GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT SCHOOL — Not to be a buzzkill, but we're already halfway through July. That means the first day of school is in less than two months, and the path forward for schools and universities is still pretty muddled.
What to do about the school year remains a top concern in Massachusetts, if the participants at a Sen. Elizabeth Warren town hall on Monday were any indication. The gathering was Warren's first public event in her home state since her presidential campaign ended in March.
The topic of discussion wasn't Warren's 2020 bid, or her chances of becoming Joe Biden's running mate. Participants asked the senator about a range of topics, but the conversation kept coming around to the fate of schools, childcare centers and universities as the pandemic continues.
"We get good standards on what needs to be done to provide for our children safely. We get enough resources to do that," Warren said. "And then … the right people at the table to implement that at the local level." Right now, school districts are working through the state's reopening guidelines.
The conversation came one day after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sat for a pair of television interviews on Sunday, where she urged schools to reopen with in-person instruction, and suggested schools that don't comply may lose federal funding. That led Rep. Ayanna Pressley to slam the secretary in a viral tweet.
"Teachers, kids and parents are fearing for their lives," Pressley wrote. "I wouldn’t trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child."
California raised eyebrows when its two largest school districts broke with DeVos on Monday, announcing all instruction would stay online this fall as Covid-19 cases surge in that state. And as the country's second-largest school district, Los Angeles‘ decision could have a ripple effect, my POLITICO colleagues report.
Closer to home in Massachusetts, parents aren't in agreement over how school should function during the pandemic, according to a MassINC poll conducted in June. The survey found parent opinions are split — a larger share of white parents feel schools can reopen safely, and would prefer schools move to a modified schedule rather than keep only with distance learning. Only 48 percent of Black parents and 44 percent of Latinos said they feel either "somewhat" or "very" confident schools could reopen safely this fall.
Even universities that have presented detailed reopening plans are drawing concern from local officials. The town manager of Amherst, home to the state's largest public university, UMass Amherst, warned in a letter that bringing students back carries a risk, according to a Daily Hampshire Gazette report.
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 farm listening tour with stops in Littleton, Stow and Fitchburg. Rep. Seth Moulton joins Moms Demand Action and the Brady Campaign to discuss gun violence prevention.
HAPPENING TODAY 9 a.m. EDT - A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH AUSTIN MAYOR STEVE ADLER : As coronavirus cases continue to spike in Texas, the city of Austin is preparing to turn the downtown convention center into a field hospital. Join Playbook authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman for a virtual interview with Austin Mayor Steve Adler that will reveal how he’s navigating the rapid jump in the number of cases, how cities are working with state and local governments during the pandemic, and how a city known for its restaurants, bars and concerts is planning for what's to come. REGISTER HERE.
 | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
– “Massachusetts reports 5 new coronavirus deaths, 154 new cases as state continues to see decrease in virus,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Massachusetts health officials announced 5 more coronavirus deaths on Monday, bringing the statewide death count to 8,115. Officials also confirmed another 154 cases of the virus, for a total of at least 105,783 cases across the state, according to the Department of Public Health data.”
| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
– “‘Never seen anything like this:’ State lawmakers face multiple crises and a time crunch,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “It’s so common on Beacon Hill in even numbered years, it’s nearly tradition: the last-minute rush by lawmakers to pass a raft of lingering bills before formal lawmaking ends July 31. But this year, the simultaneous health, economic, and racial justice crises have made the late-session crush like no other.”
– “Senate Approves Policing Reform After Overnight Session,” by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: “The Senate overcame a difficult rollout and several false starts to pass a far-reaching reform of policing in Massachusetts on Tuesday that would ban chokeholds, limit the use of tear gas, license all law enforcement officers and train them in the history of racism .”
– “Massachusetts law enforcement groups call for suspension of Senate debate over police reform bill, claiming Black and Latino officers were left out of discussions,” by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: “Several law enforcement organizations are calling for a suspension of debate in the Massachusetts Senate over a police reform bill that unions and community leaders say was put together without input from Black and Latino police officers.”
