Need another reason why our inner suburban communities need to allow for more apartments and small multi-family homes?
More than half of all 18- to 29-year-olds lived with their parents during the pandemic, surpassing the previous peak in the 1940s during the Great Depression era, according to Pew.
Now, thanks to the labor shortage caused by the pandemic, young workers' paychecks are growing and they're looking to move out again.
"Employers need Gen Z workers. Gen Z workers need apartments," proclaims BisNowand “they want to rent.”
Other studies show that more than 40 percent of 19-year-old Gen Z Americans do not have a driver’s license.
In contrast, in 1983 more than 86 percent of 19-year-old Baby Boomers in had a driver’s license.
Which -- of course -- is another reason why our municipalities should embrace the state’s new MBTA Communities Law, which requires cities and towns to allow more multifamily housing in proximity to subway, bus or commuter rail stops.
Our local companies need these workers. They need a place to live.
And we need to reopen offices too
Yesterday in the Globe, Shirley Leung tackled one of the other great quandaries facing employers: returning to the office.
“It’s time, folks. It’s 2022, not 2020,” she writes. “We know so much more about COVID, and we live in one of the most vaccinated states in the country.”
“…Returning to the office is daunting, but it’s not a mission impossible. It requires thoughtful planning and the expectation that any return comes with fits and starts. When case counts are low, more people should be in the office. When there’s a surge, it’s time to go remote again.
“That’s living with COVID. That’s the new normal.”
Meal break violations cost Family Dollar many dollars
Massachusetts' breaks and time off laws gives employees the right to at least one 30-minute meal break for each six hours worked. During this meal break, workers must be relieved of their duties and be permitted to leave the workplace.
This week, Attorney General Maura Healey office fined the Family Dollar variety store chain $1.5 million in penalties for more than 3,900 violations of the law.
The company employs more than 900 people in Massachusetts. (MassLive)
Watertowns of America, unite!
Here's a fun idea that wouldn't have been imaginable pre-Zoom.
Our Watertown Free Public Library is hosting a virtual meetup of folks from Watertowns all over the nation, including the Watertowns in New York, South Dakota, Connecticut, Minnesota and Tennessee.
“We'll swap local history stories and share what makes our Watertown unique,” organizers say. “Come out and show some Watertown USA support!”
The first ever, virtual, Watertown, USA summit is happening Tuesday (Feb. 8) at 7 p.m. EST. Register.
Remote notaries, other polices, part of COVID-related bill
COVID-related state policies -- including remote notarizations; letting retired public employees do COVID-related work without affecting their pensions; relaxing quorum requirements for town meetings; allowing virtual town meetings; authorizing remote corporate board meetings; and allowing remote mortgage counseling -- would all be extended under a COVID-related spending bill that’s now on the governor’s desk, according to CommonWealth’s Shira Schoenberg.
It does not include a Senate-approved proposal to extend outdoor dining and to-go cocktails that restaurants had been hoping for.
The $101 million bill expands COVID testing sites, vaccination programs for kids and buys high-quality masks for public schools and health centers.
It also includes another $25 million to continue the state’s COVID-19 paid sick leave program.
Other need to knows:
WCVB Ch. 5 camera crews didn’t have to travel far to capture the demolition of the Muzi Motors dealership late last week. The property along I-95 was rezoned by the town last year and is going to be redeveloped by Bulfinch.
Fiorella's Cucina is now selling jars of their signature marinara and new fradiavolo sauces. The restaurant plans on selling its pizza sauce soon and will also sell more sauces and dressings in the future. (Newton Patch)
Mount Auburn Hospital has appointed Chad Wable as its new president after six months of being led by an interim. He joins from Pipeline Health, a hospital system with locations in Dallas, Chicago and the Los Angeles area. (BBJ)
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has released these FAQ’s regarding the change in meals tax collectio Senior housing proposed in Newtonville
MBTA to review proposed rate changes
The MBTA is holding two virtual public hearings, Feb. 10 and Feb. 17, to discuss a series of proposed fare changes. Details here.
City Councilors and other elected officials representing Newton, Watertown and 13 other cities and towns across eastern and central Massachusetts recently asked the MBTA to take their proposals further by implementing fare-free bus programs (StreetsBlog Mass)
Maskless man loses headless lawsuit
A Needham man sued Whole Foods in Dedham recently, claiming the store’s managers tried to force him to engage in “a satanic ritual" that would deprive him of oxygen.
The alleged ritual? The store’s mandatory face mask policy.
As so many of our front line workers do, store employees reportedly tried to accommodate their unhappy customer in multiple ways.
They offered him a mask. They offered to shop for him. But he called the police and, later, filed a pro se lawsuit in US District Court in Boston, according to Universal Hub
But Judge Allison Burroughs dismissed the claims.
“Despite the myriad of claims brought by Plaintiff, there is no constitutional, statutory, or common law right to jeopardize the health of others by shopping in a Whole Foods, without a mask, in contravention of its prudent policy, during a mass pandemic,” Burroughs ruled.
“If your heart is set on products from a market with a mask requirement and you can't or won't wear a mask, your choices are to get your food delivered, have someone else shop for you, or reconsider wearing a mask for your own health and the good health of the other shoppers.”
