Tag: north_of_boston

BOSTON — A bipartisan group of mayors are urging voters to reject a proposal on the November ballot that would raise wages for tipped workers, citing concerns about the impact of higher labor costs on local bars and restaurants.

The proposal, which has cleared several other hurdles to the Nov. 5 ballot, asks voters to decide if the state should require bars, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality venues to pay tipped workers the state’s $15 per hour wage floor, in addition to gratuities.

If approved, the plan would phase out the tipped wage for workers over five years, allowing them to earn up to $15 per hour and keep their tips. It would also allow restaurants to “pool” tips and distribute them equally among the workers.

But a group of mayors, who represent communities including Newburyport, Methuen, Haverhill and Gardner, argue that the passage of the ballot question would devastate Main Street restaurants that are still recovering from the residual effects of the pandemic.

Massachusetts law requires workers to be paid at least $15 an hour — under the “grand bargain” package the Legislature brokered to avert a proposal to cut the state’s sales tax and other proposals. The 2018 law allows bars and restaurants to pay tipped workers $6.75 per hour.

Supporters of phasing out the tipped wage law say it would improve wages for underpaid workers and argue that claims about the negative effect on business owners are unfounded.

But critics argue the plan would increase costs for bars and restaurants that already operate on narrow margins, and will result in higher prices for consumers.

Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon said he worked in restaurants for more than three decades and said it was a job that “kept my family in our home and food on our table.

“Nobody knows the Massachusetts tipping system better than the bartenders, servers, and owners themselves,” he said in a statement. “This could cripple restaurants in the commonwealth, and particularly my city of Newburyport. To prevent excess, unnecessary financial burdens, it is of utmost importance to vote NO this November.”

Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett echoes the sentiments, saying the restaurant industry “is a cornerstone of our local economy, providing jobs and generating tax revenue.

“This ballot question would disrupt the system that currently works for servers, bartenders, and business owners who have said time and time again that they want to keep it the way it is.”

Methuen Mayor Neil Perry, who also opposes Question 5, said passage of the referendum “will create irreversible economic damages within each and every community in Massachusetts.”

A spokesman for the Committee to Protect Tips, the group opposing Question 5, said the mayors coming out against the referendum recognize that the proposal “will lower tipped employee take home pay, skyrocket costs to restaurants and dramatically increase prices to patrons resulting in fewer jobs and closured businesses.

“When mayors walk into a restaurant in their community, servers and bartenders are letting them know directly that there is overwhelming opposition among the staff, management and owners of neighborhood restaurants across the state,” he said in a statement.

In June, the state Supreme Judicial Court tossed out a challenge by restaurant groups alleging the proposal violates a requirement in the state Constitution that initiative petitions must contain only ‘related or mutually dependent’ subjects.

The justices unanimously concluded that Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office correctly certified the question for the November ballot.

The Massachusetts Restaurant Association and Committee to Protect Tips filed a complaint with the state Ballot Law Commission alleging that backers of the ballot question submitted “fraudulent” signatures from people who aren’t registered to vote, among other claims.

But the groups withdrew their objections at the last minute, citing a lack of time to conduct a thorough review and make their arguments before the panel.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

NORTH ANDOVER — A year after two extreme rainstorms hit the Merrimack Valley, local businesses persevered through a trying year to rebuild themselves – and some continue to do so.

Aug. 8 marked the one-year anniversary of a storm that engulfed local businesses and homes with flash flooding. A total of six inches of rain fell in a matter of hours that day in the Merrimack Valley. Ten days later, two more inches fell on the region after another intense rainstorm caused additional flooding.

Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues estimated North Andover sustained $20 million in damages from the two storms.

Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency turned down an assistance package. Instead, the town used gas disaster settlement funds to help some residents.

The state provided North Andover with $725,000 in flood relief funds to cover some costs associated with the storms, but it didn’t even come close to cover all the costs. The town used the money to offset deficit spending which the state had authorized it to spend on related costs to the Aug. 8 storm. But North Andover had $1.6 million in costs and needed to use $400,000 from its budget surplus to cover the remaining deficit, Murphy-Rodrigues said.

This month, the town received another $133,150 as part of the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program to study and manage the Cochichewick Brook floodplain.

High Street is situated adjacent to the brook. Most of the businesses in the East and West Mill Complex on High Street that were hit by the rising water did not have flood insurance.

A year later, one last reminder of the floods remained: Jaime’s Restaurant is still closed – for now.

