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Presented by the American Heart Association
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday!
WU SAYS ABOLISH BPDA — Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu is calling for the abolishment of the Boston Planning and Development Agency, Boston's 200-employee planning, zoning and development agency. She's rolling out a new report, website and video dedicated to scrapping the BPDA this morning, and will hold a community discussion at the United Methodist Church in the South End tonight.
The 54-page document lays out how the city's existing set-up is "exacerbating Boston's housing, transit, climate, and racial justice challenges," according to Wu's office. The report also outlines the history of the agency, which dates back to the urban renewal of the West End in the 1950s.
"Mere reform is inadequate. The existing system was designed to minimize public involvement to facilitate private investment on a massive scale. The myriad failures of this system, paired with the internal issues detailed in recent audits, inspire neither public trust nor confidence in the BPDA's ability to deliver long-term sustainable development in the face of urgent challenges," the report says.
"Development cannot remain a 'top-down' process , as this was the same dynamic at the heart of urban renewal's worst abuses. Instead, Boston must move toward a more sustainable, equitable, democratic, and accountable process for planning and development," the report continues.
Wu's report lays out a series of obstacles to getting rid of the agency, including the city's reliance on property taxes and Proposition 2 1/2, the state statute that limits how a city or town can increase property taxes. Another roadblock, the report says, is "the political barrier to reform." Part of that political barrier includes campaign contributions from developers, and the mayor's dependence on the redevelopment authority's powers.
The report also mentions Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who is among several of the city's leaders who have called for changes to the agency on the campaign trail. "These commitments remain unfulfilled," Wu's report says.
The Boston City Council can "pave the way" for the transition by passing an ordinance "establishing a policy for any disposition or lease" of city land, creating a model community benefit agreement or ordinance, and advocating for changes to state law, the report suggests. Wu's push for abolishing the BPDA comes in the final stretch of her Boston City Council reelection campaign. Voters head to the polls on Nov. 5.
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 speaks at a Provider's Council convention in Boston. Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito highlight the administration's impaired driving legislation at the State House. Rep. Joe Kennedy III tours the nonprofit More Than Words in Boston. Sen. Ed Markey speaks at Tufts University.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Senate changes chip away at broad support for Beacon Hill education bill," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "The sweeping education legislation unveiled last month by state lawmakers was remarkable, not just for its lofty aim but also its harmonious debut. Legislative leaders, parents, and teachers all praised the complicated, bicameral plan to overhaul the state's decades-old school-funding formula. But as debate shifts from the Senate to the House, that wide wall of support is showing fissures, pitting backers of tighter state oversight against teacher unions, and potentially complicating the bill's seemingly clear path to Governor Charlie Baker's desk. The sudden dissension largely stems from an amendment senators passed last week as they unanimously approved the bill, reworking details of a measure designed to strengthen accountability of districts."
- "Lawmakers weigh 'nuclear option' for Columbia Gas," by Christian M. Wade, Gloucester Daily Times: "Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera doesn't mince words when asked if he thinks Columbia Gas of Massachusetts should be allowed to continue serving his city. "Frankly, I think they should lose their license to operate in the state," the Democrat says. Rivera said last week's gas leak in Lawrence that resulted in service shutoffs and forced evacuations has solidified his view that the company's franchise should be taken away. Such a move, however, would require approval by the state Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker and, so far, no legislation to do so has been filed. But lawmakers who represent the Merrimack Valley say they are increasingly leaning toward the nuclear option."
- "Audit: MassDOT board panel shares blame for RMV problems," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "IN ITS FINAL REPORT ON mismanagement at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, an audit firm faulted some of the political appointees on the board of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The board's Finance and Audit Committee, which is for overseeing risk management, failed to engage with staff at the RMV about big picture issues, according to the report by the auditing firm Grant Thornton. The firm's final report was sent to reporters Friday afternoon. "We did not identify instances of substantive discussions with either the director or members of MassDOT management on wider enterprise risk assessment and mitigation," the report stated in its executive summary."
- "Secrets at the RMV: MassDOT hides 53K documents from auditor Charlie Baker hired," by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: "MassDOT lawyers refused to provide more than 53,000 documents to auditors investigating the RMV failures that led to the deaths of seven people in June — raising the "glaring" question of what else the embattled agency is hiding, watchdogs say. "That fact that 53,000 documents were withheld and not reviewed makes a glaring argument for further investigation," said former state inspector general Greg Sullivan, who called on Gov. Charlie Baker to elevate the review to the inspector general's office."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Inside Wayfair's Identity Crisis," by Chris Sweeney, Boston Magazine: "There's a series of walkways and escalators that carry commuters from the patinaed bowels of Back Bay Station to the gleaming, sun-drenched Sky Lobby of Copley Place, where every weekday at 8:30 a.m. the passengerial artery starts to clog with human cargo. Most of the commuters waiting are twenty- and thirtysomethings toting iced coffees and firing off Slack messages, all on their way to the very same place: Wayfair. One Wednesday afternoon this June, however, the human traffic jam suddenly began flowing the opposite way."
