The Landscape
Congressional Democrats are going to try to remove President Trump from office. Here’s what you need to know: The earliest action on impeachment could happen Tuesday in the House Rules Committee, which would prepare legislation for the House floor. Actual votes on impeachment can occur no sooner than Wednesday – a week before Trump leaves office. Democratic leadership will first call on Vice President Pence and the Cabinet to remove Trump under the provisions of the 25th amendment.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will deliver his last State of the City address Tuesday night. With Walsh set to join the Biden administration as Labor Secretary, the virtual address is expected to celebrate the resiliency of the City over the past year in the fight against COVID-19 and serve as an initial farewell. Once Walsh resigns (likely only after he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate), City Council President Kim Janey will become the first Black person and first woman Mayor of Boston.
As the chapter closes on Walsh’s watch over the city, the race to succeed him and shape Boston’s future, is heating up. City Councilors Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell’s campaigns are long underway but the field is far from formed, with the possible addition of at least a dozen more candidates including: state Senators Nick Collins and Sonia Chang-Diaz; Councilors Annissa Essaibi George, Michael Flaherty, Ed Flynn and Ricardo Arroyo; state representatives Jon Santiago and Aaron Michlewitz as well as City Economic Development Chief John Barros and Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross.
At the State House, budget writers face a statutory deadline this week to agree on a consensus revenue for Fiscal Year 2022, which begins July 1. Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder said the Baker administration’s forecast predicts that tax collections are anticipated a massive range, somewhere between a decline of 1 percent and an increase of 8.8 percent. Officials must also come to terms on transfers of billions of dollars to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the School Building Authority, the Workforce Training Fund, and the state pension fund.
The News
- Fire at Black Springfield church evokes long history of hate
- How Parlor became a test of free speech
- Police reassess security for Biden inauguration
- Throughout history, mass vaccine rollouts have been problematic
- Massachusetts state senator files bills to make voting by mail permanent
- Dozens of school districts roll back reopening amid COVID cases
SILVER LINING:
- HARVARD SQUARE COBBLER: 85-year-old Christos Soillis who owns Felix Shoe Repair, embodies the American dream.