Good morning,

Did being a superhero – or a vampire — just become more expensive?

Is the War on Christmas back on?

Beats me. But some types of Christmas ornaments — along with capes and cloaks — appear on the mind-boggling lists of hundreds of goods from Canada subject to new 50% Trump tariffs that took effect on Saturday.

Also expect to pay higher import taxes on tongue depressors, molasses, horsehair, dog muzzles, buoys, suit jackets, dresses and 36 different kinds of plywood.

Our northern neighbors accounted for about a quarter of Massachusetts' $43 billion of goods imports last year, notes the Globe's Larry Edelman.

Fortunately, energy, our biggest Canadian import (36%), isn't on the tariff list …yet.

But other top import categories are, including agricultural goods (27%) and forest products (9%), like lumber.

Then there's Canada's retaliatory tariffs due to be announced today: About 8% of the state's $33.8 billion in product exports go to Canada, including optical, medical and precision instruments; computers; plastics; pharmaceuticals; aircraft and parts; and paper and paperboard, Edelman adds.

And President Trump said in a social media post yesterday that the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on all Canadian automotive and steel imports, effective Jan. 1, 2027.

Will the new tariffs impact your business? Email me.

Big news about one of our leading business leaders

For years, he's been the Needham businessman most willing to speak up for other small business owners, both locally and regionally.

He's also done more to bring vibrancy to Needham Center than any other single business owner in the past decade.

Now Jay Spencer has announced that he has sold the French Press Bakery & Café after 11 years, ending a presence in the community that began several years earlier, when the Ohio native and former corporate executive purchased Petit Robert Bistro on the other side of Chapel Street. 

Arthur Davtian — Spencer's pastry chef since 2015 and assistant general manager — is taking over the business. Spencer plans to spend "more time with my kiddos" and do some business advising.

French Press' popularity, rave reviews and those Friday fried chicken sandwiches speak for themselves. So does the fact that it's become both a local hangout and regional destination.

But the Spencer I've come to know and admire was also the guy with a huge grin, a giant laugh and a bigger heart.

He was always ready to organize and champion his fellow business owners. He spoke up on their behalf, opposing onerous regulations and embracing unpopular positions. He did it even while facing racist remarks throughout his restaurant career.

Spencer chaired our chamber's Dining Collaborative during the pandemic, creating a weekly forum for restaurateurs to collaborate, commiserate, share resources and best practices.

He was also vice chair of our board of directors, providing support, guidance and tough love as our organization experienced record growth.

"To everyone who has stopped in for a cup of coffee, shared a meal with us, picked up a favorite pastry, celebrated a special occasion, or simply made French Press part of your day—thank you," Spencer wrote on Instagram.

"Your support, kindness, encouragement, and loyalty over these past 11 years have meant more to me than I can possibly express."

And on behalf of Needham and the region's business community, we say: thank you, Jay Spencer.

Brookline to parking lot operators: don't rent to ICE

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu last week sent a letter urging private parking operators to reject requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Now Brookline is looking to do the same.  The Select Board is expected to vote tonight on sending its own letter asking local garage and lot operators to follow suit.

The move follows ICE's request for nearly 250 "surge parking" spaces around Boston, part of a broader enforcement expansion. Brookline already bans public parking facilities from civil immigration enforcement. The letter would ask private operators to do the same, voluntarily.

Tuesday grab bag

• Turns out, abutter lawsuits don’t just drive up the costs of private developments.
  
  
• The Globe has endorsed Sen. Will Brownsberger for reelection.  Watch the video of our business-focused debate between Brownsberger and challenger Daniel Lander.
  
  
• Halva Medi Grill is serving kebabs, mezze and other dishes in a new Watertown Square location at 55 Main Street, site of the former Not Your Average Joe’s. 
  
