| | |  | BY LISA KASHINSKY | Presented by Associated Industries of Massachusetts | PUT TO THE TEST — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is about to face two of the biggest tests yet of her young administration. Wednesday is Wu’s self-imposed deadline for clearing tents from the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard corridor and connecting the 140-plus people living in encampments there with housing, substance-use treatment and other services (about 60 have already been placed into housing). She faces myriad pressures and competing interests — winter weather, the raging Omicron variant, neighborhood businesses and civil rights groups among them — as she tries to find solutions to the area’s twin housing and opioid epidemics that have eluded her predecessors. Wu will hold a press conference at City Hall at 10 a.m. Wu’s vaccine mandate for city workers and her proof-of-vaccination requirement for some businesses goes into effect on Saturday. It’s drawn mixed reviews from businesses, and it’s also spurred multiple (mostly small) protests at city events and a lawsuit by members of Boston First Responders United, the leader of which was just placed on leave from the Boston Police Department. Wu defended her stricter vaccine requirement for city workers, a departure from the city’s previous policy that gave workers the option for weekly testing, on WBZ’s “Keller at Large.” “You can’t test frequently enough,” Wu said. “We can’t keep up with the demand, given some supply chain issues. So we’re going to keep putting testing out there. But that should be on top of vaccination, not instead of.” Wu is also starting to challenge Gov. Charlie Baker’s Covid-19 policies. She reiterated her call for more flexibility around remote learning during Covid surges while appearing on WCVB’s “On the Record.” Baker and state education officials aren’t letting remote learning days count toward schools’ required 180 days of classes. “When staffing levels mean we are almost unable to keep certain schools open, we do have to then make that choice of whether we call it a snow day and have no programming at all for our students regardless of the weather, or we allow for some remote flexibility,” Wu said on OTR. “During a surge when there are staffing issues that are driving these decisions, it is in the best interest of everyone to make sure that we have flexibility.” Wu won praise from OTR pundits on both sides of the aisle Sunday for her first few weeks as mayor. The perceived success of her first 100 days — and maybe beyond — will hinge in large part on how well she handles both Mass and Cass and the pandemic. — with Anne Brandes GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Don’t talk to me about the Patriots and their air-conditioned benches . Do email me your tips and scoops: lkashinsky@politico.com. TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and House and Senate leaders meet for their leadership meeting at 2 p.m. at the State House. Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins will be sworn in as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts in a private ceremony; SORB Chair Kevin Hayden takes over for Rollins in the DA’s office. | |
| | A message from Associated Industries of Massachusetts: The 2022 State of Massachusetts Business Address will look at all the challenges and opportunities that employers face at the dawn of a new year. Join us as AIM President and CEO, John Regan, summarizes the Massachusetts business economy in 2021, comments on what it will mean for 2022, and gets feedback from some of the region’s top business executives. Register here | | |
|  | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| – BAKER TO TESTIFY: Frustrated lawmakers are hauling in Gov. Charlie Baker and Health and Human Services Sec. Marylou Sudders to talk about the state’s Omicron response. Baker and Sudders will testify before the Legislature’s Covid-19 oversight committee on Tuesday afternoon, the committee co-chairs said. – “New student loan ombudsman gets nearly 400 requests for help,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “In its first six months of existence, an ombudsman’s office tasked with addressing complaints about the student loan industry has gotten 393 complaints and requests for help. The complaints came in despite the fact that the Biden administration has paused repayment of federal student loans during the pandemic.” – “Will Charlie Baker commute a convicted murderer’s life sentence?” by Matt Stout and Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: “The looming decision, expected in some form this week, could have far-reaching legal and political reverberations for other inmates seeking their freedom, Baker’s legacy, and the rarely used measure of gubernatorial mercy in Massachusetts. Baker’s choice comes in the case of Thomas E. Koonce, a Brockton native who has spent nearly three decades in prison for the 1987 slaying of a New Bedford man.” – “Report calls for state oversight of home care services,” by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Newburyport