Month: April 2025

• The Bill Belichick Show

  April 11, 2025

  If you’re tired of all things Trump, there’s always Bill Belichick news floating around. … Try resisting this one, via NBC Boston: “Bill Belichick’s girlfriend Jordon Hudson competing for Miss Maine USA.” … Hmm. She’s from Maine. Didn’t know that. … Then there’s this, from the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy: “Bill Belichick shows no love for Patriots owner Robert Kraft in new book, and other thoughts.” … Meanwhile, Bill now has his own version of HBO’s Hard Knocks. From the NY Post: “Fans get rare look at Bill Belichick’s UNC practice in new behind-the-scenes video.” … And if you run out of Bill B news, there’s always the upcoming NFL draft to mull. It’s not a glamorous pick, but the Pats really do need a Will Campbell-like tackle.

  Update — 4.11.25 – From a HB reader: “I’m curious about BB’s book but I can’t believe it goes as deeply as his occasionally revealing off-the-cuff conversations during late season press conferences about the history of special teams and his adoration of lacrosse.   This book does the most explaining.”

• Mass. Republican Party: the EKG shows signs of life

  April 10, 2025

  

  Well, what do you know. There really is a Republican party in Massachusetts. Earlier this week, Mike Kennealy, a former private equity manager and former housing and economic development secretary under Gov. Charlie Baker, declared his candidacy for governor, the first Republican to officially challenge Gov. Maura Healey. And he may not be the last. The Herald reported yesterday that Republican “mega donor” Michael Minogue spoke with MassGOP officials about possibly running for governor. And, as reported by SHNS at WBUR, other potential GOP candidates include Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis, former MBTA Chief Administrator Brian Shortsleeve, former U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton, and state Sen. Peter Durant.

  This isn’t exactly an A list of gubernatorial candidates. Come to think of it, do state Republicans have a theoretical A list of any kind for any office in Massachusetts? Democrats hold all statewide constitutional offices in Massachusetts, all 11 Congressional seats, and huge legislative majorities on Beacon Hill. Still, the GOP’s list of real and potential gubernatorial contenders ain’t that bad. As far as B lists go, it’s a B +. Maybe I’m being a little generous. But remember that Mitt Romney, a former private equity honcho, never held elected office until he won the governorship in ’02. And Baker’s big claim to fame prior to becoming governor in 2015 was serving as a star cabinet member under former Govs. Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci (setting aside his monumental three years as a Swampscott selectman)… 

  As things stand now, I don’t think any Republican is going to knock off Healey in ‘26. But at the least the party is showing some signs of life. Not a lot. But the EKG bleeps are there. … WGBH has more on Kennealy here, btw. And for all you biz types out there, he formerly worked in PE at TA Associates and Spectrum Equity.

• As Gavin Newsom goes on trans athletes, so goes Massachusetts? 

  April 10, 2025

  It’s not going to survive the legislative process. Even if it does,  they’ve attached too many trip wires to prevent its implementation. But it is interesting that the Democratic-controlled Massachusetts House, in this bluest of blue states, has actually passed, very quietly, on a non-recorded vote, without even mentioning transgender athletes, a measure that would ban public schools from allowing athletes to play on a team of the opposite sex, the Globe reports. … As Gavin Newsom goes on trans athetes, so goes Massachusetts? … I’d love to know more about the behind-the-scenes machinations that led to the House passage of this provision. Is its passage just a legislative sleep-at-the-switch fluke? Is there a sizeable number of Dems who privately want to get rid of this political pain-in-the-neck issue? How much does recent Trump administration pressure on the MIAA factor into this, if at all? …

  I happen to agree with Newsom and our very own U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, both Democrats, that allowing trans athletes to play in women’s sports is bad policy and bad politics for Dems. The party needs to tack to the center on this and other issues. So I’m hoping there’s at least some legislative substance behind this measure. 