– “Voting rights groups sue Galvin over mail-in voting,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “Voting rights organizations are asking the Supreme Judicial Court to force Secretary of State William Galvin to send out applications for mail-in ballots this week – even though Galvin says he doesn’t yet have the money. Common Cause, MassVote, and seven individual voters sued Galvin, filing an emergency petition with the state’s highest court on Monday, arguing that he is violating the new state law regarding mail-in voting.”
– “State quietly restores plastic bag bans,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “On Friday night — a time often reserved for releasing bad or controversial news — the Department of Public Health quietly lifted the state’s ban on reusable bags in grocery stores and allowed 139 city and town plastic bag bans to go back into effect. As of Monday, the stealthy move had been so effective many businesses had no idea the changes had been made.”
– “State: Special needs students priority for in-person learning,” by Cynthia McCormick, Cape Cod Times: “State education officials have told school superintendents that students with disabilities should be priority for in-person learning this fall. If schools continue with remote learning, they have to provide a level of instruction that includes structured lessons, teletherapy and video-based lessons and not rely solely on packets and assignments, according to state Director of Special Education Russell Johnston.
– “Bill Keating to face Republican challenger Helen Brady, SJC rules,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “U.S. Rep. William Keating will face a challenger this fall after all, the state’s high court ruled Monday in a decision that will allow Republican candidate Helen Brady to appear on the ballot. The Supreme Judicial Court overturned a decision from the State Ballot Law Commission blocking Brady from participating after finding that a third-party vendor her campaign used to collect electronic signatures did not follow protocols outlined in the April decision for storing and managing those signatures.”
| FROM THE HUB |
– “Boston councilors proposing police civilian review board,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Boston city councilors plan to file a bill that would create a civilian review board with stronger oversight and investigative powers over the police department. City Councilor Andrea Campbell’s office confirmed that she, plus Councilors Ricardo Arroyo and Julia Mejia, plan to file the bill on Tuesday. The board would replace the Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel, which is the current civilian entity meant to provide oversight of the department.”
– “Boston schools deny some students with disabilities enrollment into dual-language programs,” by Tara Garcia Mathewson, Boston Globe: “For almost a decade, Simón López, the special education coordinator at Boston’s Sarah Greenwood School, has been fighting against the school district that employs him. He has lobbied principals, written letters to the revolving door of superintendents in the district, made his case to school board members and even contacted state education agency officials. All to no avail.”
– “Of $17 Million In Boston COVID Contracts, Only One Went To A Local Minority Business,” by Isaiah Thompson, WGBH News: “Despite the stated goal of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to see more city contracts go to minority-owned businesses, especially ones based in Boston, less than two percent of more than $12 million in emergency coronavirus-related city contract dollars went to a Boston-based minority enterprise – and just one such business was represented among eighty businesses awarded those emergency contracts between March and June.”
– “In Light of the Pandemic, the City Hall Plaza Renovation Looks Smarter Than Ever,” by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: “When construction got underway in earnest on the long-awaited makeover of City Hall Plaza, one of the most loathed parcels of public land in Boston, it was a sight for sore eyes. The $70 million project, which officials say will be complete in two years’ time, will see the big (and often underused) brick expanse live up to its potential, and turn into something people actually want to use.”
– “How did the ‘Redskins’ get their name, anyway? It started in Boston,” by Steve Annear, Boston Globe: “The Washington Redskins on Monday officially announced that the team would stop using its Native American logo and moniker in favor of a yet-to-be-determined symbol and title, a move that followed years of condemnation and calls for the franchise to part ways with its controversial branding due to its racist connotations. But how did the team get its name in the first place? It all started in Boston, more than eight decades ago.”
