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Where to start? Our high schools

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Where to start? Our high schools

Nearly one out of every ten workers in Greater Boston either holds a tech-related job, or works in a non-technical job at a tech company.
 
That places us 8th nationwide among metropolitan areas, the Globe’s Aaron Pressman reports.
 
And even though there were a wave of layoffs at tech companies large and small last year, the number of people in Greater Boston employed in the industry – more than 272,500 people -- rose slightly (1%) last year, while hiring remains a problem.
 
Workforce diversity is an even bigger challenge.
 
Only 4% of Boston-area tech workers were Black, compared with 8% of the overall workforce; 4% were Hispanic, versus 10% of the workforce, Pressman adds, citing data from CompTIA. And one-quarter of tech workers were women, compared with half of the overall workforce.
 
Meanwhile, the average annual salary for an employee with a computer science degree in the region was $107,543, while the average salary among all Massachusetts workers is $65,279.
 
So how -- and where -- should we turn to address the overall workforce shortage and these racial, economic and gender disparities?
 
For starters, to our high schools, according to a new study conducted for the Massachusetts Alliance for Business Education:
 
  • Despite booming demand for workers in the good-paying computer science sector, just 5.8% of Massachusetts high school students are taking a computer science course.
 
  • Urban schools were less likely to offer computer science than suburban and rural schools.
 
  • And only 28.4% of students enrolled in a computer science course were female.
 
MABE's suggests that giving more Massachusetts high schoolers access to computer science courses would help fill good paying jobs, diversify the workforce and enhance economic mobility.
 
Ultimately it recommends that the state require students take a computer science class in order to graduate.
 
Arkansas, South Carolina and Maryland require its students to take a computer science class in order to graduate. Certainly Massachusetts can do that.
 
Note: Our chamber is an MBAE affiliate member.
 
West Newton Cinema is ready for its close up
 
The West Newton Cinema Foundation is launching a capital campaign today to renovate, update and ensure that the storied West Newton Cinema endures for generation to come.
 
The building was purchased by Mark Development in August of 2022 and has since been under operation by the past owners while the nonprofit (501)(c) foundation was being established.
 
Here's the project’s website.
 
IRS warns small businesses about scams
 
The IRS is warning businesses to be wary of ads flooding the internet, social media, TV and radio offering to assist help you file for an Employee Retention Credit.
 
The ERC is real. And your company could potentially be eligible for a credit worth $26,000 per employee. You should look into it.
 
But some solicitations appear to exist solely to scoop up data for identity theft, notes Andy Medici for the Business Journals..
 
"The aggressive marketing of these credits is deeply troubling and a major concern," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a press release.
 
"While the credit has provided a financial lifeline to millions of businesses, there are promoters misleading people and businesses into thinking they can claim these credits.”
?
To be sure, there are plenty of reputable companies, accounting firms and other companies that have successfully partnered with employers to file ERC claims, Medici adds.
 
Meal delivery companies curbing number of anonymous restaurants
 
Uber Eats is joining GrubHub and DoorDash by removing thousands of online-only restaurant brands off its app this week out of concern that the platform is getting clogged by restaurants listing multiple delivery options with different names but the same menu, the Wall Street Journal reports.
 
The confusing practice allowed the same restaurant, as well as ghost kitchens. to masquerade as multiple restaurants which is why you might see an online listing for a restaurant that claims to be, say, one mile away from you, that you know doesn’t exist.  
 
Notary stamp no longer required
 
The days of scurrying around town to find a notary have mercifully come to an end.
 
This week Gov. Maura Healey signed a new law allowing documents to be notarized online and completely digitally, without requiring physical stamps and signatures, reports the Globe’s Aaron Pressman.
 
Everything from mortgage loan closings to end-of-life healthcare proxy forms, building permit applications and fiduciary trusts can be notarized online, just as they were temporarily during the pandemic.
 
Not only that, you’ll be able order a to-go champagne to celebrate the transition you just had notarized remotely because, included in the same bill, were provisions extending take-out mixed drinks, beer and wine.
 
Outdoor dining and remote municipal meetings – all provisions that otherwise would have expired today -- were extended too.
 
The same bill authorizes more than $740 million in borrowing to prevent interruptions to core state capital programs that support housing and economic development across the state, including a $400 million for the MassWorks Program, according to NAIOP.
 
But wait…here’s more need to knows
 
  • Former Newton Mayor Setti Warren has been named the permanent director of the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School, removing his interim title effective immediately. (The Crimson)
 
  • After a pipe burst closed élan Fine Consignment in Wellesley Hills in December, the business has reopened. Also in Wellesley, clothing retailer Faherty plans to open in Wellesley Square at 50 Central St., formerly home to Talbots. (Swellesley Report).
 
  • Siva Kumar owner of the Walnut Grille in Newton Highlands is closing the Grill and rebranding as Shiva's Kitchen offering Indian cuisine, similar to his popular Watertown restaurant India Kitchen. (Walnut Grill's last day is today but its menu will still be available for catering.)
 
  • Celebrate spring in the Wellesley's Linden Square Courtyard with lots of free fun for the whole family. Meet the Easter bunny, get a temp tattoo, end enjoy free ice cream for the first 200 kids, while supplies last. Happening this Sunday (April 2) 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
 
  • Two weeks after voters rejected Newton’s operating override, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller is taking some of the steps override proponents said either would not be fiscally responsible, or possible. Fig City News has details here and here.
 
 
Here's a question we're asked a lot
 
Wondering what's under construction at the former General Cinema/AMC theater building at the Street in Chestnut Hill?
 
Here’s a short video teasing the WS Development project’s office component, which also includes extensive new retail and restaurant space. Earlier item here
 
Watertown's new weapon in the war on goose poop has four legs
Finally this morning, Watertown’s DPW Department is adopting a new solution to chase away geese that are fouling up the city’s parks and fields.
 
And she has four legs,
 
Vee, a border collie from a Virginia breeder that trains dogs specifically for goose control, is joining the department next week.
 
“Based on the analysis of the options, we’ve concluded that there is no better way to address the goose problem than to have a dog do the work, and to have this dog on our own team where she be on our fields daily,” the city said in a statement.
 
“From a cost/benefit perspective, this is far more effective than any alternative plan. It’s also considered the most humane strategy for goose removal. While this solution is often used by golf courses and private resorts, there are a few municipal governments who have also followed this strategy.”
 
Because of its inefficient digestive system, geese leave two to three pounds of fecal matter per adult, every day.
 
And because it’s 2023, Vee will, of course, have her own social media accounts.
 
?She already has a website where we learned that she can also work with ducks or sheep and swims. 
 
 
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That’s your need to knows for today: The Grass is Always Browner on the Other Side of the Fence Day, unless, of course, all those geese being chased from Watertown's parks land on your lawn.
 
See you in Q2.
 
Shop, dine and, well, notarize locally,
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
617.244.1688
 
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