News : POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: New MAP of BEACON HILL — KERRY takes center stage on CLIMATE — Former POLICE COMMISSIONER defends handling of ROSE CASE

Thursday, April 22, 2021

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: New MAP of BEACON HILL — KERRY takes center stage on CLIMATE — Former POLICE COMMISSIONER defends handling of ROSE CASE

Apr 22, 2021

Presented by Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM)

GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. It's Earth Day!

NEW MAP OF BEACON HILL — A new legislative tool is trying to map the "invisible relationships" between lawmakers on Beacon Hill. Legislata, a productivity software, analyzed the tens of thousands of bills filed over the last decade to identify patterns among legislative co-sponsors.

The map is an interesting look which lawmakers sign onto the most bills, and who co-sponsors bills from a range of their colleagues. It also offers some insight into relationships that aren't obvious outside of the State House, via a co-sponsorship map that shows each lawmaker's top connections.

Legislata analyzed the 57,160 bills filed at the State House since 2009. The tool also assigned those co-sponsorships a score based on how many other lawmakers signed onto a bill. In Legislata's analysis, the relationship between two lawmakers on a bill with few cosponsors is ranked higher than a popular or uncontroversial bill with lots of sponsors.

This session, Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa and Sen. Michael Moore so far have the highest co-sponsorship scores in each chamber.

The analysis also tried to determine which lawmakers were the most "central " when it comes to co-sponsorships, by using an algorithm that ranked co-sponsors and their connections. The most central lawmakers to the legislative session that ended last year were Reps. Natalie Higgins and David Rogers, and Sens. Jamie Eldridge and Sal DiDomenico, according to the analysis. Legislata bills itself as a productivity software for elected officials, and it is still in development until this summer, founder and CEO Chris Oates told me.

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

TODAY — Attorney General Maura Healey announces a new air quality monitoring project in Springfield. Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey holds a press conference on Covid-19 and police oversight. City Councilor Michelle Wu, a candidate for mayor, holds a press conference calling on Boston to electrify school buses by 2030, and meets with environmental advocates at the Muddy River at Ipswich St Bridge and Charlesgate East. Youth climate activists gather at the State House.

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RECOVERY LAB

'PARENTS ARE POWERLESS': Most American schoolkids have struggled with remote learning, and in some states they might be forced to repeat a grade. This morning, POLITICO's Recovery Lab looks at the growing controversy around laws that require third graders to repeat a year of school if they don't do well enough on standardized tests. In 18 states, "mandatory retention" laws could force thousands if not millions of kids who fell behind during Covid to repeat a year… and the fallout could last for years.

THE LATEST NUMBERS

– "Active COVID infections, hospitalizations fall as Massachusetts reports 1,370 new cases, 13 deaths on Wednesday," by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: "Active COVID cases in Massachusetts declined further on Wednesday, from 33,060 on Tuesday to 32,134, according to the latest data from the Department of Public Health. State health officials confirmed another 1,370 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday."

DATELINE BEACON HILL

– "Baker admin, lawmakers review options with feds to address surge in unemployment taxes due to COVID," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "Baker administration officials and lawmakers are working with the federal government to address the jump in unemployment insurance taxes stemming from the state's historic number of jobless claims during the COVID-19 pandemic ."

– "Black women are dying during childbirth. A new Mass. commission aims to find out why." by Arianna MacNeill, Boston.com: "Having a baby should be one of the most joyful times in a person's life. But records show that Black women, and women of color, are much more likely to die due to childbirth-related complications than white women, or to suffer from medical complications."

– "Fake coronavirus vaccine cards: Maura Healey, 41 other AGs sound alarm about third-party site," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and 41 other AGs are sounding the alarm about fake COVID vaccine cards being sold on a third-party website, and demanded the site immediately stop the sales."

– "Why Rep. Alan Silvia is pushing for special autism training for police, teacher's aides," by Charles Winokoor, The Herald News: "State Rep. Alan Silvia wants police officers as well as teacher aides in elementary and secondary schools to be better equipped in dealing with autistic children and adults."

