State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Hit Refresh

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Fuente del artículo: State House News Service

Author: Matt Murphy

 

JAN. 29, 2021…..Sweet dreams are not made of weeks like these. In fact, for a technocrat like Gov. Charlie Baker, they can be the stuff of nightmares.

The logistics of trying to vaccinate at least 4 million people as fast as humanly possible is no easy feat. Layer on top of that the fact that there’s not nearly enough vaccine to go around, and it’s a recipe for restless nights.

But political leaders often deal with things out of their control by managing expectations. And this week, that’s where things started to break down.

That and the fact that the government told residents 75 and older to try to navigate an online registration site with not enough appointments to go around and no call-center where seniors and their families could get their questions answered. Let’s just say people were frustrated.

The COVID-19 vaccination program that had been plodding along since late December appeared to get its own shot in the arm when Baker announced Monday that by mid-February 165 new vaccination sites would be open with the capacity – key word being capacity – to administer 305,000 doses a week.

With the new sites coming online, including new mass vaccination sites in Springfield, Danvers and Boston, Baker said he would open the vaccine pool to people 75 and older beginning Feb. 1. The expansion and beefed up website where people could find a site close to home and sign up appeared designed to address growing concerns that the vaccination plan had become too confusing.

What got lost in that headline, however, was that the state has only been receiving about 80,000 doses a week. And even with President Joe Biden promising this week to juice the supply chain for the next three weeks, Massachusetts will only receive about 100,000 shots next week.

The result was that the website – www.mass.gov/COVIDVaccineMap got flooded on Wednesday with people trying to make appointments, and many found there were no appointments to be had. Sure, some got through. But Sen. Julian Cyr described it like trying to get tickets to a Beyonce concert through TicketMaster. Translation? Good luck.

By Thursday, Baker admitted that the state should have had a call center set up to help senior citizens and anyone without a computer navigate the system. The state is working to have that operational by next week.

But there are still no plans for a one-stop vaccine registration site, like other states have deployed. Sen. Eric Lesser filed a bill to force the administration to set up such a website, and it’s been co-sponsored by more than 57 Democrats and Republicans so far in the House and Senate.

Attorney General Maura Healey, who many are looking at as a possible gubernatorial candidate in two years, said people should be able to go online, sign up once and get notified when an appointment to be vaccinated is available.

“You can’t have seniors waking up at midnight to see what’s been refreshed on some of these systems,” Healey said during an interview on WGBH’s “Boston Public Radio.”

Baker can’t afford many more weeks like this one.

The vaccination vexation largely overshadowed Baker’s filing of a $45.6 billion state budget proposal that relies on $1.6 billion in reserves and actually proposes to spend less money than in the current fiscal year, which has been floated with federal dollars.

He also refiled a sports betting proposal with his budget, and is proposing to move forward with the 2019 Student Opportunity Act by providing $246.3 million in new spending on public schools.

And to think the week started with so much promise.

Baker was gearing to deliver his fifth (plus two inaugurals) State of the Commonwealth address as new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were declining. The White House promised governors in a call with the National Governors Association that more vaccines were on the way, and people were excited that vaccine eligibility was being expanded … except maybe teachers who didn’t like being bumped down the priority list behind 65-year-olds.

Recently, Baker had said “when I really want to get depressed” he would go back and read his speech from last year, before COVID-19 checked in to the Marriott Long Wharf. We’re not sure why the governor has moments when he really feels like getting depressed, but that’s a discussion for another day.

The bottom line is he likely didn’t have the same problem with this year’s speech. Because he didn’t promise or set out to do much of anything over the next year, at least nothing specific or written down on paper.

The speech was largely an exercise in trying to lift up a weary state, almost like a timeout pep talk designed to give the players on the field that boost of adrenaline they need to finish the game. Actor Jason Sudeikis featured far more prominently than anyone could have ever guessed. And the most tangible policy goal he laid out was the need to rethink “the future of work.”

“Know this – we will beat this virus. And life will begin to return to normal,” Baker assured.

One of the goals he laid out in last year’s State of the Commonwealth was to go carbon neutral by 2050. He’ll get a second chance to sign a bill that would require just that, though it’s unlikely to be that simple.

The House and Senate, as promised by Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka, sent the same climate and emissions reduction bill that Baker vetoed a couple weeks ago back to his desk Thursday.

