News: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Welcome BACK to MARCH — BIZ restrictions LIGHTEN UP

Monday, March 1, 2021

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Welcome BACK to MARCH — BIZ restrictions LIGHTEN UP — The vanishing CONTRACEPTIVE law

Mar 01, 2021

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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday!

WE MEET AGAIN — It's the first day of March, the month where the pandemic upended everything last year. And in some ways it feels like that month never quite ended.

This time last year, Google searches for "Dr. Fauci" hadn't spiked. The news stories about a panic-induced toilet paper shortage were mostly coming from overseas. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had just held an enormous rally on Boston Common for his presidential campaign, with only a few masks in sight. Here's where we were on March 1, 2020:

The caseload: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health had just begun testing patients for the virus at the beginning of March. The state only detected a couple of Covid-19 cases, but due to very limited testing, there could have been more. Hospitals were already preparing for an influx of patients, and worried they may have to resort to hallways, cafeterias and other overflow areas if cases surged. Now, Massachusetts has recorded 550,302 confirmed cases and 15,796 deaths linked to the virus since the start of the pandemic.

The closures: There weren't any. Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency on March 10. He issued his first coronavirus-related executive order on March 12, which suspended some parts of the state's Open Meeting law. The following day, the governor restricted gatherings of more than 250 people. Today, the governor is ushering the state into the next step of its reopening process, easing restrictions on businesses including restaurants and event venues. All in all, the governor has issued 65 executive orders related to the virus this year, according to the state's website.

The front page: Coronavirus was very much in the news this time last year, but it wasn't quite clear what was in store. The Boston Globe ran a front-page story on March 1 wondering whether officials would cancel the Boston Marathon (the people in charge said no), and marked the first Covid-19 death reported in the United States that weekend. The Boston Herald ran the headline 'VIRAL SPIRAL' that day, with a story about that first death and new travel restrictions. Today, the news cycle is dominated by the state's vaccine distribution process and plans for reopening the economy. And the 2021 Boston Marathon has already been pushed off to the fall.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.

TODAY — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh holds a Covid-19 press conference. Former Rep. Michael Capuano is a guest on WBUR.

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THE LATEST NUMBERS

– "As Massachusetts prepares for eased restrictions Monday, state reports 1,428 new COVID cases and 52 deaths Sunday," by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: "As Massachusetts prepares to ease public health restrictions Monday, state officials confirmed 1,428 new coronavirus cases Sunday based on 102,571 molecular tests. The state Department of Public Health also announced another 52 fatalities linked to COVID-19, bringing the death toll from the pandemic in Massachusetts to 15,796."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

– "Here's the list of coronavirus restrictions on businesses set to ease on Monday," by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: "Restrictions limiting restaurants and businesses begin to roll back on Monday, a 'good sign,' Gov. Charlie Baker said, for the state's economy that has been struggling under nearly a year of pandemic-era shutdowns."

– "'Charlie, you're making a big mistake:' experts criticize state's Monday reopening," by John Hilliard and Lucas Phillips, Boston Globe: "As Governor Charlie Baker is poised to ease more pandemic restrictions on restaurants and other businesses starting Monday, public health experts warned that the moves could backfire, upending the state's progress against COVID-19 and risking a new surge in cases."

– "2017 birth control provision fell through the cracks," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "In 2017, amid growing concern that Congress and the Trump administration were moving to limit free access to contraceptives, the Massachusetts Legislature passed and Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a bill guaranteeing access to birth control without copays. … But a strange thing happened after the bill-signing ceremony was over. No one followed up on the 12-month provision."

– "Baker Pushes Districts To Ramp Up Virus Screening While Reopening Schools," by Mike Deehan, GBH News: "Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is pushing for more school districts to adopt in-house COVID-19 screening as they bring students back for classroom learning this spring. Baker appeared at the Nock-Molin Middle School in Newburyport to tour the school's pool testing operation and reopened in-class learning Friday morning."

– "As Massachusetts and other states look to ease COVID restrictions, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns against prematurely relaxing rules, potential rebound in cases," by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: "After officials in multiple states announced recently they're seeking to ease public health restrictions amid a decline in coronavirus cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease official, warned against prematurely relaxing pandemic-related rules."

– "How One State Managed to Actually Write Rules on Facial Recognition," by Kashmir Hill, The New York Times: "Though police have been using facial recognition technology for the last two decades to try to identify unknown people in their investigations, the practice of putting the majority of Americans into a perpetual photo lineup has gotten surprisingly little attention from lawmakers and regulators. Until now."

– "State still target for bogus jobless claims," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "The state's pandemic-ravaged unemployment system is still under attack by fraudsters and criminal gangs who continue to file bogus claims. Of more than 1.2 million new claims for traditional state unemployment benefits submitted between April 2020 and January, at least 261,000 were denied because they were deemed ineligible, according to the latest data from the state Department of Unemployment Assistance."

