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Our restaurants (still) need you

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Our restaurants (still) need you

Remember back in the darkest days of the pandemic when we all rallied to support our independent restaurants?
 
We still need to do that.
 
Between a labor shortage that just won’t quit, wage inflation, rising food (consider the price of eggs alone), utility, and many other costs, our restaurateurs are still struggling to make ends meet.
 
And now comes news that consumers are "starting to freak out" amidst fears of a recession.
 
That’s why we’re, once again, organizing a month-long campaign to support our restaurant community across Newton, Needham, Watertown, and Wellesley.
 
Our “Love Local: Support our restaurants & our community” campaign starts tomorrow in coordination with the chamber's Dining Collaborative, community groups, and chamber members across all industries.
 
While Valentine’s Day may be a traditional day to dine out – “Love Local” runs all month long with multiple ways to support our restaurants and the community during this short, cold month when all could use a little bit of a boost.
 
Please join us in supporting all our local businesses.
 
This year our restaurants are giving back too
Give Local Clothing Drive
Coupled with a month-long marketing campaign to encourage dining locally, our member restaurants are organizing a clothing drive to give back.
 
Donation boxes are being delivered this week to approximately 30 restaurants across our four chamber communities.
 
They’ll be collecting new sweatshirts, sweatpants, t-shirts, and other items to help in the cold winter months.
 
All collections will be directed to Circle of Hope, a Needham-based nonprofit that provides homeless children, women and men in Boston, Cambridge and MetroWest with clothing and necessities via 25 local shelters and health clinics.
 
 
And help us spread the message by sharing these graphics. Tag us at @crrchamber in your posts and we’ll reshare too!
 
We’ve been waiting a while for today
 
Today – Jan. 31 – is a day many housing advocates have had circled on their calendars.
 
No, not the end of Dry January. Or the start of legalized sports betting in Massachusetts.
 
It’s the day 175 cities and towns are required to submit action plans for complying with the MBTA Communities Law, which requires communities to zone for denser housing near mass transit.
 
It’s one of two significant Baker administration achievements on the housing front, a Globe editorial reminds us. The other required municipalities to make zoning changes by a simple majority vote, a change we've seen firsthand making a difference in getting housing approved in our communities.
 
And -- in spite of the recent headlines questioning the wisdom of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposed housing policies – it was the decades-long obstruction of multi-family housing in the suburbs that created our housing crisis.
 
Really, this problem is on us in the 'burbs.
 
And not unlike another date on the calendar this week – Groundhog Day this Thursday – there’s already been plenty of all-too-familiar grumbling about these changes in communities across the state. 
 
All four of our chamber communities are set to meet today’s deadline. Now comes the hard part: Creating and approving actual zoning districts that will actually allow for the creation of more homes for our families and workforce.
 
Village Bank and Newton award green microgrants
 
The Village Bank and the City of Newton have distributed the first two awards under its new Climate Change Microgrant Project. 
 
Launched in October, the program is designed to support local advocates undertaking initiatives to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
 
  • $1,000 went to Pete Prokesch of the Studio for High-Performance Design and Construction to support the creation of a new six-week course at Newton North High School that will provide students with hands-on training related to sustainable construction practices.
 
  • $250 went to Andy Gluck, the Underwood School’s building aide and Green Team leader, to expand the school’s composting program through the purchase of stainless steel composting units and instruction about the benefits of composting.
 
Grants of $250 to $1,000 are still available.  Apply here.
 
Needham practice to offer ‘empathetic healthcare’
 
Weight bias in health care is well-established, with studies indicating that overweight and obese patients frequently experience disrespectful or dismissive treatment from doctors.
 
A new primary care practice called knownwell -- opening its first clinic at 15 Oak Street in Needham -- plans to specialize in combatting weight bias in the doctor’s office, reports Dana Gerber at the Globe.
 
Knownwell launched with $4.5 million in seed money led by local venture capital firm Flare Capital Partners, with additional funds from investors such as Larry Summers and Lydia Gilbert of Dia & Co., Gerber adds.
 
Yet more need to knows
 
 
  • Massachusetts employers with 15 or more workers would be required to share estimated salary ranges on job postings and advertisements, under a newly filed legislation on Beacon Hill, writes Alison Kuznitz at MassLive.
 
  • Newton’s NewMo ride-share service is offering all customers one free trip through Feb. 15. NewMo operates in Newton from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Each ride costs $2. (Boston Globe)
 
  • Sweet Boba opened this weekend at the former Servante Bakery location in Needham Center. Open for breakfast and lunch serving bubble tea, waffles and other items, according to this Facebook post.
 
  • The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is accepting applications for its Workforce Development Capital Grant Program aimed at launching, expanding, and enhancing training programs that address skills and talent supply gaps facing the commonwealth’s life science industry. Deadline March 15.
 
  • As part of its Black History Month programming, Newton Community Pride is hosting a free showing of the film “TILL” on Feb. 8 with guest speaker Harvard law professor and social justice advocate, Ron Sullivan, Jr. at Showcase SuperLux Chestnut Hill. Limited seating. Register.
 
  • They’re all for housing, just not the housing project near them. The Heights reports on the neighborhood petition opposing the Toll Brothers 40B project on Route 9 in the Thompsonville section of Newton.
 
Don't let the tyranny of perfection keep you from doing this
 
A reminder that nominations for our spring publication list of the “50 Most Influential Business Leaders of Color in Greater Boston’s Western Suburbs” as well as the “Emerging Business Leaders of Color,” are due one week from today: Feb. 6. The nomination form is here.
 
To qualify nominees must work at and/or sit on a board for a business or nonprofit that is physically located in Newton, Needham, Watertown, Waltham, Wellesley, Natick or Framingham. Emerging leaders must be under the age of 40.
 
It’s not necessary to know every career detail about your nominee. Just share with us what you know. Our judges will take care of the rest.
 
Did I mention that the nomination form is here?
 
Is it Heartbreak Hill? Meetinghouse Hill? Needham Heights? Wellesley Hills?
Finally this morning, our west suburban Charles River communities boast many geographic highlights.
 
But we’re having trouble placing the mountain range and bend in our favorite river as depicted as "10 Miles West of Boston" in Sunday night's episode on HBO’s hit show “The Last of Us.”
 
It's even more of a stretch than that new Sam Adams commercial.
 
 
Or as another Twitter user pointed out, this might be a more realistic depiction of 10 Miles West of Boston.
 
 
 
That’s your Need to Knows for today -- it's Hug an Economist Day -- unless you want to know how to brag at work without sounding like a jerk (and, face it who doesn't?)
 
Be back Friday.
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
617.244.1688
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