NE Biz Report 05-05-24

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the New England Business Report with Joe Shortsleeve
and Kim Carrigan, a weekly roundup and discussion of the
top business news impacting our New England economy.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Welcome everybody to the New England Business Report. So great
to have you with us on this first Sunday in May.
I'm Kim Carrigan along with Joe short Sleeve and Joe.
Welcome to May, my friend.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Yeah, we are off and running and we got a
busy program today and thanks everybody for joining us on
the New England Business Report.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
So I'm having a great time watching all the trees
bloom and the flowers finally coming up.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Kim, do you have allergies? I don't.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Well, you know what, Joe, I have never had them before,
but I'm going to tell you this season is the
first time I've started to have a little bit of
an issue. And I check with my doctor and he said,
you know, sometimes, believe it or not, you do start
to develop allergies as you get older. And I'm like, what, We're.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Not getting older. There must be something else would play here.

Speaker 4 (00:56):
You know what?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
This played out just perfectly. That's what I was hoping
would come and now it did I.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Have a son. I remember when we were raising my son,
he couldn't really play Little League baseball because his allergies
were so bad. Now again I don't have them, but
he did. It'd stand there in the outfield wiping his
eyes and the whole bit. But anyway, welcome to May.
This is it.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Welcome to May. And let's take a look at what's
going on here in the broadcast. Interesting week, by the way,
we all sat kind of sat back and watched the
FED meeting to see what would happen. Obviously, they didn't
change interest rates, but Joe I thought what was really
interesting is that first they promised, they didn't look like
they would raise them. I didn't even think maybe that
was on you know, the radar screen, but it certainly

(01:36):
set Wall Street off, you know, relieved.

Speaker 3 (01:40):
I think there was a sense of worry there that
you know, is not coming down, and oh my, what's
the Fed gonna do? Would they even think about raising rates?
And I think that that Powell put that away did
help certainly help the equis mark.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
It sure did. Didn't promise he was going to cut
them three times in the remainder part of the year.
But anyway, so that was something we really watched this week.
I'm coming up here on the New England Business Report.
We're going to be joined by the Boston business journalist
Greg Ryan. He's got this crazy story about construction workers
in the state. It's a ten year trend that he's

(02:15):
been watching and it's really fascinating.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
Joe.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
I think that we've got a lot of young people,
sort of inexperienced individuals who are stepping right into the
construction world, nineteen and older. And it looks like a
lot of these kids have decided, you know, all that
money for a college education is not going to be
worth it for me, and maybe this is the direction
I need to go.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, well, we've done the story here where we saw
at the headlines in the past couple of weeks, right
ninety thousand dollars a year at some colleges. Some kids
are saying, guess what, No, thanks, I'm going to go
another direction here. Because you work in the instruction industry,
at construction industry and if you're part of the union
and so on and so forth, I mean, you can
make a pretty good buck. I mean you can make
sex figures pretty pretty quickly without having all that college debt.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
I've always been somebody who's brought into the idea that
not everybody should go to college. You know that. I
think the trades really are a great place for a
whole lot of people. And obviously I'm not alone, a
whole lot of people feel that way. Also coming up
in this half hour, President and CEO of Boston's Greater
Chamber of Commerce, Jim Rudy, our good friend. He's going
to join us. We got so much to talk to

(03:17):
Jim about. We want to talk to him about Mayor
wu and you know her recent proposal to kind of
push higher taxes onto commercial real estate in an effort
is she puts it to protect homeowners in the city.
So we're going to talk to Jim about that. We
want to talk to Jim about that situation over in
the North End. Obviously, you know today is May fifth,

(03:40):
and that means that outdoor dining has been going on
for the last five days everywhere in the city but
one location.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
Curious what Jim would say when we ask him, and
I will ask him what grade the business community would
give Boston Mayor Michelle will at this point speaking about
that and business coming to law. John Cesto the Boston Globe.
Chesto means business is going to talk to us about Lego.
I grew up with Lego. You don't love Lego? Well anyway,

(04:09):
they are of course a Danish toy giant, right, but
their American headquarters have been an Enfield, Connecticut. But now
they're coming to Boils the Street in Boston. They should
be here with some four hundred plus jobs by twenty
twenty six. And John Chesto's gonna tell us about that.
And I've always wondered about the you know you look
at because like them, Tell's numbers are flat and Hasbro's

(04:30):
numbers are down, but Lego, it lives up, It has legs.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
I gotta tell you. The most brilliant thing they did
was build these great, big, huge stores. They're just phenomenal.
Whether you're three or you're fifty three, it doesn't matter.
They're just a lot of fun.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
Also, a pretty interesting story we're gonna be talking about today,
and that has to do with the demand for fresh
cut flowers. We're going to talk with Chris Grant of
West Newbury and he runs and owns the Grant Family Farm,
and apparently the flower business is boom. I guess they
don't want as much, you know, green beans anymore. Everybody's
looking for those bright, beautiful flowers. Finally, today, Kim Jennifer Epstein,

(05:08):
she used the controlling partner of Boston Unity Soccer Partners,
talk about the National Women's Soccer League and a team
coming to Boston. This is an interview you got.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
For us that is very exciting and she's got all
kinds of details. What I'm anxious for is the name
of that team. She says they're going to announce that
here during the summer months, So looking forward to that.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
All right, now, let's bring in Greg Ryan. He of course,
is a senior reporter with the Boston Business Journal, and
he's been busy, busy, busy. Interesting story that you just wrote, Greg,
and it has to do with Massachusetts construction workers are
getting younger. Tell us about the changing demographic here. What's
going on.

Speaker 5 (05:45):
Yeah, for years there was a big problem in construction,
an aging workforce, and young people were not entering the trades.
You know, everyone was going to college, trades were getting
new recruits that you were having a difficult time. But
that's really changed in the past ten years. Found this state.
Am I reporting the number of people aged nineteen to

(06:06):
thirty four, So that young workforce working in construction of
Massachusetts that's jumped by forty seven percent. So that's the
good news. There is some bad news on the other
side of that, though, is that the group's kind of
workers in prime working age, so thirty five to fifty five,
those numbers have not increased nearly as much. So you've

(06:27):
got a bunch of inexperienced new workers and not those
workers in the middle.

Speaker 2 (06:31):
So what do you attribute that jump in the inexperienced
workers if you will.

