Bob Brown, Author at Natick Report

Natick Select Board seeks resident to join Fire Chief Screening Committee

September 20, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Natick Select Board is requesting applications for the Natick Fire Chief Screening Committee, and will choose 1 Natick resident to join the group.

Natick Fire Chief Michael Lentini, who was appointed to the position in 2018, plans to retire in May after more than 30 years with the department.

The Screening Committee, in addition to including a resident appointed by the Select Board, will include reps from various town bodies, including the fire department, School Committee, Personnel Board, and the Town Administrator and Police Chief will be members as well.

Screening Committee tasks include reviewing applications for the position of Fire Chief, planning for and conducting interviews, and participating in the process of determining a list of finalists. Meetings will likely be at night.

Interested individuals should submit an application no later than Oct. 6.

The Select Board will be interviewing candidates at their meeting on Oct. 13, 2021.

For more information or questions please contact the Select Board’s office at -508-647-6410 or selectboard@natickma.org.

West Natick fire station — Chief Lentini at new station #4

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Papa Wheelies riding off from Natick to Wellesley

September 19, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Papa Wheelies is moving its bike shop from 1400 Worcester St. (Rte. 9 east) in Natick to 8 Church Square in Wellesley.

The Natick shop, which launched as Boston Bicycles 4 years ago, closed this weekend. The Wellesley store is slated to open this week.

Papa Wheelies also has locations in the Back Bay and Portsmouth, NH, where it offers bike sales, rentals, services and accessories.

The shop offers road, mountain, electric, and other bike styles, with prices starting at less than $1,000 and ranging up to 5 figures. Kids’ bikes start at about $125.

We’ve shot a few questions to the business about why it is moving, etc., and will update this past if they get a chance to answer us between the move.

Remaining bike shops in Natick include Landry’s and Dick’s.

papa wheelies rte 9 natick — Moving out of Rte. 9 space

papa wheelies wellesley — Moving in to Church Square in Wellesley

Natick shut out again in state’s low number license plate lottery

September 16, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

For the second straight year, no Natick drivers have won a low number vehicle license plate in the state’s annual lottery.

Though Natick’s Brett Lemoine is on the alternates list if some number of the winners don’t follow through on their plates.

Typically, at least one or two Natick residents secure these random low numbers in the name of prestige, tradition, or something.

A record 17,000-plus applications were received for a chance to win one of 197 plate numbers, such as 1H, 24L, and 7000. The lottery was even live streamed for the truly hard up for entertainment.

The deadline to enter the annual lottery is typically during the summer.

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Natick Business Buzz: Pizza Peddler hit by US Labor Dept.; UBreakiFix sign’s up; PT for women’s pelvic floor available

September 15, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our round-up of the latest Natick, MA business news:

Pizza Peddler hit by US Labor Dept.

The operator of Pizza Peddler in Natick and Wellesley must pay more than $300K in back wages and liquidated damages to 14 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor obtained summary judgment in federal court.

The payments, according to the. Department of Labor, result from the defendants’ willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The court concluded that the employers failed to pay the required overtime compensation when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, according to the Department of Labor statement.

According to a MetroWest Daily News report, the owner’s lawyer said the family-run business plans to work with the Department of Labor to resolve the matter.

UBreakiFix sign’s up

There’s nothing more exciting for us than happening across a business sign being raised or taken down. We’ll take one of these over a cheesy ribbon-cutting any day.

We stumbled across a couple of guys in a lift putting up the sign for a new UBreakiFix electronic device repair shop at the 9/27 Plaza. They seemed to be working deliberately, careful to avoid a WeBreakWeFix situation.

The shop sits in between Panera and a UPS Store. A Scottrade stock brokerage firm used to occupy the space, but that outfit has been gobbled up by another.

PT for women’s pelvic floor

Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers has begun offering physical therapy in Natick for women’s pelvic floor dysfunctions, which the outfit says are common, especially in pregnant or post-partum women and athletes. This therapy targets muscles at the base of the pelvis.

Common symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunctions are:

Frequent urination or an urgent need to use the bathroom
Urinary or bowel leakage
Constipation
Pain during intercourse
Pelvic pain or pressure
Tailbone, lower back, or hip pain

Dr. Jill Olsen joined the team to provide this service to the Natick and MetroWest communities.

New signs of COVID times in Natick

September 14, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

While you can definitely have too many signs, Natick businesses and the town itself are putting aside any such aesthetic concerns in the name of public communications and safety.

Regardless of whether you’re vaccinated, the message in town is to mask up definitely or maybe when inside shops and definitely in town buildings.

dollar store mask sign — Wonder how much masks cost inside the Dollar Store in Natick?

mask signs natick center — Masks required inside the library

The only kind of sign possibly more prevalent in Natick than mask signs are hiring ones. Employees would appear to have the upper hand—negotiate hard!