Despite Baker laying out his objections in a lengthy veto letter, the Legislature incorporated none of those changes. Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides described it as a “rather one-sided conversation” with the Legislature.

Baker has been accused by Democrats of creating a false choice between the economy and the environment, while Theoharides said, ” … I’m not sure the Legislature has any cost estimates for what their bill would cost or the benefits that would provide.”

The difference between this climate bill and the end-of-session bill that the governor vetoed is Baker has time to return the bill with amendments. And if the Legislature says no to those amendments and Baker vetoes the bill again, the Legislature can and almost certainly will override.

The early showdown between the Legislature and governor in the new session is unusual in that the House and Senate haven’t even set up a full committee structure yet. And Mariano efficiently punted what could have been a contentious rules debate for the new speaker until the summer by asking House lawmakers to extend the existing emergency pandemic rules.

The extra time, Mariano said, will give the Rules Committee time to study new transparency measures, and also look at best practices for dealing with what the speaker described as “unregistered, or vaguely-affiliated, advocates and coalitions.”

The unusual request of the Rules Committee was interpreted on Beacon Hill as a shot across the bow of rules reform advocates like Act on Mass and amorphous groups like Raise Up Massachusetts and MassFiscal, which have been growing in influence on both sides of the ideological spectrum.

Speaking of influence, Joe Kennedy announced that he’s going to try to hang on to some in the post-Congress chapter of his career by creating a new political action committee, the Groundwork Project, to invest in grassroots organizing efforts in Massachusetts and non-traditional battleground states around the country to lay the foundation for an expanding Democratic map.

There’s not much fear that Democrats will lose a legislative seat in Revere and Winthrop, but it won’t be Marc Silvestri filling former Speaker Robert DeLeo’s seat. The Revere Democrat filed a lawsuit in the state’s top court this week after he failed to gather the necessary 150 signatures.

Silvestri was hoping the Supreme Judicial Court would cut down on the signatures required to qualify for the ballot, as it did last year as the pandemic raged, but he struck out with Justice Elspeth Cypher who promptly dismissed the case.

The Commonwealth Dispensary Association didn’t even wait for a judge to rule in its lawsuit challenging marijuana home delivery rules in Massachusetts, dropping its lawsuit filed just earlier this month as member retailers pulled out of the effort.

The Weekly Download: Consumers Resort to ‘Shoptimism’

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Shoptimism is a term being used to describe purchases made from home during the pandemic. You are stuck at home and suddenly begin to see every flaw, paint chip and cluttered closet. So, you buy things to fix the situation — or you buy things to make you feel better about it.

When consumers buy things they don’t need, such as luxury items, in the middle of a public health crisis, it’s called “shoptimism.” This term was coined by Lee Eisenberg in his 2009 book of the same title.

Why Do We Buy Things?

According to Eisenberg, people buy things to provide emotional relief from the anxiety of living in a pandemic and economically uncertain times. He describes two kinds of buyers. The classic buyer compares prices, deliberates on whether they need a product and then makes a purchase. The romantic buyer shops emotionally, purchasing trendy or “cool” items that boost their emotional state. In general, the romantic buyer cares about the emotional satisfaction of the purchase rather than the utility of the product.

E-commerce and M-commerce

Consumers are used to the convenience of online shopping (e-commerce), especially via their mobile devices (m-commerce). The click-and-collect culture isn’t going anywhere soon. Not only is it safer but the convenience and faster delivery times make it easier than shopping in stores. Generous return policies sealed the deal.

The rise of in-store pickup makes it easy to order online, drive up for contactless service and refuse any items that do not meet your expectations. This frictionless experience has risen due to the global pandemic, but consumers are likely to demand it for long afterwards.

Savvy brands will continue to capitalize on this moving into 2021. Even shoppers who do visit traditional stores now pre-research products and services online. Vendors who cannot meet consumers in cyberspace may find themselves pushed aside by competitors with a strong digital presence.

Contactless Shopping

Contactless shopping and payment provide a safe way for consumers to purchase online and pick up at participating stores. Consumers can also use the technology to shop or pay for items at retail stores.

Using biometrics and Amazon One technology, consumers scan one palm to make purchases at participating stores. Privacy advocates are watching the new technology as closely as facial-recognition software, which raised concerns with the ACLU and other advocate groups.

