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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
ROOKIE CAMP — Newly-elected state lawmakers are at UMass Amherst today for the second day of the Academy for New Legislators, a three-day program to prep new members before they are sworn in at the beginning of January.
"A huge part of this experience is an opportunity for all of the new legislators to get to know one another and spend time together," Needham Senator-elect Becca Rausch told me over the phone on Wednesday. Rausch said she also talked about her push for greater transparency on Beacon Hill with some of her new colleagues over lunch.
Today's sessions will include simulated committee hearings and legislative sessions, along with panels on ethics and campaign finance, Rausch told me. Yesterday, new lawmakers discussed communications, economic and revenue forecasting and the budget process. The sessions have Florence Senator-elect Jo Comerford fired up to get to work in January on issues like inequality and job growth.
"Talking about these realities in numbers just added fuel to my resolve to go in and be a champion for legislation that goes head-on to addressing inequality and inequities, and forming a strong foundation today that makes it possible for lasting opportunity tomorrow," Comerford told me.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO HOME — But you can't stay here. That's the message some congressional Democrats want to send to lawmakers who sleep in their offices. Rep. Jim McGovern will be at the helm of the committee that will explore getting rid of the practice. He's the incoming chair of the House Committee on Rules, and told The Hill he's found banning sleeping in congressional offices has broad support among Democrats.
A Democratic aide told me on Wednesday night the House Committee on Administration will probably study the issue early in the next Congress. It's not clear just how many House members sleep in their offices in lieu of finding an apartment in Washington.
The most famous House member who sleeps in their office is probably outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, who says sleeping on a cot in his office helps him get more work done. Members who sleep in their offices see it as a way to save money and distance themselves from the Washington establishment. But those questioning the practice say it's unfair that House members who sleep in their offices essentially get free lodging, electricity, cable and cleaning services while making an average $174,000 a year. Also, some think it's kind of gross.
Earlier this year, members of the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to the House Ethics Committee requesting a probe into the practice, which has been popular among some conservatives since the 1990s.
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 and Secretary for Veterans' Affairs Francisco Ureña celebrate the Massachusetts National Guard's 382nd birthday with Massachusetts National Guard Adjutant General Gary Keefe and Secretary of Public Safety and Security Thomas Turco. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Rep. Dave Nangle ring the Salvation Army bell in Lowell. Congresswoman-elect Ayanna Pressley speaks at the Kennedy Institute. The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees meets. Boston recognizes Female Founders Day. The Cannabis Control Commission meets.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "BAKER ENERGY PLAN HINGES ON CHANGES IN TRANSPORTATION, BUILDINGS," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "A first-ever energy plan released Wednesday by the Baker administration found that Massachusetts must step up its efforts around energy efficiency in the transportation sector and building, heating and cooling if the state is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower costs for ratepayers and ensure energy reliability."
- "Baker calls Lawrence gas restoration 'substantially completed,'" by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: "The days of closed-off streets, with jackhammers thrumming at all hours and construction workers everywhere, of cold nights in sweatpants, hats, and gloves, and of meals over hot plates are finally over for thousands of families in the Merrimack Valley. Three months after a series of gas explosions and fires ripped through their neighborhoods, nearly every one of the residents of Andover, Lawrence, and North Andover who went so long without heat or hot water now has their gas service restored and has returned home."
- "Should Plainridge Park casino be allowed to have table games?" by Mark Arsenault, Boston Globe: "Officials in Plainville and three neighboring towns are calling on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to support an expansion of Plainridge Park Casino, the state's only slots parlor, to keep pace with its Rhode Island competitors. Local officials have recently written the commission to express their support for allowing table games and more slot machines at the Plainville casino, located at the junction of Route 1 and Interstate 495 not far from the Rhode Island border, according to letters acquired by the Globe."
- "Rep's departure quiets Beacon Hill's most conservative voice," by Christian M. Wade, Salem News: "Jim Lyons grew up in a working-class Irish Catholic family with a father who headed a police union and told him never to vote Republican. Lyons heeded his father's advice, for a while, and even ran for elected office a few times as a Democrat. But he eventually realized that his values and Christian faith were more in line with the platform and politics of the Republican Party."
