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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Hanukkah!
MILLENNIALS EYE RENEWABLE ENERGY — A group of millennial lawmakers, elected officials and policy wonks will meet up in Boston today to talk about pushing the state toward 100 percent clean energy. They say the transition is especially important to them because they're the ones who will face the impacts of climate change in 30 to 40 years.
State Sen. Eric Lesser, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, state Rep. Andy Vargas and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse are among those huddling at Boston University today at the event organized by Ben Hellerstein of Environment Massachusetts. "My hope is that it will be a kick-off and a little bit of a launching pad for the environmental agenda as the new legislative session opens in January," Lesser told me on Sunday afternoon. On the agenda are a renewable portfolio standard, solar and wind development, home energy audits, transit development and an expansion of Mass Save program incentives.
The challenge with environmental policy , Lesser says, is to create a sense of urgency. "The fear I think many of us have, especially younger people, is that by the time the political system catches up to the crisis we're facing, it very well might be too late," Lesser said. But as the state sees more powerful storms, and hurricanes and fires ravage other parts of the country, that urgent feeling may be growing.
Former Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry said at Tufts last week making climate change and clean energy a voting issue is the "only way out" of the climate crisis. And a federal climate reportreleased earlier this month paints a dark picture. The Patriot Ledger pointed out coastal communities on the South Shore like Quincy and Plymouth are already bracing for change, spending millions on sea walls and drainage systems to combat sea level rise.
That being said, Massachusetts has been a leader on climate initiatives. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a group of states Massachusetts joined in 2017 dedicated to reducing carbon emissions, is meeting today to talk about 2019 plans. But advocates say there's room for growth — like getting a carbon pricing bill signed into law. A carbon tax bill made it through the Senate last session but didn't land on the governor's desk.
Among the lawmakers who won't return to the legislature this year, five were labeled "stragglers" on environment policy in an Environmental League Action Fund report released in October. The group tallies an annual scorecard that counts votes, bill sponsorships and other actions lawmakers took in support its priorities — in this case environmental issues.
Stragglers are defined as voting against one of ELM's priority bills, or sponsoring a bill or amendment the group opposed. All Republicans, they are state Reps. Jim Lyons, Keiko Orrall, Geoff Diehl, Kevin Kuros and Kate Campanale.
The legislature is also losing three climate "champions," nine "allies" and three "supporters" in the coming session, according to ELM. One "champion" — freshman state Rep. Solomon Goldstein-Rose — left the Democratic party in February and later dropped his reelection bid to devote all his energy to a nonpartisan solution to climate change.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY - Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Senate President Karen Spilka, House Minority Leader Bradley Jones and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr hold a leadership meeting. Baker, Polito, DeLeo, Spilka, Attorney General Maura Healey, Secretary of State Bill Galvin andTreasurer Deborah Goldberg attend a menorah-lighting at the State House.
RGGI Board of Directors talk 2019 plans. The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action holds its "Dreidels with Deb Goldberg" party. Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George holds a mental health resources and suicide prevention hearing at Boston City Hall. The Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus hosts state Senator-elect and current state Rep. Diana DiZoglio at its breakfast series.
A student holiday concert series put on by Galvin's office begins at the State House. Healey talks politics at Tufts University. State Sen. Eric Lesser, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu, Rep. Andy Vargasand Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse attend a millennial event on renewable energy.
REMEMBERING GEORGE H.W. BUSH ...
- "PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH REMEMBERED AS PUBLIC SERVANT, WAR HERO," by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "Tributes to President George H.W. Bush poured in over the weekend, with Sen. Edward Markey saluting his depth of his public service and Gov. Charlie Baker calling Bush a war hero. The 41st president of the United States, Bush, who was born in Milton, died Friday at the age of 94."
- "Michael Dukakis praises George H.W. Bush's work to end Cold War," by Susan Haigh, Associated Press: "Former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, who lost to George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election, said Saturday that his former political foe's legacy was his effort to help end the Cold War. ... He also credited Bush, who died Friday night at age 94, with working with other countries and the United Nations in the first Gulf War."