The technology does not require physical contact and palm images are encrypted in the cloud rather than on local devices. Users can delete their Amazon one account if security becomes a concern.

Younger Generations Are Exhibiting Shoptimism

Generation Z has been hit hard by the pandemic employment situation. The youngest generation in the workforce is often the first let go in a downturn and those graduating from college may have a harder time finding employment in their field.

Research from Smart Company, an Australian publication, showed a rise in purchases among Gen Z shoppers from shopping platforms offering payment plans. These shoppers appreciated the safety, anonymity and speed of online transactions. Perhaps that’s why usage of e-commerce and m-commerce is increasingly popular among demographically younger shoppers.

Shoptimism goes beyond the recent tendency of homebound consumers to make frivolous purchases online. New technology and changing consumer expectations make it imperative that businesses take their brands to the internet if they want to attract consumers away from competitors.

What Is Your Marketing Value Proposition?

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As a business owner, are you in touch with the needs of your target demographic group? Do you have an understanding of what they’re looking for and how your brand can meet their needs? Do you have a clear statement that outlines why the goods or services you offer are of better value and will solve your customers’ problems more effectively than a competitors’ offerings?

At its core, a marketing value proposition is a clear statement that explains how your product or service is relevant to your customers, how it will provide a specific benefit to them, and why they should buy from you and not your competitor. It should encompass three elements: your target buyer and their problem, how you solve their problem, and why you solve their problem better than anyone else.

The biggest mistake that businesses make when creating their marketing value proposition is that they are too vague. Here are a few questions to consider to find out if your marketing value proposition is working for your business.

Is It Relevant and Easy to Understand?

Is your marketing value proposition relevant to the needs of your target market? Is it riddled with technical jargon that can’t be easily understood by someone who doesn’t have a background in the industry? Your value proposition should be in the language of your customer, reflecting the problems that they have and the solutions they need.

Is it Credible?

Even if your value proposition is compelling, if it sounds too good to be true or if you can’t point to real-life results that support it, you’ll undermine your own efforts. Your statement should be believable and credible.

Can It Adapt to Changes in Your Business or Industry?

Your marketing value proposition is far more than a friendly blurb that you post on your About Uspage. It creates a framework for not only how your customers think about your business but also how you and your employees think about your business. A value proposition that is too confining and doesn’t adapt to future growth and development will not work. As your business grows and changes and as your industry evolves, will your value proposition still hold true?

Does It Resonate with Your Audience?

Unless your value proposition elicits an emotional response, it will be quickly forgotten. Your value proposition should resonate with your audience by grabbing your customers’ attention and being memorable. They should see their own needs in it and feel an emotional connection with your mission.

Your business may be but one fish in a sea full of competitors that all offer essentially the same features. This is why an effective marketing value proposition is so important: it goes beyond dry, standard features to showcase the rich benefits that your business is in a unique position to provide. Your marketing value proposition sets your brand apart from your competitors, demonstrating to your target audience how you understand them and have oriented your business around their needs.

Satisfaction vs Loyalty: How to turn customers into promoters

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Maybe you’ve heard the value of word-of-mouth advertising; according to Nielsen ratings, 92% of consumers trust their friends’ and family’s recommendation over traditional advertising. That doesn’t mean you can simply sit back and assume that the quality of your product is so much better than your competition’s that customers will be raving about it to their friends without any extra effort on your part.

We want you to get the answers you need to the questions that will grow your business. How can you turn satisfied customers into loyal repeat visitors? How can you get customers to become promoters, so impressed with their experience with your product or service that they can’t wait to tell everyone they know? The answer is a little trick called customer engagement.

Increasing Customer Engagement

For hospitality businesses like hotels and sit-down restaurants, it’s easier to craft a lasting user experience because your guests spend more time in your establishment. For people who own retail stores and quick-service restaurants, however, it’s a little more complicated.

Your customers only spend a little time interacting with your business, no more or less than they do with your competitors, so customer engagement turns into a war for the attention of patrons whose time in your location is fleeting at best. It’s one thing to make a purchase that you’re satisfied with — it’s a whole other ballpark when trying to create a lasting impression.

That’s why customer experience matters so much. And for businesses that don’t have the advantage of having their customers’ full attention, creativity is key to creating a lasting experience without actually getting to spend significant time with the customer in question.

