The Beginning of the End

In this week’s top story, today marks the beginning of the end of emergency restrictions put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19 here in Massachusetts. The fourth and final stage of the state’s reopening plan is officially underway.

While several parts of the country are starting to see another spike in covid cases, things seem to be going a little more smoothly here in Massachusetts. So far three million vaccine doses have arrived in the Bay State and nearly 1 million Massachusetts residents have been fully vaccinated.  

Under Phase 4 rules, outdoor stadiums such as TD Garden and Fenway Park as well as convention halls can reopen under a 12 percent capacity limit. The limits will be eased over time if all goes as planned. (Nightclubs and amusement parks must remain closed.)

Not everyone is excited about the move. The Massachusetts Public Health Association unsuccessfully urged the governor to delay changes affecting indoor public venues. In a letter to Baker, MPHA Executive Director Carlene Pavlos called Baker’s decision “premature and reckless.” The letter pointed to the rise of more contagious variants of COVID-19, as well as the fact that the vaccination rate among people of color in Massachusetts has lagged disproportionately.

The other big news stories here in Massachusetts this week include the mail-in voting extension, the wrapup of the climate bill, another look at MBTA cuts, and ongoing investments by Google and cannabis conglomerate Cresco Labs into the Mass. economy. Let’s do this. 

Politics

Mail-in Voting Extended Through June 30

The right to vote has been getting tossed around like a rag doll lately. Lawmakers in several red states are working to make it harder to vote while the U.S. House works on a new voting rights bill to counter the trend. Now Gov. Charlie Baker, a red governor in a blue state, is one of the first governors in the U.S. to sign a bill (post election) aimed at making voting more accessible. The bill calls for an extension of mail-in-voting through June 30 among other measures. 

The legislation calls on local election officials to accommodate voters with disabilities “every way possible, to every extent possible.” 

MassLive.com has more on the story.

More Politics

• Gov. Baker shares 'sense of relief' with announcement of remaining vaccine timeline

• WALSH out, JANEY in — MAYORAL CANDIDATES have some breakfast fun — BOSTON’S path to reopening

• Mass. political trailblazer Betty Taymor celebrated at age 100

• US Department of Transportation's Phil McNamara traces political roots to Clinton childhood

Business

Tax Relief For Pandemic Assistance Imminent

Both the House and Senate have now passed legislation to forgo taxes technically due on pandemic relief money. Under current state law, companies such as LLCs, partnerships, independent contractors, sole proprietors and those who are self-employed would pay state income tax of 5% on any debts that are forgiven. If relief grants are considered to be “forgiven debts,” then the taxes due on loans totalling $6.5 billion would be around $325 million.

The good news: The bill helps thousands of businesses avert “potentially insurmountable” tax bills.

The bad news: NBC10 “crunched the numbers” and found about 70,000 of the roughly 118,000 businesses in Massachusetts that received PPP loans last year might still potentially be responsible to pay the 5% tax.

Lawmakers are expected to reconcile differences between the House and Senate bills this week. The governor is expected to sign the final version. 

Check out the report at NBC Boston for more details.

More Business

• Massachusetts Senate passes emergency paid sick leave bill, moves to House

• Massachusetts looks to push back tax filing deadline

• Mass. sports betting bill should be ‘national model,’ Senate President Spilka says

• Hundreds of millions in grants coming for Massachusetts bars and restaurants

• What does a future of remote work look like for Massachusetts?

Energy

Climate Bill Makes Its Way Back To Governor’s Desk

Hopefully this is the second to last time we talk about negotiations on the climate bill. If all goes well, next week’s report will cover Gov. Baker’s signing of the bill. After passing both the House and Senate now, the landmark climate legislation has been volleyed back to the governor’s desk with the majority of his suggested revisions in place. 

One of the requests — a requirement that emissions in 2030 be at least 50% lower than 1990 levels to a 45% target — was left out of the revised bill as was a proposed amendment that would strip some language from a new municipal building code that promotes "net-zero" construction.

Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington commented:

"If you compare Massachusetts and its emissions with emissions across the world or even across the United States, it's the differences that pop out in you… Transportation are 42% of the Massachusetts problem compared to 29% in the U.S. Buildings are 27% of our issue, compared to about 12% in the U.S. ... It's pretty clear why we put a special emphasis on lower emissions in this bill from transportation and buildings."

Unless you’ve been hiding under a manhole cover, you know the bill calls for Massachusetts to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

Solar Power World has a more detailed report on this story.

More Energy News

• Massachusetts' climate goals approach traffic jam

• Massachusetts lawmakers again approve climate change bill | Govt-and-politics | kenoshanews.com

• Goldberg: Innovation, not litigation can protect Mass. from climate change

• Report finds offshore wind can deliver 90% of American electricity demand, with Massachusetts showing most potential

• New Massachusetts Bill a Win for Equitable Climate Policy, Says Science Group

• Hydropower project faces more headwinds | Local News | gloucestertimes.com

• Agrivoltaics scores impressive triple win, but some food safety concerns remain

Transportation

Lawmakers Demand MBTA Make a U-Turn on Service Cuts

In previous newsletters, we’ve talked about how a drop in T ridership during the pandemic was causing a ballooning budget deficit that could hit $1.8 billion by 2026, and how the MBTA had begun implementing sweeping services cuts as a result. Now state and federal lawmakers are demanding that the MBTA make a U-turn on those measures citing the $1 billion in federal stimulus funds coming down the track. 

After working to pass a $1.9 trillion federal relief package meant to deal with all aspects of the crisis — including public transportation — the entire Massachusetts congressional delegation sent a letter to MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak asking him to either re-justify the cuts or reverse them. Among those signing on to the letter were U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark and State Sen. Joseph Boncore. 

Consumer advocates are also joining in on the chorus. Olivia Nichols, Transit Justice Organizer from GreenRoots had this to say:

"These cuts are completely unnecessary. The MBTA is receiving billions in funds from the federal government. Our Governor and the (Fiscal Management Control Board) should focus on using that money to reverse the cuts and to make the MBTA more affordable and accessible, instead of making it more difficult for our community members to get around."

The federal package promises an influx of $1 billion, while the planned service cuts would only save the T about $21 million this fiscal year.

Mass Transit has more on this story.

More Transportation News

• Changes go into effect for Massachusetts travelers

• Massachusetts, Vermont challenge Pan Am Railways deal

• The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to Conduct Safety Inspections

• Are free buses closer than they appear?

Real Estate

Google has announced plans to invest more than $7 billion and create at least 10,000 new full-time Google jobs across the United States this year, says Boston Real Estate Times. According to the report Google has extensive expansion plans here in the Bay State:

“Google has more than 1,900 employees in Massachusetts, and will continue to invest in its long-term presence in Cambridge. The company’s 3 Cambridge Center office (325 Main Street) under construction in Kendall Square will be opening next year, where Google will be occupying 14 floors in the  ground up building being redeveloped by Boston Properties.

In Cambridge, Google has employees working in sales, advertising, Android, YouTube, networking infrastructure, and Google Play. 

Since 2011 Google has donated $56M to nonprofits and schools in Massachusetts.

More Real Estate

• New vaccine timeline could prompt return to office buildings

• February home sales hit 17-year high in Mass.

• Google Announces Plans to Invest in Massachusetts This Year

• What to Expect From the Real Estate Market In 2021, With Real Estate Attorney and Broker, Andrew Delory

• Planning a return to the office? Boston's real estate firms never really left.

• Buyers snapping up area homes at premium prices, Foxboro-based realtors group says

Cannabis

Cresco Labs To Acquire Cultivate In $158 Million Deal

The buzz this week in Massachusetts cannabis news is Cresco Labs’ acquisition of Cultivate. The deal, valued at $90 million, plus a potential earn out of up to $68 million, puts Cresco into a Top 3 position in the race to dominate the Mass cannabis industry. 

With the acquisition of Cultivate, Cresco will receive approximately 42,000 sq. ft. of flowering canopy. The company also has plans for a 20,000 sq. ft. expansion. Cultivate also operates two dispensaries with a third under development. 

Charles Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs had this to say about the deal:

“At the precipice of a transformational moment in U.S. cannabis, now is the time to further our leadership in the country’s largest and most important markets. Through this acquisition, Cresco Labs will immediately vault to a top 3 share position in Massachusetts, the third $1B+ cannabis market where we’ve achieved this status.”

Bachtell told Benzinga that no outside financial advisors were used for the transaction:

"We’ve spent a lot of time developing our internal M&A and integration teams, and part of the reason is we wanted to be able to source deals and vet them ourselves so should we move forward we already have a deep understanding of the company and what it takes to integrate in to our existing model.”

Massachusetts did nearly $1B in total retail sales in 2020 with a whopping $83.4M in adult use sales for the 4 weeks ending 3/7/21. 

Cresco has a footprint in five other states as well – Arizona, Illinois, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

The Cultivate deal isn’t expected to close until the fourth quarter of 2021.

Read all about it at MJ Business Daily.

More Cannabis News

• Massachusetts Hemp Producers Left in Limbo as They Await Relief from Cannabis Market

• Massachusetts-based Curaleaf launches new ‘THC-infused beverage enhancer’

• GrowGeneration acquires Aquarius in Massachusetts' cannabis market

• Curaleaf Donates Thousands for Veteran Causes

Congress Rescues America But Work Isn't Done

The worldwide story this week is the $1.9 trillion-with-a-T federal COVID relief bill, “The American Rescue Act” — and it’s a stunning achievement for a Democratic Congress. Springfield Democrat Rep. Richard Neal who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee called the package “seismic” and “monumental.”

