POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: MOULTON, others want answers in gas explosions – ROSENBERG wants dismissal of parts of suit – Local credit union steps up to help POT biz
MOULTON, others want answers in gas explosions – ROSENBERG wants dismissal of parts of suit – Local credit union steps up to help POT biz
09/14/2018 07:00 AM EDT
GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
FIRE IN THE NORTH - "To sum it up, basically coming into town ... it looked like Armageddon. It really did," Andover Fire Chief Michael Mansfield told reporters Thursday night.
Explosions caused by gas main leaks ripped through dozens of homes in Merrimack Valley municipalities of Andover, Lawrence and North Andover late Thursday afternoon, with emergency crews responding to 70 different reports of fires, explosions, or gas leaks, according to state police. The explosions were caused by over-pressurized gas lines by Columbia Gas, which serviced the affected homes, State Police said. There is one reported fatality, and an estimated 8,000 people are displaced. Gov. Charlie Baker has ordered all state offices in Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover be closed to non-emergency personnel today.
The emergency drew in Rep. Seth Moulton (whose district includes parts of Andover and North Andover), talking to press at the staging area in Lawrence. Moulton later tweeted: "Got the number of the Columbia Gas president and have tried him multiple times with no answer. Everyone wants answers. And we deserve them."
It's not yet clear if the incidents will affect the recount currently underway in the MA-03 Democratic primary. Ballots are scheduled to be counted in both Lawrence and Andover on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the gas workers of the United Steelworkers Local 12012 and Local 12003, who have been locked out of their jobs following a breakdown in contract talks with National Grid, offered to lend a hand. "Our 1,200 veteran natural gas workers are ready now to offer our experience and technical expertise during this crisis and to help safely restore service to the region," Joe Kirylo, president of United Steelworkers Local 12003 and John Buonopane, president of United Steelworkers Local 12012 said in a joint statement last night.
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A PROGRAMMING NOTE - I am soon leaving POLITICO — and Boston — to join the CNN Politics team, co-writing "The Point" newsletter (so I'll still be in your inbox, just in the evenings rather than in the morning). Fear not: The Massachusetts Playbook will live on; POLITICO is hiring a new Massachusetts Playbook author. I'll hold off on my sappy goodbye until my last day writing the Playbook: Sept. 21.
TODAY - Boston Mayor Marty Walsh appears on WGBH's Boston Public Radio Ask the Mayor segment at 12:30 p.m. - Rep. Jim McGovern and Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. will host a roundtable discussion on opiate addiction in the veteran community - Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jay Gonzalez will visit Johnny's Luncheonette and greet voters there and at other nearby retail locations in Newton Centre tomorrow at noon with Rep. Joe Kennedy III.
THE TSONGAS ARENA -
- "The Battle of the Martys in the Third District," by Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe: "With a recount underway, the battle between Lori Trahan and Dan Koh to represent the Third Congressional District remains a big post-primary political story — with a classic Boston subplot. ... It's called 'The Battle of the Martys.'"
- "Green makes a splash with 3rd District ad," by Rick Sobey, Lowell Sun: "The candidate for the 3rd Congressional District unbuckles his seatbelt, gets out of the car and starts sprinting to the Merrimack River. He dives in and gives his best Michael Phelps impression, swimming to the other side."
- "Berlin is first to complete 3rd District recount; Trahan picks up a vote," by the Lowell Sun: "The recount of the Third Congressional District race has resulted in 75 votes tallied for Daniel A. Koh and 70 votes tallied for Lori Trahan. The original certified tally had Koh with 75 votes in Berlin and Trahan with 69 votes."
NOTE THIS IS THE MOONIE NEWSPAPER WITH NO JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS AND THAT WAS THE BEST HE COULD DO?
ON THE STUMP -
- "'Real Indian' candidate's father occupies Elizabeth Warren's office in debate protest," by the Washington Times: "The father of independent Massachusetts Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai held a sit-in Wednesday at the district office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren to protest his son's exclusion from candidate debates."
- "Blank votes in primary reveal Democratic discontent," by Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald: "Nearly one quarter of Democratic primary voters blanked their gubernatorial ballots rather than vote for either of the two candidates — a stunning show of discontent that could hurt the party's chances in November."
- "New Kids On The Block: Nika Elugardo And Jon Santiago On Their Wins And What Comes Next," by Adam Reilly, WGBH News : "Ayanna Pressley's win over Mike Capuano was the big national story coming out of Massachusetts' Sept. 4 primary, but there were some other dramatic developments, too — including Rachael Rollins' win in the Suffolk DA's race and the ouster of two members of House leadership — Ways and Means Chair Jeffrey Sanchez and Majority Whip Byron Rushing. Lawyer and activist Nika Elugardo and physician Jon Santiago, Sanchez and Rushing's victorious challengers, join Peter Kadzis and Adam Reilly to discuss their wins, the change they hope to bring to the House, and who they'll back in the next election for House speaker."
DATELINE BEACON HILL -
- "Rosenberg asks judge to dismiss parts of civil lawsuit against him," by Joshua Miller, Boston Globe: "Rosenberg, through his lawyer, is asking for the counts against him — but not Hefner — to be dismissed. The legal filings refer to the accuser as John Doe."
- "Massachusetts Gaming Commission in final stages of Steve Wynn investigation," by Gintautas Dumcius, Springfield Republican: "Investigators with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission are in the final stages of their look into former casino mogul Steve Wynn, the company he founded, and whether the company is still suitable to hold a casino license here. ... The investigators are in Las Vegas this week, according to Gaming Commission executive director Ed Bedrosian."