How Much Does User Experience Matter?

This theory is far from unfounded. According to a study from the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, 80% of consumers said they would pay more for a better experience. This means engaging with customers in and outside of your brick & mortar establishment, creating a friendly interaction between your brand and your customers.

Take Chik-fil-A, for example. When the chicken chain first opened, the founder had a firm idea of what he wanted the experience of the restaurant’s guests to be. Every cashier says something like “my pleasure” or “have a nice day”. People crave this type of friendly encounter with customer service pros and will go out of their way to get it.

But what about when customers aren’t in the physical confines of your store? Then it pays to use digital marketing tactics that give your brand a personality. Make sure your company twitter account is interacting with people in a positive way, whether you’re responding to requests or complaints or simply about promotions your business is running. Personalize your emails with a survey that shows that your brand truly wants to get to know the customer and their tastes.

The Bottom Line

When you become more than just a faceless brand, and something like a helpful companion, dare we say even a friend, to your customers, that’s when they’ll be inclined to recommend you to their peers, friends, and family. That’s the process of turning a customer into a loyal promoter.

State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Friends in High Places

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Fuente del artículo: State House News Service
Artículo por: Matt Murphy

Friends in High Places

JAN. 22, 2021…..After four years of watching Donald Trump govern by tweet, President Joe Biden took to the medium from which Trump is now banned on Wednesday morning with a message of his own.

“It’s a new day in America,” Biden tweeted.

He was right, of course. Biden was about to institute a mask mandate on federal property, order the United States back into the Paris climate accord and stop building a wall along the border with Mexico.

But the inauguration of Joseph Robinette Biden as the 46th president of the United States also ensured that it will soon be a new day in Massachusetts, with state-federal relations about to undergo a complete reset.

Baker often said he found Trump’s Cabinet to be good to work with, even if he didn’t agree with the man in the Oval Office. But the upper echelons of the Centers for the Disease Control, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Highway Administration will now be stocked with true F.O.C. — Friends of Charlie.

The development at Highway came to light this week in an announcement Baker described as “bittersweet.” After a six-year stretch that started with the “Snowpocalypse” of 2015 and will end with a round of pandemic service cuts at the MBTA, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack is trading Baker for Biden.

Pollack will begin work next week as deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. The governor tapped Registrar of Motor Vehicles Jamey Tesler to fill Pollack’s shoes temporarily.

When she was chosen by Baker at the start of his first term, Pollack was one of the most high-profile examples of what would become Baker’s bipartisan approach to governing — a Democrat most closely identified with her work at the Conservation Law Foundation to extract transit concessions from the state to mitigate the impacts of the Big Dig.

She leaves as the face of Baker’s transportation legacy, an unwavering ally through good times and bad.

“It just never hurts to have relationships with people in high places,” Baker said Thursday.

And he’ll have plenty of them.

As Donald Trump departed Washington, he broke from tradition once again by skipping his successor’s inauguration, and telling a small group of supporters at Andrews Air Force Base that he would be “back in some form.”

“So, have a good life. We will see you soon. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much,” Trump said, making his last public statement as president before jetting off to Florida.

The Massachusetts Republican Party responded to the occasion by thanking Trump for four years of service, while Baker waited until after Biden swore his oath of office to make his only public statement of the day — a welcome to the new administration.

Baker is hoping that with the Biden team in charge of vaccine distribution in Washington the state will get better “visibility into the pipeline” that is currently delivering about 80,000 doses a week to Massachusetts.

The latest data released by the state Thursday indicated that 359,919 doses of the 591,775 shipped to Massachusetts have been administered so far as Baker announced a series of steps this week to increase access to the vaccine. But the governor and Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel both talked this week about it being difficult to plan for distribution when the state is only told on a week-to-week basis how much vaccine to expect.

Congregate care facilities, including prisons and shelters, began vaccinating this week, and Baker announced that as of Thursday everyone in Phase I – which newly included home-based health care and non-COVID care providers — is now eligible.

To accommodate the growing pool of vaccine-eligible residents, Baker announced while touring the mass vaccination site at Gillette Stadium that Fenway Park would open next month as the state’s second mass vaccination site, and that CVS, Walgreens and other private partners would begin to receive vaccine for distribution.

The state Public Health Council also approved pharmacy students and students training to be physician assistants to administer vaccines after they’ve been properly trained, adding to a pool of providers that already included medical and nursing students.

