Have you ever dreamed that you’re trying to run away from something but for some reason, you feel like you’re running underwater and getting nowhere fast? If you haven’t, you can get some idea of what it feels like by comparing it to Massachusetts’ efforts to stem the tide of Covid-19 and the rollout of vaccinations.
But even running underwater modest progress can be made. As of Wednesday of last week, more than 1.5M vaccine doses have been administered in Massachusetts. According to the Mass. Department of Public Health, more than one million people had received at least one dose of a vaccine and well over 400 thousand people have gotten both doses. That puts the state over the 75% mark for the 1.9 million doses delivered by the federal government.
Also, last week, as the covid curve continued to bend, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that Massachusetts would advance to Phase III, Step 2 of the state’s reopening plan starting today (March 1).
Also announced was a plan to transition to Phase IV, Step 1 on Monday, March 22, and large venues such as Fenway Park and the TD Garden will see partial re-openings at the end of March.
You can read the full Reopening Plan From Gov. Baker at NBCBoston.com.
Now that we’ve got covid news out of the way, let’s get on with the show.
Politics
Baker Takes Heat from Democrats Over Vaccine Rollout Glitches
As we mentioned above, Gov. Baker spoke to the legislature last Thursday about the glitches in the vaccine appointment website and hotline. At the event, the governor took some heat from Democrats for a change.
As we discussed just last week, Baker still remains popular in the state despite troubles and has one of the highest approval ratings of any governor in the country. A MassINC poll released last week showed Baker's approval rating holding at 74 percent.
According to a report by WGBH.org, the Democrats’ tone during the meeting of the branches “could be an indication of deeper changes in Massachusetts politics, as Baker looks ahead to a gubernatorial race against the new backdrop of a Biden presidency and a new House speaker.”
Check out the full story at WGBH.org.
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Business
$1 Million Grant Fund To Bolster Black-Owned Businesses
The Power Forward Grant program has announced a $1M fund aimed at bolstering black-owned small businesses across New England. Under the program, black-owned small businesses in Massachusetts and the five other New England states can apply for grants of up $25,000. Recipients will also receive strategic assistance to help them grow their business.
The grant program is three-prong-spearheaded by Vistaprint, the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, and the NAACP.
Vistaprint Founder and CEO, Robert Keane, had this to say in a statement regarding the program:
“The pandemic has placed monumental strain on small businesses, and the past year has made clear our society’s need to work harder for equality, equity, and opportunity for all. We are proud to partner with like-minded organizations like the NAACP and the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation to help small business owners find success and achieve their dreams.”
And, according to NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson:
“The NAACP is proud to partner with Vistaprint and the Celtics to support these businesses and the communities they serve. Black-owned businesses are vital to the neighborhoods in New England and nationwide. We look forward to seeing the lasting impact and change the grants provide for our small businesses.
Celtics Managing Partner & Alternate Governor and Chairman of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, Steve Pagliuca, added:
“A primary focus of Boston Celtics United is to make a meaningful impact through programs that support Economic Opportunity and Empowerment. The Power Forward Small Business Grant is a major step in these efforts, and we are grateful to partner with Vistaprint and the NAACP in this shared vision.”
Black-owned small businesses in New England can apply for Power Forward Grant money at NAACP.org.
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Energy
FCA-15 Auction Confirms Sufficient Electricity Resources Through 2024
Got electricity? New England’s 15th annual Forward Capacity Market (FCM) capacity auction (FCA 15) concluded with sufficient secured resources to meet projected electricity needs for New England for June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025. ISO New England Inc. filed the results with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last Friday.
Total commitments of more than 34,621 megawatts (MW) were secured including 29,243 MW of generation, 3,891 MW of demand resources, and 1,487 of imports from New York, Québec, Canada, and New Brunswick, Canada.
The capacity market is separate from the day-to-day energy market where providers compete to provide power on a daily basis. The estimated value of the capacity market in 2024-2025 is about $1.36 billion.
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Transportation
Overhauled Transportation Bill Filed
Senate Transportation Committee Co-chair Sen. Joseph Boncore filed a transportation overhaul bill, Friday. The 49-page bill (SD 2315) proposes some major changes to funding and planning for roads, bridges, and transit in the state.
Here are some of the details of the bill Boncore dubbed the “New Deal for Transportation.”
