Good morning friends,

The Massachusetts business community is losing its best cheerleader.

Economic development Secretary Yvonne Hao told her staff Tuesday that she’s stepping down from a job she’s held for two-plus years because, Jon Chesto reported later that afternoon, she needs to spend more time with her family,

I’ve had multiple opportunities to watch, speak with and learn from Hao in action, including on a trip with Hao and other business leaders to the Research Triangle organized by the Boston Chamber, and at meetings we set up for her to meet with some of our chamber member CEOs.

I was always impressed by the depth of Hao’s understanding of our employers’ challenges, her grasp of policy and markets, her genuinely helpful efforts to help, and an infectious energy and passion.

As you may know, Hao was scheduled to speak at our Spring Business Breakfast on May 14.  I’m sorry you won’t have that chance to hear from her then. (We’ve announced that another dynamo, Dr. Mary Burke, principal economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, will be our featured speaker instead.)

However, please take three minutes today to watch what may be Hao’s closing pitch to all of us.

It’s a video our board chair Angela Pitter took of Hao on Tuesday morning (so hours before anyone knew she was stepping down) at the IIA Future Summit & Ideas Studio.

It’s Hao at her best, a message of hope during these dark days, championing Team Massachusetts and the state’s entrepreneurial spirit on the eve of this weekend’s 250th anniversary of the first shot heard around the world.

Thanks for your service Secretary Hao. 

Northland’s Needham Street project set for final vote

Northland’s request to scale back its Needham Street project to reflect the economic realities of a soft office market finally heads to the Newton City Council Tuesday, after receiving a favorable 7-0 Land Use Committee vote this week.

No one listened to them in Newton but they’re listening in D.C.

Remember last September when a little-known Zionist youth group called for a boycott of Newton businesses following a fight and shooting in Newtonville?  

The meritless and ultimately unsuccessful boycott attempt by Betar USA was quickly condemned by three of our region’s leading Jewish-American organizations, along with Sen. Cindy Creem, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and our chamber, because whatever happened that day or the district attorney was deciding had nothing to do with Newton’s businesses.

And the public apparently understood that, too. No businesses ever reported lost sales. No customers said they stopped supporting local. Nothing came of it.

But the Globe’s Stephanie Ebbert and Deirdre Fernandes report this week that it appears the Trump administration has been listening closely to Betar USA.

They note that Betar USA is among a handful of groups circulating lists and taking credit for the recent deportations of foreign students who have advocated on behalf of Palestinians.

Wellesley’s Town Meeting stops anti-housing effort

It was close, but a citizens' petition that would have made it much harder to zone for and build multi-family housing failed to pass Wellesley Tow
n Meeting this week.

The effort to gut the Residential Incentive Overlay (RIO) bylaw fell about one dozen votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to prevail.  Good news but

not an encouraging sign.

And while the Planning Board and Advisory Committee opposed the petition, town leaders have established a RIO Task Force committed to studying changes to the bylaw once the town’s Strategic Housing Plan is completed.

More encouraging: Town Meeting voted to replace the outdated Wellesley Housing Development Corporation with a modern, industry-standard Affordable Housing Trust.

Other votes of note:

• In a nod to housing challenges, non-civil service police and fire personnel will now be allowed live up to 35 miles from town, instead of 15.
• A “Skip-the-Stuff” bylaw which will require restaurants to provide single-use takeout items, such as utensils and condiments only upon request, was approved.
• And a motion to allow certain legal notices on digital platforms only (i.e. The Swellesley Report), instead of print publications (i.e. the inconsequential  Wellesley Townsman), passed, although it will need state approval.

Friday grab bag

• We’ve updated our list of chamber member nonprofits that have Boston Marathon entrants running on their behalf this Monday.  Please consider sponsoring one or more of these committed runners.
• Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller is asking the city council for $75,000 to install decorative twinkle lights in Newton Centre. Fuller says the project will “provide for year-round joy and encourage activity and use in this vital area and support the many restaurants, shops and small businesses in the area.” We agree.
• Congratulations to Fuller who was recognized for a career of housing advocacy when she was presented with the 2025 Sheila Mondshein Award for Outstanding Leadership in Promoting Fair Housing. (Fig City News)
• The Kendrick at 275 Second Ave. in Needham has new owners. The Norfolk, Virginia-based Harbor Group Management acquired the property from Toll Brothers for $181.7M, according to Taylor Driscoll at Bisnow.
• The MA State Treasury’s Small Business Initiative is offering two free webinars as part of its Small Business Empowerment Series. Topics include Mastering Financial Management (April 23) and Crack the Code to Banking Services & Securing Financing(April 30).
• Fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant Cava is open at Chestnut Hill Square. On the westbound side of Route 9, men’s clothing store Todd Snyder is among the new tenants in the remade former AMC movie theater building at The Street Chestnut Hill. (BBJ)
• The Annual Sheepshearing Festival at Gore Estate in Waltham is next Saturday, April 26. Enjoy music, over 100 craft and fiber artists, demonstrations of traditional shearing and herding dogs and historic reenactments.
• A new survey from the Associated Builders and Contractors finds tariffs have already hurt the U.S. construction sector, with 1 in 5 contractors reporting project delays and 80% facing material cost hikes. (Bisnow)
• Dozens of independent retailers have already signed up for free basic chamber membership, under Small Shops, our new pilot program designed to support independently owned, single-location brick-and-mortar retailers in Newton, Needham, Watertown and Wellesley. Discover if your retail shop is eligible to become a free member.

Needham schedules meetings to discuss Great Plain Ave.

After hearing concerns from many downtown Needham business owners about plans for reworking Great Plain Ave. (Needham Observer story and CBS News Boston report), we urged town officials to provide time to explore the economic impact of the project and to build consensus.

And that’s exactly what the town is doing.

There are now two meetings scheduled for business and commercial property owners on May 1 at 8:30 a.m. and at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, with a public hearing set for May 13.

“Feedback on public projects is encouraged and appreciated as it allows the town to make changes to a project’s design or timeline,” Select Board Chair Heidi Frail said in a statement.

“The goals for the Envision Needham Center Project are to make Needham Center more accessible to persons with disabilities, pedestrians, and bikers which support the town’s goal of helping to increase visitors to support local businesses. The project will also help address infrastructure deficiencies in Needham Center, including lack of accessibility, outdated roadway and sidewalk conditions, insufficient public shade, aging and inefficient drainage and utilities, as well as make safety improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists.”

Those are goals the chamber supports too.

We appreciate that the town understands the need to have our businesses engaged in this conversation.

What the BBJ is doing shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is

Finally today, the Boston Business Journal rolled out a special project this week that wouldn’t have been seen as controversial one year or more ago.

It is now.

They’ve published their inaugural Employer Inclusivity Index, a list of “successful, profitable growth companies leading the way when it comes to hiring, retaining, and promoting people of color.”

Work on the project began “before the November election and what now seems like ages since the much more significant backlash against companies and organizations that even mention DEI,” write Publisher Carolyn Jones and Editor Doug Banks.

“We heard back from dozens of companies across Massachusetts that while they still support diversity efforts, they admitted having concerns about potential retaliation from the publicity and attention that could come from being a part of this inaugural Employer Inclusivity Index,” they continue.

Other companies agreed to participate and are part of a package of articles exploring the challenges and benefits of embracing diversity, equity and inclusion at a time when it feels more urgent than ever.

And that’s what you need to know for today — the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s and William Dawes’ midnight ride — unless you need to know another thing Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. is good at.

Enjoy the holiday weekend and Marathon Monday.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.