| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity and Sophie Gardner | A REDEVELOPING STORY — The battle over a stretch of land near the South Boston convention center just keeps smoldering. After months of pushing legislation to require a community advisory board and other conditions on a Massachusetts Convention Center Authority redevelopment plan, Democratic state Sen. Nick Collins is looking for a new way to ground the whole project. More than a decade ago, the MCCA was allowed to acquire three parcels along D and E streets adjacent to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. It was meant to build more mid-priced hotels, and to make Boston’s convention scene more competitive against other cities, like Orlando, Fla., Collins told Playbook. Boston was losing mid-price conventions “not because of Mickey and Minnie, [but] because of the price points of the different kinds of conventions,” he said. Now Collins is pushing SD 2406, a short bill that would require any state or quasi-state agency to return private property acquired by eminent domain if the land doesn’t get used for its stated purpose. Boston.com reported earlier this month that two bids near the convention center included grocery stores, labs, and office and retail space. That’s the type of general economic development MCCA chief David Gibbons has said would help the local hotels and generate long-term revenues for the convention business — but, to Collins, not the original intent. “They’re acting like an open-ended developer. That’s not what their role is as a convention center,” Collins said. Collins’ bill is just the latest barb in a long fight. He’d already sent Gibbons a letter in December arguing that the agency had run afoul of commitments for how it was supposed to develop the land it snatched up near the convention center through eminent domain. State Rep. David Biele, Boston City Council President Ed Flynn and Councilor Michael Flaherty, all Democrats, also signed the letter, which complained about the request for proposals process being rushed at the end of the Baker administration. The drama flared up again last week when the MCCA met behind closed doors to discuss the two bids that have come in — something it can do if an open meeting may have a “detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the public body.” Gov. Maura Healey has a part to play here, of course, but hasn’t taken a position. The governor has yet to say whether she plans to follow through on her predecessor’s plans to sell another MCCA asset — the Hynes Convention Center — and funnel the proceeds to the convention site in South Boston. “We look forward to continued collaboration with key stakeholders to develop an approach that works for both facilities and, importantly, the neighborhoods in which they reside,” Healey spokesperson Karissa Hand said in an email to Playbook. “We are also committed to building a strong team across our administration, including the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority Board.” GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. We’re stepping up as your guest co-hosts for today! Tell us how we did at kgarrity@politico.com or sgardner@politico.com. Find us on twitter: @KellyGarrity3, @sophie_gardnerJ. And we have train news! The MBTA is ready to receive new cars from CRRC, the Chinese-owned company tasked with replacing old red and orange line cars, for the first time since deliveries were halted in July after myriad defects came to light. (Remember the battery failures, power cable failures, derailments and malfunctioning brake units?) The agency expects to accept two “married pairs” of orange line cars before the end of February, an MBTA spokesperson told Playbook. The decision comes amid increased scrutiny of the troubled Springfield factory where the cars are produced. Earlier this month, Healey announced a new working group of consultants tasked with expediting red and orange line car delivery and improving safety. The group consists of Hatch (formerly LTK Engineering), Wilmer Hale and Holland & Knight. State Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca toured the CRRC manufacturing facility last Tuesday. Brian Kane, executive director of the MBTA advisory board, told Playbook he’s glad to see the increased interest in CRRC oversight, but he’s ready to see some concrete changes. “I think there's a lot of issues that have to be ironed out and the governor is wise to put together this team,” he said. “But I really hope that someone is also thinking about action.” TODAY — It’s Acting Gov. Bill Galvin for most of the week. The secretary of state is holding the fort until Thursday night while Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll are traveling out of state. Rep. Ayanna Pressley hosts a roundtable with state Sen. Liz Miranda and Boston Marathon bombing survivors to discuss Pressley’s Post Disaster Mental Health Response Act.
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 3/1 TO DISCUSS AMERICAN PRIVACY LAWS: Americans have fewer privacy rights than Europeans, and companies continue to face a minefield of competing state and foreign legislation. There is strong bipartisan support for a federal privacy bill, but it has yet to materialize. Join POLITICO on 3/1 to discuss what it will take to get a federal privacy law on the books, potential designs for how this type of legislation could protect consumers and innovators, and more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Healey, who once vowed to not claim blanket public records exemption as governor, refuses to release call logs, e-mails,” by Matt Stout and Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: "The Globe requested correspondences between Healey and legislative leaders, the governor’s daily calendar, a log of her travel, and a log of calls she made or received on her cellphone or direct office line for January. ... In response to the Globe’s request, Healey’s office denied access to her e-mails and phone call logs." — “Campbell Outlines Gun Enforcement Approach,” by Sam Drysdale, State House News Service (paywall): “In addition to the creation of promised reproductive health care and police accountability units, the attorney general's office will be adding a gun enforcement unit and government accountability working group under Andrea Campbell's purview. Campbell said on GBH's 'Basic Black' Friday night that the gun enforcement unit will be responsible for filing briefs in court to protect the state's gun laws, which the attorney general said she has already begun doing during her first month in office.” — “State uncovers $2.7M in welfare fraud,” Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “[State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s] office’s Bureau of Special Investigations said it looked into more than 1,135 cases during the second quarter of the fiscal year, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, and identified at least 255 instances of public assistance fraud, nearly 60% of it in the state’s primary cash assistance program.” — “Lawmakers consider COVID-19 memorial day,” by Christian M. Wade, Newburyport Daily News.
