Skip to content
Newton, Needham, Watertown, Wellesley
Subscribe to our free e-newsletter
Our Region
Directory
Member Login

Was Healey hedging on Question 1?

Back to Chamber News

Was Healey hedging on Question 1?

Are you free Sunday between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.? Come say hello at the annual Needham Harvest Fair. It's presented by your favorite chamber, in partnership with the town and the Needham Farmers Market.
 
This year’s fair is happening at Green’s Field due to construction at our usual location on the Town Common. 
 
Was Healey hedging on Question 1?
 
During the years-long run-up to getting the so-called Fair Share or Millionaires’ Tax on the ballot, Attorney General Maura Healey has been supportive of the effort.
 
But yesterday Healey -- now a candidate for governor -- offered a nuanced view of Question 1, the proposed constitutional amendment that would add a 4 percent surtax to household income above $1 million.
 
Speaking at a Blackstone Valley Chamber event, Healey said she supports “having revenue there to invest in transportation, infrastructure, education” as Question 1 proposes, reports Colin A. Young at State House News.
 
But Healey said she's also aware of the fact that the state’s “fiscal position right now … is different from where we were a few years ago when [the tax] was first proposed,” referring to a massive surplus accumulated over the past couple years.
 
And she acknowledged concerns that the surtax would likely provide a one-time hit to a person selling their business, or home, and may deter people and businesses from coming to Massachusetts.
 
“I am sensitive to not wanting to see those harmed who this wasn't really directed at,” she added. “So, if you're a small business owner and you sell or you're selling the family homestead, I am sensitive to the concerns about that."
 
But ultimately Healey told reporters she still plans to vote yes on Question 1, Young reports.
 
The chamber will host a Question 1 forum with representatives in support and opposed via Zoom on Oct. 12 at noon
 
RSVP HERE
 
 
Last chance to weigh in on the proposed Muzi redevelopment
 
This Monday (Oct. 3) could be your last chance to weigh in on the So, the proposed redevelopment of the former Muzi Motors dealership along I-95 in Needham.
 
Needham’s Planning Board will hold its fourth public hearing on the Bulfinch Companies project at 7 p.m. (at Needham Town Hall and via Zoom) and then could vote to close public comments. 
 
?It’s not expected that the board will vote on the project until perhaps November.
 
The proposed Highland Innovation Center would replace a barren parking lot with a first-class lab and office development. It would create good-paying jobs and generate upwards of $6 million in new tax revenue for the town annually.
 
Bulfinch would also underwrite substantial multi-modal roadway and transportation improvements to Gould Street, Highland Ave., and Central Ave.
 
Plus, they're creating a multi-use fitness/access walkway around the property, pickleball courts, seasonal lawn space, and a winter ice skating area, all for public use.
 
In short, there's so much to like about this project. View the latest presentation slides here.
 
Can't attend Monday? Submit comments to the Planning Board here.
?
Also on Monday: The Planning Board will review a special permit request from Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast to renovate its existing facility off of Kendrick Street and add 14 loading docks.
 
COVID recovery? Depends where you work
 
We all know people who say they've “moved on from COVID,” as well as people who remain very cautious.
 
Nearly two and half years into the pandemic, there are also business sectors that have moved on, and those that haven’t.
 
Here are some examples, from the Washington Post.
 
  • Airports are packed. Public transit isn’t.
  • Concert attendance is breaking records. But not tickets to the theater and other forms of the performing arts.
  • Weddings are crowded, but not funerals. Cremations now outnumber traditional burials.
  • Before COVID, about 63 percent of restaurants’ business took place outside their dining rooms — takeout, delivery and drive-through. That rose to 90 percent at the height of the pandemic but it still accounts for 80 percent overall.
 
Meanwhile...
 
The levels of coronavirus detected in Eastern Massachusetts wastewater, which doubled in the past week are now the highest they've been since May.
 
Toll Brothers look to build Newton 40B
 
Toll Brothers are proposing to build an apartment building on a six-acre site on the south side of Route 9 in Thompsonville.
 
The proposal is for a six-story building with 244 units to be built under 40B of which 25% would be affordable (but also does not need City Council approval). There will be a presentation on the project on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Register
 
Other need to knows
   
  • Speaking of bakeries, Newton’s first Bakery Crawl, featuring ten participating independent bakeries, is happening today and tomorrow. Details.
     
  • Newton-Wellesley Hospital recently hosted a ceremony in front of 2,290 purple flags to remember Massachusetts residents lost to opioids. (Swellesley Report)
 
  • Newton Community Pride offers two Micro Grant cycles per calendar year to support arts and culture, public art, service, and beautification in Newton. The fall application period opens tomorrow. Details.
 
 
Here’s an intriguing idea
 
In an effort to fill vacant storefronts in downtown Northampton, the city and state are offering tax credits to new businesses that open in certain vacant spaces, reports the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
 
Sixteen other communities also participate in the state’s competitive Certified Vacant Storefront District program. In order to participate a municipality must create a district and provide matching funds.
 
Our Fall Business Breakfast tickets are selling fast
 
Yesterday we announced that Jeff Speck. a Brookline-based but internationally renowned city planner and author will be the featured speaker at our Fall Business Breakfast on Oct. 28 at the Newton Marriott.
 
Also, that morning, I’ll be moderating a panel featuring the four municipal managers from our chamber communities -- Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, Needham Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick, Watertown City Manager George Proakis, and Wellesley Executive Director Meghan Jop.
 
We’ll have one final announcement about the event next week when we will unveil the recipient of our R.L. Tennant Award, the chamber's highest annual recognition.
 
Interested in joining us? Tickets are selling fast (we’re already sold out of reserved tables) so you may want to secure yours soon.
 
RESERVE HERE
 
 
Did you hear what he found at the bottom of our favorite river?
 
Finally, did you hear about the guy who dropped his cell phone into the Charles River?
 
He jumped in to retrieve it. He never found it. But he found 11 others.
 
Three of them still worked.
 
 
 
That’s your Need to Knows for today -- the final day of Q3 but also 61 days since you-know-what -- unless you want to read an amazing and beautiful article about how we’re draining language of its power.
 
Be back in your inbox on Tuesday. See you at the fair Sunday.
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
Charles River Regional Chamber
617.244.1688
 
Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here
 
Powered By GrowthZone