VAX-ACHUSETTS

– "States have a new Covid problem: Too much vaccine," by Dan Goldberg and Rachel Roubein, POLITICO: "The supply of Covid vaccines is now exceeding demand in rural areas and big cities, even as states lift remaining eligibility restrictions, open walk-in clinics and even offer shots to out-of-state residents."

– "Mass. community colleges not requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for fall semester; students urged to get shots," by Travis Andersen and Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: "Arguing that a vaccine mandate would create an unnecessary burden, the state's 15 community colleges on Wednesday announced they would not require their students to get COVID shots this fall to access the campus, bucking the trend in higher education."

– "New Bedford, Fall River vaccination rates among lowest in Massachusetts," by Tolly Taylor, WPRI: "Despite having some of the highest infection rates during the pandemic, Bristol County's largest cities have among the lowest vaccination rates in Massachusetts. A Target 12 analysis of Massachusetts Department of Public Health data shows nearly 14% of New Bedford's population tested positive during the pandemic, ranking ninth highest in Massachusetts. As of last Thursday, however, only 28% of residents had received at least one dose of the vaccine, tied for second lowest in Massachusetts. The statewide rate at that time totaled 45%."

FROM THE HUB

– "Emboldened by Chauvin verdict, protesters march against police brutality in Boston," by Christine Mui, Charlie McKenna and Sofia Saric, Boston Globe: "As thunderstorms rolled through Boston Wednesday evening, activists marched through the city, calling for an end to police brutality one day after Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted for the death of George Floyd."

– "In Nubian Square, Black Bostonians Exhale After Chauvin Verdict, But Fear Unjust Police Killings Will Happen Again," by Phillip Martin, GBH News: "The guilty verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was greeted with relief and a bit of surprise by some in Roxbury, one of Boston's largest Black communities."

– "Former Boston police commissioner Paul Evans defends handling of 1995 child molestation charges against Patrick Rose," by Andrew Ryan and Dugan Arnett, Boston Globe: "Former Boston police commissioner Paul F. Evans joined a contingent of voices calling on the city to release the full internal affairs file for Patrick M. Rose Sr., the former patrolman and union chief now accused of molesting six children over the course of more than two decades."

– "Could A Tourism Push Rewrite Roxbury's Reputation?" by Tori Bedford, GBH News: Though Roxbury boasts historical landmarks, breweries and restaurants, the predominantly Black neighborhood of Boston has struggled to attract tourists for decades. Visitors from out of town and suburbanites alike have stayed away because of the neighborhood's reputation, a pattern local tourism professionals say the city has historically done little to change."

– "A 'Fundamental' Shift: Harvard Institute of Politics Marred by Tensions, Turnover as Kennedy School Asserts Increased Control," by Jasper G. Goodman, The Crimson: "Held up as a model and copied at more than a dozen universities nationwide, the IOP has a rich history as a non-academic institute focused on providing public service opportunities to undergraduates … Historic Kennedy family documents never previously made public reveal, though, that there have long been fears that the IOP's placement within the Kennedy School could jeopardize its independence and undergraduate-focused mission."

– "New England workers want hybrid approach to remote work and return to offices," by Gintautas Dumcius, Boston Business Journal: "Forty-five percent of professional workers in New England would like a hybrid approach to working in the office and remotely, according to a new survey. Answering a question about their ideal work environment, 30% said they preferred being in the office full-time, while 25% said they wanted to be remote full-time, a survey from staffing company Robert Half found."

– "Somerville holds fast to tough restaurant restrictions, even as rest of state opens up," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "As business restrictions have loosened up in Massachusetts this year, one city has remained steadfast in holding to stricter rules put in place during the coronavirus surge over the winter: Somerville. Other cities and towns have entered the fourth and final phase of the state's economic reopening."

