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Presented by JUUL Labs
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
KHAN GOES AFTER ALTERED ADS — State Rep. Kay Khan is pushing for legislation that would give up to a $10,000 tax credit to certain companies that don't digitally alter the skin tone or body shape of models used in advertising. The recently filed bill is the first of its kind in the country, according to Khan's office, and she says it could convince companies to "lean into the body confidence movement."
"It would be trying to incentivize companies to be more realistic in their way of advertising," Khan told me last night. "It's not that we see images just once or twice. We see these manipulated images hundreds of times, and that's what kind of stays with us. So the idea would be to create a better environment that would promote more healthy images."
The bill would give a tax credit to cosmetic, personal care and apparel companies that don't use edited advertisements. The proposed law defines those edits as when a "human model's skin tone, skin texture including wrinkles, body size, or body shape are changed." Khan said the bill was brought to her attention last year when she met with a representative from Israel. Lawmakers there passed a law in 2012 to regulate the use of digitally altered images in advertising.
Experts say that regular exposure to digitally altered images of models can trigger mental health issues in young people, including eating disorders. And Khan's bill comes as some brands have rejected using digitally altered images in ad campaigns. Women's retailer Aerie stopped editing photos of models in 2014, and Target announced it would not alter images of models in its swimwear campaigns last year.
Khan pointed to a program launched by CVS, which puts a watermark on images to show they have not been digitally altered. "Companies that are thinking along those lines would be eligible for a tax credit. It sort of models what we did with the Wellness Tax Credit program that was ongoing for several years," Khan said. That program encouraged employers to offer wellness programs for employees, and expired in 2017.
"I think there's a movement in that direction, to be more realistic. It's happening slowly," Khan said. "We can speed it up by offering tax credits to get people more aware and thinking about what we should be doing to protect young people." The deadline for lawmakers to sign onto the bill is June 6, according to Khan's office. Khan is co-chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities and is a psychiatric nurse.
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 Boston Mayor Marty Walsh kick off Pride Week at City Hall Plaza. Baker and First Lady Lauren Baker attend the Best Buddies Football Challenge at Harvard Stadium. Walsh is a guest on WGBH's "Morning Edition," and attends the Harvard-Kent Leadership Scholarship Ceremony. Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigns in California. Senate President Karen Spilka is a guest on "Boston Public Radio." Rep. Ayanna Pressley speaks at UMass Boston Commencement.
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A message from JUUL Labs:
Youth vaping is a problem. We're taking action. No youth or non-nicotine user should ever try JUUL products. We've taken a series of actions to greatly reduce youth use of tobacco products, including our own. Learn more about our youth prevention efforts: JUUL.com/youth-prevention
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "HARDBALL TACTICS SLOW TIME-SENSITIVE CHARTER BILL," by Matt Murphy and Michael Norton, State House News Service:"An innovative, but controversial plan from New Bedford to expand a charter school in that city continued to face rough treatment on Beacon Hill Thursday when it was met with another delay, this time in the Senate, potentially jeopardizing the project. Opponents of the bill, which would transfer the Kempton School property to the Alma Del Mar charter school for its new campus, have used procedural maneuvers over the past week to prevent it from even being assigned to a committee for a public hearing. Sen. Patricia Jehlen of Somerville was the latest to throw up a roadblock, using a procedural motion Thursday to block the bill from being assigned to the Joint Committee on Education."
- "Following Data Release, More Hearings Set For Weymouth Compressor Air Permit," by Barbara Moran, WBUR: "A state official decided Thursday to reopen appeals hearings regarding an air permit for a controversial proposed natural gas compressor station in Weymouth. The decision comes after two tumultuous weeks in which the state Department of Environmental Protection released new air quality data showing higher carcinogen levels around the proposed site than previously reported, and then faced possible sanctions for the delay in releasing the data."
- "DeLeo sidestepping Baker on bonds," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO is using a novel funding approach for his climate change legislation, authorizing the issuance of $1 billion in state general obligation bonds that would be exempt from controls set by the Baker administration. The Legislature regularly approves bond authorizations allowing state government to borrow money for all sorts of projects. To prevent overspending with borrowed money, the governor has the legislative authority to set caps on the amount of bonds that can be issued each year and the amount of interest on bonds that can be paid out of the state budget. The two caps give the governor wide latitude to determine how many bonds actually get issued each year and for what purposes."
