Good morning and say hello to the first day of summer!

The second round of Mass Pike Lane closures takes place this weekend, with MassDOT officials warning that motorists could encounter delays of up to three hours between Boston and Framingham.

Expect local streets to be clogged too as wayfinding apps will inevitably steer drivers through our chamber communities.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction between Exit 123 in Weston and Exit 125 in Newton starting tonight (Friday) at 9 p.m. through 5 a.m. on Monday. (Map)

Buses will replace Worcester Commuter Rail and Amtrak service.

It’s all part of an eight-bridge replacement project at the Newton-Weston interchange. Five bridges are being replaced. One is being rehabilitated. Two are having its superstructure replaced, writes the Herald’s Rick Sobey.

Download the Mass511 mobile app or visit www.mass511.com to view live cameras, travel times, real-time traffic conditions and project info.

Small businesses took their case to Beacon Hill

Small businesses from across the Commonwealth gathered on Beacon Hill Wednesday to make their voices heard at the Massachusetts Small Business Summit, and the chamber was proud to be there with them.

The day began with a bleak overview of the issues facing small employers, including the state’s broken unemployment insurance system.

Under the Baker administration, $2.5 billion in federal COVID relief was misapplied to cover unemployment costs. Today, the system remains unstable and is projected to be$52 million in the red by 2028, and over $300 million by 2029.

Businesses later told their representatives what our chamber and our counterparts outlined in a letter to the Legislature earlier this year: that the state, not small businesses, should bear the cost of this mistake.

We also heard about pending legislation that would help address other pressing issues, such as capping excessive credit card swipe fees for restaurants and revisiting costly decarbonization mandates that have contributed to high energy bills.

Then it was time to hit the legislator's offices, where business owners met directly with their representatives and senators to share their stories, frustrations and hopes.

We hope lawmakers were listening because our small business need their help.

Small businesses’ secret weapon: Employee loyalty

While small business owners face staggering challenges these days, they have a leg up on larger companies in at least one way: employee retention.

Headcount reductions due to quits, layoffs or firings were lower at companies with 50 or fewer employees, even as many smaller employers couldn’t compete on pay, according to recent analysis by ADP.

“Small businesses are scrappy and resilient by design. Their agility and ingenuity help them compete with larger employers for talent, despite the typically lower pay,” said  Dr. Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist.

The median worker at businesses with fewer than 20 employees earns about $21,000 less than the median worker at companies with 500 or more employees, ADP found.

In May, businesses with 250 or more employees saw year-over-year pay increases of more than 4.8%, while pay at smaller businesses rose 2.6% over the same period.

More than 40 percent of US workers are employed at businesses with fewer than 50 employees.  

“Despite their small size, small businesses are a big deal. Hence, as go small employers, so goes the labor market, ” Richardson said.

Friday grab bag

• The horrific shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses last week prompted Needham state Sen. Becca Rausch to file an amendment that would replace candidates’ home addresses on their nomination papers with just the city or town where they live.  (Politico)
  
  
• Former Watertown state Rep. Jonathan Hecht is among the organizers behind  The Coalition to Reform Our Legislature, a group of Democratic activists who are teaming up with state Republicans, to reform the leadership-heavy state Legislature. (NBC10)
  
  
• The Wellesley Council on Aging needs volunteer drivers.
  
  
• The Town of Needham has an opening for an additional business community representative on its  Envision Needham Center Working Group. Apply here by June 30.
  
  
• Spending at restaurants and bars slumped last month by the most in more than two years, underscoring how tariffs and geopolitical tensions are making consumers nervous, according to Bloomberg
• Here’s Fig City News’ coverage of last week’s women’s conference.
  
  
• The price of the typical home in Massachusetts is now six times the average annual household income. In Greater Boston, that number is closer to seven. (Boston Globe)
  
  
• Well earned: Dr. Regina Wu received the Greater Boston Food Bank’s Kip Tiernan Award for “extraordinary leadership in philanthropic and human service and her Newton Food Pantry leadership. (Fig City News
  
  
• All those rainy weekends aren’t without benefits: Outdoor water restrictions for both Wellesley and Needham are no longer in effect.

New Bedford ends single-family zoning…by accident

Finally, Cambridge, Austin and Minneapolis have all eliminated single family zoning.

So did New Bedford, except it was by accident, reports the New Bedford Light.

Meanwhile, what a relief to see that Milton just approved a new MBTA Communities compliance plan.

To date, more than three-fourths of the 175 cities and towns covered by the law have passed compliant zoning plans and some 4,000 units are in the development pipeline, writes the Globe’s Andrew Brinker.

And that’s what you need to know for today, unless you need to know how sweaty paint might one day be able to cool your home without air conditioning.

Stay cool. Be back next week.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.

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