- "Mourners leave flowers, tributes at Bush's birthplace in Milton," by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: "Carrying flowers and small US flags, supporters of President George H.W. Bush came by his Adams Street birthplace Saturday morning to pay respects to the nation's 41st president. Bush, who served as president from 1989 to 1993, died Friday at the age of 94."
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Courts rebuke Baker on push to strip hundreds of gun licenses," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Governor Charlie Baker's administration is resisting a mounting number of court orders from judges charging that it overstepped its legal authority, or misinterpreted the law, when it pushed to strip firearm licenses from hundreds of people it previously cleared to own a gun. Daniel Bennett, Baker's public safety secretary, told local police chiefs last week that the state intends to block certain licenses from being reinstated, even if ordered by a judge. The administration says it expects the move will spur lawsuits against the state."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "A somber beginning to Hanukkah in Boston," by Maddie Kilgannon, Boston Globe: "The first night of Hanukkah was cloudy, but the rain held off Sunday long enough to allow for the lighting of the menorahs at both Downtown Crossing and the Boston Common. 'It's the perfect metaphor, really,' said Rabbi Marc Baker, the resident and CEO of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. 'Lighting a candle in the rain . . . spreading light in these dark times.'"
- "John Marttila remembered as a master political strategist," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: " Some of the Commonwealth's and the nation's most prominent Democratic politicians quietly gathered in a Back Bay church Sunday afternoon to remember John Marttila, one of the most influential political consultants of a generation. Delivering eulogies were three of his former clients: former vice president Joe Biden, former US secretary of state John Kerry, and US Senator Ed Markey. He ran all of their first major races for higher office."
- "Former prosecutor Dan Conley slams ACLU lawsuit," by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald: "The ACLU's lawsuit over the Boston police gang database is a slap in the face to prosecutors and cops who responded when the civil rights group urged them to get 'smart on crime,' former Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley says. ... The ACLU is suing the city — including the Boston Regional Intelligence Center that generates the gang intel — over what they say is a system programmed to deport young Central American men."
- "With Beth Israel-Lahey merger, state charts new course on health care," by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, Boston Globe: " The decision by Attorney General Maura Healey to allow the merger of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health marks the start of a great experiment in Massachusetts health care. The hypothesis behind the approval: Allowing the formation of a new large health system — with price caps and other constraints — will keep medical costs in check, ensure access for vulnerable populations, and provide a healthy dose of new competition to market leader Partners HealthCare."
- "FOR DEVELOPERS IN BOSTON, IT MAY PAY OFF TO BLOW OFF INCLUSIONARY BUILDING REQUIREMENTS," by Dan Atkinson, DigBoston: "It was another condo building rising in Southie. The development at 135 Athens Street/160 West Broadway was approved by city officials in 2014, with the promise that two of its 15 units would be affordable. The building was finished in 2017. But when the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) reviewed the completed project, it discovered the developer had sold the units that had been designated for affordable housing at market rates."
- "New Wynn board chair makes his case," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "Chances are we'll be seeing more and more of Phil Satre in Boston. The new, 69-year-old chairman of the board at Wynn Resorts is expected to take a lead role in efforts to convince Massachusetts regulators that the company should be allowed to hang on to its casino license in the wake of Steve Wynn's messy departure amid allegations of sexual misconduct."
- "Red Sox confident new betting laws will engage fans," by Michael Silverman, Boston Herald: "Betting's coming to baseball in a big way, and even though the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has yet to formally address legislation to legalize it here, the arrival of betting in one of the six New England states is a strong indicator that it likely is a matter of when and not if sports betting will become legal in Massachusetts."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "ICE agent was in courthouse. Did judge and others help man flee?" by Andrea Estes and Maria Cramer, Boston Globe: "The actions of the judge and court personnel that afternoon are the focus of a probe into whether they broke the law in helping Medina-Perez evade federal authorities, according to five people with direct knowledge. Several court employees have recently testified before the grand jury, one of the sources said. The federal investigation into a sitting state court judge is extraordinary and underscores the highly politicized push and pull between state authorities and federal officials who have been instructed to crack down on undocumented immigrants."
