Opinion Archives - Page 13 of 24

YP Groups Have Become a True Resource

By BusinessWest Staff April 5, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

Several weeks ago in this space, we noted that one thing this region has certainly done well in recent years is establish and then refine programs to groom leaders for the years and decades to come.

Along much these same lines, the creation — and ongoing evolution — of the region’s young professional (YP) groups is another important source of positive energy for the four counties of Western Mass.

As the story on page 6 reveals, these groups — Springfield, Northampton, Amherst, and the Berkshires each boast one — have become true resources and vital connecting points. Indeed, they connect the region’s many young professionals with each other, potential career opportunities, area nonprofits (with the goal of having them become active with one or more of them), somewhat older and wiser business leaders from whom they can learn, experts who can counsel them in matters ranging from stress reduction to effective public speaking, and, most importantly, the communities in which they live and work.

Their collective missions and slates of programming continue to grow and evolve, but the YP groups have already come a long way.

Indeed, in the beginning, these were mostly social, or networking, groups that met monthly at area restaurants and clubs. These ‘Third Thursdays’ were quite successful at bringing people together — so successful that more than a few area employers were starting to dread third Fridays.

But while networking remains a key piece of the mission, the social aspect has in many ways taken a back seat to that real work of making connections, as mentioned earlier, and becoming part of that process of grooming leaders for the future.

The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, for example, now has a work/life balance committee to help members address the many aspects of that universal challenge. Meanwhile, Northampton Area Young Professionals has been relentless in its efforts to introduce its members to the many nonprofits that populate this region and inspire them to take active roles in helping those groups fulfill their various missions.

And Young Professionals of Amherst, the youngest of the group, is filling a glaring need in that community for an organization that can give voice to an overlooked constituency in a community where having a voice is all-important.

But maybe the most important work these groups are undertaking involves individuals who are not even members — yet. The hope is, they will be.

These are area college juniors and seniors, people who will be hitting the job market soon. And as many prepare to do so, they’re not exactly focusing their sights on the Western Mass. area.

The YPs are working to change that equation, and this is vitally important work. As we’ve noted many times, people from across the country and around the world come to Massachusetts to be educated because it has a large number of quality colleges and universities, public and private, within its borders.

Unfortunately, as we’ve also noted, most of the people who come here to be educated don’t stay here. And one of the many reasons for this is a simple lack of awareness when it comes to the opportunities that exist.

The YP groups are trying to build awareness by connecting (there’s that word again) area college students to young professionals who are making it here, and the employers who are helping them make it.

Only time will tell how successful these efforts will be when it comes to slowing the so-called brain drain in this region. This much we do know: efforts like this certainly can’t hurt, and they may wind up being a tremendous help.

And this is only one of the ways in which the YP groups are becoming a real resource across this region. n

Updating the Language of Disability

By BusinessWest Staff April 5, 2016

Opinion

By JENNIFER BOGIN, M.S. Ed., BCBA

Language can be a powerful tool that enables human beings to convey not just information but also ideas, emotions, and subtle shades of meaning. While often it is beautifully expressive and kind, it also has the potential to be hurtful. This is especially true when societal attitudes evolve faster than language.

Now, the citizens of Massachusetts can celebrate a meaningful victory in this realm. By a unanimous vote of 36-0, members of the Massachusetts Senate approved (and then sent to the House) a bill that changes language in state laws, including replacing the outdated term ‘mentally retarded’ with ‘individuals with a developmental disability’ and ‘handicapped’ with ‘disability.’

State legislators also addressed important issues for the disabled community in addition to language. Legislation was passed regarding standards for identifying and recruiting qualified job applicants who have disabilities. Going forward, all state employees involved in hiring decisions will be educated and trained about details of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Legislation was also passed to make public buildings and spaces accessible for safe use by people with disabilities and help to eliminate disparities in access to quality healthcare based on disability.

Similar changes have been moving forward, albeit slowly. In 2009, Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation that renamed the Department of Mental Retardation as the Department of Developmental Services. In 2010, President Obama signed legislation requiring the federal government to replace the terms ‘mental retardation’ and ‘mentally retarded’ with ‘intellectual disability’ and ‘individual with an intellectual disability’ in federal health, education, and labor policy. Most federal agencies and other states already use such language. Our state’s official language was antiquated and long overdue for an update.

No one wants to be identified by negative or derogatory terms that emphasize our lesser abilities. Rather, we want to be identified by our greater abilities and by what we can contribute to society. Just like any member of an underserved or minority population, a person with a disability wants to be considered first as a person, and not with a label that society places on them, often carelessly.

The Center for Human Development is proud to be an innovator in the design and delivery of programs, services, and supports for people with disabilities. Every day we provide activities, access, and advocacy to children and adults who have a disability; for adults raising a child with a disability; and for anyone who cares deeply about someone who has a disability. For example, our Disability Resources program provides adaptive sports and recreational opportunities for children and adults with physical disabilities. Our Meadows Home program provides safe and structured residential living for adults with developmental disabilities. Our Adult Day Health program enables adults with a range of physical, developmental, and intellectual disabilities to socialize and be active with peers in supervised, stimulating, and caring environments.

It is critically important that our representatives in the Legislature have people with disabilities constantly on their radar, so it was wonderful to learn of the Senate’s actions to make changes to improve the lives of people impacted by disabilities. Things sometimes take a long time to get through our legislative process, but CHD applauds the Senate for tackling these important issues. In particular, CHD is thrilled that official state language will now more clearly reflect how we already treat individuals in the Commonwealth.

Language is not static; it changes with impetus from society. In this case, the change is entirely positive.

Jennifer Bogin, M.S. Ed., BCBA is vice president of Disability & Elder Services for the Center for Human Development.

Old-school Thinking Wasn’t Working

By BusinessWest Staff March 22, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

In many ways, it’s easy to see why a relationship most often described with the word ‘adversarial’ — and usually with an adverb in front of it for good measure — developed between Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College.

After all, when the latter was established in the mid-’60s, there were many people, including most everyone associated with HCC, which was established 20 years earlier, who wondered out loud if another community college was needed just seven miles away from HCC.