Speaker 5 (06:35):
Yeah, well, I talked to construction executives about this, and
one thing Alta mentioned is growing skepticism about the value
of a college degree, right, I mean, colleges are getting
more and more expensive. We have a story a few
weeks ago about you know, tuition going up over ninety
thousand dollars at some local colleges per a year. And
they're saying young people, you know whatever, maybe they're graades,

(06:56):
maybe what they want out of a career. They're why
they're getting out of hig school, saying I don't want
to take on that debt. And they're giving a more
serious look at the trade. And there's also for the
past ten years, up until race went up a couple
of years ago, there's been a huge building boom in Massachusetts,
so all that opportunity also had to have played a role.

Speaker 3 (07:15):
But Greg, I'm guessing that there isn't a huge building
boom going on right now. Correct me if I am wrong?
And what does that mean for people who want to
get into this type of work?

Speaker 5 (07:23):
That is true, you know, construction is definitely new. Starts
have definitely gone down with the increase in the rate. However,
demand had not fallen that much. And I was surprised
by this, and actually one of my colleagues in a
recent story he reported of the ten major employment sectors
in Massachusetts, construction grew by the most in twenty twenty three.

(07:43):
Now that continue in twenty twenty four and twenty twenty five.
Maybe not, but there has not been this major falloff
in demand, at least so far. So there is there's
still been that need for younger workers to enter the workforce.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Greig, does it seem like those older workers are being
pushed out?

Speaker 5 (08:00):
Not at all? And actually workers aged fifty five and over,
they've increased by even larger percentage than the young people.
People are putting off retirement. And so that does create
a bit of an upcoming crisis though, because as I said,
you have all these younger, inexperienced workers, you have the
sort of missing middle, and then you have a large

(08:21):
segment of workers who are about to retire, and maybe
they will retire with construction slowing down. So what construction
firms are doing, in contractors and subcontractors is they're really
making it in a concerted effort to coach up these
younger employees. They're giving them responsibilities that, you know, ten
years ago they might not have otherwise.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
Had ig with Greg Ryan, senior reporter of the Boston
Business Journal in his story Massachusetts construction workers are getting younger,
and again, just to reiterate that data that you have here,
age nineteen to thirty four working in construction jump by
forty seven percent in the last ten years. I guess
I'm curious about that because you look at a number
like that and you say, Okay, if everybody's going here,

(08:59):
then somebody's not going there, And and you talked about
how maybe they're not going to college. I mean, what
should this number look like and what and what percentage
of these kids, uh, you know, are not choosing a
college degree.

Speaker 5 (09:11):
Yeah, I don't. I don't have the exact numbers there,
but anecdotally it's it's you know, it's something I've heard.
I heard from pretty much every construction executive I spoke with,
including you know, younger people in the construction industry.

Speaker 6 (09:25):
You know.

Speaker 5 (09:25):
I spoke to one person who works for for Delbrook,
one of the larger general contractors around here. You know,
she was working at a pizza shop and she said,
I want to do something else. She ended up taking
an online course at Madison Park in Boston, the construction related.
She got a job with a subcontractor right out of
the gate, and within eighteen months she was had a
supervisor assistant supervisor role at Delbrook. So I think that story,

(09:50):
you know, you hear that sort of story all the
time in the industry.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Sure, hey, Greg, let me change gears just a bit.
I know you also wrote a piece about recently about
AI and the role that it's playing in architecture. Walk
us through. I mean, this actually seems to me like
this would be a perfect place for AI. But give
me a sense of what's going on.

Speaker 5 (10:08):
Yeah, it's really fascinating. So I spoke with a partner
at s GA, which is one of the larger architecture
firms in Massachusetts, who's been leading this AI initiative for
the firm, and he said, you know, they started a
year ago. They started really bearing down and saying how
can we use AI in our work? And they found
a couple of interesting uses. One is in rendering. But
you know, if you look at sometimes they'll have them
plastered on the side of a fence when a building's

(10:30):
going up, but like, you know, here's what the building
will look like when all said and done. But before
you know, architects has been hours and hours like find
you know, putting those together, really looking to getting into
the details. They use AI for that now, and so
AI can spit out an image and you know, minutes
and then they can say, you know that works, that

(10:50):
doesn't work, and then I can set out another image.
So that's really sped up that process. They also have
chatbots for you know, architectures. They are all sorts of rules,
all sorts of regulations that created an AI chatbot where
architects employees can say, you know, how does this work?
What does this building code? And they can get the
answers pretty pretty quickly.

Speaker 3 (11:10):
Well, whenever we discuss AI, we always come to this question,
will there be fewer architectural jobs available because of AI?

Speaker 5 (11:17):
Yeah, so I put I put the same question to
Michael Schroeder, the SGA partner. He's of the mind that
there won't be a loss in jobs. He pointed to,
you know, whenever there's a new technology, there's always this
fear that it's going to cause lots of jobs. Times
of just change his jobs. You know, we're still going
to need he made the point, you know, we're still
going to need architects to sign off on these things.

(11:38):
We can't rely on you know, AI and the technology
to design a state building without any sort of human oversight.
So you know, we'll see maybe, you know, I think
I think at the very least there could be some
changes around the edges. But but he's of the mind
that there won't be a big drop up put employment.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
All right. He's Greg Ryan, senior reporter with the Boston
Business Journal. Thank you very much for joining us on
the New England Business Report. Up next, we're going to
talk to Jim Rooney. Of course, it's the CEO and
president of the Greater Boston Chamber of commerce talk about
the health of downtown Boston.

Speaker 1 (12:14):
You are listening to the New England Business Reports on
the Voice of Boston WRKO six 't eighty Joe and
Kim will be right back.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
When it comes to financing homes, there's a Leader intrusted
names Leader Bank. Now there's Leader Insurance LCA, subsidiary of
Leader Bank, to help protect what matters most to you.
For years, Leader Bank has helped borrowers finance their dream homes,
and now Leader Insurance can help safeguard that investment, whether
it's your home, car, personal umbrella, or even your boat.