– “'Keep The Momentum': How Mass. Companies Say They'll Start — And Continue — To Fight Racism,” by Zeninjor Enwemeka, WBUR: “George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, but his death hit home for Boston Scientific because the company has nearly 9,000 employees in Minnesota. ‘We immediately held listening sessions with our executives,’ said Desiree Ralls-Morrison, a senior vice president and general counsel for the medical device maker.”
| PRIMARY SOURCES |
– “In New Ad, Anti-monopoly Group Hits Rep. Richie Neal Over Blackstone Ties, Corporate Tax Cuts,” by Akela Lacy, The Intercept: “A progressive dark-money group hitting politicians over ties to corporate interests on Monday released an ad against Democratic Rep. Richie Neal of Massachusetts, accusing him of working to maintain President Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts and highlighting his ties to the private equity firm, Blackstone.”
– “Fall River Rep. Silvia backs Becky Grossman for Kennedy seat,” by Ted Nesi, WPRI: “Another South Coast lawmaker is choosing sides in the race to replace Congressman Joe Kennedy. State Rep. Alan Silvia, D-Fall River, announced Monday he is endorsing Newton City Councilor Becky Grossman in the Democratic primary for the 4th Congressional District. He is the second sitting lawmaker in the region to back Grossman, joining Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport.”
| PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
– “Drivers for MBTA’s RIDE service on strike, riders should expect delays,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “Drivers for the MBTA’s RIDE service are on strike over health-care benefits during the coronavirus pandemic — a worker walkout that may delay the transit service for those with disabilities, the MBTA said on Monday. Members of Teamsters Local 25 employed at Veterans Transportation providing paratransit for the MBTA’s RIDE service voted unanimously to reject the company’s final contract offer and go on strike.”
| DAY IN COURT |
– “Healey, fellow AGs sue ICE over international student ban,” by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: “Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey on Monday joined more than a dozen other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to stop a new federal rule that threatens to bar hundreds of thousands of international students from studying in the United States.”
– “High court denies motion by 4 DAs to intervene in juvenile murder case,” by Wheeler Cowperthwaite, The Patriot Ledger: “The Supreme Judicial Court rebuffed four district attorneys who asked to present experts during an upcoming court case that could allow the paroled release of convicted murderers who were young adults at the time of their crimes. The district attorneys for Norfolk, Plymouth, Essex and the Cape and Islands filed a request to intervene in the Suffolk County case of Nyasani Watt and Sheldon Mattis.”
| ABOVE THE FOLD |
— Herald: “GUT CHECK," "POOR HOUSE,” — Globe : “As Covid cases climb, Trump shifts focus," "Beacon Hill faces mountain of key bills.”
| FROM THE 413 |
– “Public defenders in Springfield host justice-focused Black Lives Matter rally as courts cautiously reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “A rally staged Monday in the city’s Court Square featured speakers who touched upon treatment of people of color within the criminal justice system, housing court and child welfare system. The event, called Hampden County Defenders for Black Lives Matter, took place on the day the state’s courts cautiously reopened after essentially being closed for nearly four months during the coronavirus pandemic.”
– “For one Berkshire agency, federal loan a mirage — here, then gone,” by Amanda Burke, The Berkshire Eagle: “Not so ‘easy come’ — or easy go, either. The head of Berkshire County Arc fought to gain access to a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan this spring, even asking his member of Congress for help. Kenneth Singer managed to get a loan worth $5.4 million for his 800-employee human services business — but now he's giving it back, after questions arose about whether his agency qualified as a nonprofit.”
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
– “Black Lives Matter mural coming to Worcester,” by Victor D. Infante, Telegram & Gazette: “From the first time the words “Black Lives Matter” appeared in giant letters on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, the BLM street murals have been both an artistic statement and a conversation between artists and activists around the country. Some of the most prominent murals have appeared in Manhattan (in front of Trump Tower), Brooklyn, Detroit and recently in Boston.”
– “Health services company with Lowell links settles fraud allegations for $15 million,” by Nicole DeFeudis, The Lowell Sun: “In a case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Fortune 500 health care company Universal Health Services will pay more than $15 million to settle accusations that it improperly billed MassHealth, according to Attorney General Maura Healey’s office.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Rick Jakious, Rep. Seth Moulton’s district director (h/t Tim Biba); former Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is 67; former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who is 53; Laurily Epstein, Nate Bermel and David Emil Reich.
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