An irreplaceable hole in our community
An irreplaceable hole in our community
My phone was buzzing all day yesterday following the devastating news that A. Russo’s & Sons in Watertown will close this fall, as owner Tony Russo retires after 70 years.
The loss of this century-old family business will leave an irreplaceable hole in our community.
?There is no runner up.
While losing Russo’s stinks for those of us who’ve shopped there, it must be heartbreaking for the men and women who work there -- faces (and even one voice) familiar to so many of us.
And it’s devastating for the restaurants, small grocers and others who depend on Russo’s wholesale business, and everyone from cultures across the globe who turn to Russo’s for those hard-to-find ingredients that unlock connections to home.
Last but not least: Losing Russo's is a major financial blow to the farmers and artisans who sold their unique specialty products there.
“As fellow retailers we can attest that Russo’s stands alone as the very best retailer that Watertown has ever seen," John Airasian, owner of Eastern Clothing, wrote on Watertown News. "It’s amazing the store that Tony has created here…they will be sorely missed."
No official word yet about what might happen to the site.
According to Watertown News, the property at 560 Pleasant Street is zoned to allow a mix of retail, commercial and light industrial uses, including presumably biotech. It does not allow for residential uses.
If carrots don't work, will sticks?
Workers who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 could soon be paying a surcharge for health insurance.
The higher premiums -- as much as $20 to $50 per paycheck -- would be similar to the way smokers sometimes pay more for insurance than nonsmokers, according to CBS Money Watch.
Wade Symons, a partner at Mercer Health, a benefits consulting firm said the idea of charging unvaccinated employees more for health coverage is "gaining momentum" among his clients in manufacturing, retail, hospitality, financial services and other sectors.
"Unvaccinated individuals have potential to cost the employer more from a health care spend perspective," Symons said. "They could get COVID and incur expensive hospital costs up to $50,000 for an individual with a tough COVID case."
While most major private insurance companies initially waived patient payments for COVID-19 treatment, several have allowed the policy to lapse, according to Kaiser Health.
Aetna ended its insurance waiver policy at the end of February. UnitedHealthcare officially stopped its waivers in March.
Meanwhile, the Hill is reporting that the number of job postings that require vaccines have nearly doubled.
Popular employee tax credit may end early
Employers who are taking advantage of the Employee Retention Credit have been able to invest thousands of dollars back into their business.
But the federal tax credit which was scheduled to run through the end of 2021 would expire three months early under the version of the infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. Senate, reports Ty West for the BBJ.
The ERC allows businesses that were required to close or partially suspend operations during the pandemic, or saw business fall by 50% or more, to get thousands of dollars in credits per employee.
Wellesley seeking businesses, employees, to join for DEI task force
The Town of Wellesley is looking for business owners, employees, residents and other individuals in the community to serve on a 25-member Diversity Equity & Inclusion task force.
Frequently Asked Questions here. Interest form is here. The deadline to apply is Sept. 13. Questions to dei@wellesleyma.gov.
Leary stay on the ballot
Newton politics turned icky once again this week when a group challenged incumbent Ward 1 City Councilor At Large Allison Leary’s right to be on the ballot this fall for no apparent reason other than they didn’t agree with her progressive politics and realized they couldn't defeat her at the ballot box.
Ultimately the election commission dismissed the challenges to signature after signature on her nomination papers last night and Leary prevailed. Still very discouraging.
Still time to participate in bike survey
There's just a few days left to participate in the MassDOT survey about why and when Massachusetts residents ride bikes. Results will inform future planning, policies and projects statewide. Take the survey here, through Thursday.
Baker: No new mask mandate
Gov. Charlie Baker still has no plans to issue a statewide mask mandate, even though the CDC guidelines say everyone in Massachusetts should be wearing masks in public indoor places (and coronavirus in our waste water is on the rise again).
Instead Baker said again yesterday that he’s leaving that decision – including for schools – to individual communities.
"I'm not considering changing the mask guidance at this time."
The governor said he continues to pay close attention to case counts, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. But he believes Massachusetts is in a different category than other states because of its higher vaccination rate, reports Matt Murphy at State House News.
At 65 percent, Massachusetts has the second highest vaccination rate in the country, behind only Vermont.
"You can't look at the commonwealth of Massachusetts and look at our vaccination rate, our hospitalization rate and compare it to the rest of the country," Baker said.
But Needham Sen. Becca Rausch is among the Democrats who have been critical of Baker's response. Rausch is the sponsor of a bill that would require universal masking in public schools.
"Giving locals the opportunity to own the decisions they make is a big and important issue,” Baker said, “and if you look at what's playing out in other states right now where state government has taken away the authority for locals to make their own decisions, that's not the right way to play this game. It's just not.”
We're No. 6 (and very proud)!
The Boston Business Journal’s annual ranking of the Largest Chambers of Commerce in Massachusetts is out and I’m proud to report that your chamber once again moved up in the rankings.
With 984 member businesses and nonprofits, we’re now Massachusetts’ sixth largest chamber.
That’s up from the No. 8 spot (957 members) one year ago. Eight years ago, we were No. 20 on the BBJ list (with 550 members).
So many chambers statewide exhibited amazing leadership this past year. To stand among the biggest and best in the Commonwealth is an honor.
Thanks to all our members, citizen members and annual partners for believing in and supporting our advocacy.
Tomorrow we'll be announcing the next step in our chamber’s evolution. I can’t wait to tell you about it.
See you then.
President, Newton-Needham Regional Chamber
617-244-1688
Your chamber is here when you need us.
Powered By GrowthZone