Elizabeth Warren on the GameStop surge on
@CNBC
:
"The billionaires and some hedge funds are yelling because they're not the ones, the only ones, who make money when the manipulation works."
Amanda Gorman to the New York Times in 2017:
“This is a long, long, faraway goal, but 2036 I am running for office to be president of the United States."
New: Ayanna Pressley is calling on House leaders to launch a joint investigation into how the Capitol riot incited by Trump was allowed to happen "in broad daylight and in clear view of the United States Capitol Police
Inbox: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is proposing a transfer fee of up to 2% on real estate sales over $2 million to fund affordable housing in Boston.
The home rule petition would also expand property tax relief for lower-income residents over the age of 65.
#mapoli
New: The
@MBTA
confirms that, yes, they actually put googly eyes on a few trains, after a Green Line trolley was spotted with them yesterday at Packard's Corner:
So it begins... Gov. Maura Healey's administration is officially revoking a $140,800 grant from Milton due to the town's noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Law.
The money had been intended for seawall improvements and a new dock at Milton Landing.
The 100 top-paid City of Boston employees are police officers and firefighters — all making more than $275,00 a year
Meanwhile, the Herald has written like five (?) articles this year about the teachers who make over $100,000 🥴
Ayanna Pressley says Massachusetts state lawmakers should reject Charlie Baker's amendment to the police reform bill:
"This bill is already a compromise and should serve as the floor that we will build upon going forward."
New: The
@CityOfBoston
will offer $75 gift cards to anyone who gets the COVID vaccine or the new omicron booster at a clinic Saturday at White Stadium in Franklin Night.
"They are being offered to everyone who gets vaccinated or boosted," a
@HealthyBoston
spokesperson confirms.
.
@AyannaPressley
on the criticism of her proposed federal jobs guarantee as "radical," via
@RadioBoston
:
"I reject the negative connotation of radical ... To be radical is to be bold. To be radical is to get to the root of deeply entrenched injustices."
How much more would you save a year under the new Massachusetts tax cut bill?
If you're a renter: $50
If you're a parent: at least $200 per kid
If you're a senior burdened by housing costs: $1,200
If you have a $2M+ estate: ~$99,000
More details here:
Ayanna Pressley out with a statement blasting the opposition from Republicans and police unions to the Massachusetts police reform bill’s provision to limit qualified immunity.
“Becoming the second state in the nation to take on qualified immunity would be a powerful statement.”
New: Elizabeth Warren and Ayanna Pressley are urging Charlie Baker's administration to reverse course on the recent move to stop reporting demographic data, such as race and ethnicity, on COVID-19 hospitalizations
A century ago, you used to be able to take the train all the way to Provincetown.
Fast forward to today, and a group of Mass. lawmakers are pushing to revive some form of Cape Cod commuter rail — or at least daily service to Buzzards Bay:
.
@wutrain
on the Metro in DC:
"I love the tunnels, which always just look and feel really grand. But maybe it's my love of concrete and it reminds me of City Hall a little bit."
Inbox:
@MayorWu
and
@BostonPlans
announce that Harvard’s big, planned development in Allston will include 25 percent *on-site* affordable housing "the largest percentage of income-restricted units in a single project by a private developer in Boston."
#bospoli
New:
@RepPressley
's office confirms she was arrested with other House Democrats for protesting outside the Supreme Court and is "currently in custody of the U.S. Capitol Police."
#mapoli
ok ok, some personal news:
After seven years and 4,000-something bylines, this week is my last at
@BostonDotCom
.
Beginning later this month, I'm joining
@WBUR
as newsletter editor (short thread):
Under questioning by Elizabeth Warren, Janet Yellen confirms that governors like Charlie Baker can provide additional funding to hard-hit smaller cities, like Chelsea and Everett, from the pot of money state governments received from the American Rescue Plan.
@TBow82C
1. still illegal
2. i've been sideswiped twice this spring and both times it was cars that were making right turns from a stop and didn't look up to check. not saying nobody uses their phones when stopped, but i'm not the one complaining about bikers getting over 4 feet of space
Michelle Wu invoking the 1960s fight against the Inner Belt highway in her victory speech, as if she hadn't already won over all of the city's transit nerds
.
@MayorWu
's office has installed sidewalk decals at 20 bus stops around Boston with QR codes linking to
@BPLBoston
"pop-up libraries" with free books, newspapers and more.
No paywalls or library cards.
You don't even need to ride the bus; just scan here:
Breaking: Bill Galvin is asking the FBI to investigate what appears to be a deliberate fire set inside a ballot dropbox outside Boston Public Library around 4 a.m. this morning
“That which gets measured gets done,” Pressley said, “and scaling back the collection and publication of demographic data on COVID hospitalizations will only hurt our efforts to address the disparate impact of COVID-19 on Black and brown communities."