(12:43):
Leader Insurance as you covered with policies designed to meet
your needs, protect your family and your home. Answer a
few questions and get a quote in twenty four hours.
Call seven eight one eight nine six two oho five
zero or email info at Leaderinsurer dot com. Leader Insurance
Your Home your future Protected. Call seven eight one eight

(13:04):
nine six two oh five zero or email info at
Leaderinsurer dot com. Insurance products are offered through Leader Insurance LLC,
subsidiaria of Leader Bank. NA insurance products are not FDIC insure,
not bank guaranteed, not a deposit, and not insured by
any federal government. Agency. There's a lot's a there's a

(13:25):
lot's a love about you.

Speaker 4 (13:30):
Don't miss the Subero of New England, A lot to
love events, love all there is about driving a brand
new twenty twenty four SUPERU Outback starting at twenty eight
eight ninety five. Get one point nine percent financing for
up to forty eight months when you purchase select models
or leaves for just three oh five per month for
thirty six months with thirty fifty five due signing. The

(13:51):
twenty twenty four Outback features standard symmetrical all wheel drive
to take on any terrain in any weather and plus
the latest in super uc D technology by the Alback
with as low as one point nine percent financing or
lese for just three oh.

Speaker 2 (14:06):
Five per a month.

Speaker 4 (14:07):
With so much to love, you don't want to miss
the Subro of New England A Lot of Love. Event
details at Subaru of New England dot com.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
The New England Business Report on WRKO is brought to
you in part by Leader Bank, Modern Banking with a
personal touch.

Speaker 2 (14:33):
Welcome back everybody to the New England Business Report. I
gim care, get along with Joe Schwartz leave and we
always look forward to chatting with our next guest, Jim Rooney,
the President and CEO of Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce,
is with us today. Jim, great to have you long
this morning.

Speaker 5 (14:47):
Hey Cam, Hey Dre.

Speaker 3 (14:48):
Good morning.

Speaker 2 (14:50):
Listen. We want to get started. We've got so many
things that we want to talk to you about, but
we wanted to get started talking about Mayor Michelle Wu.
She's got a proposal out there on the table for
increasing taxes on commercial real estate in this city. She
says that the reason behind this is to protect homeowners.

(15:10):
Tell me how you feel about that and how your
members are reacting to that proposal.

Speaker 7 (15:16):
Well, the mayor is indeed in a difficult situation. What's
happened over the past few years in all levels of government,
city and state is high revenues because of economic growth
that took place, but also because of an infusion of
federal pandemic related funding that is now going away, and

(15:40):
you know, revenue is just unprojected to come in the
way that they have been. So in order to maintain
a level of city services and spending, the mayor is
proposing that the legislature enable her to, as you say,
increase the commercial property tax rate and hold the residential

(16:05):
property tax rate. The city's difficulty is over seventy percent
of the revenue comes from property taxes, and the commercial
property tax has really been responsible for keeping Boston's residential
property taxes low, among the lowest in the Commonwealth. So
it's a tricky thing. Our members are concerned, however, because

(16:27):
we're in a period of time when the commercial property industry,
not just here but throughout the country is in a
difficult situation responding to post pandemic behavior twenty percent vacancy
rates combined with other proposals from the city and state

(16:47):
to pile on fees, taxes, regulations on commercial property. So
the reaction has not been positive to that. And on
top of that, the budget proposal, which would increase spending
next year by eight percent, leaves one thinking that maybe

(17:09):
there's some fiscal discipline that needs to be brought to
Beer on the broad a picture of city finances.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
So, Jim, I would guess that the Chamber opposes this
home rule petition as it exists.

Speaker 7 (17:26):
Yes, we've gone on the record opposing it and challenging
the city to like the state has. And Joe, you
might remember a year ago we challenged the state and said,
you know, you're spending at too high a rate. They
were spending a thirty percent increase over five years, and

(17:48):
we said, you have to bring your spending more in
line with inflation, which is about three and a half percent.
And that's where we're talking at the state level, and
we would challenge the city to do the same. Let's,
you know, find necessary services like public safety and education,
but now let's do some belt tightening around a nice

(18:09):
to have of city government, something that really government hasn't
been challenged to do for a very long time.

Speaker 2 (18:17):
You know, Jim, the first time this WU proposal came
up here on our show and I right now it
just keaps me. Who we were chatting with. I think
it was somebody up at the state House, but we
were talking about, you know, was there any discussion before
a city council when this first came up about budget
tightening And the response was no. So I mean, now

(18:38):
you've proposed this is there. You know what's the reaction?
Is anybody open to this idea? Is anybody saying, yeah,
maybe that is the direction we should go.

Speaker 7 (18:47):
Yeah, Kim, as you suggest, right now, the city council
has the budget they're having hearings and they're wrestling with
exactly the issues that we're talking about that you know,
this this complicated, you know, confluence of issues if you will,
with respect to you know, raising revenue versus bell tightening.

(19:11):
And this, KIM is not just a fiscal twenty five issue.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
This is a this is.

Speaker 7 (19:18):
Long term financial planning as well. And by that I
mean if you create spending levels that need to be
sustained over a period of time, what do you do then?
Do you increase the property taxes even more or do
you take do you find yourself in a position of
having to take draft to cut. So the city Council

(19:40):
is in this moment right now where they have the
budget and they will send it back to the mayor
with their proposed changes in the next month or so,
and it'll be interesting to see how they respond.

Speaker 3 (19:50):
Jim Ernies our guest president and CEO of the Greater
Boston Chamber of Commerce, And you know Colliers is reporting
data and John Chester on the Globe writes about it.
There some fifty buildings in downtown Boston with more than
fifty percent of their space currently available, and with this
proposed shift in this home world petition to have the

(20:11):
commercial side of the page pay more. I'm curious as
to what you think about what that does to that
downtown problem. And Collier says, it's only getting worse.

Speaker 7 (20:23):
It is only getting worse now, thankfully, as bad as
Boston situation is, the cities are in tougher shape. But
you know, it won't surprise people to understand it costs
like this flow downhill.

Speaker 5 (20:37):
What do I mean by that?

Speaker 7 (20:40):
When people lease space, included in the lease is a
provision that when taxes go up, that increases the amount
of the lease. So of the fifty percent that I'm
in those buildings, Joe, if the commercial property tax rate
goes up, they're going to see an increase in their
lease payments, and that'll flow all the way down to

(21:00):
ground flour, retail and restaurants and so forth. Small businesses
who really can't afford it. So what do they do.
They look at their lease when the term comes up,
and then they make a decision do I want to
stay here or do I want to go someplace else,
to Cambridge, to Somerville to some other place. You know,
we're putting them in a position of having to make

(21:22):
a decision about whether or not they're going to stay
as well. And that what that's what makes up the
so called downward spiral that people have talked about, including
the Wall Street Journal.

