With nearly 50% of residents fully vaccinated, and the state rapidly expanding business and home vaccination programs, Massachusetts has gone from having one of the worst records on vaccination to one of the best in the country. As a result, most restrictions put in place to fight the pandemic will be lifted in the coming weeks — just in time for some summer fun in the sun.
In other news this week, Democrats in Massachusetts must now contend with an army of young adults who are fluent in social media marketing and venturing into politics. This is a fascinating trend that politicians ignore at their own risk.
On Beacon Hill, the idea of a $1,200 “Back To Work” bonus is being kicked around. In energy, Massachusetts is becoming the “Saudi Arabia of Wind.” The T is gearing up for a massive increase in ridership. Residential property taxes are on the rise along with home prices. And (federally legal) hemp is now being sold in (federally illegal) marijuana shops.
Let’s unpack this week’s news.
Politics
Democrats in Massachusetts Must Now Answer To Growing Demands from Savvy Teenagers
An influential new force is rising in Democratic politics. Even though they aren’t even old enough to vote, teenagers have been organizing to promote progressive candidates.
To give you some idea of the power that this demographic is claiming, one only needs to look at Edward Markey’s surprise upset over Joe Kennedy in last year’s Democratic primary here in Massachusetts. Kennedy was the odds on favorite to win. That is until “an army of 16-year-olds,” as one political veteran put it, took to the internet to paint Kennedy as standing too far to the right on important issues.
The new movement is making centrist politicians in the Massachusetts Democratic establishment a bit nervous as these youngsters know their way around social media better than any of them. The young activists smell that fear and are empowered by it.
Last year saw an explosion of new voter registrations as the number of 18 to 24-year-olds shot up to 20.9% in the 2020 primary from 6.7% in 2018, and 2.1% in 2016. That is according to data provided by Tufts’ Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Considering that most elections are won by less than 10% of the vote this changes everything.
The teens are operating sophisticated grassroots campaigns using chat groups, direct messages, and automated and manual text messaging to mobilize their friends and followers into a volunteer PR army.
Last summer, teens on TikTok were able to pull a fast one on President Trump. They waged a campaign to reserve seats at a Trump rally in Florida. Trump even boasted about the numbers before the event. When the time came to count heads, the number was far less than expected. Although this is dirty politics, the success of that campaign has emboldened teens to put their collective weight behind candidates who they feel have their best interests at heart.
These efforts have been so successful that some candidates’ PR teams have reached out to leaders of the movement for campaign help. And for those candidates who stand to lose the most, bashing these teens is not an option as it could easily backfire, draw their ire, and result in serious damage to their careers.
The movement is sure to affect upcoming elections — such as the race for mayor of Boston. This is a fascinating story that candidates on all sides ignore at their own peril.
Boston.com has an in-depth report on the movement.
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Business
$1,200 “Back To Work” Bonus Proposed For 2022 Budget
Massachusetts lawmakers are considering putting a “Get Back to Work Bonus” in the fiscal year 2022 budget. The idea is to help employers who are having trouble filling positions while trimming the state’s unemployment bill.
Budget amendment 811 was proposed by state Sen. Ryan Fattman. The plan calls for using funds from the $1.9 trillion federal American Rescue Plan to pay Mass. residents up to $1,200 to land and keep a job. Fattman essentially wants to “repurpose” the $300/month federal unemployment bonuses to incentivize people to get back to work.
In a conversation with MassLive, Fattman had this to say:
“I’ve been contacted by a lot of businesses, local employers, restaurants, trucking companies, and they’re all struggling to find people to work for them. All this is designed to get people back to work into those positions so the economy can thrive.”
Although the state unemployment rate dropped to 6.5% in April, the bonus would be welcomed by Massachusetts businesses still scrambling to fill vacant positions ahead of the state's reopening on May 29.
According to a recent U.S. Census survey, millions of Americans are avoiding work for fear of contracting or spreading COVID-19. And many are content to collect unemployment benefits for as long as possible.
Other states are also considering similar measures. Connecticut and New Hampshire recently announced plans to award successful job hunters bonuses up to $2,000. Meanwhile, several red states are looking at axing the extra $300/month unemployment payments offered by the federal government claiming that the free cash incentivizes residents to stay home.
Read all about it as MassLive.com.