- "The Boston-area housing crunch, distilled in one property," by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: "It's a modest corner lot on a hilly street, the site of a shuttered nursing home with parking out back. But plans for this eight-tenths of an acre dramatically illustrate a key reason why housing remains so expensive in Greater Boston. The nursing home is on Corey Avenue in Brighton, in the city of Boston. The parking lot is on Jordan Street, in the town of Brookline. And when it comes to what can be developed on the lot, that distinction apparently makes all the difference. Developers last week filed plans for an unusual project on the site, which is split in half by the city line. On the Boston side, they'd put in a four-story building, with 35 apartments. In Brookline, they'd build two single-family homes."
- "In New Plan For Melnea Cass And Mass. Ave., Walsh Seeks To Strike A Tricky Balance," by Isaiah Thompson, WGBH News: "Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is unveiling a new plan for tackling one of the city's most troubled spots, the area around Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue — referred to as "Methadone Mile" by some; and, more hopefully, dubbed "Recovery Row" by others. The area, home to a number of homeless shelters and methadone clinics — as well as hospitals, recovery facilities, and a K-8 school serving 800 children — has been the source of mounting frustration from neighbors tired of open-air drug use, discarded needles and other neighborhood hazards. At the same time, recovery and homelessness advocates say police have been waging a retaliatory and cruel campaign to rid the area of vulnerable people."
- "Stress and uncertainty are daily burden for Haitians in Boston with temporary protected status while courts weigh program's future," by Dialynn Dwyer, Boston.com: "In late 2017 and early 2018, the Trump administration announced it was ending TPS protections for Haiti, El Salvador, Sudan, and Nicaragua. Multiple lawsuits were filed to try and stop the terminations. A preliminary injunction in October 2018 forced the extension of TPS through Jan. 2, 2020, while the matter is weighed by the court. In the meantime, Venise and her family have been left in limbo, trying to go about life's demands of work and school with the uncertainty of not knowing how long they will be able to stay in the U.S."
- "Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Dorchester celebrates its 80th anniversary," by Zoe Greenberg, Boston Globe: "There is a small token that Reverend Miniard Culpepper has taken to giving out over the decades: a mustard seed, about the size of a single peppercorn. He gives it to visitors and to congregants, anyone who might be facing a hard time. "The Bible says if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains," Culpepper often reminds his congregation."
- "Greenway cuts ties with Dorchester nonprofit after 10 years," by Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe: "In the decade since it opened, the 1.5-mile-long urban oasis that is the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway has been tended, tidied, and trimmed by crews from a Dorchester nonprofit, including 30 workers with disabilities. But as the park celebrates its 10th anniversary this week, the conservancy that manages the Greenway has cut ties with the organization in favor of a for-profit firm from Kentucky. As a result, disabled and other employees from WORK Inc. have lost a job they loved, and angry company officials are wondering why they lost a contract that had given confidence and skills to people with a wide range of physical, psychological, and developmental challenges."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "Joe Kennedy agrees to a climate change debate — but not the one Ed Markey wants," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Rep. Joe Kennedy III accepted Sen. Ed Markey's climate change debate proposal on Friday, but his campaign took issue with the originally scheduled event. And while the other campaigns appear somewhat amenable to their objections, the four candidates still haven't settled to terms. "We look forward to a high-profile climate event, a robust debate schedule across the state, and continued discussions with all campaigns as we approach the election year," Kennedy campaign manager Nick Clemons said in a statement."
- "Incumbent Dems' Opening Arguments, Now in Previews," by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: "With state Democratic primaries, rising to full boil, including many against incumbents, candidates are missing few opportunities to meet party activists. The 413-based chapter launch for the College Democrats of Massachusetts was no different. On the surface, the event was not explicitly about primaries. Still, the event at Holyoke Community College offered a microcosm of the evolving races Democratic primary voters must resolve next September."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Warren campaign fires senior staffer for 'inappropriate behavior,'" by Alex Thompson, POLITICO: "Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign has fired its national organizing director, Rich McDaniel, after an investigation into allegations of what it called "inappropriate behavior." "Over the past two weeks, senior campaign leadership received multiple complaints regarding inappropriate behavior by Rich McDaniel," campaign spokesperson Kristen Orthman said in a statement after an inquiry from POLITICO Friday morning. A person familiar with the investigation said that there were no reports of sexual assault, but could not comment further due to confidentiality."
