyer. Kennealy made the pitch through an attorney weeks after he launched his bid for governor with a pledge to seed his campaign with $2 million from his own personal wealth. His campaign said that waiving the loan limit is necessary to ‘protect’ Kennealy’s family in the event of a ‘tragedy.’”
As of the end of April, Kennealy had $256,716 in the bank — well below the $2,886,578 Gov. Maura Healey had on hand at the end of March, and roughly half of the $510,269 Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, the state’s top elected Republican, had in his campaign account at the end of April.
FROM THE 413
— Amherst’s $103.3M budget plan nearly meets school requests by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “A $103.3 million fiscal year budget that goes most of the way toward meeting the spending requests from the Amherst and Regional school committees, while leaving six full-time and one part-time municipal positions vacant and assorted Jones Library staff positions unfilled, is being delivered to the Town Council.”
PAY WALL
TRUMP/MUSKRATS ARE SLASHING FUND FOR THE LEAST AMONG US TO FUND TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY!
Shortly before temperatures began to drop last fall, Kim Basinger’s landlord informed her that she would need to put the utilities in her name.
For the past six years, utilities had been included in Basinger’s monthly rent in her North Adams apartment, which meant that she hadn’t budgeted to cover her winter heating bills. Anxious about the additional cost, Basinger, a single mom of four, remembered a fuel assistance program she’d used when she was pregnant with her first child and gave the agency a call.
A staff member at Berkshire Community Action Council picked up the phone. They assured Basinger that the program was still up and running, and helped her open an application.
“I work every day and pay what I can, so it was a relief to me that I actually was able to get some help because I wasn’t quite sure if I’d be able to manage that with everything else,” Basinger said.
Every year, more than 8,000 low-income households apply for fuel assistance through BCAC. The overwhelming majority — many of them seniors, people with disabilities and single-moms like Basinger — have applied for fuel assistance in the past, and rely on the program to keep their homes heated during the frigid winter months, said Tammy Biagini, who directs the fuel assistance program.
Every year more than 8,000 low-income households apply for fuel assistance through BCAC. The overwhelming majority — many of them seniors, people with disabilities and single-moms — have applied for fuel assistance in the past, and rely on the program to keep their homes heated during the frigid winter months.
But recent federal staffing cuts and funding uncertainty has added a new instability to this program that helps more than 14 percent of Berkshire households.
Early last month, the Trump administration abruptly fired the entire staff running the federal Low Income Home Energy Program, including the federal office in Boston that administers fuel assistance funding to low-income families across New England and in the Berkshires.
The firings initially left states waiting on the last 10 percent of the money Congress allocated for the program — and no sense of when they might see it. BCAC Executive Director Deborah Leonczyk said agencies now expect to receive the remaining 10 percent of fiscal 2025 funding this month.
The Trump administration fired the staff that runs the Low Income Home Energy Program. What will that mean in the Berkshires?
But now the people who administer and receive fuel assistance are facing something even more concerning, Leonczyk said. The Trump administration's fiscal 2026 budget, unveiled Friday, proposes a $4.025 billion cut to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, alleging that federal employees and certain states like New York and California abuse the program.
"The Budget proposes to end this program and to instead support low-income individuals through energy dominance, lower prices, and an America First economic platform," the budget reads.
“Last time we talked I said, ‘We don’t want to make waves. We don’t want to be a target.’ Now we’re in fighting mode,” Leonczyk said. “We’re fighting for our own existence.”
Berkshire Community Action Council Executive Director Deborah Leonczyk said the Trump Administration’s fiscal 2026 budget proposes cutting all funding to the Low Income Energy Assistance program. “We’re fighting for our own existence," she said.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Berkshire residents who have accessed fuel assistance in the past and may continue to apply for the program today refute the common claim that people on fuel assistance are “abusing the system.”
“It’s our family. It’s our neighbors. It’s members in our community who need this for survival,” said Stephanie Martin. “I always tell people go talk to somebody who has been on fuel assistance and what it does for them.”
