New regional economic development plan sets a path forward for growth, opportunities in North Central Massachusetts.

In the 1990s, the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce led a major community and business-based planning effort that resulted in a bold strategy to advance the economy of the
region into the future. The regional plan, which led to the implementation of several economic development programs across the region, resulted in great success.

Following implementation of the plan, the region continues to benefit from a strong economic impact of tourist dollars and manufacturing jobs, while also supporting existing businesses with lending programs, and new start-ups with financial and business assistance.

In the past 25 years since the previous plan was developed, North Central Massachusetts has certainly changed! Our region now offers opportunities where one can open a small business in an old mill, build furniture in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, learn to design a video game in a tech lab, or even visit a farm or orchard for fresh produce. We’ve seen the region’s 26 cities and towns and the former Fort Devens experience their own economic challenges and opportunities. But these communities have also come out of these scenarios stronger than before due to the combined strength of our region where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

In early 2020, the Chamber and its affiliate organizations hired RKG Associates, a national economic development consulting firm, to help us develop a new Regional Economic Development Plan and learn how the region should position itself over the next ten to fifteen years. With the collaboration of regional business and community leaders, dignitaries, the boards of directors at the Chamber, the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation and Visit North Central Massachusetts, three steps were identified as the region looks toward success through the year 2035: defining goals, assessing and defining market opportunities, and identifying recommendations and actions to advance economic development. By utilizing data and stakeholder input, the new Regional Economic Development Plan revealed several strengths and opportunities for which the region can compete for businesses, employees and residents. It also identified weaknesses and threats for the region to acknowledge and respond to effectively in the months and years ahead.

“A central tenant of this plan is growing our region from within,” said Roy M. Nascimento, President & CEO, North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce. “The goals and recommendations included in the plan are structured to help the region come together and provide opportunities for each city and town across our region to succeed.”

The plan analyzed the demographic, economic and real estate markets, as well as target industries, and identified five themes. These themes include leveraging the region’s industry and business growth opportunities, enhancing regional equity through talent and workforce development and infrastructure for economic potential, advancing innovation and entrepreneurship, and improving the delivery of economic development efforts, programs, and funding.

North Central Massachusetts was compared to five other regions both within Massachusetts and other states, including Greenville County in South Carolina and the Lehigh Valley Region in Pennsylvania. The five comparison regions are comprised of those inside Massachusetts that are seen as peers or have a composition the region may want to strive for. The two regions outside Massachusetts (Greenville and Lehigh Valley) were chosen because of their robust manufacturing and transportation/logistics sectors and both are experiencing significant job growth compared to national averages.

“By utilizing a benchmarking exercise, we were able to understand the strengths and opportunities North Central Massachusetts has compared to other regions,” added Nascimento. “This also gives us a portrait of how the region may look to improve its competitive position over time.”

When the team began working on the plan, the economy of Massachusetts and the United States was experiencing a long period of economic growth with very low unemployment rates and positive growth emanating toward North Central Massachusetts from the Greater Boston region. Those positive growth trends were quickly diminished in March 2020 with the rapid spread of COVID-19 and the ensuing shutdown of the national economy.

“The pandemic has shifted the context of economic development across the entire ecosystem,” added Nascimento. “While it is difficult to predict the short- and long-term systemic impacts and changes presented by the pandemic, the goals developed for the plan were structured to address current and near-term needs through the economic recovery, as well as looking past the recovery to a future where the region prioritizes strategic yet organic growth that is cultivated from within.”

One of the more pressing challenges for the region’s employers is attracting and retaining younger workers who are interested in the region’s most concentrated areas of employment in health care, advanced manufacturing, and government and public services industries. While these sectors represent strong and stable industries, job opportunities in health care and manufacturing offer a wide array of pay grades that require both highly-skilled and entry level workers. Additionally, the region’s industrial sector has experienced an increase in higher-paying, higher-tech firms within the chemical manufacturing, electronic product manufacturing, research & development, and computer systems design, among others.

“Looking ahead, we need to focus on strengthening and growing the advanced manufacturing, logistics, distribution and health care industries, with an emphasis on continuing to develop the skills of our younger workers,” said Barbara Mahoney, President & CEO of Leominster Credit Union who also serves as Chair of the North Central Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board and as a member of the Chamber’s Economic Development Taskforce that helped develop the plan “We know by building the skills of today’s workforce to accommodate tomorrow’s technology we can remain a competitive and attractive region for employers and employees alike.”

