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Elizabeth Warren is giving
Iowans some of that old-time populist religion
There are a number of stories
and columns this morning praising U.S. Elizabeth Warren for focusing on
economic issues in the early stage of the presidential race. Art Cullen, editor of the Storm Lake Times
in Northwest Iowa, writes at the Washington Post that Warren appears to be
hitting a nerve in Iowa by emphasizing populist economic issues.
Meanwhile, the NYT’s Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning
economist, is calling Warren a “serious policy intellectual,” even though
he doesn’t agree with all she says about economics. He’s also blasting the
media for not paying attention to her message.
Finally, Susan R. Holmberg at the NYT says
Warren is right to push for more workers on corporate boards.
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Hey, media, stop with the
horse-race coverage of Warren and other candidates
Washington Post media columnist
Margaret Sullivan is blasting the media for its early coverage of Elizabeth
Warren’s presidential campaign, saying the horse-race and gaffe-pouncing
coverage has got to end.
But some at the Post apparently haven’t
gotten the get-serious memo: “Why Elizabeth Warren — and every would-be
president — prefers macrobrews.” Then there’s this bobble-heads graphic piece at the Post
on how the Dem presidential field might be narrowed down (and it’s actually
not a bad piece, with Seth Moulton and John Kerry making cameo bobble-head
appearances).
Another sinful (but fun)
horse-race story, from the Globe’s Jess Bidgood: ‘Elizabeth Warren is
talking about Trump. She just doesn’t want to name him.” OK, one last
sinfully interesting horse-race story, from SHNS’s Katie Lannan (pay wall):
“Spilka likes Warren, but notes that ‘it’s early’ in prez process.”
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Baker to file standalone
education-funding bill
From SHNS’ Matt Murphy: “Gov.
Charlie Baker said Monday he’s ‘optimistic’ that the Legislature and his
administration can reach a deal to reform public education funding by the
summer, despite past attempts falling apart in recent years when talks
between House and Senate Democrats broke down. … The governor on Monday
said that proposal would be filed as legislation separate from the budget,
allowing it to have its own hearings.”
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Maybe Rep. Dooley isn’t paranoid
after all: Feds also concerned about Chinese-made subway cars
State Rep. Shawn Dooley has
elicited more than a few snorts by airing his theory/concerns that the
MBTA’’s new Chinese-made subway cars might be used as a “Trojan horse” by
Chinese cyber spies. Turns out there are more than a few people in
Washington with similar concerns, as the Washington Post reports. They’re
also worried China is trying to corner the market on rail-car manufacturing
in general.
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The tradeoff: Repairing T’s
infrastructure may require major disruptions
The good news: Steve Poftak, the
MBTA’s new general manager, is determined to aggressively push ahead with a
much-needed repairs and maintenance program at the T. The bad news: It
could lead to major service disruptions in coming years. The Globe’s Adam Vaccaro has
the details.
Meanwhile, Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth magazine
reports that the T’s popular $10 all-you-can-ride weekend fare program
didn’t have to be suspended last month before it was re-launched this past
weekend. He explains why.
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An old fire station tradition:
‘Locker room talk’
Note the cause-and-effect gender
statistic in the second sentence. From the Globe’s Milton J. Valencia and
Meghan Irons: “The city-commissioned review to be released Tuesday found
pervasive ‘locker room talk’ and an unwelcoming culture toward women in the
largely male ranks of the Boston Fire Department and urged city officials
to take several steps to boost the number of women on the force. Just 16
women are in the 1,500-member Fire Department, which has been criticized
three separate times for its culture over the past 19 years.” Only one
percent of city firefighters are women. That’s it.
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UMass employees may owe back
payments for their pensions
As many as 3,000 employees in
the UMass system may owe money to the state’s pension program because of
years’ worth of incorrect payroll deductions, Lisa Eckelbecker reports at
the Telegram. At least one union representing impacted workers is saying
UMass should cover the shortfalls.
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Another fight over GIC health
care changes?
Speaking of state employees:
After last year’s battle over proposed health-care coverage changes by the
Group Insurance Commission, the Massachusetts Union for Human Service
Workers & Educators, which represents tens of thousands of government
workers in the state, is mighty nervous about the GIC’s announcement late
last month that it will be conducting “listening sessions” for employees
later this month. The union has “growing concerns” about what might be in
store, reports the BBJ’s Don Seiffert.
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Sixth pot shop set to open this
Friday in Great Barrington
The BBJ’s Jessica Bartlettreports
that the state’s sixth pot shop, this one in Great Barrington, is expected
to open later this week. Meanwhile, SHNS’s Colin Young at
WBUR reports the Cannabis Control Commission has also approved a new pot
growing facility in Franklin.
Meanwhile, a proposal to open a
pot shop at the old Mary Ann’s dive bar in Brighton, near Boston College,
is raising more than a few concerns in the neighborhood, reports Felicia Gans at the Globe. We
can’t imagine what those objections could be. Can you?
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In Framingham, pot-growing
operation seen as farmland savior
Will this be Charlton redux? The
owner of Eastleigh Farm — one of the largest private tracts of undeveloped
land in Framingham — is proposing to lease part of his property to a
marijuana growing facility, a move he says is necessary to keep the land open.
The property owner and would-be operator of the facility unveiled their
plans to neighbors and the community on Monday, Jim Haddadin reports at the
MetroWest Daily News.
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