Good morning friends,

Did you know that if you own a barbershop in Massachusetts, you’re required by state law to have a striped pole out front?

How about that even small grocery stores are required to place orange price stickers (as opposed to some other color) on most items?

Or that in 2025, banks and insurance companies are still required to file many documents on paper, rather than electronically?

Those and other regulations have been on the books for years. But they’re now being cut or amended, Gov. Maura Healey announced yesterday.

The regulatory updates touch different types of businesses, including grocery stores, ski areas, barber shops, retail stores, banks and credit unions, telecommunications and electric companies and others, reports Sam Drysdale at State House News.

"I asked all of our agencies to go out and look at all of their regulations and identify the ones that we could scrap, the ones that we should just get rid of. And they looked at, I think, over 150 sets of regulations," Healey said. "Today, we're cutting down 38 different sets of regulations. That's 25% of the total of all regulations."

Healey stressed that barber shops could still have barber polls. It’s just no longer mandated.

Nor will schools that want to teach cosmetology be required to have 25 chairs and 25 sinks, regardless of the number of students in the program.

Standing in front of a paper shredder and piles of documents, Healey said this was just the “first set” of cuts and that the “hard ones are yet to come.” She said her administration was looking for input from businesses about other unnecessary regulations that should be shredded.

"What we're doing here, I think, is really constructive, thoughtful engagement with the business community," she said.

Send me your ideas and I’ll pass them along.

Watertown, Newton biotechs score wins!

A global pharmaceutical maker has acquired a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease under development by a Watertown company.

And another pharmaceutical giant has agreed to a significant cash infusion for a Newton biotech working on autoimmune diseases.

French pharmaceutical Sanofi is acquiring Vigil Neuroscience in a $470 million deal, giving one of the world's largest vaccine makers control over an oral drug being prepared for a potential treatment in Alzheimer's, Reuters reports.

Vigil is headquartered at Boylston Properties’ 100 Forge building at Arsenal Yards.

On the other side of our favorite river, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is taking the lead in investing $130 million in GlycoEra AG, which is working on treatments for autoimmune diseases, reports Hannah Green at the BBJ.

GlycoEra offices, labs and about 15 employees are located at Labshares Newton at Chapel Bridge Park in Nonantum.

Less happy biotech news

After a dozen years, Watertown-based ITeos Therapeutics Inc. is winding down its clinical and operational activities, Green reports.  

The company reported 173 full-time employees coming into 2025, with 136 people working in R&D.  It had leased about 9,000 SF of office space at 321 Arsenal Street.

Dreaded Mass Pike lane closings this weekend

Don’t forget that this is the first of two weekends when the Mass Pike in Newton/Weston will be reduced to the width of your average residential street, i.e. one lane in each direction. (We’re also going to get some rain, which is hardly a first this spring.)

The work is expected to clog streets across our region as drivers seek alternatives.

The lane closing between Exits 123 and125 begin Friday at 9 p.m. and continue through 5 a.m. on Monday.

If you find yourself trapped in the gridlock and need something calming, think of these guys.And save that URL, we’ll get to relive the whole thing on the weekend of June 20.

WBUR has details.

Needham poised to forfeit grant for Great Plain Ave. pilot

The Needham Select Board appears poised to back away from a controversial road diet pilot along Great Plain Avenue that has been the focus of much agita and opposition from downtown merchants.

At a meeting Tuesday the board agreed to vote in two weeks to forfeit about $320,000 in federal funds because the project required, among other things, including protected bike lanes.

Citing that 78% of public comments at a recent packed meeting opposed the current plan, Vice Chair Cathy Dowd proposed studying three redesign alternatives: keeping four lanes, a three-lane compromise and a two-lane version. She also wants the consultants and working group to analyze the traffic, safety and economic impact of each option.

Dowd emphasized the timing, noting the town is already planning to rip up the street for major construction.

“Since we are gonna have to open up the roads, it would be smart to know what we want them to look like when we close them up,” she said.

Board members expressed frustration that the grant locked them into a bike-lane-first design and a 12-month pilot. While all members supported Dowd’s motion, a final vote on forfeiting the grant funding was delayed until June 10.

Under the circumstances, this is the right decision. The poorly articulated project had little public support. But let’s also acknowledge how difficult it may be for any of our communities to see anything close to $320,000 in federal funds for anything any time soon.

Friday grab bag (one day early)

• Newton was just ranked the No.1 best place to live in Massachusetts by U.S. News & World Report.
• Needham has been awarded a $45,000 state grant to address flooding concerns by reducing the town’s impervious cover, specifically in parking lots. (Needham Local)
• Wellesley holds its Memorial Day observance on Friday (May 30) beginning with a brief ceremony at 7 p.m. at Woodlawn Cemetery and continuing at 7:30 p.m. at the War Memorial at Town Hall.
• Mighty Squirrel Brewing Co.’s taproom and kitchen has opened at Arsenal Yards in Watertown.
• The national household income required to buy a median-priced home is now $114,000. In 2019 is was $67,000, an increase of nearly $47,000 or 70% in six years. (Readers Digest)
• In Wellesley, where the median price home is closer to $2 million, the town’s Strategic Housing Plan consultants will present its long-awaited plan to the Select and Planning Boards next Weds. (June 3), 6 p.m. at Town Hall.
• Recommend reading: The millionaires' tax is becoming a slush fund for Democratic leaders. (Globe opinion)
• Also recommended: “’A little love letter from the community’ – Over 2,000 meals donated through Nourishing Newton” (Fig City News).
• If you run a local business but are not a chamber member could you email me and tell me why? There are no wrong answers.

Now offering: Transportation to our Transportation Forum

Looking forward to hearing from MBTA General Manager Phil Eng at our upcoming Transportation Forum at Tripadvisor on June 17 but don’t have, um, transportation?

We’re partnering with 128 Business Council to provide free shuttle service between TripAdvisor HQ and the Newton Highlands Green Line station before and after the program. Event and shuttle details

And while you’re relaxing on The Grid, you can read the Globe Magazine’s Phil Eng profile.

Psst…Our women’s conference is almost sold out

We’re just two weeks and one day away from “Momentum”— our first-ever women’s conference, presented by Insource Services — June 13 on the bucolic Wellesley College campus.

It’ll be a full day of learning, inspiration and real connection.

And it’s nearly sold out. So if you’re considering joining us, now’s the time to grab your spot.

The day kicks off with a keynote from Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, followed by two rounds of breakout sessions led by chamber members covering topics like inclusive leadership, navigating change, work-life balance, AI in business, community collaboration and personal resilience.

In the afternoon, don’t miss our Allyship in Action panel featuring Eneida Román (We Are ALX), Gaby King (Center for Women & Enterprise), and Tracy Burns (Northeast HR Association).

Plus, enjoy networking throughout the day and delicious food from women-owned NaisLee Catering.

Sign up today.(Yes, men can attend.)

And that’s what you need to know for today, unless you want to participate in a survey where the answer will always be “Cats.”

See you next week.  

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.