The push to ramp up vaccine distribution came as public health officials announced that two cases of the more contagious, and possibly more deadly, strain of the coronavirus first found in the United Kingdom had been detected in Massachusetts.

It was only a matter of time and Bharel said the safety protocols, including mask-wearing and distancing, don’t change with the new variant, but a more contagious form of the virus could eat away at the positive trend lines that prompted Baker to relax some of the post-holiday restrictions he put in place.

Baker said that since Jan. 1 new cases of COVID-19 had fallen 30 percent, the positive test rate had dropped 30 percent, and hospitalizations were down 10 percent. Those improving public health conditions were sufficient to convince him to lift the stay-at-home advisory and curfews for businesses that he put in place to protect against the post-Christmas surge.

The governor had been advising people to remain at home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., and in order to make that possible had told businesses like restaurants that they must shut down by 9:30 p.m. each night.

While Baker is lifting those curfews on Monday morning, he’s not adjusting the 25 percent capacity limits for most businesses, and won’t for least another couple of weeks, he said.

The week quite literally revolved around Wednesday and the activities in D.C., which turned out to be more celebratory than calamitous, which had been feared. But it was hard not to feel like the threat of more violence at state capitols kept Beacon Hill quiet this week.

Lawmakers largely stayed away, though Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka did make good Tuesday on their promise to refile the climate and emission reduction bill that Baker vetoed last week unchanged.

The big question now is when will they ask freshly sworn-in House and Senate legislators to vote on the package that was negotiated last session, and if they will entertain any changes — either ones sought by the governor or their own members – before they send it back to Baker.

While legislative Democrats plotted their next moves on climate change, Baker was preparing to give his first pandemic-era “State of the Commonwealth” address next week and to file a budget proposal for fiscal 2022.

He and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito teased the governor’s budget with the Massachusetts Municipal Association as a spending plan that will increase unrestricted local aid by $39.5 million, or 3.5 percent, and for the first time fund the 2019 Student Opportunity Act.

The MMA sneak peak has been a tradition spanning multiple governors, and a sign that some things are returning to normal.

Top 7 tech trends for real estate agents

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If you’re involved in the real estate market as an investor, agent, buyer, or seller, you likely already know that this is one industry that’s in love with the latest technologies. From the latest apps to innovations in customer service, tech innovations have dramatically changed how Realtors do business.

Here’s our picks for the top 7 tech trends for real estate agents in our community:

  1. Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality, or VR, gives agents the power to create virtual tours of the properties they have for sale, giving prospective buyers an immersive experience that’s second only to being there in person.

While VR technology is still a bit pricey for the average Realtor, experts predict this growing tech trend will be worth $2.6B by 2025. Sotheby’s International Realty already uses VR to market high-end residential properties both here in the United States and abroad.

  1. Augmented Reality

We all know that prospective home buyers want to picture what their furniture would look like in their new home, right? Thanks to Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, you can now superimpose a specific piece of furniture, a fixture, or accessory into any room, making it easy to see what a space could look like with some personal touches.

  1. Smart Home Technologies

With the wide-spread adoption of ‘smart’, internet-connected devices like smart thermostats, smart alarms, and smart locks, look for old technologies like real estate lock boxes to disappear in favor of digital access codes and security apps.

  1. Increased Mobile Growth

Use of internet-enabled mobile devices like smartphones and tablets continues to rise in the United States and beyond. According to the National Association of Realtors, nearly 60 percent of all residential buyers found their home through a search on their mobile device, which is why a mobile-friendly website is a must-have for every real estate agent.

  1. Drone Photography

Drones give Realtors the power to take impressive high-definition photos and videos from heights of properties that are available for sale or lease. Look for more listings to include images that deliver a birds-eye view that was previously only available by hiring a specialized aerial photographer.

  1. Social Media Engagement

Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram provide real estate agents with powerful tools they can use to market their business, connect with clients, and establish themselves as a local subject matter expert in our community.

And if you think managing all those online accounts is simply too time consuming, social media management platforms like Hootsuite y Agorapulse are designed to automate content delivery, track mentions and shares, and stamp out online trolls.

  1. Chat Bots

Even the most energetic real estate agent needs to take a break – that’s why chat bots – those little pop-up boxes are quickly become a feature on many brokerage websites.

