| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | RAISE A GLASS — The push to bring back happy hour is going for another round. An amendment that state Sen. Julian Cyr filed to the Senate’s economic development bill would repeal the 40-year-old prohibition on drink specials and let cities and towns allow their bars and restaurants to offer discounts on alcoholic beverages before 10 p.m. “The refrain I hear most from my fellow millennials is how absolutely boring Greater Boston is, how absolutely boring Massachusetts is,” Cyr told Playbook. Happy hour could help keep young people from fleeing a state that “at least from a millennial perspective, increasingly has a reputation for being outrageously expensive and not a lot of fun,” Cyr said. SHOT: A similar standalone bill Cyr filed earlier this session was sent to study, effectively killing it. But… CHASER: Don’t pour one out just yet. The provision has won Senate support before, when the chamber voted to tack it onto its economic development bill last session — though it ended up 86’d during negotiations with the threat of veto from then-Gov. Charlie Baker. The legislation would still need to survive closed-door dealing with the House and get approval from Gov. Maura Healey before the liquor and beer specials could start to flow. It’s not entirely clear where House Speaker Ron Mariano stands on the issue today (A spokesperson for the speaker said this morning the chamber will review the economic development bill the Senate passes.). But Mariano did leave the door open for discussions back when restaurants were still in serious recovery mode from the pandemic. A spokesperson for Healey, meanwhile, offered the usual response for policies still pending before the Legislature: She’ll review anything that hits her desk. The Massachusetts Restaurant Association isn't advocating for the policy — they're still more focused on allowing credit card processing fees to be passed on to customers and on blocking a ballot question that would require restaurants to pay workers a full minimum wage, in addition to their tips. “There are restaurant owners that think [happy hour] is a good idea. Many more are opposed,” MRA’s director of governmental affairs, Jessica Muradian, told Playbook. “But this is generally not something that we hear from restaurants that they want. Restaurants are asking us for relief on high costs of operating businesses.” GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com. TODAY — Healey chairs a Governor's Council meeting at 1 p.m. Lt Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at America250’s “State and Territory Convening” at 4:45 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building in D.C. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Rep. Richard Neal and others hold a rally on the fight for a national paid leave policy at noon at the Capitol. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announces a new long-term health equity agenda at 10:30 a.m. in Roxbury.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “State lawmakers consider 'nuclear option' of receivership for Cannabis Control Commission,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News: “Beacon Hill lawmakers are weighing a call from the state’s inspector general to take the unusual step of placing the Cannabis Control Commission into receivership to ‘steady the ship’ after months of internal turmoil and questions around the agency’s governance.” — “The Mass. Senate passed aggressive environmental policy to curb plastic use. Will the House act in time?,” by Ivy Scott, The Boston Globe: “With the stroke of a pen, Governor Maura Healey could enact a climate law with greenhouse gas reductions that amount to taking more than 30,000 cars off our roads each year. Still another bill, if passed, is expected to eliminate the use of millions of plastic bags statewide that take hundreds of years to break down, filling not just our landfills but our oceans, too. … Advocates expect Healey, who has boldly voiced her intention to establish the infrastructure necessary to meet the state’s climate goals, to sign approved climate bills into law. But as this year’s legislative session draws to a close, all eyes are on the House to bring the proposals to the floor.” — “Lawmakers urged to close 'loopholes' in child predator laws,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Advocates for victims of sexual abuse are pushing to close loopholes in state law they say are allowing child predators to go undetected. The raft of bills would require schools to adopt child sexual abuse prevention policies and training, improve screening of prospective employees to identify past sexual misconduct, and criminalize sexual assault by adults in positions of authority, regardless of the age of consent, among other changes.”
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Is housing the solution to downtown’s empty office problem? Not so fast,” by Jon Chesto, The Boston Globe: “Meeting virtually with reporters to discuss the city’s latest economic analysis about a month ago, Mayor Michelle Wu boasted about the success of her office-residential conversion program for Boston’s pandemic-stricken downtown. Three days later, a different view emerged at a meeting held by commercial real estate trade group NAIOP Massachusetts in the Seaport: One developer described the results as anemic, while another likened locating a workable conversion to finding a needle in a haystack. So which is it? Boom or bust? The truth will likely end up somewhere in between. We won’t know the answer for a while.” — “Wu supports Boston Police following controversial officer demotion, contradicting BPD narrative,” by Hannah Loss and Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “One day after a police oversight agency criticized the demotion of one of its members within the Boston Police Department, Mayor Michelle Wu supported Boston Police Commissioner Cox for his decision. She also contradicted the department’s public denial that officer Eddy Chrispin had been demoted from his high-ranking position within BPD in connection to his appointment to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST).”
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | TAP TO RIDE — It’s almost here: The MBTA is rolling out its long-awaited contactless payment system across buses and subways starting Aug. 1. More from the Boston Herald. — “MassDOT reverses course, includes $243m for I-90 Allston project in capital plan,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon: “The Massachusetts Department of Transportation now says it plans to include $243 million for the $1.9 billion I-90 Allston project in the agency’s next five-year capital investment plan, and offered a vague explanation for why the money was not included last month in the original draft of the spending plan. … MassDOT officials also said the money for the I-90 Allston project was included because of input during the public comment period on the capital investment plan, which runs from fiscal 2025 through fiscal 2029. The officials said such changes are not unusual.” — “Brockton Area Transit buses to stay fare-free through end of 2024,” by Chris Helms, The Brockton Enterprise.