– "The pandemic has brought changes in the business of health care. But that's not how reform should happen." by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Business Journal: "Years of discussion and numerous state studies finally brought about the potential for lasting change for two thorny health care issues that had been plaguing the state when Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill last month: behavioral health care and surprise billing."

VAX-ACHUSETTS

– CDC advisory panel recommends J&J single-dose Covid vaccine," by Brianna Ehley, POLITICO: "A CDC advisory panel on Sunday unanimously recommended Johnson & Johnson's single-dose coronavirus vaccine for Americans 18 and older, one of the last steps needed for the shot to be administered to the public beginning this week."

– "Massachusetts urgent care company cancels patients' 2nd COVID shots after vaccinating 6,000-plus people, says state cut off supply," by Jackson Cote, MassLive.com: "A Massachusetts urgent care company that administered thousands of first doses of the coronavirus vaccine canceled appointments for individuals' second shot, noting the state cut off its supply. CareWell Urgent Care, a Quincy-based company, vaccinated more than 6,000 people at 16 clinics across Massachusetts but has been canceling appointments for an undisclosed number of patients' second shots."

– "Healey: Vaccination Rollout Has Been 'Frustrating,' 'Huge Failure' At Times," by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: Attorney General Maura Healey said Friday that the state's COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been 'incredibly frustrating,' and categorized parts of it as a 'huge failure and a debacle that could have been avoided.'"

– "Massachusetts coronavirus vaccine rollout: Reggie Lewis Center's minority outreach is 'model to be replicated," by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: The coronavirus vaccination site at Roxbury's Reggie Lewis Center has a Black medical site manager. Half the site's appointments are being set aside for local residents. And efforts by Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition volunteers booked nearly 800 Black and Latino residents for shots during the first few days of CIC Health taking over operations from the city this week."

– "Residents find ways around the state's cumbersome vaccine website," by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Business Journal: "Many residents are taking advantage of an underground network of word-of-mouth gossip, resident-driven technology solutions, and social media whisperings, with the end result that those with connections are able to find loopholes in the system ."

– "Massachusetts halts new coronavirus vaccine doses to Boston-area universities, will still provide second doses," by Lisa Kashinsky and Meghan Ottolini, Boston Herald: "Boston-area universities that initially received hundreds of coronavirus vaccine doses for their first responders and health care workers are now watching their supplies for other staff and students run dry in Phase 2 as the state prioritizes mass vaccination sites."

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FROM THE HUB

– "Boston Public Schools Suspends Test For Advanced Learning Classes; Concerns About Program's Racial Inequities Linger," by Meg Woolhouse, GBH News: "A selective program for high-performing fourth, fifth and sixth graders in Boston has suspended enrollment due to the pandemic and concerns about equity in the program, GBH News has learned. Superintendent Brenda Cassellius recommended the one-year hiatus for the program, known as Advanced Work Classes, saying the district would not proceed with the program for new students next year."

– "Boston delays reopening of concert halls, theaters, other indoor businesses," by Anissa Gardizy, Boston Globe: "Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced last Friday that Boston will delay the reopening of indoor performance spaces and recreational activity venues until March 22, taking a harder stance than the state, which said those spaces can open as soon as Monday."

– "Two tales of one city: The Port sits in the shadow of Moderna and Pfizer," by Hanna Krueger, Boston Globe: "The gulf between the two communities has perhaps never been wider than at the start of 2021 when the quest to defeat COVID-19 with vaccines went into high gear. The biotech firms develop groundbreaking technologies to manipulate nucleic acids in human cells, while Newtowne Court residents struggle to access basic broadband."

– "40 percent of Boston high school juniors and seniors are chronically absent, raising concerns about their futures," by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: "Two out of five high school juniors and seniors in Boston Public Schools were chronically absent from school in the fall — a sharp rise from pre-pandemic absentee rates that educators say could herald a devastating decline in the number of city students completing high school."

– "Cosmetology is one of the most popular vocational tracks in Mass. But is it too late for a makeover of Madison Park's beauty program?" by Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: "Even before the pandemic, the salon chairs were mostly empty. Few outsiders came there to get their hair and nails done for a nominal fee by the Roxbury school's students who were mastering their craft. Not many educators and administrators from the Boston Public Schools headquarters around the corner, or the personnel at the police headquarters on nearby Tremont Street. Or even nearby residents looking to freshen up."

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

– "Baker Signs Home Rule Petition Eliminating Special Election For Boston Mayor," The Associated Press: "A measure aimed at eliminating the need for a special election in Boston if Mayor Marty Walsh steps down to become President Joe Biden's labor secretary was signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday."

