Thursday, May 24, 2012

Bike Cambridge - Free Urban Cycling Workshop




Please join the City of Cambridge and Mass Bike for a :
Free Urban Cycling Workshop
May 29th @ Millers River Apartments

A great class if you get the bike out only occasionally, want to use one more for your daily errands, considering bike com-muting, or simply want to ride along with your kids.
This is a how-to informational class for Cambridge residents; no experience or bicycle necessary.
Those who complete the class will be eligible for a free bike helmet.



RSVP REQUESTED BUT NOT REQUIRED TO: OHN PELLETIER @CAMBRIDGEMA.GOV 617-349-4631
P
LEASE MENTION CLASS DATE WHEN RESERVING.

J
JPELLETIER
 

Monday, May 7, 2012

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!

We had close to 60 volunteers for the East Cambridge Clean Up Day on Saturday, and they weren't your average everyday volunteers, they were ROCKSTAR volunteers.

We left Cambridge Street spotless and weed free.  Then we went on to mulch EVERY tree well from Second Street all the way to Columbia.  This was an enormous effort and we sincerely thank everyone who participated, especially local business owners, The East Cambridge Families Group, Frisoli Youth Center, and EC Dog Owners Group.  Also thanks to Living Proof who put a group together from their office to join us. It was truly a community effort.

Another thank you to Susana Segat at CCTV who gave The Clean Up Day some great coverage on her blog and got some great interviews with volunteers.

We are following up with businesses owners and encourage them to keep the street looking great for the summer months and continue the great work of the volunteers.  The flower baskets will be here soon and EC businesses, residents, and visitors will have even more reason to be proud of the neighborhood,

I had wanted to post the group picture, but I'm having some technical difficulties, that said I couldn't let the day go by without sending a huge thank you to all who came out.  Ill update with a pic as soon as I can.

oh and the shirts looked great too ... you're going to be jealous if you didn't join us ... there's always next year.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Monthly Meeting Recap

Small businesses don't often have the luxury of employing an HR Director that can easily answer questions or the time to keep up on the ever changing laws pertaining to their business and employment.

This is why Tuesday's ECBA meeting at the law offices of Clark Hunt Ahern & Embry was a valuable opportunity for ECBA members.  The topics ranged from interview traps to the changing regulations on retaurants workers tips.

In addition to great advise and presentations by Attorney's from CHA&E, members had the opportunity to hear from Patty Colarossi, an officer, at the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Employment Law is not something easily explained in a blog post.  The best advice at the meeting was that if you have a question, pick up the phone and call the Department of Labor at 617-624-6700 and ask to speak to an officer.  It's better to ask the questions and get it right than it is to get caught off guard.

The Department of Labor Website is also a great resource filled with downloadable Fact Sheets and even a number of mobile apps that can help keep you organized

The link to the Department of Labor Website
http://www.dol.gov/whd/

Many thanks to the attorneys at Clark Hunt Ahern & Embry for arranging the meeting and for taking the time to educate our members. Hopefully everyone walked away with a better understanding of how to protect themselves and their businesses.  Of course CHA&E is a great local firm that can assist you with a variety of services, so do contact them for your business needs.