  Update — This is interesting, via the Globe: “Gavin Newsom is following Ronald Reagan’s playbook.”

  Update II — Though I like the fact he’s tacking to the center, I’m no big fan of Newsom. It’s not just his slicked-back Michael Douglas hair. (It’s so ’80s). It’s something else. A Hub Blog reader compared him to John Kerry, another pol with a bad case of Potomac Fever. I wouldn’t go that far. But I know what he means.

  Update III –– 4.11.25 – At the Globe, N.H. Rep. Jonah Orion Wheele, a Democrat, writes that transgender people shouldn’t be isolated from society, but women concerned about their privacy and rights need to be listened to as well.

• Newton’s Third Law: Tech firm signs major office lease in Financial District, Fidelity dumps 800K SF on sublease market

  April 9, 2025

  It’s not quite man bites dog. But it is an unusual story these days when a major company signs a major office lease expansion in Boston’s Financial District. BisNow and the BBJ have more on Klaviyo’s lease of 256K sf at 125 Summer St. …But here’s more proof that Newton’s Third Law applies to CRE too. From Bisnow: “Fidelity Puts 800K SF Boston Headquarters Up For Sublease.” B&T has more on Fidelity’s move from 245 Summer to its refurbished CommonWealth Pier.

• Holy mackerel, Trump retreats on tariffs, wounded and weakened 

  April 9, 2025

  Forget the 20-20 solution. He took the full-retreat option on tariffs. Well, almost full retreat. He’s still going after China. … The WSJ and NYT have more on the big tariffs flip-flop. …  From CNBC, the Orwellian spin attempt: “White House insists Trump’s tariff reversal was his strategy all along.” … Riiiiiight. …

  This is going to wound Trump. He looks weak and fickle. …. I can’t think of a bigger setback for him since 2016. Well, OK, there was the 2020 pandemic and election loss. But this was a totally self-inflicted wound, a complete misjudgment of how world markets would react to his tariffs. … Democrats must be loving this. Finally, a victory! … And practically every other nation in the world is getting a good guffaw out of this. … Btw: Is he blaming anyone yet? Jerome Powell is my go-to guess.

  Update — 3:55 p.m. – Fox News hasn’t found its tariffs-reversal footing yet. As every other news organization in the world covers the biggest story in the world, Fox is covering some forgettable coal-energy hearing on Capitol Hill. … Wait … It just hit 4 p.m., top of the hour, and, yes, Fox is covering Trump’s signing of new executive orders related to Pentagon procurement and ocean cargo vessels.

  Update II — 4.10.25 – I should have known. He’s blaming Biden and Obama.

  Update III — 4.11.25 – From the WSJ’s Peggy Noonan: “Trump’s Climbdown for the Ages.” Here’s the subhead on her column: “The president has started scaring members of his base, and there’s life in the establishment yet.” …

• The Zero-Zero Solution: How Trump can declare an actual tariffs victory

  April 8, 2025

  Even though President Trump on Monday rejected the EU’s offer of a “zero-zero” tariffs deal, my hunch is that a zero-zero agreement, or a variation of one, with individual countries is probably going to be how the president wriggles out of the giant tariff mess he’s created. … Two GOP lawmakers are urging him to take the EU deal – and similar offers.  Meanwhile, conservative economic gurus Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore write at the WSJ that a “smart and urgent exit strategy” is indeed accepting offers from individual countries for zero tariffs. Of course, Elon Musk is also making the same argument. … 

  The Trump administration’s chief tariffs cheerleader, Peter Navarro, is urging Trump to hold firm on tariffs. And maybe Trump will. At the least, he’ll have to hold firm for a while because he’ll look weak if he’s seen as caving too soon on tariffs. He also probably has some favorite tariffs he wants to keep for favored pals and industries. But when you think about it, the zero-zero solution, or something resembling it, makes sense. It would allow him to declare victory on tariffs – and it actually would be a victory, albeit one achieved at a terrible cost, if it leads to lower trade barriers in general. Even if he cuts deals with just a handful of prominent trade partners, it would help calm markets. It’s the logical thing for Trump to do. But this president is anything but logical. 

