Our program that helps restaurants and those in need is back
Last winter, the chamber launched a program in Newton, Wellesley and Needham that purchased more than 7,5000 meals from more than 50 independent restaurants and distributed them to those in need.
This week we're relaunching that initiative with plans to expand into Watertown too.
Bills Pizzeria, Jake’s Falafel Corner, The Corner Café, Anna’s Taqueria, Moldova Restaurant, Baramor and Johnny’s Luncheonette will collectively deliver over 500 meals this week to the Newton Food Pantry, Centre Street Food Pantry, Arabic Baptist Church, Welcome Home and the West Suburban YMCA.
The effort, coordinated by the Charles River Chamber in partnership with the Rotary Club of Newton will run through the winter/early spring. The meals, as well as meals in Wellesley, will be purchased with a state earmark secured by state Sen. Cynthia Creem.
We'll be running similar programs in Needham and -- new this year, Watertown -- thanks to individual donations and a substantial contribution from our friends at Trip Advisor.
Added donations are welcome, email me if you can help.
For other information about how you can get involved to support efforts in any of our four communities --- or if you are a restaurant owner looking to participate – contact Katherine Herer.
Wellesley takes steps to revitalize downtown
The Globe’s John Hilliard wrote this weekend about ongoing efforts to revitalize Wellesley Square:
About 17 downtown businesses have closed, including a few before the pandemic. But the town and its business community are working closely together to help the square succeed, including efforts to modernize dining rules and several new stores have moved in.
Read the rest here.
More on plans for the Watertown Mall
The BBJ’s Greg Ryan takes a look at Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ plans to construct three buildings with a mix of lab and office space at the Watertown Mall.
The master plan includes 500,000 square feet of lab and office space, along with two parking garages and two "amenity" buildings. Alexandria plans to keep the popular Target store and other retailers.
The plan also calls for quadruple the amount of open space at the site as part of the development, including more trees. It’s aiming to make the project LEED Gold Certified.
Alexandria purchased the 17.8 acres property for $130 million last spring and will present its conceptual plans for the site and adjacent parcels at community meetings this Thursday (Jan. 27) and March 1.
Needham to create affordable housing plan
The Needham Housing Plan Working Group will host a public education and listening forum Thursday (Jan. 27) to share information and solicit input from the community as group develops Needham’s next housing plan.
The forum will be held at 7 p.m. via Zoom and will begin with a brief overview of the basics of affordable housing as well as the history of zoning in Needham.
The last Affordable Housing Plan for Needham was released in 2007.
Keep an eye out for these COVID relief initiatives
The Baker administration will soon be announcing grant programs through Mass Growth Capital directed at helping very small businesses as well one for small business that have not previously received COVID relief.
And momentum is building on Capitol Hill for more coronavirus relief funding to support restaurants and other businesses, the Hill Reports.
The primary focus is on replenishing funding for some 177,000 restaurants nationwide after the Restaurant Relief Program ran out last year.
“Restaurants are still incredibly vulnerable right now and we're getting the triple whammy of inflationary costs affecting our food prices, a labor shortage that shows no sign of resolving itself and Omicron continues to wreak havoc on consumer confidence and the ability of restaurants to offer indoor dining,” said Sean Kennedy, VP at the National Restaurant Association.
Some advocates are also pushing lawmakers to ensure businesses in multiple industries, including fitness clubs, salons and gyms.
Other need to knows
- The Watertown City Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. tonight (Jan. 25) to discuss regulations for short-term home rentals, such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Currently, such rentals are not allowed in Watertown, but dozens are listed on the Airbnb site, (Watertown News.)
- English Works Business Council presents "Opportunities for your Business and Immigrant Workforce: Hear from the Experts" tomorrow (Jan. 26) at 11 a.m. via Zoom. Details
- MassDOT is looking for help from businesses and nonprofits to understanding employer teleworking policies in Massachusetts. They’re hoping a representative with knowledge about your overall teleworking policies take the survey.
Keeping tabs on Newton? Read the The Heights
Boston College’s student news site The Heights continues to cover many Newton stories that might otherwise be overlooked, including one about the $75,000 in city grants distributed a $75,000 grant to various local groups, including New Art Center, Newton Community Pride, Newton Theatre Company, Jewish Arts Collaborative and others.
The Heights also listened in when Dr. Ashish Jha and other experts provided coronavirus-related recommendations to the school committee.
Student journalism is no replacement for a professionally staffed organization.
And a city as large as Newton should have just that. But it's all we have at the moment. |
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