Actually, they did more than wonder. They answered that question with a definitive ‘no.’

But STCC was created anyway, and it’s fair to say that it began its life with a sizable chip on its shoulder. It had to prove it was not only needed, but that it could deliver a high-quality education and effectively serve the region.

It took a while, but this was accomplished. And during the lengthy tenure of President Andy Scibelli, the school rose to national and even international prominence, especially through the emergence of its technology park.

Through all of that, the adversarial relationship prevailed as the schools competed fiercely for students across a number of common programs, but also for funding, capital projects, and recognition.

To their credit, Ira Rubenzahl, who succeeded Scibelli, and Bill Messner, who followed David Bartley as president of HCC, saw that, while the schools would always compete, and that such a rivalry was good for both schools because it helps promote continuous improvement, the animosity between the institutions was unnecessary and, indeed, counterproductive for the region.

‘Counterproductive’ is a strong word, but it’s applicable here because, while both HCC and STCC are fine schools, there are many things they can do if they work together, but not if they remain islands unto themselves.

The best example of this, of course, is that nagging and ongoing challenge known to all as the skills gap. We’ve said it many times before, but it bears repeating: this is probably the most pressing problem facing the business community at present and the largest single impediment to growth for companies, business sectors, and the region as a whole.

Businesses cannot flourish if they don’t have a reliable pipeline of quality workers. Working independently, neither STCC not HCC could create such pipelines. But by working together collaboratively, they can address the problem much more effectively, and they have, through the TWO (Training & Workforce Options) initiative (see story, page 15). It has assisted a number of individual businesses and sectors through creation of programs to provide individuals with the specific skills needed to meet recognized workforce challenges.

And while both schools and both presidents (each set to retire in a few months) are very proud of the Deval Patrick Award for Workforce Development, awarded by the Boston Foundation, which they won together for TWO, they’re far more proud of the way the program has provided answers for the business community.

There are many other examples of how the schools have worked collaboratively in recent years, and together they make a statement — one powerful enough for us to note that, while Messner and Rubenzahl will be recognized for all they did for their individual schools, they may be best remembered for what they, and their institutions, did together.

Hydro Bill Is a Bad Bet for Consumers

By BusinessWest Staff March 22, 2016

Opinion

By DAN DOLAN

When the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant closed in 2014, 620 megawatts of power generation went offline. Over the next few years, that closure will be followed by Somerset’s Brayton Point Power Station and Plymouth’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, taking more than 2,100 megawatts with them.

At first, it might seem concerning for the region’s power grid to lose three major power plants. But the responses to the retirements are signs of a strong energy future for Massachusetts — a path that should be allowed to continue without the intrusion of subsidized Canadian hydro power.

Just a few weeks ago, an auction to commit to be online three years from now saw a record amount of competition. Billions of dollars in new, local investments are being made today to develop the next wave of plants and hire workers to provide reliable and competitively priced electricity supplies. By mid-2019, three new plants are slated to open in Massachusetts alone. New plants being developed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island will be some of the most efficient in the country, helping us continue to serve as leaders on environmental responsibility.

And this isn’t the beginning, either. The electricity sector has outpaced every other sector of our state’s economy in reducing carbon emissions over the past 25 years. Between 1990 and 2013, carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants dropped 51%, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Because of that, Massachusetts today has one of the cleanest and lowest-carbon-producing power-generation systems in the nation. In fact, electricity is the primary reason Massachusetts is on pace to meet its economy-wide mandate for a 25% reduction in emissions by 2020.

Unfortunately, relatively little has been done to curtail carbon emissions from the largest source — transportation. The transportation industry in New England has actually increased its carbon emissions and now emits more than double that of power plants. The next step toward a cleaner environment must be a comprehensive plan to address transportation as the main hurdle to meeting long-term Global Warming Solutions Act mandates.

The great progress made on electricity in Massachusetts should be allowed to continue, ensuring a strong energy future. Power plants are being retired and replaced without the need for state government to step in to subsidize new, cleaner investments. Canadian hydro is already part of our system, competing with all other power-generation sources to deliver the lowest price possible to consumers. But the radical plan to enter into expensive, decades-long contracts with Eversource and Hydro-Quebec will jeopardize that future.

If the Massachusetts hydro power plan is approved, energy bills are estimated to increase by up to $777 million each year for Massachusetts residents and businesses, according to a recent study by the Analysis Group, one of the most respected economics consulting firms in North America. That’s more than $20 billion over the life of the contract.

These costs are primarily driven by two factors. First, Commonwealth ratepayers would be on the hook for the construction of expensive, controversial high-voltage transmission lines, currently proposed through places like the White Mountain National Forest. Second, government-owned Hydro-Quebec, which has its own interests to consider, will not sell power to Massachusetts at a below-market price.

So why make this risky bet? A major concern for this plan is that it will enrich two utilities without a clear analysis of how Massachusetts ratepayers stand to benefit. Eversource is partnering with Hydro-Quebec in pushing to build the hundreds of miles of transmission lines, and the two are the strongest proponents of the subsidies proposal. They stand to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in profits for building these lines if they receive the subsidy from Massachusetts consumers. However, they have yet to produce an economic analysis of the cost of the proposed decades-long contracts. The Analysis Group report, which shows shocking rate increases for consumers, is publicly available and was presented at the legislative hearing on the bill.

Massachusetts is on the right path for a strong energy future. But, while new power plants are being built here through market demand, supporting jobs and contributing much-needed tax revenue to cities and towns, Eversource and Hydro-Quebec want to avoid having to compete. They shouldn’t be allowed to receive a carve-out worth billions of dollars.

This hydro bill is a bad bet for Massachusetts consumers. The Legislature should reject the bill and focus on better ways to reduce carbon emissions. The utilities don’t deserve the subsidy.

Dan Dolan is president of the New England Power Generators Assoc.

Creating a New Generation of Leaders

By BusinessWest Staff March 8, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

As everyone knows by know, the Baby Boom generation is already at or rapidly approaching retirement age. The oldest members of this huge constituency will hit 70 this year, and millions more will reach retirement age, be it 65, 67, or something earlier if they’ve done well for themselves, over the next several years.