- "Senate adds $250K to budget for Knowledge Corridor," by Anita Fritz, Greenfield Recorder: "The state Senate has included $250,000 in its budget to market what is known as the Knowledge Corridor Rail pilot program set to begin this summer. "I am delighted that my colleague Sen. Lesser and I were able to secure $250,000 in the Senate budget for the North-South passenger rail marketing," Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, said. "These funds will be used to raise critical public awareness and excitement at the onset of this pilot program." Comerford said the expanded train service is the result of years of work by many lawmakers at every level of government, and the marketing funds essentially lock in tens of millions of public dollars already invested in the project."
- Betting notes: DeLeo wants floor vote on sports bill," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "THERE ARE SCORES of variables for lawmakers to consider as they put together a regulatory scheme to legalize sports betting, but Speaker Robert DeLeo has already made up his mind on one important aspect of the pending legislation: there should be a bill brought to the House floor. The speaker telegraphed his hope for a big standalone bill by keeping sports-betting language out of the House budget and a spokeswoman this week confirmed that his goal is to bring a bill to the floor for debate this session. That bill could open up a whole new way to gamble and a new revenue stream for the state. To see it become law, DeLeo will need cooperation from Senate President Karen Spilka, who has said little about where she stands."
- "Attorney General Maura Healey Vows To Fight For Abortion Access," by Zoe Matthews, WGBH News: "A legislative and potential legal battle is shaping up around abortion, and pro-choice advocates have a fighter on their side in Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. In an interview on Boston Public Radio Thursday, Healey said she supports the ROE Act, an effort to codify and expand abortion access in the state. "This is just playing catch up," Healey said, noting that other states like New York and Connecticut already have more progressive laws around abortion access. Multiple state legislatures, like Alabama and Georgia, have recently passed into law policies that limit or restrict abortion, some even in cases of rape or incest."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Sunday's Dot Day parade follows historic trail," by Chris Lovett, Dorchester Reporter: "The first observance of Dorchester Day, in June of 1904, took place under a tent on Savin Hill. A celebration of local history and pride, it was also meant to protect an urban wild with a panoramic view from a frenzy of new development. But by the beginning of the 20th century, the fast pace of change in Dorchester was hard to ignore. Over the fifty years after its annexation to Boston, in 1870, Dorchester's population would increase more than ten-fold. And, even by 1910, more than one-third of the growing population in all of Boston was made up of immigrants."
- Boston teachers would get 2 percent pay raises under contract deal," by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "Officials from the Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union on Thursday night signed a tentative contract that offers 2 percent annual pay raises, guarantees a full-time nurse in every school, and provides an aide for every kindergarten classroom. Details on the three-year pact emerged one day after the union notified its more than 7,500 members that an "agreement in principle" had been reached. The agreement paves the way for ratification by union members on June 12. The School Committee will likely vote a week later."
- "Pioneer Institute, UMass feud intensifies over Boston campus," by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald: "The UMass brass is not budging in its fiscal feud with a top think tank over accusations of shoddy oversight at the beleaguered Boston campus. The Pioneer Institute, which slammed UMass President Martin T. Meehan over his handling of finances at the UMass Boston campus earlier this week, called out university leaders for not agreeing to an audit. "Pioneer Institute is disappointed that University of Massachusetts leadership refuses to join with Pioneer to request that the State Comptroller's Office audit the university's financial oversight," the think tank said in a statement Thursday."
- THEY SHOULD GET OVER IT: "A New Map Shows Basically the Whole Country Hates the Bruins," by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: "New England sports fans are not exactly known for giving a rat's ass what the rest of the country thinks of our teams, so gonna go out on a limb and guess this won't bother any of you. But a new map sourced from social media data shows that when it comes to the Stanley Cup, the vast majority of states are rooting against the Bruins. The potentially legit gambling website sportsbettingexperts.com crunched the numbers on 40,000 tweets, comparing the number of tweets in favor of Boston—for example, tweets with the hashtag #gobruins—to those that showed preference for the St. Louis Blues, like #weallbleedblue. A spokesman tells me the website used the social media-scraping tool Trendsmap to reach its conclusions."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "At Harvard, a not-so-veiled rebuke of Trump by Angela Merkel," by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered a sharp and not-so-veiled rebuke of President Trump and his brand of nationalism during her commencement speech at Harvard University on Thursday. Merkel never mentioned Trump by name, but warned graduating students of the dangers of building walls and approaching the world's problems — from climate change and trade to terrorism and forced migration — with an isolationist, go-it-yourself philosophy."