Also known as virtual assistants, chat bots provide personable, 24/7 customer service that can help capture leads and even answer basic questions – perfect for all those late-night online home shoppers.

Hindsight: What Business Owners Wish They Would Have Done Differently

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They say hindsight is 20-20. If you only would have known. As a business owner, you may already have a few things you wish you knew. Would you have hired that one person? Perhaps you would have started your company sooner. While it is important to look back, reflect and learn from these decisions, it is also important to realize that, when you are at the end of your business ownership, your wishes may be much different.

What Do Owners Reflect On?

There are many things business owners wish they would have done differently. Here are some common themes that seem to come to light.

Getting Help Sooner

Many business owners start out with a desire to build a company from the ground up on their own. It may be admirable, but it may not be exactly what helped your business to thrive. Instead, many business owners realize that if they could do it again that they would have hired on more help sooner. Some would have turned to a mentor sooner. They would have networked with other business owners more readily to pull them into their company.

They Would Have Done More Locally

It goes without saying that every business relies on its community to grow and thrive. Even online companies still need to hire from a local talent pool and build their business with the support of local suppliers. But, not all companies give back. Giving back to the community does not have to be a challenge – doing simple things on a routine basis can help to make a big difference in the community. You don’t want to be on your deathbed and wishing you would have done more.

Getting Rid of the Problems

It’s quite common for businesses, especially those starting out and looking for solid footing, to actually make the move to get rid of employees that do not fit the mold. However, we know today from our workplace culture that it’s important to create a sense of culture, respect, and dependability. Some business wonders wish they would have taken a problem employee into the office and let them go long before they did damage.

The Risk Question

Many business owners wonder about risk. For some, taking on too much risk is just too much of a worry. For others, it is all about not taking enough. When you are there, at the end of your life, you’ll want to have taken that risk and experienced perhaps not only the thrill of the ride but also the struggles.

As you work to build your business, reach out. Embrace the community. Support each other. Provide mentorship opportunities. By taking these steps, you can solidify your business model now and learn from the mistakes and wishes of those business owners that came before you. It may be exactly what you need to push your business forward that extra level.

Early Closure of Businesses Order Rescinded: Effective Monday, January 25th

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Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito announced today changes to various advisories and executive orders pertaining to COVID-19 and reopening:

1.Stay at Home Advisory Rescinded: Effective Monday, January 25ta at 5:00am, the DPH Stay at Home Advisory for the hours of 10pm – 5am is rescinded.

2.Early Closure of Businesses Order Rescinded: Effective Monday, January 25ta at 5:00am, the Mandatory Early Closure of Businesses Order requiring certain businesses to close by 9:30pm will be rescinded. On Monday, January 25ta at 5:00am, the following businesses and activities listed below may operate past 9:30pm:

·    Restaurants

·    Arcades & Other Indoor & Outdoor Recreation (Phase 3, Step 1 businesses only)

·    Indoor and Outdoor Events

·    Movie Theaters and Outdoor Performance Venues

·    Drive-In Movie Theaters

·    Youth and Adult Amateur Sports Activities

·    Golf Facilities

·    Recreational Boating and Boating Businesses (e.g. charter boats)

·    Outdoor Recreational Experiences

·    Casinos and Horse Tracks/Simulcast Facilities

·    Escuelas de conducción y vuelo

·    Zoos, Botanical Gardens, Wildlife Reserves, Nature Centers

·    Close Contact Personal Services (e.g. hair and nail salons)

·    Museums/Cultural & Historical Facilities/Guided Tours

·    Gyms/Fitness Centers and Health Clubs

·    Indoor and Outdoor Pools

 

*Gatherings may go beyond 9:30pm

*Liquor stores and other retail establishments that sell alcohol may sell alcohol past 9:30pm; adult use cannabis retailers may also sell cannabis after 9:30pm

*Note – Phase 3, Step 2 businesses must remain fully closed

3.Temporary Capacity and Gathering Limits Extended: The 25% temporary capacity and gathering limits remain in place until 5:00 AM on Monday February 8ta.

 

You can find further information on www.mass.gov/reapertura.

