POLITICO NIGHTLY: Contagion locked up

By Renuka Rayasam with Josh Gerstein Presented by The Mortgage Bankers Association PRISON OUTBREAK — President Donald Trump’s ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort got out of prison today , drawing attention to the largely hidden coronavirus crisis behind bars and squishy rules for pandemic paroles. Critics see political favoritism at work . They note that Manafort — sentenced to seven-and-a-half years — had served a bit less than two and wouldn’t otherwise have been on the priority list for release for at least a year. Current federal guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus call for home confinement for some prisoners who have served at least half of their sentences or have less than 18 months to go. Manafort wasn’t due out until 2024. Beyond the questions of a double standard is how the virus has spread like wildfire in the close quarters of many prisons. At one federal prison in Lompoc, Calif., more than 75 percent of inmates have tested positive — so many that authorities built an on-site hospital. More than 4,100 federal inmates tested positive at some point, and 51 have died from Covid-19. The numbers mushroomed in the past week or so, with broader testing finally rolling out. An even bigger problem looms in state and local jails and prisons, which account for more than 90 percent of the incarcerated population. A single prison in Marion, Ohio, reported more than 2,100 cases. The statistics suggest virtually every inmate there has been infected. States and localities have ordered special releases of inmates . The Justice Department has, too, moving more than 2,500 inmates to home confinement in the last six weeks or so. A little-noticed emergency provision in federal coronavirus rescue aid legislation gave Attorney General Bill Barr authority to send home prisoners, like Manafort, who otherwise would not have served enough time to qualify for home confinement. Some federal prisoners who’ve served as little as 25 percent of their sentences qualify for release under the current criteria, which are aimed at protecting public safety, but seem certain to exacerbate racial and ethnic disparities. The one wild card: Trump. When he was asked in April about the virus’ dangers to prisoners, he downplayed the risks and claimed most prisoners are young and unlikely to get badly ill. Then he attacked state and local officials for releasing too many inmates, while boasting: “I have not done that at all … I don't like that. I don't like it.” He even said he might take some unspecified action to block those releases. The administration is appealing a ruling from a federal judge ordering the transfer or release of hundreds of inmates after a virus outbreak in an Ohio prison. It’s not clear if Trump even knows that his administration has sent about 2,000 inmates home since he bragged about his opposition to releases. Also unclear is whether the spate of attention to Manafort’s release could prompt the president to reassess his view that prisoners are getting off easy because of the pandemic. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition. This Atlanta reality star has been charged with bank fraud for using PPP money for personal expenses including a Rolex, Rolls Royce and paying child support. Reach out with tips: rrayasam@politico.com or on Twitter at @renurayasam.   A message from The Mortgage Bankers Association: Individual Needs. Individual Solutions. We understand that mortgage relief is not one-size-fits-all. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many Americans in unique financial situations. That’s why we encourage you to contact your mortgage company if paying your mortgage poses a financial hardship. There are options to help meet your needs. MBA.org/consumerinfo   First In Nightly BACK TO THE FUTURE — Health insurers that fled Obamacare in the law’s early years are now looking to the market exchanges as their best hope in a crashing economy, health care reporters Dan Goldberg and Susannah Luthi write. With tens of millions of people losing their jobs — and their health coverage — along with major cuts to Medicaid, the stability of a government-subsidized private insurance program could be a lifeline to a $1 trillion-plus industry looking to turn profits and keep enough healthy enrollees. It’s a major turning point after years of political attacks and volatility for the law, which the Trump administration is fighting to end in court. The ACA business "is as vital and viable as it's ever been," Centene CEO Michael Niedorff told investors when he raised the health insurer’s revenue forecast for this year, even with unemployment reaching levels not seen since the Great Depression. Nightly Number 26.8 million The number of people who could lose employer-sponsored insurance as a result of being laid off during the pandemic, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Of them, 6.1 million are children.   JOIN TOMORROW - WHY IS THE INCARCERATION RATE OF WOMEN RISING? Women are the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population in the United States, increasing at a rate nearly double that of men over the past 35 years. Join Women Rule Editorial Director Anna Palmer tomorrow at 3 p.m. EDT for a virtual conversation with April Grayson, campaign surrogate and statewide coordinator for the Young Women's Freedom Center; Scott Budnick, founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC); and Emily Ratajkowski, model, actress and activist. Learn about the challenges women face behind bars and how they fit into the criminal-justice reform movement. Have questions? Submit yours by tweeting it to @POLITICOLive using #AskPOLITICO. REGISTER HERE.     