Daily News: “Massachusetts is among 20 states that don't license home-care services that clean, cook and provide companionship for elderly and homebound individuals. But a state commission is calling for such businesses to be integrated into the regulatory system by creating a process to license and oversee their operations.” – “$876m Mass. tax workaround set in motion,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “A tax change designed to help some wealthy Massachusetts residents recover a portion of a lucrative federal tax break they lost four years ago kicked into gear in December, when a group of so-called pass-through businesses paid $876 million in excise taxes to the state.” – “Springfield Mayor Sarno backs Gov. Baker bill to toughen ‘dangerousness’ legislation,” by Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: “Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, a frequent critic in recent years of judges for granting bail to what he calls violent repeat offenders, on Friday came out in support of Gov. Charlie Baker’s bill that would expand the grounds under which a suspect may be held without bail.” – “Lowell senator files resolution in support of free and fair elections in Cambodia,” by Trea Lavery, Lowell Sun: “State Sen. Ed Kennedy is calling for the state to take a stand in support of free and fair elections in Cambodia. … Several elected officials and activists from Lowell, which has the second-highest Cambodian population in the United States, also spoke in favor of Kennedy’s resolution.” | |
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| | VAX-ACHUSETTS |
| – “‘Turned out to be a fiasco’: Mask controversy erodes Mass. educators’ faith in state,” by Jenna Russell and Bianca Vázquez Toness, Boston Globe: “Massachusetts educators — already stressed by a record surge in COVID-19 cases — reacted with disappointment and frustration this week when they learned that masks distributed by the state are a less protective, non-medical version of the high-quality KN95 masks they’d been promised. The ones thousands of them received had lost FDA approval in 2020. And as a chaotic week of school reentry ended Friday, state leaders still had not explained how the lower-quality masks made it into circulation, or how much they spent on them…” – “State issues COVID-19 booster mandate for nursing home workers,” by Amanda Beland, WBUR: “More nursing home workers will now be forced to roll up their sleeves and get a COVID-19 booster — or risk losing their jobs. That’s thanks to a statewide booster mandate for all eligible nursing home staff handed down by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The state set a Feb. 28 deadline for receiving the additional vaccination.” – “Omicron whips through the workforce, pushing overstretched staffs to the brink,” by Katie Johnston, Boston Globe: “As Omicron whips through the workforce, caregiving agencies are turning away new patients. Restaurants are shutting down. Construction jobs are being delayed. Retailers, including Macy’s, are limiting hours. And some small business owners are at the breaking point.” – “Pharmacists face pandemic burnout, too,” by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: “Mike Reppucci, who has owned Cambridge’s Inman Pharmacy since 1984, had three of seven pharmacists out this past week due to COVID and one on parental leave. He had to pick up 30 extra hours to fill the gaps, and other staffers have worked 10 to 20 hours extra. He even enlisted his son — an EMT who’s certified to do so — to administer COVID vaccines.” – “Stuck in a long line for a COVID-19 test in Mass.? Here’s why,” by Callum Borchers, WBUR: “Images of people standing in line for testing have become so common in recent weeks that an explanation by CIC Health Chief Executive Tim Rowe may come as a surprise. In many cases, he said, there’s not actually a shortage of testing equipment. There’s a shortage of sites and people to operate them.” – “UMass study: Breastfeeding moms pass COVID antibodies to infants,” by Dusty Christensen, Daily Hampshire Gazette. – “Parents, students frustrated as Framingham pauses sports and extracurriculars for 2 weeks amid surge in COVID-19 cases,” by Kim Lucey, 7News. | | FROM THE HUB |
| – “At Mass. and Cass, word is spreading: The tents are coming down and housing is available,” by Milton J. Valencia and Shirley Leung, Boston Globe: “At the homeless encampments at Newmarket Square, city crews have been posting fliers on the tarps and tents lined up along the chain-link fences, proclaiming that ‘The City of Boston Will Conduct a Cleanup of This Public Space.’ All items must be removed by Jan. 12, this coming Wednesday, the fliers instruct. The cleanup will take place at 8 a.m. that day.” – “Head of anti-vaccine-mandate Boston first responders group placed on leave,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The Boston Police Department has put the most vocal critic of the city’s vaccine mandate on leave amid an internal-affairs investigation a week ahead of the jab deadline. … A spokesman said it’s due to an open internal affairs investigation.” – “Boston police task force members worry that oversight office could stagnate,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Police reform task force members are fretting that the city’s new Boston Police oversight office is in danger of stagnating, with key seats still unfilled and an uncertain balance of power that could turn it into ‘just another bureaucratic office.’” | |
