POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Dispensary dispensation – BAKER’S RGA cash infusion – Happy TAX-FREE weekend

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Dispensary dispensation – BAKER’S RGA cash infusion – Happy TAX-FREE weekend

08/10/2018 06:55 AM EDT
By Lauren Dezenski (ldezenski@politico.com; @laurendezenski) and Brent D. Griffiths (bgriffiths@politico.com; @BrentGriffiths)

TGIF, MASSACHUSETTS.

DISPENSARY DISPENSATION - As the state launches its latest information campaign around marijuana and the dangers of impaired driving, regulators are still working to actually set up the legal recreational dispensaries that were a part of the marijuana legalization law authorized by voters in 2016.

Regulators have been running behind their self-imposed timeline to have dispensaries up and running by July 2018 (such is life when you're the ones who make the rules). 

One key hurdle to the dispensaries actually opening is also opening testing labs. No testing labs have yet been licensed, and under the state's rules, all marijuana products sold from licensed dispensaries must be tested. Regulators on Thursday also approved a handful of more new provisional licenses for retail marijuana shops around the state ... which essentially can't open until one of those testing labs opens up.

But it appears those testing facilities aren't that far off. WBUR's Steve Brown tweeted yesterday that Cannabis Control Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins said he's "fairly confident applications for one or two independent testing labs will be presented to the Commission at their next meeting."

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: ldezenski@politico.com.

TODAY - Rep. Richard Neal will visit and help distribute food at the Mobile Food Bank in Holyoke run by the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts - The Special Commission on Operating Under the Influence and Impaired Driving meets.


ON THE STUMP -
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK - Jay Livingstone endorses Jay Gonzalez for governor, from the Gonzalez campaign: "Through his experience in government working under Deval Patrick and in the private sector, Jay Gonzalez has proven his commitment to fighting for working families and the most vulnerable communities across the state. We need a Governor who will take on the big challenges we face, like fixing our broken transportation system and doing more to combat the opioid crisis. Jay Gonzalez will be that Governor and I am proud to endorse him today. I look forward to the next few months of helping to elect Jay and fighting for the little guy right alongside him."


ARE REPUBLICANS THAT DESPERATE? 
STOP VOTING BASED ON ADS! 
LOOK AT THE SCANDALS SURROUNDING CHARLIE BAKER AND HIS FAILURE TO TAKE ACTION; 

HIS APPOINTMENT OF INCOMPETENT POLITICAL HACKS & CRONIES; 

THE DOR; 

STATE POLICE SCANDAL; 

THE JULY 4TH TAXPAYER FUNDED PARTY; 

DCF; 

REGISTRY; 

MBTA....RAISED FARES, CUT SERVICE, CONSTRUCTED NO BID BATHROOMS & KITCHEN - THE BEST CHARLIE BAKER COULD DO WAS SAY 'THEY SAVE US A LOT OF MONEY.'

THE MBTA IS STILL NOT PROVIDING DEPENDABLE SERVICE 

MAKE CHARLIE BAKER ONE AND DONE!   

- "RGA funneled millions into advertisement to boost Charlie Baker," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "In what may just be the first of many substantial investments, the Republican Governors Association poured $2.8 million into a super PAC before it began running a new television spot touting Governor Charlie Baker's re-election campaign, new records show. Four years ago, the RGA contributed a total of $10.75 million to the PAC, helping fuel the $11.7 million in ads it ran in the months leading up to Baker's victory over Martha Coakley that November."

- "Can traffic be an election issue? Two Democrats running for governor hope so," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe:"For generations, standstill traffic has been as central to Boston's identity as clam chowder and the Red Sox. Jay Gonzalez, the budget chief under former governor Deval Patrick, and environmental activist Bob Massie are each trying to make the many transportation woes in Massachusetts a central theme of their campaigns, arguing Baker has done little to fix something that affects so many people."

- "Former Comedian Jimmy Tingle Running for Lieutenant Governor in Massachusetts," by Alison King, NECN: "After a long career as a comedian, Jimmy Tingle is working on his second act - hoping to become the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Massachusetts.'I felt that if Donald Trump can use his entertainment background for his purposes, I can try to use my entertainment background and my messaging ability for the purposes of what I believe in,' he said."