From the Health Desk PASS FAIL — A rapid coronavirus test used to screen White House staff and visitors may miss up to half of infections detected by other tests on the market, writes health care reporter David Lim. The preliminary research from New York University, which has not been peer reviewed, found that Abbott’s test missed a third of infections when sample swabs were stored in chemicals and more than 48 percent when sample swabs were kept dry. HHS testing czar Brett Giroir touted the Abbott test at a Rose Garden press conference Monday as “highly sophisticated.” More than 235,000 of the rapid tests have been sent to public health labs across the country and over 90,000 have been provided to the Indian Health Service, he said. Abbott spokesperson Darcy Ross said that the NYU researchers used the rapid test platform “in a manner that it’s not intended to be used.”     Agriculture SWAP MEAT — Plant-based meat is booming, spurred by slaughterhouse shutdowns, supermarket shortages and other pandemic-induced problems in animal-based meat supply chains, Michael Grunwald emails us. Impossible Foods expanded its retail footprint 18-fold last month, while Beyond Meat has more than doubled its revenues from last year. The boom was happening even before coronavirus tore through more than 100 U.S. meat and poultry processors, cutting U.S. pork production in half and limiting Costco customers to three meat items per visit. A record $824 million was invested in alternative protein companies in 2019, and the Good Food Institute reported today that a stunning $930 million was invested in just the first quarter of 2020. Ethical and environmental considerations aside, the business of raising, killing and transporting animals for human consumption is an extraordinary logistical challenge, and the virus has exploited its vulnerabilities, ravaging assembly lines crammed with laborers who debone, decapitate and eviscerate at close quarters. Plant-based meat requires innovative product development — it’s hard to replicate beef or pork without creatures that moo or oink — but the manufacturing is comparatively simple. “The magic of the Impossible Burger doesn’t happen in the plant,” says Impossible Foods Chief Communications Officer Rachel Konrad. “Our magic is in the lab.” Fake meat will keep growing after the pandemic, because consumers like it and technologists keep improving it. The question is whether it will grow fast enough to change the meat industry or save the planet. Substitutes like oat milk and almond milk are now nearly 15 percent of the dairy market, but alternatives are still less than 1 percent of the $200 billion meat market. But meat shortages might create some unlikely first-time plant-based consumers. “Yes, they’ll see how great the products are,” Paul Shapiro, CEO of The Better Meat Company, says. “But they also might start to see themselves as the kind of people who enjoy plant-based meat. That’s how habits change.” An audience during the first live theater show in the Czech Republic, as the country lifted more regulations to allow public events of up to 100 people. | Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images On The Economy THE FED, UNRESERVED — The Dow Jones industrial average dove 500 points today after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued a dire warning about the future of the U.S. economy — which is expected to take another hit when the latest unemployment figures emerge Thursday morning. Powell made it clear he believes Congress, deeply divided over another rescue, needs to pass a massive stimulus package to stave off a painful recession that could leave lasting damage. The Fed already has spent trillions and gotten creative about keeping the economy afloat. Your host Slack chatted with financial services reporter Victoria Guida about Powell’s plain-spokenness and whether the Fed can stay above the fray. This interview has been edited. How is the Fed’s role different than in the 2008 banking collapse? Its role here is much broader. The last crisis was about the implosion of the financial sector, and it was the Fed’s job to get that under control. Here, the problem is external (AKA the pandemic). A lot of what it’s been doing since the pandemic started is designing programs to make emergency loans to businesses, as well as state and local governments. It’s a pretty big deal: In some cases the Fed will be lending directly to businesses and municipalities. How does Powell see the Fed’s role right now? Well, that’s a fascinating piece of all of this. The Fed is independent but part of how it’s able to maintain that independence is by keeping its responsibilities relatively narrow. But all of this is starting to go beyond that, and the Fed is really sort of carrying out policy on behalf of the Treasury Department, because Congress has basically directly asked the Fed to help out. I think Powell is aware he’s probably going to get yelled at for mid-crisis decisions that don’t end up sitting well with people, but his approach seems to be we’ve got to do everything we can to save the economy. How does Trump’s pre-crisis criticism of Powell play into what’s happening now? Oddly enough, I think the fact that Powell stayed out of the political fray and didn’t engage with Trump’s criticisms helped bolster his credibility on both sides of the aisle. I think putting the Fed in charge of these lending programs gave lawmakers some level of comfort that the decisions would be nonpartisan, even if they end up disagreeing with some decisions. Powell seems to be less of a cipher than his predecessors. Is that the case? He was trained as a lawyer and made his money as a private equity investor, so he thinks about markets much more from a practical perspective more than a theoretical one. You’re absolutely right that he places a much bigger emphasis on speaking in English rather than economics jargon. A lot of experts see that as a positive in this crisis. What tools does the Fed have left? Can they cut interest rates to below zero? So, yeah, the Fed cut interest rates essentially to zero in March. So while it’s theoretically possible, Powell has