Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1274048
wbjournal.com | August 3, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 3 A s I was watching the debate taking place inside the Republican Party and later between Republicans and Democrats in Congress over whether to extend the $600 federal un- employment weekly benefit set to expire on July 31, one thing struck me: We have forgotten why we did it in the first place. Republicans were arguing the benefits were hampering the economic recovery because businesses couldn't reopen as their would-be employees were making more money staying unemployed. Dem- ocrats were arguing the benefit needed to be extended while the coronavirus pan- demic remains a part of life, since people are struggling amid high unemployment rates. Both arguments align with each par- ty's philosophies, but they miss the point: We want people to stay at home. Unemployment traditionally is never meant to be a full substitute for salary and should be a lesser bridge to help workers and their families get by, until they find work again. e $600 extra was created specifically because we didn't want people going out and looking for work, and certainly not entering the workforce. e bonus was created as part of the $2-tril- lion federal CARES Act, designed to help Americans and businesses navigate the self-induced economic shutdown, in an effort to get the surge in new COVID-19 cases under control. Keeping people at home was a big part of that plan. But the effort to get the pandemic un- der control has failed. Nearly every day in July set a record nationally in the number of new cases, and we are once again near- ing 2,000 daily deaths. As the economy reopened, cases surged as people and businesses had varying degrees of respect for social distancing and mask-wearing. A quick trip to a grocery store near my house reveals a significant portion of people who wear masks don't know how to do so properly. ("Over the nose" is the new mantra in my house.) Even though Mass. hit its case peak months ago, the state is far from out of the woods. Since Gov. Charlie Baker's economic reopening entered its third phase, new cases have been ticking up slightly. If we are going to get to a full-throated reopening, we first must get the pandemic under control. To do this, we ideally need a comprehensive national testing, tracing I N T H I S I S S U E and quarantining program to limit the vi- rus' spread. Since that is unlikely to happen any time this year, the best we can do is contain the pandemic through measures like limiting interactions among people. Let's not take our eye off the ball. – Brad Kane, editor Remember, we need to take this seriously NEWS & ANALYSIS 14 Enforcing the rules Central Mass. businesses are occasionally finding themselves at odds with customers who don't want to wear masks, as they still struggle for revenue in the pandemic. 19 10 Things I know about … Committing to standing against racism Advice columnist Maritza Cruz details steps companies can take to make anti-racism a priority. W Please, join us in the fight. START YOUR TEAM! BECOME A SPONSOR! www.umasscancerwalk.org Your place, your pace! Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 VIRTUAL 2020 DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE AFFECTED BY CANCER? Then this event is for you (and them). The academic partner of UMass Memorial Health Care Presenting Sponsors Champion Sponsors DEPARTMENTS Worcester Business Journal WBJ Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher education, health care) Staff Writer, Monica Busch, mbusch@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing) Editorial Interns Devina Bhalla, Riley Garand Contributors Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon, Sarah Connell Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle, tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Account Receivable Specialist, Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Audience Development, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Operations Assistant, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com A division of: CORRECTIONS: A story entitled "Funding equality" in the July 6 edition of WBJ incorrectly said the Greater Worcester Community Foundation gives out $110 million in grants annually. The correct number is about $7 million. In the 2020 Calendar in WBJ's annual Giving Guide special edition, two events – the 100th Annual Meeting and the Women's Initiative – were incorrectly listed as being hosted by the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. The real host for those events is United Way of Central Massachusetts. 4 Central Mass. In Brief 12 Focus on Hospitality & tourism 16 The List: Largest hotels 18 The List: Top tourist attractions 19 Know How 20 Movers & Shakers 20 Photo Finish 21 Opinion 22 Executive to Executive