Keller: Beacon Hill's turkeys of the year

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Keller at Large

Turkey comes in many forms: intact on your table, thereafter in a hash, club sandwich, Rachel, or if you’re in the Louisville area, as part of a “hot brown,” an open-face turkey recycling served with bacon and – gak - mornay sauce.

That sounds disgusting. Then again, we’re the home of the Fluffernutter.

Speaking of local traditions, it’s time for our annual turkeys of the year, an unwanted recognition of some of the year’s local public-policy flops. Keep copies of this list handy – when Uncle Maga and Cousin NoKings start in over dinner, you might be able to change the subject with this:

· THE CANDY TAX (sic)

Was Gov. Maura Healey’s proposal to extend the state sales tax to candy a…new tax on candy? “Hell no; no, no, no, no, no,” insisted Healey, which an alert copy editor would have crossed out and replaced with “yes.” It’s not that the state doesn’t need every dime it can grab. But the Kit Kat non-tax-tax would have brought in only an estimated $25 million; instead, it yielded twice that in negative headlines for Healey until House Speaker Ron Mariano pronounced it DOA. A candy that tastes like turkey – the perfect finish to a hot brown lunch. (Washed down with Moxie?)

· THE SOCCER SHAKEDOWN

At least the Reese’s revenue would have covered Healey’s request for $20 million to help amuse thousands of soccer fans due here next June for a bunch of World Cup games in Foxboro, laughably hyped as the equivalent of “seven Super Bowls.” In the wake of the Boston 2024 Olympics debacle, the local donor class is unsurprisingly more interested in branding with 250^th birthday events like the Tall Ships in favor of yet another international sports agency with a history of corruption trying to shake us down. Instead of infusing scarce resources into this turkey, why not give the dough to UMass Amherst instead, so they can go out and buy a winning football team?

CONTINUE READING…

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HAPPENING TODAY

7:00 | The annual March for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is a two-day, 43-mile trek from Springfield to Greenfield. Marchers include Congressman Jim McGovern, Food Bank Executive Director Andrew Morehouse and Monte Belmonte, who started the event 16 years ago. The first leg of the march goes from Springfield to Northampton. | MLK Center, 3 Rutland St., Springfield | More Info

10:00 | The Department of Transportation, MBTA, Massport and the State Police hold a press conference to discuss Thanksgiving travel. | Highway Operations Center 50 Haul Road, South Boston

10:00 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the Office of Neighborhood Services and the Office of Cultural Affairs join community partners to distribute turkeys to older adults at Nuevo Dia ADHC. | 75 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain

2:00 | Gov. Maura Healey joins Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano for a leadership meeting. A media availability will follow. | Speaker’s Office, Room 350, State House, Boston

6:00 | Candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve hosts meet and greet. | The Fox Den, 482 Main St., Woburn

FROM BEACON HILL

SPILKA ON THE RECORD: Senate President Karen Spilka outlines priorities for next year (housing and health care) while also hitting back at Auditor Diana DiZoglio, a former state senator (“She has no idea what happens in the Senate”). – State House News Service

NAVAL BASE ASSIST: In the spending bill that landed on Gov. Maura Healey’s desk, lawmakers with little fanfare included an assist to the development of a former military base south of Boston, which has struggled to reach its full potential as a mixed-use project. – CommonWealth Beacon

GOP CANDIDATES, DEM DONORS: Primaries can double as party purity tests, raising questions about how this will be received: The two of the three GOP candidates for governor were donors to Massachusetts Democrats. – Boston.com

PIPING UP: Massachusetts lawmakers, led by Sen. Ed Markey, are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to release billions in federal funding for cities and towns to replace lead pipes. – MassLive

NEWS NEXT DOOR

INTEREST RATES: Susan Collins, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said she doesn’t see urgency for an interest-rate cut at the central bank officials’ meeting in December. – Wall Street Journal

MOULTON IN BURLINGTON: Congressman Seth Moulton plans an oversight tour of the ICE facility in Burlington, citing “ongoing concerns about transparency and detainee treatment. He has invited U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to join him. – Boston Herald

FIRED HEALEY AIDE: The arrest of a now-former aide to the governor, LaMar Cook, points to a trend in the cocaine trade: the use of mail. – MassLive

HAZARDOUS FLOODING: Hundreds of New England sites with hazardous materials are at risk for coastal flooding, according to a new study. The majority are in Massachusetts, and include sites in Lynn, Quincy and around Boston Harbor. – WBUR

‘SKUNK’ SMELL: Green Theory, a cannabis facility in Lee, is facing complaints over a ‘super-skunk smell,’ as well as more than $300,000 in past due bills and taxes. – Berkshire Eagle

AMHERST TAX BILLS: Average tax bills are coming close to $10,000 in Amherst as councilors vote on a single tax rate. – Daily Hampshire Gazette

ELEMENTARY DECLINE: The outer Cape continues to see a decline in elementary school students, with a lack of housing viewed as the main driver. – Provincetown Independent

MORE HEADLINES

Northeastern University burns through cash but endowment up

Coffee shop accused of denying service to Black journalist

More than a dozen Mass General Brigham primary care clinicians poached by Beth Israel

Federal judge asked to strike down firearm age restrictions

Private island off Cape Cod hits market for $10.9 million

Globe, Herald discover Boston City Hall suit first reported by Universal Hub weeks earlier

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