Good morning,

This week, I spoke with Newton’s candidates for mayor: Marc Laredo and Al Cecchinelli.

I asked how they would help Newton’s businesses and nonprofits. I asked if they plan to raise taxes, if they believe we’ve built enough housing, how the city could attract new companies, and about protecting our local immigrant workforce.

I also asked about the Italian flag painted lines controversy in Nonantum, the Washington Street road diet, if they’d keep the Newton Centre parklet, what they would say to Donald Trump if they met in an elevator, and who would be on their Newton Mount Rushmore.

Find their answers here: Laredo and Cecchinelli.

And let me know what you think.

More election events this month … and next

In the coming days, my colleague Max Wolf and I will be speaking with the candidates for city council in Newton and Watertown.

Here’s our calendar of upcoming election conversations.

Watertown company is in it for the long run with $1.1 B in capital

A private biotech in Watertown (BBJ’s Hannah Green describes them as “mysterious”) has been quietly stockpiling vast amounts of capital and is only now revealing its strategy.

Treeline Biosciences describes its therapeutic areas as cancer, neurological and autoimmune diseases and has raised $1.1 billion in capital.

“We choose programs with the potential to redefine the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases,” reads the company’s website.

Treeline’s corporate office and labs are located at 500 Arsenal Street. They have about 150 employees.

Turns out, no villages have been destroyed

Remember those alarmist “Save Our Villages” signs that popped up across Newton lawns in the summer of 2023, warning that efforts to allow for more multi-family, transit-oriented housing would decimate (some said “urbanize”) Newton’s villages?

No village centers have been destroyed. Or urbanized,

None of the skyscrapers predicted in those foreboding signs were built, either. Nor were they ever allowed.

Despite rampant fearmongering and deceitful renderings, it’s basically impossible to find any changes at all in the city due to rezoning under the MBTA Communities Act.

One multi-family unit has been built by-right since the new Village Center Zoning (VCOD)  passed nearly two years ago. A handful of other small homes are under construction or in the pipeline.  

On Monday, a modest six-family project at 25 Paul St., near the Newton Centre T-stop, will go before the planning board for design review. It will not require city council approval. It’s the first the time the design review only requirement has been triggered under VCOD, saving time and money.

Think of it as homes for six individuals and their families, rather than one McMansion, in walking distance of all those businesses and the Green Line.

Later this month, Newton’s first sizable project under MBTA Communities – potentially 31-units at Swedenborgian Church in Newtonville — will seek approval from the Newton Historic Commission.

Developer Bruce Wheeler’s plan calls for converting the structure behind the church into 26 condominiums, while adapting the church itself into six units and retaining its historic façade. It’s all very tasteful and in scale with the neighborhood.

Instead of requiring a special permit or zoning change from the city council – and the accompanying months of public hearings, fussing, micromanaging and election-year posturing — Wheeler only needs the commission’s and planning board’s okay.

And that, my friends, is the way it was designed to work, fearmongering aside.

Statewide we’re still way behind

Slow housing growth is not limited to Newton. And its not just the economy holding progress back because they’re building more in other states.

An estimated 14,338 building permits were issued in Massachusetts in 2024, or 201 per 100,000 residents, new data shows.

That’s the sixth-lowest rate in the nation, according to State House News.

Maine issued 429 per 100,000 residents. Vermont and New Hampshire also outpaced Massachusetts per capita, at 409 and 352 permits per 100,000 residents.

In two of our top competitors for tech and life science companies and our workers, it was 862 in North Carolina per 100,000 and 721 in Texas.

If we’re going to keep Massachusetts competitive, we’re going to have to do better.

Friday grab bag

• The SBA is rolling out a new loan program specifically for small manufacturers. (BBJ)
• Consultants hired by the Town of Needham will present three new plans for Great Plain Ave. on Weds. (Sept 10), 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall
• We’re looking for Wellesley-based businesses and individuals who've had a special impact on the town for our second annual Wellesley Business Awards. Nominations due Sept. 18.  Wellesley Night is Oct. 15 at Babson College’s Knight Auditorium.
• It’s awesome to have Commodore Builders back in Newton and to see their brand new sign on the Mass Pike.
• The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce will host its business conference, Oct. 31, at Babson College, bringing together LGBTQ-owned businesses, corporate partners, and allies to network, learn, and celebrate this year’s theme: Powering Progress Through Partnership.
• The Watertown Connector shuttle on Pleasant Street has a new stop and a new route: The new 66 Galen Street stop replaces the Watertown Square stop. Only $1 per ride.
• The Wellesley Planning Board holds a public hearing on developer Joe Hassell’s proposed28-unit multi-family structure with 56 garage parking spaces at 49 Walnut Street on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m.  Documents.
• Join us Sept. 16 for an interactive and timely webinar and gain actionable tools to strengthen your DEI strategies.
• Sheriff Patrick McDermott, the Rotary Club of Needham, and the American Red Cross host a blood drive on Mon. Sept. 15(10–3 p.m.) at Needham Town Hall. RSVP.
• The Needham Council on Arts and Culture is accepting applications for arts funding grants until Oct. 16. Details
• Gov. Maura Healey and AG Andrea Campbell have jointly issued  “Guidance for Employers Regarding Immigration and Work Authorization.”
• Sad to hear that We Rock the Spectrum in Wellesley Square, a sensory gym for children with processing disorders, is closing Sept. 27. (Swellelsey Report).
• The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and Associated Industries of Massachusetts hosts a hybrid event on Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. on tax credits and housing production at AIM’s Boston office.
• Newton for Everyone hosts “Priced Out: The Growing Challenge of Teacher Retention and Housing Costs” examining how rising housing costs are affecting teacher recruitment and retention, Sept. 30, 7 p.m. at the Scandinavian Living Center and Zoom.
• The D branch of the Green Line is shut down between Riverside and Kenmore through next Thursday for track work. Shuttle buses are available, with express shuttles to Copley Square available at Newton Highlands. (Axios)

Former Newton-Wellesley CEO lands at Babson, just in time

d to Dr. Errol Norwitz, then-president and CEO at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, for guidance, clarity, and, frankly, help in staying calm.

We worked closely with Norwitz (who also sat on our board of directors) hosting webinars and standing up a vaccine clinic at Tripadvisor, at a time when so many of us were clamoring for our first shots.

He also established a partnership with Lasell University to help solve staffing shortages, along with launching a $200 million fundraising campaign and comprehensive strategic planning effort.

Yesterday, Babson College announced Norwitz’ appointment as executive director of the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The Healey Center provides entrepreneurial training, research, and advanced education to healthcare providers, scientists, business leaders and students, with a focus on health equity and justice.

At a time when our health care system, resources, health equity and justice are once again facing historic challenges, it seems Norwitz has once again landed in just the right place at the right time.

Full announcement here.

High fives to our Newton Night honorees!

Finally, congratulations to these businesses and business people who we’ll be celebrating at our first annual Newton Night, presented by The Village Bank, Sept. 17 at the historic West Newton Cinema.   

• Newtonville Books
• SALT Patisserie
• O’Hara’s Food & Spirits
• Kay Masterson (Johnny’s Luncheonette & Cabot’s)
• David Sellers (John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club)
• Lauren Berman (All Over Newton)

Our celebration includes an hour of socializing — along with bites and beverages from Flora’s Wine Bar — and the cinema’s award-winning popcorn.

Close to 100 folks have already registered.  Can we save you a spot?

And that’s what you need to know for today, unless you need to know that if someone tells you they bought Ellen DeGeneres’ former house, that’s not quite as unique as it sounds.

Dine out, shop local this weekend, okay?

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.