ruled out negative rates for now pretty explicitly. The Fed has the ability to buy larger amounts of long-term government debt and mortgage-backed securities down the road, but for now its main tools will be these emergency lending programs it’s setting up. After the immediate crisis is over, there is a real question as to how much more the Fed can do to help the economy, since borrowing is already so cheap and people and businesses already have so much debt. Is there any behind the scenes disagreement on the Fed’s response? There almost surely is, but we won’t learn about most of that until later. Transcripts of meetings are released five years after the fact. Talking to the Experts What can public transit operators do to regain riders’ trust? “ I think New Jersey Transit has a long way to go to build trust in ridership. They were having problems before this occurred, this has just magnified them tenfold. There were issues over maintenance of buses and trains prior to this in terms of cleanliness. Public transit is carrying all the essential workers to their jobs, which is a group of people who don’t have their own cars and have been forced to endure less social distancing on public transit. It is completely wrong in terms of servicing the people riding there, health-wise, because they are going into places where they could expose other people.” — New Jersey state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) as told to reporter Samantha Maldonado “It’s a combination of taking the appropriate measures and ridership being confident that those are the correct measures to make them comfortable. That may mean adding capacity. They may need to add additional buses to routes, additional trains to train routes so that there’s more room for people to spread out. Either way it’s going to be more expensive, and that doesn’t bode well for service boards or ridership. The last things service boards want to do is raise fees on their riders, be it train service or bus service. There will be serious financial considerations, and these service boards being able to adapt will be the norm for protecting riders.” — Illinois GOP state Sen. Donald DeWitte, minority spokesperson for the state Senate Transportation Committee, as told to Illinois Playbook author Shia Kapos “It will be incumbent on those of us who lead transit organizations to take big, bold steps to show that we are still the best option in town — still the most efficient and safest form of transportation in any city — but also the cleanest, the easiest to access, the most seamless experience. Like in any crisis, I already see great opportunity.” — Sarah Feinberg, interim president of the New York City Transit Authority and former Federal Railroad Administration, as told to Daniel Lippman   JOIN FRIDAY - HOW DOES THE GLOBAL ECONOMY START MOVING AGAIN? The pandemic has caused the global economy to come to a halt, triggering economic crises around the world. What happens next? Join Global Translations author Ryan Heath on Friday at 1 p.m. EDT for a virtual discussion with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on the trade-offs and investments needed to get the global economy moving again, the role that China can be expected to play, and how growing debt and deficits will impact the developing world. Have questions? Submit yours by tweeting it to @POLITICOLive using #AskPOLITICO. REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE.     Covid-2020 LANDING THE RIGHT PUNCH — The presidential election rages on. Eugene Daniels talks to Alex Isenstadt about Trump’s efforts to find the right attack lines against former Vice President Joe Biden, with the backdrop of the nation’s fight against coronavirus. The Global Fight AFRICAN MIRACLE STARTS TO CRACK — All countries in Africa now have active coronavirus cases and African governments have won praise for locking down their countries before infections soared, helping their often developing health systems survive what was expected to be an onslaught. Young populations, warm weather and experience gained in the recent Ebola epidemic also have contributed to keeping the official death toll at barely 2,400 among 1.2 billion Africans. But weaknesses are emerging. South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria are starting to ease restrictions despite hundreds of daily new cases. Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina is hawking a coronavirus herbal remedy called Covid-Organics, based on plants with antimalarial properties. The concoction has been sold to Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Tanzania. Meanwhile, Tanzania’s president John Magufuli is in hiding, holding up regional coordination efforts, and claims there’s a plot to falsify test results in Tanzania. Ask The Audience Our question for readers this week: What does reopening look like where you live? Snap a photo sometime this week and send it to nightly@politico.com. We’ll share our favorites on Friday. Parting Images Stephen Voss for POLITICO THE HILL RETURNS — With the Senate back in session, but much of the country shut down because of the coronavirus, Capitol Hill doesn’t look like it used to. Photographer Stephen Voss walked the near-empty halls of the Capitol and its adjacent office buildings, capturing what Congress reporter Andrew Desiderio said “feels like [will] be the new normal for at least a long time.”   A message from The Mortgage Bankers Association: Individual Needs. Individual Solutions. We understand that mortgage relief is not one-size-fits-all. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many Americans in unique financial situations. That’s why we encourage you to contact your mortgage company if paying your mortgage poses a financial hardship. There are options to help meet your needs. Visit MBA.org/consumerinfo for more information on forbearance options.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam   Follow us

