Good morning friends,

Housing and transportation are two of our region’s most stubborn challenges. 

And in both cases it feels like not enough is being done quickly enough, right?

In the next few weeks, you’ll have a chance to hear directly, in person, from the state’s two top leaders charged with addressing both critical needs at upcoming chamber events:

• One week from this morning (May 14, 9:30 a.m. at the Watertown Hampton Inn & Suites) Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt will join us for a discussion about the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s plans for improving the state’s transportation system. RSVP
  
  
• And today we’re announcing that at our upcoming Spring Business Breakfast (June 7, 8 a.m. at the Needham Sheraton) our guest will be Housing Secretary Ed Augustus, the point person driving the state’s efforts to increase housing production and lower housing costs across Massachusetts.  RSVP

Please join us for both important — and timely — conversations. 

Watertown’s $1 billion startup

Swiss drug giant Novartis is paying $1 billion (plus $ 750 million in potential milestone payments) to acquire Watertown startup Mariana Oncology.

Not bad for a company launched just three years ago.

Mariana (formerly Curie Therapeutics) is working to make radiation treatment more precise for small cell lung and other types of cancers, reports Hannah Green at the BBJ.

The company is headquartered at 100 Forge, that nine-story life science building at Arsenal Yards. A Novartis spokesperson told Green no staff reductions are planned.

Ban du jour: Tobacco sales in Newton

Later this spring the Newton City Council will decide if it wants to follow the lead of Brookline and other municipalities by banning the sale of tobacco or e-cigarette products to anyone born after Jan.1, 2004.

It’s easy to understand why: After all, there is nothing redeeming about these products.

However, before the councilors act, we hope they’ll pause to think about the 36 Newton retailers who will inevitably lose sales to neighboring communities and, likely, not just tobacco sales.

“This is the kind of thing that we need all municipalities to get together on, or it’s just too easy to cross over and go to, say, Waltham, or Needham, or Watertown to buy your cigarettes,” City Council Susan Albright told the Globe.  “We need to make it a mass movement.”

The ordinance would allow anyone born before Jan. 1, 2004 to keep purchasing in Newton. Anyone born after that date would forever be prevented from buying tobacco products in Newton -- no matter how old they become.

So, for example, in three decades, a person who is 51 (or younger) would not be able to purchase cigars to celebrate the birth of a grandchild, or the Pats finally winning another the Super Bowl. But someone who was 52 or older, could.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has already ruled that Brookline’s first-in-the-nation generational tobacco ban is legal. Wakefield, Stoneham, and Melrose have since passed their own ordinances.

You can guess how the trade group representing convenience stores feels about it.

How about you? Our board of directors and I would like to know if you support, or oppose, this latest proposed ban? Email me.

Today’s grab bag

• 1983 Needham HighSchool graduate, Suni Williams, is headed back to space. She’ll be one of two astronauts traveling into space aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule. Williams is set to spend about a week aboard the orbiting laboratory.
  
  
• The Town of Wellesley is looking to hire its first Transportation and Mobility Manager.
  
  If you're growing your brick and mortar business, or looking for new retail, or restaurant space, join us next Friday May 17 at 11 a.m. for our VirtualSmall Business Leasing 101 Workshop, hosted by Graffito.
  
  
• Mount Auburn Cemetery has opened four new pedestrian entrances into the historic cemetery. The first rural or garden cemetery in the U.S., Mount Auburn is a horticultural gem, renowned for birdwatching and other activities, and is the largest green space in Watertown. It’s open year-round and free. (WatertownNews)
  
  
• Brookline is seeking community feedback through this survey to guide its plans for the future development of the Chestnut Hill Commercial Area. More.
  
  
• Attend Musical Café at Newton City Hall, May 11, 6 p.m., to experience Ukrainian-American culture through performances and culinary delights. Organized by Music, Arts& Fashion Productions in partnership with Solodko Bakery. Details
  
  
• Vendor registration is now open for the 25th anniversary of Watertown’s Faire on the Square.
  
  
• Gain valuable insights for small business success at the Small Business Empowerment Series, featuring webinars on fraud prevention and access to credit resources. Happening on May 14 and 21. Spanish interpretation is available. Register.
  
  
• All the best to Commonwealth Beacon’s Bruce Mohl who is retiring after 15 years at the helm later this year.
  
  
• Chris Allen, the affable and unflappable g.m. at the Newton Marriott is stepping back from the hospitality business after 40 years, including steering the Marriott through the pandemic. Allen also sat on our board and Dining Collaborative committee.  He will be greatly missed.

Needham employers, employees can access substance abuse support 

Needham-based businesses, workers and their families are eligible for free support services  related to substance use or recovery. 

The town’s Recovery Coach Services program is run by Angi MacDonnell who first hand experience of both sides of substance use and recovery.  In addition to peer support, MacDonnell can provide free Narcan to business and employees. 

Free community college: An idea worth consideration 

Finally this morning, Senate leaders unveiled a plan yesterday to make community college free for all Massachusetts students as part of its proposed fiscal 2025 budget.

MassEducate would invest $75.5 million to cover tuition and fees for all residents and offer stipends up to $1,200 to some low and middle-income students for books, supplies and other costs, according to State House News.

Some worry that the program would cut into enrollment at four-year schools already reeling from a demographic cliff.  Proponents counter that community colleges attract a different demographic than four-year colleges, including more diversity in age and minority backgrounds.  

The idea also complements a program that provides up to $10K for the top community college graduates transferring into the UMass system. 

The Senate proposal would be funded through the millionaires tax, which already funds free community college programs for nursing students and residents over 25.  

And while there are good competing uses for those dollars, free community college could help address several pressing challenges: A better-skilled workforce; a more affordable path to a four-year degree; and the potential to slow the exodus of young workers from Massachusetts.

It’s certainly worth consideration. 

That’s what you need to know for today — the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s ninth and final symphony — unless you’re having trouble sleeping and don’t find Major League Baseball to be boring enough.   

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

P.S.  If today’s newsletter looks a little different, it’s because we’ve just switched email platforms, from Constant Contact to Mail Chimp.  I like some of the differences. Others not so much. And I’m still getting the hang of it. Feedback and suggestions welcome.