As for the region’s demographics, post-retirement residents make up an increasing share of the region’s population, with a modest increase expected in the next ten years. “With an aging population, the region is likely to experience an increase in health care utilization,” said Winfield Brown, President & CEO of Heywood Hospital and another member of the Economic Development Taskforce “The need for additional healthcare and social services is likely to thrive and will serve as one of the key industry sectors for growth over the next ten years.”

The region’s large geography means that while some communities function within the economy of larger anchor cities like Boston or Worcester, others rely more heavily upon North Central Massachusetts markets like Fitchburg and Leominster. What’s interesting is that more workers who live in the northern and western parts of the region tend to commute to other North Central Massachusetts communities and not out of the region.

“As the region begins to heal from the pandemic, we believe our opportunities for tourism in North Central Massachusetts will serve the region well as individuals and families may find easily drivable amenities, food and farm attractions, and arts and culture venues here in the region as an appealing and affordable option rather than traveling by air or to destinations in the U.S. and around the world,” said Henry Tessman, General Manager of Great Wolf Lodge and a member of the Taskforce  “Given the effects of the pandemic on the restaurant and retail industry in the near term, there is uncertainty around the demand for future skilled workers; however, this could also present an opportunity to support growth in local businesses if skilled workers are looking at the region as a place to open their own business and hire locally.”

Perhaps the region’s greatest single advantage in economic development is its ability to serve as a “pressure valve” for Greater Boston’s overheated real estate market. From a cost perspective, real estate in the region is far less expensive than other Massachusetts regions and, in some cases, also more cost-effective than comparable regions outside of Massachusetts. Lease rates, rents, and housing purchase prices are generally lower in North Central Massachusetts than in the other three Massachusetts regions, with residential rents as much as $1,000 less per month. While the cost of living in the region is less expensive, average earnings for jobs in North Central Massachusetts are in line with those jobs in the Greenville and Lehigh Valley regions, but $30,000 – $40,000 less than MetroWest and Route 128.

“The current, demanding real estate market in North Central Massachusetts is a true testament of the draw this region is for individuals and families who want the convenient access to amenities with a more affordable cost of living,” said Matthew Fournier, Owner of Elite Construction & Design and a member of the Taskforce “What used to be a weekend destination for apple picking or leaf peeping is now a place where we call previous visitors our neighbors.”

While the Regional Economic Development Plan shows the strengths, opportunities, threats and weaknesses of NCM, it does not portray what we who live and work in North Central Massachusetts have known all along: that our home here is where the heart is.

To view the Regional Economic Development Plan in its entirety, click here.

With the lifting of travel restrictions and COVID-19 rates improving, Visit North Central Massachusetts (VNCM) has resumed its destination marketing efforts to help attract more visitors to our region’s businesses and attractions.  We launched a campaign in the Spring called “Discover Your Next Adventure” to target the weekend and day trip markets. We have been executing this campaign through multiple channels including print, digital, and social media.  We secured print advertising in AAA Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Boston Spirit Magazine and Bay State Parent.  We also utilized branded content campaigns promoting the region to day trippers through AAA Northeast and several other media publications.  Our efforts align with the pent-up demand as consumers, who have been unable to travel since the lockdown in mid-March of 2020, are looking for new unique and outdoor experiences. The pandemic solidified a new interest in outdoor activities that sets up our region in a position for increased success. We have seen strong demand for hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking and other activities. We also continue to invest in social media and curating new relevant local content highlighting activities and businesses in our region. We produced five new “Taste of North Central” videos promoting our local businesses and attractions. The videos that have been published so far have garnered over 20,000 views. Our Facebook page saw 248,900 impressions since the launch of the spring campaign, which represents a 390% increase over the same period the previous year. Our www.visitnorthcentral.com website also has seen strong traffic with a 16% increase in visitors over the same period last year.

As of April 1, 2021, our new Spring/Summer 2021 edition of the Guide to North Central Massachusetts hit the stands.  The visitor guide is our primary publication promoting the communities of North Central Massachusetts and includes information on our local communities, a calendar of events, stories about the region and much more.  We have invested in expanding the distribution this year. The guide will be available through AAA offices throughout New England and hundreds of new locations including hotels, visitor centers, attractions and airports, including Logan and Worcester.  We are also distributing it in Canada, an important market for our region.

In other news, the Johnny Appleseed Visitor Center in Lancaster has started to see an uptick in visitation since the Spring.  Our staff at the center is looking forward to a busier season going into Summer as more and more people resume traveling.  We still have all of our safety measures and protocols in place.  We also recently applied for a matching capital grant from the state to make some renovations and improve the experience for our 165,000 annual visitors.  Our vision is to not only be the best visitor center in the state, but to also transform the center into a destination that provides an engaging experience and encourages visitors to learn more about the region’s communities, local attractions and businesses.

