| | |  | BY LISA KASHINSKY | POLL SHOWS SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL MASK MANDATE — Teachers unions, doctors, Democratic activists and state lawmakers are all urging Gov. Charlie Baker to issue a mask mandate for schools this fall. So far, Baker hasn’t budged. Maybe new polling will give him a nudge. A whopping 81% of registered voters in Massachusetts support requiring all people entering school buildings to wear masks, while only 12% percent oppose it, according to a new survey by The MassINC Polling Group. Of that majority, 44% of respondents “strongly support” a school mask mandate and 37% “somewhat support” it. That support extends across the political spectrum: 84% of both the Democrats and independents surveyed back such a policy, as did 70% of Republicans. Zoom in on the numbers for Republicans, who Baker would have to answer to in a gubernatorial primary: Out of 101 GOP respondents, 30% would strongly support a mask requirement in schools and 40% would somewhat support it, while 14% would somewhat oppose it and 11% would strongly oppose it. MassINC surveyed 724 registered voters by phone and online between Aug. 4 and 13 for the poll. “Mask mandates in schools is not a closely divided issue,” MassINC Polling Group President Steve Koczela said. “Those opposed to them represent a very small slice of the overall population.” Baker says he’s following the science when it comes to mask requirements. The state issued a "very strong recommendation” that students in kindergarten through sixth-grade, who aren’t vaccine-eligible, wear masks, along with unvaccinated students and staff. Baker said on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” yesterday that he expects “virtually every” K-6 student and unvaccinated 12-to-19-year-old student to wear masks in schools, though he's leaving it up to local officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, recommends all teachers, staff, students and visitors wear masks in school buildings, regardless of vaccination status, as does the American Academy of Pediatrics. State Sen. Rebecca Rausch filed a bill that would require all children over age 2 to wear masks in schools, and started an online petition that’s garnered nearly 2,500 signatures in two weeks. Democrats on Beacon Hill and beyond have seized on the potential politics of it all as the Republican governor mulls whether to seek a third term — and wade into a primary against conservative former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who’s rejected mask requirements for kids in schools. For what it’s worth, Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito were spotted making the rounds at Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi’s annual cookout yesterday, along with 2022 state auditor hopefuls state Sen. Diana DiZoglio and Chris Dempsey, gubernatorial candidate former state Sen. Ben Downing and lieutenant governor candidate state Rep. Tami Gouveia. Secretary of State William Galvin was also there, per the Springfield Republican’s Patrick Johnson. There's also lots more from the MassINC poll coming on the final episode of the “Mass Reboot” podcast, “Government,” which drops at 3:30 p.m. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu is going up on the air with the first television ad of her mayoral bid. Other candidates’ initial ads have focused largely on introducing themselves to voters. But Wu, who entered the race with higher name recognition from several successful at-large council bids, doesn’t have to. Her 30-second spot, “Working for You,” touches on her record and the “big fights” she feels are left to tackle, like affordable housing and transportation. The ad includes snippets from a GBH article from her mayoral campaign launch saying she “championed … paid parental leave” and a Boston Globe profile from 2019 saying Wu "picks battles the city’s establishment politicians have avoided.” A shorter ad is available in Spanish. Wu’s campaign has already spent more than $300,000 across two buys, and plans to be up on cable, broadcast, Spanish broadcast and on some streaming services through the Sept. 14 preliminary election. She follows City Councilors Annissa Essaibi George and Andrea Campbell onto the airwaves, while Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey and former city economic development chief John Barros have yet to go up. TODAY — Baker and Polito visit a DCR Summer Nights event in New Bedford at 4 p.m.; Polito and education Secretary James Peyser make a STEM Week Design Challenge Grant Announcement in Worcester at 9 a.m. Wu and Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards call for pedestrian safety improvements in East Boston’s Eagle Square at 1:30 p.m. Barros makes an education funding announcement in Dorchester at 1:30 p.m. Rep. Seth Moulton joins the Center for a New American Security to discuss U.S. efforts to relocate Afghan allies at 2:30 p.m. State Sen. John Velis, who served two tours in Afghanistan, and state Rep. Steve Xiarhos, a Gold Star father whose oldest son died in Afghanistan, are guests on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 3 p.m. Boston mayoral candidates attend a virtual forum on youth and young adults at 5:30 p.m., moderated by the Boston Globe’s Meghan Irons and members of Teen Empowerment. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com. | |