A three-step, 50 percent gas tax increase by 2025
Fare-free MBTA and regional transit authority buses
A 6.25 percent statewide surcharge on parking space rentals and purchases
Higher ride-hailing fees
MBTA to put between 5 and 10 percent of federal stimulus funding toward planning and designing capital projects
Creation of a new seven-member MBTA board of directors
Several of the ideas in the bill were approved by both branches during the previous session. One of the most dramatic measures in the bill calls for all MBTA and RTA bus trips to be fare-free. The change would affect millions of riders. The state’s 15 RTAs logged more than 23 million riders while the MBTA reported more than 93 million over fiscal year 2020. Boncore estimated that free bus fares would cost the state between $30 million and $60 million annually. Some feel that estimate is a low ball.
In a statement on the development Boncore told the press:
“I’m not so naive as to think there’s no cost associated with this bill. But what I really want to talk about is what’s the cost of doing nothing. When our transportation system is in such dire need of modernization and we choose to do nothing, the price of those actions falls on our economy and falls on those who rely on public transit. The bottom line number is what the bottom line number is. Whatever the number is, if we’re serious about making public transit a public good and shifting the paradigms in Massachusetts, I think we’re going to have to come up with ways to fund this bill...
The bill has reignited the debate on how to relieve traffic congestion (when it comes back), as well as on upgrading unreliable public transit infrastructure. It also lays out a plan to fund the upgrades — which is nice considering the Sensate scuttled a House-approved set of transportation taxes and fees last year.
Meanwhile, researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, published a study claiming that investments in making cities more walkable and adding more bike lanes — changes proposed by the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) — could save as many as 770 lives and $7.6 billion annually.
According to a statement on the report:
“The analysis shows that the economic benefit of lives saved from increased walking and cycling far exceeds the estimated annual investment it would cost to promote such infrastructure, without even considering the added benefits of reducing air pollution and increasing access to climate-friendly transportation modes.”
Read all about Boncore’s bill at WHDH.com.
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Real Estate
U.S. Residential Real Estate Market Booming
We’ve talked about how the Mass. residential real estate market is on fire. Apparently, we’re not alone. Low mortgage rates and high demand have propelled the U.S. homes market to its fastest pace of price growth in seven years.
The S&P Case-Shiller US home-price index rose to a 10.4% annualized increase in December, up from 9.5%.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index posted a 10.4% annualized increase in December
S&P Dow Jones Indices' 10-City Composite index rose to an annualized gain of 9.8% from 8.9%.
The 20-City Composite rose to a 10.1% year-over-year jump from November's 9.2% reading.
The biggest price increases were seen in Phoenix, Seattle, and San Diego.
Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P DJI, said in a statement:
"These data are consistent with the view that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes. This may indicate a secular shift in housing demand, or may simply represent an acceleration of moves that would have taken place over the next several years anyway."
That being said, the momentum has slowed in recent weeks due to an uptick in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate. Nonetheless, the boom will probably continue through 2021 as demand is likely to outpace supply until the pandemic tapers off.
Read the full press release here.
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Cannabis
IRS Presses Congress To Act On Marijuana Policy Reform
The head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) told Congress this week that the federal agency would “prefer” state-legal marijuana businesses to pay taxes electronically — that is rather than with a mountain of cash.
Due to the federal prohibition of marijuana, most banks will not work with cannabis industry businesses (hemp excluded). As a result, they must pay their taxes with cash piled so high the IRS has had to build “cash rooms” to hold it all.
According to MarijuanaMoment.com, Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), who serves as a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, recently said that barring marijuana companies from traditional financial services is a security issue and that not being able to access financial services creates opportunities for criminal acts.
House Democrats have already approved The SAFE Banking Act, a bill that would provide legal protection to financial institutions that service the marijuana industry. SAFE Act aside, the cash payments issue would completely vanish if Congress would just pass legislation to federally deschedule marijuana.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), along with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), is in the process of drafting a legalization bill. The trio recently held a meeting with representatives from a variety of advocacy groups and business associations to get input on the policy change.
It’s important that any federal legislation remove marijuana from the fed’s list of controlled substances rather than merely rescheduling the drug. The reason being that rescheduling from Schedule I to, say, Schedule 4, would put the regulation of marijuana into the hands of the FDA rather than in the hands of state lawmakers where it belongs, opening up a whole new can of worms.
Most advocates and stakeholders believe 2021 will be the year that the dominoes begin to fall at the federal level.
Read all about it at MarijuanaMoment.com.
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