Hello friends,

We’ve added NBC10 Boston’s Latoyia Edwards to our Fall Business Breakfast lineup.

Edwards will moderate our fireside chat with Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. In addition, outgoing Mayor Ruthanne Fuller will deliver her final address to the business community and we’re honoring 2Life Communities’ Amy Schectman.

It’s happening two weeks from this morning (Nov. 7) at the Newton Marriott. This event will sell out. Register.

Also: Today is your last chance to provide feedback about the chamber, what’s working and where we can improve in this brief survey.

Why we remain optimistic about the Watertown Mall site

Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ (ARE) decision to back away from plans to transform the Watertown Mall into an eight building campus with lab space, offices, housing and retail is — of course — disappointing.

But it’s not as disappointing as it may first appear.

That’s for two reasons:

• First: While ARE sold the mall location itself (550 Arsenal Street), the company retains ownership of three buildings and a garage behind and adjacent to the mall.
• Second: ARE, the nation’s largest life science landlord, sold 550 Arsenal to Newton-based mixed use developer National Development. These two companies know each other well. They were and remain joint partners on the life-science conversion of the former Mount Auburn Club in Watertown, creating 99 Coolidge, which opened in 2023.

City officials believe the sale to National (along with the fact that ARE remains heavily invested in Watertown through ownership of Arsenal on the Charles and the land adjacent to the mall) leaves the door open for a future joint project once economic conditions become favorable.

In the meanwhile, National tells Catherine Carlock at the Globe it plans to keep the property as a shopping center with some upgrades.  Tenants include Target, Best Buy, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The mall is 96% leased.

The Newton School Committee election’s untold story

The editorial board at the Boston Globe did Newton a solid this week, publishing a lengthy editorial explaining the political undercurrents driving the Nov. 4 School Committee election.

The editorial does not offer any endorsements. But it provides something more valuable: It offers context.

It identifies those candidates who are closely aligned with the city’s powerful teachers’ union; those who declined to seek the union’s endorsement but were endorsed by the soon-to-be-elected mayor, Marc Laredo; and the lone newcomer who is untethered to either faction.

“If elected, the union-endorsed candidates will have to demonstrate that they are acting in the best interest of students, not just teachers, in contract negotiations and policy debates,” the Globe writes.

“The Laredo-backed candidates … will have to demonstrate independence.”

Fig City News, Newton Beacon and BC Heights have all published candidate interviews. NewTV produced candidates statements and forums.

But atypically, it’s an editorial and not any news report (including from the Globe’s newsroom which rarely covers Newton anymore), that provides otherwise missing context for an election that could shape Newton Public Schools for years to come.

It should be read by every voter.

…While a misleading story is told in Wellesley

Far less helpful is an online petition created by a Wellesley group called Neighbors for Better Planning which appears to be deliberately trying to mislead residents about a state plan to sell a surplus portion of the MassBay campus off Route 9 to developed into multi-family homes.

An email from the group erroneously says the project might not include any affordable housing. In fact, Wellesley’s inclusionary zoning ordinance requires 15% units be affordable at 80% AMI and 5% at 140% AMI. Plus the not yet selected developer could possibly offer more through the RFP process.

The same alarmist email suggests the state wants to raze the adjacent forest for housing, even as officials emphasize they’re focused on an underused parking lot.

Town leadership has been working overtime to steer a constructive process. This nonsense doesn’t help.

I value your feedback

Do we really need laws telling business owners how many cashiers they need?

A new bill  that’s been filed on Beacon Hill seeks to crack down on the number of self-checkout stations in retail stores, reports Matt Prichard NBC10.

It would require one employee to supervise every two self-checkout stations

in operation. A traditional checkout stand would also need to be open for every two self-checkouts.

But Ryan Kearney, with the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, notes that "self-checkout stations allow many businesses to keep their operations moving smoothly despite worker shortages."

Friday grab bag

• The Town of Needham is seeking a resident to fill an at-large seat on the Envision Needham Center Working Group which is exploring options for a Great Plain Ave. redesign. To apply, complete the Volunteer Interest Form.
• West Newton Cinema hosts the Jack Lemmon 100th Anniversary Celebration tonight (Oct. 24) through Sunday. The event honors the Newton-born star’s enduring impact on American cinema and features the actor’s classic films, a reception and discussion with members of the Lemmon family and film critic Ty Burr. (Here’s Burr’s take on the event.)
• A judge has denied BioMed Realty’s motions to intervene in its bid to recover millions from Watertown’s Lyndra Therapeutics over a breached commercial lease (BBJ)
• Mayor Ruthanne Fuller will cut the ribbon on the new 400-seat Newton Community Stage at Lincoln-Eliot School on Sun. Oct. 26 (3:45 p.m.), followed by a free Halloween family concert with the New Philharmonia Orchestra. RSVP
• U.S. News & World Report has named Needham-based Olin College the nation’s No. 3 Undergraduate Engineering Program (non-doctorate) in its Best Colleges rankings. 
• All the best to the amazing Katherine Tallman, who helped lead the transformation and renovation of the Coolidge Corner Theatre while serving as its executive director and CEO for 12 years. She’s retiring next year. (Brookline News)
• The MA Treasury and M&T Bank will host free small business webinars on Mon. Oct. 27 and Mon. Nov. 3 (3–4 p.m.) offering tools to expand ownership opportunities and prevent fraud, with Spanish interpretation available.
• Looking for a way to support the chamber’s advocacy and programming but you don’t work locally — or perhaps you’re retired? Become a Citizen Member for $95 a year.
• Jinny’s and MIDA, both in Newton, made it onto the Globe’s Kara Baskin’s list of 17 standout pizza slices. Great choices. But what would you say are the Newton, Needham, Watertown or Wellesley pizza places Baskin missed? 

Local life science employers get help to grow jobs

Needham-based Candel Therapeutics and Newton’s Barrett Technology were awarded $296,000 and $125,000, respectively, in tax incentives from the state yesterday in a program designed to create new jobs in the life sciences.

They’re among 25 employers awarded $17.3 million that’s expected to create 806 new jobs in the life sciences industry across Massachusetts.

In addition, Bigbelly Solar was a 2025 recipient of the Manufacturer of the Year Award presented by the Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus at the annual Manufacturing Awards Ceremony this week at Gillette Stadium.

“Bigbelly is a shining example of how Massachusetts innovation drives global impact,” said state Rep. Josh Tarsky. “From their headquarters in Needham to their manufacturing facility in Methuen and Lawrence, Bigbelly demonstrates what it means to make it in Massachusetts — creating good jobs, strengthening our local economy, and building products that make public spaces cleaner and more welcoming across the world.”

Newton candidates talk business

Twenty-three of the 33 candidates on the ballot in Newton’s 2025 municipal election (along with Congressman Jake Auchincloss) attended our Meet the Candidates Coffee Connect at the Carroll Center for the Blind.

This inaugural event offered business owners an informal opportunity to share concerns and ask question directly with and to the candidates. It was also a chance for everyone to learn about the incredible services Carroll Center provides to our region.

Our thanks to Carroll Center President and CEO Greg Donnelly and his team for hosting and to all who participated.

And that’s what you need to know for today — Jackie Robinson’s birthday — unless you need to know how to smell like a donut for Halloween.

Please don’t forget our survey.

Greg Reibman (he, him)
President & CEO
Charles River Regional Chamber
617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.