Two years ago today, Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
On that day, March 10, 2020, the number of cases statewide had spiked to 92, up from the 41 cases announced 24 hours earlier.
Today is also, essentially, the two-year anniversary of this newsletter -- something I never planned on writing regularly and something I certainly never expected to still be writing two years later.
“Keeping our families, friends, colleagues and communities safe should always be our highest priority,” I wrote to our members that morning.
“But during this time of uncertainty, we'd also like to remind you of the financial challenges many of our local business are facing. Please support our local merchants, restaurants and other businesses.”
Then I naively added this:
“For everyone's benefit, the chamber is currently encouraging our members to not shake hands at our events. If you have registered for one of our paid events but do not feel well, please contact our office for a refund.”
How far we've come. How little we knew about what lay ahead.
Days later we canceled all events (including Spring Seasonings). And, like so many of you, we closed our office and learned how to use Zoom (although not necessarily how to use the mute button).
Since then, there have been more than 1.5 million confirmed COVID cases in the state. We've lost at least 22,916 lives in Massachusetts to this awful disease.
Tomorrow we're hosting our first member-wide, indoor networking event in more than two years.
It's sold out. Hand shaking is optional.
A reminder about us
This newsletter, our advocacy, our programs, and our events are funded entirely through member dues, sponsorships and events. We receive no operating support from any government body.
If you see value in our work and are not a member, I hope you will join our chamber.
Thank you.
Town Common ready for $1.4M makeover
The Needham Town Common will be closed for most of this year to allow for an extensive renovation.
Planning for the $1.4 million project dates back more than a decade to when Town Hall itself was renovated.
The exact dates for when the common will be closed and reopened are still to be determined as the project is out to bid. But the project is expected to be completed this fall.
The Needham Farmers Market will be moving to Greene’s Field this season and the town is working on identifying other locations for public gathering space during the renovation.
That also means that the chamber will not be organizing the annual Needham Street Fair this year. However, we are exploring working with local businesses and the town on a different early spring event, such as a sidewalk sale. We're also exploring options for our annual Harvest Fair this fall.
Emergency paid sick leave program expires next week
The Massachusetts COVID-19 Temporary Emergency Paid Sick Leave requirement expires March 15.
Employers have until April 29, 2022 to apply for reimbursement from the state for qualifying leave costs. Learn more and apply for reimbursement here.
Feds plan PPP crackdown
President Joe Biden announced plans last week to crack down on fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans and other abuses of COVID relief programs for small businesses.
A study conducted last year that the Newton Lower Falls Dam, located on Newton Wellesley line, is in “poor” condition but that it “is questionable if the failure of this dam would create any significant damage to downstream areas."
Tarang Shah of TransitMatters explores the operational shortcomings of our commuter rail operation through the experience of riding the through Newton along the Worcester line for CommonWealth.
MassDOT is having a public meeting March 15, 6 p.m. to discuss its Route 128/Interstate 95 Land Use and Transportation Study. Details
The Needham Housing Plan Working Group hosts a virtual workshop March 24 at 7 p.m. to share information and solicit input for Needham’s next Housing Plan. The program will include a presentation of a needs assessment, updated demographic and housing characteristics. The last housing plan for Needham was released in 2007. Register.
The Davis Museum at Wellesley College reopened to the public this week for the first time since March 2020. Proof of vaccination and masks are required to enter the galleries.
Preston Settles honored by his peers on the court
Both the Newton North and Wellesley High basketball teams paid tribute to Preston Settles -- the Newton teen who died last month after collapsing during a basketball game – at their game following his very moving funeral Friday.
Many players and fans, wore green and black, the colors of Settles' school, Brooks School in North Andover, with the letters P and S and Settles’ number 3 in the middle, surrounded by a green heart.
Newton’s City Council’s Public Facilities Committee voted 7-1 last night in support a proposal that would prevent (except as an emergency backup) the use of fossil fuels in all new and “substantially renovated” homes and non-residential buildings under 20,000 square feet.
Just prior to voting, councilors added a ban on the use of gas cooking in new and renovated homes and restaurants.
The home rule petition still needs to be approved by the full council, the Legislature and the governor.
Bill would extend outdoor dining and cocktails to go
The existing outdoor dining authorization is set to expire on April 1. While many communities have been working on their own extensions, without this bill Wellesley restaurants will not be able to serve alcohol outdoors in public spaces due to town bylaws.
Both the Senate and the governor still need to approve the extension through April of 2023.
The House also discussed including a temporary suspension of the state's gas tax but that measure was not approved.
Tipped workers hit hard by a cashless economy
Tips to restaurant servers and food delivery workers have increased since the start of the pandemic, climbing in general from 15 to 20 percent, according to studies.
But other front-line workers that also depend on tips — such as hotel housekeepers, bellhops, carwash jockeys, airport skycaps and wheelchair escorts — have been hit hard by an increasingly cashless economy, the Washington Post reports. “People don’t have cash these days," one airport skycap said. "Happens all the time.”
A lack of cash has turned into a problem even in places where everyone knows cash is king — such as strip clubs, although the article references at least one dancer who accepts Venmo.
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That’s today’s Need to Knows, unless you need to know why so many people became real estate agents during the pandemic.
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