This wave of retirements will pose myriad challenges for the region and its business community, especially when it comes to replacing experienced workers, especially in fields such as healthcare and manufacturing. Filling these voids will require diligence and imagination because the problem will surely impact virtually every sector and almost every business.

While the region must look upon this situation with a good deal of dread, we believe the same cannot be said for another realm, or void — that concerning leadership.

Indeed, if there is one thing our planning and economic-development agencies have done well over the past several years, it’s creating and expanding programs dedicated to preparing area young people for leadership roles — be they in business, government, or the nonprofit sector.

There are several programs and groups that fall into this leadership-prep category, among them the area’s young-professional societies; Leadership Pioneer Valley, which was created several ago as a result of a recognized need for more programs of this nature; the Springfield Regional Chamber’s Leadership Institute; and the Women’s Fund’s Leadership Institute of Political and Public Impact (LIPPI), the subject of a story on page 23.

That sounds like it might even be too many programs, but this region needs as many as it can get.

That’s because leadership is an attainable skill, and the more effective leaders we have in Western Mass., the better off this area will be.

As you read the story on LIPPI, you will note many participants saying the program has helped them take on more challenges located outside of their comfort zone, or words to that effect. And the same can essentially be said of the other programs listed above, and this bodes very well for the region, individual cities and towns, and the business community as well.

As comfort zones become larger, people become more willing and, usually, more able to take on challenges and become both problem solvers and innovators, things this region will need more than nurses and qualified precision machinists, although we’ll need them too.

The story on LIPPI also reveals that, through its various programs, many women have been able to reach higher and then attain what they’re reaching for, a very important consideration given that, in this region, as in most others, this is a constituency still defined by the phrase ‘untapped potential.’

Moving forward, we encourage more young people to take full advantage of the many opportunities now afforded them to develop and hone their leadership skills. Doing so will create opportunities for them and the communities they’ve chosen to live and work in. And it will ultimately (we hope) enable this region to remain competitive in what will be an increasingly global economy.

There are many challenges that will induce anxiety in the years to come, especially the retirement of all those Baby Boomers. Thanks to some forward thinking and imaginative new programs, finding qualified leaders shouldn’t be an issue that falls into that same category.

Are We on the Right Track with Rail?

By BusinessWest Staff March 8, 2016

Opinion

By Paul Peter Nicolai

The public needs a more complete and honest discussion of the likely costs and benefits of commuter rail service between Springfield and Greenfield.

Most of the advertised benefits for commuter rail service come from a 2009 feasibility study done to justify rebuilding the rails from Springfield to Brattleboro. Like most of these studies, the projections come from computer models. I was on the committee that issued the study.

Because we got money to rebuild the rails, we have actual numbers. The first phase of the feasibility study happened. The Vermonter now runs on the line. We can compare what is actually happening to what the computer model said might happen. It turns out the computer model projections are not even close:

• The ridership projection is 73% off;

• The projection of how many new people would be riding as opposed to how many people would be using trains instead of other transportation is 99.4% wrong; and

• The study’s capital cost projection was only 20% to 50% of the actual bill.

The study said moving the Vermonter to the new track would increase ridership by 98 passengers a day. The actual number is 26 passengers a day.

The study made assumptions about how many of the additional riders would be new riders — people new to the market. These new-rider numbers are the basis for projections on how many additional people would live in the towns on the line, how many additional new jobs would be created in those towns, and how many millions of dollars of new economic activity those towns would see.

What actually happened is there are practically no new riders. While the Vermonter picked up 788 new passengers a month, private-sector bus services lost 761 passengers a month. This means the actual number of new people is 27 a month.

When you use actual numbers to inform the computer-generated projection, what we could reasonably expect is commuter rail service would have 540 riders a day, not the projected 2,000. When you apply the experience of what is happening with people getting off other travel means and onto trains, we should reasonably expect about three new riders a day.

Three new riders a day have no economic impact. The 537 riders who stop using other transportation to use the trains do not create new economic impact. They are already here.

On the cost side, even at 2,000 riders a day, it’s projected that between $3 million and $4 million in tax dollars will have to be paid annually to run the trains. That is after $100 million in tax dollars to buy them.

Because we now know ridership is much more likely to be about 25% of the computer-generated projection, the tax dollars needed to support these trains is much more likely to be around $4.5 million a year.

The MBTA is going to run these trains. MBTA is funded by a combination of state money and contributions from communities where MBTA stations are located. When you apply what MBTA does in the rest of the state to this new service, Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield will have to contribute a total of around $1.7 million in property-tax dollars a year — somewhere around 7% of their total DPW budgets.

So, the bottom line is that Springfield/Greenfield commuter rail will:

• Have actual ridership of about 25% of what was projected;

• Create no new economic activity. It may actually be negative when you count the bus drivers and maintenance people who will lose their jobs; and

• Require an operating subsidy about 150% of what was originally projected, including $1.7 million a year from local property taxes.

Is it worth spending $100 million to buy trains and then $4.5 million a year to run them so an additional 90 people a month are attracted? Aren’t there more important things to do with scarce tax dollars?

Paul Peter Nicolai is president of the Springfield-based Nicolai Law Group; [email protected]

The Promise of Rail Service

By BusinessWest Staff February 23, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

As one rides on Amtrak’s Vermonter through Western Mass. and along the Connecticut River, the potential that train service holds for helping to change the local landscape can be seen.

Well, sort of.

Actually, it can’t be seen unless one uses and extends his or her imagination. That’s because there are only two trains coming through that stretch, one southbound and one northbound, and they both hit this region in the middle of the afternoon (see story, page 6).

That makes train service, as currently constituted, ideal for Smith College students going home for Thanksgiving or the holidays; business owners and professionals going to conferences and meetings in New York, Philadelphia, or Washington, D.C.; skiiers looking for an affordable option for getting them to the slopes in Vermont; and individuals visiting relatives anywhere along that route.