“I wasn’t going to come in today,” Jaime’s co-owner Jaime Faria said on the flood’s one-year anniversary. “But when the furniture is ready to come in, you just show up and take the delivery. “

Jaime’s Restaurant, which has operated at 25 High St. for 14 years, is the last unit in the mills to reopen. Faria hopes to be back in business within a month as he and his staff begin to put the new furniture back into the renovated space. Faria owns the restaurant with Wally Santos.

“It’s been a long year,” Faria said.

He reflected on the rollercoaster year he and Santos have experienced, filled with positives such as strong community support but coupled with many challenges in-between.

On the morning of Aug. 8, 2023, Faria recalled getting the first phone call about water in the basement of the business. He didn’t think much of it other than it was going to require a little cleaning.

An hour later, another staff member informed him the water had crept up to the basement’s second step.

“By the time I got here, you couldn’t even get into the basement as it was already waist deep,” Faria said.

He said the focus shifted to trying to salvage what he could, but there was only so much he could do with the amount of water flooding his business.

“You break windows so the water could get around and then you sit there,” Faria said. “I was just watching mine and Wally’s lives literally run down the river.”

Faria said for about a month and a half after the flood, he was overwhelmed by what had happened to his restaurant.

“I’m not going to lie, there was a period of depression where I had no desire to get out of bed,” Faria said.

Community support, however, helped him focus on how to reopen. The staff came together over lunch during those hard months and came up with a game plan

A GoFundMe page also raised more than $164,000 for the restaurant to cover some expenses in the trying year.

Most of Jaime’s staff will return. Jaime’s is in the process of hiring more workers as well. Loyal customers would stop by and ask if they could help and now they stop by to share their excitement for the reopening, Faria said.

“I tell people at the end of the day, my mom and dad are alive and my kids are doing great. This too shall pass and I’m excited to get people back in here eating burgers,” he said.

The businesses in the area have also come together over the last year.

“The storm has made us a family,” Brides Across America CEO and Founder Heidi Janson said.

In the storms, Janson lost 80% of the inventory for her nonprofit organization. She had estimated $7 million in losses.

Brides Across America’s hub is located at 40 High St., where a warehouse stores the wedding dresses and formal wear given as gifts to military families and first-responders across the country.

Janson said she wanted to call it quits after the flood.

“I don’t even know how I had the energy to just keep moving on,” Janson said. “It was devastating.”

Brides Across America received a $5,000 grant for supplies.

“I was happy with that as we got some things we needed,” Janson said. “But we really got nothing. It’s like we didn’t exist anymore.”

Every time it rains, Janson said she thinks about her storefronts which now includes the relocation of her Tulle bridal store and Brides Across America outlet to High Street.

The nonprofit moved into its new home in a vacant space in West Mill. Janson said after the floods, some of the businesses moved to temporary spaces and stayed in their new spots.

While the charity endured challenges and a depletion of inventory for a bit, she said the nonprofit is back on track with donations to be able to hold its annual dress gifting events.

As the new store gets finishing touches, Janson said the future is bright for the nonprofit and hopes to work with a local winery to gift a military wedding soon.

“You have a vision and you know it’s going to work, but it took a lot of sleepless nights,” Janson said. “We persevered and kept pushing.”

Across the street, Good Day Cafe owner Gregg Lindsay and his cafe staff also persevered through the year.

Good Day Cafe, 19 High St., reopened on a limited basis in December and full time with their complete menu in January, five months after the flood.

“It’s been great to be open,” Lindsay said. “There is always a bit of digging out of holes though because we were closed for so long.”

Lindsay said his business, along with others on High Street, did not initially receive any state or federal funding to help with the cleanup and rebuilding.

“Apparently our area didn’t meet the threshold,” Lindsay said. “It was disappointing because it was just out of nowhere.”

His restaurant received a small grant from the town. North Andover established a grant program through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds specifically for businesses affected by the floods. Murphy-Rodrigues said the town awarded $82,307 to 20 businesses.

But largely self-funding and community support through GoFundMe allowed Good Day Cafe to get back on track, he said.

The North Andover community came together to help the businesses and Lindsay said he experienced it firsthand as the Andover/North Andover YMCA allowed his staff to use its kitchen to fulfill catering orders while they waited to reopen.

“It would have been a lot more difficult to reopen because at least I was able to cover some bills through those months,” Lindsay said, adding they were closed during their busiest months.

Lindsay remembered Aug. 8, 2023 like it was yesterday.

“It was an extraordinarily rainy day,” Lindsay said. “It was coming down in buckets, but the cafe was filled with people.”

