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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: HOW OUR HIGHWAYS STACK UP — The highway system in Massachusetts ranks 46th in the nation for overall cost-effectiveness and condition, according to a report released by the Reason Foundation this morning. The Reason Foundation is a libertarian think-tank based in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and publishes Reason Magazine.
The Bay State was knocked down a couple pegs this year — a 2018 Reason report ranked the state's highways in 44th place. The only states ranked lower this year are Hawaii, Rhode Island, Alaska and New Jersey. (New Jersey took last place).
Massachusetts is also ranked 46th for traffic congestion, but has the lowest highway fatality rate in the country. Another interesting data point: Massachusetts is among a cluster of states that spend the most on highways on a per-mile basis — the report found Massachusetts spends more than $200,000 per mile of highway it controls.
HOW CLARK SEES THE SENATE RACE — Rep. Katherine Clark says she will let the 2020 Senate primary take shape before deciding where to put her support. Incumbent Sen. Ed Markey is up for reelection next year, and news that Rep. Joe Kennedy III is weighing a primary campaign for the seat dropped a bombshell on state politics over the weekend.
Clark spoke with reporters after a climate change town hall she hosted with Markey in Framingham last night. Asked whether she plans to endorse Markey, Clark said she will let the race move forward before she chooses a candidate.
"I am going to let this primary take its shape. I am also, you know, a huge fan of Joe Kennedy. So we're going to see how this plays out, what decisions Congressman Kennedy makes. I am very lucky to have incredible colleagues in the House and in the Senate, and so we're just going to have no announcements today, we're going to see how this process moves forward," Clark said.
Clark has not had a conversation with Kennedy "in a few days," but says she spoke with him a while ago.
"I know he's in the process of deciding, and I'm sure he'll let me know when he makes a decision," Clark said.
A source close to Kennedy tells me the congressman has not made a decision, and is not expecting to make an announcement for a couple of weeks. Kennedy has laid low for the last week or so, but he has several events scheduled for next week. Kennedy and Rep. Richard Neal plan to raise money for state Rep. Smitty Pignatelli in Pittsfield next Wednesday, according to an invitation shared online.
HMMM: A website urging Attorney General Maura Healey to run for Senate popped up yesterday, although Healey says she has no plans to run for Senate.
This new Healey draft group is made up of Boston-based LGBTQ activists. Similar to the "Jump in, Joe!" group drafting Kennedy for Senate, this website urges supporters to sign a petition. One big difference: the AG has squashed any rumors that she has her eye on that Senate seat. Healey is not considering a run for Senate, spokesperson Corey Welford told me yesterday.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: It's almost that time! Massachusetts Playbook will not publish Monday, Aug. 26 to Monday, Sept. 2. I'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
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 vacations in Gloucester. Rep. Seth Moulton speaks by video to a cannabis conference in Lynn.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Key state senator says a Wareham racino would 'corrupt' casino planning," by Mike Deehan, WGBH News: "The developer behind projects like Quincy's Marina Bay and Granite Links wants to build a $300 million horse racetrack and slots parlor in Wareham, a gateway to Cape Cod, in a region that hasn't yet been a part of Massachusetts' burgeoning casino industry. To build his 'racino,' the developer and his Notos Group would need to convince lawmakers to pry open the 2011 casino gaming law that established three regions for so called resort casinos, with a carve-out for a slots-only location that was awarded to Plainridge Park. Encore Boston holds the greater Boston-based region A license and Springfield's MGM casino holds the western Mass. region B license. 'We think that is the right size in Wareham. It's far enough away from the existing license holders in Massachusetts so that there will be no significant destabilization...of the existing license holders,' Thomas O'Connell from Notos told WGBH News."
- "Gun control laws may get tougher," by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: "Already known for adopting some of the country's toughest gun control laws, Massachusetts lawmakers are debating whether to restrict firearms access even further. Among dozens of gun control proposals set to be heard by the Legislature's Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security next Wednesday are bipartisan bills to require universal background checks on all gun sales, ban 3D printed weapons and 'ghost guns,' further restrict large capacity ammunition magazines and toughen penalties for violating firearm laws."
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NEW—POLITICO's UNITED NATIONS PLAYBOOK: The 74 thSession of the United Nations General Assembly will jam some of the world's most influential leaders into four blocks in Gotham. POLITICO's man-about-town Ryan Heath will take you inside UNGA—revealing juicy details from the lighter-side of the gathering and insights into the most pressing global issues facing decision-makers today. Sign up for U.N. Playbook.
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Boston Calling convictions have 'chilling' effect on advocacy, councilors say," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Ten city councilors slammed the federal Boston Calling convictions in a signed statement Wednesday, calling them 'grievous misuse of limited prosecutorial resources in service of a misguided political agenda' that cuts down on their ability to advocate for their constituents. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling fired back with his own statement calling the councilors' position 'offensive and ill-informed.' 'We're concerned about what can be called 'extortion' now,' City Councilor Lydia Edwards told the Herald, noting that she regularly asks developers whether they are using union labor and how many women and minorities will work in projects in her district."
