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COVID Restrictions Loosened but Contagiousness Increases

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The good news is that Gov. Baker is easing emergency restrictions and lifting a stay-at-home advisory and 9:30 pm curfew.. This comes as experts at Massachusetts General Hospital say they expect to see a decrease in hospital admissions over the next few weeks. 

The bad news is that this comes as a second case of a new COVID-19 variant was confirmed in Massachusetts. The nasty bug was brought home by a Boston woman who had recently traveled to the U.K. where cases of this new, more contagious strain have been escalating swiftly (the woman had tested negative before boarding her flight). 

Models suggest that the new strain could be dominant in the U.S. by springtime. That is according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday. 

Aside from that, the big story in Massachusetts politics this week is a continuation of the flurry of figures with Boston ties heading to Washington to be part of the Biden/Harris Administration. 

All this plus the latest in business, energy, transportation, real estate, and cannabis news coming right up... 

Politics

Romney Says Second Trump Impeachment Trial Completely Justified

On the most recent episode of “Fox News Sunday,” Mass. Sen. Mitt Romney, one of the few voices of reason on the Republican bench, stepped up the plate to take a swing at former President Donald Trump and insisted that the second impeachment trial (which is being shrugged off by the Republican party at large) is completely justified.

Pointing to Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Romney also called out the former president’s efforts “to corrupt the election of the United States.” (On that call, Trump blatantly pressured state officials to find him 11,000 votes.)

When pressed by anchor Chris Wallace on how the GOP might find a balance between the “traditional Republicans and the Trump Republicans,” Romney cited the importance of having “new faces” in changing the tenor of the GOP, specifically mentioning Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker as one of the next prominent leaders for the party.

Romney had this to say: 

“There are going to be new faces that are going to be the spokespeople for our party and their own vision. That can be Larry Hogan, it can be Charlie Baker, it could be Marco Rubio … or Ben Sasse. So there will be some new faces. President Trump of course will continue to have influence. But I think our party is going to return to some of our more fundamental principles — which is fiscal responsibility, believing in the importance of character, standing with our allies, and pushing back against people like Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin.”

Romney also said that it’s critical for the GOP to communicate more effectively that its policies are designed to help working men and women “and to give them and their families a better future.”

The question is, of which Republican party does Romney speak? Over the past four years of Republican rule and massive corporate tax cuts, American’s have seen an accelerated rise in wealth inequality — even before the pandemic. 

Watch the video of Romney’s interview with Fox.

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Business

Healthcare and Tech Are Big Business in Massachusetts — and Getting Bigger

While unemployment spiked in Massachusetts over the past last year, the state’s biotech and technology companies have been on a growth spurt and accompanying hiring spree. According to a report in the Boston Globe, the pandemic hasn't slowed hiring at Mass. biotech and tech companies. 

Here are some specific highlights from the report:

  • Amazon added about 700 white-collar jobs with more than 400 openings still posted in the Boston area. 

  • The Mass. Amazon hub ended 2020 with about 3,700 employees.

  • At Amazon, engineers can be offered a starting salary of $160,000 to $300,000.

  • CarGuru hired about 90 people from August to the end of the year and is expected to grow by about 75 to 80 employees this year. 

  • EQRx, which aims to develop and license more affordable drugs for a range of diseases, hired about 112 people in 2020, and plans to add 130 more this year.

  • Forma Therapeutics hired about 40 people in 2020 and plans to hire another 40 to 50 employees in 2021.

According to recruiter Beverly Kahn: 

“This has been a tough time… It’s not at all like previous recessions. There isn’t this negativity. I think people have acclimated to what’s going on, they’ve acclimated to remote work and remote hiring...”

Khan, who started her firm in 1979 and who has lived through several recessions, remembers stretches when Massachusetts tech companies like Data General and Wang Laboratories were cutting jobs by the thousands.

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Energy

The big news in the energy department last week was Gov. Baker’s veto of the state’s omnibus climate bill. The bill, which called for Massachusetts to become carbon neutral by 2050, is one of the most ambitious timelines for carbon emission reductions in the country. It cleared both branches last session by veto-proof votes of 145-9 in the House 38-2 in the Senate. 

Because the legislative session in which the bill was passed disbanded just days after it was signed, lawmakers in the Bay State were not able to override the veto. If the refiled bill is vetoed again, the legislature will have the opportunity to override it this time. However, Baker can also now return the re-filed legislation with proposed amendments. 

In a joint statement, Senate President Karen Spilka's Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano called the bipartisan legislation an "ambitious and groundbreaking climate bill." The statement goes on to say:

"Months of work was exhaustively studied by members of the conference committee, and the result was a bill that rejects the false choice between economic growth and addressing climate change. We must combat climate change while also maintaining a thriving economy and expanding the housing stock that will ensure future, sustainable growth. The legislation sent to the Governor showed how it can be done. We are confident that members of the House and Senate will again act with urgency by swiftly sending this bill back to Governor Baker’s desk." 

Although Baker supports the 2050 net-zero goal, he has expressed concerns — one of which is that the bill, as written, could slow housing production. 

Although Baker hopes to persuade lawmakers to consider amendments to the bill, his administration has not yet made specific proposals. 

Read all about it at WBUR.org. 

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Transportation

Among other Mass. officials heading for Washington, six-year Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack has been tapped by the Biden-Harris administration to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. 

In a statement regarding the move, Gov. Baker said:

“Stephanie has led MassDOT through many difficult challenges over the past six years; from the historic blizzards that exposed the problems of the MBTA, through saving the GLX project, instituting a data-driven Capital Improvement Plan, and guiding the RMV through a crisis last summer. She has provided MassDOT with stability and leadership through the last six years, serving longer than her three predecessors combined. She has allowed the agency to focus on long term efforts developing the FMCB and upgrading the MBTA’s infrastructure, service and customer relations and much more.”

And in her official statement, Pollack said this:

“It has been a privilege to lead MassDOT’s exceptional team these last six years and to work with the MBTA’s senior leadership and the Fiscal and Management Control Board. Massachusetts has become a leader in delivering a transportation system that puts people first and provides them with safer and better choices for walking, biking, using transit, or driving and I am confident that Jamey will be able to continue that good work.”

Jamey Tesler will replace her as acting secretary. Tesler assumed the role of acting Registrar of Motor Vehicles during the height of the agency's records scandal in June, 2019.

Governor Signs $16.5B Transportation Bond Bill

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a $16.5 billion — with a B — transportation bond bill to raise funding for rail, bus, and roadway improvements across the state.

According to a report in Railway Age, “Gov. Baker approved most details in the bill but vetoed others, such as requiring the 15 regional transit authorities to study ‘means-tested fares’ and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to offer a low-income fare program...”

In a response to legislators, Gov. Baker wrote: 

“‘More study is needed to understand how transit authorities can implement fare systems that depend on gathering information about riders’ incomes and to understand what the revenue loss would be and how that revenue would be replaced. No means-tested fares can be implemented until the MBTA and RTAs have a financially sustainable plan in place to replace the lost revenue.”

Bill H-5248, an Act Authorizing and Accelerating Transportation Investment, provides funds for upgrading the South Coast Rail, a Green Line Extension, East-West rail projects, MBTA bus and Green Line upgrades, electrification of sections of the Fairmount and Stoughton commuter rail lines, and extending the Blue Line to the Charles/MGH Station on the Red Line.

Railway Age has more on this story.

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Real Estate

Amid Pandemic Home Sales in Massachusetts Hit 16-Year High 

Pandemic notwithstanding, Mass. home sales are on fire and have reached a 16-year high. According to The Warren Group, more than 61,000 single-family homes were sold in 2020 at a median sale price of $445,500, 11.4% higher than the year prior. In December alone, a record 6,410 single-family homes were sold in the Bay State — a 28.6% increase from December 2019. It was the sixth consecutive month with median sale prices greater than $450,000.

According to Warren Group, the shift towards remote work during the pandemic has spurred a migration away from cities boosting home sales in areas such as Cape Cod and the Berkshires, typically known to be vacation destinations.

