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Sept. 18, 2023

Taking the reins: Jessica Sassi begins tenure as NECC CEO

Isabel Tehan

After 48 years with its founder as CEO, The New England Center for Children has a clinician as its new leader.

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    Worcester City Council votes to decertify Unum building tax break

    Timothy Doyle

    The Worcester City Council voted unanimously to decertify the 15-year property tax break extended to the Unum Group due to its failure to maintain the required levels of employment related to the office tower at 1 Mercantile St. in Worcester.

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    Advice

    10 Things I Know About ... Post-2020 employee recruitment & retention

    Julia Becker Collins

    Competing for top talent in this post-2020 world with the Great Resignation and quiet quitting is challenging, especially for small businesses like mine. Yet, our 10-person agency had a 100% retention rate the first two COVID years, and we’ve hired two full-timers in the last year.

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    Advice

    The secret for a successful merger

    Amy Morrissey

    Many mergers fail to deliver the expected results.The deal is not over when you sign all of the paperwork; it is over only when you successfully integrate the companies.

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    Advice

    101: Employee breaks

    Susan Shalhoub

    Those quick walks around the parking lot, down to a nearby smoothie shop or even a few minutes with one’s head down on the desk are beneficial.

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    Opinion

    Viewpoint: Worcester's DEI project and the transformative power of transparency

    Susan Letterman White

    Viewpoint: My team consulted with the City of Worcester on a racial equity audit and strategic implementation for 15 months. Despite significant disruption, this diversity, equity, and inclusion culture-change project was successful. Your DEI project can be too, if leaders pay attention to three details.

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    Opinion

    Viewpoint: Mortgage rates are heading modestly lower

    Cheryl Eidinger-Taylor

    Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates have risen more than 260% since the year 2020, when the year ended with an average rate of 2.67%. But what can we expect moving forward?

  • Editorial
    Editorial

    Editorial: Fitchburg’s economic momentum is picking up steam

    The City of Fitchburg and key community players like Fitchburg State University have been talking about revitalizing downtown for years. Fast forward to 2023, and it appears the pieces are coming together for Fitchburg’s downtown reinvention.

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    Opinion

    A Thousand Words: Unum's tax break decertification

    Ramón L. Sandoval

    Worcester City Council voted to decertify Unum's property tax break. The state still has to make it official.

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    Editorial

    From the Editor: This is not 2020

    Brad Kane

    Editor Brad Kane responds to rising COVID levels and introduces the Sept. 18 print issue.

  • Movers & Shakers
    Movers & Shakers

    Movers & Shakers for Sept. 18, 2023

    People are on the move at Fallon Health, Nichols College, and Cornerstone Bank.

WBJ Web Partners

Today's Poll

Should Massachusetts significantly reduce the environmental review time for new housing projects?
Poll Description

In an effort to increase the pace of new housing development in Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey has proposed streamlining the environmental review process for certain new housing projects, with the goal of reducing the time spent on the process from about one year to 30 days. Environmental reviews are a hallmark of community planning, to ensure new development doesn't negatively impact surrounding properties or natural resources, even though the process does add significant time and often cost to projects. Healey's proposal comes after Massachusetts fell behind the national average in new housing production, despite adding 90,000 new units since she became governor in 2023.

New England already averages the longest timeline in the nation to build a single-family home once the developer has been giving the authorization to move forward with construction, according to U.S. Census statistics compiled by the National Association of Home Builders. In 2023, single-family homes in New England averaged 13.9 months from permit to completion. The South Atlantic states have the lowest average of 8.9 months while the region that includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana is the second quickest at 9.4 months. The second-longest average after New England is the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania region, which takes 13.2 months.

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