- "Lawsuits allege pay bias, difficult environment for women at Boston Public Schools' central offices," by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "The Boston school system is facing two lawsuits from female administrators in the central offices who describe a difficult work environment, offering a rare glimpse at the culture inside the notoriously dysfunctional School Department headquarters. One case alleges that female administrators who work in the Office of English Language Learners aren't paid equitably. The other contends that a former male assistant superintendent who oversaw student mental health programs created a hostile work environment for older women."
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| THE CLARK CAUCUS |
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- "The next generation of Democratic congressional leadership is coming into view," by Matthew Yglesias, Vox: "At long last, the next generation of Democratic congressional leadership became clear in the form of Assistant Leader Ben Ray Lujan (NM), Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (NY), and Katherine Clark (MA). These are all, broadly speaking, Pelosi loyalists from near the congressional party's center of gravity — representatives of neither the progressive wing nor the moderate wing — who've all ascended the ranks with the blessing of the current cohort of leaders."
- "Clark to push for D.C. unity," by Trevor Ballantyne, Milford Daily News: "Weeks after MetroWest residents hit the polls in record numbers to re-elect U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted the congresswoman to the sixth-most powerful leadership position in the legislative body. In her new role as vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, the representative for Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District says she aims to be a unifier among colleagues, despite a political atmosphere fraught with tension."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Some 2020 warning signs Elizabeth Warren needs to pay attention to -- stat," by Harry Enten, CNN: "The Massachusetts secretary of state certified the state's US Senate election results this week and found that Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren defeated Republican Geoff Diehl by 24 points. Warren's margin may sound impressive, until you realize Hillary Clinton won Massachusetts by 27 points in 2016. Clinton won by 3 more points than Warren, despite 2018 being a better year for Democrats nationally and Warren having the advantage of incumbency."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Moulton: Pelosi should step down as Speaker after year," Associated Press: "U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton says he could support Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker — if she and the two top members of her leadership team agree to step down after a year and hold new elections. The Massachusetts Democrat, who's helping lead the opposition to Pelosi, told WGBH-FM on Friday that the House needs a new generation of leaders."
- "Moulton Calls Ocasio-Cortez's Tweet Defending Nancy Pelosi 'Offensive,'" by Arjun Singh, WGBH News: "In an interview with Boston Public Radio Friday, Moulton, who identifies himself as a progressive Democrat, called Cortez's tweet "offensive," and not just to him, but to legislators like California Democrat and Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Linda Sanchez, who called for a change in House leadership last fall."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Ayanna Pressley finds her footing in Washington," by Liz Goodwin and Jess Bidgood, Boston Globe: " Pressley has shown an unusual savvy and cut a remarkably high profile for a lawmaker who has yet to be sworn in. While many freshmen were quite literally getting their bearings, she finagled the gun-bill promise from Nancy Pelosi in the Capitol and flew down to Mississippi as one of the few out-of-state Democrats asked to stump for Senate candidate Mike Espy. And she has built alliances with other high-profile members of the younger, historically diverse House freshman class, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar, who call themselves a #squad on Instagram."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Smoke shops are booming, but they're not always welcome," by Beth Teitell, Boston Globe: "Smoke shops, long a counterculture staple of college towns, legally selling pipes and hookahs and other paraphernalia under the pretense that it could be used for tobacco, have been around for decades. But with marijuana now legal in Massachusetts and vaping becoming a booming global business, they are rapidly multiplying."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "A NATION MOURNS," "TARGETED," — Globe: "Pressley quickly finds footing in D.C.," "State fights courts over licensing of firearms," "Where there's a smoke shop..." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Renters squeezed by high prices, low inventory in Berkshires," by Kristin Palpini, Berkshire Eagle: "Half the time, people end up renting places they can't afford: 50 percent of Berkshire renters are burdened by monthly housing costs, according to the most recently completed U.S. Census American Communities Survey. ...The situation has gotten worse since the Great Recession, local experts say, and is exacerbated by short-term rentals and by stagnant or falling wages. Rental housing that workers can afford has become scarce. While communities are working to increase the supply of rental housing, cost remains a problem."