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| – "Massachusetts coronavirus cases spike 1,452 — the highest daily count since April," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald. | | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards is planning to run for the 1st Suffolk & Middlesex seat if state Sen. Joe Boncore leaves for MassBio as expected. The Boston Globe’s Adrian Walker first reported the news. Edwards has run for this seat in a special election before, finishing fourth in the 2016 Democratic primary that Boncore won. She told me she’s looking to step up again because there are issues “we really need systemic reform on” and the State House “is where you can have the greatest impact.” That includes affordable housing, which Edwards has been a champion for on the city council. She also fought for domestic workers’ rights as an attorney. Edwards would be the only Black person in the state Senate if she wins. She’ll be running against Revere School Committee member Anthony D’Ambrosio. Fellow East Boston resident state Rep. Adrian Madaro is widely expected to enter the race, and former state rep candidate Juan Jaramillo of Revere could be in the mix. Again, this is all if Boncore leaves, and right now there’s no update on that front. Edwards is currently on the ballot for city council, and is running unopposed. – “Charlie Baker wants to spend $1B to cover unemployment deficit,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “Gov. Charlie Baker wants to spend $1 billion of the state’s excess tax revenues to replenish the dwindling unemployment trust fund, taking the burden of covering the cost of pandemic-era claims off the backs of businesses, according to a supplemental budget.” – “Baker Relaunches Push for Charitable Giving Tax Break,” by Matt Murphy, State House News Service (paywall): “Gov. Charlie Baker wants the Legislature to take another look at the charitable giving tax deduction that Democrats delayed for another year, proposing once again to implement the voter-approved tax break as part of a budget bill the Republican is filing to allocate last year's surplus.” – “Gov. Baker says prison shakedowns should be videotaped,” by Mark Arsenault, Boston Globe: “Correction authorities should ensure that prison shakedowns and major reorganizations are video recorded, Governor Charlie Baker said Wednesday, in his first public comments about a weekend Globe Spotlight story on alleged abuses at the state’s maximum security prison during and shortly after a lockdown in early 2020.” – “State scrambles to get federal money to former foster youth,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “Massachusetts has gotten $7.9 million from the federal government for direct assistance to help current and former foster children recover from the pandemic. Yet finding those young adults who are no longer tied to the system is a challenge, and it is also now a race against time. If the Department of Children and Families cannot identify and pay them by the end of September, many individuals will lose eligibility. So far, it looks like DCF has awarded money to just a fraction of those who should be able to benefit.” | | VAX-ACHUSETTS |
| – “Charlie Baker hints that a vaccine mandate could be on the horizon for Massachusetts state workers,” by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: “During an appearance Wednesday on GBH’s ‘Boston Public Radio,’ Gov. Charlie Baker said his administration is ‘seriously considering’ a vaccine requirement for state workers and hinted that ‘we’ll have more to say about it shortly.’” – “Keller @ Large: For Baker, There's Only One Call To Make On Mask Mandate,” by Jon Keller: “The real political risk for Baker would develop if he did try to bring back a mask mandate." – “Feds to start coronavirus booster shots in September as vaccine effectiveness wanes,” by Alexi Cohan, Boston Herald: “Federal health officials are calling for the administration of coronavirus booster doses as early as next month to shore up protection against the delta variant — an initiative Gov. Charlie Baker said he supports, but has no guidance to execute. … Baker said plans for the booster program weren’t disclosed during a recent call with White House