Good morning friends,

Steep U.S. tariffs on a range of Indian products take effect today

Starting Friday, another new round of import taxes will hit our wallets.

That’s when an executive order ends the "de minimis" rule, which allows individual packages worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free.

Most packages shipped into the U.S. currently qualify for the "de minimis" exemption, including many items consumers order directly.

But many businesses, including small merchants that sell specialty items, will also be hurt, paying an $80 per item charge for a country with a tariff rate less than 16%, or $200 or more per item for a country with a tariff rate above 25%, according to CNN.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, a lack of clarity and confusion over paperwork has led more than 20 countries to suspend shipments to the U.S.

You may be eligible for a health insurance rebate

Do you have an individual or small employer health insurance plan through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue, Fallon Community Health Plan, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, or United Healthcare?

You might qualify for a rebate.

More than 350,000 people in Massachusetts are eligible, totaling $75.6 million starting next month, reports Michael P. Norton at State House News.

A similar round of rebates in 2024 totaled $51.6 million.

State law requires rebates when an insurance carrier's average medical loss ratio over a three-year period falls below a threshold that requires insurers to spend at least 88% of premiums on health care services for individuals and small group policyholders.

Rebate amounts will depend on the carrier and premium. They may be delivered directly as a check or as a credit on future premiums.

New hotel and conference center coming to Wellesley

Babson College has received the go-ahead to build a new hotel and convention center that will be unique not just to our region, but to the state.

The new 77,600-square-foot Babson College Executive Lodge and Conference Center on the Wellesley campus will have over 70 guest rooms, a full-service restaurant and bar and a fitness area, reports the BBJ’s Maya Shavit.

The facility will provide state-of-the-art space for Babson’s executive ed program.

But it will also be available to the public, offering lodging and amenities that can serve businesses, residents and visitors.

“We see this as a community asset,” Katherine Craven, Babson’s executive vice president of administration and finance, tells Shavit.

The school's goal is to build a suburban version of a luxurious Boston hotel specifically tailored to support Babson's growing business community, Craven added.

As a nonprofit that regularly hosts events across the region — and helps members find suitable venues for their events — we understand firsthand the need for event spaces and accommodations. This is big, folks.

Here’s the letter we sent to the town in support of the project.

Babson plans to break ground in 2026.

Today’s grab bag

• The vast majority of service workers at Logan Airport are immigrants. Many are now losing their jobs and security clearance. (WBUR)
  
  
• Mark Development's latest attempt at developing the Riverside Station parking lot and the former Hotel Indigo will have its first public hearing before Newton’s Land Use Committee on Sept. 16. The current plan includes 750 housing units, a new parking garage serving both residents and Green Line riders and 20,000 SF of retail space.
  
  
• So sorry to report that Naislee Catering & Lavender Café in West Newton is closing this Sunday. “After exhausting all resources and possibilities, and understanding that the risk of staying open was higher than the potential benefits, we had to make the hardest decision ever for us,”  co-owners Naisbel Azarak and Haylee Kulig wrote on Instagram.
  
  
• Join us for a virtual debate Sept. 22 at 1:30 p.m. with Vincent Piccirilli and Andres Guzman, the two candidates for the District C seat on the Watertown City Council. Our focus will be on economic development issues. Yes, it will be recorded. RSVP
  
  
• Coronavirus levels in Massachusetts wastewater have reached their highest point since the end of March — though the levels are still considered relatively low compared to wintertime surges. (Globe)
  
  
• Say hello to Beacon Bank. The merger of Berkshire Bank’s and Brookline Bank’s parent companies and subsequent name change is now set for this Friday. (BBJ)
  
  
• Enjoy a free movie at West Newton Cinema on Thursday (Aug. 28). It’s part of its birthday celebration, which includes a raffle, reception and cake at 6 p.m.
  
  
• Through Sunday, 50% of dessert sales at Bar‘Cino in Watertown will be donated to the Centre Street Food Pantry’s “No Child Hungry This Summer” program. (Watertown News)
  
  
• Reserve an exhibitor booth for your business now for the Multi-Chamber Expo, Oct. 9, at the Westin Waltham-Boston Hotel.
  
  
• The Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy, a Newton resident, has been inducted into the National Sports Media Hall of Fame. WBUR’s Tiziana Dearing, also a Newton resident, visited Shaughnessy at his home. And, if you missed it, it’s worth watching what Shaughnessy said about his hometown at this year’s Mayor’s Community Breakfast.

70 luxury homes proposed near Newton South High

Luxury home builder Cindy Stumpo is asking the Newton City Council’s permission to build 70 new single-family attached dwellings across 26 buildings at 85 Dudley Rd., near Newton South High School.

The parcels, currently undeveloped woods, were once the site of plans for a partnership with the city that would have yielded more modestly priced units.

Stumpo needs both a special permit and a zoning change, along with a waiver of the city’s inclusionary zoning requirements in exchange for a fee.

The project will head to its first hearing before the council’s Land Use Committee on Sept. 9.

Newton road diet work crosses the finish line

Construction for the Washington Street road diet pilot between West Newton and Newtonville is wrapping up on schedule this week.

That means the new design, which reduces the roadway to two lanes between West Newton and Newtonville, will be complete in time for Newton North students to use its protected bike lanes next week and other users to experience the project.

This pilot is expected to remain in place for several years, with the city seeking state funding to make the changes permanent.

In the meantime, the city emphasizes that the design can be adjusted as problems arise or feedback is collected from residents, businesses and commuters.

Complying with federal landscape covered in AG webinar

Attorney General Andrea Campbell and her staff hosted a helpful webinar yesterday.

It was billed as being of interest to nonprofits; however, it also raised topics of interest to many for-profit employers.

Covered areas included responding to immigration enforcement, federal funding cuts, and how to continue supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) under new federal actions.

Watch it below.  Find resources and guidance here.

And that’s what you need to know for today, unless, heading into the final long weekend of the summer, you want to know how to make better s'mores

Be back Friday.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.

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