'EVERYBODY NEEDS HELP NOW AND THEN'
When Basinger first accessed fuel assistance she was 17-years-old, and had just given birth to her first child. For a few winters, the funding kept her apartment heated, and because of that, her fridge stayed stocked and her rent paid.
Then Basinger moved into a house where utilities were included in her monthly rent, and she no longer needed to apply for fuel assistance. For six years, she didn’t have to worry about finding extra money to cover her heating bill — until her landlord informed her last fall that utilities would no longer be included in the rent
Around that same time, her car started to act up, and Basinger knew she didn’t have the money to cover both.
“I hadn’t planned on paying a gas bill because it was included. I was like 'This is another expense that I don’t have,’” Basinger said.
Basinger works Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., when she has to leave to pick up her daughter before the day care closes. Since she can’t pick up more hours during the week, Basinger said she works a private cleaning job on Saturdays.
“That’s extra money for if the kids want pizza,” Basinger said. “My Saturdays are money to save for my car issues or if my kids want to go to Ready Set Play or something.”
With the help of fuel assistance, Basinger said she was able to lower her heating expense, and stay on top of her bills throughout the winter.
Berkshire Community Action Council is located at 14 Maplewood Ave. in Pittsfield. The agency helps county resident access human services, including federal fuel assistance programs. Leaders in the organization say the federal funds that help keep the heat on in homes across the country are at risk of being completely cut by the Trump administration.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
“Everybody needs help every now and then, and if it gets taken away there’s going to be a lot of people that are going to struggle and go without heat and possibly have serious consequences,” she said.
'ANYBODY COULD NEED TO ACCESS IT'
Helen Gancarz has been receiving fuel assistance for so many years she can’t quite recall when she first heard about the program. But she said she doesn’t know what she’d do without it.
“I’d probably lose the house if I didn’t have fuel assistance to help,” said Gancarz, who owns a home in Adams. “I live on Social Security and that’s it. I’m too old to work and get a job.”
Fuel assistance helps 73-year-old Gancarz pay for other necessities like food, electricity and medical care. It also allows her to keep making headway on her mortgage, and maintain the independence she so values.
“I don’t have to worry about neighbors because I have my own house. I don’t have to be quiet,” Gancarz said.
Martin said she never imagined she would need to access fuel assistance. Then the perfect storm hit — she was laid off from her job in the tech industry and her husband finished his seasonal job as a landscaper in the midst of building their home in Cheshire and having their second child.
“It’s our family. It’s our neighbors. It’s members in our community who need this for survival,” said Stephanie Martin, who received fuel assistance over 20 years ago when finances were tight. “I always tell people go talk to somebody who has been on fuel assistance and what it does for them.”
“I didn’t anticipate 9/11 hitting and the businesses crashing and financial hardship and then finding out no one is hiring,” said Martin. “None of that I could really plan perfectly for.”
Martin went a year unemployed before opening up a day care in her home. She and her husband began dipping into their savings to cover costs, and started accessing fuel assistance to afford their winter heating bill.
“There were so many things that were bleeding our funds dry. Fuel assistance was absolutely necessary for us to survive," Martin said.
After a few years, the family got their feet back under them and Martin said they no longer needed fuel assistance.
“I ended up going back to a professional career and built myself back up again, but I don’t think we would have been able to keep our new house that we had just built if we didn’t have access to the services,” Martin said.
Martin now works as a finance wellness coach and volunteers on the BCAC board of directors.
“Literally anybody can have that situation happen to them,” Martin said. “If anything, the pandemic has taught us that people who have had steady jobs and work hard may not get a paycheck. How do you survive that?”
— As construction costs rise, some in Cambridge question the city’s affordable housing rules by Andrew Brinker, The Boston Globe: “Cambridge is one of many local communities that require most new housing developments to include units set aside at below-market rents — in its case, 20 percent of the building, which is among the highest rates in Greater Boston — with the intention of creating more affordable homes in a city that is starved for them. But housing is so expensive to build right now that some developers say that this so-called inclusionary housing requirement may be backfiring, making otherwise profitable projects too costly to build and stopping them before shovels hit the ground.”
