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Less litter? Or just more drinking?

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Less litter? Or just more drinking?

Will Newton’s recently enacted ban on nips mean less litter, as intended, or just the consumption of more alcohol?
 
That’s a distinct possibility according to Eric Gharzaryan, owner of Newton Warehouse Wine & Spirits on Centre Street.
 
Nips make up about 10 to 15 percent of Gharzaryan’s sales. But starting next June he’ll need to remove all those tiny (less than or equal to 100 milliliters) bottles of alcoholic from his shelves, as per a just-passed city regulation.
 
Gharzaryan believes the ban will mean many consumers will keep littering, only now tossing larger bottles.
 
“I truly believe … it’s the size [of the bottle] on the ground that is going to get bigger, rather than being a 50 [milliliter] it’s going to be 100 milliliter plus,” he tells Connor Siemien at the Heights.
 
"By eliminating the 50 [milliliter]," some will "drink more, because the size is bigger,” Gharzaryan adds.
 
Newton City Councilor Emily Norton, one of the ban's proponents, is confident eliminating the bottles will cut down on litter in the city. But she tells Siemien there was no study measuring the environmental impact of a potential ban in the city prior to passage.
OSHA mask rule deadline comes and goes
 
The first deadline for President Biden’s workplace rules to protect private sector employees and customers from COVID-19 came and went yesterday.
 
Yes, Dec. 6 was supposed to be the date when unvaccinated workers at companies with 100-plus workers would be required to mask up on the job (which seems like a reasonable thing to ask of an unvaxed colleague, right?).
 
Then on Jan. 4, rules requiring that unvaccinated workers be tested weekly were set to begin (also reasonable, yes?)
 
Both deadlines are now on hold due to various court challenges.
 
Yes, Virginia (and Texas), there is no vax mandate
 
Sorry to be a broken record on this, but Biden's private sector employer rules are NOT a vax mandate.
 
Rather, they are workplace safety rules requiring (a.) that unvaccinated workers wear masks, (b.) undergo weekly testing, or (c.) work remotely.
 
There is no private sector "vaccine mandate." Full stop.
 
You'd expect FOX News to get this wrong. But it's infuriating how many headlines on many mainstream media sites misrepresent this.
 
Time Magazine has this helpful explanation of the rules (written by two former OSHA officials) and how they would actually be enforced.
 
On the other hand, this is a vax mandate
 
But then there’s New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who announced yesterday an actual, for real, genuine, vax mandate for all private employers effective Dec. 27.
 
Employees who work in-person at private companies of any size must have one dose of the vaccine by Dec. 27, he said. Remote workers will not be required to get the vaccine. There will be no testing option alternative.
 
Will we see something like that here? Asked about the de Blasio’s employer vax mandate yesterday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said “everything is on the table.”
 
And on the other, other, hand
 
Sure, de Blasio is moving quickly to contain Omicron.
 
But can the outgoing mayor do anything to address another looming crisis that likely has many New Yorkers on edge?
 
Watertown arts center reopens, BC's big haul
 
Congratulations to the team at the Mosesian Center for the Arts on its sparkling new renovation and last week’s gala reopening of its lobby. Added shoutout to their private sector partners, Sasaki, Siena Construction Corporation and Alexandria Real Estate. Watertown News has the story and some great photos of the project.  
 
And the Globe is reporting this morning that Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art has just acquired a $20 million collection of work by Picasso, Homer, Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and others from Peter Lynch.
Comings and goings
 
  • The Russian School of Math is moving to 60 Austin Street in Newtonville. It's part of a larger $7 million all-cash sale of a 30,000 sf portfolio between three adjacent properties. Plans for the rest of the property were not released. (Real Reporter)
 
 
 
 
Candidate wants more bucks for UI trust fund
 
GOP candidate for governor Geoff Diehl wants Gov. Charlie Baker to veto the $4 billion spending bill that the Legislature finalized last week because the plan doesn't do enough to reduce employers' unemployment insurance debt, reports Matt Murphy at State House News.
 
The bill dedicated $500 million from the state's share of ARPA to the unemployment insurance trust fund. Baker has previously proposed spending $1 billion on UI support for businesses.
 
"I do not advocate that the entire $4 billion bill be spent on unemployment claims," Diehl said. “However, the $500 million allocated by the Legislature is not enough."
 
Baker has until next Monday to act on the bill.
 
Reminder to Needham and Wellesley residents: Vote
 
Needham and Wellesley are both holding special elections today.
 
 
 
Polls in both communities close at 8 p.m.
 
Thursday: Gaze into the real estate crystal ball
 
We’ve heard a lot about returning to the office and the immediate uncertainties facing commercial real estate.
 
But in real estate, it's the long view that matters, right?
 
We’re going to explore just that Thursday morning at 9 a.m. with a look at the future of real estate – and the trends, starts up, and technology no one should overlook -- with Steve Weikal, Head of Industry Relations at the MiT REILab.
 
If you’ve seen Weikal present, you’ve probably already registered. Everyone else, go here.
That's today's Need to Knows, unless you need to know that you're probably mispronouncing "Omicron." (Still better than that earlier idea to name variants after birds.)
 
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
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