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State’s high court hears arguments for letting go some inmates

State’s high court hears arguments for letting go some inmates

By Joe DiFazio, Patriot Ledger 

Posted Apr 1, 2020 

Defense lawyers, others argue coronavirus poses threat to jails and community

BOSTON — The state’s highest court heard arguments Tuesday on an emergency petition aimed at lowering the number of inmates in jails and prisons across the state amid the coronavirus crisis.

Public defenders and defense attorneys asked the Supreme Judicial Court to order the release of certain “vulnerable” inmates to limit the spread of the COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus, in jails and prisons.

The petition was opposed by Gov. Charlie Baker and the state’s sheriffs, who run county jails. District attorneys across the state were split on the filing, with Norfolk County’s Michael Morrissey and Plymouth County’s Tim Cruz in opposition, and Suffolk County’s Rachael Rollins, who was elected on a message of criminal justice reform, in support.

The four-hour long hearing was done by teleconference due to social distancing measures because of the coronavirus pandemic. Chief Justice Ralph Gants said he believed it was the first time the state Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments by telephone. A partial audio file of the hearing was released late Tuesday afternoon.

“A rather extraordinary hearing for an extraordinary time,” Gants said.

An emergency petition filed with the court by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers asked the justices to reduce the number of people entering jails and prisons; order the release of certain pretrial detainees; and free those serving sentences who are nearing the end of their term, are vulnerable to coronavirus or don’t pose a threat to the public.

“This case presents this court . . . with an opportunity to save the lives of incarcerated people who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic and, in doing so, save the lives of many others,” said Matthew Segal, an attorney with the ACLU, during the hearing.

The group has proposed a system that would allow individualized review of cases.

“Correctional facilities, where physical distancing and vigilant hygiene are impossible, can be petri dishes for the rapid spread of infectious disease, the emergency petition said. “Outbreaks in our prisons will, of course, imperil the lives of incarcerated people, but they will also endanger correctional officers and medical staff, their families, and their communities as staff cycle through the facilities.”

The state’s trial courts have pushed off trials and closed courthouses except for emergency hearings with only a small number of people allowed in. People arrested and charged with crimes are being arraigned by teleconference from town and city police department jail cells with judges in district courts.