– "Hopkinton names street after late Boston Marathon icon Dick Hoyt," by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: "The Hopkinton Select Board on Tuesday voted to name a local street after Dick Hoyt, a longtime symbol of the Boston Marathon who died last month and who ran the race with his son, Rick, for decades."

A message from Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM):

THE RACE FOR CITY HALL

– "Is Boston finally past tribal politics?" by Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner: "Could this year's mayoral race, with three Black candidates, a Latino candidate and an Asian candidate all running for the same seat, rupture the alliance that has dominated politics in Boston's communities of color?"

DAY IN COURT

– "SJC upholds ban on car-sharing service Turo at Logan Airport," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "The car-sharing platform Turo will continue to be banned from listing cars for rent at Logan Airport, under a Supreme Judicial Court decision released Wednesday. Turo is a private company that operates a website where car owners can offer their cars to renters, a platform for cars that is similar to Airbnb for homes."

MARKEYCHUSETTS

– "Markey, Castor urge FTC to investigate Google Play Store," by Rebecca Klar, The Hill: "Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate if Google's app store is misleadingly marketing children's apps as compliant with a law aimed at protecting children's privacy."

DATELINE D.C.

– "After half a century in public life, Kerry gets one more shot," by Matt Viser and Brady Dennis, The Washington Post: "These days, Kerry, at 77 and serving as President Biden's climate envoy, is flying commercial, catching red-eyes to Europe and meeting with heads of state from France to India, trying once again to cement the United States as a world leader on climate action — and, not incidentally, salvage the fight he has long considered central to his own stamp on history."

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

– "The last coal power plant in New England a concern for Merrimack River," by Amy Sokolow, The Lowell Sun: "What is functionally the last coal-fired power plant in New England has become a target for the area's environmental groups, and an elusive one at that."

– "Boston Logan Airport Deletes Earth Day Tweet After Ridicule," The Associated Press: "In response to public ridicule, Boston's Logan International Airport deleted a Tweet that encouraged travelers to use the airport parking garage under the guise that it helped the environment."

ABOVE THE FOLD

— Herald: "KNOCK, KNOCK," — Globe: "It's a rarity, but some with vaccines still get sick," "US to review Minneapolis police system for systemic issues," "VOICES HEARD."

MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS

– "Cannabis industry says access to banking services 'can't happen soon enough,'" by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: "Cannabis industry insiders say a push by federal lawmakers to allow banks to provide services to pot shops in states where they are legal 'can't happen soon enough.'"

THE LOCAL ANGLE

– "How did the COVID pandemic influence where people moved in Massachusetts? These two communities saw the biggest influx of new residents," by Tanner Stening, MassLive.com: "Barnstable saw more than four times the number of new residents in 2020 compared to 2019, putting the Cape Cod town at number four on the Times' list of places that saw the largest influx of residents. In Western Massachusetts, Pittsfield came in at number six, with almost four times the number of change-of-address requests in 2020 compared to the prior year."

– "Fall River police share and delete post criticizing George Floyd; chief and mayor weigh in," by Audrey Cooney, The Herald News: "The Fall River Police Department posted and then deleted a post on Facebook appearing to criticize George Floyd, a Black man whose death at the hands of a police officer sparked massive protests last year and whose killer was convicted of murder yesterday."

– "Asian Americans in Quincy, nationwide wary about school amid virus, violence," by Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press: "As high schools and elementary schools across the country gradually re-open for full-time classes, Asian American families are wrestling with whether to send their children back out into the world at a time when anti-Asian hostility and violence is on the rise."

TRANSITIONS – Rep. Jake Auchincloss has been appointed vice chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, part of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY – The Boston Guardian celebrates its fifth anniversary this week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Yasmina Vinci and Evan Dobelle.

NEW EPISODE: RECOUNTING THE DAYS – On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Jennifer Smith, Steve Koczela and Stephanie Murray discuss the race for mayor of Boston, and the Boston Globe's Matt Stout breaks down a legal battle that involves the Secretary of State, the City of Boston and a little-known seat on the Republican state committee. 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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