All that’s fine, but those uses don’t really explain why officials in this region fought so hard to bring rail service back to the so-called Connecticut River Line and three cities — Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield — that hadn’t seen a passenger train stop within their borders in nearly 30 years. They didn’t lobby for the train — and the state didn’t invest in the concept — to create a transportation alternative.

Or just a transportation alternative. Instead, the train was viewed as an economic-development opportunity, a vehicle for bringing people to cities, where they could spend money, support businesses, and, maybe, if they really liked that they saw, decide to live and/or locate a business.

That can’t happen with what amounts to one train a day. It might happen with five or more, and that’s why those same officials are again lobbying state officials to allocate surplus MBTA equipment to run along the Connecticut River Line several times a day.

With such frequency, people could commute to jobs; they could visit Northampton for dinner and a show and return home that same night; they could attend a lecture at Amherst College in the morning and return to their office in the afternoon. And maybe they’d fall in love with one of those stops along the route and decide that, because they can commute from there, they want to live there.

Maybe. What’s more likely is that this last kind of activity — what the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission director and others call ‘transit-oriented development’ — can only happen if reliable, fast train service between Springfield and Boston becomes reality.

And it probably won’t for many years. This would require a huge capital investment and an equally large amount of political goodwill, and we’re not sure if there is enough of either to make this happen.

But we encourage area officials, especially those aforementioned mayors, to keep the state’s feet to the fire on this matter. Indeed, while some have doubts about just how much train service can do for this region — after all, one can already get from Springfield to Boston fairly easily and inexpensively — we believe rail service is one of those ingredients needed for Western Mass. to enjoy some of the success enjoyed by Boston and its suburbs.

With the train, there can be more connections, and connections mean opportunities. It won’t happen overnight, but as this region becomes accessible, good things can happen.

That’s what people can see if they ride the Vermonter — again, if they use their imagination, and if they look far enough down the tracks.

Cutting Off the Opioid Crisis at the Root

By BusinessWest Staff February 23, 2016

Opinion

By Maura Healey

It’s been nearly two years since the state declared prescription-drug and heroin addiction a public-health emergency. Since then, we’ve had an all-hands-on-deck approach from lawmakers, police and fire chiefs, health professionals, and community groups.

But our collective efforts haven’t been enough. Until we change the culture around how opioids are prescribed and dramatically reduce the number of pills available, people will continue to die.

Since 1999, the number of prescription painkillers sold in the U.S. has nearly quad-rupled. In 2014, there were 4.6 million opioid prescriptions written in Massachusetts alone — enough for nearly every adult in this state to have a bottle of pills. Meanwhile, overdose deaths have risen by more than 300%.

We won’t solve this crisis until we cut it off at its root, by reducing the use of prescription opioid painkillers like OxyContin, Vicodin, and Percocet. Cheap heroin is not a new problem; it’s been around for decades. What is new is that four out of five heroin users report having previously used a prescription opioid. These powerful drugs are a synthetic version of opium. They’re heroin in a pill.

The opioid epidemic is the direct result of years of overprescribing painkillers to everyday people, who get hooked on an extremely addictive substance, then turn to heroin when they can no longer afford to sustain an expensive pill habit.

While heroin is certainly a problem, three times as many Americans are hooked on opioids. Pharmaceutical companies told us for years that they weren’t addictive, but we know better now. Medical studies have shown that up to a third of long-term opioid users meet criteria for addiction, and that physical dependence can happen in as few as five days.

While the vast majority of prescribers are trying to do the right thing, we must end the illegal prescribing we know is taking place. My office has formed an investigative group to identify practitioners who are illegally prescribing opioids to people who shouldn’t have them. This partnership will allow state and federal law-enforcement agencies to share information about individuals who run ‘pill mills’ or prescribe to people with a history of substance abuse.

But to combat the opioid crisis more fully, we need societal change. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proposed nationwide guidelines to help medical professionals across the country understand when and how opioids should be used, particularly for chronic pain. The pharmaceutical lobby and some sectors of the medical community have pushed back against these guidelines, calling them too restrictive. But here’s my view: thousands are dying, and something desperately has to change. Thirty-six other state attorneys general share that view and recently wrote a similar letter in support of the guidelines.

There’s another simple solution that can be put in place immediately. We need prescribers to check the state’s prescription-monitoring program every time they write a prescription for highly addictive drugs. The program can flag when a patient is receiving multiple prescriptions, doctor shopping, or showing signs of addiction. Right now, only one in four doctors checks. Gov. Baker has proposed that all prescribers check the prescription-monitoring program every time they write one of these prescriptions. When New York State passed a similar mandate in 2012, it saw a 75% drop in doctor shopping. This modest step can save lives and is time well-spent.

Those who continue to push back against safeguards like these should spend time with any of the thousands of parents across this state who have lost a child to opiate addiction. All too often, theirs are stories of high-school athletes and honor-roll students who became hooked on opioids after an injury. Others began by experimenting at a party — but if our medicine cabinets weren’t full of prescription painkillers, our kids wouldn’t have such easy access to them.

We can’t hear those stories any longer and fail to act. Other countries have figured out how to manage pain without releasing a flood of dangerous drugs into their communities. We need to do the same. If we don’t, the deaths will continue.

Maura Healey is the attorney general of Massachusetts.

Bringing Good Things to Light

By BusinessWest Staff February 9, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

The high-stakes battle to land General Electric’s corporate offices is over. But the debates concerning this move certainly are not.

Well, some of them are. There is no debating who the big loser is here — Connecticut, which lost 800 jobs, a huge and very generous corporate entity, and a good deal of momentum because of political infighting and short-sightedness.

As for who won, clearly the answer is Boston, which prevailed over a number of municipalities, including New York. But there are still lingering questions about just how much it has won, why, whether the price paid — a $276 million package that includes various kinds of incentives such as tax breaks and infrastructure improvements — was worth it, and whether that money should have been spent in other ways to bolster the state’s economy.

These are all good questions that are, by and large, difficult to answer.

From our vantage point, though, this seems to be a clear victory — for Boston, the Bay State, its unrivaled core of colleges and universities, and its developing reputation as a center of entrepreneurship and innovation.

