Good morning,

Please join me in welcoming the former members of the Brookline Chamber of

Commerce, who officially become Charles River Chamber members this week and are receiving their first edition of our twice-weekly Need to Knows newsletter today.

Also, welcome Chris Mutty, Brookline’s outgoing executive director, who joins our team as Director of Brookline Member Engagement.

Learn more about our Brookline expansion here.

Local students: We’re afraid to leave campus

The mistaken deportation of Babson College freshman Any Lucia Lopez Belloza last Thanksgiving has created a “culture of fear” across our suburban campuses, reports the Globe’s Truman Dickerson

And yet on Sunday, about 100 of Lopez Belloza’s classmates, along with students from Wellesley and Olin Colleges, gathered at Wellesley Town Hall, calling for her return and speaking out for those afraid to do so.

“At Babson, we pride ourselves in being from international backgrounds,” one student told Dickerson.  “But with ICE [actions] happening outside of the Babson community, it’s like we’re stuck in this bubble of not wanting to leave campus.”

Immigration officials “instill fear in us against doing any sort of political action,” another student added

International students make up approximately a quarter of Babson’s student body.

“She’s not a criminal illegal alien,” said Todd Pomerleau, Lopez Belloza’s attorney. “She came here at the age of 8 ... and a decade later gets a full-ride scholarship to one of the best business colleges on Earth.”

Last week, Wellesley College hosted a Know Your Rights program to provide immigration resources to international students and bystander guidance to others, according to The Wellesley News.

Immigration resources:

Here’s the National Immigration Law Center’s guide for employers: What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace.

Here’s the Attorney General’s office resource page for immigrants in Massachusetts.

Detained and non-detained individuals in Massachusetts can request help and connect with a legal service provider through the  Massachusetts Access to Counsel Initiative.

‘New way to add housing’ gains traction

James Sanna at Banker & Tradesman had praise this week for “a new way to add housing in the Boston suburbs that I think you’re going to be excited about.”

He was referring to an idea we flagged a few weeks ago, floated by City Councilor Pam Wright and Council President John Oliver.

Their idea aims to slow teardowns by allowing large homes to be subdivided into up to four units, with modest rear additions allowed, provided the existing façade is preserved.

Adaptive reuse of large homes by right has already shown promise under Newton’s

MBTA Communities Act compliance plan. For example, the Newton Highlands Victorian in the photo above is being renovated and expanded into three units, with a second three-unit building behind it. This would not have been an option under prior zoning and could have resulted in a teardown, replaced by a McMansion.

Now the two councilors are considering expanding where that’s allowed.

“We want to keep these old Victorians. We want smaller units, things like that, right?” Wright said.  “There’s nothing about it that’s really specific to Newton and wouldn’t work in Belmont and Watertown and other communities.”

Or Needham, Wellesley or Brookline. Let’s hope they’re paying attention.

Watch this video to learn more:

Help direct $100,000 to local nonprofits

Watertown Savings Bank is putting $100,000 on the table for local nonprofits—and you and all your friends and coworkers get to vote.

The top vote-getter will receive $15,000, with the remaining funds distributed based on community support.  Voting closes Sunday (April 5)

Tuesday grab bag

• We’ve just added Seasons 52, Café St. Petersburg and House of Tandoor to our Spring Seasonings lineup of restaurants.
  
  
• But hurry: The Spring Seasonings early bird ticket discount ends tomorrow and the event at the Newton Marriott is less than two weeks away (April 13)
  
  
• Newton-based Giner, Inc. and Watertown’s Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. are among 16 Massachusetts recipients of $30 million in new U.S. Department of Energy research awards, announced by the Healey-Driscoll administration.
  
  
• The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network — a statewide organization that supports, connects, and advocates for the Commonwealth’s nonprofits — has rebranded as the Massachusetts Council of Nonprofits.
  
  
• Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast will host a recruiting event on April 9, 12–2 p.m. in Norwood, for open positions at their  Needham location, including merchandiser, driver helper and CDL driver roles. Register.
  
  
• Can I buy you lunch? Refer a Brookline business to our chamber. When they join, we’ll thank you with a $25 gift card to a chamber-member restaurant of your choice.
  
  
• Claremont Corporation, owner of Hilton Garden Inn in Brookline, is proposing to build a new 12-story residential building next door with 150 apartments, more than half of which would be micro units. The property backs up to the Riverway and the Emerald Necklace. (Brookline News)
  
  
• U.S. average gas price has hit $4 a gallon.
  
  
• Newton Public Schools Superintendent Anna Nolin hopes to give real estate brokers the tools to promote Newton's schools to prospective homebuyers or renters tonight (March 31) from 6 to 8 p.m. at Newton North High School. RSVP
  
  
• Six Democrats have tossed their hats into the ring to succeed Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey in the Sept. 1 primary. One of the six is likely to win the seat in November.  (Brookline.News)
  
  
• You can update, add or change your chamber email preferences anytime here or via the “update preferences” link at the bottom of our emails.

Brookline and Watertown to experience better bus service

A hallmark of bus reliability is getting to service levels of 15 minutes or better.

At that frequency, riders don't need to schedule their trip around the bus — they can simply show up and know one will arrive soon, removing one of the biggest barriers to using public transit.

Four bus routes serving Brookline and Watertown have already reached that mark.

Starting Thursday (April 5), they're getting even better.

 Route 66 (Nubian Square – Harvard Square via Harvard St, Brookline): More frequent trips on weekday early mornings and weekend afternoons.

 Route 57 (Watertown Square – Kenmore Square): Additional frequency around 9 a.m. on weekdays.

 Route 71 (Watertown Square – Harvard Square via Mount Auburn St): More frequent trips during weekday peak periods.

 Route 73 (Waverley Square – Harvard Square via Mount Auburn St & Trapelo Rd): More frequent trips during weekday peak periods.

The changes are part of the MBTA’s broader service increases across 37 routes systemwide. Full list

Plus, free commuter rail on Fridays

The MBTA also announced that all Commuter Rail service will be free on Fridays in June, July and August.  Monthly passes for those same months will be half price.

Streetsblog Mass has the details

Needham businessman P.J. Haskell remembered

Finally today, our condolences to the family, friends, coworkers and clients of Needham businessman Patrick Haskell, 59, and his wife Margaret Rimmler, 65, who died in a helicopter crash in Hawaii last week.

Haskell ran the Haskell Insurance Agency in Needham with his father George over six decades. Their office at 199 Chestnut Street was a familiar local presence, where Patrick could often be seen working late into the evening.

In 2025, he partnered with Foley Palenscar Schortmann as part of a transition toward retirement, continuing the legacy he and his father built.

That’s what you need to know for today, unless you need to know the location of every McDonald’s ice cream machine in the U.S. and whether it’s broken or not.

Shop local today and every day, okay?

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

I value your feedback

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.