The bill, signed one year after Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency, marks the first time state governments have been promised any direct federal pandemic relief. Although the federal government already sent more than $61 billion in aid to Massachusetts since the pandemic began, much of that money went directly to businesses, families, non-profits, and regional transit authorities. Massachusetts’ share of the 2021 Rescue Act adds up to about 10 percent of the total state budget in new available spending.

Among other things, the new funds will help boost vaccination efforts, offer rental assistance, and restaurant relief. Massachusetts state government and municipalities can expect to receive more than $8.1 billion in aid:

• $4.513 billion for the state

• $3.415 for city, county, and other local government aid

• $174 million in capital project funding

• Americans earning less than $80,000 a year will receive payments of up to $1,400. 

• $300-per-week federal unemployment benefits are extended through early September

Child tax credits and deductions will also see a substantial increase.

In a desperate gamble, Republicans (who unanimously voted against the bill) are painting the mega-measure as a socialist’s dream that will neither help stem the tide of the pandemic nor spur economic growth. However, given the size of this package, it’s highly likely to have a major impact on the economy. And if that happens, the GOP knows they are going to have a much tougher time taking back the reins in Congress come November 2022.

Regardless of the total lack of Republican support, Washington Democrats aren’t stopping. Next on their plate is a gargantuan infrastructure bill. We’ll keep you posted on that.

NBC Boston and CBS Local both have reports explaining how the funds will be used in Mass.

Meanwhile, in other news... 

Politics

Gov. Baker’s Approval Rating Takes a Nosedive

Last week we told you how, despite the economic turmoil and somewhat botched vaccine rollout in Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker’s approval rating stood head and shoulders above other U.S. Governors. 

Well, according to the governor, among the 25 states that have more than 5 million residents, Mass. is number one per-capita for both the first dose and total doses administered. “We’ve first-dosed 74 percent of our individuals that are over the age of 75, and almost half of those over the age of 65 have received at least one dose as well,” he claimed. 

So now that things are improving, wouldn’t you know it, Baker’s approval is falling. Approval of Baker’s handling of the crisis dropped noticeably from mid-January to March, according to a recent survey.

Boston.com reports:

According to a survey released Friday by researchers at Northeastern, Harvard, Rutgers, and Northwestern universities, Baker has seen a gradual decline in residents’ perceptions of his handling of the COVID-19 response — from a “remarkably high” 80 percent approval last April to 59 percent as of March 1.

Northeastern University professor David Lazer believes the vaccine rollout glitches — which got a ton of bad media coverage — are the main cause of the drop in approval. “I think he’s taken a hit as a result,” Lazer told The Boston Globe.

Meanwhile, the state unveiled a new COVID vaccine pre-registration website Friday which is expected to be operational in the very near future.

Oh. And the climate bill has passed the Senate. Again. As has the extension of mail-in voting through June.

More Politics

• House Democrats draw the line: No bipartisan cooperation with Republicans who questioned the election

Business

Phase 4 Reopening

Assuming all goes well, Massachusetts is expected to move onto the fourth and final phase of reopening next week. Under Phase 4, indoor and outdoor stadiums, arenas, ballparks, and convention halls will be permitted to operate at 12% capacity. However, in order to do so, each venue must submit their plan to the DOH.

Not everyone is pleased with the plan. Some public health experts are afraid moving too quickly is a gamble. And the city of Boston has not committed to moving into Phase 4 on March 22.

Last month, before moving into Phase 3, Mayor Marty Walsh had this to say:

"Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Boston has taken a cautious approach to reopening. We've prioritized the health and safety of our residents, and we've made decisions based on the latest public health data and metrics. We've only moved forward when it's safe."

Nonetheless, TD Garden and Fenway Park have all notified fans they will be opening their gates soon, as did Gillette Stadium.

For more details check out this piece by NBC Boston.

Also welcome news for Mass. businesses affected by emergency measures, the House passed a bill to waive taxes on PPP loans. 

The Herald has more on that story. 

More Business

• What business owners should know about the Massachusetts COVID relief bill that offers help to PPP recipients - masslive.com

• Massachusetts jobless rate inches down in January; labor force participation unchanged - masslive.com

• Mass. sports betting bill should be ‘national model,’ Senate President Spilka says

• MGM Springfield generated more than $16M in gaming revenue in February

• Massachusetts jobless rate inches down in January; labor force participation unchanged - masslive.com

• These businesses violated Massachusetts COVID-19 rules. Then the state gave them $1.4 million

• These Massachusetts Businesses Pivoted to Survive the Pandemic

• Mass. Franchise Law Reform tested: Jack's Abby seeks termination, distributor says it's 'unconstitutional'

Energy

Climate Bill Volleyed Back to the House

The Mass. Senate has passed a revised climate policy bill on to the House including the vast majority of Gov. Baker’s wish list. However, risking another veto, the bill does not address Baker's most meaningful proposals such as the requirement that emissions in 2030 be at least 50% lower than 1990 levels. 

About the bill, Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington said: 

"Global warming is generating large-scale spectacles — fire in California, floods in the Midwest, freezing infrastructure in Texas — but this particular legislation is not about mega-events. It's about dealing with our business, our everyday climate business right here at home. If you compare Massachusetts and its admissions with emissions across the world or even across the United States, it's the differences that pop out in you… Transportation are 42% of the Massachusetts problem compared to 29% in the U.S. Buildings are 27% of our issue, compared to about 12% in the U.S. ... It's pretty clear why we put a special emphasis on lower emissions in this bill from transportation and buildings."

The overarching theme of the bill as we all know is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the state by 2050. 

Sen. Ryan Fattman, a Sutton Republican, cast the lone vote of dissent.

Read more about the climate bill at WBUR.

More Energy News

• Bill would mandate rooftop solar on new homes and commercial buildings

• What experts say about frozen turbines, wind energy in MA after Texas

• Mass. starts round three of bidding for offshore wind energy contracts

• Biden looks to boost offshore wind energy with Mass. project as a model

• The Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target program works. Here’s why

• Solar farm spanning across 200 acres proposed for Western Massachusetts community

• Customers of Starion Energy will receive refunds as part of $10-million settlement

• A Triple-Decker For The 21st Century: Airtight And Solar-Powered

• Tom Steyer on clean energy: It’s where the big money is going

Transportation

MBTA Cuts Services Despite $2 Billion in Federal Aid

Facing potential budget deficits of as much as $400 million, and despite an estimated $1.1 billion in federal aid and another $850 million coming down the pike — so to speak — MBTA service cuts took effect this weekend. 

Under the new schedules, bus routes with high ridership serving “transit-critical communities” will not change. However, many other bus roots will be curtailed. Also service frequency is being reduced by 20% on the Red, Orange and Green Lines, and by up to 5% on the Blue Line.

Julia Wallerce, Boston program manager at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, called the cuts “deeply disappointing and concerning.” She said:

“The particularly disturbing part is that it will have received about $2 billion in federal aid. To be fair, the T does need every dollar it can get. As a state, we don’t fund mass transit sufficiently. But the T is using relief money intended to fund service today and putting it for service tomorrow because it doesn’t know if it’ll have enough money in the future.”

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo claims that ridership on the Red, Green and Orange Lines is only seeing one quarter of the foot traffic seen before the coronavirus pandemic. Also, Blue Line ridership is less than one third what it used to be. And bus ridership is currently at about 40% that of pre-COVID levels.

In an email to WCVB, Pesaturo said:

“Through thoughtful service planning and proper management of the federal COVID relief assistance, the MBTA can keep itself on a sustainable path for the next two to three fiscal years. The MBTA will continue to carefully track ridership levels throughout the system, and if there is a need to restore service in certain areas, the T will have the ability to do that.”

More Transportation News

• Report: Transportation Improvements Needed Across State

• Road repair work slowed by labor competition

• 'Little relief' ahead for rising gas prices

• TCI Program Established to Reduce Carbon Emissions From Transportation

Real Estate

Competition Announced to Make Triple Deckers More Energy Efficient

In the face of a potential global crisis, technology competitions are all the rage. Elon Musk’s recent call for carbon sequestration tech proposals is just one example. 

Now, a competition run by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and funded by the Barr Foundation is being wrapped up here in Massachusetts. The idea of the contest was to spur innovative ideas to make the state’s approximately 1,700 triple-decker apartment buildings more energy efficient. 

A report by Energy News describes the iconic building: 

The multifamily houses known as triple-deckers, or sometimes “three-deckers,” have attracted attention as part of Massachusetts’ attempts to slash emissions from building sources, which are responsible for about 27% of the state’s greenhouse gases. Constructed in the late 1800s and into the 1930s, triple-deckers were designed to provide rental housing to the waves of immigrants coming into the region. Each building had three roughly identical units — one per floor — as well as a flat roof and windows on all four sides. Most also include porches or balconies on each level...

Now a classic building type in eastern Massachusetts, triple-deckers were considered a triumph of their time, packing many residents into a relatively small space, while still giving them plenty of airflow, sunlight, and privacy… Today, some 17,000 remain, though many still sport drafty windows, oil-burning heating systems, and little or no insulation.

The triple decker upgrade contest is the first phase of a multiyear effort. Planned for later this year, the next phase includes funding for demonstration projects using the concepts generated by the design competition, and the third phase would provide incentives for widespread retrofits.