It was those factors that clearly weighed on GE’s mind, because Boston was outbid by a number of cities when it came to the number at the bottom of the incentive package. GE’s choice was a very strong advertisement for Massachusetts and a clear signal that the state can now compete against Silicon Valley, New York, and other centers of innovation.

This was also a victory, or another victory, to be more precise, for urban centers. Indeed, for years, corporate America, like many of the people inhabiting large cities, especially in the Northeast, opted for the suburbs. Now, they’re coming back, as cities become more livable, walkable, and culturally attractive.

Evidence of this phenomenon is everywhere, from Brooklyn to Lowell; from Boston to Springfield.

Well, maybe it’s too early to put Springfield in that category, but progress is being made. And while GE didn’t choose Springfield, it did choose a city on the rise, one with a strong workforce and an economic engine fueled mostly by innovation. This is what Springfield is aspiring to become.

And GE will, in some respects, help it get there, and that’s why we believe the sticker price for luring GE to the Bay State will ultimately be one well worth spending.

Yes, that’s a lot of money for only 800 jobs — roughly 6,000 positions are created in this state every month, to put things in perspective — and there are a lot of incentives, right down to a helipad. And, yes, in theory, Boston and the state could have taken that money and put it into other programs, especially workforce-development initiatives and additional efforts to help its many still-struggling gateway cities, that would have a direct impact on the state’s economy.

But often, incentives of this kind have a way of paying off, and in this case, we believe they will. GE has the potential to not only inspire other technology-based companies to follow it, but to spur new businesses from the technology its employees create.

We believe there will be a trickle-down effect, perhaps not immediately, but eventually, and other cities, including Springfield, Holyoke, and Pittsfield (long a home to GE’s transformer complex and 13,000 employees), will benefit.

It might be years before those questions listed earlier can be effectively answered. It might actually take decades before we can successfully say whether Boston and the Bay State paid too much to put the letters ‘G’ and ‘E’ on a building along the Hub’s waterfront.

But, for now, this looks like a sound investment in the future of the Commonwealth.

Paul Doherty: An Appreciation

By BusinessWest Staff February 9, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

Paul Doherty.
Businesswest file photo

Where does one begin when talking about the accomplishments and legacy of Paul Doherty, who passed away recently after a lengthy battle with lung cancer?

Is it with his success as a lawyer and with the firm he grew into one of the largest in the region — Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury & Murphy? Or is it with the fact that he was a devoted family man? Maybe it should be with the many aspects of his work within the community, as both activist and philanthropist. Or maybe it’s his work as a truly relentless advocate for this region and especially the city of Springfield.

Maybe the best place to begin is by saying all of that is really just the beginning.

Indeed, one can’t easily sum up the many contributions Paul — often working in tandem with his wife of 55 years, Dianne — made to the larger community we call Western Mass. He was heavily involved in business, education, philanthropy (he was one of the founders of Valley Gives), race relations, and a host of efforts to promote the City of Homes. He lent his considerable talents and imagination to everything from the United Way to the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., to the adoption agency Downey Side, which he co-founded.

Those who knew and worked with him called him a friend, mentor, and inspiration.

People who become as active in their community as Paul often note that they have a hard time saying ‘no’ when people ask them to contribute their time and energy to a cause or initiative. Paul did, in fact, have that problem, if one could call it that. But he could go one better — or even two.

Usually, he didn’t have to say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ because he didn’t wait to be asked to get involved. He was an initiator, the one who would ask others if they wanted to get involved.

And perhaps his very best quality was getting others to say ‘yes’ and follow his lead.

Because of this rare and special talent, this region is a better place — a much better place.

And that’s why he will certainly be missed.

Signs of Progress Abound in Springfield

By BusinessWest Staff January 26, 2016

Opinion

By Domenic Sarno

The New Year is an appropriate time to reflect on all of the important milestones that have been achieved in Springfield over the past year, and to prepare for a 2016 that promises to be even more prosperous.

It is clear that 2015 has been extremely significant in terms of our city’s economic development history. The city’s largest project ever, MGM Springfield, has progressed from an interesting concept several years ago to a fully realized $950 million project in 2015 with site preparation and demolition now underway. This project will result in 3,000 new, permanent jobs and will bring new amenities to our downtown that will help support and attract further development.

CRRC Corp. also made great progress in 2015, completing its site purchase and breaking ground on a $95 million railcar production facility that will bring state-of-the-art manufacturing and assembly back to the historic former Westinghouse site. As many Northeastern cities deal with a continuing loss of industry, Springfield is welcoming 150 new, permanent jobs to the CRRC facility, with the possibility of many more to come as the company seeks additional contracts across the country.

While projects of this scale are incredibly important to our city and regional economy for many reasons, what is even more exciting is the spinoff that will be created. MGM Springfield will spend $50 million on local contracting each year, which means more small-business jobs, more tax revenue, and more activity than what happens just within the project footprint.

We’ve already seen a hospitality-driven company like Falvey Linen, an 85-year old Rhode Island business, making the largest investment in its history in establishing a new facility here in Springfield. CRRC Corp. will have a similar effect on our local small-shop manufacturing economy because its production will require a constant influx of specialized parts and products.

The positive impact of the rebirth of Union Station is obvious. Vacant since the 1970s, the station is now undergoing an extensive renovation, and many signs of progress are evident. With the former baggage building now fully demolished, the historic terminal building being fully restored, and a 377-space parking garage starting to rise, the future of transit in our city is starting to come into focus.

By the end of 2016, we will have reopened a gleaming new Union Station. Soon thereafter, we will welcome regular commuter service to Hartford, New Haven, and beyond, in addition to our regular Amtrak service. This project, too, will generate tremendous spinoffs of economic and real-estate development.

These two mega-projects, Union Station and MGM Springfield, will become thriving bookends for our very walkable downtown, which is itself experiencing a rebirth. Springfield Museums is working diligently on a new Dr. Seuss Museum that will become a major attraction. And Silverbrick Lofts, with assistance from the city’s market-rate-housing program, has become a huge success in redeveloping the former Morgan Square apartment complex into a place where young professionals have started to flock for urban living.

