DANVERS — Business leaders and local officials tuned in to the State of the Region address yesterday, where North Shore Chamber of Commerce Chairman Wayne Burton announced:
$250,000 from the state will help a new Economic Development Alliance woo companies to the North Shore. The alliance will be based at Salem State College's Enterprise Center.
A $50,000 grant for the North Shore Life Sciences Accelerator at the Cummings Center in Beverly will bolster North Shore life sciences companies. The grant comes from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's John Adams Innovation Institute.
Wachovia Securities is the first tenant in an office building on the Beverly-Danvers line, visible from Route 128.
Dire warnings about Question 1 (to eliminate the state income tax):
"If Question 1 passes, we will probably have to close half the community colleges in the commonwealth." — Burton (North Shore Community College's president)
It would force $15 million in cuts to services in Peabody — equal to the police, fire and library budgets, said Mayor Michael Bonfanti. "We need to stand together to defeat that."
Is it in Danvers or Middleton? The Sheraton resort straddles both towns. "Most of the hotel and hotel revenue comes to Danvers," Town Manager Wayne Marquis said. "We are happy about that."
Editor honored: Salem News Editorial Page Editor Nelson Benton was honored for winning the Yankee Quill Award for his contributions to journalism. Burton read a letter from state Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, who thanked Benton for his coverage over the years. "Your view was a bit McCain-Palin to my Obama-Biden, to say the least," Berry wrote. "You are a true professional, a true friend — a balance that is not easily struck."
P.S. Berry's letter ended, "To all the municipal officials in the room, the answer is 'No.'"