  
• Co-owner Joseph Dagdelen’s new spot is about four times as large as his former space on Mt. Auburn Street. (Watertown News)  
  
  
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts reportedly plans to discontinue all PPO and EPO plans in the merged market (the combined individual and small group markets in the state) after 2026.  I’d be interested to know whether this affects you or your businesses.
  
  
• Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) is hosting an Immigration Law Training course from Oct 6-Nov 23 to equip non-legal service providers with knowledge to support immigrants as they navigate our immigration systems. Details.
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• The risk of exposure to West  Nile virus is now ranked high for Brookline, Newton, Watertown and several other communities. (Axios)
  
  
• HBO is planning a true-crime series based on the case of Louise Woodward, the British nanny who was accused in 1997 of shaking 8-month-old Matthew Eappen of Newton so violently that the child died. (Boston.com)
  
  
• Watertown’s Werewolf Therapeutics is merging with Ambros Therapeutics, a chronic pain biotech co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, in an all-stock reverse merger. The company is located at Arsenal on the Charles. (BBJ)
  
  
• Just over half of mortgaged homes in Massachusetts were equity-rich last quarter — 53.2%, down from 58.2% a year ago — as homeowners tap the equity in their homes for projects instead of selling. (Banker & Tradesman)
  
  
• For the first time since the Life Sciences Initiative was passed in 2008, Massachusetts saw a year-over-year decline in its biopharma workforce. (BBJ)
  
  
• U.S. News & World Report found that Massachusetts has the highest share of top-performing public high schools of any state in the country, with 47 percent of eligible Massachusetts high schools ranking in the top quarter nationally.
  
  
• Ok, this is disgusting.
  
  
• Maybe because it’s summer and he didn’t have the usual number of municipal meetings to watch, but  my colleague Max Woolff figured out that Roundwood Road in  Newton Upper Falls is the official geographic center of our Charles River Regional Chamber  communities

Biotech recruiting pipeline faces new $100K hurdle

The Department of Homeland Security is proposing a new $103,265 fee on H-1B petitions — only this time targeting workers already in the US, not just new hires from abroad, Bloomberg reports.

An earlier $100,000 fee only applied to petitions for workers outside the country. A federal judge in Boston struck that version down as an unlawful tax, so DHS is now pursuing the broader version through formal rulemaking instead of a presidential proclamation.

Biotechs and other sectors routinely recruit PhDs and postdocs through H-1B sponsorship, often hiring students straight off F-1 visas. A $103,000-per-hire fee could make that unworkable for many companies.

Last call on Brookline's outdoor light ordinance

Brookline businesses and property owners have one last formal chance to weigh in on the town's proposed outdoor lighting rules before Town Meeting this fall.

We raised concerns this summer about how the rules could affect businesses and commercial property owners. Since then, the proposal has been revised, with more flexibility for certain fixtures and an exemption from curfew rules when insurance requires lighting. It still sets new standards for shielding, color temperature, lighting hours and existing fixtures.

Read the final proposal and FAQs and weigh in. A hearing is set for Sept. 2, with a final version due the next day for the warrant.

Poll shows support for ‘Starter Homes’

Finally, a new poll finds broad support for a ballot question our board of directors has endorsed: Question 7, the Legalize Starter Homes initiative.

The UMass Amherst/WCVB poll finds 59% of voters back capping minimum lot sizes at 5,000 SF to spur starter home production.

Support crosses party lines and age groups alike.

"Our results suggest that voters across the commonwealth are willing to embrace zoning reform as a potential solution to one of the state's most pressing problems," the pollsters said.

That's no surprise. The same poll asked voters to name the state's most pressing issue. Housing topped the list, beating out cost of living and the economy.

We’re hosting an informational program about Question 7 on Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. via Zoom. Read our endorsement here.

That’s what you need to know for today — happy birthday, Elvis Costello — unless you need to know that baby boomers are smoking more pot.

Salute the end of summer with a cold one Thursday at Watertown Night.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Looking for an earlier edition? Archive here

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.