  Update – From the NYT: “Trump Officials Signal Openness to Tariff Talks.” … But they’re also saying talks won’t prevent new tariffs from taking effect.

  Update II – 4.9.25 — Obviously, China is in its own Trump tariffs doghouse and reaching a final deal with Beijing will be tricky. Until an agreement is reached, it’s a full-on trade war with China.

  Update II – 4.10.25 – So much for my zero-zero predictions. Trump has once again delayed/backed down on tariffs, or at least most of them. I should have known. …

• After the Trump cuts: ‘Can Boston Still Be Boston?’

  April 8, 2025

  The NYT has a good piece on how the Trump administration’s funding assaults on higher-ed and medical research will probably impact Boston more than any other city in the country. The article gets a little carried away with lines like: “Boston is confronting a once-implausible question: Will its core identity survive?” … Ah, well, the answer is: yes. But it will be a diminished core, as the article makes clear. Here’s just one example of that diminishment, via the Globe: “‘This looks bad.’ A Harvard infectious disease researcher is targeted in Trump’s review.” …

  And it’s not just Boston that’s going to suffer. The U.S. is going to lose a lot of its scientific edge and talent as a result of these very foolish, ignorant cuts. Think not? From NPR: “Other countries boost recruitment of American scientists amid cuts to scientific funding.” … As they say, follow the money. … Some are fighting the research cuts. But this SCOTUS ruling doesn’t bode well for such efforts.

• Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien: The Joe Rogan of Boston?

  April 8, 2025

  

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  Via the Herald, I didn’t know Sean O’Brien, head of the national Teamsters union and long-time boss of Boston’s Teamsters Local 25, had started his own podcast called ‘Better Bad Ideas.’ You might be thinking: ‘Big deal. Everyone seems to have a podcast these days.’ True. But hip social-media outreach isn’t something you associate with Teamster bosses. Prisons, yes. Podcast studios, no. … OK, cheap shot. But it is unusual to see a Teamster leader in such a setting. And O’Brien seems comfortable behind the mic interviewing an eclectic mix of guests, including UFC chief Dana White, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, etc. It’s probably only a matter of time before he lands the ultimate guest. After all, they’re pals, sort of. …

  The Hub Blog mind drifts not only to Joe Rogan, but also to The Sam Rothstein Show: Aces High. … The latter seems more appropriate in this case.

• ‘Trump Devotion Syndrome’ – (not to be confused with Trump Derangement Syndrome)

  April 7, 2025

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  I don’t know if Bill Maher coined the phrase ‘Trump Devotion Syndrome.’ But he sure has brought it to my attention. … The opposite of the left-wing’s Trump Derangement Syndrome, Trump Devotion Syndrome exclusively applies to right-ring Trump sycophants, with Maher providing hilarious examples of their undying devotion to the Glorious Leader. …  I’m really enjoying Bill Maher these days, btw. He’s bashing the far left and right with equal abandon. I love it.

• Karen Read Free Zone – no longer

  April 7, 2025

  If you have to read just one article about the Karen Read trial, make it Beth Teitell’s piece this morning in the Globe. It captures the complete zaniness surrounding the case. The KR drama long ago zoomed past the issue of Karen Read’s guilt or innocence. It’s entered its very own cult and conspiracy-theory territory, a mental zone for the obsessed, starring one of the greatest cast of Boston characters ever assembled in and out of a courtroom. … Fyi: With the start of the second KR trial, I was thinking of declaring Hub Blog a Karen Read Free Zone. But that was before reading Beth’s piece. … I promise: I won’t get sucked into the case. Even though she’s obviously guilty. I mean, just look at her. Can’t you see? She’s guilty!