EPA Administrator SCOTT PRUITT had aides "deployed on missions related" to his personal entertainment, including help "book his travel" for the Georgia-Oklahoma Rose Bowl. Pruitt had "secured seats near the 50-yard line for the face value of $175 each" from a special allotment for OU "with the help" of OU Regent RENZI STONE. Tickets for equivalent seats "were on sale on the secondary market for as much as seven times the price paid" by Pruitt. Meanwhile, EPA staff members also "helped arrange meetings and phone calls" for Pruitt with "influential donors to his past campaigns and political causes in Oklahoma, where he served as a state lawmaker and attorney general before joining the TRUMP administration." The appointments -- including with AEG Chair PHIL ANSCHUTZ -- were "kept off" Pruitt’s public schedule (N.Y. TIMES, 6/15).
NAMES: Baseball HOFer PEDRO MARTINEZ will hold his Feast With 45 fundraiser, benefiting Martinez' charity, on June 29 at Fenway Park. Forty-five top local chefs will "prepare signature bites for guests." Former MLBer JASON VARITEK will make a special appearance (BOSTONHERALD.com, 6/15)....Celtics coach BRAD STEVENS spoke to the NBA 2K League CLTX Gaming team on Monday (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 6/15).
IN MEMORY: Longtime Philadelphia sports broadcaster AL MELTZER, a “congenial and enthusiastic voice” for most of the city’s teams and TV stations, “died Tuesday.” Meltzer at one time or another "worked for all three of the city’s network affiliates.” Details of his death, as well as “services and survivors, weren’t immediately available.” Meltzer at various times did “play-by-play for the 76ers, Eagles, Phillies and Big 5 basketball” (PHILLY.com, 6/14).