On a Warren Group's podcast, Tim Warren, CEO of the Warren Group says he did not see this coming and hopes it won’t lead to a real estate bubble in the region:

"In the wake of the first COVID-19 lockdown way back in March, single-family home sales took a nosedive for the entire second quarter. If you told me back then that by the end of the year that the total number of sales would surpass 2019, there's no way I would have believed you ... yet here we are. Another record-setting year in the books for Massachusetts real estate… The hot market has continued right into December, four straight months of sales gains of 25 percent or more… The more time they spend at home, the more they think about the home and some ask what they want to change… The one thing I worry about is the rapidly-rising median price across the state. For six straight years, we saw a very good market but with restrained growth in price -- just two to five percent. The tail end of 2020 saw huge changes and prices rose by 14 percent or more for five straight months. For the year as a whole, prices rose 11.4 percent. I consider that to be unsustainable. I hope we see the market cool and consolidate its gains before we create a bubble in prices as we did in 2005. The collapse of the market in 2006 and beyond was very painful."

Warren expects the trend to continue well into 2021.

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Cannabis

Commonwealth Dispensary Association Sues CCC… Then Doesn’t

All in one week, the Commonwealth Dispensary Association filed suit against the Mass. Cannabis Control Commission in an attempt to block new delivery rules and then dropped the suit in an effort to prevent a mass exodus of members. 

At question was a new type of delivery license that would allow operators to sidestep the storefront and instead sell out of a warehouse. The rule is intended to increase the number of local and minority-owned cannabis businesses in the state. Making matters worse, for the first three years, the license will only be available only to applicants in social equity programs locking out existing dispensaries until 2024. However, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for many dispensary owners.

The CDA argued that the rules, as written might backfire and lead to the “possibility of an ‘Amazon’ scale operation undermining both brick and mortar retail and smaller delivery operators.”

In the days after the suit was filed, at least ten prominent CDA members including New England Treatment Access (the largest marijuana operator in Massachusetts), Garden Remedies, and In Good Health, announced they were quitting the group claiming the action conflicted with their commitment to social equity in the Mass. cannabis industry.

A statement from Garden Remedies reads: 

“Decades of the ‘war on drugs’ and the disproportionate harm such policies caused to members of specific communities cannot simply be erased by ignoring the past or leveling the playing field ‘from now on. Specific, targeted and aggressive action must be taken to acknowledge the issues and create a roadmap to a better, more inclusive industry.”

The CDA had this to say about that:

“The CDA has determined it is in the best interest of the industry and our members to drop the lawsuit against the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC). We all need to be working together on achieving our many shared objectives, including increasing the participation of a diverse set of entrepreneurs in the industry… [The CDA is] confident that our membership fully supports the goal of increasing diversity of ownership and wealth generation opportunities in the Massachusetts cannabis industry… The past several days have motivated our organization to look inwards, and outwards, to work together to create real positive change.

Boston.com has a thorough report on this story.

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Major Bills Pass but Baker Vetoes Climate Change Legislation

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The most notable news narratives in Massachusetts politics this week are Gov. Charlie Baker’s signing of a major economic development bill and his veto of far reaching climate change legislation. Although Baker has been a cheerleader for the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, he found some sticking points in the energy bill that will have to be cleaned up by the newly sworn-in legislature. Find more on both of theses stories below.

And, of course, the pandemic still looms large and long here in Massachusetts. Rather than getting into the particulars (since we’ve all been bombarded with them on a daily basis for the past 10 months) here are some of the Covid-related challenges residents and businesses are currently facing here in the Bay State:

With that out of the way, let’s go over this week’s top news in Massachusetts politics, business, energy, transportation, and real estate. We’ll also touch on some big changes coming to the Mass. Cannabis Control Commission board and what they mean to the Massachusetts cannabis industry. 

Politics

Boston Mayor’s Race Shaping Up 

As we mentioned last week, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will be leaving City Hall bound for Washington D.C. Meanwhile, being only the second vacant Mayor’s office seat in 28 years, the race to replace Walsh is quickly shaping up to be an exciting one. 

  • So far, two entrants, Boston City Councilors Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell, have gotten a head start. 

  • The may have stiff competition in Boston Police Commissioner William Gross who is strongly considering a run. 

  • City Council President Kim Janey (who will soon become acting mayor when Walsh takes his cabinet seat) is a probable candidate. 

  • Two other City Councilors Annissa Essaibi-George and Michael Flaherty are also likely to take a crack at it. 

  • State Sen. Nick Collins could enter the race. 

  • Boston economic development chief John Barros might run.

  • Boston’s chief of Health and Human Services Marty Martinez is considering mounting a campaign. 

  • State Rep. Jon Santiago has said that he might run.

Two other potential candidates, State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins have officially opted out of the race.

With so many candidates in the race, it won’t take a majority of voters for candidates to advance to the general election. Back in 2013’s preliminary election, with 12 candidates in the race and a turnout of just 31%, 113,300 ballots were cast. Walsh and John Connolly each received less than one-fifth of the vote. Walsh received a mere 20,800 primary votes. However, Walsh won the general election with just over half of the vote (51.5%).

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Business

$78.5 Million in Covid Relief Grants Given to Small Businesses

The Baker Administration recently announced that just under 1,600 Mass. businesses have been awarded a total of $78.5 million in small business grants to help them weather the pandemic storm. The state has now awarded $195 million to more than 4,100 businesses since December through Mass Growth Capital Corporation. Governor Baker hopes the money will help more Mass. businesses — “especially those in the hospitality and entertainment business” — to survive the winter. 

Under this program businesses in specific sectors of the economy (such as restaurants, bars, caterers, food trucks, gyms, indoor recreation businesses, event photographers and other event companies, nail salons, barbershops, independent pharmacies and independent retailers) will receive grants of up to $75,000 or three months of operating expenses.

With another $473 million remaining to be passed out, officials are expected to announce more grants in February. (However, the deadline to apply fot grant money has passed.)

Watch: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to discuss small business grants in Boston’s North End

Additionally, another $8.6 million in grants were awarded to cities, towns and nonprofit organizations under the Community Transit Grant program. The annual program, which is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), awards money earmarked for transit operating costs, mobility management, or new capital investments.

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Energy

Even bigger news than Baker’s shuffle off to Washington this week is his pocket veto of landmark climate legislation passed by lawmakers last week. Baker claimed that, among other concerns, the measure would slow housing production goals outlined in his “housing choice” proposal which is written into the economic development bill Baker signed into law Thursday. 

In a letter to lawmakers, Baker wrote:

“While my administration wholeheartedly supports the environmental justice goals of this bill, intent without the tools to address those issues are empty promises. The bill does not have language or funding to address the ongoing impacts of climate change faced by those communities.”

The Next Generation Roadmap is the most comprehensive climate legislation to be passed in more than a decade with an ambitious net-zero emissions goal by 2050. The legislation also calls for interim emissions reduction targets of 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2040, as well as requiring 40% of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030. 

Alli Gold Roberts, director or state policy at the sustainability nonprofit Ceres called the development, “extremely disappointing and a step in the wrong direction,” adding:

“From a rise in floods to worsening air pollution, this last decade made it abundantly clear that the severity of the climate crisis requires immediate action,” Roberts added. “Massachusetts legislators understood the need for this urgency as they pushed forward comprehensive, bold climate policy in the midst of dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting legislation that was sent to Gov. Baker included input from the business community, the clean energy industry, community organizers, environmental justice advocates and the public health community. The collaboration among lawmakers and numerous stakeholders helped produce a bill that would have led to climate action, new clean energy job growth and the necessary transition away from fossil fuels to power and heat our homes and buildings, at a time when we need it most. We call on legislators to reintroduce the legislation immediately and send it back to the governor for consideration as soon as possible. Businesses are already making strides toward meeting their own net-zero goals and the Commonwealth cannot afford to delay the transition to a net-zero emissions future that is already underway.” 