- "BARRETT QUESTIONS GAS SAFETY CONSULTANT'S TIES TO INDUSTRY," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service:"During Tuesday's hearing on the safety of natural gas infrastructure in Massachusetts, a key lawmaker questioned whether the consulting firm the Baker administration brought on to evaluate the state's gas system is truly independent of the gas industry and whether its report will be free of bias."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Seeking another term, City Council President Campbell pushes for equity," by Jennifer Smith, Dorchester Reporter: "City Council President Andrea Campbell is looking to continue to use her platform to push for equity across a city strained by housing costs and grappling with new industries as she prepares for another run for her District 4 seat. The 36-year-old councillor swept into office in 2015 by unseating 32-year incumbent Charles Yancey. Two years later, her colleagues elected her the first African-American woman to serve as the body's president."
- "Cyclists want MassDOT to keep separated bike lane on Longfellow Bridge through the winter," by Steve Annear, Boston Globe: "Bicycle advocates in Cambridge and Boston are asking state transportation officials to reconsider the removal of newly installed plastic bollards separating a bike lane from the busy car lanes across the Longfellow Bridge this winter. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation tweeted this week that it would take down the bollards — also known as 'flexposts' — to make plowing the bridge that spans the Charles River safer during the snowy months."
- "#AtTheTable to hold largest-ever gathering on 'Female Founders Day,'" by Kelly J. O'Brien, Boston Business Journal:"On Thursday night, around 200 women who have started businesses will gather at the Innovation and Design Building in the Seaport for what is likely Boston's largest gathering of female founders. In honor of the dinner, Mayor Martin J. Walsh's office has officially recognized December 13 as ' Female Founders Day' in Boston."
- "Fed tax program eyed for growth in 'Opportunity Zones,'" by Bill Forry, Dorchester Reporter: "A new federal tax-deferment program intended to spur economic growth in select low-income neighborhoods across the country will launch in the new year. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will offer qualified investors significant tax breaks on capital gains over the next decade if they buy and develop property in specific census tracts— dubbed 'Opportunity Zones.'"
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| THE OPINION PAGES |
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- "More women in the Massachusetts House means there should be more women at the top," Boston Globe Editorial: "The political world - yes, even on Beacon Hill - is changing before our eyes. And those who fail to realize that, those who remain in denial, will ultimately find their power diminished. Not that Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo is going anywhere anytime soon. But surely the loss this year of his trusted Ways and Means chair, Jeff Sanchez - ousted by Nika Elugardo — ought to serve as a warning that there is a price to be paid for loyalty, that the face of his membership is changing and the face of its leadership should as well."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Heath McAuliffe becomes 8th Massachusetts State Police trooper charged in overtime scandal; Two retired troopers agree to plead guilty," by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: "Heath McAuliffe of Hopkinton is the eighth Massachusetts State Police trooper to face charges in connection with a scandal of overtime abuse, officials said. McAuliffe, 40, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds. He's scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston later Wednesday and is currently suspended from the State Police without pay."
- "U.S. Attorney Will Not Bar ICE Agents From Mass. Courthouses," by Marilyn Schiarer, WGBH News: "U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling rejected calls to bar federal immigration agents from operating in state courthouses Wednesday. Lelling, who was appointed to his position by President Donald Trump in Dec. 2017, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have a right to pursue and detain unauthorized immigrants, especially if they face criminal charges."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "It's been a rough few weeks for Warren's White House hopes. Does it matter?" by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: " Elizabeth Warren is having a media moment, and not much of the news has been good. There was a front-page New York Times story describing a darkening cloud of controversy over her nascent 2020 presidential campaign thanks to a now infamous DNA test. A prominent Washington Post article followed, dissecting who's in and out of her political team, on the heels of polls showing voters in her home state are not enthused by the prospect of her running. Mix them together with an unflattering editorial from her hometown paper, her Senate reelection results (Governor Charlie Baker won by a bigger margin), and a lot of idle political consultants, and the rest of the media had ingredients for countless other stories painting a picture of a wounded Warren campaign — before it's even gotten off the ground."