ON THE STUMP

– "Special election for former speaker DeLeo's seat will test appetite for progressive politics," by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: "One candidate boasts endorsements from progressive icons Bernie Sanders and Ayanna Pressley. Another voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and opposes abortion. Such is the ideological spectrum on display in the four-candidate Democratic field vying to fill the Winthrop and Revere seat held for decades by former Massachusetts House speaker Robert A. DeLeo."

– "Healey Says She Was Unaware Of Tino Capobianco's 'Troubling Behavior' At Time Of Endorsement," by Tori Bedford, GBH News: "Attorney General Maura Healy told GBH News Friday that when she endorsed Tino Capobianco, a candidate for state representative in the 19th Suffolk District, she was unaware of allegations of 'troubling behavior' that later led her to revoke her endorsement."

– FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: "BC Dems endorse Barash," from the Barash campaign: "Bryan Barash announced today that his campaign for City Council has earned the endorsement of the College Democrats of Boston College."

DAY IN COURT

– "Parents' group files lawsuit to block BPS from using ZIP codes in exam school admission," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: "A group representing parents frustrated with Boston Public Schools' plan to consider neighborhood residence in admissions to the city's three prestigious exam schools filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the School Committee and the superintendent seeking to block implementation of the plan, documents show."

THE PRESSLEY PARTY

– "Ayanna Pressley vows to 'keep pushing' $15 minimum wage, more coronavirus relief," by Lisa Kashinsky and Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said the federal government has 'failed' to meet the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and vowed to 'keep pushing' the Biden administration toward the progressive policies she says are key for recovery."

ABOVE THE FOLD

— Herald: "DO YOU MISS ME YET?" — Globe: "Absences soar in Boston's schools," "Rules calling for sterile pot stifle farms, growers say."

FROM THE 413

– "Williamstown Grapples With Calls For Community-Oriented Safety After Police Scandal," by Jeongyoon Han, WAMC: "The national reckoning with racial justice and police brutality has led to a conversation about the role of law enforcement in New England communities. The May 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody sparked protests across the nation, including in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where residents worked to bring that conversation home."

– "Staying the course: How Hadley has kept schools open during pandemic, giving families a choice," by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Hadley's public schools are among the only ones in the region that, since last fall, have given families a choice as to whether their children, from preschool through 12th grade, will be in the school buildings every day, or continue to be educated remotely."

– "'Has he ever been here?': Tucker Carlson's description of Springfield doesn't mesh with reality, residents and officials say," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "Fox News' Tucker Carlson — whose on-air statements a court determined shouldn't be viewed as facts — opened Thursday night's show smearing Springfield in a story about cultural friction at Smith College in Northampton."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

– "Demographic changes could have an effect on 16th Worcester District majority-minority," by Ariane Vigna, Telegram & Gazette: "A Worcester Massachusetts House district currently represented by Democrat Daniel Donahue shifted from mostly white to majority-minority, a demographic change that could have implications when lawmakers draw new district boundaries later this year, according to a new analysis by Lawyers for Civil Rights."

– "As Lowell School Committee member Hoey resigns, city councilors mull motion to allow future ousters," by Amy Sokolow, The Lowell Sun: "Lowell School Committee member Robert Hoey resigned Friday morning for using an anti-Semitic slur on live local TV, following calls for his resignation from city leadership including the City Council, School Committee, mayor, city manager, the entire state and national Lowell delegation, and religious and cultural leaders across the city."

– "Lockheed Martin closing facility in Marion, Mass." by Ted Nesi, WPRI: "Lockheed Martin Corp. is closing its facility in Marion, the company confirmed Thursday. Marion employees of the defense contractor's Rotary and Mission Systems division currently work on undersea programs for the U.S. Navy, including the MK-48 Heavyweight Torpedo."

– "Taunton BLM and thin blue line supporters face off during peaceful but heated rallies," by Susannah Sudborough, The Taunton Daily Gazette: "Two cultures and ideologies clashed verbally on the Taunton Green Saturday morning as people supporting the controversial thin blue line flag mural at Taunton High School rallied and were met by Black Lives Matter counter-protesters ."

– "Could the pandemic further erode the New England town meeting?" by Wilson Ring, The Associated Press: "The town meeting, for centuries, was a staple of New England life — but the coronavirus pandemic could accelerate the departure from the tradition where people gather to debate everything from the purchase of local road equipment to multimillion-dollar budgets to pressing social issues."

TRANSITIONS – Megan Greeley joins Chartwell Strategy Group as director. Greeley previously worked at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to state Rep. John Lawn, Sean Fitzgerald (a rare leap year birthday-er), and Hannah Klain.

NEW EPISODE: SOCIAL DISTANCING STUDIES – On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Jennifer Smith and Stephanie Murray discuss the state's push for in-person learning, and discuss the House race to fill former Speaker Bob DeLeo's seat with GBH's Tori Bedford and the Boston Herald's Lisa Kashinsky. 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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