It’s not that the Governor is against the proposed legislation altogether. As we reported last week, prior to passage of the bill, the Baker administration had released two reports detailing his plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Baker was also instrumental in launching the regional Transportation and Climate Initiative, a plan to decarbonize the transportation sector. However, Baker did not have time to propose amendments to the bill because it passed one day before the end of a  two-year legislative session. 

More details are available at MassLive.com.

More Energy News

Transportation

USDOT Grants $344 Million In Federal Aid to Transit Authorities 

The MBTA and 15 Reginional Transit Authorities are soon to receive roughly $344 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help Massachusetts avoid public transportation service cuts or fare increases.

MBTA General Manager Steve Pollack said Monday that he believes that the agency will receive between $250 million and $300 million of the total funds. However, Pollak also says that despite the injection of federal funding the agnecy plants to keep most of the T’s planned service cuts in place for at least the rest of the winter.

There has been a lot of criticism over the MBTA's push to cut services. Advocates claim that the current plan focuses too much on professionals and office workers, many of whom have some flexibility, at the expense of essential employees and lower-income residents.

At a Regional Transit Authority Council meeting, Pollack stated:

"I don't think 2021 is going to look like 2019, and I'm not sure on the transportation side it's ever going to look like 2019. Things have happened in the past year that will linger, even after the pandemic is over, so part of our job and our challenge is to understand what's changed, what is changing, and how we can continue to provide the service our customers need."

Read all about it at Railway Age. 

More Transportation News

Real Estate

Baker Signs Major Economic Development Bill

In recent years, Massachusetts has been a laggart in the development of new housing. To help remedy the issue, Gov. Baker has (mostly) signed legislation allocating $626 million over the next five years to programs designed to make it easier to build new housing in the Bay State. Baked called the measure “the first significant zoning reform in decades.” 

One of the key pieces of the legislation encourages multifamily zoning in MBTA communities. The bill also sets aside $40 million to revitalize underutilized properties.

Although Baker signed 100 of the bill’s most important sections, he vetoed 11. Among the measures vetoed were three that would have required at least 10 percent affordable units housing for development projects that benefit from a housing development incentive program tax credit. The requirement would have made projects more difficult to finance, Baker said. 

Another line item vetoed by the governor was a proposed rural jobs tax credit that baker claims is more likely to benefit corporate investors than the rural communities it is supposed to help. 

In a statement the governor had this to say:

“This legislation will drive economic growth and improve housing stability, neighborhood stabilization and transit oriented development. Combined with our $668 million small business relief grant program that is supporting local businesses impacted by COVID-19, this legislation will support future growth and expand opportunity for people across Massachusetts, and we appreciate the work of our legislative colleagues throughout this process.”

Because the Legislature that passed the bill has expired and a new Legislature has been sworn in, the governor’s vetoes cannot be overturned. 

WWLP.com has more on this story. 

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Cannabis

Third New Member Named to Cannabis Control Commission

Ava Callender Concepcion has been chosen by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to fill the Mass. Cannabis Control Commission’s public safety position. The seat was recently vacated by Britte McBride.

In recent years, Concepcion has filled a variety of roles in public safety and previously served as the director of governmental affairs and external partnerships for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

Mass. AG Healey said in a statement:

“Ava brings a strong background in public safety and experience working with a range of stakeholders including law enforcement, advocacy organizations, and constituents on important policy matters.  As a lifelong resident of Boston, Ava has dedicated her career to social justice and her perspective will be extremely valuable to the Commission in promoting safety, equity, and opportunity.”

In here acceptance statement, Concepcion said:

“I am honored and humbled by this appointment and want to thank Attorney General Healey for the opportunity to continue serving the Commonwealth. I look forward to working with my fellow commissioners to implement regulations that foster thoughtfulness, transparency, and equity.”

With Concepcion’s appointment, three of five members are new to the CCC. At the end of December, Nurys Z. Camargo and Bruce Stebbins were appointed to replace Shaleen Title and Kay Doyle.

Check out this piece at the Boston Business Journal to see where the CCC is expected to go from here.

More Cannabis News

More of the Latest Massachusetts News

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Democracy Threatened and Restored Again

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Of course, the big news — historic news — this week is the ransacking of the Nation’s Capital by an angry mob of Trump followers. Prior to the incident, the malignant mass of protesters-turned-rioters was assured by Trump that the 2020 election was a sham and the win was stolen. They were then encouraged to march to the Capitol Building where the electoral college votes were being counted and told essentially to demand justice. 

This is all despite the fact that there’s zero evidence that the election was stolen and dozens of losses in state and federal court cases attempting to overturn results in swing states. 

It’s not at all clear what the congregation expected to accomplish. Ironically, their actions could very likely get their beloved leader impeached and removed from office, and possibly even blocked from running for any federal office in the future. Having floated the idea of running again in 2024, it now seems highly improbably that Trump will ever see a second term. In fact, he might not even make it to the end of this first term as the bipartisan call for his removal from office grows in volume. 

In addition to doing Trump no favors, many of those involved in the kerfuffle have potentially earned themselves some pretty stiff prison sentences. (For example, the man in the iconic photo sitting at Nancy Pelosi’s ransacked office with his feet up on her desk has been apprehended by the FBI.) Why these thugs weren’t rounded up and arrested on the spot by Capital Police is still a mystery. Now it’s up to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to hunt them all down and hold them accountable. 

All the hubbub, however, overshadowed a pivotal moment in Massachusetts politics as POTUS-elect Joe Biden announced that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is his pick for U.S. Labor Secretary. The announcement opens up an exciting race for Mayor in 2021. 

Let’s look into this and other Massachusetts political news stories for this first week of 2021. 

Politics

Biden Names Boston Mayor Walsh U.S. Labor Secretary

In what will amount to a seismic shift in Boston politics POTUS-elect Joe Biden has named Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as his pick for labor secretary. Walsh’s departure leaves City Councilors Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell in the race for Mayor. If either Campbell or Wu is elected, they will be the first female mayor of Boston.

However, there is still plenty of time for more challengers to enter the ring. Among those rumored to be eyeing the Mayor’s seat is City Council President Kim Janey, who will be sworn in as mayor if Walsh goes to Washington at which point she will be Boston’s first Black Mayor.

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo will also presumably be heading to Washington as Biden’s commerce secretary. 

New 2021-2022 Legislative Session Underway

Meanwhile, a new legislative session is underway in Massachusetts. In one of their first official acts of the new session, House members elected Democratic Rep. Ron Mariano as the new House speaker. Mariano replaces former Democratic Speaker Robert DeLeo who resigned last month. Democratic Sen. Karen Spilka was reelected Senate president.

Priorities for the new session listed by Mariano include monitoring vaccine distribution, supporting small businesses, bolstering remote learning, and addressing housing troubles brought on by emergency measures.

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Business

Statewide Restrictions Extended, Relief Increased for Small Businesses

Statewide restrictions have been extended by Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker until at least January 24 as Mass. hit a record-high for single-day Covid-19 cases last Thursday. The capacity limit for outdoor gatherings remains at 25 people, 

“Cases are growing, and hospitalizations continue to climb,” said Baker. “We know that extending those restrictions for any businesses, especially small businesses, is a lot to ask, but we need to stay in this game a little longer.”

While most small businesses in Mass. are suffering as a result of emergency restrictions, restaurant owners are finding it particularly challenging to accommodate comfortable outdoor dining in the face of freezing winter temperatures. 

However, as we mentioned last week, businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic might breathe a small sigh of relief in light of Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker’s $668 million financial assistance program. The new program offers grants up to $75,000 to be used for employee wages and benefits, operational costs, and debt payments.

The online application portal for the new program will close on Friday, Jan. 15 and the state could start releasing millions in new funding to restaurants and other small businesses in the state as soon as next week.

Details on the program including how to apply are available at www.empoweringsmallbusiness.org.

More Business

Energy

Mass. Lawmakers Sign Sweeping Climate Bill

After months of negotiations, Massachusetts lawmakers have signed off on “An Act Creating a Next-generation Roadmap For Massachusetts Climate Policy.” The sweeping legislation is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create renewable energy jobs, and protect poorer communities that can be at higher risk from pollution. Passage of the bill was near-unanimous in both the House and Senate. 