officials. ‘I’m kind of bummed about the fact that I found out about this last night when we were on the phone with those guys yesterday morning,’ Baker said.” – “Kim Janey Holds Ground On No Vaccine Mandate For Indoor Activities — For Now,” by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: “Acting Mayor Kim Janey maintained her position on not instating a COVID-19 vaccine requirement to enter indoor spaces like restaurants and gyms in an interview with Boston Public Radio on Wednesday. … She did not rule out the potential for a proof-of-vaccination requirement across the city in the future..." – “Amherst College keeping promise to ban nonvaccinated from campus,” by Jim Russell, Springfield Republican: “Amherst College students who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 will lose their enrollment status and are barred from entering buildings, according to the college.” – "Mask mandates in schools: Diocese of Worcester remains undecided as Archdiocese of Boston, Diocese of Springfield choose not to mandate masks," by Heather Morrison, MassLive.com. – "'Impossible Lawsuit': Families Find Few Options To Sue Long-Term Care Over COVID Deaths," by Paige Sutherland, WBUR. | | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING |
| – “Janey faces criticism from Boston city council on multiple fronts,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “City councilors chastised Acting Mayor Kim Janey on a couple of fronts, with the head of the body ripping her over a lack of vaccine mandates and others criticizing the administration’s record of ignoring public-records requests." | | THE RACE FOR CITY HALL |
| – “Popular TV program invites mayoral candidates to appear on show — except John Barros,” by Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: “The popular local political program ‘On The Record’ has invited Boston’s major mayoral candidates to appear on the show in the lead-up to the Sept. 14 preliminary election. All, that is, except John Barros. The city’s former chief of economic development, the only Black man in the race, also was not invited to the ‘first Boston mayoral forum for women of color candidates’ on Wednesday evening. And he was recently left out of a graphic on MSNBC’s ‘The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell’ that showed the four female candidates for Boston mayor. With less than a month before voters head to the polls, Barros supporters say they are seeing an unfair pattern emerging.” – “Boston adds early-voting sites in overlooked neighborhoods after brouhaha,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The city quickly jammed in five new early-voting sites and another day for neighborhood polls to be open after several area’s absences sparked a furor. Just ahead of an expected vote on Wednesday, Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s elections department introduced new language to the city’s proposed early-voting rules that added sites in Roslindale, Chinatown, Uphams Corner, Mission Hill and the Seaport.” – “Boston Has As Much As $560 Million To Spend In COVID Relief Funds. The Mayoral Candidates Weigh In On How To Spend It,” by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: "Housing is the common denominator among the field: how to build more affordable units so residents aren't squeezed out of the city. But opioids, school infrastructure and job creation also pop up on various agendas.” – “Michelle Wu endorsed by more than 100 Latino leaders, part of key constituency in Boston mayoral race,” by Alexandra Chaidez, Boston Globe. – “Mayoral candidates offer new insights on issues, visions in Reporter survey,” by Dorchester Reporter staff. – “Janey, Wu vying for progressive support,” by Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner. – Some FIRST IN PLAYBOOK endorsements: State Rep. Liz Miranda has endorsed David Halbert for Boston City Council at-large, per his campaign, calling him a “longtime public servant and champion for our communities.” Carla B. Monteiro has been endorsed by IBEW Local 103 for Boston City Council at-large, per her campaign. Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen Local 3 have endorsed David Todisco for Medford City Council. | | WARREN REPORT |
| – “Advocacy group launches ads pushing Manchin, other Democrats to back pandemic funding,” by Alex Roarty, McClatchy: “Guarding Against Pandemics will spend $150,000 on broadcast and cable TV ads aimed at seven Democratic senators across six states: Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Patty Murray of Washington, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, and Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia. The ads referencing Warren, Murray and Hassan will praise them for supporting the pandemic spending, while the ads about Sinema, Manchin, Warner, Kaine and Luján will tell viewers to call the senators’ office urging them to back the new funding.” | | MARKEYCHUSETTS |