Mass. Home Sales Hit 16-Year High During Pandemic

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Fuente del artículo: State House News Service
Article By: Colin A. Young

Sales Surged After Lockdown in Second Quarter

JAN. 19, 2021…..More single-family homes were sold last year in Massachusetts than in any other year since 2004, despite a once-in-a-century pandemic that threatened the financial security of thousands of residents and dramatically changed the process of buying and selling a home.

There were 61,469 single-family home sales in 2020 – a 3.9 percent increase over the sales total of 2019, according to The Warren Group. The median sale price for those homes climbed 11.4 percent from 2019 to hit $445,500 last year.

“In the wake of the first COVID-19 lockdown way back in March, single-family home sales took a nosedive for the entire second quarter,” Warren Group CEO Tim Warren said. “If you told me back then that by the end of the year that the total number of sales would surpass 2019, there’s no way I would have believed you … yet here we are. Another record-setting year in the books for Massachusetts real estate.”

Warren said an unprecedented December helped to boost the 2020 totals. December 2020 saw 6,410 single-family home sales in Massachusetts — the most ever recorded for the month and up 28.6 percent from December 2019. The median sale price for the month jumped 14.4 percent to $455,000, an all-time high for the month and the sixth consecutive month with a median sale price greater than $450,000, Warren said.

“The hot market has continued right into December, four straight months of sales gains of 25 percent or more,” driven by low interest rates and people spending more time at home. “The more time they spend at home, the more they think about the home and some ask what they want to change,” he said on The Warren Group’s podcast.

Almost everyone who sold or purchased a home in 2020 probably had to deal with COVID-19 restrictions and safety measures in one way or another. Packed spring open houses gave way to virtual showings and eventually to tightly-scheduled and timed windows for prospective buyers to tour homes for sale.

But despite the new hurdles COVID-19 imposes on buying or selling a home, the virus and its accompanying shift towards remote work helped to fuel a migration away from cities and towards “vacation” areas in Massachusetts like Cape Cod and the Berkshires, Warren said.

He said that he expects the housing market will “continue to sell well” in 2021 but saw a concerning trend emerge at the end of 2020.

“The one thing I worry about is the rapidly-rising median price across the state,” Warren said. “For six straight years, we saw a very good market but with restrained growth in price — just two to five percent. The tail end of 2020 saw huge changes and prices rose by 14 percent or more for five straight months. For the year as a whole, prices rose 11.4 percent. I consider that to be unsustainable.”

He added, “I hope we see the market cool and consolidate its gains before we create a bubble in prices as we did in 2005. The collapse of the market in 2006 and beyond was very painful.”

Gov. Charlie Baker last week signed an economic development bill that included a housing production measure anchored to local zoning changes, and another initiative designed to boost housing near MBTA stations.

State House News Service Weekly Roundup: Double Smog Dare

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Fuente del artículo: State House News Service
Artículo por: Matt Murphy

Double Smog Dare

JAN. 15, 2021…..The risks were known, or should have been.

The longer the Legislature waited to finalize its negotiations over major climate, jobs and infrastructure bills, the more power they relinquished to Gov. Charlie Baker. Discussions had been ongoing since the summer, and now all legislators could do was wait.

What would he sign? What wouldn’t he?

Knowing they had no recourse either way, legislators held their breath this week as they waited for Baker to render his verdicts on scores of bills that landed on his desk in the final days and hours of the last legislative session. And those verdicts came in bunches.

Beer distribution and campus sexual violence prevention bills got signed, as did one creating a commission to study whether to change the state’s seal. A bill known as “Laura’s Law” to ensure no one ever gets lost looking for the entrance to an emergency room also earned the governor’s signature.

And the bulk of a $626 million economic development bill was basically guaranteed to become law, given the governor’s authority to keep what he liked and veto sections he didn’t. That bill included long sought zoning reforms, known as “Housing Choice,” to spur development and requirements for multi-family zoning around MBTA stations. It also turned Sen. Eric Lesser’s student borrowers bill of rights into law.

But the climate legislation was a take-it-or-leave-it proposition for the governor, and by Tuesday the chatter coming from people with feelers into the administration suggested Baker was ready to leave it.

House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka tried to call Baker’s bluff. Go ahead, they said. Veto the bill, and we’ll send it right back to you in a matter of days.

The two Democratic leaders issued a joint statement saying as much, hoping the governor and the stakeholders whispering in his ear would see that resistance was futile. It was a rare public flexing of power for legislative Democrats who typically prefer to maintain the veneer of cooperation with the executive branch.