Speaker 2 (21:35):
Jim. So, let's let's talk about those vacancies. If we
could for a second here beyond the fact that this
proposal home home, is it home t help me here,
jeral r home rural petition, Beyond that, what are you
guys suggesting? What do you want to see happen to
try to get more people downtown and get into those buildings.

Speaker 7 (21:58):
Well, if you ask business leaders who talk to their
employees and are trying to gradually increase the number of
days worked in the office downtown, the two biggest obstacles
are commuting, both the performance of the tea and it's

(22:20):
reliability or lack of and the congestion. People are saying that, look,
you know, I mean for a few years now, I
didn't have to deal with that. Now I don't know
whether I'm going to get home in time to pick
up my child from daycare. I don't know whether I'm
going to get into work on time for that meeting.
And plus you know, it's a couple of hours of

(22:40):
just being in a carbo on the train without knowing
whether it's I'm going to ever get there. So the
commuting is number one in daycare issues number two. That's
what people are telling their employers, uh, the reason why
they're a little resistant to come back. I'm sensing, Kim,
that there's more of a desire among both leaders of

(23:03):
businesses and the employees to be in the office and
collaborate and communicate in the ways that they used to.
That that's a desire, but it's it's faced with the
realities of largely the commuting problems.

Speaker 3 (23:18):
Do you have another topic that is of course headline
news these days? You know, the playoffs are in Boston,
the Bruins, the Celtics, all eyes of the of the
country really around this city. And you can't eat outside
in the North End. There's no outdoor dining. You know,
where is I know where is the chamber on this
particular issue. And are you calling for a compromise or something?

Speaker 7 (23:40):
Well, I have not called for compromise, and really we
haven't gotten into it. You know. Look, I, like many others,
enjoy both the North Andy and eating outside in the
North Andy and other parts of the city. You know,
obviously we would love to see some compromise take place,
for peopleeople to you know, become reasonable, come to the table,

(24:04):
find out, you know, what could be made to work.
I'm not privy to all of the back and forth
that is taking place between City Hall and the leaders
of the effort over there, but it is a shame
if the North End is a jewel. I was, as
you know, in the hospitality and tourism business, and people

(24:25):
that come here for conventions or to bring children to
colleges or for whatever reason, they're going to find a
night to go to the North End. So it would
be great if we just elevated that and found compromise.
But you know, we've not taken a position because we
like oppositions to be informed, and I can say that
I'm informed enough to take sides right now.

Speaker 2 (24:48):
So Jim, from of course a Greater Boston Chamber of
Commerce point of view, if you were going to give
Mayor wu and we've talked about some things that certainly
have been and impactful on her, if you were going
to give her a grade at this stage in her administration,
where are you, guys?

Speaker 7 (25:09):
Yeah, that's a good question, But I'm not going to
give the mayor a grade, there's no upside?

Speaker 4 (25:16):
Why not?

Speaker 2 (25:19):
We'll tell us this, Jim Or I mean, have you
seen let's start then let's back up and say, have
you seen a lot of positive or a lot of negative?
Where do you stand? You know when it comes to
this administration?

Speaker 7 (25:31):
Yeah, let me let me put it this way, you know,
and I liken it a little bit too. Mighty Walsh's
beginnings as mayor, mayor those beginnings as mayor, you know,
neither one of them came to that seat with strong
business community relationships. Uh, and you know, a a built

(25:54):
in understanding of sort of the relationship between a successful
kind of business sector and economy creating jobs, tax revenues
and so forth, and the ability to provide the public
services that they want to, you know, and both have

(26:15):
had that journey. You might remember, Mighty Walsh. The big
concern in the business community was labor leader Maty Walsh.
And what's that going to mean? Is he going to
give the store away? And so forth? Over time? You know,
he got it. He connected the dots. And I think
Mayo Woo was on the same journey and is making
and that's happening a lot more dialogue, a lot more conversation.

(26:37):
Even on this issue that we're talking about with respect
to the commercial property tax, we're having conversations and you
know there there people in city all are making their
case that that this is important in their logic in
terms of maintaining the residential property tax base. So there's
a lot more conversation, and I think that's healthy. In

(26:59):
that good there's a lot more common ground issues like
the public school system, public transportation, public safety issues we've
collaborated on. So I'd say that there's a lot more
of that, and I liken it to the journey that
our last two mayors ever had said.

Speaker 2 (27:18):
Like a leader, that was perfect. All right, Jim Ruddy,
we could chat with you for long periods of time,
so we'll look forward to the next time we can
all be together. Thank you so very much. So come
in your way of Boston Globe Business reporter John Cesto,
he's going to join us. We're going to chat about

(27:38):
Lego and the move that they're making to Boston. You're
listening to the New England Business Report.

Speaker 1 (27:48):
Kim and Joe will explore more business news that impacts
our New England economy when they return.

Speaker 3 (27:55):
Are you thinking about selling your home, but hesitant because
of your low rate mortgage, are concerned it might sell
to quickly, leaving you without a place to go. I'm
Joe Shortzleeve and we hear you. These are real concerns
for many homeowners today, but I've got good news. Lamachi
Areality has faced these challenges head on and comes equipped
with solutions they use daily with their clients. Curious about

(28:16):
the innovative approaches, Lamachi Areality employees to help you sell
your home while securing your next one. Visit want tobseller
dot com. There's a lot's love about it.

Speaker 2 (28:28):
There's a lot a love about.

Speaker 4 (28:30):
You, Joe miss the Supero of New England, a lot
to love, events, love all there is about driving the
rugged twenty twenty four SUPERU Cross Track Bye starting at
twenty five one ninety five or lease for just two
ninety nine per month for thirty six months with twenty
five forty nine do it signing. The twenty twenty four

(28:51):
cross truck is built for your next road trick with
standard symmetrical all wheel drive, the latest tech and advanced
super safety features, all in the right eyes as you
do by the cross Chat starting at twenty five to
one or lease for just two ninety nine per month.
With so much to love you don't want to miss
the Subro of New England a Lot to Love event

(29:13):
details at subru of New England dot com.