- "Libertarians hope to shore up support in auditor's race," by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Daily Times: "The state's Libertarians got a boost from former Gov. Bill Weld's vice presidential bid two years ago, and now they're counting on a candidate for state auditor to help expand the party's base. Dan Fishman of Beverly is challenging incumbent State Auditor Suzanne Bump in the Nov. 6 elections."

- "Democrats set to seize 10 open House seats," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service: "Ten races for open Massachusetts House seats are on track to be decided in the Sept. 4 primaries, when voters in a total of 45 House and Senate districts will have competitive contests on their ballots. All 160 House and 40 Senate seats are up for election this year, and most lawmakers -- 23 senators and 87 representatives -- will cruise into another term without a challenger officially on the ballot. Twenty incumbents have primary opponents."

DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "Automatic voter registration will be available in Massachusetts, starting in 2020," by Gintautas Dumcius, MassLive.com: "Massachusetts residents will be automatically registered to vote when they make transactions at the state's Registry of Motor Vehicles or with MassHealth, under a new law signed by Gov. Charlie Baker. According to Common Cause Massachusetts, another advocacy group that backed the legislation, 13 states and the District of Columbia have passed similar bills."


- "Tax holiday ready to go, but still needs Baker signature," The Associated Press: "A spokesman for Republican Gov. Charlie Baker says the governor plans to formally authorize a sales tax holiday for the upcoming weekend. An economic development bill approved by lawmakers in the final moments of the formal legislative session last week includes a provision waiving the 6.25 percent sales tax on most store items this Saturday and Sunday."

- "AG Maura Healey, others make final bid to drop census citizenship question," by Kimberly Atkins, Boston Herald: "State and local officials from Massachusetts and across the country urged the federal government to drop its plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census, as Democrats and civil rights advocates rallied for public opposition to the plan. The moves further crystallized immigration as the key issue both Republicans and Democrats are prioritizing ahead of November's midterm elections."

DATELINE D.C. -
- "Warren and Clark did a survey on gun violence in schools, and they're sending it to Betsy DeVos," by Sophia Eppolito, Boston Globe: "US Senator Elizabeth Warren and US Representative Katherine Clark sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos this week in which they cite Massachusetts as a model for gun safety and implored the Trump cabinet official to rebuff Republican efforts 'to fund school security infrastructure at the expense of students' access to mental health services.' The two Democrats included with the letter the results of a recent nonscientific survey, conducted by their offices, of 384 Massachusetts teachers, parents, school administrators, and students that they said showed support for mental health services over security."

- "Rep. Richard Neal Attributes Recent Storms To Climate Change," by Tori Bedford, WGBH: "Forty-three people were displaced after a tornado whipped through Webster and Dudley this past weekend — the third twister to hit the state in ten days. Rep. Richard Neal attributes the recent damage to climate change, telling WGBH News the recent damage reminded him of walking through his district after a tornado outbreak in Western Massachusetts in 2011."

THE TSONGAS ARENA -
- "First openly transgender candidate for Congress in Mass. seeks to boost fall ballot initiative," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "As one of 10 Democrats vying for a single congressional seat, Alexandra Chandler tells voters about her background (she's a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst), and lays out her priorities (jobs and fighting opioid addiction). But Chandler has been discussing another priority, one with seemingly few ties to a crowded Sept. 4 primary for the Third District seat in Washington: A state ballot question."

THE WARREN REPORT -
- "How a Blacklisted Russian Firm Won (and Lost) a Break From Trump's Tariffs," by Jim Tankersley, The New York Times: "Hundreds of companies have asked the Trump administration for a special break from its sweeping aluminum tariffs. One that managed to get an exemption is a Russian firm currently subject to Treasury Department sanctions. The Commerce Department's reversal has raised new questions from Democrats, including Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who say the department should have never considered granting an exclusion to a company under sanctions in the first place."

WOOD WAR — Herald: "ON THE RADAR," "DON'T CROSS THE LINE!" — Globe: "Addiction to opioids up in delivery rooms," "NOW HIRING TEENS," 

"Can traffic woes drive votes?" "At Garden, singers pitch their pipes," "Suit targets Electoral College."

THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Challenging the Electoral College's winner take all system in Massachusetts," by Michael Levenson, Boston Globe: "A Harvard Law professor, former governor William F. Weld, and Al Gore's onetime attorney are making a long-shot bid to change the Electoral College system, arguing that it encourages presidential candidates to devote all their time to a handful of swing states and ignore the vast majority of the country. 

The high-powered group is suing two blue states, Massachusetts and California, and two red states, Texas and South Carolina, arguing that the winner-take-all system that they and 44 other states use to allocate electors to the Electoral College effectively disenfranchises millions of voters who back the losing candidates."

- "What Spike Lee said to Barack Obama on a Martha's Vineyard golf course," by Kevin Slane, Boston Globe: "Much like Barack Obama, director Spike Lee is a frequent vacationer on Martha's Vineyard. However, Lee said he walked through his backyard and up to Obama when he saw him on the golf course just about one year ago, on Aug. 12, 2017. That was the day that Heather Heyer, 32, was killed while counter-protesting a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va."


- "Special Feature: Crippled Epistemology," by Jonathan Riley, DigBoston: "Since the 2016 election, social media meddling and influence peddling have become regular subjects of media coverage, especially amidst the ongoing engrossing probes into President Trump's foreign affairs. Scoops typically break internationally and have widespread impact. So it may surprise Bostonians that many key developments in America's online psychological warfare toolkit—internet-era equivalents of 'black ops' campaigns waged to disorient enemy troops via deceptive propaganda and other unconventional tactics during World War II—have been grown in their backyard, even over the past decade."

- "Worcester Is Working Hard To Lure Pawtucket Red Sox Out Of Rhode Island," by Marilyn Schairer, WGBH: "The City of Worcester is keeping mostly quiet about whether it has struck a deal to lure the Pawtucket Red Sox out of Rhode Island. The Worcester City Manager's office says they don't have an announcement to make just yet, but there are new developments suggesting that the Paw Sox could be coming to Worcester."


- "Political operative Frank Keough's visits to Hampden County Superior Court Clerk's office raise questions," by Stephanie Barry, MassLive.com: "Of the hundreds of convicted felons who stream in and out of the Roderick L. Ireland courthouse each week, only one seems to have nearly unfettered access to the Superior Court Clerk's office. Francis G. Keough III -- who served three years in federal prison for multiple scams at a homeless shelter he once ran -- reportedly appears with some frequency on the third floor during regular business hours."

- "Cambridge Man Accused of Threatening ICE Agents, Police, US Sen. John McCain," by Alysha Palumbo, Marc Fortier and Kaitlin Flanigan, NECN: "A Cambridge, Massachusetts, man has been arrested by federal authorities after allegedly threatening Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on social media. Brandon Ziobrowski, 33, was arrested in New York City Thursday morning after he allegedly tweeted under the username @Vine_II that he would 'give $500 to anyone who kills an ICE agent,' according to the indictment."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Quincy Rep. Tackey Chan, Malden Rep. Steven Ultrino, and Ryan O. Ferguson, former staffer to former Sen. Mo Cowan who is now with InkHouse Media.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Cape Air founder and former state Sen. Dan Wolf and state Sen. Jamie Eldridge of Acton, who celebrate on Saturday and Sunday birthday-er Lauren Collins Cline, director of comms and public relations at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester.

DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? — No! The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays, 8-5.

FRESH OUT OF THE GATE - THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE HORSE RACE: Democrats are taking on Democrats in this week's episode of The Horse Race. First, Andy Metzger of State House News Service details some tension between Senate PresidentKaren Spilka and Speaker of the House Bob DeLeo in the wrap up of legislative loose ends.

Then the Dorchester Reporter's Jennifer Smith returns to breakdown this week's debate between incumbent Congressman Mike Capuano and his primary challenger Ayanna Pressley. Plus, State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy checks back in on the race for secretary of state, and whether or not challenger Josh Zakim has sustained any momentum against incumbent Bill Galvin. 

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