The winners will receive $25,000. A people’s choice awardee and runners-up will get $15,000 each. The contest received 14 entries. 

More Real Estate

• Massachusetts Enacts State Zoning Law Amendments Designed To Encourage Housing Development - Real Estate and Construction - United States

• 'Taxachusetts' no more? To some, Massachusetts is a bargain

• Can Multifamily Projects Succeed Outside the Urban Core?

• Massachusetts' largest employers are making return-to-office plans a year after Covid hit

• Custom house sells to Steve Wynn for $49 million deed

• Cornerstone Arranges $3.43 Million for the Acquisition of an Apartment Property in Taunton

• Zillow faces antitrust suit over change to real estate listings

• Blackstone Real Estate Completes Acquisition of Premier Lab Office Portfolio from Brookfield Fund

• Tanimura & Antle Announces the Acquisition of Boston, Massachusetts, based Green City Growers

Cannabis

Boston-based startup Zip Run is on track to become the first adult-use marijuana delivery service in Massachusetts.

According to a report by THC Net, the company, founded in 2020, “is taking a multi-pronged approach to cannabis delivery that it believes will also enable others to cash in on the so-called ‘green rush.’”

Zip Run will initially focus on delivering cannabis from its Dorchester warehouse to customers in the Greater Boston and Western Massachusetts areas. In order to operate, the company must acquire both Marijuana Courier and Marijuana Delivery Operator licenses. These licenses are exclusively available to social equity applicants for a minimum of three years. The warehouse won’t be licensed and operational until this summer.

In a conversation with THCnet, co-founder and CEO Gabriel said Zip Run is planning to license its e-commerce platform to other social-equity-qualified cannabis entrepreneurs across the country.

Vieira says:

“Our bread and butter will be the delivery operations here in Massachusetts. But I feel like if we didn’t use our tech for the greater good, and license it out to other social equity members, we would essentially be giving up on them… Other tech platforms within the cannabis industry feel more like a directory, and I wanted to change that. We're taking a more consumer-friendly approach. We allow customers to shop by moods and give users that don’t have much experience in cannabis the ability to understand the value and the meaning of what cannabis can bring… If we market ourselves the right way, get ourselves in with the right crowd, and build a strong presence in Massachusetts, that will propel us to the next level and allow us to secure partnerships in other states.”

In order to help launch the business, Viera and partners raised $365,000 from friends and family, and are currently seeking licenses in Boston.

More Cannabis News

• Bill would authorize legal cannabis lounges in Massachusetts

• Massachusetts cannabis industry mostly white as diversity plans draw scrutiny - Boston Business Journal

• Kosher cannabis is on the menu at 253 Farmacy in Turners Falls - masslive.com

• Want to enter the cannabis industry? This dispensary plans to offer a roadmap in educational seminar

• Locally owned cannabis seltzer company opens for business

• Cape Cod, Nantucket pot: 4 new marijuana businesses get state approval

• Framingham Cannabis Ice Cream Business Gets Final OK

• Turning Leaf Centers dispensary will open on Monday

• Hero Technologies Retains Top Cannabis Law Firm for Strategic Initiatives in Massachusetts

Fighting On

We have two thrilling bouts on the fight card this week — voting rights and carbon taxes  — both highly partisan topics. Democrats want to extend mail-in voting. Republicans, not so much. Democrats love the idea of carbon taxes (except maybe for POTUS). And most Republicans could do without them. 

However, both parties are in agreement on the need to address one small problem facing 13,000 small businesses that have received pandemic relief grants — actually, it’s a $175 million problem. More on that below.

In other exciting news, five Massachusetts communities are among Expertise.com’s list of the top ten safest communities in the U.S. And the legal cannabis industry continues to eat into black-market marijuana sales and bring MJ states badly needed tax revenues.  

And, as usual, we have a plethora of curated news links related to politics, business, energy, transportation, and real estate. There’s something here for everyone. 

Let us begin.

Politics

Mass. GOP Puts Brakes on Voting Bill

Republican lawmakers are on a tare to roll back voting rights. Considering the Republican party has lost the popular vote for seven out of the past eight presidential elections, who can blame them for pushing back at initiatives that make it easier for folks to vote?

Case in point: Vote-by-mail provisions originally put into place to slow the spread of Covid-19 are slated to expire at the end of March. Democrats would like to extend the measure through June 30. House Democrats had the bill in the fast lane when they were pulled over by four Republicans — Sen. Ryan Fattman and Reps. Marc Lombardo, Shawn Dooley, and Nicholas Boldyga — who charged that the extension of voting-by-mail needs to slow down a bit.

In a letter to House Speaker Ronald Mariano, the four GOP Senators requested that the body hear testimony from the public and receive data from officials such as the secretary of state before rushing to conclusions. Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues agreed to give until Monday morning before the gavel to hear testimony

Fattman had this to say about the maneuver:

“Our concern was that it seemed to be moving a little bit quickly without really knowing what we were trying to achieve. I think most people say, OK, if a municipality needs to move their election because they’re concerned, we respect that. But there’s a lot of towns that I represent, and many across the commonwealth, that are fearful that they may have to pay for a lot of this.”

Then, brilliantly, Rodrigues raised the stakes. He implied that Dems want to make the measures permanent with this comment:

“[Sen. Fattman] raises some good points about long-term considerations on whether or not we should make these election vote-by-mail or early voting opportunities available long-term, post-pandemic. And we will have full, open debate and discussion on those issues.”

Then the Republican Party tried to reposition the affront by framing the move as “standing up for the voters.“  The statement called House Minority Leader Brad Jones, a co-sponsor of the bill, “complicit with House Democrats in the scheme to shield the proposal from the public.”

By the time you read this, there will almost certainly be more news on the issue. 

Here’s the report from MassLive.com.

More Politics

• Jeffrey Turco Wins Democratic Primary To Succeed DeLeo In Special Election Primary

• With A Focus On Inequality, Democrat Ben Downing Starts His Campaign For Governor

• Mitt Romney got a black eye in Boston this weekend

• No plans to raise taxes in Massachusetts this year, Senate President Karen Spilka says

• VIDEO: How a Biden Presidency Might Change Massachusetts

Business

Small Businesses May Be On the Hook For $175 Million Tax Bill

Another $39.7 million in COVID relief grants has been doled to 1,026 Mass. businesses. The much-welcomed allowances are coming out of a $668 million business relief fund set up in December, plus a $50.8 million fund announced in October. This brings the grand total so far after nine months to over $602 million awarded to 13,346 businesses.

The grants are being handed out by Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC). This is the ninth round of COVID relief grants offered by MGCC.

• Grants went to 280 restaurants, bars, caterers, or food trucks.

• 207 personal services businesses received funds.

• 153 independent retailers benefited.

• 295 minority-owned businesses got grants.

• 406 women-owned businesses did as well.

• 295 recipients are located in Gateway Cities.

• 329 businesses had not received any prior aid. 

Ironically, unless something is done to change it, tens of thousands of struggling Massachusetts small businesses will be on the hook for millions in taxes on various state and federal grants. In total, Mass. small businesses received  $14 billion in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020 putting the potential tax bill at about $175 million.

Fortunately, however, there is hope as these revenues were not included in Gov. Baker’s 2021 budget. And according to Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan, the Baker administration hopes to waive taxes on all state and certain federal relief grants.

Some states have already waived taxes on relief monies. 

MassLive.com has more on this story. 

More Business

• Massachusetts is planning to have around half of state employees telework permanently

• Small Business Owners Across Mass. Express Frustrations Securing PPP Loans

• Sports betting bills pile up on Beacon Hill: What would legalization look like in Mass?

• https://businesswest.com/blog/business-confidence-rises-again-in-february/

• As Massachusetts prepares for final phase of reopening, businesses warn recovery 'is not going to be flicking a switch'

• Massachusetts ranks first in hourly earnings growth among small business, report says

• Securing COVID-19 Insurance for Massachusetts Small Businesses

• Egg industry warns of shortage in Mass. without legislative action

Energy

Lawmakers Propose Carbon Tax On Transportation and Heating Fuels

A proposal to charge a carbon tax on transportation and heating fuel is in the House. Revenues resulting from the Green Future Act (HD 1972) would help fund local climate projects as well help the state achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Advocates of the plan say would bring in more than half a billion dollars in annual revenue to be split between lower-income households, displaced fossil fuel workers, and cities and towns for projects that would reduce carbon emissions.

Carbon taxes are not a new idea in Mass. The state already participates in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which requires power plants to pay for the carbon they produce. And proposals for carbon taxes on fuels have been tabled in the past — although they’ve been short on details. 

However, the new proposal goes into greater detail on how the program would be administered.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. William Driscoll Jr. explains that “[The bill is] pretty comprehensive in terms of not only trying to drive the policy change but also putting a revenue source behind it. It helps to lay out the path forward to how we’re going to decarbonize.”

Energy News has a comprehensive report on this story.

