NBC10 Boston's Cory Smith, Sue O'Connell and Matt Prichard bring coverage and analysis of politics and government from Beacon Hill to Capitol Hill every Sunday on @Issue — but there's always more to talk about.
"Taking@Issue" offers a glimpse of the conversations that happen behind the scenes, bringing you insight on the issues that affect Boston and Massachusetts, and the context behind the coverage.
This week, Matt Prichard and Sue O’Connell are Taking@Issue with the Saint Patrick's Day Parade and the calls to move it out of South Boston. Plus, Gov. Maura Healey wants to keep her private travel private – we spoke with her and detail whether or not that’s the right choice for a governor. And finally, could Haitians be headed for Martha's Vineyard? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is floating that possibility.
Here is a sampling of this week’s conversation. Watch the full podcast in the video above or subscribe to follow along wherever you listen to podcasts.
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SOUTHIE ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
After chaotic weekend celebrations in South Boston, there are calls to reconsider if the neighborhood is still the right place for the parade.
“It crashed our broadcast infrastructure. It crashed, a lot of things that happened in the neighborhood, apparently. So there's been some pushback on that,” Sue explains.
Some of those issues include as many as 11 arrests – many for disorderly conduct - vandalism, and even pockets of violence.
But is that enough to end the more than century-old tradition? Sue points out that it’s not the first time the parade has been mired in some kind of controversy,
“Back in the 90s when, the parade organizers would not let, an LGBTQ veterans group marched, they had to go to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parade so they couldn't march,” Sue said.
“When I was a, community activist at “Bay Windows, the LGBTQ paper where we met with parade organizers trying to break that ban with, then, Mayor Marty Walsh and others, and they wouldn't let us march. Then finally they let people I mean, we have had incidents where so many people showed up and the ground was wet because it's March and people parked in the playgrounds and ball fields and then drove away and, tore up all of the green grass and dirt that needed to be there, requiring the state to have to come in and re sod and soil everything.”
City councilor Ed Flynn is among those calling for a change- but for now it seems like the final decision will hinge on opinion of the local community and whether it will actually need to be moved, or if other changes like increased police presence or better cleanup could save the Southie parade.
GOV. HEALEY'S TRAVEL PLANS
Gov. Maura Healey is drawing a line in the sand between when she discloses her personal travel plans, versus when she's actually doing her gubernatorial duties - and not everyone is happy about it.
The governor's office previously said they would not disclose personal travel plans out of state ahead of time.
"I do disclosure when I'm out of state, whether it's for personal or professional reasons. Certainly, when I'm traveling as governor in my professional duties, I not only provide my calendar, but I provide all the information about where I am, who I'm meeting with, what I'm doing," Healey told reporters earlier this week.
"I've had an evolution on, on this issue in general. I have been a person who has said, if you run for office, this is what you get, right? You get public scrutiny. We need to know where you are. If someone wants to protest in front of your house, they protest in front of your house. And I started to have qualms about that," Sue said.
She points out that former Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu have both had extreme experiences with protesters at their private homes, including break-ins and disruption to the greater neighborhoods. With that in mind, it makes sense for Healey to be concerned about safety and security.
"I would like the governor and her security staff to do a better job informing us, because either I'm overreacting about the security concerns or everyone else is under reacting about the security concerns. So I would like to see a better job communicating that from the governor's office," Sue said.
It's worth noting that the governor apparently reversed course later in the week, disclosing some details about an out-of-state trip to Puerto Rico in February.
COULD HAITIAN MIGRANTS BE SENT TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD?
Gov. Ron DeSantis has hinted he may send migrants fleeing violence in Healey to Martha's Vineyard. Though there have been so arrivals so far, the comments have caught the attention of locals as we await to see if they should be taken seriously.
"It's horrendous. It was horrendous when he did it before. And also the governor of Texas was doing it. These are actual human beings who have been through trauma. You can agree or disagree whether or not you think they should be able to apply for asylum, how they entered the country in order to legally apply for asylum, but using them as pawns for any reason is horrific," Sue said.
There are questions about whether DeSantis is using the commentary as a way to get back some of the media attention he's lost after dropping out of the presidential race.
"I actually went out to the Vineyard to talk with a few folks over there about these comments, and most of them said the same. They sort of felt like he's not actually going to do it. He's just saying it's to sort of go back to what he views as a successful moment for him," Matt added.
Here is a sampling of this week’s conversation. Watch the full podcast in the video above or subscribe to follow along wherever you listen to podcasts.