The centerpiece of the legislation is the state’s goal of hitting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The measure also increases requirements for offshore wind energy, improves gas pipeline safety, and increase support for renewable energy workforce development programs.

The law stipulates: that the state must reduce emissions by 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and by 75 percent below 1990 levels by 2040. The legislation also ups the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 40 percent by 2030 and increases its offshore wind targets from 3.2 gigawatts to 5.6 gigawatts.

Last week by Gov. Charlie Baker pushed the Massachusetts 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap Report and an interim 2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan. The proposal would require all new cars sold in the state to be electric by 2035 and also calls for converting 1 million homes from fossil fuel to electric heating.

The climate bill approved by lawmakers on Monday prioritizes access to the state’s solar programs by low-income communities and creates a pathway into the clean energy industry for minority-owned and women-owned businesses.

In addition to the above points, Bill, S. 2995 also calls for:

  • Setting new energy efficiency standards for 17 common appliances

  • Adopting measures to improve gas pipeline safety, including increased fines for safety violations;

  • Increasing the state's RPS by 3% annually from 2025 to 2029

  • Establishing $12 million in annual funding for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, earmarked for assisting minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the clean energy industry

  • Setting benchmarks for the adoption of electric vehicles, charging stations, solar technology, energy storage, and heat pumps

  • Providing solar incentives for businesses by exempting them from the state's net metering cap.

The bill now awaits the governor’s signature which is all but guaranteed. 

More Energy News

Transportation

Massachusetts May Require All New Cars To Be Electric by 2035

In support of the net-zero carbon footprint goals outlined in the new climate legislation mentioned above, a new proposal calls for the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state to end by 2035. It also seeks to have 30 percent of all trucks and busses purchased in the Bay State to be electric by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050. 

Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides released the plan last week. The report reads in part:

"For the Commonwealth to achieve Net Zero, fossil fuel use must be all but completely eliminated in on-road vehicles by 2050. Given the cost and scarcity of low- or zero-carbon drop-in replacement fuels and the current market and growing availability of high-efficiency battery-electric and other zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) alternatives, this likely means reaching near complete electrification of the light-duty fleet."

The move follows California’s lead as Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed an executive order outlining very similar goals. 

More Transportation News

Real Estate

Massachusetts Makes Top 10 List of Out-of-State Moves

Moving enterprise United Van Lines says Massachusetts is one of the top 10 states in the country losing residents since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mass. ranked 8th with New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, and California at the top of the list. 

United tracked 3,355 moves in and out of Massachusetts in 2020. According to the company’s report, 56.6 percent of those moves were customers leaving the state. Of those, a little over one-third said it was because of work. About one-quarter said they were leaving to retire or for family. And about one-fifth said they left for a change in lifestyle. 

In a statement released by the company, Michael Stoll, an economist and University of California, Los Angeles professor had this to say:

“United Van Lines’ data makes it clear that migration to western and southern states, a prevalent pattern for the past several years, persisted in 2020. However, we’re seeing that the COVID-19 pandemic has without a doubt accelerated broader moving trends, including retirement driving top inbound regions as the Baby Boomer generation continues to reach that next phase of life.” 

Elsewhere in New England, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire all saw more people moving into the state than out. Topping the survey for inbound moves was Idaho, followed by South Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, and Arizona. However, the survey only represents United’s clientele and doesn’t necessarily reflect overall trends.

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Cannabis

Curaleaf Announces $216 Million Stock Offering

In a bid to raise more than $216 million dollars, Multistate cannabis operator Curaleaf Holdings announced a new stock offering after the closing of markets on Wednesday. The company is offering 16.5 million subordinate voting shares priced at CA$16.70 per share. Curaleaf management says the funds will be used “for working capital and general corporate purposes.”

In a news release, Curaleaf Executive Chair Boris Jordan said the company anticipates “the acceleration of legalization at the federal level.” Jordan is referring to the U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia in which Democrats won control of the Senate.

Jordan goes on to say:

“With the recent adult-use cannabis deregulation initiatives in New Jersey and Arizona, and New York announcing its proposal to legalize and create a comprehensive system to oversee and regulate cannabis as part of the 2021 State of the State, now is a pivotal time to raise additional capital to support our growth initiatives as we continue to build out our capabilities in these new markets.” 

Curaleaf trades on the Canadian stock exchange under the ticker symbol CURA and on the U.S. over-the-counter markets as CURLF. The company reported record revenues of $182.4 million for its quarter ended September 30., with a net loss of $9.3 million.

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A New End

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While last year saw record numbers of hurricanes, wildfires, recessions, roller-coaster stock markets, and a defeat of a sitting president — all of which are huge stories in any given year — the coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed everything on earth for the past ten months.

By Mid-December, Massachusetts had blown past the 100,000 COVID-19 cases mark with 10% of those were confirmed just over the Christmas holiday weekend. There have been more than 11,500 confirmed fatalities in Mass since the start of the pandemic.

In an effort to ward off a public health crisis of biblical proportions, Gov. Charlie Baker has given the tourniquet another turn and asked businesses to reduce capacity to 25% and to limit public and private gatherings to 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors for the next two weeks. 

The good news is that vaccinations are underway for the front lines and the most vulnerable. More than 146,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine recently arrived in the state. Another 60,000 or so Pfizer vaccines have also been distributed. So far, more than 35,000 Massachusetts residents have been vaccinated. Although it doesn’t yet toll the death knell for the pandemic, vaccination has brought with it much needed hope. 

In other news...

Politics

GOP Gives Lyons Another Term

Jim Lyons was reelected Sunday to a second term as the state Republican Party’s chairman by a narrow margin of 39-36, against challenger Shawn Dooley. In his pitch prior to the vote (which took place in a parking lot) before the vote. His opponents, Lyons had this to say:

“I should continue to bring conservative and pro-life voices into our party, to give conservatives a seat at the table for which too often in Massachusetts Republican politics [they] have been excluded in the past.”

Lyons, a vociferous Trump supporter, vowed to “make the Massachusetts Republican Party great again.” This might be a bit challenging considering the GOP lost five seats in the Legislature in November. Republicans now hold just three seats in the 40-member Senate and zero in the house.

That being said, Lyons victory is expected to complicate a potential reelection bid by Gov. Charlie Baker who has burned some bridges with pro-Trump forces. Trump recently attacked Baker as a “RINO” (Republican in name only).

Interestingly, to facilitate social distancing, the vote was held in a parking lot in an industrial park in Littleton. Committee members tuned in a live radio broadcast to hear the candidates’ pitches. After the vote was tallied, Lyons supporters honked their horns in lieu of applause. 

The Boston Globe has a more in-depth report on Lyons’ win.

Landmark Police Bill Gets a Touchup

Facing the threat of Gov. Charlie Baker's veto, the Massachusetts Senate did some remodeling on a comprehensive policing bill. The Massachusetts House on Tuesday approved the revisions.

Should it pass, the revamped legislation would create a system for certifying police officers in Massachusetts. It also creates a new civilian-led panel that can revoke badges for misconduct. One of the main sticking points in the bill was the proposed restriction of the use of facial recognition technology by police.

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Business

More Stimulus Money on the Way

Gov. Charlie Baker last week unveiled an additional $668 million stimulus package aimed at small businesses in the Bay State. The money can be used to curtail layoffs, as well as to pay utility bills, rent, and other operational costs. 

Eligible industries include restaurants and bars, caterers, indoor recreation and entertainment establishments, fitness centers, personal services, retailers, and event-support professionals such as photographers and videographers.

More than 10,000 applicants applied for grants from the COVID-19 Small Business Program since it was launched this past fall. State officials will continue to award grants to eligible businesses who already applied but did not receive funding.

Businesses will have a two-week window to apply for grants through an online portal scheduled to come online before the new year and grants will be awarded starting in February.

More information is available at EmpoweringSmallBusinesses.org. 

On a side note, although funding for the state’s stimulus package is not dependent on federal stimulus money, the bill, which was reluctantly signed by Trump, gives the state more flexibility in dealing with the pandemic.