| | A message from Associated Industries of Massachusetts:  
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| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
| – “‘People are driving recklessly’: More than 400 people died on Massachusetts roads last year, a 19% spike from 2020,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “The state Department of Transportation’s traffic-related-fatality data shows that 408 people died on Massachusetts roads in 2021. This includes drivers, passengers in vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians. The 408 deaths is a 19% spike from the 2020 tally of 343 fatalities. The total surpassing 400 deaths is more crash fatalities than any year since 2009.” – “MBTA driver shortage made worse by COVID surge,” by Taylor Dolven, Boston Globe: “Amid record high cases in the state, more bus drivers are calling in sick, and on some recent days the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority had to drop as many bus trips as it did before it made the schedule cuts — about one in 20 — leaving riders waiting longer in the cold.” – “175 ‘MBTA Communities’ will have to start increasing multi-family zoning this year,” by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: “The new draft guidelines, released just before the end of the year, specify that an MBTA community must have ‘at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right,’ the policy states.” | | DAY IN COURT |
| – “Cohasset, DCF, former principal tied up in court amid ongoing Knight sex abuse scandal,” by Joe Difazio, Patriot Ledger: “Cohasset Public Schools and an arbitrator are suing the state’s Department of Children and Families and several of its investigators to force them to testify in a wrongful termination case brought by a fired principal in the wake of the Jeffrey Knight scandal.” | | FROM THE 413 |
| – “Veterans in Holyoke Soldiers’ Home dorm for the homeless face uncertain futures as closure of program looms,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “[Ed] Karczmarczyk is among a handful of men left at the facility’s 30-bed domiciliary program, which opened for homeless veterans in 1972. The dorm essentially operates as an extension of the main home, with access to meals and other services and is a stone’s throw from the primary building. The domiciliary program is set to close March 31 to make way for the adult day health program, expected to serve about 150 veterans, a spokeswoman for the soldier’s home said.” – “Downtown Pittsfield steps into the digital age with $100K grant for public Wi-Fi network,” by Meg Britton-Mehlisch, Berkshire Eagle: “Mayor Linda Tyer will ask the new City Council at its first meeting Tuesday to accept an almost $100,000 grant from the state’s Community Compact IT program. What the city will gain in return: a free publicly accessible Wi-Fi network set to cover downtown and Morningside and West Side neighborhoods.” – “Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno appoints members to residency oversight commission ahead of City Council vote,” by Patrick Johnson, Springfield Republican: “Following a judge’s finding last month that the city has failed to enforce its own employee residency requirement for more than 25 years, Mayor Domenic Sarno on Friday announced several appointments to an oversight committee that has been dormant since the mid-1990s.” – “Two Catholic parishes in Berkshires adjust their policies after 'imprudent' priest’s abrupt departure,” by Lawrence Parnass, Berkshire Eagle: “Days after the Rev. Barrent Pease was removed by his bishop for 'imprudent' actions, parishes in Adams and Cheshire appear to be dropping unpopular policies Pease instituted, including what parishioners say were restrictions on eulogies and the use of music during funeral services.” | |
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| | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| – “’Mutual healing time’ at St. V: Can striking nurses, replacements hospital work together?” by Cyrus Moulton, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “[St. Vincent Hospital CEO Carolyn] Jackson said that, while all striking nurses are welcome, she guessed about 400 of the 600 nurses who were still on strike will return to the hospital. Many of the nurses who went on strike have moved on to other jobs elsewhere over the course of the last 10 months, she noted.” – More: “Final bill: St. Vincent paid city more than $4.1M for police detail during nurses' strike,” by Dave Nordman, Worcester Telegram & Gazette. – “Newly affirmed, tribe looks at casino plans with fresh