The only problem was there apparently wasn’t enough bipartisan cooperation in drafting the bill, and Baker wasn’t bluffing. In fact, the governor said he found the Legislature’s willingness to get right back to work on climate legislation encouraging. And so on Thursday, the formal veto arrived.

Baker supports the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and, by his own words, was “largely in agreement” with many of the bill’s provisions. But Baker listened to the construction industry when they told him allowing cities and towns to adopt a “net-zero” building code could stop housing production in its tracks.

He said the 5 percent difference between his administration’s goal for emission reductions by 2030 (45 percent) and Legislature’s (50 percent) was a $6 billion choice for residents that he didn’t want to make. And he said lawmakers missed an opportunity to make money available for climate adaptation, as he and the House tried to do with competing plans to spend $1 billion over ten years. Both plans went nowhere in the Senate.

Baker is now being cast by activists and Democrats in the role of anti-environment Republican who caved to immediate business interests at the expense of future generations. Some groups, however, privately commiserate with the administration’s frustration that it was actually the Democrats who control the Legislature who waited until so late in the session to get him a bill that he couldn’t seek to amend.

“If he doesn’t sign this, the Legislature owns part of this failure,” one environmental advocate said earlier in the week.

But if Democrats are as serious as Mariano and Spilka say they are, this bill still could be law by the end of the month with or without Baker. In fact, it could be on his desk again by the time you are reading this column next Friday.

Passing the climate bill, or any other bill, next week would require at least some lawmakers and staff to return to the State House amid warnings from the FBI and other federal law enforcement that state capitals in all 50 states could be a target for violence in the coming week.

The fallout from the attack on the U.S. Capitol continues as President-elect Joe Biden prepares for his inauguration next Wednesday, and the House this week impeached President Donald Trump for the second time in his four years in office, this time for inciting violence by spreading unproven claims about election fraud.

All nine members of the Massachusetts delegation voted for impeachment, including U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who cast her vote from quarantine after her husband contracted COVID-19 during the siege of the Capitol.

Baker repeatedly stated this week that there were no known threats in Massachusetts to the State House or any other government target, but law enforcement agencies remain in constant contact as Jan. 20 draws closer.

Baker signed orders Thursday activating 1,000 members of the National Guard, deploying 500 to Washington, D.C. to assist with security for the inauguration and putting another 500 on standby in Massachusetts should any city or town request backup.

The Massachusetts presence in D.C. may help to make Mayor Marty Walsh feel a bit more at home. He did, after all, promise to bring Boston with him to Washington as he prepares to join the Biden administration.

Walsh gave what was surely not the “State of the City” address he might have been planning just a few weeks ago on Tuesday night. Instead of laying out an ambitious agenda for his reelection year, Walsh gave a valedictory that nearly brought the Dorchester native to tears.

Walsh’s timeline for leaving the city and City Hall remains to be seen, but the City Council is already debating whether to do away with a special election requirement should he resign before March 5.

Regardless of when the next election is to replace Walsh as mayor, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins both said this week the race would take place without them.

Michlewitz said he came to the conclusion that he can best serve the city perched atop the House budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, where he hopes to and likely will remain under Speaker Mariano. Possible future speaker, it turns out, had a nicer ring to it than mayoral hopeful.

The North End Democrat will soon have to get to work on building a new state budget, and the Legislature agreed with the administration on Friday to an estimate of revenues in fiscal year 2022 of $30.12 billion, a 3.5 percent increase from what officials expect to collect this year.

The budgeting exercise will also be made a little easier by the more than $9 billion Massachusetts expects to receive from the most recent federal stimulus package, though two-thirds of that will be doled out in the form of unemployment assistance and direct cash payments to taxpayers.

The MBTA expects to see about $250 million to $300 million in stimulus support, but only $17 million will be put toward restoring services cut to deal with declines in ridership because of the pandemic.

T officials say the priority for restoration will be high-ridership bus routes and maintaining evening commuter rail service, while the rest of the money will go into the capital budget.

Maybe they’ll be able to run trains to Foxborough where Baker announced this week that the state would be setting up its first mass vaccination site at Gillette Stadium.

The home of the New England Patriots will open next week for first responders to get the vaccine, and eventually to the general public as more cohorts become eligible for vaccination.