In a court filing against the petition, Morrissey, Cruz and district attorneys for the Cape and Islands, Bristol, Essex, Worcester and Hampden Counties asked for the request to be dismissed.

“The petitioners do not account for the safety and rights of the victims of crime, and they do not account for the safety and rights of the public,” the filing said. “To be sure, the virus presents a unique challenge in such settings and complete immunity from infection is, unfortunately, unlikely to be achieved, any more than it is in a myriad of other settings, ranging from shared homes to supermarkets.”

About a dozen workers went into isolation last week after a co-worker at the Plymouth County jail tested positive for the disease.

The state’s sheriffs in the hearing were represented by Bob Harnais, outside counsel to Norfolk County Sheriff Jerry McDermott. In a statement after the hearing, the state’s sheriffs said they are all maintaining clean facilities.

“Sheriffs have been at the forefront of implementing COVID-19 preventative and responsive measures,” the statement said. “They are working daily with our public health and public safety partners to manage the health and well-being of all who live and work in their facilities. The Sheriffs will work to ensure these efforts continue in the days and weeks ahead.”   

Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan said last week that his office has agreed to free 19 of 76 pretrial detainees held in the Franklin and Hampshire County jails. He said they should be released in the coming days. Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office said it has agreed to release about 30 pretrial detainees.

“People do not stop being human the day they are sentenced. Although some have made terrible choices or engaged in reprehensible behavior, the sentence they received for their crime did not include contracting COVID-19 and death,” Rollins said in a statement. ” And for those pre-trial detainees, the situation is even more dire. Those individuals have yet to be found guilty of their alleged crime.”

Baker said he opposed efforts to reduce the prison population solely because of fear that the disease could spread in a coronavirus press conference on Tuesday.

“This is a very difficult time to be putting people into the community, unless you really believe that’s going to be better for them and better for the community, and I think our view is, we don’t buy as a matter of law, fact or policy that the argument that’s being made before the court is the correct one,” Baker said.

Baker said that apart from some cases at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater where some people might not have been “upfront” about their physical health, there are no cases of coronavirus inside the state’s Department of Correction facilities.

The Bridgewater facility is medium security and houses male inmates identified as sex offenders who have been sentenced to prison and those who have been civilly committed as sexually dangerous persons. At least 17 inmates and four staff members tested positive for COVID-19 there.

Material from the Associated Press and State House News Service were used in this report.

Politico Massachusetts Playbook: PRESSLEY tested for CORONAVIRUS — To BUILD or not to BUILD — Schools CLOSED until MAY

PRESSLEY tested for CORONAVIRUS — To BUILD or not to BUILD — Schools CLOSED until MAY