More Energy News

• Bills Would Require Rooftop Solar on Mass. Buildings — ecoRI News

• Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund experiencing increase in application

• In Massachusetts, utility's community solar plan leaves developers skeptical

• Stem Inc solar-storage project on Massachusetts landfill site will play into New England ISO markets

• MIT Spinoff To Build Commercial Fusion Energy Campus In Devens

• WHITE HOUSE: Biden's new climate adviser: 'We're all dealing with plan B'

• Electric supplier, Starion Energy, Inc., agrees to $10M settlement with Mass. AG’s office

Transportation

MassDOT has awarded more than $2.8 million in grants under the Shared Winter Streets and Spaces program which provides technical and funding assistance to help Massachusetts cities and towns “conceive, design and implement tactical changes to curbs, streets and parking areas in support of public health, safe mobility and renewed commerce, with a special focus on the challenges of winter,” writes Mass Transit Mag. 

The report continues:

“The Shared Winter Streets and Spaces program provides grants as small as $5,000 and as large as $500,000 for municipalities to quickly launch changes for safer walking, biking, public transit, recreation, commerce and civic activities. These improvements can be intentionally temporary or can be pilots of potentially permanent changes. MassDOT says it is particularly focused on projects that respond to the current public health crisis and provide safe mobility for children, for elders, to public transportation and to open space and parks...

A total of 17 municipalities and two public transit authorities have received funding for 19 projects. The article in Mass Transit spells out exactly how each of the municipalities plans to use the funds. 

More Transportation News

• Changes coming to MBTA subway, bus schedules this month

• MassDOT, other city and state agencies announce Kosciuszko Circle/Morrissey Boulevard planning study to improve mobility and climate resiliency

• Route 1 And 1A Transportation Survey Launch In Town Of Sharon

• Neponset Valley Transportation Survey Available

• Regional plan to cut emissions from road vehicles on track

Real Estate

Commonwealth Boasts 5 of Top 10 Safest Communities Nationwide

Expertise.com has listed five Mass. communities in its list of the Top 10 safest cities and towns in America. According to Boston Real Estate Times, each city was evaluated based on the number of violent crimes, other crimes to persons, and other crimes to property per 1,000 residents. 

Top 10 Safest Cities and Towns in America

1. Wayland, MA

2. Frederick, CO

3. Weston, CT

4. Clinton, MA

5. Sagamore Hills, OH

6. Newtown, CT

7. Madison, CT

8. Franklin, MA

9. Medway, MA

10. Hopkinton, MA

Researchers at Expertise.com used data from the FBI’s 2019 National Incident-Based Reporting System to come up with the ranking. 

Read all about it.

More Real Estate

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• Largest Residential Real Estate Firms in Massachusetts - Boston Business Journal

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• Worcester is the City With the Most Young Apartment Dwellers in Massachusetts

• Jumbo Capital Sells Andover Collection to Rhino Capital Advisors for $27.4 Million

• This is How Much a Typical Home Costs in Massachusetts

Cannabis

The Cannabiz Is Booming

Some of the fastest-growing industries of modern times — desktop computers, the internet, cell phones, etc. — all had to start from zero customers and weave their way into society. Today, of course, those industries are ubiquitous and have seen phenomenal growth. But it took decades. 

Cannabis presents a totally different situation. Both the supply and demand were there before marijuana was legalized in 36 states in the form of a massive illicit market. Now, just a few years into the Green Rush, a good chunk of that revenue stream is being rerouted through the U.S. economy. And according to industry market analysts BDSA, U.S. cannabis markets are booming. 

Here are some facts and figures to back that up:

• Nationwide, marijuana sales passed the $17.5 billion mark, a 46% increase from 2019.

• Before 2020 was over we had 14 adult-use states and 36 offering medical marijuana. Massachusetts, of course, offers both.

• California’s cannabis market grew 28.6% from a year ago.

• Colorado grew 35.5%.

• Oregon grew 48.2%, respectively.

• Florida has surpassed 500K MMJ patients up 55% from a year ago and saw a $473 million increase

• Illinois rose by $784 million to cross the $1 billion marker.

• About 30% of consumers said they shop for cannabis products more often.

• 25% say their cannabis usage has increased since before the pandemic.

• Cannabis deliveries increased 25%.

“We think one of the biggest drivers of legal cannabis market growth is the shift from the illicit market,” writes New Cannabis Ventures publisher Alan Brochstein: 

“The pandemic proved to be very helpful on this front, as states which had previously not permitted delivery or curbside pickup did so, and this changed the market in a big way. Consumers can now order cannabis online the same way they order other goods, something the illicit market can’t match. The very solid growth in mature Western states, especially for flower, is a sign that the legal market is continuing to convert illicit market consumers.”

There’s still room to grow. Illicit cannabis sales are still estimated to be over $100 billion. By 2026, the U.S. legal cannabis market is expected to reach $41 billion, or about the same size as the craft beer industry.

There are three reasons this is exciting news. For one, as we mentioned, all that money that was going to criminals is now flowing through the U.S. economy. For another, U.S. MJ states are raking in badly needed tax revenue. And finally, states that have legalized and decriminalized marijuana are saving vast sums of money and human resources on law enforcement — resources that can now be redirected into more pressing matters. 

Forbes has more on BDSA’s report and the growth of the U.S. cannabis industry. 

More Cannabis News

• The Massachusetts Cannabis Industry Is A Billion Dollar Marketplace

• Hero Technologies Forms Subsidiary for Massachusetts Acquisitions; Total Massachusetts Cannabis Sales Surpassed $1 Billion in 2020-Market Growing Fast

• Massachusetts Community College Offers Cannabis Training

• Curaleaf Hanover and Frank's Friends Partner to Offer Cannabis Discounts to HIV/AIDS Patients

• Marijuana union organizing surging amid pandemic, uptick in labor peace requirements

• Marijuana Microbe Test in Massachusetts Is Unnecessary and Counterproductive

• TILT Holdings Inc. Receives Approval for Additional Cultivation Expansion at its Massachusetts Cultivation and Manufacturing Facility

Running Underwater

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.

More Politics

• Massachusetts Republican nominated for top campaign finance job

• Massachusetts House seeks to extend mail-in voting through June

• Mass. driver’s license bill has ‘momentum’ to pass despite COVID-19, opposition

• Healey, Kennedy Pull Endorsements Of State Rep Candidate Tino Capobianco Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations

• Massachusetts COVID vaccine appointment vendor PrepMod billed state for $500,000

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.

More Business

• Massachusetts businesses celebrate reopening; public health experts warn it's 'too early' to ease restrictions

• Justice Dept. to appeal judge’s order on eviction moratorium

• Adam Gomez, Orlando Ramos introduce bill to allow sports betting at small Massachusetts businesses 

• MA bill would require insurance to pay business interruption claims

• 'A Huge Lifeline': COVID Restrictions Eased For Massachusetts Restaurants

• Massachusetts lawmaker renews push for online sports betting 

• Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce reflects on work throughout pandemic 

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.

More Energy News

• How Reliable Is Your Massachusetts Power Provider?

• In Wake of Texas Crisis, Advocates Say State Must Require Utilities Prepare For Climate Change

• Massachusetts EV Subsidy 'Isn't Enough,' Energy Office Says

• Long-duration ‘pumped heat energy storage’ startup Malta raises US$50 million in Series B round

• Malta's energy storage tech to stabilize electricity grids reliant on renewables gets $50 million

• An aggressive market-driven model for US fusion power development

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.

More Transportation News

• MA lawmakers will consider making public transportation free on election day

• MBTA won't cut off late-night commuter rail riders

• Mass. engineering firms find reasons for optimism for 2021 

• New transportation funding trends are worthy of note

• Exit renumbering project moves to parts of I-95 starting Thursday night

• MBTA announces closure of South Attleboro Station until further notice

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.

More Real Estate

• Massachusetts home sales remain robust in January

• US home prices jumped the most in 7 years in December as the housing-market boom charged into the new year, Case-Shiller says

• Here's to Hoping Inventory Will Rebound

• Ironstone Farm's Challenge Unlimited earns 10-year Cummings Grant

• Has COVID Mover's Remorse Already Set in?

• Brightcove to reduce its office space by half

• 3D Printed Home Technologies Scaling Up Around the World

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.

More Cannabis News

• Mass. marijuana has to be ultra-sterile. Just one problem: It's a plant

• This Massachusetts activist wants cannabis companies to sign an equity pledge

• Massachusetts extends medical cannabis telehealth sign-ups during pandemic

• Massachusetts Bill Seeks Cannabis Social Equity Fund & Loan Forgiveness

• IRS wants cannabis biz to access banks

• Buds N Roses cannabis shop opens on Main Street

• Cannabis-infused beverage sales up 40%, helped by consumers seeking convenient products

• AmeriCann's Massachusetts Joint Venture Partner Launches Adult Use Sales

• Gov. Lamont pushing proposal to legalize marijuana in CT

• Pittsfield Bans Future Outdoor Commercial Weed Cultivation

More of the Latest Massachusetts News

• Coronavirus pandemic has caused food insecurity in Massachusetts to soar

Still One of the Most Popular Governors in America

Governor Charlie Baker is “pissed off” about how the state’s vaccine rollout is going. And he’s taking a lot of heat for it — apparently enough to set his hair aflame. But not enough, evidently, to burn his bridges as his approval rating remains amongst the highest in the nation for a sitting governor. 

In his defense, the governor says the job is a lot harder than he thought it would be. No one (except Bill Gates, apparently) was expecting a global pandemic would knock us on our collective aft. On the other hand, you would think that with his executive experience in healthcare operations we’d be in ship-shape by now. 

Anyway, the point is that even in this ship storm, the Unsinkable Charlie Baker — now being called “Teflon Charlie” by some — seems to be coming out of the storm relatively unscathed. 