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Energy

In early August, three senators and three representatives were appointed to reconcile differences between climate bills passed by the Mass. Senate and House. However, with the current two-year legislative session coming to an end on Jan. 5, no compromise has been reached. 

Now, in an effort to assure prompt action, climate policy advocates are mounting an “all-out offensive" to keep the pressure on lawmakers.

If the conference committee doesn't produce a compromise bill this session, it will mean a slippery slope for the measures. In order to avoid backsliding, climate advocacy group 350Mass called on its supporters to unleash an “all-out offensive via phone, email, and Twitter, to ensure Massachusetts advances this crucial climate legislation." 

Both climate bills put forth last January call for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The bills also set deadlines for the state to impose carbon-pricing mechanisms for transportation, commercial buildings, and homes. 

The Baker administration is planning to release its 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap and the 2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan by the end of this month.

Read all about it at NBCBoston.com.

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Transportation

Replacement of the 85-year-old Bourne and Sagamore bridges is among 65 transportation projects included in an omnibus package passed along with the $900 billion federal stimulus bill. The 5,000-plus-page bundle includes funding for bridge repairs and replacements as well as other transportation projects. In fact, transportation projects account for about $45 billion of the total relief bill.

The Cape Cod Times has more on this story.

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Real Estate

Since the eviction moratorium expired in Massachusetts, renters across the state are now finding eviction notices taped to their doors and tenant advocates fear a rise in homelessness and a continued spike in COVID-19 cases across the state. 

However, in the days before the moratorium expired, Gov. Charlie Baker announced $171 million earmarked for rental assistance and rapid rehousing programs. Baker also recently signed a budget that includes added funding for housing-related programs.

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Cannabis

Although the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has taken steps to ensure equitable opportunities within the cannabis industry for minorities, according to a report by Commonwealth Magazine, “one segment of the industry remains controlled – largely by design – by big companies, including some multi-state operators: medical marijuana.”

One reason for the lack of diversity in the medical market, says the report, is the requirement that medical marijuana dispensaries grow and manufacture all of the cannabis products they sell. This vertical integration requirement means it costs a lot more to enter the medical marijuana market than it does to break into the recreational market which has no such requirement.

Mass. CCC chairman Steven Hoffman said a reevaluation of vertical integration requirements will be a priority going forward. “We’ve made a commitment to look into that, to give it the time and study it deserves,” Hoffman said.

Read the full report at Commonwealth Magazine

More Cannabis News

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A Timely Wish List

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Two curves need some serious bending here in Massachusetts — the Covid-19 infection curve, and the state budget curve. Although there was a lot of push and pull going last week, it’s looking like the Covid Curve won’t trend downward until at least mid-January. And the state’s budget is unlikely to bend upward until mid-2022. Lawmakers wishes might come true with the news of a federal relief package coming our way, but it’s doubtful any of the funding needed will make it here in time to make a difference for the holidays.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts has lost its crown of Most Energy Efficient State in the U.S. to California. If you’re going to lose that crown to any state it might as well be the Golden State as it keeps the Bay State in good company. 

The real news, however, is that Massachusetts is and likely always will be a heavyweight contender on clean energy. Gov. Baker has been cheerleading a collection of Northeastern states to pass the Transportation and Climate Initiative — a cap-and-trade program for fuel companies in the Northeast modeled after the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. It looks like we’re close to a deal that could save billions of dollars and countless lives in the coming decades.

And speaking of good company, Lowe’s Home Improvement has agreed to purchase 250MW of renewable energy from Massachusetts-headquartered Swift Current Energy in a 12-year power purchase agreement.

All this and a bag of chips in this week’s news. 

Covid Might Not Bend Until Mid January

With civilian vaccinations still months away, an updated Covid-19 projection model out of UMass Amherst, predicts that the total number of new coronavirus infections will continue to increase well into January. The model projects more than 40,000 new cases by Jan. 2. At just over 33,000 in the first week of December, that’s an increase of about 25%. 

In terms of deaths, the model — which is actually based on an ensemble of different models — predicts mortality will surpass 500 cases per week in Mass. before January with total deaths projected to hit 13,120 by Jan. 9. 

In an attempt to stem the evil tide, Gov. Charlie Baker and some cities and towns continue to re-tighten restrictions. Amid rising COVID-19 numbers in Massachusetts, a number of cities and towns in the state announced they are reverting to more restrictive phases of reopening.

Gov. Baker announced last week that the state would turn back to Phase 3, Step 1 of its reopening plan. And officials in Boston, Arlington, Brockton, Lynn, and Somerville, and Newton have all begun to roll the pace of reopenings back to Phase 2, Sept 2 for at least three weeks.  

If the public doesn’t heed the Governor’s new holiday safety guidelines, a full shutdown could become a reality before the year’s end.

Politics

What The New Federal Relief Bill Means for Mass.

Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. now surpassing 911 deaths on a daily basis. And nearly 8 million Americans have fallen into poverty since this summer. Nonetheless, Washington lawmakers have been in a Red vs. Blue tug-o-war over a second relief bill for weeks. 

Now Congressional and Senate leaders might be close to hammering out a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package that would mean billions in aid to small businesses, extended federal and state unemployment benefits, direct payments to Americans, and additional funds to renters and people needing food aid. In fact, by now, the deal might be in the history books.

So what does this mean for Massachusetts?

Direct payments to individuals appeared to be off the table until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel realized that Republicans could lose their Senate majority if Georgia voters turned against the GOP before the senate seat runoffs on Jan. 5. Currently, Dems are willing to compromise on direct payments and are asking for one-time payments of $600 — half that of the previous round of checks called for by the CARES Act.

The bad news is, the direct payments are in lieu of financial assistance to state and municipal governments. However, Senate Ed Markey said Thursday he has high hopes that President-elect Joe Biden would facilitate a third relief package before winter’s end.

A $300-per-week federal jobless benefit would run until April 2021 — half of the $600 benefits provided by the CARES Act passed back in March. A $300-per-week extension runs out on Dec. 31.

The package also calls for $300 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program which attempts to stem the tide of layoffs by offering business owners with 300 or fewer employees forgivable loans to be used to cover employees' wages. 

An eviction ban set to expire at year’s end will be extended for another month. (The Mass. eviction moratorium expired in October.) 

Also, a report by Vox claims the package will provide $13 billion for a 15 percent increase in food stamps benefits as well as other food assistance programs.

And finally, to the relief of more than 40 million Americans paying back federal student loans, the package also calls for the deferral of payments until April 2021. 

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Business

Mass. Economy Not Expected to Improve Substantially Until 2022

With the state’s fiscal health teetering on a cliff, economists are saying that things might not improve until fiscal 2022. A lot depends on how quickly vaccines can be rolled out and how effective the jabs will be at “bending the curve.” It also depends on the flow of federal stimulus money. 

At a Tuesday hearing, Secretary of Administration and Finance Michael Heffernan waxed poetic saying: “Happy holidays, here’s to the new year. We hope there’s a vaccine. We hope there’s federal money.” Okay, so it wasn’t so poetic. 

Meanwhile, Department of Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder estimated that tax revenue for Fiscal 2022 will fall between $27 billion (a 1% decline) and $30 billion (and 8.8% gain). Several estimates from NGO experts also fell within the range of or slightly higher than the Department of Revenue estimate.

More details on the Mass. 2022 revenue projections can be found at Commonwealth Magazine’s website.

Check out last week’s news to learn more about the state’s fresh-squeezed 2021 budget. 

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Energy

Mass. No Longer Most Energy Efficient State

For nine straight years, Massachusetts has held the gold medal for Most Energy-Efficient State In the Nation according to rankings provided by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The Bay State is now number two compared to California. 