By Stephanie Murray GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. LAWMAKERS SEEK CORONAVIRUS TESTS — As the coronavirus spreads and test capacity increases, a trio of Massachusetts elected officials have sought COVID-19 testing after feeling sick. Lawmakers are an especially vulnerable population. Elected officials cast in-person votes and have a significant number colleagues over the age of 60, who are considered at an increased risk of getting the disease. Rep. Ayanna Pressley is the latest Massachusetts lawmaker to report feeling sick, and she is waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test. Meanwhile, Rep. Seth Moulton and his wife were not tested but are in self-quarantine. "After experiencing flu-like symptoms, Congresswoman Pressley sought professional medical treatment out of an abundance of caution. She has been tested for COVID-19 and is awaiting test results," spokesperson Lina Francis said. Pressley was tested on Wednesday and she is at home in Massachusetts. Moulton began feeling sick last week with a low-grade fever, sore throat and "a concerning tightness" in his chest, he said on Wednesday. Moulton contacted the VA, where he gets his health care, and the House attending physician. "As the House doctor explained, I am 'symptomatic,' but because the symptoms are minor and a test would not change my treatment protocol, my wife and I don't qualify for tests," Moulton said in a statement. "I'm making this public because I will potentially miss some important votes as a result. I will make very clear my position on those votes ahead of time." On Beacon Hill, state Rep. Michael Day said on Wednesday that he tested positive for the coronavirus. Day detailed his symptoms, which he said felt like a "mild case of the flu," and his experience being tested at Lawrence General Hospital in a post on Facebook. He self-quarantined around the time he started feeling ill on March 12. Day was initially denied testing, but qualified for a test March 18 after he learned that someone at the State House had tested positive for the virus. "I have been only mildly ill given my exposure to COVID-19 and have been symptom-free for more than a week now," Day wrote online. "The quarantine protocol will end on Thursday, March 26 but I have decided that I will continue to self-quarantine with my family for an extended period beyond that." Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com. TODAY — Rep. Lori Trahan holds a virtual town hall on the coronavirus. Rep. Katherine Clark and Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui hold a virtual town hall on small business and coronavirus. Candidate for congress and Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss holds a coronavirus town hall on Zoom. THE LATEST NUMBERS - "Mass. sees 679 new coronavirus cases, total now 1,838; 4 more deaths, total now 15," by Dialynn Dwyer and Christopher Gavin, Boston.com. Link. DATELINE BEACON HILL - "Baker closes Mass. schools through May 4," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday ordered all schools and non-emergency childcares closed through May 4, extending the current three-week suspension by an additional month in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Baker said state education officials will be issuing guidance on Thursday to districts on how to conduct remote learning with their students while schools are closed." - "Massachusetts utility companies ordered to not shut off gas, electric or water for people who fail to pay bills," by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: "In his continued response to the coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker ordered utility companies Tuesday to not shut off gas, electric or water for people who fail to pay their bills. The declaration applies to all investor-owned business. The order will last until the governor's state of emergency, announced on March 10, is lifted or the state Department of Public Utilities determines otherwise, according to a statement from Baker." - "Good news: State hitting target for COVID-19 tests," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "The Baker administration appeared to exceed its target goal for daily COVID-19 testing on Tuesday, reporting that 4,827 patients had been tested over the previous 24 hours. The increase was well beyond the target of 3,500 tests, but it was accomplished mostly by an unusually large increase in tests conducted by Quest Diagnostics in Marlborough, which reported testing a total of 3,843 patients between Monday's state report and Tuesday's report ." - "Charlie Baker unveils new coronavirus rules for grocery stores," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Gov. Charlie Baker says the ability of Massachusetts residents to go to the grocery store will remain an 'unimpeded right' as the state tries to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But he's also laying down a few guidelines. The Baker administration issued an order Wednesday on how grocery stores and pharmacies in Massachusetts should operate in the midst of the pandemic." - "Coronavirus turned Beacon Hill into a ghost town, but it hasn't shut down The Fill-A-Buster, iconic Boston eatery," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "The Fill-A-Buster's brown tiled floor was once barely visible around lunchtime as people waited in line to order a Greek salad or chicken cutlets. On Wednesday, the tables and chairs are gone, and the floor is bare except for three metallic-colored strips of tape, each 6 feet apart to remind customers to keep their distance from the staff and from each other. Crowds at the luncheonette, which has served Beacon Hill for decades, are now a foreign concept. Boston is now a ghost town amid the coronavirus pandemic." - "Poll shows residents hunkering down at home," by Maeve Duggan, CommonWealth Magazine: "Monday's 'stay-at-home' advisory from Gov. Charlie