More Business
Mass. Outlines Final Reopening Plans Set For May 29; State Of Emergency Lifts Mid-June
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Massachusetts unemployment rate edges down, but job gains slow
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Energy
Massachusetts Becoming the “Saudi Arabia of Wind”
Last week we told you about the final federal approval of the Vineyard Wind project. In two years, 62 turbines will begin generating about 800 megawatts of electricity. That’s enough to power 400,000 homes.
As huge as that is, it’s not the whole story. All told, offshore wind developers, are planning to produce 9,100 megawatts from 13 offshore-wind projects along the East Coast within the next five years and then 30 gigawatts by 2030. That’s the equivalent of about 30 coal-fired power plants.
As the price of generating wind energy plummets, Massachusetts is looking at a clean energy boom. Once the project is up and running, Vineyard Wind is projecting a cost of six and a half cents per kilowatt-hour. (Cape Wind has been charging over 20 cents per kilowatt-hour.)
Erin Baker, professor and faculty director of the Energy Transition Initiative at the University of Massachusetts says costs have fallen “much more in the last five years than any of the experts were predicting.”
Baker co-authored an article in Nature in which she predicted that the cost of wind energy will be cut in half between now and 2050. And Kathleen Theoharides, the state’s energy and environment secretary, told conservative-leaning Intelligencer that Massachusetts is being dubbed the “Saudi Arabia of wind.”
Check out Intelligencer’s detailed report here.
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Transportation
MBTA Trains and Buses Expected To Get Crowded As Massachusetts Reopens
As COVID-19 restrictions are lifted across Massachusetts, public transportation is beginning to ramp up again. Subways and busses in the Bay State are expected to get crowded as commuters’ rideshare options — including services such as Uber and Lyft — have been evaporating.
The fact that a set of new Chinese-Made Subway Cars has malfunctioned for the fourth time isn’t helping matters.
Crowded public transit vehicles pose a risk of spreading covid to the unvaccinated. To assure this doesn’t happen, MBTA riders will still be required to wear masks.
Boston 25 News reports that the MBTA is “monitoring ridership and plans to quickly and safely build back service.”
Meanwhile, if you’re thinking of hitting the road next weekend, plan on leaving early. Officials are expecting Memorial Day traffic to increase substantially over 2020’s numbers as restrictions are lifted and residents with pent-up cabin fever begin to venture out.
More Transportation
Real Estate
Residential Property Taxes Are On the Rise
With the Mass. residential real estate market on fire, homeowners might be wringing their hands over the increased value of their properties. However, there’s a downside to the exploding valuations. That is along with the rise in home values comes a rise in property taxes (which have already been on the rise in recent years).
The state of Massachusetts requires property values to be reassessed every year. And according to SmartAsset, homeowners in Massachusetts already pay some of the largest annual property tax bills in the country with a median annual property tax bill of $4,899, with a higher-than-average effective tax rate of 1.17%.
Boston 25 News has more details on this story.
And for those who are interested, here are the 50 Massachusetts communities with the highest residential tax rates.
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Cannabis
CCC Issues Guidance For the Sale Of Hemp Products At Mass. Dispensaries
In an industry full of ironies, up until now, Mass. marijuana dispensaries were not allowed to sell hemp products such as CBD oil. That is even though marijuana is federally illegal while hemp (cannabis strains with negligible levels of THC) has been completely legal for more than two years.
And there are still restrictions. In order to clarify requirements and restrictions the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has issued Guidance for the Retail Sale of Hemp.
Under new rules, marijuana retailers are able to purchase “consumer-ready hemp products,” but only from hemp processors licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. And the products may only be sold in a dedicated section of the store.
Furthermore, hemp all products must be accompanied by an insert that includes the following warning language:
“This product was produced, packaged, and labeled by a Massachusetts hemp processor licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). It is not regulated by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission and the product may not be consistent with the requirements of M.G.L. c. 94G or 935 CMR 500.000. Consumers that have questions or concerns about this product are encouraged to contact the manufacturer, MDAR, or the appropriate state or federal agencies.”
Whitelisted products include hemp seed, hemp seed oils and powders, hemp clothing, and non-food CBD products — as long as no medical claims are made.
And although consumers can purchase CBD oil (and edibles such as gummies) at a myriad of shops throughout the state, the sale of hemp products is not permitted at marijuana treatment centers — only at dispensaries.
Which leads to this question: What if a licensed marijuana grower grows “marijuana” with less than 0.3 percent THC? Does it count as hemp? Or can they sell it the same way they sell marijuana? As it stands, high-CBD, low-THC products produced by licensed growers are treated no differently than high-THC products.