Water rose from the basement and made its way through the cafe.

“The hallway here and the street looked like a river,” Lindsay said.

But the plan was always to get back up and running.

“How we did it, that we kind of just made it up as we went along,” he said.

As he sat in the restaurant a year later, Lindsay had a smile on his face seeing the place just as full as it was on the day of the flood, with regular customers enjoying their meals.

This time around though, the skies were clear.

BOSTON — Massachusetts is facing a fiscal “time bomb” from the cost providing welfare benefits for tens of thousands of migrants who’ve arrived in the state over the past year amid a historic surge of immigration, according to a new report.

The report, released by the conservative Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies, found the estimated 50,000 migrants who have arrived in the Bay State since 2021 are likely to become a major burden on taxpayers in the short, and long term, as they qualify for public welfare and other benefits.

“The long-term costs are going to be enormous for this new cohort of arrivals,” Jessica Vaughan, the center’s executive director, said during a live-streamed briefing on the report. “That is not offset by federal funding or from the tax contribution that they are required to make.”

She points out that migrants are eligible for some welfare programs in Massachusetts upon entry and others may become eligible for welfare five years after entry, regardless of their immigration status. That will mean a fiscal “time bomb” for the state beginning in 2026 when many of those new arrivals has become eligible for public benefits, Vaughn.

The report also claims “illegal and inadmissible” migrants — which the center estimates number more than 350,000 in Massachusetts — pay less in taxes than they consume in welfare benefits and other social services.

Nearly 60% of all households headed by migrants use at least one welfare program, compared with about 40% of households headed by U.S. Citizens, the report claimed.

On average, there is a lifetime net fiscal cost to American taxpayers of $68,000 for each “illegal and inadmissible” migrant, according to the report’s authors.

Massachusetts expects to spend nearly $1 billion — roughly three times what was budgeted — on emergency shelters for homeless families this fiscal year. Budget writers expect to spend a similar amount on migrants next fiscal year.

In April, the federal government announced it will cover some of the cost of housing migrants in Massachusetts’ emergency family shelters. The feds have agreed to pay up to $95 million in 2024 and provide additional funding on following years for families eligible for Medicaid in state shelter.

But report’s authors said while federal funding will help “bail out” the state in the short term, the unprecedented influx of migrants “will prove to be a significant burden for Massachusetts taxpayers over the long run” from costs for schooling, social services, medical care and public safety.

“The cost of temporary housing and shelters is enormous — but it pales in comparison to the costs that will accumulate in the future if those in the temporary shelters today remain in the commonwealth for the long term,” they wrote. “These costs will accrue even if these migrants are able to find jobs, whether with a work permit or through illicit employment.” 

Earlier this week, Gov. Maura Healey announced changes to the state’s shelter system that will give priority for beds to Massachusetts families and set a five-day cap on how long people can stay in “overflow” sites.

Beginning next month, the state’s emergency shelter program will prioritize families who are homeless because of a no-fault eviction, are a veteran or have a family member who has served in the military, or have become homeless because of circumstances “beyond their control” such as a flood, fire or natural disaster.

“We have been saying for months now that the rapid growth of our Emergency Assistance shelter system is not sustainable,” Healey said in a statement announcing the changes. “Massachusetts is out of shelter space, and we simply cannot afford the current size of this system.”

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com

MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — The Manchester Classic, also known as the S.S. Crocker Memorial Race will again take to the waters this Saturday.

The July 13 race marks the 57th running of the 12-mile race between Baker’s Island off Manchester-by-the-Sea and Eastern Point in Gloucester.

Sponsored jointly by the Manchester Yacht Club and the Manchester Harbor Boat Club, the race is a sailing event for skippers with little racing experience, as well as for those with much racing knowledge.

“Come and enjoy the friendly atmosphere, excitement of competition and a great after-race party,” event organizer and Race Committee Chairperson Anthony Leggett said. “The Crocker is a pursuit race, with the smaller boats starting first and the bigger boats starting later. Theoretically, because of the handicap, everyone should finish close together, rather than spread out.”

Leggett, a Manchester resident, said the course is a simple triangle, which starts at Gales Ledge off House Island. The race then proceeds to the bell buoy at Eastern Point and then over to Newcomb’s Ledge, before returning to Gales Ledge.

Last year, the race was won by a Star Class boat — a 112-year-old design that was sailed by Luke Buxton and his daughter Evelyn. Measuring only 24-feet-long, the boat crossed the finish line ahead of the entire fleet, surpassing the largest boat, the 43-foot-long Pressure Drop in Class A.