Baker represents the most restrictive recommendation yet from the state to battle the growing coronavirus threat. Non-essential businesses have been ordered to close, and, perhaps the taller order, residents are being asked to stay at home. Three new datasets suggest residents are heeding this advice." FROM THE HUB - "Baker, Walsh are at odds over coronavirus construction ban," by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: "In a rare rift, Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh appeared increasingly at odds Wednesday over whether construction work should continue amid the state's coronavirus crisis. The Baker administration Wednesday sent a letter to city and town officials across Massachusetts emphasizing its stance deeming construction an 'essential service' that should continue despite the stay-home advisory Baker issued earlier this week. Specifically, the letter, signed by Baker's chief legal counsel, Robert Ross, appears to override local bans like those put in place last week by Boston, Cambridge, and a handful of other communities." - "No-rent resolution during coronavirus crisis blocked at Boston City Council," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Nearly all of Boston's City Councilors backed a resolution seeking to delay rent and mortgage collection during the coronavirus outbreak, though an objection prevented it from going up for a vote. 'We will see evictions, foreclosures and homelessness at levels we have not seen in our lifetimes,' City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo said during Wednesday's remote council meeting. The item would not represent a regulatory change in itself; resolutions are just expressions of the will of the council." - "Safety net hospitals teetering on brink," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "Dr. Eric Dickson oversees a sprawling health care system that cares for lots of low-income families throughout central Massachusetts, many of whom are wondering how they'll pay their rent or afford groceries after suddenly losing their income in the avalanche of job losses being unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic. Without help, the CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care says his hospital system could soon be in the same boat." - "Pain And Profits: Sheriffs Hand Off Inmate Care To Private Health Companies," by Christine Willmsen and Beth Healy, WBUR: "At the Suffolk County House of Correction in Boston, where hundreds of people are serving short sentences, the sheriff tries to keep inmate trips to hospitals or medical specialists under 80 per month. Escorting them off-site is considered a costly headache. Suffolk's medical provider, a Birmingham, Ala., company called NaphCare Inc., is on board: It pays the sheriff's department a $100 penalty for each trip over the cap." - "Three MBTA bus drivers test positive for coronavirus," by Travis Andersen and Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "Three MBTA bus drivers have tested positive for the coronavirus, the agency said Wednesday, marking the first of the region's transit operators to be afflicted with COVID-19. The T did not release details about which routes the riders operated but said they all worked out of the Cabot Garage facility that serves several lines in South Boston, Dorchester, Roxbury, and other parts of Boston." PRIMARY SOURCES - "Climate group targets 2 powerful House Democrats," by Alex Thompson, POLITICO: "The left-wing environmental group Sunrise Movement will back two more liberal candidates challenging long-time Democratic congressmen in primaries this year, looking to add to progressives' modest gains so far in 2020. The group — which was instrumental to pushing the concept Green New Deal into the political mainstream and helped Bernie Sanders consolidate the left behind him in the presidential race — told POLITICO Wednesday it is endorsing Holyoke, Mass., Mayor Alex Morse, who is running against Rep. Richard Neal, chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee." - "Ed Markey continues fundraising as coronavirus upends U.S. Senate race against Joe Kennedy," by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: "U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is in Washington fighting to make sure families and workers are cared for during the coronavirus pandemic. He's also asking them to donate to his re-election campaign. As Massachusetts grinds to a halt over COVID-19, Markey's team has sent out two emails so far this week soliciting donations ahead of next week's Federal Election Commission deadline — the missives coming as campaigns across the country grapple with how to forge ahead in an election cycle zapped of energy by coronavirus." ALL ABOARD - "MBTA puts fare losses at more than $25 million so far," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority expects to lose between $25 million and $35 million in fare revenue for the month of March, reflecting the huge drop in ridership and precarious financial position facing public transit agencies across the country from the coronavirus pandemic. That's about half of what the T collects from riders in a typical month. Fares cover about one-third of the agency's $2.1 billion operating budget." DAY IN COURT - "DA, defense attorneys wrangle: Who should get out of jail?" by Michael Connors, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "The Northwestern district attorney's office has downscaled its operations and is working to release some nonviolent and vulnerable pretrial detainees in local county jails due to the COVID-19 crisis. But some local defense attorneys and advocates say the area's sheriffs and top prosecutor should do more to let people out. Last week, Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan publicly posted a letter that he signed along with prosecutors from across the country calling for a decrease in jail populations due to the public health crisis." MOULTON MATTERS - "Coronavirus: Elizabeth Warren's former campaign manager Roger Lau calls resolution against Chinese government 'fear mongering,'" by Douglas Hook, MassLive.com: "Roger Lau, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's longtime campaign manager, spoke out against a new resolution co-signed by Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, referring to it as lazy, hateful and dangerous. 