"In a year dramatically impacted by a global pandemic and associated recession, efforts to advance clean energy goals struggled to maintain momentum amid the loss of 400,000 energy efficiency jobs by the summer and disruptions to countless lives. Despite these challenges, some states continued to successfully prioritize energy efficiency as an important resource to help reduce household and business energy bills, create jobs, and reduce emissions. First place goes to California, which sets the pace in saving energy on multiple fronts with adoption of net-zero energy building codes, stringent vehicle emissions standards, and industry-leading appliance standards." — ACEEE annual scorecard

Massachusetts has been in the top 10 all 14 years that the ACEEE has published its annual scorecard. However, in recent years, California has spent millions of dollars to provide incentives for high-efficiency heat pump water heaters. And a recently signed executive order calls for phasing out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

Here’s a more extensive report from the Boston Globe. 

Lowe’s Taps Mass.-Based Swift Current Energy for 250MW of Solar

Massachusetts-headquartered Swift Current Energy is working on a 12-year power purchase agreement to supply Lowe’s home improvement with 250MW of renewable energy from its Black Diamond Solar park in Illinois. 

Currently under construction, the facility will house over 1 million solar panels with a total capacity of 593MW. The new installation is expected to go online by the summer of 2023.

Swift Current Energy has developed and commercialized more than 1GW of clean energy projects with more than 3GW under development.

Read more at PV-Tech.org. 

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Transportation

Northeast States Agree on Cap-and-Invest Plan for Autos

After years of negotiation, a collection of Northeastern states are expected to unveil a final agreement Monday on the Transportation and Climate Initiative. TCI, a cap-and-trade program for fuel companies in the Northeast, would set decreasing limits on carbon emissions from autos. The program is modeled after the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative being applied to power plants. 

Under the agreement, fuel suppliers would be required to buy carbon credits to cover their emissions. Proceeds from the credits — estimated to be as high as $8.5 billion annually — would be earmarked for clean infrastructure projects.

Twelve states are involved in the pact championed by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. However, governors from Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine have expressed reservations about the plan. Other states involved include Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia. 

While some states may be required to adopt the program via their legislature, Massachusetts can do so through executive action.

A study by Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health claims the plan found the improvement in air quality alone would prevent up to 1,000 deaths annually and reduce emissions up to 25% by 2032.

Read all about it at EEnews.net.

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Real Estate

Blackstone is Now King of the Hill in Cambridge Biotech

Blackstone Property Partners Life Sciences is acquiring 2.3 million square feet of lab office buildings from a Brookfield Asset Management real estate fund. The deal, valued at $3.45 billion, puts Blackstone at the top of the heap of biotech space in Cambridge. The deal is expected to go down in the first quarter of 2021.

The life sciences real estate sector is booming. More than $16 billion has been raised from private investors during the first half of 2020. Cambridge is one of the fastest-growing  biotech hubs in the country. 

Learn more at GlobeSt.com. 

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Cannabis

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has appointed two new members. 

Nurys Camargo is a regional AT&T executive. Camargo previously directed youth violence prevention programs under the administration of former Governor Deval Patrick and founded a nonprofit to mentor Latinas. Camargo will assume the commission’s social justice seat for a five-year term beginning January 1.

Bruce Stebbins is a longtime Republican political operative who currently serves on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Stebbins will also be appointed to a five-year term on the cannabis commission as of January 1. 

The new appointments to the independent commission were made jointly by the offices of Governor Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, and state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg.

MJ Biz Daily has more on this story.

More Cannabis News

More of the Latest Massachusetts News

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Two Steps Forward and Back Again

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Even when we’re making significant progress, Massachusetts seems to be experiencing setbacks in equal measure.

For instance, the Commonwealth seems to be all set in the energy department. Grid operators are saying they’ll have no problem meeting demand this winter. But shivering throngs of residents might not have a home to heat. That is if the Federal eviction moratorium expires on schedule on December 31. Even if folks can pay their rent or mortgage, they may not have enough money to pay their electric bills as unemployment balloons and relief shrivels. 

On the bright side, sarcastically speaking, trains, trolley’s and buses will be using a lot less energy this winter as ridership has plummeted and the MBTA plans stiff cuts in services. And with lawmakers in Washington squabbling over who gets what in federal assistance, things aren’t guaranteed to be getting better anytime soon. 

On a “lighter” note, one week after marijuana sales blew past the billion-dollar mark here in Mass., Maine has announced that marijuana is now it’s number one cash crop. Also this week, Congress passed the MORE Act which includes an attempt to decriminalize marijuana and remove it from the DEA’s list of Schedule I controlled substances. If these trends continue — and they will — the smart money is going to start piling into cannabis like children in a heap of autumn leaves.

Let’s unpack this week’s news: 

Politics

Mass. Reopening Turns Retrograde

Just last week, Gov. Charlie Baker had no plans to double down on COVID-19 restrictions. However, that was before we repeatedly smashed single-day coronavirus records with hospitalizations rising 44% the week after Thanksgiving. Health officials have reported 3,627 new coronavirus cases and 40 more deaths from COVID-19.

As a result, the Bay State’s reopening process has gone into retrograde. Baker announced Tuesday that he will roll back to Phase 3, Step 1 of the state’s reopening plan starting Sunday, Dec. 13, with reduced capacity for "pretty much everything." 

"The rate Massachusetts residents are getting infected and the rate at which they are needing medical care, if all continues to move at this pace, is simply not sustainable over time, and our health care system will be put at risk," Baker said. "We have to do more."

The exact details of the rollback can be found here. 

Hopefully, help is on the way. By the time you read this, trucks full of Covid-19 vaccines could be rolling into Massachusetts. 

The FDA’s advisory committee has recommended the approval of Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use in the United States. Now we wait for the FDA to decide whether to accept the recommendation. Once this happens, doses of the vaccine could be in Massachusetts within days. Healthcare workers are expected to be among the first group eligible for the vaccine. 

According to a report at WWLP.com:

“The Baker administration plans to distribute 300,000 COVID-19 vaccines over the next three months to Massachusetts residents and workers who face the highest risks for the virus, starting its immunization rollout by focusing on health care workers, long-term care facilities, first responders and congregate care settings… The three-phase plan is scheduled to roar into action this month with the first 60,000 doses set to arrive by Dec. 15. About 300,000 doses, including both Moderna- and Pfizer-manufactured vaccines, should arrive by the end of the month.”

The general public should be able to get in line for vaccines by Mid-April. 

Details of the Governor’s plan to distribute vaccines can be found here.

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Business

Unemployment Continues to Rise

Again with the jump in jobless claims as the state rolls back its reopening plan. Nearly 34,000 Massachusetts residents filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week — up by more than 2,800 from the week prior. As the virus continued to spiral out of control, unemployment has jumped nationwide to 853,000 last week. 

Included in these figures are “gig workers” and the self-employed who qualify for aid via the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program — which expires at the end of the month.

WBUR has more on this story.

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Energy

ISO Predicts No Grid Problem This Winter

Electric grid operators ISO-New England are assuring the public that they expect no problems in meeting New England’s power demand this winter. ISO expects to be able to provide electricity “under both normal and short durations of extreme temperatures” — at least through February.

ISO-New England Vice President of System Operations & Market Administration Peter Brandien said that based on weather forecasts, “fuel inventory assessments, and decreasing peak energy usage trends, the ISO expects the region will have the electricity it needs to meet consumer demand and maintain system reliability this winter.” 

The grid operator said it expects peak demand will be greater than 20,000 megawatts under normal winter weather — a decline of 310 MW or 1.5 percent from last winter’s forecast.

More details can be found at WWLP.com.

More Energy News

Transportation

MBTA Waffling On Service Cuts 

After an outcry from riders, transit advocates, and political leaders including Boston Mayor Walsh, the MBTA is trying to work out a plan to scale back planned system-wide service cuts meant to plus the budget deficit created by pandemic emergency measures.

Mayor Walsh lambasted the agency’s plan going so far as to call on state officials to solve the issue, even if it meant raising taxes. 

Emergency measures sent the ridership and revenue into a sinkhole forcing transit officials to consider cuts of more than $100 million to bus, rail, and ferry service.

Proposed cuts could eliminate 25 of 169 bus routes, consolidate another 14, and shorten five. It would also entail eliminating bus and train service after midnight and reducing the frequency of some train and bus routes. “Ferry service would be torpedoed,” as the Boston Globe cleverly put it. 