Speaker 2 (29:25):
It's time to plan your perfect Cape Cod get away
for beach season. Fully Vacation Rentals a Lamachia company, is
your trusted local expert in Falmouth and all over Cape
Cod for vacation rentals. They offer a personalized touch that
online rental sites just can't match. With fully Vacation Rentals,
You're not just booking a rental, you're a valued guest
and friend. Don't wait. The best properties are booking fast.

(29:47):
Visit fully Vacation Rentals dot com today and secure your
dream vacation. That's fully Vacation Rentals dot com.

Speaker 1 (29:57):
The New England Business Report on WRKO has brought you
in part by Lomachia Realty. Lomachia Realty you will guide
you to your success. Visit Lamachiarealty dot.

Speaker 3 (30:07):
Com and good Sunday morning to everybody out there. This
is Joe short Slave with Kim Kerrigan on a New
England Business Report and at this point in the program,
Kim and I like to share with you well the
business stories that captured our fancy this week, so to speak.
And this is this cocktails to go?

Speaker 2 (30:28):
Are we going? Are we coming? What is going on?

Speaker 6 (30:30):
Joe?

Speaker 3 (30:31):
I mean, it's the gift that keeps on giving. Of course,
during COVID restaurants were allowed to have cocktails to go
beer make streames a little bit, and then they went
away as of March thirty first because they didn't make
it legislatively up there and Beacon Hill, well guess what
they're back, Cocktails to go in all part of a

(30:51):
supplemental budget bill that the governor signed.

Speaker 2 (30:55):
So friends at the pack you don't love this, you
new Jesus.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
Backing Story Association. They are not happy now with that decision. Also, Kim,
another story we've been following this about these communities that
are saying no to the MBTA Communities Act, which is
calling for these density housing around MBTA stations. And of
course Milton kicked off that by saying we're not going
to do it, and then there was Marshfield, now Rockport,

(31:21):
we're not going to do it. So anyway, this is
an issue that's going to be decided I think by
the SJAC later this year.

Speaker 2 (31:27):
So the train is moving North. Huh.

Speaker 3 (31:29):
Yeah, the train is actually telling me it's an interesting
legal question.

Speaker 2 (31:34):
It absolutely is, because.

Speaker 3 (31:35):
Communities have always had the right to do their own
zoning and the state is basically stepping in and saying, well,
guess what, no, we're you now have to do this.
And I, you know, as somebody who's watching this pretty closely,
I have no idea what the SJC is going to do.
I think when you when you follow through the logic
of what's been going on here, I would think that

(31:57):
the state's in trouble on this topic.

Speaker 2 (31:59):
I think you're I think you're one hundred percent right.
I think the only way to resolve this, though, is
to go to the SJC, and the sooner the better probably.

Speaker 3 (32:07):
And you know, there's another business story, Kim that also
is near and dear to my heart, you know, and
again it was another story written by John chest Of course,
John wrote the story we just told you about with
the Drinks to go coming back. John also writes about Lego.
I grew up with Lego, always had a soft spot
in my heart for Lego. So John, they're gonna locate

(32:30):
They're American headquarters there. I guess they're a Danish company.
Obviously a giant, and then they had corporate headquarters in
this country in Enfield, Connecticut, but that's changing. They're coming
to Boyles the Street.

Speaker 8 (32:43):
Yes, although it's the building that they're coming to is
complete or lely outside complete. It feels like it's more
on mass A. It's a new deck over the pike
there between Boyles the Street and Newberry Street, and your
listeners would know it as the Cargrews building because there's

(33:03):
a giant cargrew sign. The building is going to be
sort of sort of a combination Lego headquarters, car Gurus headquarters.
Cargoos is moving in first and then Lego comes in
after them.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
So why the move.

Speaker 8 (33:18):
Well, Enfield was built for manufacturing purposes, and most of
that manufacturing eventually went to Mexico, though now Lego is
building a big plant in Virginia. Connecticut's just as with Massachusetts,
is too expensive to do such a large manufacturing operation,

(33:42):
and they're trying to find talent, and the younger people
would rather move to a big city like Boston than
suburban Connecticut. You know that's sort of just north of Hartford.
So they decided to start looking around. And Boston has
always been appealing because it's close to Endfield. I mean,
it's two hours away, but it's not as huge a

(34:04):
disruption as if they moved to you know, I don't know,
San Francisco, for example. Boston also the advantage of being
at you know, having a major international airport, so the
Lego folks can get to Europe quite easily compared to
many other places. So that's the main thing. They just

(34:25):
want to make sure they can attract the right talent.
I think it's going you know, from what I can
tell the Lego folks they offered there are six hundred
and twenty five people there. They offered about four hundred
people jobs here in Boston and the other those some
of the other jobs are going to other locations, and
you know, people are not quite ready to make the move.
You know, they're not like jumping up and downs, and

(34:47):
I can't wait to get the Boston They have a while.
Lego has given them two more years to kind of
make the move to Boston, and meantime they're hiring new people.
They've hired one hundred people so far in Boston in
the past year, and there hiring another one hundred people here.
They're in a small office in the back bay right now,
but of course they're gonna be in a much bigger
one hundred thousand square feet starting next spring.

Speaker 3 (35:10):
John Chastell's our guest, of course, Cesto means business the
Boston Globe, talking about Lego's decision to relocate its US
headquarters to Boston in twenty twenty six. You know, John,
I'm curious as to as I was reading your article
and you point out the fact that that Mattel, you know,
basically sales are flat. Has Bro you you point out
those sales are down, Lego sales up. You know, what

(35:33):
is it about Lego that that gives it such longevity
and strength?

Speaker 8 (35:37):
Well, you know, I'm I'm a little surprised by how
they're doing. You know, I would say the reason why,
you know, Mattel actually didn't fall further is because that
last year was the big Barbie here, so they benefited
a lot from Barbie sales. But Lego has stayed ahead
the what the CEO. I talked to the CEO, Neils Christians,

(35:59):
and I asked him that question, and he basically said,
what makes Lego interesting and different is that the whole brand,
everything is one brand, and so you get people who
really believe in the brand of Lego and by buy
uh stuff just because it's Lego. Uh So they have
a lot of uh loyal followers in a way that

(36:20):
Hasbro and Mattel really don't. Uh you know, maybe some
of the brands in those companies do. But the fact
that Lego, and to be honest, is someone who's not
not in the business. I've always thought maybe it was
a liability. Lego only has one brand, you know, these
other companies are sort of toy conglomerates. But because it's
already a popular brand and that Lego, and it's almost

(36:42):
like a universal brand, and also you know that it's
going to be used in different cultures. But also they
tie in very well with various you know, hits movies
and TV shows that you know, it's like the Harry
Potter and Star Wars and Batman and so you have
these endless permutations that you can sell Lego into and

(37:06):
and still you know, get sales going well.

