| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook won’t publish Thursday and Friday for the Fourth of July but will be back in your inbox Monday. STAYING IN THEIR LANES AND OFF THE TRAINS — The second summer Sumner Tunnel shutdown is nearly here. But the hype behind last year’s #DitchTheDrive campaign doesn’t seem like it's in tow. Some transit advocates saw a silver lining in last year’s roughly two-month tunnel shutdown: a chance to get people out of their cars and onto the discounted, free or more frequent ferries, commuter rail trains and Blue Line cars officials were encouraging motorists to take — and maybe even convert them permanently. But last year’s experiment was a bit of a bust: More than three-quarters of drivers who regularly drove through the tunnel stayed in their cars during the closure, taking the Tobin or Ted Williams Tunnel instead. Ferries and commuter rail trains attracted bigger crowds, but the fare-free Blue Line saw a far lower bump than state officials expected. And while the state is offering similar incentives to get people off the roads this year, there’s some disappointment that last year’s campaign didn’t lead to a broader shift. “I sort of feel like it’s a missed opportunity, because if there's one thing that people are beginning to realize, slowly but surely, it's that we're not even close to thinking we're going to achieve the state's established climate emissions targets. It’s just not happening,” former state Transportation Secretary Jim Aloisi told Playbook. Getting people out of conventional gas cars and into other, climate-friendlier types of transportation is essential to reaching those goals, Aloisi added. “And these are the kinds of things that you would think would create real opportunities to try new things and to have that discussion. I just don't see it happening.” While the lack of long-term change in the region’s transit habits is “disappointing,” said Peter Wilson, a senior policy director at Transportation for Massachusetts, he noted that drawing data from “30 days in the summer where traffic tends to be lighter” probably doesn’t show the full picture. But fares are one of the biggest deterrents to commuters weighing their travel options (reliability and convenience matter, too) and the short-term fare-free and reduced fare travel options are “another data point that could provide some insight into that,” Wilson said. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. One day left this week! Send me any weekend birthdays, announcements or schedules today so I can include them in Wednesday's newsletter: kgarrity@politico.com. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll host a press conference with local leaders announcing the 2024 Housing Development Incentive Program awards at 10 a.m. in Lowell. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Mass. forced medication bill sparks intense debate,” by Jason Laughlin, The Boston Globe.
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “First Boston Planning Department in 70 years gets to work at City Hall,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “The week kicked off with a milestone at Boston City Hall, where the mayor marked the first official day of the city’s first planning department in 70 years. The new department was created by a mayoral ordinance that was approved by the City Council in late March, but the changes — moving staff and functions along with some land and money from the Boston Planning and Development Agency — did not take effect until Monday, the start of fiscal year 2025.” — “Not just big Boston property owners: Small businesses could be hurt by Wu’s tax plan,” by Shirley Leung, The Boston Globe: “It’s not just the big building owners worried about Mayor Michelle Wu’s plan to increase commercial real estate taxes. So are the restaurants, barbershops, stores, and other small businesses that are their tenants. That’s because many leases require tenants to pay their share of the property taxes. If past is prologue, expect to pay more for meals, haircuts, and other goods and services as businesses pass their higher tax costs onto consumers.”
| | DAY IN COURT | | IMMUNE — The Supreme Court’s ruling Monday that former President Donald Trump is immune from some criminal prosecution for official actions he took as president rattled Democrats in Massachusetts. “The Founding Fathers must be rolling in their graves,” Rep. Seth Moulton said in a statement. Rep. Lori Trahan took a page out of Republicans’ playbook, saying the decision “creates two tiers of justice – one for Donald Trump and another for the rest of us.” Minority Whip Katherine Clark slammed the conservative justices on the high court, saying in a statement “the MAGA Justices are more loyal to partisan politics than the rule of law.” Attorney General Andrea Campbell cast the ruling as a call to action for voters: “Since the Supreme Court won’t hold Donald Trump accountable, we must by voting to keep him away from any position of power,” she said. Sen. Elizabeth Warren posed some hypotheticals: “If Donald Trump were president, could he get away with telling the Justice Department to make up dirt to put his political opponents in jail? Could President Trump get away with taking a bribe in exchange for vetoing a law? Could President Trump get away with sending an FBI hit squad to eliminate anyone he decided was a threat?” And Sen. Ed Markey reupped a call he, Warren and other members have made to add new seats to the high court. More on the ruling from POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney. — “Karen Read murder trial ends in mistrial with ‘starkly divided’ hung jury,” by Matt Schooley and Kristina Rex, WBZ: “The Karen Read murder trial ended Monday after a "starkly divided" hung jury failed to reach a verdict, forcing Judge Beverly Cannone to declare a mistrial. The decision came after 27 hours of deliberations in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. … Judge Beverly Cannone set July 22 for the case to be back in court to determine next steps. In a statement after the decision, the Norfolk District Attorney's office said it plans to retry the case.” — “Trooper Michael Proctor relieved of duty after testimony in Karen Read trial,” Tonya Alanez, The Boston Globe.
| | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “Massachusetts senators say taxpayers may be unfairly footing bill for migrants with financial sponsors,”by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “A group of Massachusetts senators are demanding that the governor review how many migrant families being supported by taxpayers entered the U.S. on the condition of having their expenses covered by a sponsor, and that she make those people pay up. Eleven state senators, led by Democrat Michael Moore and Republican Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, sent a letter to Gov. Maura Healey and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Edward Augustus, calling for accountability for those who have made commitments to provide financial support for migrants under the federal Humanitarian Parole Program, ‘but have not fulfilled that commitment.’”
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “MBTA: South Coast Rail will run on weekends,” by Dan Medeiros, The Herald News: “South Coast Rail’s schedule is now a little bit clearer, with an MBTA spokesperson confirming to The Herald News that it will offer service on weekends. But it is still unknown how often during the weekend that service will run. ‘Seeing as ... South Coast Rail is an extension of the Middleborough line commuter rail service, on which weekend service is already scheduled and offered, it is not a question of whether weekend service will be provided, but rather at what levels,’ said Maya Bingaman, MBTA communications manager.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Feds eye flood mitigation measures in Pioneer Valley,” by Chris Larabee and Alexa Lewis.
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Do Brockton school bus drivers 'abuse' sick pay? 20 to 30 absent every day,” by Christopher Butler, The Brockton Enterprise: “An average of 20 to 30 Brockton school bus drivers are absent almost every day, said City Council President Moises Rodrigues, and according to school department leaders, some have been terminated for ‘excessive absences.’ Many of Brockton Public Schools’ 140 bus drivers have been ‘abusing’ their sick time benefits, as many Brockton city councilors said during the recent budget hearings for the upcoming fiscal year.”
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | | | WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING | | — “The senior struggle to age in community,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Beacon: “Massachusetts seniors, particularly those who are low income, are often stymied in their hunt for later-in-life homes because of a mismatch between their specific demographic needs and the dearth of appropriate housing in the state. Each year, 2Life Communities CEO Amy Schectman notes, Massachusetts ranks 50 out of the 50 states as the worst state for elder economic security – and that is largely due to high housing costs.” — “Steward Health Care spent millions on surveillance of its critics — even amid financial crisis,” by Hanna Krueger, Jessica Bartlett, Mark Arsenault, and Elizabeth Koh, The Boston Globe: “As Steward Health Care struggled to provide services and pay vendors in many of its three dozen or so hospitals in Massachusetts and across the country, its executives spent millions on intelligence firms, according to corporate records, videos, and other files obtained by the global journalism outlet the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and shared with The Boston Globe Spotlight Team. In all, senior Steward executives authorized and spent over $7 million from 2018 to 2023 on firms that provide research, intelligence-gathering, and surveillance services, according to emails, encrypted messages, and financial records reviewed by the Spotlight Team.” — “State lags in protecting students from sex abuse,” by Anastasia E. Lennon, The New Bedford Light. — “U.S. House committee launches probe into Chinese influence at Harvard University,” by Tonya Alanez, The Boston Globe.
| | MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND | | — “Sen. Whitehouse ‘horrified’ by debate; urges Biden team to be ‘candid’ about president,” by Ted Nesi, WPRI: “U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Monday acknowledged alarm among Democrats about President Biden’s reelection campaign in the wake of Thursday’s debate, saying he himself had been taken aback by the president’s condition. … ‘I think people want to make sure that this is a campaign that’s ready to go and win, that the president and his team are being candid with us about his condition — that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days,’ Whitehouse said.”
| | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | GRANITE STATE SHIFT — Something that won’t quiet the Biden "bedwetting brigade": A new St. Anselm/New Hampshire Institute of Politics poll that shows former President Donald Trump pulling ahead of President Joe Biden. Forty-four percent of the 1,700 registered voters surveyed in the poll (which was conducted during the two days after the presidential debate) said they support Trump, compared to 42 percent who backed Biden. That’s inside the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points – but much closer than the more than 7 percentage points Biden beat Trump by in the state in 2020.
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Sydney Heiberger has joined Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s team as press secretary. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Melwood Global’s David Guarino, Josh Cahan, former state Rep. Tami Gouveia and U.S. Army Capt. Chuck Nadd. 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. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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