Good morning,

Good for the owner of Coldstuff Ice Cream in Blackstone for not mincing words when a customer yelled at a 16-year-old employee over a 15-cent price discrepancy.

“STOP YELLING AT MY [bleeping] EMPLOYEES,” the owner wrote on Facebook. “They are children. . . . It’s ice cream for crying out loud. Grow up and act your age.”

It’s easier to get customers than good employees, BU hospitality professor Makarand Mody tells the Globe’s Beth Teitell. And mistreating one sends a bad message to everyone else: “The entire team notices and it will impact your bottom line.”

Report shows why the state shouldn’t be in charge of this

You’ll likely need a drink after trying to figure out the winners and losers in the state’s system for determining how many on-premises liquor licenses municipalities across the Commonwealth are allowed.

But a new 172-page report from Auditor Diana DiZoglio confirms the obvious: It’s uneven, unfair, and, the report warns, represents “lost economic opportunity for the Commonwealth.”

For example, Cambridge can issue as many restaurant liquor licenses as it chooses because it’s one of 26 communities exempt from the rules every other municipality must follow.

But just next door, when Watertown wanted to exceed its state-imposed cap, it needed Beacon Hill’s permission, a process that took nearly a year.

DiZoglio’s report doesn’t break out data for all our chamber communities but notes that Brookline’s and Newton’s allotments are close to being tapped out, constraining future growth.

Brookline has six licenses left. Newton has 19 licenses left. And with City Realty’s Meriden Chestnut Hill and Northland’s Pattern District in the pipeline, among others, it’s easy to imagine running short in both communities.

When licenses run out, restaurant operators don’t wait. They go to neighboring towns. (Not to Waltham, though. It has one license left.)

That’s lost rent. Lost jobs. Lost foot traffic. And lost meals tax.

And it’s all so unnecessary because, as the report recommends, we should empower our cities and towns to make these decisions on their own.

The Globe’s Shirley Leung has more. 

Newton’s Harvest Fair looks to share the bounty

Newton’s annual Harvest Fair is always a hit with the public.

Not so much with many Newton Centre’s brick-and-mortar restaurants and shops. Between the food trucks and lost parking, businesses rarely see a sales bump despite thousands of visitors. Others would choose not to open that day.

So this Sunday (from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), the Laredo administration is trying something new.

For the first time, outside food vendors won’t be allowed on the Newton Centre lot.

Instead, the city’s economic development team is promoting the Harvest Trail. It connects 25 restaurants, bakeries and shops offering fall treats, seasonal specials, shopping promotions and activities.

The goal is to draw visitors beyond the green and triangle lot and increase foot traffic to help local businesses.

We hope it’s a success for all.

Bill would outlaw Zooming while driving

Raise your hand if you’ve attended a Zoom or Teams meeting while inching along the Mass Pike or waiting for a Route 9 light to change.

My hand is up. Our cars have become a second office for many of us.

Now proponents behind the state’s 2019 hands-free law, which banned texting while driving, hope to update it for the Zoom era, reports Ella Adams at State House News.

Sen. Jo Comerford’s bill would bar drivers from recording or livestreaming themselves and watching unrelated video or text on in-car screens.

The bill was sent to study in March, where bills usually go to die. But Comerford raised it again at a State House hearing last week. Public Safety Secretary Gina Kwon also signaled support for cracking down on Zooming while driving.

What do you think?

Wednesday grab bag

• Folks in Coolidge Corner and Washington Square in Brookline will be able to enjoy free shuttle buses connecting with Brighton and Harvard Square for three years starting early in 2027, thanks to a City of Boston program.  (Brookline.news)
  
  
• The first of four public meetings on the Wellesley Square Improvement Project is tonight (Wed.) 6:30 p.m. at Hunnewell Elementary. Parking and pedestrian safety are on the agenda. (Swellesely Report)
  
  
• Wondering why Needham selected a parking meter app that works only in Needham and towns in California, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and Canada? Frederica Saylor Lalonde at the Needham Observer explains: it’s about procurement laws.
  
  
•  Ramyun Zip, a self-service, Korean-style ramyun (a Korean version of Japanese ramen) shop, is coming to 1310 Beacon Street in Coolidge Corner.  (Brookline.news)
  
  
• Wellesley businesses: Let the DPW Dept know how you feel about the condition of the town’s streets and sidewalks and other matters through this survey.
  
  
• The annual Head of the Charles Regatta returns this weekend, from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon, bringing 12,000 rowers and thousands of spectators.
  
  
• Watertown biotech Soufflé Therapeutics just raised $135 million to keep developing drugs that switch off disease-causing genes. Co-founder Bob Langer, an MIT professor and Newton resident, has helped launch more than 40 companies, including Moderna. (BBJ) 
  
  
• Will Katcher at MassLive asks: Why does Newton have 10 post offices while Allston-Brighton may be left with one? (And Watertown two.)
  
  
• The national veterinary chain Livewell Animal Hospital is slated to open next month on Harvard Street in Brookline. (Brookline.news)
  
  
• For months, we've shared resources and arguments supporting Question 7, which would rein in our communities' large and exclusionary minimum lot sizes. For fairness, watch Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine make the case for a NO vote at State Rep. Amy Sangiolo's ballot question forum last week. (We still believe Question 7 has substantial upside.)
  
  
• And here’s some data to consider as you evaluate calls to suspend Massachusetts’ gas tax.

Hammond Pond road diet now on both sides of Rt. 9

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation has reduced lanes and lowered the speed limit on part of Hammond Pond Parkway south of Route 9 in Brookline, reports Christian MilNeil at Streetsblog Mass.

The new layout runs from Heath Street (near the Chestnut Hill malls) to the Horace James Circle rotary. It’s gone from four to three lanes, with buffered bike lanes on both sides.

In 2024, DCR shrank the stretch north of Route 9 in Newton from four lanes to two and added a wide shared-use path. (Streetsblog photo)

Join us Friday and take back your AI strategy

Finally, join us Friday morning at William James College for a discussion on the AI strategy your business already has, even if you didn’t choose it.

We’ll hear from four leaders in four very different realms, looking at workforce adoption, human trust, professional accountability and market visibility.

Our board chair, Angela Pitter, curated the program and will moderate. Her recent TEDxRoxbury talk, “Is AI Erasing Your Neighborhood?” was selected by TED’s editorial team as an Editor’s Pick, a distinction awarded to fewer than 1% of TEDx talks. It has already surpassed 68,000 views.

In the talk, Pitter explores what happens when people, businesses and entire communities are missing from the digital systems increasingly shaping who gets found. Watch it here and RSVP for Friday here.

That’s what you need to know for today, unless need to know what percentage of small businesses fail?

Make it a good one.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

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Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.