Speaker 2 (37:10):
And it's also a generational brand. I mean, mom and
dad are going to buy it for their kids because
they played with it when they were a kid. You know,
I do think that people love that I was saying
to Joe. The stores are crazy.

Speaker 8 (37:22):
Too, right, they are really crazy, especially the I guess
they're called the Discovery Centers. There's one in Summerville. Uh
that's and then even just the regular stores you can.
That's part of it too, is that Lego really believes
in stores. They're they're adding brick and mortar stores every year.
They're going to add another one hundred globally this year,
while many other retailers are pulling back, and Hasro Mattel

(37:46):
obviously don't have their own stores, so that helps because
people can touch and feel and play around with the Legos.
And then these Discovery centers are you know, they're they're
a whole what you're referring to, their whole you know people.
They have people hired to go in and just spend
all day making Lego creations, which sounds like a dream
job to me.

Speaker 3 (38:07):
John, did you play with Lego? Did you play with.

Speaker 8 (38:09):
I mean, how can we not?

Speaker 3 (38:11):
Okay? I played with all right? Well, right, he's John Chesto.
Chesto means Business of the Boston Globe.

Speaker 2 (38:18):
We're now joined by Chris Grant. He's the owner of
Grant Family Farm in West Newbury and it's so great
to have Chris with us today talking about a fascinating
twist in farming here in Massachusetts. Chris, first off, let's
just back up a bit and talk about how long
you've owned the farm there, and tell us a little
bit about the farm itself.

Speaker 5 (38:37):
Oh for sure. Yeah, I grew up in a little
farm in Essex. But I started my first business growing
plants when I was sixteen years old as an FFA member,
and that kind of evolved throughout high school and college
and after college, and in twenty nineteen, I purchased the
old Brown Spring Farm in West Newbury, mass and protect

(39:00):
the help of our local land trust in the town
of West Newbury. And so now my wife and I
we grow vegetables, cut flowers, and betting plants.

Speaker 3 (39:12):
Yeah, so, Chris, talk to us about that you're what
you grow and the decisions that you've made around what
you grow, and how that is evolving. I guess to
this blooming, booming flower business.

Speaker 5 (39:24):
I see what you did there. Yeah, we are vegetable
grows primarily, but you know, our farm stand that we
purchased was has been here since the forties and they've
always grown flowers there too, and post COVID, it's been
interesting to see more and more people who are looking
for locally grown cut flowers and even you know, betting

(39:46):
plants and vegetable plants for their gardens because more and
more people are taking the time to plant vegetable gardens
and flower gardens and getting their hands diarty again, which
is really interesting and really fun to see.

Speaker 2 (40:00):
So this this bit of a shift that you have
seen in what people are interested in purchasing started with COVID, right, Yeah.

Speaker 5 (40:11):
For us, we really saw a lot more people buying
our bunch bouquets of cut flowers, mainly because so many
people are just staying home working and they needed something
to brighten up their offices or their kitchens. And then
a lot of people because they weren't traveling as much,
we're planting their gardens. And so many people say I've
never done that before because they just never had time

(40:32):
or never had the energy to but they always had
those memories of working with their parents and then their
grandparents in their bacary gardens, and you know, it's really
sparked a huge interest in more people either growing with
cut flowers or vegetables or we also do dhalia tubers,
so we sell you know, that's a hot flower right now?

(40:52):
Is people growing their own you know, big giant dinner
plate dahias. They are the size of a basketball.

Speaker 3 (40:58):
Now, well, I'm not a huge vegetable guy, so you know,
I'm not sad to hear that. You know, maybe green
beans or get edged out. Okay, I guess I am
wondering though, what is getting What are you growing less
of as a result of the demand for more flowers.

Speaker 5 (41:15):
Well, it's not necessarily that we're growing less vegetables. We
are just putting more and more energy into growing the
cut flowers and the bidding plant business.

Speaker 8 (41:26):
I am.

Speaker 5 (41:27):
I went to school for a long time to learn
how to grow vegetables, and that's kind of where my
heart is. So it's funny to have this shift of people.

Speaker 3 (41:35):
Who, well, how do you how do you quantify the shift?
I mean, talk to us business wise, data wise, dollar wise.
What is the shift?

Speaker 5 (41:42):
It's hard to say, but I mean it's it's kind
of anecdotal of more people who stop in and pick
up they're you know, weekly vegetables or daily vegetables at
the farm stand and buy one or two or three
bunches of cut flowers rather than just coming in, you know,
buying your green beans and getting back in their car

(42:02):
and forgetting about us.

Speaker 2 (42:04):
You sell them there at a farm stand. Are you
supplying any other location with those flowers?

Speaker 5 (42:10):
We sell the Farmer's Market in Marblehead. Now, we've been
doing that for almost fifteen years, and since we've purchased
the farmer Stand. We used to do four farmers markets
a week and now we're paired it down to one
and continue to focus on the farm stand itself so
we don't have to travel as much, which has been
very nice. But yeah, we do sell to other farm

(42:33):
stands and other like specialty type stores that like to
sell our flowers as a plus one two because I
mean there is that calling for the bouquets of flowers.

Speaker 3 (42:45):
Chris Grant, one of the owners there of the grand
family farm there on ten acres up there in West Newbury.
We're talking about the demand for flowers. You know, what
are the winners on the flowers side of the page,
I mean of their particular flowers and more demand than
others that you've been seeing. And I'm curious about the
colors too.