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| THE OPINION PAGES |
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- "If this is the new 'pro-life' movement, count me out," Rep. Stephen Lynch, Boston Globe: "While my position on the issue of abortion has never fit neatly on a bumper sticker, I have always used the term "pro-life'' to describe myself, no doubt a position partly informed by my faith. And it's partly because of that faith — not despite it — that I am compelled to denounce and reject the recent efforts in several states to isolate, abandon, and condemn women who wish to avoid pregnancy or are faced with an unwanted pregnancy."
- "Want to fix our broken democracy? Have a block party," by Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu: "As individuals we can feel powerless at the scale of the political crisis unfolding daily, with government refusing to confront any of the disasters looming before us: climate crisis, opioid crisis, housing crisis, constitutional crisis, structural racism, deepening income inequality, crushing congestion. But our divided politics isn't the problem. It's a symptom of the underlying societal ailment that each one of us has a role in treating: a crisis of trust."
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| ON THE STUMP |
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- HMMM: "FEC to Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and 48 more zombie campaigns: Why are you still here?" by Christopher O'Donnell, Eli Murray, Connie Humburg and Noah Pransky, Tampa Bay Times: "The federal agency that oversees elections demanded explanations on Wednesday from about 50 politicians who are operating zombie campaigns — political committees that keep spending contributions long after the campaign has ended. The Federal Election Commission sent letters to the campaigns Wednesday asking why their campaign accounts were still open. It flagged specific expenses by at least 17 campaigns and asked them to justify the spending. It is the first action taken by the agency since it announced in April 2018 that it would start scrutinizing the spending of what it called "dormant" campaigns."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Judge charged with helping man evade agent wants salary back," Associated Press: "A Massachusetts judge indicted on charges that she helped a defendant evade an immigration enforcement agent wants her pay reinstated while she fights the allegations. Newtown District Judge Shelley Joseph was suspended without pay last month after she was charged with helping a man who was living in the U.S. illegally to slip out a back courthouse door to avoid a waiting federal agent. Joseph has pleaded not guilty."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Elizabeth Warren releases child-care cost calculator to promote universal child-care plan," by Christina Prignano, Boston Globe: "Senator Elizabeth Warren is releasing a new cost calculator to promote her universal child-care plan. The new tool on her website is an attempt to cast her nationwide child-care policy in highly personal terms and builds off a similar tool released earlier this year that allowed users to calculate how much they would save under her student debt plan. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate announced the new calculator during an appearance Thursday on "The View." Warren has proposed making child care free for families earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line. Under her plan, those making more would pay on a sliding scale topping out at 7 percent of a family's income."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Markey slams Trump 'stealth attack' on immigrants," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "US SEN. EDWARD MARKEY released a report on Thursday that he said "helps to pull back the curtain" on ways President Trump is reducing the number of immigrants coming into the country. The report, titled "Under the Radar: The Trump Administration's Stealth Attack on the US Immigration System," said Trump has lowered the number of immigrants allowed into the country, restricted asylum claims, stepped up enforcement, and slowed down judicial processing. The report sourced most of the information from sources such as the Department of Homeland Security's field guides, the Congressional Research Service, and Trump's own executive orders."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Dozens of doctors, scientists warn Mass. marijuana is ripe for 'regulatory failure,'" by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: "Dozens of local doctors and scientists criticized the state's marijuana regulatory system Thursday, saying the current rules don't adequately protect public health from high-potency cannabis products now sold legally at 19 stores around Massachusetts. Consumers of THC, marijuana's main psychoactive compound, are at risk of becoming addicted, and face increased risk of "serious mental health problems including acute psychosis paranoia, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and suicide," the statement said."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "COPS HIT JACKPOT!" — Globe: "REBUILDING A BRIDGE TO GET OUT OF A JAM," "Tentative deal gives teachers 2% raises," "In swing districts, Democrats wary on impeachment." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "How work-to-rule is playing out at Bridge Street Elementary School," by Greta Jochem, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "John Zyskowski, a fourth-grade teacher at Bridge Street Elementary School, typically spends about four hours each week communicating with parents about students, particularly those with high needs. But lately, that kind of communication has gotten more difficult. Since last Monday, educators and school staff have been working-to-rule — or not working outside their contractual obligations and hours — in response to stalled negotiations between the Northampton Association of School Employees (NASE), the union that represents teachers and other school staff, and the School Committee ."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Baker in Worcester urges easing rules that impede home building," by George Barnes, Telegram & Gazette: "Gov. Charlie Baker maintains that changes are needed as soon as possible to address a housing crisis in Massachusetts. "If we continue to do nothing, which we have done for three decades, we are going to put ourselves in a terrible place, and the solution will take decades," he said at an event seeking support for the Housing Choice bill, which would allow communities to adopt zoning changes that would make it easier to develop all kinds of housing. Mr. Baker told those gathered in Edge at Union Station Thursday afternoon that the state has seen a significant increase in population since 2000 but housing growth has not kept pace."
- "With 13 colleges and universities in the Greater Worcester area, how can the city better leverage itself as a college town?" by Aviva Luttrell, MassLive.com: "As Worcester's economy continues to grow, state leaders say the city should position itself as a college town while promoting its cultural resources and affordable housing to better retain graduates after they leave school. "I think there's an opportunity here to sort of package that and promote it for Worcester," Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said of the city's various assets during a visit to Clark University Thursday. 'The fact that Worcester has nine academic institutions within it and 13 within the Greater Worcester area, how do we become better known as a college town? How do we better position the 35,000 to 40,000 graduates to stay here, to grow their roots further and begin their jobs and careers here in Central Massachusetts?'"
- "Parade vehicle with Confederate flag draws criticism," by Jennifer Solis, The Salem News: "Amid a chorus of praise from residents for this year's Memorial Day parade and ceremonies, the presence of a Confederate flag and aggressive language on a vehicle rolling down Main Street on Monday has has drawn criticism from residents who found the display to be offensive. The truck in question was one of three military vehicles arranged by Bernie Fields, who has participated in previous Memorial Day parades, according to Town Manager Angus Jennings. The words "Hell's Breed" were painted on the passenger's side, and "Hired Killers" painted across the back. A small Confederate flag was attached to its antenna."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "Local news is tanking. Report for America aims to help save it," by Zoe Greenberg, Boston Globe: "The biggest news story in Woods Hole is climate change: sand dunes breaching, beaches eroding, thickets of algae breeding. Experts at six science centers here analyze the effects of warming; residents live them. Yet the National Public Radio affiliate, which was founded almost 20 years ago, does not have a reporter focused exclusively on the environment. That's about to change. In June, the station will get a full-time reporter to concentrate solely on the human impacts of climate change through the Report for America program. Taking inspiration from Teach for America, the organization deploys early-career reporters to local newsrooms across the country to fill gaps in local coverage. The fellowship lasts for a year; newsrooms can opt to renew for a second."
TRANSITIONS - Rep. Jim McGovern promotes Jon Niedzielski to district director, and Kelly Brissette to deputy district director.
- Dr. Lepaine Sharp-McHenry was appointed dean of the College of Natural, Behavioral, and Health Sciences at Simmons University.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - WPRI political reporter Ted Nesi, who turns 35.and Gena Mangiaratti.
HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND - to Lon Povich.
Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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A message from JUUL Labs:
We're combating the problem of underage vaping by:
Advocating for raising the legal age to purchase our products to 21+ nationwide.
Stopping the sale of non-tobacco and non-menthol based flavored JUULpods to traditional retail stores.
Enhancing our online age verification process.
Strengthening our retail compliance program with over 2,000 secret shopper visits per month.
Shutting down our Facebook and Instagram accounts and working to remove inappropriate social media content generated by others on those platforms.
And investing in new technologies to further prevent youth use.
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