But why does Massachusetts still love Teflon Charlie? All aboard for this story and more fascinating facts in this week’s news. 

Politics

“Teflon Charlie” Still Unsinkable

“My hair’s on fire about the whole thing. I can’t begin to tell you how pissed off I am.” So said Mass. Gov. Charlie in an interview with GBH about his frustration with the state’s swamped Covid-19 vaccination website. The Thursday morning shipwreck of vaxfinder.mass.gov lasted hours as disappointed residents piled onto the site. (To make matters worse, the state’s senior hotline was also down.)

The state’s slow and confusing vaccination rollout has the governor under fire from lawmakers, business owners, and residents alike.  Business leaders are angry over closures for non-essential businesses. And conservatives are still protesting the mask mandate. And progressives say he was too slow to offer testing in Black and brown communities. State leaders have even called for an inquiry into the vaccination rollout.

Baker’s thoughts on the heat he’s been taking:

“I think sometimes in the swordplay of politics, what’s really going on with regular people kind of gets lost. I have a job that’s way more complicated than I thought it was going to be. People have all sorts of thoughts on how well I’m doing or how well I’m not doing. That is nothing compared to people who’ve lost everything just because they were on the wrong side of the COVID arc. It’s important for us in public life to remember that.”

Indeed, Baker has been facing the perfect storm since taking office. 

Despite the controversy, Baker, a Republican, remains well-liked amongst voters in this mostly blue state. A poll published this week (but conducted last month) indicated a 74% approval rating and a 20% disapproval rating. However, MPG President Steve Koczela wrote that voters seemed largely unaware that at one point Massachusetts was lagging behind most of the country in vaccine distribution. (We has since closed the gap somewhat.) 

Baker is also widely favored to win reelection if he chooses to run for a third term in 2022. And none of the state’s most popular Democrats has shown any interest in challenging Baker.

Baker’s approval ratings have been floating around the 70% mark for his entire term. And some polls have shown Baker to be the country's most popular governor. In fact, 89% of likely Democratic primary voters approved of Baker’s performance.

All things considered, Baker has a lot going in his favor. Despite the pandemic, the state’s economy remains strong. Moreover, Baker has maintained a solidly progressive stance on issues such as gay and transgender rights, abortion rights, and cannabis policy reform. 

Another reason most would like to see Baker remain in office is that the liberal legislature and conservative executive branch bring balance to the state’s political agendas. Many state lawmakers feel that Baker has been fair. Speaker of the House, Ronald Mariano, says Baker has “probably worked with the Legislature better than any governor.” 

According to a report by WBUR, Baker has “mastered being the non-political politician.” Baker, writes the author, “exudes moderation and borderline nerdiness, while his lack of conservative ardor angers many rank-and-file of his own party.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. 

Check out the links below for more on this topic. 

• Massachusetts Gov. Baker retains favorable rating amid vaccine rollout, MassINC poll says

• Charlie Baker Has Made Plenty Of Mistakes. Why Is He Still So Popular?

• ‘Pissed off’ Gov. Baker says his ‘hair is on fire’ as officials scramble to fix COVID website

More Politics

• Could Massachusetts actually, ‘finally’ pass same-day voter registration?

Business

Black and Latino Business Left Behind

Ethnic diversity has been increasing in Massachusetts for quite some time. But the number of black and brown business owners has not. According to a report by WGBH:

“Black and Latino people now make up more than a fifth of the state's population but own just over 3% of businesses with employees — less than half the national rate of Black and Latino business ownership, according to a U.S. Census survey of entrepreneurs released in 2018… even worse in the construction and design industries… The reports commissioned by DCAMM found a significant disparity between minority firms available to do the work and the percentages actually receiving contracts from state agencies, according to the report.”

Malia Lazu, a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management told GBH: 

“We're an exceptional state. We're a wealthy state. Our numbers should look better than they do. Mayors and the governor really need to incentivize how to hold people accountable. You have to feed the supply side of creating businesses.”

Accessing capital appears to be the biggest barrier facing Black and Latino small businesses. “However,” says GBH, “many Black and Latino-led companies are reticent to apply for loans — and when they do, they experience much higher rates of rejection than white male applicants, according to recent studies by the Federal Reserve.”

Read this eye-opening and informative report in its entirety at WGBH.org.

More Business

• Massachusetts officials seek study on ‘reset’ of work after the pandemic

• Rating agency sees Massachusetts savings drawdown as 'moderate'

• Largest Women-Owned Businesses in Massachusetts

• Massachusetts banks await return of business loans after COVID drives savings, mortgages

Energy

MOR-EV Program Offering up to $90,000 Rebates on Purchase of Electric Trucks

Truckers, trucking companies, and truck lovers everywhere, if you’re interested in going electric, listen up. 

Massachusetts and 14 other states made a pact last year to slash greenhouse gas emissions from trucks. As a result, beginning next week, buyers of private, commercial, and government fleet vehicles will be eligible for rebates ranging from $7,500 for pickup trucks up to $90,000 for tractor-trailer trucks. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources has allocated $10 million for the program. 

The MOR-EV program which began offering EV rebates in 2014 ran out of funding in 2019. However, in 2020 and 2021, the Baker administration pumped $54 million into the program. The goal of the program is to have 30% percent of new truck and bus sales to be zero-emission by 2030, and 100% by 2050.

Don’t lollygag. Rebate amounts will decrease over time. 

Learn more at MORev.org.

More Energy News

• Massachusetts solar installers form unique alliance to address installer shortage

• Biden administration taps another Mass. energy expert, Phil Giudice

• New Jersey and Massachusetts announce millions in EV funding

• Highland Electric Transportation raises $253M to accelerate electrification of school fleets

• Maryland releases long-awaited climate plan

• America's Electrical Grid Has A Transmission Problem -- How To Move Electricity From Here To There?

• Activists Urge Gov. Baker To Reverse Energy Rules That Boost Biomass

• Andrew Ahern: 'Who's delaying climate action in Massachusetts?'

Transportation

Gov Baker Signs $16 billion Transportation Bond Bill…Again

The ink is probably by now dry on the $16-billion transportation bond legislation signed by Gov. Baker. The massive package supports the efforts of MassDOT and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to modernize the state’s transportation systems.

Although the bill passed in mid-Jan., kickoff took place after a ceremonial virtual signing program. 

Here’s what Baker had to say:

“The Transportation Bond Bill builds upon our administration’s ongoing commitment to create a 21st-Century mobility infrastructure that will prepare the commonwealth to capitalize on emerging changes in transportation technology and behavior,. MassDOT and the MBTA have continued to implement widespread improvements throughout the transportation system and this new bond authorization will further support capital investment planning to rebuild, modernize, and expand the capacity of the commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure.

Here are some of the main bullets in the package:

• $5.1 billion to continue modernizing the MBTA

• $100 million to improve the pavement condition on state-numbered municipal roads 

• $50 million to help municipalities encourage the public to travel more on foot and by bicycle via the Complete Streets program

• $70 million for the Municipal Small Bridge Program

• $4.4 billion for use as funding for Highway federal aid projects

• $1.25 billion in Non-Federal Aid for use as funding in Highways projects that are not eligible for federal funding

• $1.25 billion for the new Next Generation Bridge program

• $50 million for the popular 

• $20 million for ‘public realm’ COVID-related Shared Streets and Spaces program

• $100 million in four new programs to provide financial assistance for municipalities seeking to improve infrastructure

• $350 million for the Cape Cod Bridges approaches project

• $825 million for South Coast Rail

• $595 million for Green Line Extension

• $89 million for Aeronautics Division

• $760 million to support the Regional Transit Authorities and Rail & Transit’s Mobility Assistance Program and Rail improvements

MassTransitMag.com has more on this story. 

More Transportation News

• Massachusetts Bond Bill Includes Funding for Roads, Bridges and Transit

• Massachusetts Transportation Bond Bill Advances Electric Bus Efforts

• Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 'Forging Ahead' Service Updates In Town Of Wellesley

Real Estate

Workers May Work from Home but Still Move Out of State

Between 25% and 30% of people will work from home two or more days per week by the end of 2021. That is according to estimates by San Diego-based consulting company, Global Workplace Analytics. Prior to the pandemic, that number stood at a mere 3.6%. While that’s great news for stakeholders in work-at-home enterprises, it’s not so great news for Massachusetts.

While white-collar workers who no longer have to commute to work are fleeing the big city and the state's high-income tax rates, employers in the Bay State are looking at cutting down their office space footprint. 

According to a report at Patch.com, a recent Massachusetts Competitive Partnership survey showed 28 percent of the state's companies were considering moving jobs out of state, while another showed 38 percent of companies considering selling off real estate in Massachusetts.

Among the report's other findings:

• The percentage of companies with 40 percent of their workforce working remotely has grown to 34% from just a few percent prior to the pandemic.

• 74 percent plan to move at least five percent of their workforce to full-time remote work. And nearly a quarter say at least 20 percent of their workforce will be remote.

Read the full Pioneer Institute report.

More Real Estate

• Massachusetts housing market off to 'strong' start in 2021, trade group says - Boston Business Journal

Cannabis

William “Beau” Wrigley Jr. Taking Cannabis Company Public

SPACs are all the rage. By merging with a publicly held acquisition corporation, companies can avoid an IPO and come charging out of the gate. 