As we move in to the Summer, we will continue our efforts to attract consumers that will be critical to the recovery of our local businesses and economy.

As business owners, we understand what overwork feels like. We throw ourselves into growing and promoting our businesses, we devote ourselves to our customers and clients — and yes, we end up exhausted.

That tired feeling that weighs you down might come from any of several sources. Once you understand why you’re so tired, you can start to make some changes to give you the energy you need to run your business. Take a look at some of the sources of exhaustion as well as some tips to boost your energy so you can accomplish what you set out to do.

What’s Making You So Tired?

When we’re honest without ourselves, we can usually pinpoint the reasons we’re tired. But sometimes they’re not so obvious. Generally, that fatigue you feel boils down to one of three reasons:

1. You’re Not Taking Care of Yourself

Are you eating well, sleeping well, taking time for yourself? As entrepreneurs, sometimes we don’t even know the answer to those questions — but the answers can have a profound effect on our energy level. Maybe you’re giving yourself a boost with sweet snacks, relying on the sugar high to keep you going.

And then there’s caffeine. Yes, that cup of coffee in the morning gets you going — but if you’re drinking more four cups a day (that’s the equivalent of two energy drinks, by the way), the crash you feel when the caffeine wears off can be exhausting.

How about your sleep habits? Do you stay up scrolling through social media and realize you’re going to bed an hour (or two) later than you should? If you don’t practice good sleep hygiene, you can’t expect to arrive at your office with the energy you want.

2. You’re Stressed

You might be proud of how many hours you work per week to keep your business thriving — but those long hours are the primary cause of your exhaustion. And when you don’t give your body time to unwind, it forgets how to do relax. How many nights have you spent staring at the ceiling in an ending cycle of stress as you review everything that went wrong yesterday and all the things that might go wrong tomorrow.

Stress affects your body’s hormones in a negative way, so the problem feeds on itself. When you’re stressed, your body produces cortisol, often known as the “stress hormone” — and its presence in your system keeps you awake, which makes you more exhausted, which makes you more stressed — and the vicious cycle continues.

Of course, the workplace isn’t the only source of stress. If your relationships or home life causes stress, or if your personal to-do list is piling up, you’ll find yourself surrounded by negative emotions in all directions.

3. Your Body is Working Against You

We talked about cortisol, the stress hormone, above. But other hormonal imbalances can also make you fatigued and irritable. Estrogen, progesterone, melatonin and thyroid imbalances should all be treated by a physician. Various auto-immune diseases, such as lupus, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, can all affect your energy level. Once you’ve made the appropriate lifestyle changes, if you’re still feeling regular exhaustion, don’t try to diagnose yourself, but head to your doctor’s office for diagnosis and treatment.

How to Boost Your Energy During the Work Day

Fortunately, there are proactive steps you can take to end fatigue and regain energy. Take a look at some small things you can do to boost your energy levels.

• Unwind before bedtime. Turn off your screens — TV, computer, and smartphone — at least two hours before you go to bed.
• Take breaks during the workday. Many people finding that taking just a few minutes for deep breathing and meditation helps refocus their mind and their energy.
• Clean up your sleep hygiene. Abstain from caffeine before the evening, and go easy on alcohol. Turn your bedroom into a haven, with blackout curtains and a noise machine if needed — and don’t lounge on your bed outside of your normal bedtime.
• Hand off tasks other people can do. If you’re working 60 to 80 hours a week, ask yourself how much of that time is spent doing things only you can do. Delegating routine tasks to others will help rejuvenate your energy and your mindset.
• Get some exercise. Climb the stairs to your office. Park as far from the front door as possible. Take a walk at lunch. Exercise releases all sorts of good chemicals that boost mood and energy.
• Get outdoors. Sometimes staring at the same four walls produces exhaustion (even if one of those walls is a window). Make sure you get outside your office for part of your workday each day.

Article Source: State House News Service

Author: Matt Murphy

Welcome to post-pandemic Beacon Hill, where the political fights over how vaccine doses should be distributed have been replaced by quarrels over who gets to decide how to spend surfeits of money, and where to potentially get more.

If you extended your holiday weekend and are just tuning in, Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature got into a bit of a tiff this week over who should have the final say over how $5.28 billion in federal relief money gets spent, with four cities – Chelsea, Everett, Methuen and Randolph – caught in the middle.