- "Massachusetts RMV: Those 1,900 licensees state audit said were dead are actually alive," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "The ghost drivers are alive. ... So says Registrar of Motor Vehicles Erin Deveney, who sent a letter to Auditor Suzanne Bump on Thursday disputing an audit that said the RMV had issued 1,900 licenses to dead people."
- "Mass. Auditor Suzanne Bump faults Hampden DA for insufficent data collection with juvenile diversion program," by Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: "A newly released audit by State Auditor Suzanne Bump faults the Hampden District Attorney's office for not doing enough with data collection to determine whether a program for first-time juvenile offenders actually works."
THE WARREN REPORT -
- "How Elizabeth Warren Is Dominating the Democratic Presidential Race," by Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine : "Warren has taken the opposite tack, defending her agenda as a plan to save capitalism from its excesses. She has called herself "a capitalist to my bones" (or, at other times, her "ankles.") "There are so many people right now who argue against these reforms and other reforms, who claim they are pro-business," she told Franklin Foer, "They're not. They're pro-monopoly. They're pro-concentration of power, which crushes competition." It is also notable that Warren has directed some of the messaging for her early moves at economic liberals like Foer and Vox's Matthew Yglesias, who would have a more skeptical view of Sanders-style socialism. She even touted her plans in a Wall Street Journal op-ed."
DATELINE DC -
- "Mashpee tribe member confronts Interior official," by Tanner Stening, Cape Cod Times: "The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's second-in-command got a chance Wednesday to tell the head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs how she felt about a Trump administration finding that the Cape tribe didn't qualify to have its land taken into trust."
FRONT PAGE PLAY — Herald: "STREETS OF FIRE" — Globe: "Explosions, flames, and fear," "Gas turned off after destruction in 3 communities; one person killed," "For residents, a day of sudden, shocking chaos," "Credit union will service pot business," "FLORENCE CLOSES IN," "St. Paul's School to get N.H. oversight."
THE LOCAL ANGLE -
- "Mass. credit union will serve recreational marijuana companies," by Dan Adams, Boston Globe: "A Massachusetts credit union will become the first financial institution in the state to offer banking services to recreational marijuana companies, a step that will allow consumers to pay for pot with plastic and helps cannabis businesses avoid the expensive and risky proposition of running all-cash operations."
- "Doing It 'Her Way': Althea Garrison Finds Herself On The Verge Of Public Office Again," by Quincy Walters, WBUR: "Despite being ideological opposites, Garrison says she campaigned for Pressley. ... 'I'll be basically honest,' she says. 'Because I was next in line to succeed on the council — I was the runner-up in last year's election. So I knew if she got elected, I would take her seat. And everything worked out perfect.'"
- "Somerville drops Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples' Day," by the Associated Press: "Mayor Joe Curtatone announced the change Thursday in a statement calling Columbus Day a 'relic of an outdated and oversimplified version of history.' ... He says the city made the decision after careful consideration and after receiving many 'compelling arguments' for the update."
- "Springfield's new MGM casino shows a veteran card counter the door," by Mark Arsenault, Boston Globe: "In the 400-year history of Massachusetts, Tommy Hyland can now claim to a rare distinction: He is among the very first to be thrown out of a state-licensed business for doing math in his head."
- "Boston Marriott Hotel Workers Vote To Strike, But Have Yet To Walk Out," by Marilyn Schairer, WGBH News: "Brian Lang, Local 26 union president, said bell hops, doormen and waitstaff are among the workers who will walk off the job, if the strike comes to fruition. 'We're talking about housekeepers who make those rooms sparkle, and that allows the Westin, for instance, to charge $738 dollars a night in this past week,' Lang said."
- "Former Mafia don Frank Salemme sentenced to life in prison for 1993 slaying," by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: "Former New England Mafia boss Francis 'Cadillac Frank' Salemme seemed eager to get it over with Thursday as a judge asked if he had anything to say before she sentenced him to mandatory life in prison for the 1993 murder of South Boston nightclub owner Steven DiSarro. ... 'Not really,' 85-year-old Salemme said. 'Anything I would have to say would be redundant. Let's just wrap it up.'"
- "Yarmouth again balks at Vineyard Wind pact," by Kristen Young, Cape Cod Times: "As local opposition to a proposed high-wattage transmission cable intensifies, Yarmouth selectmen have rejected a second offer by offshore energy company Vineyard Wind to pay for costs incurred as the town considers a host community agreement with the company."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaign manager Roger Lau, former Chelsea Klein for Senate campaign manager Alex Pratt, WBUR's Amy Gorel, and Brittany Parker.
HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND - to Scott Zoback, deputy chief of staff to state Senate President Emerita Harriette Chandler on Saturday and Sunday birthday-er Susan Ryan Vollmar, principal of Influence Consulting.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! - The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays, 4-3.
FRESH OUT OF THE GATE - On this episode of The Horse Race, we wrap up our recap of the primary election and make a big announcement. ... We welcomed News Editor at the Dorchester Reporter, Jenn Smith and Michael Jonas of Commonwealth Magazine to cover the DA race. We then catch up with our friends of the Codcast, Jennifer Nassour and Jesse Mermell to hear all about their new, highly opinionated, cross-partisan podcast, Disagreeing Agreeably. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud
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