- "2020 Democrats Face a Vexing Issue: Big Money From the Rich," by Shane Goldmacher, New York Times: "If she runs, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is likely to reject the assistance of a super PAC, according to two people familiar with her thinking. And the former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. revealed in a little-noticed passage in his 2017 book that he would have gone without one if he had run in 2016, making it more difficult for him to backtrack now."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Congressional Corner With Jim McGovern," WAMC: "In some parts of America, the blue wave was business as usual. In today's Congressional Corner, Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, a Democrat from the second district, speaks with WAMC's Alan Chartock."
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| THE LOWELL CONNECTOR |
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- "Drug, gun cases dismissed in Lowell because officers can't testify," by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: "When Gomez's case was called for trial in Lowell District Court on Nov. 28, the charges were dismissed because some Lowell police officers are prohibited from testifying, pending an internal review of their role in the arrest of Paul Aaron, 31, a suspected fentanyl dealer. Gomez's case is among 15 that have been dropped since early November because the officers can't testify."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Stymied In His Anti-Pelosi Quest, Seth Moulton Declares Victory Nonetheless," by Adam Reilly, WGBH News: " His push to keep California Rep. Nancy Pelosi from serving another term as House Speaker seems to have failed, but Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton is claiming victory nonetheless. In a deal announced Wednesday, Pelosi said she'll serve no more than four more years as speaker, and several Democrats who had opposed her return to the speakership said they would support her bid when the House picks its next leader on Jan. 3. That includes Moulton, who had become perhaps the most prominent face of the anti-Pelosi movement. He said in a conference call with constituents Wednesday night that Pelosi's agreement to term limits for herself and other Democratic congressional leaders will make the party stronger."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "FEAR LINGERS," — Globe: "There's trouble in the wind," "Tabloid says it paid hush money for Trump." |
| BEHIND THE TOFU CURTAIN |
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- "Union prevails at Gazette, Advocate in 40-29 vote," by Fran Ryan, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "The voting began at 3 p.m. Wednesday and continued until 8 p.m. as employees of the Daily Hampshire Gazette cast their ballots on whether or not to establish a union. When the votes were tallied, the results were 40 yes and 29 no, officially establishing the Pioneer Valley NewsGuild at the Daily Hampshire Gazette and the Valley Advocate. At 8:15 reporter Bera Dunau emerged from a back office of the Gazette where the votes were being counted, and with a big smile on his face announced, 'We have a union!'"
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "First major offshore wind project in jeopardy of being blocked," by David Abel, Boston Globe: "The warming waters south of Cape Cod have decimated the region's lobster fishery. But it's an ambitious effort to fight climate change that has lobstermen like Lanny Dillinger concerned for their livelihoods. Dillinger worries that the nation's first major offshore wind farm, planned for the waters between Martha's Vineyard and Block Island — a $2 billion project that will set precedents for the future of wind power in the United States — will transform the area into a maze of turbines and make it too treacherous to fish."
- "Framingham officials declare war on beavers and their dams," by Emily Sweeney, Boston Globe: "Officials in Framingham have declared war on beavers in two areas of the city. The public works department recently got the green light to set lethal traps for the rodents in two locations because the dams they've built are causing problems, Framingham conservation administrator Robert McArthur said. One of the areas is Singletary Lane because water has been flooding the roadway and freezing over, which results in black ice and creates a dangerous situation for school bus drivers, he said."
- "FBI informant takes stand in '91 Worcester guard slaying," by Gary V. Murray, Telegram & Gazette: "A longtime FBI informant from New Hampshire testified Wednesday that Ralph DeMasi admitted to him in 1991 that he had killed a guard during an armored car robbery in Massachusetts. Paul Vrusho, 65, said the now 82-year-old Mr. DeMasi made the admission in the summer of 1991 in a condominium Mr. DeMasi was renting in Hampton Beach in New Hampshire."
SPOTTED: At the wedding of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal in Udaipur ... Former Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry tearing up the dance floor with fellow former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Video.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards and Nancy Fitzpatrick.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Celtics beat the Wizards 130-125.
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