| Partial reopening: Hair salons and barbershops packed, retail stores not so much One thing we now know about the two-month-old pandemic lockdown: A lot of people have wanted a haircut. Phase One of Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan commenced over the Memorial Day weekend in Massachusetts. And … from the Patriot Ledger’s Susannah Sudborough: “Hair salons, pet groomer and barbers have reopened, and many will be booked for months.” … From the Globe’s Zoe Greenberg: “My first COVID-19 haircut.” There also seemed to be pent-up demand for watching flicks outside the home. From MassLive’s Scott Croteau: “Mendon Twin Drive-In sells out midnight shows while adding safety measures during coronavirus pandemic.” And, of course, there were the happy tokers. From the Herald’s Erin Tiernan: “Pot shops reopen to long lines, high demand after coronavirus closures.” But not all went well on the partial-reopening front. From a three-reporter team at the Globe: “Retailers report slow start to COVID-19 reopening plan Monday, but for some industries, business was brisk.” … And it seems there wasn’t all that much pent-up demand to go to church. From Adrian Ma at WBUR: “A Church Reopens In Cambridge, But Most Members Are Not Ready To Gather.” As for the Cape? Rather ominously for the tourism industry, there wasn’t much pent-up demand there either – and the photos prove it, as the Cape Cod Times reports. |
| Not everyone is excited about the partial reopening … There are more than a few people upset about the first-phase reopening of the state’s economy over the Memorial Day weekend. From the Globe’s Anissa Gardiz: “Black and Latinx activists say state is reopening too soon.” And the Herald’s Andrew Martinez reports that some are unhappy about the state’s overall pandemic response in general, not just with reopening policies: “Activists lay coffin at State House steps in protest of coronavirus response to minorities.” Meanwhile, many Bay State residents say, reopening or no reopening, they want to continue working from home, permanently, according to a new Pioneer Institute survey, as the Herald’s Joe Dwinell reports. |
| The coronavirus numbers: The good news and the bad news As the state slowly reopens its economy, there’s some good news on the pandemic front in Massachusetts: The state indeed seems to be bending the curve, based on a number of key data measurements, the Globe reports. The bad news: We have a long way to go in terms of reaching “herd immunity,” based on a British study of the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts, as the Globe’s Laura Crimaldi separately reports. |
| State unemployment rate hit 15 percent in April You’ve probably already read about this, but it bears repeating up high: The state’s unemployment rate indeed hit 15 percent in April, the BBJ’s Greg Ryan reports. And, obviously, it doesn’t include all the jobs lost so far in May. And, once again, that 25 percent prediction doesn’t sound so preposterous now, unless the economy miraculously rebounds soon. |
| ‘Virtual dropouts’ So how’s the virtual learning going for public-school students amid the pandemic? It depends on where they live. The Globe’s Bianca Vázquez Toness reports on the thousands of Boston public school students who have become “virtual dropouts” since the BPS switched to online learning in March. Meanwhile, CommonWealth magazine’s Shira Schoenberg reports on the remote-learning challenges facing Gateway Cities. “In many cases, students, particularly in low-income areas, are falling through the gaps,” she writes. Btw, from the Herald’s Jaclyn Cashman: “Open the school by fall, says Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George.” |
| Take your pick: Virtual graduation with Charlie Baker or outdoor graduation in late July? Speaking of schools, WGBH reports it will be playing broadcast host for a planned statewide commencement address by Gov. Charlie Baker to the Class of 2020 high school graduates across Massachusetts. The event is scheduled for June 9. Then again, if students, parents and schools officials want to hold outdoor graduations, they can do so – in late July, reports MassLive. |
| After rash of city shootings, Walsh knocks release of inmates during pandemic From the Herald’s Lisa Kashinsky: “Boston Mayor Martin Walsh is criticizing the early release of inmates during the coronavirus pandemic for contributing to the city’s recent spate of violence — his comments coming hours after a fatal Jamaica Plain shooting marked the fourth homicide in a week.” To be clear, there are additional reasons for the uptick in violence, as the Globe’s John Ellement reports. It’s not just about released inmates. |
| Baker’s coronavirus box score: 3 hits, 3 errors … Dr. Paul Hattis, an associate professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine, reviews Gov. Charlie Baker’s coronavirus box score, complete with Baker’s impressive hits, not-so-impressive errors and the pandemic balls still in play. He missed one error, by our scorekeeping count: Transparency, i.e. the administration’s usual default position of not releasing data until pressured to release data etc. Along the same lines, WGBH’s Adam Reilly reviews “what Massachusetts got right in its pandemic response,” with his second what-the-state-got-wrong piece presumably coming out soon. |
| Baker and the Chamber: Not as united as they appear The Globe’s Shirley Leung and Jon Chesto take a look at the relationship between Gov. Charlie Baker and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Jim Rooney during the pandemic. Even though they’re Harvard classmates and otherwise get along fine, the chamber has recently been challenging the Baker administration and “establishment” for more details about the reopening process, Leung and Chesto write. But there’s an irony here: As many business people will privately confirm, the chamber is normally considered a reliable don’t-rock-the-boat establishment business group, if one considers the establishment as tilting blue in policies in this bluest of blue states. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts and Mass High Tech Council are normally considered far more aggressive in pursuing pro-business policies in blue Massachusetts. But these aren’t normal times, and so … |
| Now they tell us: ‘Baker’s emergency authority a bit fuzzy’ One more Baker-as-leader item: More than two months after declaring a state of emergency and issuing almost countless executive orders during the pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker’s authority seems legally unassailable. Or is it? Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth magazine explores the somewhat murky nature of the Civil Defense Act of 1950 that the governor cites for his actions during the current crisis. |
| Donna Morrissey, who headed PR for the Archdiocese and the American Red Cross, RIP Another sad one. From the Herald’s Marie Szaniszlo: “Donna M. Morrissey, who served as spokeswoman for the Boston Archdiocese at the height of the clergy sex abuse scandal and later for the Red Cross, died on Friday from complications from the coronavirus, the organization said. She was 51.” CBS Boston and the Globe’s Bryan Marquard have more on Morrissey’s life and career, including how she probably had the most thankless PR task in recent local memory as spokeswoman for the church. |
| Changing course: Warren to host big-bucks fundraiser for Biden That was then, this is now. After vowing to eschew big-donor fundraising shindigs during her own presidential run, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is poised to host exactly that kind of event for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Reid Epstein reports at the New York Times. |
| Rematch? McMahon may challenge Moran for Senate seat in fall If at first … Republican James McMahon is already dropping hints that he may launch a challenge to newly elected state Sen. Susan Moran, who defeated him in last week’s special election, Geoff Spillane reports at the Cape Cod Times. Moran’s theory of the case: The pandemic hampered his campaign and kept turnout low in most communities in the district — but not Moran’s hometown of Falmouth, where voters turned out en masse to vote in local races and a Prop 2 ½ override. |
