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What Maura Healey said while in Newton yesterday

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What Maura Healey said while in Newton yesterday

Gov. Maura Healey -- and most of her cabinet -- came to Newton yesterday to deliver what was billed as her first formal address to the business community.
 
It was a frank, and familiar, assessment of the challenges we’ve been hearing from our businesses: from labor shortages and unreliable transportation services to high taxes to competition from other states.
 
Healey offered a few specific solutions but hinted they were coming. Instead, she offered up a mix of commiserating, reality, cheer leading, and optimism designed to get her new administration's honeymoon with business leaders off on the right foot.
 
"We are the greatest state in this country,” she said at a packed Associated Industries of Massachusetts event inside the Newton Marriott ballroom. “[But] we have to be honest about the realities, and the fact is, Massachusetts is expensive -- high housing costs, high child care costs, high electricity costs, unreliable transportation. Remote work flexibilities, as wonderful as they have been, also have changed dynamics within a workforce.
 
"We know it hasn't been easy. We know that the tax burden is part of the equation for companies and employees deciding to stay here in Massachusetts, to come to Massachusetts, to leave Massachusetts. We are making that a part of our discussions in making us a more competitive state.”
 
The governor also offered her take on Massachusetts' “value proposition.”
 
“It’s a state that believes we should address climate issues, that stands for the right to love who you want to love, that will look after civil rights, that will make sure people can vote, you know, we’ve got good things going for us — oh, by the way, we’ll always make sure that a woman has a right to choose.
 
“So as people consider Austin, Texas, and North Carolina and Florida — look, there’s a value proposition for this state, and it’s one I want to build big-time with all of you together.”
 
Watertown biotechs high on national list of top startups
 
The biotech biz is going through some tough times, as the Globe’s Ryan Cross reminded us this week.
 
But that doesn’t mean companies aren’t getting funded or doing significant work looking to solve many of health care's biggest challenges. Life science firms in the state raised $8.72 billion in venture capital funding last year, second only in 2021, according to MassBio, with 51 percent of those funds going to companies outside of Cambridge.
 
And two promising Watertown companies just landed high on Top Life Science Start-Ups to Watch in 2023 list by Biospace.com:
 
  • Neumora Therapeutics, at 490 Arsenal Way topped the list at No. 1 in the nation. The company debuted with an impressive pipeline of eight clinical, preclinical, and discovery and a strategic partnership with Amgen. It has two clinical stage assets targeting major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders.
 
  • And ranked at not-too-shabby No. 4 is Affini-T Therapeutics at 343 Arsenal St., which is pioneering efforts to target tumor cells. Affini-T recently struck a partnership with ElevateBio to help drive its oncogenic driver programs into clinical development.  
 
Laid-off workers advised to watch for scams
 
The tech sector is also facing challenging headwinds, with stories about layoffs seemingly appearing daily.
 
As is so often the case, with every hardship come the scams, in this case targeting those just laid off.
 
Schemes involving fictitious job listings, interviews with fake recruiters, and sham onboarding processes to steal job seekers’ money or identities are on the rise, reports the Wall Street Journal.
 
“Once the applicant accepts the offer, the phony company will ask for sensitive information like Social Security and bank account numbers or request the job seeker pay upfront for work-related equipment.”
 
Experts advise job seekers to research potential employers thoroughly and scour corporate websites, social media profiles, and online reviews to make sure a company is what it claims to be. A salary range or job offer that appears to be too good to be true is another red flag, the Journal adds.
 
Needham signs onto housing plan
 
Needham’s Select Board ratified the town’s new housing plan Tuesday. 
 
The plan lays out 17 recommendations for zoning and development policies, notes BISNOW's, Taylor Driscoll.
 
Recommendations include expanding multifamily zoning to comply with the state's new MBTA Communities law and adopting townwide inclusionary zoning. It also proposes preparing an inventory of public land and privately owned sites that could be targeted for housing development. 
 
Select Board Chair Marianne Cooley stressed that the 197-page report (I groaned too until I realized there's an executive summary) should not be confused with a housing production plan: They're recommendations. Policies, including zoning changes, must be passed separately.
 
"The challenge for people everywhere to understand is the work is yet to come," Cooley said.
 
Feb 7: Newton Business Community Town Hall
 
On March 14 Newton voters will be asked to consider three Proposition 2 ½ override ballot questions totaling just under $15 million.
 
And while business owners pay a higher tax rate than residents, not all Newton business owners live in Newton and will get to vote on the tax hikes.
 
But our entire business community is invited to a virtual town hall on Feb. 7 at 8:30 a.m. with Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and Interim Superintendent of Schools Kathy Smith.
 
I’ll ask Fuller to give a brief overview of her tax increase proposal and then invite you to directly ask questions and share your thoughts.  RSVP here.
 
More need to knows
 
  • Newton resident (and chamber member) Darryl Settles and two partners have launched BREIF, the Boston Real Estate Inclusion Fund, for women and people of color who historically have been excluded from building wealth. Shirley Leung at the Globe has the details.
 
 
 
 
  • Newton’s second annual WinterFEST takes place tomorrow and Sunday with free soup, music, a nature walk, ice sculptures, and more at various locations. Schedule. 
 
  • Our big Winter Celebration networking event on Feb. 8 at the Allen House is getting close to selling out. If you’re planning on attending but haven’t purchased a ticket for yourself, or your team, the link is here.
 
Globe pulls the plug on ‘The Newton Report’
 
Since 2019 the Globe has been publishing a weekly e-newsletter highlighting stories about, or of specific interest, to readers in Newton, including articles that were part of a Globe partnership with Boston University’s journalism department.
 
But this week the Globe announced it was going to stop publishing The Newton Report.
 
“This week marks the last edition of the regular newsletter," reads an editor’s note. "However, you may continue to hear from us on the biggest stories affecting your community,”
 
Curiously, the move comes just as Globe Editor Brian McGrory -- who established the project after hearing from residents (and the chamber) clamoring for more Newton coverage -- prepares to leave the Globe to lead B.U.’s Journalism Department. 
 
So now I want to know, can I use an algorithm to write this newsletter?
 
Congressman Jake Auchincloss used ChatGPT to make two points this week when he delivered a speech from the House floor written by the artificial intelligence program.
 
He used the software to promote legislation he was reintroducing to establish an artificial intelligence research center between the US and Israel.
 
Auchincloss said it took several attempts to get the program to deliver a speech he deemed acceptable.
 
“My speechwriter has nothing to worry about,” Auchincloss said. “It’s impressive but this is not ready for prime time.”
 
In the battle for robo vacs, we’re Team SharkNinja
 
Finally, this weekend’s Globe Magazine takes a look at the two Bay State companies embroiled in the $3 billion battle of the robot vacuums.
 
In one corner, you have the Bedford-based iRobot.
 
And in (our) corner you have Needham-based SharkNinja, which earns praise from writer John Wolfson for its “fanatical devotion to customer experience and devotion to customer experience and sophisticated marketing strategies.”
 
Yes, SharkNinja is a chamber member. And, yes, we’re unabashedly homers and Team SharkNinja. We own several Sharks and they really suck, but in a good way.
 
Both companies have fascinating stories. Read their stories here.
 
 
That’s your Need to Knows for today, unless you need to know about the doctors who swallowed Legos for science.
 
Have a good weekend.
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
617.244.1688
 
P.S. Be back next week with news about the chamber's Dining Collaborative campaign to promote dining locally while also helping the homeless.
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