- "Convicted City Hall aides file motions for acquittal, new trials," by Andrew Martinez, Boston Herald: "Attorneys for two ex-City Hall aides convicted in an extortion conspiracy case filed 77 pages of memorandums Wednesday afternoon in support of motions to acquit and motions for new trials, citing issues with the prosecutors' argument the men were seeking to please Mayor Martin Walsh, among other grievances. Kenneth Brissette, the city's former tourism chief, and Timothy Sullivan, the city's former head of intergovernmental affairs, were found guilty on Hobbs Act conspiracy charges Aug. 7 in U.S. District Court. Brissette was also found guilty on a Hobbs Act extortion charge."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Flowers, caviar and payments toward a $75K Chevy Suburban: What feds say Dana Pullman did with police union funds," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "Authorities said that Dana Pullman, the former head of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, not only pocketed thousands of union funds for lavish dinners and personal trips but tried to create a culture of fraud within the association, encouraging executive board members to do the same. 'As president of SPAM, we believe Pullman wielded the union like a criminal enterprise, running it like an old school mob boss,' said FBI agent Joseph Bonavolonta, who joined U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling and other federal officials in a news conference Wednesday morning after Pullman's arrest."
- "Three indicted in wide-ranging UMass fraud scheme," by Michael Connors, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Three men have been indicted by a Hampshire County grand jury in connection with alleged fraud at the University of Massachusetts involving thousands of dollars in kickbacks and unlawful gifts such as vacations to Mexico. Attorney General Maura Healey's office has accused John Strycharz, 57, a former supervisor at the UMass physical plant, of supervising millions of dollars worth of hazardous materials remediation work awarded to a company, Compass Restoration, in which he had a 'secret ownership or financial interest.'"
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Elizabeth Warren is blasting Wells Fargo over fees, again," by Niels Lesniewski, Roll Call: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren has another complaint about Wells Fargo. This week, the Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 presidential candidate is taking issue with the bank allegedly charging fees on accounts that customers had believed to be closed. Warren has long criticized Wells Fargo for deceptive practices, as well as the leadership of former CEO Tim Sloan. In her latest letter, directed to interim CEO and President C. Allen Parker, Warren wants statistics on closed accounts, as well as whether the bank had, 'any mechanism to catch fraudulent charges to these accounts' in order to avoid overdrafts being charged to accounts that were not supposed to exist."
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CLIMATE CHANGE - THE BORDERLESS THREAT - Nowhere are the long-term costs of short-term thinking more detrimental than with the environment & global climate change. How can policymakers overcome the political roadblocks of the moment to take long-term action? In the third chapter of POLITICO's podcast "Global Translations", presented by Citi, host Luiza Savage will welcome special guests to explore both the science & politics of climate change, and the geopolitical implications that it presents. Subscribe and listen now.
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "'I tell the truth;' Rep. Seth Moulton embraces nuclear energy in opposition to the majority of his peers," by Douglas Hook, MassLive.com: "Rep. Seth Moulton has been pushing nuclear energy in opposition to the widely held Democratic party views. 'Fusion is what powers the sun, and, ultimately, it will probably be what powers the planet,' said Moulton in an interview on Titans of Nuclear podcast. 'The question is how soon do we get there.' Many Americans have expressed worry about the waste from nuclear power plants in the past and are concerned about the effects on the environment."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "Name that Dem," — Globe: "Councilors decry guilty verdict in Boston Calling case," "Ex-police union chief, lobbyist arrested by FBI," "One more no-go before surgery: pot." |
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Indicted Mayor, Shrinking Paper: Fall River Exemplifies High Stakes In GateHouse-Gannett Merger," by Callum Borchers, WBUR: "The deal struck this month to join the GateHouse and Gannett newspaper chains could diminish local news coverage in cities like Worcester, Quincy, New Bedford and Brockton, where some of the 10 Massachusetts dailies affected by the merger are based. The companies say they're aiming to cut as much as $300 million in annual costs, and some area journalists have already been laid off. Nowhere are the stakes higher than in Fall River, where the GateHouse-owned Herald News is the primary watchdog for a government led by Mayor Jasiel Correia, he of the 13-count federal indictment."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "MIT Figures Say They're Leaving over the Media Lab's Ties to Jeffrey Epstein," by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: "As MIT's Media Lab continues to reckon with director Joi Ito's collaboration with accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, two members of the prestigious group are walking away. Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Media Lab's Center for Civic Media, and J. Nathan Matias, an assistant professor at Cornell University who works with the lab, both said Tuesday they would leave the lab, decisions they say they made because their conscience wouldn't allow them to stay."
- "The Boston Globe continues its regional expansion experiment, with students in a suburb," by Christine Schmidt, Neiman Lab: "Earlier this summer, The Boston Globe officially launched its new section focused on Rhode Island with three veteran reporters poached from flagging news outlets there. Now the Globe is going back to the suburbs: The outlet announced it's doubling down on coverage of neighboring Newton, Mass. This city of about 90,000 people, along the Charles River west of Boston, has a median household income of $119,000, the highest of any city of its size in the commonwealth."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Politico Journalism Institute alum Alvin Buyinza.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Phillies beat the Red Sox 5-2.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: "Half in the Bag Ban." This week on the Horse Race podcast, Steve Shepard and I break down new developments in the potential Kennedy vs. Markey primary. The Boston Globe's Janelle Nanos gives us the lowdown on a plastic bag stalemate on Beacon Hill, and former state Sen. Ben Downing weighs in on how Democrats should look at Gov. Charlie Baker. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: I was a guest on WBUR's "Radio Boston" on Tuesday.
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