The city has also partnered with MassDevelopment to create a Transformative Development Initiative district, which has brought with it a host of tools for revitalizing the former Entertainment District as a fully functioning innovation and dining district.

Of course, innovation is nothing new to the ‘City of Firsts,’ and we have been steadily putting the pieces together to a downtown that is truly unique. From Valley Venture Mentors to Tech Foundry; from TechSpring to DevelopSpringfield’s Innovation Center, substantial momentum is building in Springfield. And this trend is attracting a wide range of entrepreneurs and innovators.

Ultimately, what this wide swath of economic activity means is we are entering a year when workforce readiness will be a priority. All of the exciting projects currently underway will not be successful if we cannot link our Springfield residents with appropriate skills-training programs to prepare them for the opportunities on the horizon. The city has already begun investing in workforce training related to these opportunities, and that focus will only become more intense as we move closer to fruition on so many of these projects.

The public sector, of course, cannot move forward on these projects and efforts alone. It will take the cooperation and participation of businesses, nonprofit organizations, higher education, neighborhood councils, and many others. It will be absolutely critical that we are all rowing in the same direction.

Domenic Sarno is mayor of Springfield.

Plainridge’s Slow Start Prompts Questions

By BusinessWest Staff January 26, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

This is not the way Massachusetts intended its long-anticipated foray into casino gambling to go.

After opening to considerable hype and huge crowds last summer, the Plainridge Park slots parlor in the southeast corner of the state is clearly struggling.

All you need to know is that gambling marketing consultants hired before Plainridge opened predicted as much as $300 million in revenues the facility’s first year. The worst-case scenario, they said, was $210 million. But in November, the Massachusetts state budget office cut that figure to $160 million. That’s right, half of what the experts forecast.

And that was before a holiday season at Plainridge that was even slower than what the industry usually sees for that time of the year.

Theories abound for this slow start — the facility is too small and doesn’t have table games; the payouts are not as high as other casinos (even though they’ve moved upward); it doesn’t have as much to offer as the nearby Twin River Casino in Rhode Island; that its intended audience — mostly seniors — is too limited.

All of this may well be true, but there might be much more to this story, and it doesn’t bode well for Springfield and the $950 million MGM casino slated to open in the city’s South End in 2018.

Indeed, the very slow start at Plainridge might be ample, and very disturbing, evidence that Massachusetts is getting into casino gambling way too late, that legislators might have erred when they approved two resort casinos and a slots parlor — with the possibility of a third resort casino — and that the Commonwealth was naive to think that neighboring states would sit by idly and watch Massachusetts take gamblers and revenue from them.

Yes, it’s early in the game, and, yes, Plainridge is just a slots parlor, or so we’ve been told by the braintrust at MGM many, many times, but there is something very unsettling about Plainridge’s start, and to explain, we need to go back roughly three and a half years, to when the proposals for casinos started to take shape, especially in Western Mass.

That’s when one company decided it was prudent to plunk down $16 million for the former Westinghouse complex in East Springfield, along Route 291. That proposal never got out of the gate, let alone to the first turn or the second.

That’s also when a proposal for a parcel near Mass Pike exit 8 in Palmer, one that had already been on the table for a few years, was gaining steam as a viable alternative to the urban casinos blueprinted for Springfield. But it never moved past the local-vote stage, even in a community desperate for jobs and economic development.

We bring up those episodes, among many others, because, from the beginning, one of the assumptions area residents and elected officials have been making is that those in the casino industry must know what they’re doing. Those failures, and Plainridge’s slow start, have to make us wonder: do they really know what they’re doing?

Lance George, general manager of Plainridge Park, argues that his facility’s start is following a typical pattern when it comes to facilities (at least the first few parts) — fast start, then a slowdown, then a gradual upward climb. He told BusinessWest (see story, page 6) that the state and the press should be focused on the long term and not tracking revenues on a monthly basis, looking for patterns and reasons to explain them.

We hope he’s right. Again, these are the people who have been in the business, people who, we are told, know what they are doing.

But the same can be said for those who made those original revenue projections for Plainridge. And that’s why the start to the casino era in Massachusetts is a cause for concern.

Mike Balise IS a Difference Maker

By BusinessWest Staff January 12, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

A few months before he succumbed to cancer, ESPN anchor Stuart Scott stood at the podium at the ESPY Awards to accept the Jim Valvano Award for Perseverance.

In his moving remarks, Scott, in essence, told those assembled that, when someone’s cancer fight ends, we should refrain from saying that he or she “lost their battle.” That fight is often won, he went on, because the individual confronted the disease with courage, the conviction to live their life to their fullest, and determination not to let cancer dictate whatever time they had left.

Those words certainly rang true recently with the news that Mike Balise, co-owner of Balise Motor Sales, passed away at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute roughly 15 months after being diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer at the age of 50.

There is certainly no debate about who won this fight — Mike did.

He battled the disease with his indomitable humor and determination to continue, for as his long as he could, his work not only with the company, but within the community as well — efforts that ranged from raising awareness of the need for more cancer-treatment facilities in this region (and money to build those facilities) to buying winter coats for area young people in need.

Last September, BusinessWest talked with Mike and some members of his family about his fight, and his determination and courage certainly came through. So much so that one could easily make the argument that no story the magazine has published in its 32-year history resonated more with readers.

Indeed, there were countless calls and e-mails from individuals conveying the message that they were greatly inspired by Mike’s ability to battle a death sentence with poise, dignity, and a desire to focus not on his plight, but on how he could do even more to help others.

A common refrain from those who reached out was, “I’ve never met Mike, but reading this, I wish I could.’’

Those comments, as well as Mike’s long track record of philanthropy and community involvement, resonated with the decision makers at BusinessWest this fall when they convened to decide whom to honor with the magazine’s Difference Maker award next spring.

They considered and then chose to honor Mike, knowing fully well that it was very likely that his seat would be empty at the gala in March. But he will honored along with the others who will be announced in the Jan. 25 issue, because he has been, and remains, an inspiration in so many ways, and is thus clearly worthy of that title Difference Maker, and always will be.