| – “Tesla misleads customers about self-driving features, senators allege in request for FTC probe,” by Lauren Feiner, CNBC: “Two Democratic senators asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Tesla over the company’s advertising of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, or FSD, technology. In a letter Wednesday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ed Markey of Massachusetts asked FTC Chair Lina Khan to probe Tesla for ‘potentially deceptive and unfair practices’ in its marketing of those technologies.” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Judge dismisses suit brought after armed highway standoff,” by the Associated Press: “A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by [the Rise of the Moors group] arrested after an armed standoff along a Massachusetts highway that challenged state courts’ jurisdiction over their case." | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
| – “Revolutionary Clinics ranks No. 4 on Inc. magazine’s list of fastest-growing private companies,” by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: “Revolutionary Clinics, which has medical cannabis dispensaries in Cambridge and Somerville, has ranked No. 4 on Inc. magazine’s annual Inc. 5000 list, which ranks the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.” – "Boston City Council votes to overhaul marijuana licensing process — again," by Dan Adams, Boston Globe: "For the second time in two years, the Boston City Council has voted to overhaul the city’s system for reviewing and approving proposed marijuana facilities, overwhelmingly backing two proposals by Councilor Lydia Edwards to streamline the local application process." | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “The 413’s Umbrella Labor Group Speaks on 2021 Municipal Races,” by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: “[Western Mass Area Labor Federation] endorsed Northampton City Council President Gina-Louise Sciarra and Holyoke at-large councilor Rebecca Lisi. In Springfield, the topline endorsements were incumbent councilors Victor Davila, Melvin Edwards, Justin Hurst and Jesse Lederman as well as challengers Zaida Govan, Jynai McDonald and James Ryan." | | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “It's Easy For Police To Seize Money. Worcester's District Attorney Makes It Hard To Get It Back,” by Saurabh Datar and Shannon Dooling, WBUR: “Under a system called civil asset forfeiture, police and prosecutors can confiscate, and keep, money and property they suspect is part of a drug crime. In Massachusetts, they can hold that money indefinitely, even when criminal charges have been dismissed. … In an investigation with ProPublica, WBUR also found that Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. regularly stockpiles seized money, including that of people not charged with a crime, for years, and sometimes decades.” – “Larry David ‘screamed’ at Alan Dershowitz at grocery store over Trump ties,” by Oli Coleman, Page Six: “It seems that Alan Dershowitz’s ties to the Trump administration have made him persona non grata among the Martha’s Vineyard elite — including Larry David. … Dershowitz confirmed the exchange and told us that he and the ‘Curb’ creator had been friends for many years until the lawyer began working with the Trump camp.” – “New Bedford schools failed to report arrest data,” by Will Sennott, New Bedford Light: “The School Department has been inaccurately reporting data on student arrests for at least three years — violating state and federal requirements and stifling a yearlong review of the controversial program that places armed police officers in New Bedford schools.” – “St. Vincent nurses' strike at 164 days, weeks after offer from Tenet,” by Anoushka Dalmia, Worcester Telegram & Gazette. – “Minor earthquake strikes Peabody for the third time in a month,” by Breanne Kovatch, Boston Globe. | | MEDIA MATTERS |
| – “Journalism pioneer Jackie MacMullan, former Globe columnist, to retire from ESPN,” by Chad Finn, Boston Globe. – " News organizations across the country join the call to get more people vaccinated," by Boston Globe Opinion. TRANSITIONS – Northeastern University law professor Rashida Richardson is joining the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as a senior policy adviser for data and democracy. The Newton-Needham Regional Chamber is now the Charles River Regional Chamber. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Winslow Eliot and John Sasso. HAPPY BELATED – to GBH’s Sarah Betancourt, who celebrated Wednesday. 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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