Speaker 5 (43:04):
Well, everybody loves a good sunflower. I don't know what
it is about picking up a big bunch of bright
orange or yellow sunflowers. We also do a ton of dalues,
which is, you know, an item that you can't really
get from other parts of the world because they don't
ship very well. So that's a specialty thing that you know.
We cut them, we process them, and they are out

(43:27):
within twenty four hours to sell. And those are anywhere
between you know, the sides of a quarter our smallest one,
all the way up to the dinner plates, which is
essentially the size of your biggest dinner plate. And you're
covered right now. And you know, those bouquets are just
you can't walk by them without trying to take a picture.
We have them planted right out by the road, so

(43:48):
a lot of people come and do their senior pictures
or their wedding pictures in front of the down color is.
As long as they're they're colorful, they're they're going to
go somewhere.

Speaker 2 (43:59):
Are you guys me able to meet the demand?

Speaker 5 (44:01):
We are trying. We're still working on that. It's interesting,
you know, as more people are traveling during the summer now,
we do see a different kind of flow during the weekends.
Where a lot of people are going away for the weekends,
but our weekday business is you know, busier because people
are staying around in town or going to the farmer's market,
so we are always trying to meet the demand.

Speaker 2 (44:24):
Well, listen, we wish you the continued success that I
know that you're having. I love flowers, so just keep
them coming if you will. Chris, we appreciate that. Chris
Grant from Grant Family Farms, thanks so much for joining
us today.

Speaker 1 (44:39):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
the Voice of Boston w RKO six't eighty. Joe and
Kim will be right back.

Speaker 3 (44:48):
There's a lot's a love about There's a lots a
love about you.

Speaker 2 (44:55):
Jill miss this super of New England. A lot a
lot event.

Speaker 4 (44:59):
There's so much to about the twenty twenty four Subaru
Outbank Flick symmetrical all wheel drive to take on any
terrain in any weather. Buy the Outback with as low
as one point nine percent financing or lease for just
three oh five per mon details at Subaru of New
England dot com.

Speaker 3 (45:16):
When it comes to financing homes, there's a leader intrusted
names Leader Bank. Now there's Leader Insurance LCA, subsidiary of
Leader Bank, to help protect what matters most to you.
For years, Leader Bank has helped borrowers finance their dream homes,
and now Leader Insurance can help safeguard that investment. Whether
it's your home, car, personal umbrella, or even your boat.

(45:38):
Leader Insurance as you covered with policies designed to meet
your needs, protect your family and your home. Answer a
few questions and get a quote in twenty four hours.
Call seven eight one eight nine six two oh five
zero or email info at Leader Insurer dot com. Leader
Insurance Your Home your future Protected. Call seven eight one

(45:59):
eight nine six zero or email info at Leader Insurer
dot com. In insurance products are offered through Leader Insurance LLC,
a subsidiaria of Leaderbank. NA insurance products are not FDIC insure,
not bank guaranteed, not a deposit, and not insured by
any federal government agency. Hi, I'm Joe Shortsleeve, and you

(46:19):
need to know that navigating today's real estate market to
find your dream home isn't as simple as a quick
online search.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
Hi everyone, this is Kim Caragan. What you really need
is a realtor who brings not just expertise and dedication
to the table, but also exclusive access to homes before
they even hit the market. That's where Lamachia Realty shines.

Speaker 3 (46:39):
Lamachia Reality dot com. That's Lamachia Realty dot com. They're
realtors don't just have a list of homes for sale,
they have connections to hundreds of potential sellers who are
considering selling but haven't listed their home yet.

Speaker 2 (46:53):
Choosing to work with a Lamachia reeltor means you're always
one step ahead, fully informed, and in the best pos
position to find your dream home.

Speaker 3 (47:01):
Ready to start your search with the best.

Speaker 2 (47:03):
Head over to Lamachiarealty dot com. That's Lamachiarealty dot com. Hi, everybody,
I'm Kim Kerrigan and I'm Joe Shortsley.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
If you want to be part of the New England
Business Report, sponsorships are still available.

Speaker 2 (47:24):
You can email us at any Business Radio at gmail
dot com.

Speaker 3 (47:29):
That's Any Business Radio All one word at gmail dot
com and we'll get your business on the show too.

Speaker 1 (47:43):
The New England Business Report on w RKO is brought
to you in part by Suparu of New England. Feel
the freedom of a brand new twenty twenty four Subaru
featuring symmetrical all wheel drive Suparo of New England dot Com.

Speaker 2 (47:57):
We are joined this morning by Jennifer Epstein. She is
the controlling partner of Boston Unity Soccer Partners. Jennifer, so
great to have you on the show.

Speaker 6 (48:05):
Thank you so much for having me. Terrific to be here.

Speaker 2 (48:08):
Wow, are you excited about soccer or what?

Speaker 6 (48:11):
I certainly am very excited about soccer and I just
can't wait to really bring this team with my partners
here to Boston. I think it's going to be really
impactful and you know, the beginnings of the first chapter
of our next championship team here in the city of Boston.

Speaker 3 (48:31):
So it'll be a franchise Jennifer in the National Women's
Soccer League. Now the information I'm looking at has said
it's a yet to be named franchise. Do we have
a name for the team yet? I know this is
we're talking about twenty twenty six here, How is this
team taken shape?

Speaker 6 (48:48):
So yes, we will be Team fifteen in the National
Women's Soccer League. Right now there are fourteen cities across
the country competing in the league, and in twenty twenty
six we will be Team fifteen alongside I yet to
be named team sixteen as well, and our team. You
are correct, we have not announced a name yet. I

(49:11):
hope to be able to do that sometime this summer.
We are working on the process, you know, establishing a
brand identity team Colors Crest, and we'll look to engage
the community in some of those decisions as well.

Speaker 4 (49:24):
Well.

Speaker 2 (49:24):
Jennifer, I'm anxious to talk to you about why you
and your three partners made the decision to get involved
with women's soccer. Again, I think we all know there
was at one point a women's soccer team in the
Boston area did not do so well and ultimately left
the area. So talk to us a little bit about
why you have the kind of enthusiasm you do about

(49:46):
women's soccer and why you think this is a good
move for Boston at this point.

Speaker 6 (49:51):
Well, I mean, you are correct that we had a
team here actually one of the original, you know, founding
members in the league. You know, really the landscape has
changed so much over the last five plus years. There's
been a major shift in the NDWSL, and really women's
sports as a whole visibility is increasing, the investment level

(50:11):
is increasing, Sponsorship interest also increasing, and we are you know,
very much looking forward and not backward, and know that
the time really is right here in Boston. You know,
the league as a whole is just really you know,
at a new level, and we are thrilled to be
a part of, you know, this growth that we've seen

(50:35):
across the country.