And when his name is introduced to those gathered at the Log Cabin on March 31, it will not be through use of the past tense — because he isn’t done being a Difference Maker. His inspirational life — not simply those last 15 months or so — will ensure that this is the case.

As for that cancer fight, from the minute Mike was diagnosed, everyone knew how it would end. All those who knew Mike could also predict how the battle would be waged: with courage and conviction. And that’s why we shouldn’t say the fight was lost.

Because it wasn’t.

Jobs Will Be Top Local Story for 2016

By BusinessWest Staff January 12, 2016

Opinion

By Jeffrey Ciuffreda

Jobs are coming our way, but are we ready? And what about the jobs already here?

As we start the new year, it is time to ask these questions and, more importantly, answer them. Actually, the process of doing so got off to a good beginning in 2015. However, there is much more to be done in 2016.

CNR Changchun Rail Vehicle Co. is coming to Springfield with between 150 and 300 jobs, many requiring skilled engineers and machinists. MGM Springfield is finally underway with construction, requiring 3,000 jobs upon its planned 2018 opening, and efforts are already underway to be sure that the vast majority of those workers will come from this region, an effort that requires training programs to be up and running soon.

These are the jobs we know are coming our way, and with these two internationally known companies coming here, you can be sure other companies will become more focused on our region and, therefore, its workforce.

The Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce is pleased to be working with the EDC of Western Massachusetts and the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, along with our community colleges and others, to help ensure that we not only have a trained workforce ready to fill these positions, but that we have enough of those trained in the workforce to fill them and other positions that might be vacated by those moving from existing employers.

At the same time, we must acknowledge that far too many of our area resident, for one reason or another, do not have the skills necessary to take advantage of certain opportunities, but might have abilities suited for other types of jobs. What are those jobs?

The Springfield Regional Chamber is proud to have joined with a few other organizations in and around Springfield to hire an internationally known consulting firm to look at this specific area — not only what types of jobs we should try to attract, but what skill sets might already exist so that we could readily entertain specific businesses to locate here. While we will always strive to do better and attract higher-wage jobs, we should not overlook any opportunity to bring any employment to the area. The results of this study will be an invaluable tool for our future growth.

Speaking of the jobs that are already here, let us never overlook the fact that so many of our long-time businesses in this area have been here not only for years, but for decades. Let us also not overlook that many of those companies are small businesses, and by small I mean under 25 employees and in many instances under 10. These are the businesses that we count on year after year after year to employ our residents and that continually add jobs.

These are the same businesses that often get caught up in new legislation and new regulations ranging from mandating certain benefits to setting wages to regulating how they operate. While I am not saying every piece of legislation and regulation is bad, I am saying that these small businesses often struggle to comply with one, and then, just as they adapt, they find they are faced with another new one, two, or three new measures with which to cope.
Special efforts should be undertaken to ensure that no harm is done to these small businesses, which have been, and quite frankly always will be, the backbone of our economy.

The year ahead will be a time of growth as new businesses prepare to enter our market, but it should also be a year when great care is taken to not only not harm the businesses we already have here, but also take steps to assist them in their efforts to stay and expand here.

We all can do our part by supporting local businesses and products as well as our local teams and venues.

Jeff Ciuffreda is president of the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce; (413) 787-1555.

In Memoriam: Mike Balise IS a Difference Maker

By BusinessWest Staff December 29, 2015

Opinion

Mike Balise

A few months before he succumbed to cancer, ESPN anchor Stuart Scott stood at the podium at the ESPY Awards to accept the Jim Valvano Award for Perseverance.

In his moving remarks, Scott, in essence, told those assembled that when someone’s cancer fight ends, we should refrain from saying that he or she “lost their battle.” That fight is often won, he went on, because the individual confronted the disease with courage, the conviction to live their life to their fullest, and determination not to let cancer dictate whatever time they had left.

Those words certainly rang true recently with the news that Mike Balise, co-owner of Balise Motor Sales, passed away at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute roughly 15 months after being diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer at the age of 50.

There is certainly no debate about who won this fight — Mike did.

He battled the disease with his indomitable humor, determination to continue, for as his long as he could, his work not only with the company, but within the community as well — efforts that ranged from raising awareness of the need for more cancer-treatment facilities in this region (and money to build those facilities), to buying winter coats for area young people in need.

Last September, BusinessWest talked with Mike and some members of his family about his fight, and his determination and courage certainly came through. So much so that one could easily make the argument that no story the magazine has published in its 32-year history resonated more with readers.

Indeed, there were countless calls and e-mails from individuals conveying the message that they were greatly inspired by Mike’s ability to battle a death sentence with poise, dignity, and a desire to focus not on his plight, but on how he could do even more to help others.

A common refrain from those who reached out was “I’ve never met Mike, but reading this, I wish I could.’’

Those comments, as well as Mike’s long track record of philanthropy and community involvement, resonated with the decision-makers at BusinessWest this fall when they convened to decide whom to honor with the magazine’s Difference Maker award next spring.

They considered and then chose to honor Mike knowing fully well that it was very likely that his seat would be empty at the gala in March. But he will honored along with the others who will be announced next month, because he has been, and remains, an inspiration in so many ways, and is thus clearly worthy of that title Difference Maker, and always will be.

And when his name is introduced to those gathered at the Log Cabin in March, it will not be through use of the past tense — because he isn’t done being a Difference Maker. His inspirational life — not simply those last 15 months or so — will ensure that this is the case.

As for that cancer fight — from the minute Mike was diagnosed, everyone knew how it would end. All those who knew Mike could also predict how the battle would be waged; with courage and conviction. And that’s why we shouldn’t say the fight was lost.

Because it wasn’t.

What We’d Like to See in 2016 (Part 2)

By BusinessWest Staff December 29, 2015

Opinion

In the last episode of ‘what we’d like to see in 2016,’ you might recall that we desired to see — and actually expect to see — progress on a number of fronts — everything from efforts to promote entrepreneurship to workforce-development initiatives in light of retiring Baby Boomers; from strategies to bolster the once (and still) proud manufacturing sector to what we called a ‘normalizing of relations with MGM’ after an unnecessarily stormy 2015.

