Good Morning,

Max Woolf here.

Do you pay to ride the Green Line?

If you're Boston Globe columnist Jason Margolis—or, likely, thousands of other riders—the answer is no.

Or at least, not always.

Margolis recently argued that fare evasion on the Green Line is a bigger problem than many people realize, and we tend to agree.

At many Green Line stations, including in Brookline and Newton, there are no fare gates. Riders can often board through the middle doors with little chance of being asked to tap to pay.

And all those skipped fares add up. The MBTA estimates it loses more than $25 million annually to fare evasion across the system— a significant figure for an agency in a perpetual budget shortfall.

Absent the construction of costly fare gates, the most obvious solution is enforcement. Yet while the MBTA has touted efforts to crack down on fare evasion, the agency issued just 104 fare-evasion violations since last August.

That doesn't seem sufficient to change rider behavior. And while a zero-tolerance approach would raise its own concerns, there is likely a better balance between the current honor system and overly aggressive enforcement.

What do you think? And be honest—do you always pay?

Tripadvisor makes $700 million move

Needham-based Tripadvisor announced it will sell its restaurant reservation platform, “TheFork”, to American Express for $700 million in cash.

“TheFork”, which operates in 11 European countries and serves more than 50,000 restaurants, is one of TripAdvisor’s three primary business lines.

While the transaction is significant, it is not expected to directly impact employment in Massachusetts, as all TheFork employees are based in Europe, according to Lucia Maffei of the BBJ.

Company executives said the company is refocusing on its core segments of experiences and hotels, which still account for most of its revenues.

New law stops lawsuit, allows Chestnut Hill 40B to advance 

A 103-unit housing development in Chestnut Hill can finally move forward after an abutter agreed to drop a lawsuit challenging the project, thanks to a recent state law.

Developer Elias Patoucheas’ Hammond Street 40B project had been approved last year, but the development stalled while a lawsuit worked its way through the courts. Among the concerns cited in the complaint were the project's size and its impact on sunlight for neighboring properties.

The lawsuit was dismissed last week just before the abutter was required to post a $200,000 bond, reports Sam Mintz of Brookline.News.

And we can thank the Healey-Driscoll administration for that.

That large bond requirement was made possible by a provision in the 2024 Affordable Homes Act. The same law that legalized accessory dwelling units statewide and could one day bring housing to the MassBay parking lot in Wellesley also increased the maximum appeal bond in housing cases from $50,000 to $250,000.

The idea is simple: if you're going to sue a developer and potentially add months or years of delay to a housing project, you should have some skin in the game. Delays add development costs, in this case $2.1 million, according to court documents.

In Chestnut Hill, that appears to have made all the difference.

Tuesday grab bag

• Gov. Maura Healey says she would support a legislative compromise on rent control in order to avoid a brutal ballot fight this fall. (Boston Globe)
  
  
• Building a Better Wellesley's Andrew Mikula wrote a rebuttal to a Swellesely Report letter warning that 180 homes on the MassBay parking lot would irrevocably harm the town. Mikula's counter: Wellesley's character is defined by its people, not its single-family homes.  Give it a read.
  
  
• Chamber member Lockheart, the Wellesley-based Southwestern restaurant known for its tacos and cocktails, is putting the finishing touches on a brand-new location in the H.H. Richardson-designed former train station at 70 Union St in Newton Center.
  
  
• Watertown biotech Neumora Therapeutics is setting aside its experimental depression drug navacaprant after it failed to meet its goals across all three Phase 3 trials, shifting focus to programs in Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and obesity. (BBJ)
  
  
• If you have driven on the Mass Pike in the past year, you might have seen a series of large apartment buildings going up in West Newton. The project, formerly known as Dunstan East and now called Newton Crossing, is set to open this September. You can apply for one of its 73 income-restricted units here.
  
  
• The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute is flagging resources for immigrants during the World Cup — including a legal response network for ICE or CBP detentions tied to tournament events. They're also warning of a growing mental health crisis in immigrant communities driven by heightened enforcement. Webinar is June 23 at noon.
  
  
• Last week, the Newton Food Pantry cut the ribbon on its new home at 131 Rumford Avenue in Auburndale, with 102-year-old founder Jackie Colby — who started the pantry in 1983 — doing the honors. The new location opens for client services on June 24.
  
  
• Newton’s Economic Devolpment Vice Chair Chuck Tanowitz highlights how the simple connections made on public transit could help stem our loneliness epidemic. (Commonwealth Beacon)
  
  
• After 32-years as the Wellesley Toy Shop, 59 Central St. in Wellesley Square could soon become home to Bridgewater Chocolate, a Connecticut-based chocolatier known for its handmade truffles, caramels, and other gourmet treats. (Swellelsey Report )
  
  
• Want to incentivize more affordable housing in Watertown? Here are 84 pages explaining how. Spoiler alert: allowing taller buildings helps. BTW, this can work elsewhere too.
  
  
• After multiple postponements, the new date for the auction for the Turtle Lane site in Auburndale, home to a half-built and now-bankrupt mixed-use development, is June 30 at 11 am. Register.

Voters to decide the fate of the cannabis industry

This November, Massachusetts voters will decide whether or not to ban recreational marijuana, a move that would shut down the state's legal cannabis industry.

Late last week, the State Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) struck down a challenge to the question that would have kept it off the ballot.

The petition aims to reverse the 2016 ballot question that legalized recreational marijuana and led to the opening of more than 400 cannabis businesses statewide, including several in our communities. 

Today, that industry supports thousands of jobs and generates roughly $1.65 billion in annual sales for the state — and considerable local tax revenue too.

Supporters of repeal brought forward the petition, citing public health and safety concerns, although they have received criticism for receiving so-called “out-of-state dark money”.

Momentum hits its stride

Nearly 200 nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, small business owners, and young professionals gathered at Lasell University last Friday at the Charles River Regional Chamber’s sold-out second annual Women's Conference—Momentum.

The day opened with Board Chair Angela Pitter bringing the room to its feet to Beyoncé’s Run the World, followed by an inspiring keynote from Dr. Roseanna Means, founder of Health Care Without Walls.

Attendees then participated in breakout sessions led by chamber members on topics ranging from leadership and networking to personal branding, confidence, and AI.

The conference concluded with a dynamic panel moderated by NBC Sports Boston’s Trenni Casey (Kusnierek).

• Melissa Ludtke reflected on her landmark legal victory against Major League Baseball after being denied clubhouse access while covering the 1977 World Series, helping open doors for generations of women in sports media.
  
• Linda Driscoll shared how a simple inequity she witnessed in youth sports led her to found Dream Big!, which has since supported more than 125,000 girls and young women.
  
• Jamelle Elliott spoke about betting on herself throughout a career that included championship-winning years at UConn and, most recently, the launch of her own venture, the Jamelle Elliott Collective.
  
• Linda Martindale recounted becoming the only woman coaching boys’ basketball and the confidence it took to keep showing up until she belonged.

While sports provided the backdrop, the conversation was really about leadership, resilience, and navigating spaces that weren't always built for you.

It's safe to say that after two successful years, Momentum is here to stay. See you next June.

That’s what you need to know for today, unless you need to know how an airplane runs out of beer.

Max Woolf (he, him)

Public Policy and Government Affairs Manager

Charles River Regional Chamber

617-431-6101

I also value your feedback

Angela Pitter contributed to today’s newsletter.