eyes,” by Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press: “As he begins his first full year in office, [Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Brian Weeden] says he intends to take a cautious approach to gambling while turning attention to social challenges and other economic opportunities for its members.” – “Mayor’s committee assignments reflect changing city — and changing council,” by Steven H. Foskett Jr., Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “The City Council is as diverse as it’s ever been and it’s getting younger, and [Worcester Mayor Joseph M.] Petty said last week he wanted his committee assignments — one of the few special powers the mayor has under the ‘weak mayor’ form of government in Worcester — to reflect that.” – “New Lawrence mayor says it’s now the people’s turn,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “It’s [Lawrence Mayor Brian A. DePeña’s] mayor-of-the-people approach that has resonated with voters in this community of 89,000 people — 81 percent of whom are Latinos like DePeña. His politics is a blend of populism and fiscal conservatism. Clean streets are a top priority for him, as is holding the line on taxes and moving homeless people out of the city’s parks.” – “A Soldier Sent a Letter to His Mom in 1945. It Was Just Delivered,” by Michael Levenson, The New York Times: “A letter from a 22-year-old U.S. Army sergeant serving in Germany was finally delivered last month to his widow in Woburn, Mass.” – IN MEMORIAM: “Lani Guinier’s legacy lives on in the people and policies she shaped,” by Tori Bedford, GBH News. | | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE |
| – “Morse decides to run for U.S. Senate, to file paperwork this week, formal launch later in month,” by John DiStaso, WMUR: “State Senate President Chuck Morse has decided to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and plans to file a statement of organization creating a campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday … Morse, 61, of Salem, will be the second Republican to formally become a candidate to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, joining retired Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc.” | | WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING |
| – "Omicron is surging — and Democrats aren’t shutting things down this time," by Lisa Kashinsky and Susannah Luthi, POLITICO: "From New York to California, Democratic mayors and governors are fighting to keep schools and businesses open with an urgency they haven’t flexed before in the pandemic." – “‘Why Is Child Marriage Still Legal?’: A Young Lawmaker Tackles a Hidden Problem,” by Erick Trickey, POLITICO: “[State Rep. Cassie Levesque] wanted New Hampshire to become the first state to raise its minimum marriage age to 18, with no exceptions. … This year, Massachusetts may become the seventh state to ban child marriage. Rep. Kay Khan, the bill’s author, has lined up two-thirds of Massachusetts’ senators and House members as co-sponsors. … Khan’s effort in Massachusetts seems to be moving forward, even as Levesque’s in New Hampshire has stalled.” – LISTEN: “Eyeing governor’ s seat, state Sen. Chang-Díaz talks accomplishments on Beacon Hill,” by Arun Rath and Ava Sasani, All Things Considered. SPOTTED – at the Patriots game in Miami: Former Lt. Gov. Jane Swift. TRANSITIONS – Samuel Gebru is no longer director of policy and public affairs at the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts; he hasn’t shared what’s next. Kemi Giwa is now deputy comms director for the House Financial Services Committee. She previously was press secretary for Rep. Seth Moulton. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Chris Buchanan, Samantha Hooper and Jonathan D. Sarna. Happy belated to Alexis Orzeck, who celebrated Saturday; and to former Rep. Mike Capuano, state House Minority Leader Brad Jones, Dan Black, Amy Mahler, Sasha Goodfriend, Shanice Wallace, Kevin Walther, Gustavo Quiroga and Marjorie Nesin, who celebrated Sunday. 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. | |
| | A message from Associated Industries of Massachusetts: Where does the Massachusetts economy go now, almost two years into an unprecedented public health crisis that has scrambled the job market, disrupted global supply chains and redefined the very nature of work? Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), the state’s largest business association, serves more than 3,300 businesses representing 150 different industries in the Commonwealth. We hear from our members daily about their challenges and opportunities which gives us an extraordinarily unique perspective on the Massachusetts business community. Join us Friday January 21st at 7:30 for the State of Massachusetts Business address as AIM President and CEO, John Regan, summarizes the Massachusetts business economy in 2021, comments on what it will mean for 2022, and gets feedback from some of the region’s top business executives. Register here | | | | |
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