MBTA officials said they would provide details of the final draft of the proposed cuts in the coming days. A vote could come as early as next week. 

Below is more news and commentary on the MBTA woes:

Real Estate

Up To 14 Million Evictions Could Follow Expiration of Eviction Moratorium

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eviction moratorium is set to expire on December 31. And more than 14 million American households are currently at risk of receiving eviction notices with  4.9 million of them likely to be kicked out into the cold in January, alone. That is according to a report by global investment bank and advisory firm, Stout. 

Meanwhile, public health officials predicted that evictions could worsen the Covid-19 crisis resulting in a vicious cycle. 

Asked whether he would consider resuming the state’s eviction moratorium, Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker said the commonwealth should have enough resources to assist tenants and landlords who are behind on payments. 

Currently, renters in the U.S. are already burdened by an estimated $25 billion in past-due rent debt.  

Read all about it at Boston Business Journal. 

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Cannabis

Marijuana Delivery Rules Expose Rift In Mass. Cannabis Industry

Newly approved home delivery rules have caused a rift in the Massachusetts cannabis industry. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission voted to approve the revised regulations on November 30. Many dispensaries across the state are protesting the revised regulations. 

Most unhappy are the brick-and-mortar dispensaries which would be prevented from making their own deliveries until 2024. 

The CCC created two classes of adult-use marijuana delivery licenses —  marijuana couriers, and marijuana delivery operators. Third-party marijuana couriers will be permitted to pick up and deliver cannabis products to consumers from a retail dispensary. And marijuana delivery operators would be permitted to inventory products without having to operate a retail storefront essentially putting them in direct competition with local marijuana dispensaries.

The Commonwealth Dispensary Association (CDA) plans to challenge the new regulations in court. 

Check out the report at the Berkshire Edge. 

Cannabis Now Most Valuable Crop in Maine

Move over potatoes and blueberries. Cannabis is now Maine’s most valuable crop.  Medical marijuana sales in the state rose from over $100 million in 2019 to more than a quarter of a billion dollars in 2020. Potatoes bring in around $180 million, and blueberries a mere $26 million according to Maine Revenue Services.

According to state sales tax figures, medical marijuana sales added up to more than $220 million from January through October. That’s more than double the previous year, Maines cannabis industry is on pace to hit $266 million in sales for 2020. 

It has been a record-breaking year for the cannabis industry as a whole. 

Learn more at the Portland Press Herald.

More Cannabis News

More of the Latest Massachusetts News

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Public Transit Collides with COVID-19

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This week in Massachusetts news, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the state, the economy and now the MBTA. While the state insists recently proposed service cuts are necessary and temporary, most residents are in disbelief and living in fear that the axed services will never return. 

Worse yet, but not as widely discussed, the number of small businesses open in Massachusetts has plummeted by a staggering 37 percent this year as small business revenue has decreased nationwide by 44 percent since January 15, 2020. 

The hospitality industry has been especially hard hit with a 64 percent decrease in revenue for small businesses in the industry. One particularly sad sign of the decline is the unloading of the iconic Commonwealth Hotel by Xenia Hotels & Resorts just four years after the company acquired the property. The landmark hotel was sold at a cavernous loss of $23 million. 

In the good news column — at least if you’re a stakeholder in the cannabis industry — within the same week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a landmark marijuana policy reform bill while the U.N. removed cannabis from its most prohibitive controlled substances classification. The changes are bound to increase the flow of investment capital into the Green Rush.

Let’s get to work. 

Transportation

The big news in transportation these past few weeks has been the looking cuts in MBTA services. The proposed cuts, called “unnecessary” in an extensive op-ed at CommonWealth Magazine penned by Chris Lisinski, have been extremely unpopular. 

An online survey of 1,340 Massachusetts residents showed that 64 percent somewhat or strongly oppose the proposed cuts in service. Moreover, although MBTA General Manager Steven Poftak has stated that the cuts are not permanent, 54 percent said they didn’t think the eliminated services would be restored after the pandemic abates.

A laundry list of service cuts has been proposed by the MBTA in order to deal with a $579 million budget shortfall as ridership has been decimated during the pandemic. Cuts include less frequent subway and commuter trains, the elimination of 25 bus routes, and the cancellation of ferry service.

The Fiscal and Management Control Board plans to vote on the package soon.

More Transportation News

Business

The Number Of Open Small Businesses In the Bay State Falls By a Staggering 37%

The number of small businesses open in Massachusetts has declined by a staggering 37 percent since January 15, 2020, as nationwide revenue for small businesses has plummeted by an even more unbelievable figure of 44 percent. That is according to data published by a nonpartisan research organization at Harvard University. Interestingly, revenue for small businesses offering professional and business services decreased by only 4.4 percent.

Both CBS Local and the Boston Herald have more details on this story.

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Real Estate

Landmark Hotel Commonwealth Sold At $23 Million Loss

Boston’s beleaguered hotel industry is in shock after Hotel Commonwealth, a popular Kenmore Square hotel was sold at a loss. Florida-based Xenia Hotels & Resorts sold the luxury hotel to Ohana Real Estate Investors for $113 million. That’s $23 million less than Xenia paid for the property just four years ago.

The Boston Globe had this to say about the news:

“It’s a rare reversal in price for a trophy piece of Boston real estate, which for the most part has only gone up in value over the last decade. But it has been an unusual nine months in the real estate market, especially for hotels, whose bookings have evaporated amid a pandemic that has largely shut down both business and leisure travel.”

According to a report by hotel consulting firm Pinnacle Advisory Group, Boston has suffered the sharpest drop in business of any of the 25 largest hotel markets in the country. 

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Politics

Kimberly Budd sworn in as chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court

Kimberly Budd has been sworn in as Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice. Budd served on the SJC since 2016, where she has co-authored more than 85 decisions and has served on several judicial committees. Budd was unanimously confirmed by the Governor’s Council to lead the high court last month. 

Councilor Marilyn Devaney said during the Governor’s Council hearing last month:

“[Justice Budd] has all the attributes. She is compassionate. She has empathy. She has all the qualifications, and she has the demeanor and temperament that we need in that position.”

Budd replaces her mentor, the late chief justice Ralph Gants. She is the first Black woman to lead the high court. 

Read more at MassLive.com.

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Energy

Offshore Wind “Lynchpin” of Mass. Clean Energy Transition

Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides, the Baker administration’s top energy official, recently said at a conference of regional power generators, market regulators, and other energy experts that she expects offshore wind to be the “linchpin of the state’s clean energy transition.” That is according to a report in the Lowell Sun. 

However, she says the state will need help from the incoming Biden Administration in order to meet the state’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

Theoharides said: 

“To fully address the issues of climate change, we feel strongly we need every level of government working in this space and I am hopeful there will be increasingly emphasis on this in the new administration, but I have no doubts that it will continue to be a challenge given the politically divisive nature of climate action.” 

Also, according to the report, Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner, Republican Neil Chatterjee predicted that the Biden administration would bring renewed focus on climate and energy policy stating that it is “clear that energy and environmental policy issues are going to be top priorities for the incoming administration.” 

Chatterjee was recently demoted by President Donald Trump from chairman of FERC.

More Energy News

Cannabis Industry

This big news for the Massachusetts cannabis industry is global this week. 

First off, in an historic move, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the MORE Act by a vote of 228-164, largely along party lines. The measure goes beyond decriminalization “including several social and criminal justice measures that would help lift up the communities of color ravaged by the War on Drugs, while helping build an equitable cannabis industry in which the people of color disproportionately impacted by prohibition have a seat at the table,” says Rolling Stone. 

The bill must still run the Senate gauntlet and be signed by the president. Whether or not those things will come to pass are anyone’s guess. 

Second, The United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has removed Marijuana From its Most Strict Global Drug Category. The move, which was recommended by the UN-based World Health Organization, has U.S. Support. Cannabis, which has been on Schedule IV since 1961, is now a Schedule I controlled substance. 

Cannabis policy reform advocates say the move “demonstrates an evolution in how the international community views cannabis policy, as it formally recognizes the medical value of the plant and it could promote further research into its therapeutic potential.” 

