Our Uneven Progress

May 11, 2021 Pace LaVia

The mayoral race is simmering in Boston as the reopening of the state commences. Ironically, although the state suffers record-high joblessness, employers are having trouble filling newly opened position and the state’s hospitality industries continue to atrophy with hotels alone predicted to shed another 14,000 jobs this year.

And for the masses of unemployed labor workers in the Bay State, one possible deterrent to job hunting is the generous unemployment benefits that have been doled out over the past year.

In energy and transportation news, the state has opened up an RFP that, once awarded, will eventually double the state’s current wind generation. Also, the Fed is making billions of dollars in grants available for improvements and expansion to public transportation infrastructure. Both of these ambitious projects will create plentiful well-paying jobs.

Meanwhile, the state has begun to open up thousands of acres of agricultural land to hemp and marijuana growers, and a judge smacked down a federal eviction ban.

Let’s get inside and unpack this week’s news:

Politics

Mayoral Candidate Jon Santiago On The Scrum

The Scrum, GBH News' political podcast, with Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis, has been hosting an ever-expanding roster of guests. In the latest episode, Jon Santiago talked about laying the groundwork to win Boston’s 2021 mayoral contest. (Former mayor Marty Walsh is off to Washington after being confirmed by the Senate to head the U.S. Labor Department.)

In the Scrum interview, Santiago expressed his hopes to land key endorsements from elected officials and also to win the support of labor unions. Santiago also made some revelations about his personal history. He said that he has no intention of criticizing former Mayor Marty Walsh’s stewardship of the city but he did criticize acting Mayor Kim Janey’s decision to delay Boston’s reopening.

Listen to the podcast here: Jon Santiago On The State Of the Mayor's Race, Marty Walsh's Legacy and Kim Janey's Tenure

More Politics

Business

Business Leaders Press For Speedy Reopening As Hospitality Industry Continues to Shed Jobs

The Bay State is moving ahead with reopening plans this week. However, some business leaders are complaining that Gov. Charlie Baker isn’t moving fast enough and are asking that the current reopening timeline be moved up by about a month. Baker’s plan calls for Massachusetts’ to be fully functional again by Aug. 1.

“This is all about balance,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. “We’ve done very well on vaccinations and we need to start moving toward reopening. Worst-case scenario, I hope we’re at 100% by July 4th weekend.”

One of the big challenges now is getting people to come back to work after a nice, long, paid stay-cation. Although unemployment numbers are up nationwide, Mass. businesses are having trouble filling job vacancies.

Although service industry hirings are on the rise again, The American Hotel & Lodging Association projects that Massachusetts could lose more than 14,000 hotel jobs in 2021 due to ongoing reticence to travel post-pandemic. (That’s in addition to the nearly 17,000 hotel jobs lost in the state over the past year.)

All told, about 70% of the 43,000 hotel workers lost their jobs since 2019. In the wider hospitality and leisure industries, about 59% or 225,000 jobs were lost after emergency measures kicked in. That is according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More Business

Energy

Mass. RFP Expected To Double Wind Output

This big news in Mass. energy this week: A 1,600-megawatt procurement will double the amount of energy Massachusetts utilities have under contract since a 2016 clean energy law kicked in.

Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said this in a statement:

"This new solicitation will not only procure more affordable offshore wind energy for residents than ever before, but will also direct greater investment in economic development while requiring offshore wind developers to create comprehensive plans to ensure the Commonwealth's environmental justice and minority communities share equitably in the benefits of this growing industry."

Currently, Vineyard Wind I and Mayflower Wind, are under contract to provide 1,600 megawatts. The new 140-page RFP seeks bids of "at least 400 MW and up to 1600 MW of Offshore Wind Energy Generation" and requires bidders to submit workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion plans, as well as potential impacts on environmental justice populations and host communities. Moreover, the nominal levelized price of any proposal must be less than $77.76 per megawatt-hour.

There seems to be a difference of opinion among stakeholders as to the numbers. Some claim the price cap should be set at the $77.76 per MWh price that DPU approved. Others such as National Grid are gunning for a lower $70.26 per MWh price cap.

Bids for the lucrative contract are due by Sept. 16. No preferred bid size has been specified.

Here are numerous sources on this story:

More Energy News

Transportation

Sen. Markey Pitches Investments in N.E. Railways

“If we build it, they will come,” says Sen. Ed Markey who is pitching investments in passenger rail for Massachusetts and other under-connected communities across the Northeastern U.S. by reintroducing the BRAIN (Building Rail Across Intercity Networks To Ride Around Interior of the Nation) TRAIN Act.

Under the proposed bill the U.S. Department of Transportation would create a competitive grant program offering up to $5 billion in annual grants to fund rail projects including the East-West rail effort to link Springfield and Western Massachusetts with communities stretching from New Haven to Buffalo.

This is in addition to President Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan which earmarks $85 billion to modernize public transit plus another $80 billion for Amtrak upgrades.

Rail expansions throughout the state will cost between $2.4 and $4.6 billion. Estimates suggest the investment could draw a quarter to a half-million new riders annually.

Read all about it at MassTransitMag.com.

More Transportation News

Real Estate

Federal Judge Strikes Down Eviction Ban

In his ruling on a lawsuit brought by real estate industry groups, a federal judge has struck down an emergency ban on evictions in the United States, putting millions of renters at risk of being ousted from their homes. US District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that the eviction ban clearly overstepped the authority of the CDC.

The Biden administration, which extended the ban originally instituted under the Trump administration, says it plans to appeal Wednesday’s decision.

This action is “the latest in a string of decisions that chip away at eviction bans that have protected renters, and frustrated landlords, for more than a year,” according to the report in the Boston Globe.

A similar eviction ban in Massachusetts expired in mid-October of 2020.

More Real Estate

Cannabis

Bay State Opens Up Agricultural Reserves To Cannabis

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) has released guidance under a 2020 plan to allow cannabis and hemp cultivation on more than 73,000 acres of land belonging to the state Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) and Farm Viability Enhancement programs.

According to the agency website, the APR program, instituted in 1979, pays farmland owners the difference between fair market value and the agricultural value of their farms in exchange for permanent deed restrictions that conserve the land for agricultural use.

And according to the state website, the Farm Viability Enhancement Program provides business and technical assistance to farmers through grant funding in exchange for signing an agricultural covenant on the property.

In a document titled, “Hemp and Marijuana Production on APR and Farm Viability Protected Lands, Apr. 28, 2021,” the Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources writes:

“After reviewing these concerns and evaluating the evolving state of the law as it relates to the legalization of medical and adult use marijuana in Massachusetts and cultivation of hemp in the United States, the Department has been reviewing its policies related to hemp and marijuana and evaluating whether the Department may recognize such activities as horticultural uses in a manner consistent with the laws and intent of the APR Program.”

More details are available at these fine hemp and cannabis industry news outlets:

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