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | BIDEN CALLING — President Joe Biden acknowledged his poor debate performance during a call with Democratic mayors Tuesday night, in his latest post-debate effort to shore up support and reassure his own party that he’s up for the fight. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joined the 45-minute Zoom session, where Biden pledged to stay in the race, and fielded some questions about his plans for a second term. Several mayors offered statements of support after the meeting ended — some tempered with varying degrees of anxiousness. Wu said she'd continue “working for this Democratic ticket to keep our partnership going and continue delivering for families across our city and country,” in a statement Tuesday night, and praised Biden and his administration for delivering issues important to the city. More on the meeting. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Boston District 5 City Councilor Enrique Pepén is endorsing Allison Cartwright for Suffolk County Supreme Judicial Court clerk, citing her “commitment to public service.” He’s the latest addition to a lengthy list of local and state electeds playing in the race. — Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger and Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker are endorsing Essex County Clerk of Courts Tom Driscoll. ENDORSEMENT CORNER — Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is endorsing state Rep. Matt Muratore in his bid for the open Plymouth and Barnstable District state Senate seat. Brown, who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand in former President Donald Trump’s administration, is also hosting a campaign rally/fundraiser for the Plymouth Republican at the Coonamessett Inn in Falmouth later this month, per Muratore’s campaign. STAR POWER — The Provincetown Biden Victory Fund reception Vice President Kamala Harris is taking part in later this month is drawing another big name to the Bay State. Jennifer Coolidge, Emmy award-winning actress (and Massachusetts native) known most recently for her role on HBO’s “The White Lotus,” is now also expected to join the soirée.
| | | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | | — “For Boston’s migrants, no more sleeping at Logan Airport,” by Danny McDonald and Helena Getahun-Hawkins, The Boston Globe: “The most significant aspect of the scene Tuesday evening at Logan International Airport’s Terminal E was what was missing. Gone were the parents spreading duvets out on the cold hard floor. People blowing up air mattresses were nowhere to be found. Mothers were not changing diapers on blankets. … For the first time in months, this corner of the airport offered no shelter to immigrants fleeing economic unrest and violence abroad, as a ban on newly arrived migrant families and homeless people sleeping overnight at Logan went into effect.” — “Officials to discuss impact of new state homeless shelter in Norfolk on schools,” by Stephen Peterson, The Sun Chronicle.
| | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “Windsor Select Board agrees to put a cannabis business ban before the voters,” by Jane Kaufman, The Berkshire Eagle: “Without substantive discussion, the Windsor Select Board agreed to place before voters at a special town meeting an article that would ban cannabis businesses from Windsor. … The recommendation came from the Planning Board on Monday following the March 1 implementation of new state Cannabis Control Commission regulations that are particularly burdensome to small towns, according to Planning Board member Ben Bederson. He is also concerned about teeth in the regulations, fines of up to $50,000 for communities that don’t comply — even if there are no cannabis businesses within them.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | HAHVAHD YAHD | | — “Interim leader Alan Garber is running Harvard without expiration date: ‘Pretty clear that there’s no search’,” by Mike Damiano and Hilary Burns, The Boston Globe: “Six months after scandal ended the tenure of former Harvard president Claudine Gay, the university still has not named a search committee to find her replacement. That delay leaves Alan Garber, a health care economist who was formerly Harvard’s provost, running the school with no stated expiration date on his ‘interim’ presidency, a dozen Harvard insiders said in interviews over the past two months.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Alternatives sought as reparations funding from cannabis tax dwindles in Amherst,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “A plan to provide $2 million over 10 years toward municipal reparations initiatives, such as programs for youth or first-time homebuyers, could be stymied by the anticipated drying up of tax revenue associated with cannabis sales in Amherst as the main source of funding. Appreciating that getting to the $2 million threshold in a timely fashion could be increasingly challenging, former town councilor Michele Miller and current School Committee member Irv Rhodes, who served on the African Heritage Reparation Assembly, recently appealed to the Finance Committee to find an alternate funding source for reparations.” — “Comerford shares details of Quabbin water legislation at Orange forum,” by Erin-Leigh Hoffman, Greenfield Recorder.
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Barnstable at the center of offshore wind debate,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon: “Barnstable is still putting out the welcome mat for power from offshore wind farms off the coast, but amid growing opposition on Cape Cod it’s unclear whether that will continue. The still-under-construction Vineyard Wind 1, which is bringing its 800 megawatts of electricity ashore at Covell Beach, faced relatively little local opposition. That changed when the developer Avangrid proposed a second landing spot at Craigville Beach for a transmission line from another 800-megawatt wind farm. Still, Avangrid recently won final approval from a divided Barnstable Town Council after sweetening its host community agreement with the town.” — “Newbury official asks Markey to suspend Pink House auction,” by Jim Sullivan, The Newburyport Daily News: “The town’s Select Board leader on Monday said she wants to delay the federal government’s Pink House auction set to begin at 10 a.m. today. Alicia Greco said she sent an email to U.S. Sen. Edward Markey’s office on Monday asking the Massachusetts Democrat for his help in suspending the auction.” — “A tale of two Bobs: Furniture store assuages customer fears about closure,” by Charlie McKenna, MassLive.
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Bethany Patten will serve as executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Climate Policy Center. She had worked as the director of policy and engagement for the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Tamarack Garlow, Rena Shapiro and Edie Mead Holway. 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.
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