That’s exactly how Parallel, a company that owns several dispensaries in Mass., will merge with Ceres Acquisition Corp. Ceres is already trading on the Canadian Stock Exchange and has a $1.8 billion valuation. The merger will give the company $430 million in cash to play with. Also, investors, led by Ceres and Parallel, have committed to a $225 million private placement at closing. Parallel will own 81% of the newly formed company’s equity.

Fourth-generation Chewing gum magnate Beau Wrigley is chairman and CEO of Parallel. “I think this can be bigger than the Wrigley company,” he told Forbes during an interview last month. “At Wrigley, we brought joy to people’s lives. This is much bigger than that.” 

Parallel currently operates 42 dispensaries in Mass. Nevada, and Florida. with sights on doubling that number and opening pot shops in eight states including Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and New Jersey, and Georgia by the end of 2022. Moreover, Parallel is in talks to acquire a dispensary chain in Chicago and considering future expansion into California, Michigan, and New York.

Apparently, Wrigley is not a pot smoker, himself. His delivery method of choice is edibles. However, his company sells flower, mints, gummies, and vape pens and is working on a cannabis-infused seltzer.

The deal is expected to close this summer.

More details on the merger are available at Forbes.com.

More Cannabis News

• Parallel, parent cannabis company of NETA in Massachusetts, secures agreement to become publicly traded - masslive.com

• Cheap electricity, 'political stability': Why one Massachusetts city is becoming a cannabis industry hub - masslive.com

• New Massachusetts Bills Would Decriminalize All Drugs And Study Regulated Sales of Psychedelics

• Pot Co. Tilt Hires Ex-Cannabis Official For Compliance Team

• Western Massachusetts town grants special permit for 91,000-square-foot outdoor cannabis farm

• Medical marijuana in Connecticut has problems. Legalizing adult recreational use can fix them

• Marijuana home delivery is on the horizon, but equity applicants are struggling with startup costs

• Medway marijuana product manufacturer to begin operations later this year

• Cannabis at the intersection of immigration and the war on drugs

Looking Toward the Future of Massachusetts

We’re not going to talk about COVID-19 this week -- the saturation coverage of the vaccine roll out is probably enough for you -- but cases are trending in a positive direction. With infection rates steadily decreasing, communities in the high-risk category dropped by 153 from early February. 

For those who need more on COVID-19, WCVB has some really nice graphics of COVID-19 data.

This week we’re looking into the Reimagining Massachusetts Committee proposed by Senate President Karen Spilka. We’re also wrestling with the fact that manufacturers are struggling to find workers at the same time unemployment is high in the Bay State. 

And did you know that the air in Boston’s subways is massively polluted and might actually shorten the lifespan of riders and workers alike? Sad but true.

All this and more in this week’s episode.

Politics

Senate Forms Committee For Post-COVID Policy

What will become of Massachusetts after the COVID-19 emergency has run its course? In an effort to answer that question, Senate President Karen Spilka has announced the formation of the Senate Special Committee on Reimagining Massachusetts: Post-Pandemic Resiliency. 

The purpose of the committee, according to MassLive.com, is “to act a clearinghouse of policies, practices, and ideas that could prepare Massachusetts for whatever waits on the other side of the pandemic,” and will be tasked with “examining the short- and long-term challenges that could follow the pandemic response.” 

Spilka said the committee could serve as a “funnel” for the issues and proposals that will require attention post-COVID. 

Speaking to the State House News Service on Thursday morning, Spilka had this to say:

“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has totally upended all of our assumptions about the way we live, we work, travel, play, spend time, [and] it’s also, as we acknowledge, laid bare the longstanding inequities in aspects of our economy and communities. So I really believe that as we look to the future and as we recover from this pandemic, we have a rare opportunity as well as a responsibility to question the status quo and reimagine the path towards continued vibrancy for our commonwealth.”

The committee expects to hold “virtual listening sessions” and to solicit testimony from residents and industry-specific stakeholders. 

One of the specific missions mentioned by Spilka is coming up with ways to keep downtowns across Massachusetts vibrant as fewer people travel to them for work. The panel, which has yet to be named, will also examine the shifts that remote work might have on the state’s housing market.

Also, mentioned in the MassLive.com report, Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano plan to create three additional committees aimed at providing ‘sustained attention and policy expertise’ in the areas of COVID-19 oversight and emergency management, racial equity, and cybersecurity.” These include:

• The Joint Committees on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity

• COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management

• Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion 

“While the joint COVID-19 committee that the House and Senate are creating is focused on today and the pandemic response, the Senate Special Committee on Reimagining Massachusetts is focused on tomorrow and the next day, and the next day, and so forth,” Spilka said.

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Business

Massachusetts Businesses Struggle To Fill Job Openings. Really.

Although restaurant owners are grateful for increased capacity limits on Valentine's Day Weekend, local business owners still struggle to get customers in their door. More importantly, however, many manufacturing businesses in the state are having a hard time getting employees in the door over the course of the pandemic. 

That might sound strange considering massive unemployment in the Bay State. By June, the Mass. unemployment rate had skyrocketed to 17.7% — the highest since the Great Depression, according to a report at MassLive.com. 

Responses to employment ads placed by staffing firm United Personnel have fallen by 90% since the emergency measures were first implemented last March. As of late December, United Personnel had 200 job listings running. The company was also forced to lay off some of its own office staff and shorten the workweek early on.

The fact that employers are struggling to find candidates might be attributed to extended unemployment benefits and two rounds of federal stimulus checks that have been buoying many Mass. residents during the pandemic. Another major contributing factor, however, is that many parents are doing everything they can to stay at home and watch their kids as well as for fear of bringing the virus home. 

While the state unemployment rate is still relatively high, it has gone down ten points since June. 

MassLive.com has an extensive report on hiring challenges.

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Energy

Deadline Coming Up Fast For Submitting Comments on DOER Clean Peak Energy Certificate Program 

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (“DOER”) recently released a proposed procurement process for clean peak energy certificates. This was back in late January. According to a recent report by JD Supra, the objective of the program is to “spur new and incremental clean peak resource development, provide revenue certainty for clean peak resources to enable financing, and provide cost-effective clean peak energy credit supply (CPEC).” 

The deadline for submitting comments on the proposed procurement process is Friday, February 19, 2021.

Here are some more details directly from the JS Supra report:

• DOER proposes that EDCs issue requests for proposals (“RFP”) twice-per-year to select winning bids from resources that produce CPECs. Awarded bids will be enrolled in a tariff for payment. That tariff will provide $/CPEC as awarded for a 6-year term. DOER intends to exclude new projects receiving SMART incentives, 83C contracted offshore wind resources, new energy storage projects receiving a SMART adder incentive for energy storage, and connected solutions Energy Storage Systems (“ESS”) because these projects already receive long-term revenue from other state programs. DOER proposes that, initially, only 30% of the EDCs’ procurement target will be met through the RFP and tariff process. DOER plans to count CPECs from EDC owned CPS resources, SMART Solar Tariff Generation Units, and Section 83C offshore wind towards the remaining procurement requirements but will not include these resources in the procurement or compensate them through the tariff.

DOER is authorized to adjust the tariff size up or down depending on market conditions. 

DOER hopes to have the EDCs file its tariffs and draft the initial RFPs, in consultation with DOER, this spring and release the first RFPs by the end of 2021.

JD Supra also has detailed information on clean peak standard final regulations and implementation. And a DOER summarized Questions and Answers document is available here.

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Transportation

Toxic Pollutants in Subways More Than Eight Times Higher Than Outdoor Air Quality

A recent study from New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine has found that subway air in Boston is gross and is exposing both transit workers and riders to high concentrations of toxic pollutants. The polluted air makes Boston’s subterranean travelers more susceptible to long-term illnesses such as asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease.

Researchers took more than 300 air samples during rush hour at nearly 70 stations across the country and found at least twice as many airborne toxins in subway air as in fresh air. That is according to a recent report in the Washington Post. 

The air in Boston’s subway stations measured up to 140 micrograms per cubic meter. By comparison, aboveground air averaged 16 micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter — or less than 1/8 that of above-ground air. According to the story, iron and organic carbon made up three-fourths of the pollutants found. 

Lisa Battiston, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said in a statement: “The health and safety of riders and the workforce is a top priority for the MBTA, including issues that involve ventilation and air quality within its stations and on platform areas.”

Major ventilation improvements are underway at Back Bay Station in Boston. However, the study shows that Boston needs to put far more effort into reducing pollutants in underground public transit systems. 

Read all about it at The Washington Post.

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Real Estate

Court Sides With Tenant In First-Of-Its-Kind “Frustration of Purpose” Case

Superior Court Judge Kenneth W. Salinger ruled last week that Caffé Nero did not have to pay rent to Newbury LLC (dba UrbanMeritage, one of the Back Bay’s bigger commercial landlords) for the nearly three months that the diner was prevented from serving customers indoors. Moreover, the eviction and default notices served during the time frame were invalid according to the ruling.

According to Salinger a legal doctrine known as "frustration of purpose," says that rent payments are to be excused when "performance becomes impossible through no fault of either party." The case is believed to be one of the first of its kind. 

In a note to clients, attorneys at Prince Lobel said the ruling might be overturned on appeal but that frustration of purpose provisions are found in most "well-drafted" commercial real estate leases. Given that fact, the ruling could give leverage to other small businesses trying to negotiate rent reductions with their landlords. 