- "At one Massachusetts college, students are saving over $100,000 each year on textbooks. Here's how." by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Open educational resources, or OER, are an increasingly popular solution to the problem of students being unable to afford textbooks that cost hundreds of dollars. OER includes online material like videos, links to relevant web pages, textbooks, homework and assessments. Material is published online and free, under a license that allows anyone to use it. Now a sophomore and a student senator, Woods is a passionate advocate for OER -- and she is not alone. The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education recently launched a working group to make recommendations related to expanding OER."
- "Saying Boston gets whatever it wants, WMass business leaders blast MassDOT's 'disrespect' of Greater Springfield politicians who want Interstate 91 viaduct buried," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "Leaving Interstate 91 as it stands with its elevated viaduct blocking Springfield from its riverfront is unacceptable to nine area mayors and the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council -- and they let state officials know it in no uncertain terms."
- "9 questions about EPA's Housatonic River cleanup talkfest," by Larry Parnass, Berkshire Eagle: "Before environmentalists joined the closed-door mediation underway over the planned Housatonic River cleanup, some of them wrestled with one price of entry: secrecy. They joined but pestered the Environmental Protection Agency to keep a door open to public involvement. That portal opens Monday night, perhaps for the only time, when the agency convenes an unusual meeting in Lenox ."
- "District says 'farewell' to Kulik," by Richie Davis, Greenfield Recorder: "For his 25 years as a state legislator and a strong advocate for agriculture and other rural issues affecting the 1st Franklin House District, retiring Rep. Stephen Kulik was toasted and roasted Friday by about 100 Franklin County Chamber of Commerce members. The 68-year-old Worthington Democrat, who represents nine Franklin County towns, and as many in Hampshire County, was reminded of his 'great disco moves from the '70s' and his 12 times seeing the Rolling Stones in concert."
- "City cancels police chief's trip to Israel amid opposition: Jody Kasper was to train with Israeli security forces," by Dusty Christensen, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Activists are claiming victory over the city's canceling of a trip the police chief planned to take to Israel to train with that country's security forces. Local residents, including members of the national organization Jewish Voice for Peace, raised concerns over the trip after learning through a public records request that Police Chief Jody Kasper was prepared to go on the trip."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "Coming Up: Yet Another State Report On Transportation Needs," by Bob Salsberg, Associated Press: "No one would fault Massachusetts residents for being skeptical that an upcoming report from a special commission on the future of transportation will do much to ease their daily commute. There have, after all, been other studies in past years from government-appointed task forces, think tanks and advocacy groups. Many contained dire warnings of a transportation system in danger of collapsing under the weight of misguided policies, deteriorating infrastructure, inadequate financing, crushing debt or just plain neglect."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Climate change already reshaping South Shore coastline," by Neal Simpson, Patriot Ledger: " The answer to that question depends largely on how policymakers, elected officials and individuals respond to the threat of a rapidly changing climate, according to the latest edition of the U.S. government's national climate change assessment, a voluminous report that offers the most precise picture to date of what the country might look like after 80 years of rising seas and temperatures, intensifying storms and acidifying oceans that together are expected to reshape coastal communities like those on the South Shore."
- "Man of Law: New state rep will switch from helping people by legal work to helping by making law," by Alice Ferre, The Standard-Times: "Christopher Hendricks says his decision to expand his practice of helping working people from the courtroom to the Statehouse is a reflection of times of political upheaval, when the less fortunate are left behind. ... The representative-elect won the September Democratic primary, beating 15-term incumbent Robert Koczera by 24 votes. Hendricks, who will be sworn in in January, said he looks forward to being on the other side of the law — not using it to defend people but drafting it to implement change."
SPOTTED: John Kerry at the Friday night performance of "Springsteen on Broadway." Pic
MAZEL! to Jack Sullivan, who retired from CommonWealth Magazine on Friday after more than three decades in this biz. Column
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Robby Mook, senior fellow at the Kennedy School and a CNN contributor - Playbook Plus Q&A
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Patriots beat the Vikings 24-10.
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