Speaker 3 (50:36):
So, Jennifer, the deal, as I understand it is that
involves a White Stadium at Franklin Park and in twenty
twenty six you hopefully playing your games there. You have
some sort of arrangement already with the City of Boston.
Yet there's been some well publicized lawsuit from some folks
in the neighborhood there challenging what they say is is
a public entity being transferred to private ownership. But I

(50:58):
know that's not the case. Even at the end of
the day. The City of Boston is still going to
own White Stadium right City Boston.

Speaker 6 (51:03):
You know, it is a BPS facility. It will remain
a BPS facility. You know, as indicated by the judges
ruling last month, there's no legal basis to challenge this
public private community partnership to revitalize White Stadium. You know,
it is really a tremendous opportunity for the students of

(51:26):
the Boston Public schools. The programming hours available to the
students will triple through this partnership from about two hundred
and fifty hours a year to over you know, between
seven hundred and fifty to nine hundred hours a year.
And in terms also of community access, it will greatly
expand through this partnership. Neighbors will have a beautiful, modern,

(51:49):
safe place to gather with increased hours of operation that
will expand into the evenings and weekends. There will be
new indoor community spaces, public bathrooms, eighty eight compliance stadium.
So there's a lot of opportunity here that you know,
the events that have long called White Stadium home BPS graduations,
the Kitty Caribbean Kitty Carnival, Bamsfest, Puerto Rican Festival, they're

(52:13):
not going anywhere. They will still be there. But you know,
I think across the board, you know, we can recognize
that White Stadium, you know, fits at the heart of
Boston's legacy legacy, but it has fallen into incredible disrepair,
and you know, it's time that we both honor that
legacy and take a bold step forward to usher the

(52:36):
stadium into its next chapter. And our ownership is really
honored to play a role in that.

Speaker 2 (52:42):
Jennifer Epstein is our guest today. She is the controlling
partner of the new Boston Unity Soccer Partners, bringing a
professional women's soccer team back to Boston in twenty twenty six. Jennifer,
obviously this is a business show, so let's talk a
little bit about the four you and your three partners

(53:02):
came together with the idea of bringing this team to Boston.
Now that's come to fruition, and now you've gone out
to get investors. Talk to us about how you've sold
this to investors and maybe give us a sense of
some of the folks who have gotten behind this team.

Speaker 6 (53:15):
So, when consistently in sports, you certainly need to have
great people that work well as a team. So to
start off at the top, you mentioned were an all
female core ownership group. I you know, we are a talented,
diverse and dynamic group of leaders. My three other managing

(53:36):
partners are Women's Foundation of Boston co founder and CFO
Amy Danoffs, Flybridge Capital general partner Anna Palmer, and marketing
and brand expert Stephanie Conaton. And then you know, from
there we've assembled a diverse and dynamic, well connected group
of investors that will serve as a major asset and
play a pivotal role in ensuring that we realize are founding.

(54:00):
And you know, we are proud to be in our
ownership group where at this point, forty percent of the
invested capital was invested or controlled by investors of color,
including both black and brown investors, and ninety five percent
was invested or controlled by women, which I think is
a very unique statistic in professional sports. And I also,

(54:21):
you know, when we thought about finding our partners to
invest capital, we thought about partners that really shared our
values and can contribute meaningfully to the growth of our team.
We are excited to be the first investment for Jasmine
and Kara jas Robinson and Kara Nortman of Monarch Collective,
which is the first fund focused exclusively on investment in

(54:44):
women's sports.

Speaker 3 (54:45):
Do you sit there at night and say, boy, I'm
so glad that Caitlin Clark came along. I mean, it
seems like, you know, millions and millions of people all
of a sudden watching women's basketball. This has this helped
your is in of a successful future?

Speaker 6 (55:01):
It has, But you know, when we were evaluating this,
you know it predated the Antiba Division one women's basketball
tournament that we just saw, but that certainly validated our beliefs.
I mean, the NWSL the last two years has broken
attendance records as well. In November of twenty twenty three,

(55:21):
twenty twenty three, the league announced a new four year
media deal beginning this year. We're in the midst of
it with ESPN, CBS Sports, Amazon and Scripts Sports worth
two hundred and fifty million dollars, which is a forty
times multiple from their prior deal. So it will generate
record breaking distribution and revenue for the league while maxim

(55:43):
maximizing a mix of linear and digital streaming and distribution. So,
you know, we were already seeing a lot of growth
in the NWSL. What we know here in Boston, you know,
we have many We're a city with many story franchises
that have delivered multiple championships. But what there has been
is a noticeable gap in the city for women's sports scene.

(56:05):
And our initial data actually demonstrates that the Boston market
is overwhelmingly interested in soccer, far beyond the US average,
and also Boston shows an above average interest in women's
sports and specifically women's soccer. So sports fans in this
region are you know, excited and we are thrilled to
be tapping into this growing enthusiasm around women's soccer. But

(56:29):
you know, the Caitlin Clark effect and what we just
saw with viewership records, you know, being set across all
six rounds of that tournament. You know, an average of
what eighteen point seven million viewers for the championship game,
which is an uptick I think of eighty nine percent
from last year's championship game. So you know, there is

(56:51):
clearly an interest in women's sports, and it's time to
you know, bring that momentum and focus here to the
city of Boston.

Speaker 2 (57:00):
Epstein, Listen, the enthusiasm in your voice is infectious. I'm
so excited about this. Congratulations on your success up to
this point and continued success. And we'll look for the
name of that new franchise sometime over the course of
the summer. We're looking forward to it. We also want tickets, Kim,
oh yeah, and we want tickets.

Speaker 3 (57:22):
All right, Kim, time to talk about next week's program,
and I'm already getting hungry. We're going to talk about
Belts watering, talk about sALS Pizza. They've opened a new location,
and right now there are one hundred and twenty Sal's
Pizza locations in Massachusetts. We're going to be talking with
the owner of the company, Sal Loopolli, and a very

(57:46):
colorful individual and a great business story. That's all coming
up next Sunday on the New England Business Report. You're
listening to WRKO, the Voice of Boston AM six eighty