Massachusetts

How chambers, retail association advocate for business in Massachusetts

Published

3 months ago

November 24, 2025

Press Room

How chambers, retail association advocate for business in Massachusetts

Charles Winokoor
| Special to the Taunton Daily Gazette

The rising cost of health insurance is a major concern for small and large businesses in Massachusetts.
A UMass Donahue Institute survey found 63% of small business owners believe they pay higher health insurance premiums than larger companies.
The Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce created its Government Affairs Council to help local businesses communicate with legislators.
Business groups like the Retailers Association of Massachusetts are urging their members to directly contact state legislators about their concerns.

Elizabeth LaBrecque says the Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce created its Government Affairs Council for a very good reason.

“The idea is for legislators to help local businesses,” said LeBrecque, whose job description at the TACC is Director of Member Development.

LaBrecque, says the cost of health insurance continues to be a major concern among small and large businesses.

“Health insurance is always a major factor,” she said.

A survey of 635 small businesses in the Bay State, conducted in October 2024 by the UMass Donahue Institute in Amherst, found that 63% of respondent business owners – who offer employee health insurance and employ up to 50 full-time workers – strongly agreed with the statement that small businesses and employees in the commonwealth “have to pay higher health insurance premiums than big businesses and government.”

That sentiment was echoed by John Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.

“Health insurance has gone through the roof,” said Hurst, who has been president of the statewide business association for 35 years.

Hurst said that he and his retailers association regularly communicate with state legislators to make their concerns heard.

“And more importantly we urge our members to do that,” he said. “They are the small employers and voters in the legislators’ districts.”

The 4,000-member group also has an online “advocacy center” that connects members with legislators.

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts requested that UMass Donahue Institute conduct its survey, which included 635 respondents. The final report based on the survey results was completed in March of 2025.

Hurst also says that as of Jan. 1, 2025, the cost of health insurance for small businesses in the state had increased 13% since 2020.

LaBrecque said the TACC and its seven-member Government Affairs Council is also concerned about cost increases for other types of insurance coverage, which can include workers compensation, general liability and business owner’s policy.

It’s been three and a half years since LeBrecque came on board with the Taunton Area Chamber of Commerce – which also represents the interests of member business owners in the towns of Raynham, Dighton and Berkley. She says the TACC this past year reached a goal of 450 active members as compared to 250 when she was hired to her part-time position.

Some of those newer members, she said, also belong to other commerce chambers representing businesses in cities and towns like Fall River, New Bedford, Bridgewater and Easton.

The TACC, she said, continues to work closely with Taunton-based nonprofit SEED (South Eastern Economic Development Corporation), which provides low-interest business loans, as well as SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), a nonprofit sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Association that holds workshops and provides counseling to budding entrepreneurs.

The chamber’s website also lists a number of state and federal business resources and includes a City of Taunton Business and Development Guide created by Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) as well as a Town of Dighton Business Guide.

LaBrecque said trade tariffs imposed this year by the administration of President Donald Trump initially created concern among local beauty salon proprietors. But those fears of paying higher prices for certain products, she said, have since been allayed.

“There’s been a lot of uncertainty this year. It’s been a rocky economy,” LaBrecque said, adding that “we’re telling all our new businesses to spend wisely.”

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Massachusetts

How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?

Published

2 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?

With a widening conflict in the Middle East after the American and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday, global markets are bracing for a shakeup in the energy supply chain.

So, here at home, what can consumers expect at the gas pump?

An increase in oil prices is almost always followed by an increase in gas prices. And the oil market has already reacted to the war. NBC News reported on Sunday that U.S. crude oil initially spiked more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 13%.

Early Monday morning, reports were coming in of black smoke rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City.

While Iran’s oil reserves supply less than an estimated 5% of global production, the main concern is the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime passageway borders Iran at the bottleneck of the Persian Gulf, and more than 20% of the world’s oil passes through. If Iran closes or restricts Hormuz, the oil market could face severe disruptions.

Gas prices rise about 2.5 cents for every dollar increase in crude oil prices. As of Sunday, U.S. crude oil prices had already increased by nearly $5 a barrel.

“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told NBC News.

GasBuddy characterizes their expectations for price increases as “incremental” rather than “explosive”. The group said to anticipate a potential 10-15 cent increase over the next couple of weeks.

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Massachusetts

Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News

Published

14 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News

EASTON, Mass. (WBZ) — Police body camera video shows an Easton, Massachusetts, officer rescuing a 78-year-old Raynham man from a burning car on Friday morning.

A Mack dump truck was experiencing problems on the side of Turnpike Street just after 2 a.m. when a Ford pickup truck struck the back of it, according to police.

The pickup truck then became stuck under the dump truck, trapping the driver, Francis Leverone, inside. A Toyota Camry then hit the back of the pickup truck and caught fire, police said.

Easton police officer Dean Soucie arrived at the crash and saw that the two vehicles were on fire. Video shows Soucie rushing over before breaking the driver’s side window and then, with the help of the two witnesses, freeing Leverone from the pickup truck. Soucie said he was confused but conscious.

“As I reached inside the vehicle, one of the passersby — he actually jumped into the cab of the truck, and he helped me free the individual,” Soucie said.

They then carried the driver to safety.

Leverone was taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to a Boston hospital. He received serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

No one else was injured in the crash.

Dee Leverone told WBZ her husband is doing OK. “I’m just thankful for the people that got him out,” she said. “Very thankful.”

After watching the police body-cam video on the news she said, “I was shocked, I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I just couldn’t believe it. His truck is like melted.”

She says she realized that something was wrong last night when her husband never made it home from work.

“I kept trying to call him and call him, and I finally got a hold of him at like 4:30 a.m., and he was at (Good Samaritan Hospital) and he told me he’s gotten in an accident,” Dee said.

She says he’s recovering at the Boston Medical Center and being treated for a dislocated hip.

“He’s a trooper,” Dee said. “He’s a strong man — and you know he’s 78, but you know he’s a toughie. He definitely is a toughie.”

Soucie commended the help of the two witnesses and said that before he arrived at the crash, they had attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher and removed a gasoline tank from the pickup truck before it could ignite.

“They jumped into action like it was nothing,” Soucie said. “Those two individuals were absolutely awesome.”

Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said that he is “extremely proud” of Soucie and the witnesses.

“He saved a life last night,” Chief Boone said. “He is an exemplary police officer and this is just one example. I think he’s a hero.”

Turnpike Street was closed for several hours following the crash. Easton Police are investigating.