This happened as Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano scheduled a vote for next Wednesday on the $2 billion “millionaires’ tax” and Department of Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder released live images of himself swimming in money, DuckTales-style.

(Ok, the latter didn’t really happen, but it almost could have.)

It all started Tuesday morning as legislators and staff were sifting through Memorial Day weekend email and Spilka and Mariano announced that they planned to move the state’s full American Rescue Plan Act allowance into a separate fund from which the Legislature, and only the Legislature, could appropriate it.

Baker quickly threw a flag on the power play, stating that not only was it not necessary, but it could slow down the state’s ability to quickly put that money to use stimulating the economy.

Furthermore, he had promised, at the urging of members of the Congressional delegation, to give the aforementioned four cities $100 million that they had been short changed due to federal funding formulas. If the money was moved into a segregated fund, he could no longer transfer the money and the cities would have to wait, he said.

“If he says that he has that authority, then he could have cut a check a week ago,” Rep. Dan Hunt, chairman of the House Committee on Federal Stimulus and Census Oversight, responded. The Dorchester Democrat was referencing the fact that the money had apparently arrived from the feds on May 19.

And as it turned out, a senior administration official said Baker had been planning to announce the release of the funds the next morning in Chelsea, but cut it from the script rather than risk antagonizing legislative leaders.

Baker responded to questions about the money at his Chelsea event by indicating that he would raise the issue with Mariano and Spilka, adding, “I hope they see it the way we do.”

They didn’t.

The two Democrats suggested they were the ones with the sense of “urgency” to rush to rescue of Chelsea, Everett, Methuen and Randolph, but they offered no timeline to appropriate the money and referenced a “robust legislative process,” which is almost never confused with urgency.

So, Baker on Friday went ahead and released the money anyway, and the total was $109 million.  Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Rep. Ayanna Pressley applauded the move, and Mariano and Spilka said they were “glad” the four cities would be receiving the additional funds.

“The Senate and House look forward to working with the Administration and the public in an open and transparent process to equitably distribute federal funds,” Mariano and Spilka concluded.

But while the saga of the $109 million may be over, Democratic leaders are still moving ahead with plans to seize control of the funds, and this may not be the last clash over how to handle billions of uncommitted cash.

With an election year around the corner, DOR announced that the state took in $4 billion in taxes in May, beating estimates by more than $2.1 billion and putting the state on track to collect nearly $4 billion more than it expected on the year. Hence, Snyder’s metaphorical coin dive.

While some of that has to do with the fact that the tax filing deadline was moved this year from April to May, it still marked the continuation of a trend that has state leaders contemplating a sizable surplus at the end of the fiscal year.

That, too, will need to get spent, or saved, or perhaps returned in the form of tax relief.

Spilka and Mariano did not foreclose the idea that federal relief funds “may potentially be spread out over a number of years to ensure our continued economic vitality,” which could form a bridge between today and the day millionaires start paying higher income taxes.

The two Democrats announced that they planned to call a vote next Wednesday on a constitutional amendment to impose a new 4 percent surtax on income over $1 million, with the intention of spending it on transportation and education.

It’s the second and final vote required before the question would be put to voters on the 2022 ballot, and it is expected to pass despite the current strength of the state’s financial footing. Advocates still believe the new funding sources will be needed long-term to address learning gaps, public transit and traffic congestion.

As for that visit to Chelsea, Baker still made the short drive north to the city’s always-crowded Market Basket and announced a new partnership with the grocery chain.

For three days this week and three days next week, pop-up vaccine clinics will be run in Market Basket parking lots in Chelsea, Fall River, Lawrence, Lynn and Revere and anyone getting a shot will receive a $25 gift card for groceries.

The promotion is part of the administration’s newest strategy to reach the remaining pockets of unvaccinated residents by making the COVID-19 vaccines more accessible, including in hard-hit communities of color and to other groups showing signs of vaccine hesitancy.

Baker has also reached out to Treasurer Deborah Goldberg to inquire about the logistics of setting up a vaccine Lottery, as states like Ohio and California have done, and vaccine promotions are being run at venues like Polar Park in Worcester.

The targeted approach means a winding down of the mass vaccination sites that were so central to the early phases of the administration’s vaccine program.

Gillette Stadium was the first mass vaccination site to open in January and it will be the first to close on June 14. The site at the old Circuit City in Dartmouth will be the last to close July 13.

STORY OF THE WEEK: One hundred million dollars between friends.

SONG OF THE WEEK: You know what they say about having mo money. It brings mo problems.