'Asian Americans have been victims of hate crimes that have been incited by ignorance like this,' said Lau in a tweet on Tuesday. 'This is a global crisis and we're all in this together. We're better than this!'" Moulton is the only Democrat who signed the bill." MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS - "After coronavirus response prompts state closure of recreational marijuana shops, Massachusetts veterans urge supporters to ask lawmakers to reconsider," by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: "The Veterans Cannabis Project on Wednesday has launched a website for Massachusetts veterans to voice concerns about a lack of access to marijuana after an order by Gov. Charlie Baker closed recreational dispensaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The website, mass.vetscp.org, has a call to action, asking veterans and supporters to email Baker and state lawmakers and request that recreational marijuana shops be allowed to open." ABOVE THE FOLD — Herald: "HOME ROOM," "THE GAME THAT NEVER WAS," — Globe: "On the Cape, a deathbed without family," "Baker orders schools shut until May 4." FROM THE 413 - "Shortage Of Teachers Of Color In Western Mass. Has Major Costs," by Ben James, NEPR: "Many educators want Massachusetts public schools — closed for now to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus — to be a leveling force, improving outcomes for students of color. But inequities in school services can be a barrier to student success. Willa Sippel, president of the Student Union at Northampton High, recently conducted a survey for her AP statistics class. She wanted to see how white students' enrollment in AP classes compared to enrollment by students of color." - "Springfield Police will wear masks when in close contact with citizens," by Jeanette DeForge, Springfield Republican: "City police officers have been given facemasks, glasses and gloves to help protect them when they have to come in close contact with residents while responding to emergency calls. Surgical and N95 masks and the other equipment were handed out to squad officers beginning Wednesday, Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood said." - "Coronavirus shutdown doesn't close Springfield Smith & Wesson plant; gunmaker donates eye protection to Baystate Health," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "Saying it is 'critical infrastructure for the United States and the Commonwealth,' gunmaker Smith & Wesson is keeping its manufacturing plants, including the Springfield factory, operational during Gov. Charlie Baker's order closing 'nonessential' businesses across the state." THE LOCAL ANGLE - "People have been calling police over social distancing violations," by Arianna MacNeill, Boston.com: "Local police have been fielding calls from people reporting others violating social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 crisis. In Cambridge, the department took a number of calls throughout last week and over the weekend asking officers to respond to reports of people not heeding officials' pleas to stay away from each other, according to Jeremy Warnick, a spokesman for the city's police department." - "Worcester in search of personal protective equipment donations," by Steven H. Foskett Jr., Telegram & Gazette: "Two more deaths in Worcester County have been reported due to COVID-19, and eight more people in the city have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases to 27. Officials at a briefing at City Hall also made an appeal Wednesday for donations of personal protective equipment to equip community health care workers and first responders, and said they are seeking volunteers to help out as the city prepares for cases to continue to rise. " - "Virus disrupts Cape Cod town meeting, election schedules," by Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times: "The Select Board, town administrator and town moderator during a virtual meeting Tuesday discussed rescheduling this spring's annual town meeting. The challenges are significant, especially in light of Gov. Charlie Baker's emergency order due to the coronavirus outbreak and his stay at home advisory order issued earlier this week. Wellfleet is not alone. Cape towns must abide by state law, but also by their own charters and codes, which are different for each town." - "Scramble to protect public may leave some more vulnerable," by Julie Manganis, The Salem News: "In the rush to prevent the spread of coronavirus and find ways to protect officers, some police departments are now requiring people to stay outside stations when making reports. But that, and other policies implemented by state officials to prevent the nation's health care system from becoming overrun, could unintentionally put victims of domestic abuse at greater risk, according to the director of a Salem-based domestic violence organization." HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Cambridge City Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler (h/t Shane Woolley), Nick Bayer, Caroline Darmody and Kelli Ritter. DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? The home teams are not playing. NEW EPISODE: TESTING 1, 2, 3 - On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray speak with Newton City Councilor Becky Grossman about her campaign for congress during the coronavirus pandemic. 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. 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