We feel furious and we feel helpless

By Charles River Regional Chamber

5/26/2022

There's lots to share this morning.

But 21 things we need to know.

And that’s the names and faces of the 21 victims of the 27th school shooting this year, the 213th mass shooting of 2022.

And it’s only May.

Just days after a white supremacist slaughtered ten Black people at the Buffalo supermarket; two years after the cruel murder of George Floyd; and a decade after the Newtown school massacre, we feel furious and we feel helpless.

Yesterday on the Mount Ida campus, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller turned to a member of our business community to help us process another all too familiar moment.

“The world gives us so many reasons to think we are running out of hope; but it is our duty to lift and build each other up,” Douglass Williams, chef and owner of MIDA in Newtonville, said yesterday at the Annual Theodore D. Mann Newton Mayor’s Community Breakfast. (Full video here.)

Delivering the event’s keynote address, Williams urged us not to look the other way “precisely for the many people who have had that beautiful human right stripped away, either by god, or hate, at home or abroad.”

“I dare you, actually I triple dog dare you, to be curious about people you don't know, people you would never normally say hello to in passing or at a quick service food line, gas station, or the gym. Someone so different from you, it’s as if you were aliens from another planet… or at least you think,” he said.

“It’s the reason why we donate, start fund drives, lean in as a family, join boards, unite and decide to teach or expose our children about sensitive images and situations around the world and even more vividly, incidents closer to home.”

Finally, Williams added:

“I hope and pray to myself several times a day, seemingly more and more, that I never feel the rage and desperation of someone taking my children’s life other than God. But it feels like it’s getting closer to home.

“Hope is a running constant, let us all spring ahead for the change we want to see in the world and even more urgently, in ourselves.”

If you're going to click one link this morning, try this

Another chamber member, former Globe film critic Ty Burr, has a super interesting take on this moment too.

?Read “Tom Cruise and 19 Dead Children.”

Incoming city manager: Watertown job was hard to pass up

George Proakis says he wasn’t looking for a new job when the position of city manager opened up in Watertown.

But Proakis -- who has spent the past 12 years overseeing economic development and planning in Somerville and seven years doing similar work in Lowell before that -- said the Watertown opportunity was too good to pass up.

“I chose to apply for this job because there was something unique about this community,” he said.

This week, the Watertown City Council unanimously voted to hire Proakis, pending final contract negotiations.

“If there is one thing that I’ve had great experience working on -- and thrive while working on -- it's working with an active council and a feisty community,” Proakis said during his public interview.

Watertown has less than half the population of Somerville but Proakis said he sees similar opportunities to work with willing partners on sustainably, making the city more walkable and data driven, among other priorities.

He succeeds Mike Driscoll who was honored last week after nearly three decades on the job.

Driscoll's legacy is that he's left a community that’s in great financial shape with a robust commercial tax base, a fully funded employee pension system, new school buildings and historic growth.

Now it's Proakis' turn to lead Watertown to the next level.

More labs likely for Route 9 Wellesley properties

As reported earlier, Beacon Capital Partners recently purchased the former Harvard Pilgrim Health Care headquarters at the intersection of Route 128 and Route 9 Wellesley for $111.5 million.

Now comes word that Beacon is also is buying the Sun Life’s Park 9, located just a few doors down for nearly $200 million, according to Joe Clements at Real Reporter.

Both properties are considered candidates for at least partial conversion into lab space, adding to the growing number of biotech developments along our stretch of Route 128.

Other need to knows

Two chamber member banks have announced acquisitions: Brookline Bancorp agreed to a $313 million acquisition of PCSB Bank, marking a major expansion. And Cambridge Trust Co.'s parent plans to expand its Massachusetts presence by acquiring North Andover-based Northmark Bank for $63 million in stock. (BBJ)

One of Newton’s hidden shopping gems – the Mall at Echo Bridge – was profiled in the Globe this week, with a focus on the city’s first record store in years Want List Records.

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. has agreed to take a 73,000 sf lab-and-office space at a future building at Alexandria Real Estate Equities' Arsenal on the Charles campus in Watertown. Enanta is also extending its lease at a nearby Alexandria site. (BBJ)

Needham is looking to fill two seats on its Council of Economic Advisors, a committee established by the select board charged with promotion and economic development. Details.

Every month a group of chamber employers meet virtually to share success stories and challenges related to making their workplaces more diverse, equitable and inclusive. If you own or help manager a company or department with 15 or more employees, we invite you to learn more. Our next virtual meeting is on June 9 at 10 a.m. Email me for details.

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Newton Centre restaurant forced to close

After five years serving Venezuelan specialties, along with classic Mediterranean and American favorites on Pelham Street in Newton Centre, Ellana's Kitchen is closing June 5.

“Unfortunately, the owner of the building has a new project for [the location], so we must hand over the premises,” reads a good bye announcement on Facebook.

?“It has been an unparalleled experience that we will remember fondly and that will indisputably leave a mark on our hearts.”

Bar ‘Cino to succeed Stellina in Watertown Square

A new Italian restaurant will be taking over the space occupied for 30 years by Stellina Restaurant, reports Watertown News.

Bar ‘Cino is part of a the Newport Restaurant Group that includes other locations of Bar ‘Cino in Brookline and Newport, R.I., the Papa Razzi restaurants in Wellesley and Concord, as well as the Castle Hill Inn in Newport.

Nourishing Wellesley delivers for Wellesley families and restaurants

Since the end of February, Wellesley Youth Commission Director Maura Renzella has been coordinating weekly grab n’ go meals from Wellesley restaurants at the Barton Road Community Room and Wellesley Food Pantry.

These hot meals provided a much-needed boost for individuals, families and independent restaurants that continue to be impacted by the pandemic and rising costs.

Funded by state grant dollars secured by Sen. Cindy Creem and administered by the chamber, our Nourishing Wellesley initiative has invested $80,000 over the past two years to purchase thousands of meals from independent Wellesley restaurants to feed those in need and support our local economy.

Our thanks to Maura, the Town of Wellesley, Sen. Creem, our restaurant partners and all of the volunteers who helped support this effort.
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That’s Need to Knows for today, unless you need to know about the 92-year-old Newton woman who just earned her college degree.

I’ll be taking a few days off from this newsletter, returning Wed. June 1.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend. Our gratitude to all those who fought and gave their lives to protect us and for the sacrifices of their loved ones.

Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
Charles River Regional Chamber
617.244.1688

P.S. The wonderous Mark Sokoll, outgoing president and CEO of the JCC Greater Boston, celebrated his retirement last week with hundreds of friends and supporters. This video explores his story, his leadership, his humor, his wisdom, and his legacy.

JCC@333 2022: Honoring and Celebrating Mark Sokoll

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We feel furious and we feel helpless

We feel furious and we feel helpless

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