Read more at industry news source Marijuana Moment. 

More Cannabis Industry News

COVID-19 News

We have quite a bit of news on the Covid-19 pandemic this week:

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A Peaceful Transition but More Work To Do

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While Democrats are rejoicing at President Trump’s defeat at the hands of Joe Biden, not everyone is happy with Biden’s seeming lack of concern for the wishes of the more progressive wing of the party. 

While former Senator John Kerry has been named Biden’s “Climate Czar,” it seems that presidential primary runner-ups Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders — both progressive Democrats — are being passed over for cabinet seats, the rationale being that their influence is more highly necessitated in the U.S. Senate. While that might be true, it’s still a huge disappointment to Warren and Sanders supporters. 

Meanwhile, the new wave of Covid-19 cases threatens to set the state back even farther than the first. Witness a massive drop in holiday travelers and the slow but inevitable decay of shopping malls in the state. 

Although malls were already on the skids as a result of the rise of online shopping, it seems that the pandemic has nailed the lid on the coffin not only for many of the state’s small businesses but also national brick-and-mortar retailers. Ironically, mall-killer Amazon.com is now taking over many of these shopping ghost towns and turning them into distribution and fulfillment centers including their latest takeover of the flagging Greendale Mall in Worcester - which was down to its last tenant.

Read on to learn more about all that, plus the results of Monday’s vote on marijuana delivery rules in this week’s news.

Politics News

Biden Snubs Warren and Sanders for Cabinet Seats

Under “normal” circumstances, runners-up in a presidential primary would be among the top contenders for cabinet seats under an incoming administration (ie President Barack Obama’s nomination of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State in 2008). However, circumstances are nowhere near normal in the 2020 race for political power in America. 

Although there was some speculation that Biden might bring second and third runner-up candidates — Vermont’s Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts’ Elizabeth Warren, both of whom expressed interest in joining Biden’s cabinet — it’s now looking like Biden would prefer that the two Senators from New England remain in the Senate. 

In an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt last Tuesday night, Biden stated:

“One thing is really critical: Taking someone out of the Senate, taking someone out of the House, particularly a person of consequence, is a really difficult decision that would have to be made. I have a very ambitious, very progressive agenda. And it’s going to take really strong leaders in the House and Senate to get it done.”

While Warren was reportedly eyeing the Treasury Secretary position, Sanders had his sights set on the Labor Secretary seat. Biden has officially chosen former Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen to head up the Treasury.

Although most within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party are ecstatic that Biden beat Trump, many are not pleased with Biden’s seeming propensity to favor moderates for his cabinet, claiming that the transition team seems more interested in courting Republicans (in the interest of unity and bipartisanship) than in nominating progressives. 

Read the report at Boston.com.

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Transportation News

After travel seemed to be on an upswing in Massachusetts — traffic and T ridership had been slowly but steadily increasing throughout the summer — a new surge of Covid-19 cases has put a damper on holiday travel in the Bay State and in Bean Town, especially. That is according to a report in the Boston Globe.

According to Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, MBTA subway ridership which had been nearing 140,000 daily riders in October, has slipped back to around 120,000. Similarly, bus ridership is down from nearly 180,000 daily trips to about 160,000. Traffic has also tapered off since peaking around Labor Day.

Pollack’s said in a recent statement:

“Given the surge, given the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and the governor and everyone else that people need to spend more time at home and not travel for Thanksgiving, we may well see a remaining fall and winter. From the perspective of the pandemic, that is a good thing.”

A similar slowdown in air travel is being attributed to the autumnal coronavirus surge with just under 150,000 travelers departing from six major airports in New England between Friday and Wednesday. That figure, according to a Patch.com report is down more than 70 percent from the same time period ahead of Thanksgiving last year.

Jennifer Mehigan, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Port Authority, has said that prior to the pandemic Logan International airport routinely saw between 120,000 and 140,000 travelers arriving and departing each day.

“Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday this year, the busiest day was Nov. 21, when 27,761 people traveled from the six airports. That was down from the busiest day ahead of Thanksgiving 2019, when 93,000 people traveled from the airports,” according to the Boston Globe’s report. 

According to the report, the decline in Thanksgiving travelers “was steeper in New England than in other parts of the country, where the decline in travelers was 60 percent.” 

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Energy News

President-Elect Joe Biden Taps John Kerry for “Climate Czar”

Former Secretary of State John Kerry has been tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to be the nation’s international climate czar. Kerry’s position is a first for the National Security Council.

Kerry, who served as secretary of state in the Obama administration, Tweeted:

“America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is. I’m proud to partner with the President-elect, our allies, and the young leaders of the climate movement to take on this crisis.”

In contrast to outgoing President Trump, Biden has signaled that he views climate change as a threat to the country’s national security.

Kerry was instrumental in negotiating the Paris Climate Accord which was nixed by Trump to the dismay of climate activists. Trump also rolled back numerous additional environmental and energy regulations instantiated by the Obama administration.

The Boston Globe has an extensive report on this story. 

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Business and Real Estate News

Amazon.com To Take Over Flagging Greendale Mall

As shopping malls across the nation continue to see a vast decline in foot traffic, online mega-retailer Amazon.com has been busy converting emptied malls into distribution and fulfillment centers. Now it looks as if the Greendale Mall in Worcester, which is down to a single tenant, is next.

The Greendale Mall will be the first major shopping center in New England to be converted into an industrial site. That is according to the national real estate firm CBRE which maintains that nationwide 13.8 million square feet of retail space has been converted into 15.5 million square feet of industrial space since 2017. 

While Amazon.com is responsible for a major decline in brick-and-mortar sales, a global pandemic seems to be collecting nails for the coffin. The only other major shopping mall in the city, the Galleria, closed in 2006 after a failed attempt at converting the property to a factory outlet mall.

The Worcester Business Journal has the scoop.

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Cannabis News

The Mass. Cannabis Control Commission has given final approval to new home delivery regulations. The new rules specify a delivery license framework and also include changes to the medical marijuana caregiver program.

Regulators said the new rules include an initial period of exclusivity for the state’s economic empowerment applicants and participants in the Social Equity Program are crucial to preventing monopolization of the new delivery sector.

Home delivery of marijuana was already allowed for medical marijuana dispensaries. Not everyone is happy with the new regulations. Some marijuana retailers have threatened to sue the CCC to prevent the implementation of the new policy.

Howard Cooper, an attorney with Todd & Weld LLP, wrote in a letter to regulators in mid-November:

“Put simply, the Commission’s adoption and implementation of the Proposed Regulation would be in direct contravention of its own governing and enabling statute which clearly and unambiguously states that only Marijuana Retailers, as defined in the statute, are [already] permitted to deliver cannabis products to consumers. Given the clarity of the law here, please understand that our clients will have no choice but to challenge the Commission’s Proposed Regulations in court if adopted. We write in hope of avoiding a legal dispute.”

CCC Chairman Steven Hoffman counters that the agency is acting within its authority. And Aaron Goines who advises the Massachusetts Cannabis Association said:

“Essentially, they want to own 100 percent of it or 80 percent or have as much control or influence over it as possible. That’s just not how the regulations are written, so get on board. Compete. You are not entitled to a clear runway of no competition in this country, it just doesn’t work like that.”

The new rules are expected to go into effect next year.

Learn more at MassLive.com. 

Massachusetts Among 10 Best Cannabis Business States in the US

Massachusetts has earned the number six spot on cannabis news publisher Greentrepreneur’s list of the “10 Best Places To Start A Cannabis Business in the US.” 

“Despite being the latest state to legalize recreational cannabis,” writes Tammy Taylor, “Massachusetts is quickly taking a prime position in the cannabis business world,” adding that now is the “perfect time to start your cannabis dispensary [in Mass.].”

Taylor points out that it can take under three months to be approved for a cannabis business license in the Bay State. “Aside from starting your dispensary, you can also consider supplying dispensaries and stores as the alternative,” writes Taylor.

Check out the full Top 10 list at Greentrepreneur.com.

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