Here's today's need to knows
Here's today's need to knows
Starting Monday, you will be able to ask the state to send a mobile vaccine clinic to your workplace. Employers with more than 35 workers can request to host these onsite clinics, indoors or outside, according to the Globe.
Massachusetts actually tried to roll out a similar onsite program back in February but suspended the effort due to a lack of vaccine supply.
In the interim, some employers sidestepped the process contracting with private local pharmacies and health care providers. Our chamber also coordinated an effort to help vaccinate 150 local restaurant workers through the Holtzman Medical Group.
Also starting Monday, you will be able to book a block of appointments for your team at a mass vax site (including at the Natick Mall or Hynes Convention Center) in blocks of ten or more.
Baker defends $300 unemployment boost
Twelve Republican governors are refusing to distribute $300 weekly federal unemployment booster payments to their constituents.
Gov. Charlie Baker doesn’t expect to be joining them.
Asked this week if he'd thought about canceling the additional UI benefits, Baker did not directly say yes or no but described Massachusetts as "a very high-cost state," reports Katie Lannan at State House News.
"My biggest concern about this issue in a state like Massachusetts is we have very high housing costs, food prices have gone up, we have high costs, generally," Baker said.
"And most of the people who've been most profoundly impacted by everything associated with the pandemic are folks who are not, for the most part, even at the median end, much less the upper end, of the wage scale, and they have rent to pay, they have utility bills to pay.
“What I want to do is get them back to work by continuing to reopen the economy and creating jobs and making it possible for them to do that."
Critics of the program believe the $300-a-week supplement provides an incentive for some people to remain out of the job market.
On NPR this week financial columnist Michelle Singletary said the supplements do "just the opposite."
But might Rhode Island have a better idea?
Rhode Island lawmakers passed a bill yesterday that will allow people to work more while still collecting unemployment and those $300 weekly stipends, the Globe reports.
In Montana residents are eligible for a $1,200 “return to work bonus” if they were receiving unemployment benefits as of May 4 and subsequently took a job and completed at least four paid weeks of work.
PPP helped religious organizations too
Massachusetts churches, including Catholic and Christian religious organizations have received upwards of $82 million in PPP loans, reports Isabel Contreras of the BU Statehouse Program for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
That included over $8 million which went to the Archdiocese of Boston, which normally would not have qualified for the PPP since there is a 500-employee cap for businesses and organizations to qualify.
But through lobbying the Catholic Church convinced the Trump administration to grant them an exemption from this rule last year.
Massachusetts universities received over $64 million in PPP dollars and over $175 million went to nonprofit preschools, together with primary and secondary education institutions.
They’re back!
Consumers are coming back.
That’s according to Simon Property Group, the nation's largest real estate investment trust for shopping centers, including the Shops at Chestnut Hill.
“We’re actually seeing really good demand across the board,” said CEO David Simon, according to CoStar.
“Restaurant demand is at the very high level,” he added. “We’re seeing a lot of restaurateurs take some space that was vacated … retrofit and open it quicker.”
Even so, Simon is still warning that the pandemic that shut down most shopping centers and malls throughout a significant amount of 2020 might not be done.
He said there are more retail bankruptcies and store closings on the horizon.
“You can’t blame us for being conservative after what we’ve dealt with for 14 months,” he said.
But they'll be paying a lot more
Meanwhile those customers heading back to stores are finding prices are often much higher than the last time they were there.
Inflation in April accelerated at its fastest pace in more than 12 years.
But this morning the Globe's Larry Edelman puts those "eye-popping price spikes" in perspective.
"This is good news!," he writes. "We are making up for lost spending, helped by those stimulus checks, and that’s pushing up prices for everything from airline tickets to restaurant meals to haircuts after demand for them dried up. The supply disruptions, though challenging, should ease in coming months."
Additional apartments proposed in West Newton
Robert Korff’s Mark Development is looking to add 64 apartments to its Dunstan East project at the corner of Washington and Dunstan streets, reports John Hilliard at the Globe.
The 40B project was originally approved last July at 234 apartments, about 8,000 square feet of retail space, and 294 parking spaces and modified slightly after that.
The new configuration increases the number of apartments to 302, including 76 that are permanently affordable. Parking would increase to 338 spaces.
The change is the result of Mark’s acquisition of the neighboring property at 1157 Washington St. for $5 million in December.
Three for Thursday
- Newton Inspires presents a panel program "Advancing Racial and Economic Equity in the Business Community," May 11, at 7 p.m. featuring Aixa Beauchamp, co-founder of the Latino Equity Fund; Miceal Chamberlain, managing director for Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Markets; and Orlando Watkins, VP for programs at the Boston Foundation. Register.
- The Wellesley Recycling and Disposal Facility is offering free cardboard pickup from businesses in town for recycling. The cardboard has to be “clean” without other types of waste mixed in and be of a quantity that makes sense. Email James Manzolini
- Babson's Experiential Learning connects student consulting groups to your organization to address real-world business challenges at no cost to your organization. Go here to learn more about how you can leverage the support of an experienced and innovative graduate student team! Project proposals are due June 1.
Needham permits its last two packies
Needham Select Board just awarded its final available retail full liquor license and its last available retail wine and beer retail license.
Gordon's Fine Wines and Liquors will expand its e-commerce and delivery services by leasing space owned by Bakers Best Catering on Gould Street.
Gordon’s plans to operate a small consultative area for event planning while using the location primarily for its deliveries, reports Trevor Ballantyne at Wicked Local.
The board also granted Needham General Store on Great Plain Ave. the town's last available wine and beer retail license.
Town Meeting approval would be needed to add more retail licenses.
While there are no remaining retail licenses available, Needham still has 10 all-liquor and five wine and beer licenses remain for restaurant applicants, so come on down!
Fuller’s budget plan restores capital investments
Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller presented her fiscal 2022 budget last night, outlining a spending plan bolstered by $63 million dollars in federal COVID relief dollars.
Measures Fuller pointed to in her budget address include
- Resumption of all capital investments that were paused during the pandemic.
- Increased funding for paving roads, sidewalks and calming traffic.
- $250,000 for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative.
- Funds to implement the Climate Action Plan
- More resources to "provide more analysis and engage more residents in the zoning and development decisions."
- Added funding for a seasonal inspector to enforce the new leaf blower and landscaper registration program.
- Expanded community policing and efforts to create a more diverse department, improve facilities, equipment, training and work regimes.
- No increase in water, sewer and storm water rates for residents and other property owners.
“We will spur economic development and invest in a Newton that is even more livable, more vibrant, more green, more inclusive, and more sustainable,” Fuller said.
Free COVID test sites to remain open
The state's free "Stop the Spread" COVID-19 test sites will now remain operating through Sept. 30. First launched last July 2020 more than 2.3 million tests had been conducted there as of March 3, 2021.
We heart our Citizen Members
This month marks the one year anniversary of the launch of our Citizen Member program and I want to thank to the nearly 100 individuals who've since stepped up to support our advocacy through this effort.
Citizen Members are individuals – including retirees or folks who live locally but work elsewhere -- who are not directly affiliated with a business or nonprofit organization but share our mission.
The annual membership contribution is $95.
Citizen Membership does not include a business listing, marketing benefits, referrals and access to other tools designed to promote your company.
In other words, Citizen Members get absolutely nothing concrete in return. But folks join anyway, simply to say they support what we do for our local businesses, nonprofits and economic cultural vitality.
Which leaves us verklempt (look it up).
If you're interested becoming a Citizen Member, sign up here. And thanks for even considering it!
That's today's Need to Knows. Back tomorrow.
President, Newton-Needham Regional Chamber
617-244-1688
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