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We're losing a remarkable heath care advocate

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We're losing a remarkable heath care advocate

Back in the summer of 2020, Dr. Errol Norwitz jumped with both feet into the middle of the pandemic.
 
Ever since, the president and CEO at Newton Wellesley Hospital have been there for our communities, providing steady and calming leadership at a time of so much uncertainty and amidst so many changes and challenges in health care.
Errol Norwitz
That includes his role standing up a vaccine clinic at Tripadvisor, at a time when so many of us were clamoring for our very first shots. He also established a partnership with Lasell University to help solve staffing shortages, among other innovations.
 
Norwitz (his bio is here) also sat on the chamber’s board of directors, providing calm, essential pandemic and other advice to us and our municipalities, shaping policies and communications.
 
Today I’m sorry to report that Dr.Norwitz is exiting his role at Newton-Wellesley at the end of February.
 
His departure is part of a larger reorganization across the Mass General Brigham system. As I understand it, MGB is ending a decades-long practice of having community hospitals led by physicians and transitioning operations to a COO/president role.
 
At Newton-Wellesley that responsibility will fall to Ellen Moloney, currently, COO and once served as NW’s interim president.
 
Moloney will be the hospital's first female president. We look forward to working with her.
 
But our communities should be forever grateful to Dr. Norwitz for his leadership, insights, and grace during a critical time in all our lives.
 
Healey seeks funds for housing, semiconductors, and infrastructure
 
Gov. Maura Healey unveiled her first spending bills yesterday, requesting $987 million for housing and other “immediate needs” economic development projects, along with a $400 million bill for road infrastructure.
 
The governor said she wants her administration to be known as one "driving economic development."
 
The economic development bill also includes $200 million to compete for federal funds to jump-start semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.
 
Her $400 million infrastructure request through the MassWorks program matches the amount lawmakers failed to pass last term before the legislative clock ran out.
 
Still, no word on whether Healey might revive a package of tax cuts -- including needed reform to the estate tax -- to improve the state’s economic competitiveness, writes the Globe's Jon Chesto.
 
No new road spending included in Newton override
 
One of the selling points on the City of Newton's website outlining the needs that would be addressed as part of a proposed (three-question) $15 million tax override, is a $1.4 million line item “for streets, sidewalks and improving street and sidewalk safety.”
 
But that doesn’t mean Newton will be spending an additional $1.4 million on roads and sidewalks if voters agree to raise property taxes on March 14.
 
Rather, the funds will go toward maintaining the city’s annual, existing $9.5 million expenditures on roadwork, reports Dan Atkinson at the Newton Beacon.
 
City Councilor Becky Grossman said at a meeting last November (watch at the 1:07:45 mark here) she was unhappy the money would not go to more roadwork than what was already planned.
 
“I was really hopeful we were going to see an uptick in the amount of work we were able to do,” said Grossman, chair of the council's Finance Committee.
 
“That’s something that’s disappointing me a little.”
 
According to Fuller administration presentations, if the operating override passes, 34 major city streets – from Waltham Street to Ward Street, Chestnut Street to Grove Street, and Hammond Street to Brookline Street — are set to be paved between now and 2030, Atkinson adds. 
 
We've invited Mayor Fuller to present her case for the override at a virtual chamber event early next month. We hope to announce the date soon.
 
Needham project would provide housing, open space
Needham’s Select Board will hear about plans to build a townhouse development on a portion of the Castle Farm land in Needham next week.
 
The town is collaborating with Northland Residential (not related to Northland Investment, which is developing that project on Needham Street in Newton) on a plan to purchase the entire approximately 64-acre site.
 
In Needham, Northland would build a residential development (including an affordable component) on 14 acres and set aside about 14 additional acres as open space.
 
In total, the effort would preserve about 48 acres, or 75 percent of the breathtaking property, as open space.
 
Green Line safety system delayed to 2025
 
A critical anti-collision safety system for Green Line that federal regulators first recommended back in 2009, has been delayed by up to 18 months because of the complexity of weaving the technology into the aging trolley network, reports Chris Lisinski at State House News.
 
Last November, the MBTA said the Green Line Protection project would be completed by the end of this year. Now the T doesn't think it will be done until June 2025.
 
Anti-collision technology is already in place on the Red, Orange, and Blue Lines and commuter rail -- just not the Green Line, even though it's been nearly 14 years since a fatal crash prompted the feds to first call on the T to install the system, writes Lisinski.
 
Finding T bus drivers continues to be a problem too
 
Lisinski is also reporting that the MBTA is "not making the sort of progress we really want to see" in its efforts to recruit new bus drivers.
 
About three dozen new bus drivers started in October and 63 candidates are ready to hire but officials said last year the MBTA needs to hire more than 300 drivers, plus 440 more to achieve the net 25 percent increase in service hours envisioned in a multi-year Better Bus redesign.
 
Other need to knows
 
 
  • Olin College President Dr. Gilda Barabino will discuss “Engineering for Everyone” at Needham Library, Sunday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. Register
 
  • Are you planning a grand opening or celebrating a major renovation or new location? Learn about the chamber’s ribbon-cutting program and how each event helps a chamber member nonprofit. We’ll even bring the giant scissors.
 
  • The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network provides free, confidential, one-to-one business assistance and free and low-cost training to prospective and existing small businesses. Details
 
  • The chamber’s Dining Collaborative is launching a community clothing drive in February. Collections will benefit Circle of Hope, a Needham-based nonprofit that provides homeless children, women, and men in Boston and MetroWest with clothing and necessities. If your restaurant is a chamber member and would like to host a collection box fill out this form here today.
 
Nothing to smile about
 
Amazon is ending its program that allowed shoppers to donate to the nonprofit of their choice, saying the program had limited impact, even though it has donated to more than a million organizations over the past decade, the Washington Post reports.
 
AmazonSmile also distributed more than $42,000 to nonprofit entities spreading disinformation about COVID vaccines, The Post also reported.
 
We REALLY need your help with this!
 
Finally today, nominations for our spring publication listing the “50 Most Influential Business Leaders of Color in Greater Boston’s Western Suburbs” as well as the “Emerging Business Leaders of Color,” opened yesterday.
 
And we need everyone's help identifying amazing nominees. Everyone.
 
To qualify, nominees must work at and/or sit on a board for a business or nonprofit that is physically located in Newton, Needham, Watertown, Waltham, Wellesley, Natick, or Framingham. (Emerging leaders must be under age 40.)
 
If you know someone worthy of consideration, our nomination form is here.
 
You can also help considerably by sharing this post on LinkedIn. Or download one of the graphics here and share it in your social feeds, newsletters, or other communications.
 
Both lists will be published in the spring of 2023. There will also be an event to celebrate the honorees and the region’s diversity, also this spring. 
 
Nominations close Feb. 6. Details are here.
 
This program (see our 2020 edition here) will only be a success if we reach into companies of all types and sizes across our communities. Thanks for spreading the word!
 
 
That’s your Need to Knows for today, unless you need to know how to avoid being hired by a jerk
 
Have a great weekend. Be back Tuesday.
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
617.244.1688
 
P.S. I had an interesting conversation yesterday talking about travel, tourism, and promoting our suburbs to visitors with Martha Sheridan from Visit Boston. Watch the recording here.
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