Boston’s largest daily newspaper and New England’s leading source of regional news.
I reported full-time for The Boston Globe as a business correspondent throughout the latter half of 2021, just as the biz world began recovering from the pandemic and corporate employers started navigating an uncertain return to the office.
Out of more than 50 stories published, here are the highlights.
ENTERPRISE
From labor unions rising to a “Great Resignation” sweeping the corporate world, workers are reprioritizing mental health, work-life balance, and equity issues. Now, business schools are racing to prepare the next generation of business leaders for the changing landscape.
Gen Z entrepreneurs grow with Instagram, TikTok, podcasts
Having grown up in the Internet age, it’s no surprise that many of today’s Generation Z entrepreneurs know all about using social media as a marketing tool. It’s a built-in savvy that gives them an advantage as they enter the business world.
Remote work made life easier for employees with disabilities. Advocates say the option should stay
The pandemic upended corporate culture as workers traded office buildings for their kitchen tables. For most, the change was largely a matter of convenience. But for many people with disabilities, it was transformative.
Advocates say increase in benefits not enough to quell food insecurity in Mass.
Despite declining food insecurity throughout the year, hunger rates remain much higher now than in 2019. And with pandemic-era benefits ending soon, the recent federal boost to SNAP — its biggest-ever expansion — may not be enough to turn the tide.
Food trucks change lanes to get through COVID-19 pandemic
From catering to frozen meals to home delivery, they’ve made major changes to survive the last 18 months.
A growing appetite for apps: For some restaurants, COVID ushered in the digital era
QR codes on restaurant tables. Payments made without cash or cards. Orders placed through a tap on a phone screen. More than a year of social distancing has transformed the way brick-and-mortar businesses operate, and the digitized adaptations are likely here to stay.
Dailies
One reason for supply shortages: No one to drive the trucks
A shortfall of truck drivers is one factor clogging every facet of the supply chain right now, and Massachusetts is feeling the impact. It’s not a new problem — but like so much else, the global pandemic has made it worse.
‘A public health issue’: More families than ever lack access to diapers
A combination of pandemic-induced job losses and supply chain disruptions has plunged some parents into an impossible dilemma: pay for food, rent, or diapers?
Finding an affordable apartment in Boston may get a little easier
There are more than 150,000 units of subsidized and affordable housing in Massachusetts. But actually finding a low-cost place to live can be really, really hard. Now a consortium of affordable-housing advocates and operators is trying to make it a little easier.
Stores that stopped stocking masks reconsider putting them back on shelves as Delta surges
For now, though, buying a mask locally could be a challenge.
Study links growth of Airbnb listings in Boston to 911 calls
The short-term rental giant disputes the findings, which suggest spread of listings has led to increase in reports of violent crimes in city neighborhoods.
For South Shore commuter buses, a slow roll back
With a new owner, the Plymouth & Brockton line was looking to turn a corner before the pandemic. Now it’s making a cautious comeback.
The rainy weather is washing away profits
Businesses that count on customers being outdoors are trying to work around summer’s storms ― just as they were starting to recover from the pandemic.
With grants, Celtics and others aim to boost Black-owned small businesses
Dianne Austin was battling breast cancer when she searched stores across Boston for a wig that looked like her natural curls. There weren’t many options for Black women like her, so she launched her own business to fill the gap. Now, she’s won $25,000 to help her continue her mission.
BREAKING NEWS / Briefs
Many feared the move would discourage customers from patronizing their already-struggling businesses. Others worried it might prompt more offices downtown to delay a
return to work. Yet some were relieved to have a higher authority step in at a moment
when the Delta variant poses new risks to their staff and patrons.
New program aims to help underserved youth learn the ropes of real estate investing
Entrepreneurship professionals in Boston on Tuesday kicked off an effort to guide teenagers into the world of real estate investing. Their goal: to cultivate more diversity in an industry that remains largely white.
Mass. racial equity fund awards $2 million in first round of grants
The fund, formed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder last year, doled out $1 million of emergency funding in November to nonprofits addressing urgent issues in Black and brown communities relating to COVID-19 and police brutality.
Features
Sh*t That I Knit tried out for the Olympics — and made it
Christina Pardy sold her first collection of knit hats at SoWa Open Market in 2014 before quitting her job to turn it into a full-time business. Seven years later, S*** That I Knit is an official licensee of Team USA.
Free menstrual products combat period poverty at local colleges
“There was a couple times where I only had a tampon or two left, or maybe some panty liners for a whole week.”
Northeastern alum among youngest entrepreneurs to launch product on Walmart.com
Lamar Letts found himself often having to water down all the popular, sugary sports drinks on the market — so he cooked up a new health beverage in his college dorm room. Now, at 27, he’s one of the youngest CEOs to have his product sold on Walmart.com.
Finding homes for food that’s not perfect, but too good to toss
Startups aim to tackle the challenge of using food that would otherwise be wasted.
“When people bring in something, it’s usually just like one or two holes. But now we’re seeing things that are insane. They look like Swiss cheese.”
Volunteers add flower-filled planters at restaurants throughout Newton as outdoor dining returns
Residents who stroll through Newton this summer will be greeted by vibrant-hued pansies poking out from pots adorning outdoor dining spaces, planted by volunteers in hopes of driving business to local restaurants.
To combat hunger, Newton opens a community ‘Freedge’
Just hop off the T, drop by the outdoor refrigerator and pick up some free food to take home when you need it. That’s what Newton residents will be able to do any hour of any day when the city’s first-ever Freedge opens in Nonantum on March 14.
With heaters, takeout, and ingenuity, Newton restaurants brave the winter
“It’s interesting to see the number of patrons that want to go out and will dine outside during these frigid temperatures.”
The first cohort of Newton’s high schoolers returned to the school grounds Jan. 28 to find desks spaced 6 feet apart and one-way arrows guiding foot traffic through the hallways.