Having closed its doors in October, the Downtown location in question was the only one of 30 Caffé Nero locations to shut down as a result of the pandemic. Back in June, of 2020, UrbanMeritage sued Caffé Nero for more than $300,000 in back rent, damages, and legal fees. (Caffé Nero's monthly rent was about $13,000 per month.)

Patch.com has more on this story.

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Cannabis

New York and Connecticut Both Gunning For Share of Legal Pot Markets

Any discussion of the future of the cannabis industry in Massachusetts must also include discussions of neighboring states such as Vermont and New Hampshire and in particular upcoming policy reforms in New York and Connecticut where markets could be much more robust. 

Legalization in New York and Connecticut, in particular, might affect cannabis operations in more ways than one. For starters, a good chunk of the business being done at Massachusetts dispensaries is made up of out-of-state buyers. Moreover, depending on how the markets are structured, legalization in border states could mean additional opportunities for Mass.-based companies. 

During his budget address on Feb. 10, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont tabled a 163-page legislative proposal for a comprehensive framework for the cultivation, manufacture, sale, possession, use, and taxation of recreational cannabis. Under the proposal, sales would begin in May 2022. 

Lamont said in his address: 

“Massachusetts dispensaries are advertising extensively here in Connecticut. And rather than surrender this market to out-of-staters, or worse, to the unregulated underground market, our budget provides for the legalization of recreational marijuana.”

Lamont’s cannabis legislation package is titled “An Act Responsibly and Equitably Regulating Adult-Use Cannabis,” 

Under the proposed legislation, adults 21 and older would be allowed to possess 1.5 ounces of marijuana or equivalent amounts of other cannabis products. Home growing would be prohibited.

According to a report by Cannabis Dispensary, recreational marijuana tax revenue would generate roughly $100 million by fiscal 2026. More information on Gov. Lamont’s legalization proposal can be found here. And for more information on proposals being considered in New York, check out this article at PIX11.com.

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Better Days Might Be Ahead

Things are looking up here in Massachusetts. Sort of. 

While the COVID-19 curve has been bending in an encouraging direction (the seven-day positive test rate rolling average dropped below 3 percent Sunday), the rise of the more ominous U.K. strain has just begun. There have now been at least 7 confirmed cases of the variant here in the Bay State. Across the Northeast, there have been 17 cases reported in Connecticut, 42 in New York, 12 in Pennsylvania, and 11 in New Jersey. 

With infection rates dropping, foodies and gym rats rejoice as state-imposed business capacity limits have increased for the second time in as many weeks. Moreover, tax collections of almost half a billion dollars in January “obliterated the Baker administration’s expectations.” 

But the big news this week again centers around the game of vetoball on Beacon Hill. While Governor Baker has volleyed the resubmitted energy bill back to the legislature, lawmakers prepare to serve a reinflated transportation bond bill back into his court.

Here’s what we’ve got this week:

Politics

Candidates Begin Lining Up For 2022 Gubernatorial Race

Candidates have begun gathering to determine pole position in the 2022 Mass. governor’s race. The first to the line is former state senator Ben Downing (D) who represented Pittsfield and surrounding communities for a ten-year stretch from 2007 to 2017. During his ten-year tenure, Downing filled the chair of the Senate utilities and energy committee. 

Downing’s experience with clean energy policy was put to good use when he landed an executive position at solar energy startup Nexamp. Today, Downing is well-regarded by renewable clean energy advocates.  

In an interview with GBH News Downing stated that the essence of his campaign will be to instill a "sense of urgency" in Massachusetts politics and government.

Downing had this to say:

"Massachusetts has all of the tools, all of the potential to solve the big problems that we're facing. Economic injustice, racial injustice, climate change, and all of the related issues. What we don't have is the sense of urgency that allows us to make the progress we need to make on them.”

Having already served three consecutive four-year terms, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has not yet announced whether he will be in the race in 2020. However, Harvard political science professor Danielle Allen and Quincy Democrat Scott Khourie have both stated that they are considering entering the race.

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Business

COVID-19-Related Restrictions Eased For Second Time In 10 Days

Good news for Mass. foodies, bargoers, and gym rats. With hospitalizations now down 33 percent since their peak in January, restaurants and other businesses that have been kept warm at 25 percent capacity are now simmering at 40 percent capacity as of Monday. (Just in time for Valentine’s Day.)

Gov. Baker credited the second major easing of restrictions in ten days to the fact that the seven day rolling average of COVID-19 cases dropped by more than 50 percent since its peak. On January 25, the governor lifted a stay-at-home order and 9:30 pm business curfew.

In a statement on the matter, Gov. Baker remarked:

"We know that these restrictions have been and continue to be enormously difficult for large and small businesses, their employees and individuals everywhere, but we're making progress in this battle against COVID, and everyone's hard work and preparation is now making it possible for us to continue to step back to what we might call a new normal.”

Restaurants still have a 6-person cap per table with a 90-minute time limit and indoor and outdoor gatherings are still limited to 10 and 25 people respectively.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Polito announced updates to the state’s COVID-19 relief fund. This week more than 4,000 businesses received grant money, including 1,300 restaurants, bars, caterers, and food trucks.

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Energy

Baker Volleys Energy Bill Back to Legislature

Gov. Charlie Baker has once again volleyed the climate bill back to the legislature, this time with a laundry list of proposed amendments. The landmark climate bill calls for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and sets stricter appliance energy efficiency standards, among other matters. Baker has said he supports the overall goals of the bill but has problems with some of the details of the legislation.

In his statement to lawmakers, Baker wrote:

"The science is clear — the Commonwealth, the nation and the world must achieve net zero emissions by 2050 if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. In 2020, my Administration adopted net zero as a legally binding limit for 2050 emissions ... This legislation enshrines net zero emissions in statute, further binding the Commonwealth to this important goal."

Baker’s proposed amendments include the creation of an opt-in municipal stretch energy code, a 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, and sector-specific emission reductions.

Now there are two possible outcomes: either the legislature folds the governor’s suggestions into the bill, otherwise, the votes are there to simply override the veto. 

Changes might also be made to the bill in the future. Sen. Michael Barrett, one of the chief sponsors of the climate bill, has suggested that the Legislature might be willing to negotiate on the 2030 emissions target.

WBUR has more details on this story.

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Transportation

Lawmakers To Reinflate Transportation Bond Bill 

In addition to testing the state legislature’s patience on the climate bill, Baker also vetoed portions of a $16.5 billion transportation bond bill last month. Although Baker approved most of the details, he nixed, among other ideas, what he feels are excessive fees on ride-hailing services.

As with the climate bill, the transportation bond bill went over the net at the very end of the previous legislative session eliminating the ability to override the veto. However, whereas the climate bill was quickly volleyed back to the Governor, the fate of the transportation bill is less clear.

One of the lead negotiators on the bill, Transportation Committee Co-chair Sen. Joseph Boncore, said this:

“What we’ve agreed on and what there’s consensus on between the House and Senate, something like TNC fees and data collection, is something that we don’t have to do a lot of planning around. That’s ready, so I’m hoping that in the short term, we can take action on those items quickly.”

In response, Stacy Thompson, executive director of the LivableStreets Alliance, said this:

“For a governor who really prides himself on his business chops, he’s not making good short-term or long-term decisions for the state in terms of dollars and cents. Those solutions require policy changes, they require spending money, they require changing the way we proverbially do business in the state. I see a lot of lip service, I see a lot of commissions, I see a lot of reports. I don’t see a lot of action.”

MBTA and Department of Transportation board member Monica Tibbits-Nutt, called Baker’s veto “heart-breaking” in a lengthy Twitter thread.

MassLive.com has a full report.

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Real Estate

Home Prices Are Up But Rents Are Down

While home and condo prices have been on the rise for the past year, the median rental price for a one-bedroom apartment has fallen sharply in some Mass. communities. In Everett, for example, rents dropped more than 22 percent from January 2019 to January 2020. That is according to a report by Zumper.

Other communities also saw big drops: 

• Boston: -19.2%

• Cambridge: -15.1%

• Waltham: -14.9%

• Brookline: -14.8%

• Revere: -14.8%

The median rent in January for a one-bedroom apartment was just over $1,700.

Meanwhile, according to the report, the most expensive communities for renters last month were Cambridge, Brookline, and Boston (no surprise there). And the least expensive communities for Mass. renters were Brockton, Worcester, and Lowell.

A complete running list of year-over-year rents for more than two dozen Mass. communities can be found here.

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Cannabis

Cambridge Joins Somerville in Decriminalization of Psychedelics

Let’s not talk about pot this week. Let’s instead talk about psychedelics. Should entheogenic plants and fungi like ayahuasca, ibogaine, and psilocybin mushrooms be decriminalized in Mass.? The Cambridge City Council thinks so. 

Cambridge is now the second city in Mass. to decriminalize psychedelics and call on police to stop arresting people for drug possession. The Somerville City Council did the same last month. Cambridge City Councilors voted 8-1 in favor of the idea that criminalizing drugs is neither just nor effective.

The text of the ordinance states:

“Drug policy in the United States and the so-called ‘War on Drugs’ has historically led to unnecessary penalization, arrest, and incarceration of vulnerable people, particularly people of color and of limited financial means, instead of prioritizing harm-reduction policies that treat drug abuse as an issue of public health.”

According to the measure, “the arrest of adult persons for using or possessing controlled substances shall be amongst the lowest law enforcement priority for the City of Cambridge.” 