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Michelle Wu vetoes Boston School Committee elected push,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “The Boston City Council earlier this week passed a measure to phase out the current all-appointed school committee and replace them with a 13-member all-elected body made of district and at-large representatives. … The council can’t override a mayor’s disapproval of a home-rule petition.” — “As Wu policies alarm the real estate industry, business leaders turn to Healey,” by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: “As [Boston Mayor Michelle] Wu works to remake Boston, proposing sweeping changes to the development process in particular, many nervous executives are looking to the new governor as industry’s ally. They’re betting that [Gov. Maura] Healey will serve as a check on the more progressive Wu — and hoping that if the mayor’s farthest-reaching proposals land on the governor’s desk, they can count on a veto.” —"Michelle Wu office budget at $6.5 million as salaries continue to rise," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald.
| | TRAINS, PLANES AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “It’s possible to out-run, even out-walk, the T, new slow zone data show,” by Taylor Dolven and Elizabeth Koh, Boston Globe: “At eight points along the Green Line, it would be faster to run than take the T, according to new MBTA data obtained by the Globe. In at least one spot, it would probably be faster to walk.”
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “Pressley warns high court may take aim at more precedents, protections,” by Matthew Medsgar, Boston Herald: “The U.S. Supreme Court may move to overturn other long established constitutional protections, according to a member of the state’s congressional delegation. 'I think they’re forecasting. It is not a drill,' U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said. The Boston congresswoman, speaking with WCVB’s Jessica Brown and Ed Harding during weekend politics show On the Record, said that assertions made by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in his concurrence with the decision to overturn the court’s decision in Roe v. Wade that the justices should take a close look at other standing precedents are not just idle legal speculation.” — “Congress delegation visits Taiwan in tense US-China moment,” by Huizhong Wu, AP News: “A delegation of U.S. lawmakers met with the head of Taiwan's legislature on Monday as part of a five-day visit to the self-ruled island that comes as U.S.-China relations remain tense after weeks of trading accusations over a spy balloon. The delegation that arrived Sunday includes Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois.”
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN | | — “In one frigid weekend, four emergency rooms closed. Are hospitals ready for a changing climate?” by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe: “The water started coming in from the ceiling. As a historic cold front swept into Boston in early February, an inactive sprinkler line in Boston Medical Center’s emergency room froze, blowing the cap off the end of the two-and-a-half-inch pipe. By the time the source of the leak was identified that Saturday night, 70 percent of the emergency room was flooded. The hospital was one of at least three to stop accepting ambulances in its emergency room on Feb. 4 due to burst pipes, forcing EMS to divert ambulances elsewhere.”
| | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “Holyoke City Council favors tapping into $3.2 million Cannabis Stabilization Fund for road projects,” by Dennis Hohenberger, MassLive: “The City Council’s Finance Committee supports using $921,000 from the Cannabis Stabilization for public works projects and other outlays. The full council will vote on the transfers on Tuesday. Impact fees from the city’s marijuana industry support the Cannabis Stabilization Fund, a price for doing business in Holyoke.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Holyoke receives $432K insurance settlement for downtown sidewalk construction error,” by Dennis Hohenberger, MassLive: “The city reached a $432,000 settlement agreement from Travelers Insurance tied to a contractor damaging a downtown sidewalk two years ago. The municipal Law Department led the settlement efforts. The City Council’s Finance Committee recommended transferring the award into the claims settlement account for contractor services. The council will be asked to formally accept the settlement during its meeting on Tuesday.” —“State Dems back bill to decriminalize safe injection sites,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette.
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Local Political Consultant Reflects on Jimmy Carter's Legacy,” by Evan Ringle and Erin Logan, NBC Boston: “When a statement from the Carter Center on Saturday, Feb. 18 revealed that the 98-year-old former president was beginning hospice care at home after a long battle with cancer, political leaders on a local and national level spoke about Carter's valuable contributions during his presidency, and even more so after his presidency.”
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — “Chris Sununu Eyes the G.O.P.’s ‘Normal’ Lane in 2024. Does It Exist?” by Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times: "As Mr. Sununu, 48, considers a White House run, conferring with advisers and road-testing a message of de-MAGA-fied conservatism, the case against him as a national Republican force is straightforward: He calls himself “pro-choice” and is far lesser known than several would-be rivals. ... But the case for Mr. Sununu, and against Trumpism given recent electoral history, is even simpler, in his telling: Check the scoreboard."
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