New: Elizabeth Warren and Ayanna Pressley are urging Charlie Baker's administration to reverse course on the recent move to stop reporting demographic data, such as race and ethnicity, on COVID-19 hospitalizations
.
@AyannaPressley
plans to introduce a resolution tomorrow calling for the House Judiciary Committee to launch an "impeachment inquiry" of Brett Kavanaugh following the NYT's reporting over the weekend
A measure of how hyped Boston is for Barbenheimer:
Coolidge Corner Theatre usually sells 100 or so advance tickets for a hotly anticipated movie.
@SeanMBurns
reports they've already sold over 3,000 tickets for “Barbie” and 2,100 for “Oppenheimer.”
As Mass. takes a second shot at tax cuts, here's a breakdown of where the House proposal follows — and differs — from Gov. Maura Healey's plan.
Plus:
— Boston's goodbye to Mel King
— Mental health and the Marathon bombing anniversary
#mapoli
seeing a number of Massachusetts state lawmakers in the *veto-proof* Democratic majority who are upset with Charlie Baker's decision to not impose an indoor mask mandate
#mapoli
Today, our Administration announced additional state sponsored
#COVID19MA
vaccine & booster locations in Boston, Roxbury, Lynn, & Taunton, adding to the nearly 1,000 locations statewide where residents can receive their vaccine & booster.
More info:
Pressley says "much of the blame is firmly placed at the doorstep of the White House," but also raises concern about the police response and videos showing officers showing officers removing barriers from the Capitol grounds, taking selfies and even politely escorting people out
CNN is hosting eight Democratic primary candidates for televised town halls over the next two days. Tulsi Gabbard is not one of them, and her supporters are not happy about it.
To mark the start of the sprawling Green Line closures today, here's a thread of my top seven MBTA diversion graphics, ranked by novelty/chaotic-ness:
7. The 2022 Orange Line/GLX closure double feature
This is probably besides the point, but Annissa Essaibi George keeps saying that making the MBTA free would annually cost Boston $2.3 billion, which is confusing the MBTA's entire operating budget with fare revenue.
Fare revenues is about a third of that (even less these days)
If you're wondering why states like Massachusetts were able to report the vast majority of mail-in ballots so much quicker than states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, it's because local election officials could begin processing ballots as early as Oct. 25.
.
@MassDOT
Highway Administrator
@JLGulliver
warns that there will be "severe traffic congestion" throughout the Boston area due to the Orange Line shutdown.
"If possible, avoid the region altogether until the diversion period has concluded."
I know we're all focused on other things right now, but Massachusetts appears to no longer meet the criteria to be exempt from its own quarantine rules for out-of-state travelers
Inbox:
@AyannaPressley
is "deeply disappointed" her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives excluded same-day voter registration from the voting reform bill they're slated to debate tomorrow
#mapoli
New:
@MayorWu
tells
@RadioBoston
that her administration has been in talks with the city of Cambridge about making the MBTA’s Route 1 bus from Harvard to Nubian Square fare-free.
#bospoli
#mapoli
Gov. Chris Sununu's office confirms: Massachusetts residents will be allowed to sign up get the COVID-19 vaccine over the border in NH beginning April 19. Like, literally any Massachusetts resident.
Mayor
@JoeCurtatone
at Boston City Hall says Somerville will pursue a similar vaccine requirement:
"It is the unvaccinated that are killing us right now."
If the secretary of transportation won’t take the train, who will?
At a public talk last month, Monica Tibbits-Nutt (who lives 5 minutes from a commuter rail station in Shirley) called the train inconvenient and “insanely expensive,"
@taydolven
reports.
Ayanna Pressley calling on Charlie Baker to extend the eviction moratorium:
“With a stroke of a pen, Governor Baker could prevent the looming eviction tsunami in the Commonwealth this Saturday—or he could fail to act and stand by as thousands of families ... lose their homes."
Inbox:
@MayorWu
and local transit advocates are calling on Transportation Secretary
@PeteButtigieg
to work with state and federal officials to restore MBTA service, after the agency expanded its frequency reductions this week due to widespread staffing shortages
#mapoli
#bospoli
Galvin says the fire effectively destroyed 35 of the 122 ballots that were found inside the dropbox this morning.
Voters who submitted their ballots at the Copley Square dropbox between 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 4 a.m. Sunday are urged to contact
@BostonElections
immediately.
Nearly every single member of the Massachusetts delegation, led by
@RepKClark
, is imploring Gov. Charlie Baker to establish a vaccine preregistration system similar to what some other states have launched
Inbox:
@MayorWu
and
@BostonBTD
announce that several street changes made last month to mitigate the impact of the Orange Line shutdown will become permanent.
Here's the list:
Inbox: Gov. Charlie Baker is nominating attorney William Galvin — not to be confused with Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, nor Massachusetts state Rep. William Galvin — be a District Court circuit judge
#mapoli