- "Sanders and Warren transform how presidential campaigns are paid for," by David Siders, POLITICO: "The latest batch of fundraising reports released this week confirmed a new reality of presidential politics: the traditional, big-dollar model of funding a presidential campaign is going the way of landlines and the VCR. With Elizabeth Warren's announcement Friday that she had raised nearly $25 million in the last three months — slightly less than Bernie Sanders reported Tuesday — two candidates who didn't hold traditional donor events became the top two fundraisers in Democratic primary. And they both blew past the ones who did."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "National Grid has fired the employee who, in a Trump hat, confronted a Belmont woman over her bumper stickers," by Christopher Gavin, Boston.com: "National Grid has fired the employee who confronted a Belmont woman earlier this week about the bumper stickers on her SUV while wearing a Trump 2020 hat, a company spokesperson said Friday. The scene was captured on video Monday by the woman involved, Jessie Bennett, who reported the incident to the company. The worker, who has not been identified, can be seen driving a National Grid van before stopping when spotting Bennett's bumper sticker-emblazoned Subaru and backing up behind the vehicle. The stickers support various causes, from LGBTQ family equality to national parks and Elizabeth Warren ."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Baker's latest solar goal called too small," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is calling for an 800 megawatt expansion of the state's relatively new solar incentive program, but a state lawmaker and industry advocates say that amount is way too small. The so-called SMART program launched last November and demand for incentives quickly outpaced the supply. At a Senate oversight hearing on Friday, Baker administration officials said they wanted to expand the original 1,600 megawatt proposal by 800 megawatts and run a tweaked SMART program through 2022."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "DOMINANT, SECRETS AT THE RMV," — Globe: "Clean sweep at park," "Second witness emerges vs. Trump," "FAITH GOES A LONG WAY." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Rep. Barrett says lifting line fees would speed municipal broadband, but utilities likely to hang tight to this revenue stream," by Larry Parnass, The Berkshire Eagle: "A Berkshires lawmaker's new bill would make it easier for cities and towns to get into the broadband internet business, encouraging competition that could produce faster download speeds. But the measure is sure to be opposed by utilities that would lose access to millions of dollars in fees. Before fiber-optic cable can be strung on utility poles, space for new telecommunications lines must be prepared in a costly process known as "make ready." Make that pole space ready for free, says state Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams.
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Progressive Brookline can't walk from an ugly racist battle. Or won't," by Adrian Walker, Boston Globe: "One night in 2010, while driving in traffic, a white Brookline fire lieutenant named Paul Pender left a voice mail checking up on a black colleague named Gerald Alston and hung up. Or so he thought. Pender hadn't disconnected. Which is why Alston was on the receiving end of the vile words Pender uttered right after. None of the phrase is printable, but it included the n-word. Not only did town officials vote to give Pender less than a slap on the wrist — a two-shift suspension — he was even later promoted, and promoted again. That incident began a years-long saga that even now the Town of Brookline refuses to resolve."
- "49 states require or allow this for 1st-time drunken drivers. Massachusetts doesn't." by Joe DiFazio, The Patriot Ledger: "Nearly 15 years after the death of a Marshfield girl prompted an overhaul of the state's drunken-driving laws, the girl's grandfather says Massachusetts has fallen far behind. After Michael Hanlon was convicted of drunken driving the second time, the state temporarily suspended his driver's license under a state law that is meant to help keep drunken drivers off the road. It didn't work. Taking away the driver's licenses of convicted drunken drivers such as Hanlon has long been routine in Massachusetts, but many advocates for stronger drunken-driving laws now argue that it is ineffective because it doesn't actually prevent drunken drivers from getting back behind the wheel."
- "Lowell City Council considering protest regulations," by Elizabeth Dobbins, The Lowell Sun: "It's been over a year since protesters shut down a City Council subcommittee meeting shouting at National Grid officials to "leave and never come back." While councilors were in agreement in the days following the incident that the city needed to set ground rules to prevent a repeat, those rules never came. The issue returned before a City Council rules subcommittee earlier this month, which asked the law department and Lowell Police Department to work together to draft proposed policies regarding protests and signs at City Council meetings."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- "Worcester biz reporter Eckelbecker leaving for college job," by Chris Roush, Talking Biz News: "Lisa Eckelbecker, a business reporter covering central Massachusetts at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, is leaving the paper for a job at Worcester Polytechnic Institute." Link.
TRANSITIONS - Marie Harf is now executive director of Seth Moulton's Serve America PAC, which aims to elect Democratic military/national security veterans. She is a Fox News contributor and previously worked on Moulton's presidential campaign.
MAZEL! to Amy Mahler and Jeff Maynard, who got engaged on Saturday.. Mahler is director of SPARK Boston, and Maynard is a principal product manager for Amazon Web Services. The couple was engaged at Mahler's family home in Vermont. (h/t Jane Rayburn). Pic. Another pic.
WEEKEND WEDDING - Josh Randle, CEO of Randle Strategies and a senior adviser at Haddad Media, and Alexandra Peters, an event producer at J Street Group, got married Saturday at the First Congregational Church on Nantucket, with a sunset reception at Galley Beach. They were introduced to each other by their respective roommates while living in Georgetown. Pic.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to Tara DiJulio, executive director of corporate comms and reputation at GE, who celebrated Sunday.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Patriots beat the Redskins 33-7.
FOR YOUR COMMUTE: PLANET OF THE VAPES - On this week's Horse Race podcast, we break down the #mapoli angle on the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Rich Parr of the MassINC Polling Group walks us through the voting map for the Boston City Council preliminary election. Cannabis Control Commissioner Shaleen Title talks about why she opposes Gov. Charlie Baker's ban on vaping sales, and Boston Globe City Hall reporter Milton Valencia brings us up to speed on the bribery scandal playing out on the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.
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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