Add the state’s Congressional delegation to the list of folks who aren’t happy with all those MBTA service cuts.

 

US Rep. Stephen Lynch said yesterday that his House and Senate colleagues from Massachusetts are "furious" that the T “would take federal support from the taxpayer, and then cut services to those same taxpayers."

 

"That doesn't work for us," he said, according to Katie Lannan at State House News.

 

The just-signed stimulus package, Lynch said, provides "almost another billion for the state in terms of their transportation systems, and then a targeted increase for the MBTA as well.

 

"So we're going to have some hard discussions with the MBTA and with the governor,” Lynch added.

 

On Sunday the T reduced some bus and subway line service and eliminated nine bus routes, including the 505 which served the Washington Street Corridor and Route 52, which ran from Watertown to Dedham, including key connections to Wells Ave and the UMass Mount Ida campus.

 

"I understand the difficulties," Lynch said. "I understand what the ridership is right now, but the idea is to provide this money to get the ridership to where it needs to be over the next weeks and months."

 

The MBTA has said it is planning to restore some subway and bus service later this year based on spring demand.

 

"With ridership remaining at less than a third of pre-pandemic levels, the MBTA continues to monitor work and travel patterns and match service to ridership, while increasing service for the most transit-critical communities," MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo told State House News.

 

"The T will responsibly spend federal stimulus dollars and monitor ridership and make adjustments as necessary," Pesaturo said.

 

 

Bob Luz of the Mass Restaurant Association describes at "the peanut butter without the jelly."

 

I tend to think of it as the glass without the Guinness. You know, sadly empty.

 

We’re both talking about the subdued, social distanced, celebrations at our local Irish pubs tomorrow (no singing allowed) this St. Patrick's Day.

 

“I think that, unfortunately, it’s going to be a really long time before anybody wants to sit shoulder-to-shoulder in an Irish pub,” Seana Gaherin of Dunn-Gaherin’s Food & Spirits in Newton tells Boston.com.

 

"The Irish pub scene has been annihilated."

 

Last year, Dunn-Gaherin’s prepared 400 pounds of corned beef in preparation of St. Patrick’s Day before Massachusetts announced its statewide shutdown, writes reporter Erin Kuschner.

 

Dunn-Gaherin's and other pubs in our region will offer socially distanced indoor dining and Irish dinners to go.

 

“We’re not going to have any kind of hooplah like we normally do,” Gaherin said.

 

“On a normal year, it is by far the best day of our year," she said.

 

 

If you took out an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the SBA for your business, you now have more time to pay it back.

 

Loans made in 2020 will have the first payment due date extended from 12-months to 24-months from the date of the note. Loans made in 2021 will have a first payment due date extended from 12-months to 18-months from the date of the note, MassLive reports.

 

Borrowers can voluntarily continue to make payments of the loan while on deferment. Interest will continue to accrue on the outstanding balance of the loan throughout the duration of the deferment.

 

The EIDL program provided funds to more than 3.7 million small businesses during the pandemic. Many businesses opted for EIDL when they failed to qualify for PPP loans.

 

 

Don't forget today's special election to fill two vacant seats on the Newton City Council. Polls close at 8 p.m.

 

 

After 20 years in Wellesley’s downtown, Peet’s Coffee & Tea poured its last caramel macchiato on Sunday, sadly ending a 20-year run. The shop will be replaced by a Chase Bank branch.

 

“It’s personal for a lot of us Peetniks who’ve been gathering there with friends for their two decades,” one customer told the Swellesley Report. “No place like it left in the Square. It’s a shame for all in the Merchants’ Association as well—the whole square is diminished without such a spot.”

 

Meanwhile in Watertown, the brand new Roche Brothers is gearing up to open. Here’s a sneak peek.

 

And then there's Blue on Highland in Needham, which has been closed since last March but just announced plans to reopen early next month. They’ll start with a few days of takeout-only before transitioning to dinner and eventually lunch.

 

 

We need newspapers to serve as a watchdog of our government and elected leaders. So good for the Globe for reporting that 23 restaurants and bars had received state grants through the Mass Capital Growth Corporation in spite of being in violation of COVID-19 protocols.

 

But we also need our newspapers to provide perspective. So bad for the Globe editorial that did not tout the fact that the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission visited more than 21,000 licensed alcohol businesses since August and found 98% in compliance with protocols.

 

In addition, those 23 that received money (and arguably shouldn’t have) were a mere fraction of the more than 13,000 businesses to get one of these grants. 

 

Our restaurants and other small businesses have overwhelmingly played by the rules and deserve credit for that.

 

 

There will be pumpkins along the route instead of daffodils. 

 

But at least it appears the125th Boston Marathon will happen.

 

The Boston Athletic Association is moving forward with plans for an Oct. 11 running of the marathon but with a field limited to 20,000 entrants, down from the 31,500 that had be set to run before the 2020 race was cancelled. (NBC10)

 

This is a big deal, of course, for runners and all of us spectators in our communities, but also for the nonprofits that depend on the marathon's charity program.

 

“In addition to a smaller field than in previous years, we will have significant additional protocols in place to ensure participant and public health,” said Tom Grilk, President and C.E.O. of the B.A.A. “We are committed to making the oldest annual marathon in the world as safe as possible in October.”

 

 

Newton is one of 125 municipalities that will be receiving technical assistance from the state to develop plans for dealing with the economic effects of the pandemic and preparing for the next downturn, the Baker Administration announced yesterday.

 

Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement that he hopes “one of the things that comes out of this is a series of strategies in communities across Massachusetts where people start to think real hard about how they turn what was once commercial space into residential space so that they can create the 'live, work, play' that will be a different 'live, work, play' than the one we were talking about before to revitalize certain parts of their downtowns and their communities generally, housing choice will play a huge role in making that happen."

 

The assistance is part of a $9.5 million program that will match each community with a consulting team.

 

 

 

I heard from a few skeptics last week after I wrote that there was a very real chance that the parcels along I-95 where Muzi Motors and Channel 5 might one day become an e-commerce warehouse operated by Amazon or another online retailer.

 

Needham officials are trying to avoid that scenario by rezoning the parcels into a mix of office, lab space, medical and a touch of retail (plus, under special permit, up to 240 units of housing).

 

Without the rezoning, Amazon or another e-commerce company can build a massive warehouse at that location under the current rules.

 

Some of the emails I received last week suggested I was just trying to "scare" or "intimidate" Town Meeting members into supporting the rezoning in May.

 

Perhaps this from the Globe’s Tim Logan will help convince them.

 

In particular, check out the accompanying map and note where along I-95 there aren’t any dots yet.

 

And check out this quote from residents who live near one of these facilities in Dedham: “…neighbors say, traffic generated by the busy warehouse clogs nearby streets with hundreds of vehicles a day. Residents are often roused from their sleep in the wee hours by the rumble of 16-wheelers.”

 

The town is holding a public hearing tonight (March 16) at 7:30 p.m. on the proposal.

 

President, Newton-Needham Regional Chamber

617-244-1688

Your chamber is here when you need us.

Dine out. Take out. Shop locally. Mask up. And tip generously.