It’s a beautiful day to go forest bathing (more on that below). But while nature may be medicine for you, heading back to the office is what the doctor ordered for downtown — at least according to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work (in the office) we go: In a sit-down with WBUR’s Tiziana Dearing yesterday, Wu said she’s happy to see Fidelity and other big employers calling employees back into the office more often. “It was great news in terms of the boost … for small businesses,” she said. Some office workers aren’t so pleased. They say a full-time return to downtown will damage their work-life balance. Wu, though, said she’s working to help ease those concerns, from improving public transit to expanding childcare options. “The barriers and the challenges can feel very real,” she said. “But rather than saying, ‘We’re all going to retreat and abandon; it’s too hard, there are too many pieces,’ … we need to solve those pieces as well.” Wu said she benefits from a city-operated daycare, where she just started sending her 16-month-old daughter, Mira. (Something relatable to most parents: Wu had to wait for a spot to open up in the City Hall childcare center.)
- TTYL: Tiziana also asked Wu about the city’s refusal to hand over any text messages between Wu and developers, after the mayor offered up her texts to the Boston Globe as evidence that she has a good relationship with the industry. Wu said she doesn’t conduct any business over text, and any texts she does send are more congratulatory or informal. “There’s no text message that is negotiating a deal or asking for any kind of work-related matter whatsoever,” she said. “I’m very careful about that.”
- Budget fight: Wu addressed a controversial $724,000 cut she made to the veteran’s services budget. Councilors unanimously opposed the 14% reduction, which Wu said won’t affect direct services or staff, but rather reduce grants to nonprofits. She said if the council wants to restore funding, they need to figure out where that money should come from.
- Listen: Hear Wu’s full conversation on Morning Edition at this link (audio will be added later this morning) or watch her talk about back-to-work in this Instagram reel.
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