A growing number of cities across the U.S. have enacted psychedelics decriminalization beginning with Washington, D.C. Also, Oakland, Santa Cruz, and Ann Arbor have decriminalized possession of plant-and fungi-based psychedelics. And in Oregon, voters passed an initiative to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic purposes as well as decriminalized possession of all drugs. Lawmakers in California, New York, Virginia, Washington, and other states are also considering similar reforms.

The moves in Somerville and Cambridge might be just the beginning of a larger trend here in the Bay State, but it’s important to point out, however, that it’s unlikely the state will create a retail market for psychedelics as it has for marijuana. 

Marijuana Moment has more on this story.

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One Year Later...

We’ve had one heck of a lap around the sun since the first confirmed coronavirus infections in Massachusetts on the first of February, 2020. Things didn’t get real for residents, however, until March 15 when Gov. Charlie Baker ordered all Massachusetts schools to close. Restaurants were limited to take-out and delivery service, and gatherings of groups larger than 25 were prohibited. At this point, there were still fewer than 200 confirmed cases in the state. Today there are more than 20 times as many cases reported on a daily basis.

The emergency rules were initially set to end on April 7. However, just a little over a week later, with the number of coronavirus cases in the state having more than tripled, all non-essential businesses were ordered to close and Bay State residents were asked to shelter at home. After a brief bending of the curve over the summer, COVID came roaring back post-holiday season. 

Since the beginning, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, about half a million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Massachusetts. More than 14,000 people have died. Now, according to the DPH interactive coronavirus dashboard, having peaked in the second week of January, the curve is again bending downward. The number of estimated active cases dropped from about 81,000 last Wednesday to 78,000 on Thursday, and the percentage of positive coronavirus tests decreased to 4.44% from 4.67%.

But the Bay State isn’t out of the woods yet. Last week, for the first time, a more contagious COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom was reported in Massachusetts.

In other news, Governor Baker delivered his annual State of the Commonwealth Address; the state legislature re-passed the vetoed climate bill; Mass. transportation got another shot in the arm; and Mass. General said it’s setting aside $2 billion for expansion. 

Meanwhile in Washington, newly anointed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is talking about shuffling together numerous marijuana bills into one big one in order to make some major headway on ending the federal prohibition of cannabis and finally putting Reefer Madness behind us. 

Politics

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker delivered his State of the Commonwealth address last week, and in light of the pandemic, the address was streamed live from his office at the State House. In his remarks, the governor reminded us that “2020 was a year like no other… It came with economic calamity. Severe job loss. Business closures. Anxiety. Fear. Civil unrest. Riots. Racial injustice. Isolation. Death. And Loss.” 

Pointing out that the state is in much better shape economically now than it was last spring, Baker made the caveat that “far too many people still can’t find a job. Our downtowns are hurting. And many of our small businesses have been crushed by the pandemic.”

One of the centerpieces of the governor’s presentation was the state’s Small Business Relief Program which Baker boasted was “the largest of its kind in the country.”  The program draws from a fund of over $700 million to assist thousands of struggling small companies across the state.

Also highlighted were major advances in transportation infrastructure:

“On transportation, the new law accelerates bridge reconstruction, so we can move faster to modernize every bridge that needs major repairs. It also provides the funding we need to complete the South Coast Rail expansion. Fall River and New Bedford have been waiting for over 30 years for this to get done. Now it will be available in 2023. This law also funds the final piece of the long-promised Green Line Extension into Somerville. These are big promises made and kept.”

And clean, renewable energy:

“On climate change, Massachusetts continues to be a national leader. “In the last several weeks alone, we put forth a science based roadmap to reach net zero emissions by 2050. And we’ve spearheaded a first of its kind, multi-state program to reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector. We’ve invested over $935 million in climate change mitigation and adaptation since we took office. And we’re on track to meet our commitment to invest $1 billion in climate action by 2022. Partnering with the Legislature, we secured historic clean energy procurements at the lowest price for rate payers. This set the table for an explosion in offshore wind development up and down the East Coast of this country.”

A complete transcript of the governor’s 2021 State of the State address can be found here: Governor Baker Delivers 2021 State of the Commonwealth Address

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Business

As Gov. Baker pointed out in his State Of the State address, Massachusetts’ Covid relief program for small businesses is the largest program of its kind in the U.S. It’s a good thing the state is leading in economic relief, as the Bay State is lagging behind the country in vaccinations. 

The program provides financial relief for businesses hit hard by emergency restrictions and shutdowns, particularly in the hospitality and entertainment sectors. Since the emergency cash began flowing in December, $277 million in grants have been awarded from a $688 million relief fund and a separate $50.8 million economic recovery package. 

Baker said. “This is a $720 million program, so we obviously have a long way to go and a lot of opportunity to continue to support small businesses as they work their way through the second surge.”

According to Baker, additional grant announcements will continue “pretty much every week.” Unfortunately, so will the hanging of “out of business” signs. 

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Energy

Over the last few weeks, we have reported on Gov. Baker's unexpected veto of the state’s sweeping climate bill and the new legislature’s mission to quickly send the measures back to Baker’s desk — which is exactly what they’ve done.

In scenes from last week’s episode, because the previous legislative session ran out the clock, Baker vetoed the bill too late for lawmakers to override or amend it. Nonetheless, Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano brought the monstrous bill back to life shortly into the new legislative session. The measure was quickly re-approved in both chambers and sent back to Gov. Charlie Baker.

The legislation outlines steps to reaching the state’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Baker supports most of the bill but worries that as written it could possibly prevent the construction of affordable housing.

Baker is expected to again send the measure back to the legislature with recommended changes. However, the bill was passed by a veto-killing margin in both chambers and is but guaranteed to become the law of the land.

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Transportation

At the recent Massachusetts Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting, the Baker administration announced that it has filed “An Act Financing Improvements to Municipal Roads and Bridges,” in an effort to raise $200 million in funding to help all 351 cities and towns in that state improve transportation infrastructure. The funds will add to the $39.5 million increase in local aid already included in the Administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget.

Governor Baker’s statement included this: 

“Investing in local roads and bridges helps connect residents with jobs and opportunities across the Commonwealth, and promotes economic growth and development. We are pleased to continue providing support and resources to cities and towns throughout Massachusetts and ensuring municipalities have the flexibility and resources to address their unique needs.”

The municipal funds are made available under the “Chapter 90” program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. If approved by the legislature, it will bring the total funds released since Baker took office in 2015 to a healthy $1.56 billion.

Massachusetts governor files for $200M in Chapter 90 funding for transportation

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Real Estate

Massachusetts’s largest hospital owner, Mass General Brigham, has announced that the company will move forward on planned $2 billion in construction projects. That is according to the Boston Business Journal which claims:

“Based on public filings with the state Department of Public Health, the planned developments will include a $1 billion building at Massachusetts General Hospital in the West End, a $400 million project to open four outpatient sites in communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and a $250 million addition at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. The total projects’ cost could be closer to $2 billion when including ancillary expenses… The projects are part of $6.1 billion in work that Mass General Brigham, formerly known as Partners HealthCare, has planned in capital spending over the next five years. The pandemic delayed half of the planned spending in fiscal 2020, however, sidelining $550 million of work in the face of hundreds of millions of dollars in expected revenue shortfalls.”

Anne Klibanski, president and CEO of Mass General Brigham, was quoted in the report: 

“These projects will enable us to meet the needs of our patients by bringing lower-cost care options to their home and community, making community-hospital investments to accommodate more routine care, and improving access for the most complex cases at one of our flagship hospitals. While the pandemic temporarily postponed our long-standing plans, it also reinforced the need to provide more health care options for our patients.”

Read all about it at Boston Real Estate Times.

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Cannabis

According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), lawmakers are working to merge various pieces of marijuana legislation into one bill to be debated in the early days of the 117th Congress. 

During an interview with former NBA player Al Harrington, Schumer talked about his plan to deschedule marijuana, reinvest tax revenue into communities impacted by the drug war, and to fund efforts to expunge prior cannabis records. (Harrington markets a line of cannabis products under the name Viola Brands.)

Schumer filed legislation in both of the two previous congressional sessions including the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act. Also on the table is the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act which passed the House last year but was not taken up by the Republican-controlled Senate.

In another interview with Rachel Madow, Schumer stated:

“I’m a big fighter for racial justice, and the marijuana laws have been one of the biggest examples of racial injustice, and so to change them makes sense. And that fits in with all of the movement now to bring equality in the policing, in economics and in everything else. Our bill is, in a certain sense, at the nexus of racial justice, individual freedom and states’ rights.”

Prior to Democrats reclaiming the Senate majority, Schumer pledged that he would “put his cannabis legislation on the floor” should he become Senate majority leader.

Now with Democrats in control, advocates and lawmakers are expecting a tsunami of federal cannabis policy reforms. However, the extent to which marijuana will be un-prohibited remains to be seen as President Biden’s support for legalization is seedy. Although Biden backs the idea of modest reforms, he’s not in favor of full legalization. That doesn’t mean that he’ll veto sweeping marijuana legislation — but it doesn’t mean he won’t, either.

Already in 2021, two congressional marijuana bills have been filed. One proposal seeks to prevent the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from denying veterans benefits because they use medical marijuana. The other would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act — a move which many advocates and stakeholders fear will cause more problems than it solves. If marijuana remains a controlled substance, the Food and Drug Administration would be able to impose federal regulations on state cannabis markets.

Marijuana Moment has more on this story.

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