Yesterday’s signing of the $1.9 trillion federal COVID relief bill is having an immediate impact on the travel and tourism.

 

Major airlines are canceling tens of thousands of planned layoffs. Amtrak just announced it will restore long-distance trains in May. 

 

Then again, AAA predicts gas will increase to $4 a gallon by the summer.

 

Here in Massachusetts, where tourism and hospitality was a $22.6 billion industry before plummeting 70 percent in 2020, industry experts are preparing to compete for travelers as travel restrictions are lifted for those who've been vaccinated.

 

"We're all going to start going after a greatly reduced pool of potential visitors," Martha Sheridan, president of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, tells State House News’ Matt Murphy.

 

"How are we going to get them to come to Massachusetts instead of somewhere else? We're going to have to invest in tourism promotion. We have to tell people we are open for business,"

 

Bob Luz, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, is calling for Beacon Hill to extend restaurants’ ability to serve alcohol to go; make outdoor dining expansions permanent; and allow restaurants to pass on credit card processing fees to customers.

 

 

Earlier this week I noted that the latest COVID relief bill includes $28.6 billion for a new Restaurant Revitalization Fund (see next item) plus an extra $1.2 billion for shuttered venue operators grant program.

 

Here’s five other things in the package aimed at helping small businesses recover:

 

Wondering how much each of our municipalities will receive under the new package? MassLive has that here.

 

 

The SBA says it will be weeks, not months, before applications for the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, program opens, reports Restaurant Hospitality.

 

The program will offer grants with a maximum of $10 million per restaurant group or $5 million per individual restaurant location. Eligible businesses include foodservice and drinking establishments that are not part of an affiliated restaurant group with more than 20 locations and are not publicly traded.

 

Unlike PPP applications, which are processed through banks and other lenders, restaurants will apply directly through the SBA.

 

And unlike when you visit one of these restaurants, there will be no doggy bags: Any unallocated money left on the table goes back to Uncle Sam.

 

 

Two advocacy groups credited with leading the effort to convince Congress to establish that restaurant fund -- the Independent Restaurant Coalition and National Restaurant Association – raised eyebrows when they praised Republican lawmakers who actually voted against their program, reports the Hill.

 

The groups both went out of the way to thank Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) though they both voted against the $1.9 trillion relief bill, as did every other Republican.

 

“I was for that bill, introduced that bill, long, long before this legislation,” Wicker boasted, even after voting no last week.

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The IRE later acknowledged the inconsistency.

 

“You are right, Senator Wicker did not vote for the package (we wish all members did!), but his work on the RESTAURANTS Act from the beginning made the relief fund possible,” the group tweeted.

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she expects many GOP lawmakers who voted against the relief package will take credit for it. 

 

“They say 'no' to the vote, and they show up at the ribbon-cuttings or the presentations,” Pelosi said.

 

 

 

Watertown will be adding bike lanes to Waverley Avenue, between Belmont and Orchard streets, in a plan that will also add curbing and planting strips along the roadway, Watertown News reports.

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The lanes will be on both sides of the street, but will not run the entire length of that part of Waverley Avenue. At least one business attending a recent meeting expressed concern about the loss of 22 parking space. But the Town Council approved the plan 9-0.

 

 

The MBTA will resume work Monday on the $101 million track and signal replacement project to modernize and improve service along the D Line.

 

Contractors are scheduled to resume major construction overnight and on weeknights in Newton Centre, Newton Highlands and, later this month, Waban. Details.

 

 

The Newton-based nonprofit Welcome Home, collects, sorts and repackages used and still usable home goods and make them available to people who are starting new homes.

 

Most recipients are folks moving from shelters into permanent homes, immigrants, and people who are experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic. 

 

Welcome Home is looking for an affordable new location of about 1,000 square feet at ground level to accommodate their work and volunteers. Any ideas? Contact Julie Plaut Mahoney.

 

 

Beacon Hill lawmakers are proceeding with that bill that would stop Unemployment Insurance rates from increasing by nearly 60 percent. It's part of a package that includes a PPP small business tax fix and enhanced COVID paid sick leave. 

 

But even with the freeze, employers still face a double-digit increase in the UI tax rate, warns Jon Hurst of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts in a CommonWealth op-ed.

 

Hurst worries that the proposal fails to address the long-term problems and liability with the system.

 

“It is imperative that employers receive real assistance to cover a massive deficit they did not cause,” Hurst writes.

 

“At a time when many employers are still not yet back on their feet, asking current and future employers and entrepreneurs to pay deferred taxes amortized over several years could set back Massachusetts’ economic recovery, expansion, and wage and job growth for a generation.”

 

 

A reminder that the state’s new vaccine preregistration system opens this morning, just President Biden says all adults should be able to have booked their appointment by May 1.

 

The Globe explains what you should know about the system. Find our when you're eligible here.

 

On the other hand, everyone is eligible now to make plans for Saint Patrick's Day, Passover and Easter dining by browsing our holiday menus guide.

 

Biden is promising to add more vaccine. We're eager to add more menus.

 

That's all for now. Spring forward and take good care this weekend.

 

 

President, Newton-Needham Regional Chamber

617-244-1688

Your chamber is here when you need us.