| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | NEW THIS MORNING: “Yesterday at 2pm, Mayor Wu and her husband Conor welcomed Baby Mira Wu Pewarski—arriving at 8lbs, 4oz and 20 inches—to their family and to Boston. Mom and baby are in good health, and the Mayor is in touch with her senior staff,” a city spokesperson said in a statement this morning. “Mayor Wu wishes to express her deepest gratitude to the nurses, doctors, and healthcare staff who made this possible for her family and who work everyday to support so many families across the city.” Pic. CLOCK TICKING ON TIKTOK — The way Rep. Jake Auchincloss sees it, getting TikTok out from under Beijing-based owner ByteDance is more than a national security issue. It’s also about reigning in “the attention fracking of the social media corporations,” he told Playbook in a recent interview. “If you look at the U.S. version user experience for Tiktok – for one, it is readily apparent that the algorithm is amplifying anti-American, anti-Israel content disproportionate to its actual frequency,” Auchincloss said, “and more to the point, it is digital fentanyl, as [Rep.] Mike Gallagher said.” But forcing ByteDance to divest of TikTok hasn’t been easy, even with the threat of a ban kicking in as soon as the end of the week. The Supreme Court is expected to rule any day now on whether to uphold the bipartisan law that passed last year, co-sponsored by Auchincloss, banning the app in the U.S. if it isn’t sold to another company. While justices seemed skeptical of TikTok’s arguments, there’s a complication: Donald Trump has asked the court to delay the law’s implementation so that he can negotiate a new resolution when he takes office Jan. 20. The request, Auchincloss argued, is laughable. “If you were trying to negotiate a deal, why would you remove the greatest leverage that you had over your counterparty?” the Newton Democrat said. One catch: Even if the court upholds the law, Trump, who has flip-flopped on the issue over time, may decide not to enforce it — or could lean on a provision that allows him to delay its implementation if a sale is imminent. A potential buyer has emerged in recent days: American billionaire Frank McCourt’s “Project Liberty” group made a bid to buy the app right around when the court was hearing the case, an advance Auchincloss called “encouraging.” ”I hope what they're competing on is who can actually do the best experiment [on] how to fix our broken social media public square,” he said. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll make a major transportation funding announcement alongside state and local officials at 11:45 a.m. in Worcester. Driscoll speaks at Garnder Mayor Michael J. Nicholson’s State of the City address at 7 p.m. in Gardner. Attorney General Andrea Campbell is on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” at 1 p.m. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com.
|  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “DiZoglio blasts Senate offer to meet over audit push,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “A Senate subcommittee charged responding to demands from the State Auditor seeking to audit the legislature in accordance with last fall’s voter-passed referendum, raised a set of questions and offered a meeting, partial steps that are not sitting well with the Auditor. The letter sent [Monday] to State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, laid out some concerns and offered a few appointment slots for when lawmakers can meet to further discuss the issues. DiZoglio blasted the move.” — “Negotiators Don't Want To Discuss Failed Transparency Talks,” by Sam Drysdale, State House News Service (paywall): “House and Senate Democrats have promised to improve transparency and make the legislative process more efficient, but while they set those lofty goals, lawmakers have little interest in discussing their work behind closed doors nor why previous reform attempts failed. The House and Senate failed to agree on updated joint rules packages governing their mutual work in each of the prior two-year terms, leaving the Legislature in that span operating under policies established in 2019 and many transparency ideas stuck in limbo. And while top Democrats are boasting about major laws they just agreed to, the lawmakers tasked with finding common ground on opening up the legislative process remain tight-lipped on why their talks faltered.” — “Mass. DPH says drink-spiking test kits fall short as prevention method,” by Sydney Ko, WBUR. SNEAK PEAK — One policy rider going into Gov. Maura Healey’s FY26 budget: shifting the burden of broker fees onto whoever hires them (in Massachusetts, that’s typically the landlords). Healey rolled out the proposal, which already has support in the Senate, yesterday as she gears up for her State of the Commonwealth speech later this week. “Broker fees are an unfair cost for renters, and they should not be on the hook to pay for someone they didn’t hire,” the governor said in a statement that went out with the announcement.
| | | FROM THE HUB | | | — “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu renews effort to provide tax relief for homeowners, files updated home rule petition,” by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe: “When the state Senate dealt the final blow to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s property tax proposal last year, political insiders and observers alike assumed the dramatic, extended battle over the measure had come to an end. Turns out Wu wasn’t done. Wu refiled a tax proposal Monday aimed at blunting further increases to residential property tax bills, this time with a new contingency plan in case her effort again fails.” — “Boston Mayor Wu’s tax relief bill welcomed by ‘struggling’ senior homeowners, but hammered by real estate industry,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s decision to try again on legislation aimed at providing residential tax relief offered some peace of mind for senior homeowners reeling from hefty property tax hikes, but rankled a struggling commercial sector. The ‘expanded’ home rule petition Wu filed Monday with the Boston City Council features many of the elements included in a prior bill that was backed by the Council and House of Representatives but died in the Senate last month.” — “Teachers Plan Pickets At All Boston Schools Thursday,” by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service (paywall): “In a sign of growing unrest in another Massachusetts school district, this time its largest, the Boston Teachers Union plans Thursday to hold informational pickets before school begins at all 116 public schools in the city. The union voted unanimously Jan. 8 to hold the citywide pickets, saying its vote reflected frustration after nearly a year of contract talks with city leaders failed to ‘yield meaningful progress on critical issues.’”
| | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “In Revere, a push for answers after man arrested with assault rifle and 10 pounds of fentanyl at state shelter,” by Danny McDonald, The Boston Globe: “City councilors are calling for an explanation from state officials after an undocumented immigrant was arrested last month with an assault rifle and 10 pounds of fentanyl at a hotel here being used as an emergency shelter for migrants and homeless families. At its meeting Monday night at City Hall, the 11-member council overwhelmingly passed a motion directing the mayor and the city’s legislative delegation to request representatives from the state’s housing office appear before the council to discuss vetting procedures for those who stay at the emergency assistance spaces in the state.”
| | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “Changing tables aren't required on Amtrak or Commuter Rail. Riders want that to change,” by Jeremy Siegel, GBH News: “Amtrak does not have an official policy surrounding diaper changes, though many of its trains are equipped with changing areas. Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams said in an email that the company’s fleet of more than 1,100 passenger cars includes 1,200 restrooms in total. But access is uneven. Changing tables are available on the Northeast Regional and Acela trains running between Boston and New York, for example, but not on the Downeaster train, which connects Boston and Maine.”
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “Rep. Richard Neal seeks workable agenda, not ‘chaos’ in second Trump term,” by Jim Kinney, The Springfield Republican: “A workable agenda that can pass a closely-divided Congress — that’s what U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal said he wants to hear from the president-elect at next week’s inauguration. Neal said he will attend the inauguration on Jan. 20. The Democrat representing the state’s 1st Congressional District said he doesn’t want to hear chaos and vindictiveness from President-elect Donald Trump as he returns to the White House.”
| | TRUMPACHUSETTS | | — “How will Trump’s housing pick impact Mass.? One Bay State lawmaker wants answers,” by John L. Micek, MassLive: “President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to shape the nation’s housing policy for the next four years will face no shortage of questions when he appears before a U.S. Senate committee later this week. And many of them will be coming from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who fired off a 13-page, 75-question letter to Scott Turner, who’s been tapped to lead the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.” — “Immigrants fear police involvement in Trump deportation arrests, but state law bans it,” by Arthur Hirsch, The New Bedford Light: “President-elect Donald Trump likely doesn’t realize it, but when he talks about mass deportations, he conjures frightening images for members of New Bedford’s immigrant community. Some were there, or know people who were, or have heard stories about the bitter cold March 6, 2007, when federal agents descended on a factory in the South End.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Holyoke treasurer hopes to be fired, urges voters at special election to make position an appointed one,” by Samuel Gelinas, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “City Treasurer Rory Casey is making the case for voters ahead of a Jan. 28 special election that he should be fired. ‘Most politicians would stand up in front of a group of voters and say, you know, ‘Please hire me.’ I’m a little bit different. I’m standing here in front of you voters and saying, ‘Please fire me,’’ Casey said last week on Holyoke Media, arguing in favor of question that asks voters whether the position of treasurer should become an appointed position rather than elected.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Brockton School Committee divided on extending Superintendent Tahiliani's contract, pay,” by Christopher Butler, The Brockton Enterprise: “Brockton Public Schools Superintendent Priya Tahiliani will lead the district until at least 2027, as the School Committee voted 5-3 last week to extend her contract as well as increase her salary. Members approved a $35,000 pay increase for Tahiliani, as well as an extension until 2027, in a vote that was starkly not unanimous. The new contract will become official after it is signed by both Tahiliani and the full School Committee at their next meeting.” — “How Massachusetts is preparing for future wildfires,” by Diego Lopez and Dave Epstein, GBH News: “As deadly wildfires continue to burn in the Los Angeles area, state officials are preparing for the upcoming spring fire season in Massachusetts. Last fall, the state saw a historic number of fires that burned roughly 4,000 acres over the course of two months. Massachusetts chief fire warden Dave Celino said a range of factors combined to fuel those flames: drought, low humidity, wind, and leaves on the ground.” — “An MBTA Communities reality check,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Beacon: “Even as proponents of the MBTA Communities Act cheer its high court green light and await forthcoming emergency regulations, they’d like everyone to keep their feet planted solidly in reality about the possible impacts of the sweeping housing law.” RELATED — “In latest town to be split by housing plan, Needham voters head to the polls,” by Andrew Brinker, The Boston Globe.
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