But the racing is only part of the gathering.

“The post-race party on the (Manchester Yacht Club) deck is legendary and the boats from Marblehead or Gloucester may be able to pick up a mooring or find space on the (Manchester Yacht Club) dock to join in, rather than head back to their home port and miss the revelry,” Leggett said.

The event is held in memory of local yacht designer Samuel S. Crocker, who designed many classic yachts and racing sailboats, Leggett said.

“Each year, we dedicate the race to one of his designs,” he said. “This year, it is Roaring Bessie, designed and built in 1933 for Burnham Porter of Manchester.”

Leggett said the race is open to everyone from the casual cruising sailor to the competitive racer.

“The best thing about the race is the camaraderie and high spirits on the deck of the Manchester Yacht Club after an exhilarating afternoon on the waters of Massachusetts Bay,” he said. “The party is usually longer than the race.”

Interested skippers are encouraged to sign-up at www.regattaman.com. Participants are encouraged to attend the Crocker Race cookout and skipper’s meeting Friday, July 12, at 6 p.m.

For additional information, people may contact Leggett at anthonyleggett76@gmail.com.

Stephen Hagan can be reached at 978-675-2708 or at shagan@northofboston.com.

BOSTON — The state’s two U.S. senators are urging the landlords of Steward Health Care System’s hospital properties to dangle concessions to potential buyers to help sell the facilities.

In a letter to Medical Properties Trust and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey call on the property owners to offer lease concessions – such as lower rents – “to ensure that new operators can be found to keep Steward’s eight Massachusetts hospitals open and viable.”

The Democratic lawmakers cited previous correspondence from the companies, which share a 50-50 split in ownership of the hospital properties, claiming they are committed to ensuring the sale of the hospitals “with as little disruption in patient care as possible.”

“But your companies appear to be unwilling to make concessions in the lease arrangements, which present an ongoing threat to the operations of the hospitals,” they wrote.

The request comes ahead of a July 15 deadline set by a federal bankruptcy judge in Texas to find a buyer for the bankrupt health care companies hospitals, including Holy Family Hospitals in Methuen and Haverhill. So far, no buyers have emerged for the Massachusetts hospitals.

Steward, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, plans to put all of its 31 U.S. hospitals up for sale – including eight in Massachusetts – beginning this month to pay down $9 billion in outstanding liabilities owed to creditors as part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.

In June, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez approved the company’s request for a new bid deadline of July 15, with an auction set for July 18, according to court filings.

The company’s management has blamed its financial woes on an increase in operating costs and insufficient federal government program reimbursement, claiming it led to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Steward owes creditors more than $9 billion, according to filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Gov. Maura Healey has blamed “greed and mismanagement” by Steward’s management, specifically the company’s CEO Ralph de la Torre, and argues that the bankruptcy process will increase transparency in the company’s hospital system.

Healey has stressed that medical care will continue at the Steward hospitals throughout the bankruptcy proceedings and that patients will not go without medical care. She activated an “emergency operations plan” in response to Steward’s bankruptcy, including a command center to monitor the hospitals.

The Texas judge has appointed ombudsmen to monitor the quality of medical care at Steward’s hospitals in Massachusetts and other states.

But Warren and Markey say the court-appointed monitors aren’t enough to ensure that communities served by Steward’s hospitals are not deprived of medical care during the sale proceedings.

They have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee to run the company in place of Steward’s current management and to monitor the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.

“Now is a critical time for the Steward hospitals in Massachusetts – and the communities they serve,” Warren and Markey wrote. “The ability of these hospitals to emerge from bankruptcy under new operators with stable finances will represent a significant public health victory for these communities, allowing their dedicated workers to continue to provide needed health care services.”

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com

GROVELAND  — The Rubbish to Runway Re-Fashion Show will take place June 21 and 22, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Veasey Memorial Park, 201 Washington St., Groveland. 

This annual event is a fashion show featuring garments upcycled or made by local designers from materials that would otherwise be recycled or thrown away. This is an inclusive, body-positive event that also promotes creativity, re-use, resourcefulness, sustainable practices and environmental stewardship.

All funds raised from this event will go to Veasey Memorial Park, towards an artist studio development project as well as programming and support for cultural events, public art, interpretive science projects, history events, and workshops.

This event features a café run by dedicated volunteers from the community with food and drinks, beer/wine, for purchase, live music at the reception by the award-winning Pentucket Jazz Combo and a mystery bag fundraiser.

For information and tickets visit: www.veaseypark.org/rubbish2runway