Good morning friends,

Rather than calling it the Garden City, maybe we should start referring to Newton as the Nobel Prize Winning City.

Earlier this month Newton Centre resident Gary Ruvkun won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Yesterday, Daron Acemoglu, who also lives in Newton Centre, was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics Sciences.

Fig City News’ Nobel Prize beat reporter Jack Prior once again has the details.

30+ Needham businesses say we need more housing

More than 30 Needham businesses — representing virtually every segment of our local economy and thousands of employees — are urging the town to go big on complying with the MBTA Communities Act.

They’ve all signed onto a letter supporting the Neighborhood Housing Plan, the more ambitious of two housing proposals up for a vote before Special Town Meeting next Monday (Oct. 21)

“Voting to support the Neighborhood Housing Plan is a vote in support of Needham’s local merchants and larger businesses and will allow Needham to remain and grow economically vibrant,” the letter from the businesses reads.

The letter was signed by many of Needham’s top employers, including Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham, Big Belly Solar, NBC10 Boston, Needham Bank, Needham Sheraton Hotel, SharkNinja, and Volante Farms.

It’s also endorsed by many of the town’s small mom-and-pop restaurants and shops, including Abbott's Frozen Custard, Blue on Highland, Closet Exchange, French Press Bakery & Café, and Michelson's Shoes.

“We support the four zoning amendments needed to advance the Neighborhood Housing Plan because it creates the only true path that is both in compliance with Massachusetts’ MBTA Communities Law and will gradually and thoughtfully add the housing we need for our workforce,” the letter adds.

See the letter and full list here.

If you represent a Needham-based employer and would like to add your company or nonprofit to the list before Monday email my colleague Max Woolf.

Our position on MCAS

A reminder that the Charles River Chamber’s Board of Directors is recommending a “No” vote on Question 2, the referendum that would eliminate our state’s 10th-grade MCAS graduation requirement.

It’s important to remember that, as written, Question 2 prevents replacing the MCAS requirement with another state standard or curriculum.  

Instead, we will be left with a free-for-all with over 300 different school districts with different graduation standards.  The job and career readiness of our students will be compromised, leading to less qualified applicants and/or significant additional investments in educational remediation and job training.

Massachusetts is currently ranked No. 1 in public education, as well as SAT and ACT scores in the U.S.  

But if Question 2 passes we will become one of just three states without a statewide graduation requirement.  Massachusetts will go from being a national leader in public education to an outlier with more than 300 different standards.

Here’s the video from our recent webinar: What the data tells us about the MCAS test.

Watertown company receives state grant

Disc Medicine, a Watertown biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with hematologic disorders, has been awarded $250,000 from the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Mass. Life Sciences Center.

Headquartered at Arsenal on the Charles, Disc is one of 19 life sciences companies awarded tax incentives expected to create a combined 1,155 new life sciences industry jobs.

Today’s grab bag

• The Head of the Charles Regatta returns this weekend, Friday (Oct. 18) to Sunday (Oct. 20).
  
  
• The Retailers Association of Massachusetts is conducting a confidential survey with the UMass Donahue Institute to understand small business challenges. Massachusetts retailers are urged to complete the 10-minute survey by Nov. 1.
  
  
• NewTV is offering a course on how to create and manage a YouTube channel.
  
  
• Good for Cameron Morsberger at Needham Local for paying attention to the lightly-reported state senate contest between Democrat state Sen. Becca Rausch and Republican Dashe Videira, who staged a write-in campaign to get on the ballot. There won’t even be a League of Women Voters forum for this contest reportedly because Rausch declined to participate saying she was busy with the Jewish holidays.
  
  
• Head to Linden Square Sunday (Oct. 20) from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. for a family-fun Halloween event. Bring a food donation for the Wellesley Food Pantry. Details.
  
  
• Do you know someone who wants to stay in Newton but whose house isn’t working for them anymore?  Newton for Everyone is hosting an event on housing options for older residents, at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. In-person and via zoom.
  
  
• Dizin Fruttiberri on Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown is no longer in business. (Boston Restaurant Talk).
  
  
• Newton City Councilor Bill Humphrey says he will not seek reelection. (Newton Beacon)
  
  
• Physio X in Needham Heights is hosting a launch event on Sat. (Oct. 19) from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., celebrating its partnership with Ice Bath Boston & Breath. The event includes breathwork sessions, recovery services, facility tours, refreshments, and exclusive giveaways. RSVP
  
  
• Maplewood Senior Living is celebrating a decade of exceptional care with an event on Thurs. (Oct. 17) from 5 to 7 p.m. at Maplewood at Weston.  RSV
  
  
• The Newton Zoning Board of Appeals could vote tonight on a 307-unit residential development at 78-84 Crafts Street, which includes 62 affordable units.
  
  
• Our last president sent COVID-19 tests to a Russian dictator. Our current president will send free over-the-counter COVID tests to you.
  
  

Come for the authors, stay for the conversations

Finally, the two-day Authors & Innovators Business Ideas Festival is returning to the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown on Oct. 24 and 25.

Once again curator Larry Gennari from the Needham-based firm Gennari & Aronson is channeling his passion for entrepreneurship, collaboration and reading with an intriguing lineup of innovative business book authors.

But that’s not the only reason — perhaps not even the best reason — to attend this two-day event.

Often the best things about the festival are the conversations that happen with attendees in the lobby between events.   So bring business cards.

Still, here are few highlights from this year’s lineup.

• In “The Mac & Cheese Millionaire,” Erin Wade writes about her journey from corporate lawyer to successful mac and cheese restaurant owner, highlighting the humor, challenges and wins along the way. Here’s a YouTube interview with her.
  
  
• Leslie Zane is the founder and CEO of Triggers. a brand growth consultancy specializing in harnessing subconscious instincts to drive consumer behavior. Her book “The Power of Instinct,” explores how our gut instincts play a huge role in shaping consumer behavior and business growth.
  
  
• In “All the Worst Humans,” Phil Elwood unveils how the PR business works, and how the truth gets made, spun, and sold to the public—not shying away from the gritty details of his unlikely career. Check out this podcast interview as a preview.

Did I mention the entire event is free and that there’s also a virtual option?  

RSVP here. Hope to see you there.

That’s what you need to know for today —  National Boss Day —  unless you need to know about 20 things still made in Massachusetts.

P.S. OMG!

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

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