For part 2, we have something else for the wish list — something probably more elusive but in many ways just as important. Let’s call it an attitude shift, or adjustment.

You know what we’re talking about, and it goes by different names in these parts. Some would label it an inferiority complex, while others, those who are slightly more cynical, might describe it as a ‘can’t-do attitude.’

It’s the sentiment that there’s something wrong, or lacking, in this region, and that we can’t ever rise above it and be like Boston or Cambridge, or even Lowell or Worcester. Such sentiments are reinforced every December when BusinessWest presents its annual Economic Outlook. Economists from area colleges and universities and AIM talk about how great the state’s economy is doing, and then present the obligatory caveat — ‘except in Western Mass.’

So there are some good reasons why this attitude prevails, especially when one considers the city of Springfield, the unofficial capital of this region.

Indeed, when people talk about it glowingly (which isn’t that often), it is almost always with the past tense that they get the job done. That’s what’s needed when we talk about everything from vibrancy downtown to the state of the manufacturing sector, to the health and vitality of specific neighborhoods. The good old days were decades ago, and by most accounts, especially from those who fuel the inferiority complex, we’re not likely to see them again, at least anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the skyline of the city — maybe the most telling sign of progress when it comes to a metropolitan area — simply hasn’t changed (unless one counts the MassMutual Center) since Ronald Reagan was in the White House and Mike Dukakis was in the State House. That’s a long time to go without a major new building initiative. In the 30 years prior to that, the downtown changed dramatically.

And this brings us back to our hope for an attitude adjustment. It’s not going to instantly change our fortunes, but it certainly can’t hurt.

We have to accept the fact that this region is not going to Boston, any more than Albany or Troy can be New York City, or Augusta can be Atlanta, or Bethlehem can be Pittsburgh. And in the meantime, there is a lot to be proud of here — a high quality of life, affordability, culture, history, tradition, and some extremely livable communities.

What we don’t have … OK, that’s a long list. We don’t have a large biotech sector or major technology employers or a robust financial-services sector. Perhaps more importantly, we don’t the vibrant nightlife and myriad entertainment options often needed to attract and retain the professionals needed to fuel all of the above.

But people are working on it. Dramatic change won’t come overnight, but it’s very easy to envision a Springfield, and therefore a region, that is more vibrant — and still has all those other qualities listed above.

How easy? Much more easily than any time in the past 30 years.

Will it happen? Maybe. We’ll even offer a ‘probably.’ And an attitude adjustment might just help get it done.

Key Healthcare-delivery Trends for 2016

By BusinessWest Staff December 29, 2015

Opinion

By KERRY ANN HAYON

As we head into 2016, it is important to think about some of the things that will impact physician practices in the year ahead.

• Patients are increasingly seeking healthcare-delivery services that are both accessible and quickly responsive to their needs. In 2016, convenience will continue to be a key factor in where patients choose to receive care, and emerging technologies will enhance accessibility to care by bringing care-delivery options to patients’ fingertips.

Store-based, limited-service clinics have made an impact on routine care delivery over the past few years and will continue to cater to patients who are in need of prompt treatment for low-acuity illnesses and injuries; quick access to sports, camp, or other physicals; administration of vaccines; or any other walk-in type of low-acuity illness. Meanwhile, urgent-care centers continue to be a focus for patients who are in need of immediate care but don’t warrant an emergency-department visit. In 2016, the continued pressure of high-deductible health plans will be one driver in patient decisions to obtain care in these environments.

• Integration of telemedicine into health-plan payment policies will expand access to physicians for patients both in terms of convenience and enhanced monitoring of chronically ill patients. 2016 is expected to be the year when physicians and their practices strategize on how to incorporate telemedicine into their operational and care-delivery processes for their patient population.

• Emerging technologies — such as the ability for physicians to connect with patients via a mobile-phone application — will change the physician-patient relationship. Additionally, FDA-approved mobile-phone applications, diagnostic wearable devices, and condition-specific monitoring devices will start to augment the largely consumer-driven self-monitoring health market. It is expected that technology development in this area will grow vigorously in 2016.

• Over the past few years, data has played a significant role in healthcare. This trend will continue, with practices increasingly focusing on understanding the practice’s patient population. New approaches will likely elevate the ability of the practice to monitor the health of chronically ill patients, determine the currently healthy patients that may be at risk down the line, and identify potential gaps in care. In 2016, data flow between systems will increase, which will help create linkage points between health systems, physician offices, outpatient centers such as store-based limited service clinics, urgent-care centers, and the patient.

Patients will likely play an increased role in creating actionable data, providing physicians with instant feedback as to their current condition and data points relevant to their care. As systems improve and data capture outside of the traditional office visit becomes more reliable, patient-population health management will be an area of focus, opportunity, and ongoing change in the years ahead.

• Patient-centered care, of which a core component is patient experience, has been a focus for many practices over the past few years. The inclusion of patient experience in accountable-care models, the meaningful-use program, and patient-centered medical home models certainly escalated focus in this area. Increased efforts around transparency of patient-experience scores, which many organizations started to explore in 2015, will start to influence where patients decide to receive care next year.

In 2016, an increased focus on collaboration and communication between patients and physicians will result in more emphasis on ‘relationship-centered’ care to account for the back-and-forth communication and shared decision making that has been found to promote patient engagement and support enhanced patient outcomes.

What does this all mean for physician practices? Similar to 2015, 2016 will be a year where we continue to focus on transitions and enhancements to systems, processes, and continued innovation in terms of delivery and payment models. Practices will work to engage their patients in new ways and, as a result, will have an opportunity to innovate and try new things while maintaining the excellent care that they already provide. v

Kerry Ann Hayon is director of the Mass. Medical Society’s (MMS) Physician Practice Resource Center. This article first appeared in Vital Signs, an MMS publication.

In Memoriam: Mike Balise IS a Difference Maker

By BusinessWest Staff December 28, 2015