NBC10 Boston's Corey Smith, Sue O'Connell and Matt Pritchard bring you politics and government coverage and analysis from Beacon Hill to Capitol Hill every Sunday on @Issue. But there's always more to talk about.
“Taking@Issue” offers a glimpse into the conversations happening behind the scenes, providing insight into the issues and reporting that impact Boston and Massachusetts.
This week Matt and Sue are doing an @Issue with a third party candidate. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named Nicole Shanhan as his vice president candidate for a third-party bid. who is she? I will explain. Additionally, Steward Healthcare is selling its physician group to Optum despite heavy criticism from local, state and federal leaders.Dive into outdoor dining in the North End
We discuss why opinions about putting tables on crowded street corners are so strong.
Listen to the podcast in the player above or subscribe wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
RFK Jr. elected as Vice President
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, adding a wealthy but nationally unknown figure to his bid for the White House.
“As far as her political experience, I don't think there's anything, but as far as her business experience, certainly she's established and I always hate to refer to someone's spouse, but her Her ex-spouse was one of the founders.'' As a Google employee, she was part of a highly successful and profitable business world.,” Sue said.
Shanahan was previously married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin and is familiar with Silicon Valley's big companies. But Sue is concerned about Shanahan's “bizarre” medical views on her, pointing to her comments about vitamin D and IVF. But those beliefs could align her well with RFK Jr., who has faced criticism for her anti-establishment views and skepticism about the coronavirus and the government's response.
“This whole RFK campaign has been built on skepticism, in a way, from the beginning. So, skepticism about everything, whether it's in the medical field or politics in everyday life,” Matt said. It pointed out. Outside.
How might a transaction with Steward Healthcare affect patients?
Lawmakers are debating a proposal to sell Stewardship Health's physician group to OptumCare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. But what are the potential implications for patients who rely on Steward Hospital for treatment?
“When we were talking about this earlier in the week, it seemed like this might make it harder to find a family doctor, it might make it harder to stay healthy.” “If your current primary care physician drops your current health insurance, your current insurance will switch to Optum, and that's a big shake-up,” Matt explains.
The Congressional delegation also expressed concern that the proposal to sell only the physician group would reduce the value of Steward's remaining hospitals and real estate, thus making it difficult for Steward to sell off his portion and leave the state. expressed.
“It seems optimistic when this press release comes out, right? They say so. You know, we found a buyer, but it's only for one component. It's much more complicated than that.”
This also exacerbates the state's existing care shortage, Hsu said.
“I know it's always hard to accept that we live in this medical capital of the world, this central city, a medical capital. And we're part of an established medical provider. Even if you have, it still takes 6-8 months to make a doctor's appointment already.”
What is outdoor dining like in the North End?
Some North End restaurateurs continue to protest regulations that prevent them from offering outdoor dining, regulations that are unique to the city's neighborhoods.
“Part of the problem here is everyone wants to go to the North End, North End restaurants. They want to be able to eat outdoors like they can in a lot of other places. “That means reducing parking on the streets in an already compacted area,” Matt explains. “They held a protest earlier in the week, basically shut down restaurants from 3 to 5 p.m., and held a community meeting to encourage Mayor Michelle Wu to come and talk about the possibility of doing this. However, many people are against this, including residents who live in the North End.”
This is an older neighborhood with very narrow streets, difficult to navigate by car, and limited parking, which precludes outdoor dining.
“The people who actually live there, and a lot of them already don't want to expand this, because if you go there now, it's already a little bit like Disneyland. Okay, so I We left it up to the residents to decide what they want.''The companies, many of whom don't live in the neighborhood, let the residents decide what they want and don't want, although that's their job.'' They don’t live there to make decisions and tell their city council members and mayors,” Sue said.
And don't forget that the North End is already a tourist destination and gets crowded during Bruins-Celtics games and other events at the Garden.
“I don't go to the North End to eat outdoors; I go to the North End for the North End. And even if all the restaurants in the North End don't have outdoor dining, in fact… There's no problem.''
This is just a portion of this week's conversation. Watch the entire podcast in the video above, or subscribe to listen and follow the podcast anywhere.