— In light of saint statue brouhaha, Quincy may get new arts commission by Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger: “Amid controversy over two Roman Catholic statues that will adorn the façade of the new public safety headquarters, two city councilors and Mayor Tom Koch have proposed a new commission to review future plans for public art in the city.”
— Razor-thin Somerset selectmen race spurs opponents to protest 'dirty politics' by Dan Medeiros, The Herald News: “The recent Board of Selectmen election may have been decided earlier this month, but the campaign is not quite over. About a dozen people belonging to a group calling itself the Somerset Integrity Coalition stood outside Somerset town offices on Wood Street before the April 30 Board of Selectmen meeting, holding signs decrying what they say is ‘abuse of power,’ ‘dirty politics’ and a ‘cover up’ in town regarding the recent election of Selectman Todd Costa.”
President Donald Trump is not committing to upholding the Constitution as he continues his sweeping deportation agenda.
Critics and some judges hold that theWhite House has undermined due process rightsin its push to quickly detain and deport migrants in the United States. Trump has repeatedly signaled that his priorities lie elsewhere.
“Some of the worst, most dangerous people on Earth,” Trump told host Kristen Welker in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” And I was elected to get them the hell out of here and the courts are holding me from doing it.”
THERE IS NO PROFF THAT TRUMP'S PROPAGANDA IS TRUE!
During the interview, Trump pointedly did not agree with the notion that the Fifth Amendment grants citizens and non-citizens alike the same legal rights.
“I don’t know. It seems — it might say that, but if you’re talking about that, then we’d have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials,” Trump told Welker. “We have thousands of people that are some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on Earth.”
The White House has empowered judges to dismiss asylum cases without a hearing, stopped funding for legal aid for unaccompanied migrant children and sought to pave the way for expanded use of expedited removal.
Asked by Welker if he needed to uphold the Constitution as president, Trump was uncertain.
“I don’t know. I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said,” Trump said. TRUMP LACKEYS DEFIED THE SUPREME COURT ORDER!
But just over 100 days ago, Trump swore on behalf of the fabled document in taking his Oath of Office: “I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” he said.
The White House in March seized upon a 1798 law to deport hundreds of immigrants that the administration deemed gang members to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, notorious for its harsh conditions.
One of the men was Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvador despite an immigration court order barring his return to the country over fears he could be persecuted by a local gang. The White House has acknowledged it erred in deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, but has steadfastly maintained it doesn’t have the power to force Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, a Trump ally, to send him stateside.
This, despite a Supreme Court ruling unanimously compelling the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return.
***TRUMP HATES FACTS, INFORMATION & EDUCATION! PBS/NPR & INDEPENDENT MEDIA PROVIDE SERVICES FOR LOW INCOME PEOPLE IN THE DESERTS OF PROPAGANDA SUCH AS SINCLAIR PROPAGANDA! WIDE SWATHS OF OUR NATION ARE DENIED CABLE ACCESS & INTERNET ACCESS FOR INFORMATION BY REPUBLICAN DESIGN! MANY COMMUNITIES LACK LOCAL LIBRARIES THAT WOULD PROVIDE INTERNET CONNECTIONS! REPUBLICANS HATE INFORMED VOTERS!
REPUBLICANS LIE BECAUSE NO ONE WOULD ELECT THEM OTHERWISE!
SUPPORT PUBLIC RADIO TO CONTINUE TO REPORT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING & FACT BASED INFORMATION!****
SPOTTED — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Boston College softball game over the weekend, per an eagle-eyed Playbook reader.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Endpoints’ Nicole DeFeudis, Nicole Serrano, Brian Fry and Jedd Ari Fisch. Happy belated birthday to Sara Axon, who celebrated Sunday.
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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