Growing up in Wayland near Henry Knox’s famous cannon trek, Rob Waldron remembers all the commotion around the US Bicentennial in 1976: the historic reenactments, the bell-ringing at the local Unitarian Universalist church, the town hydrants painted red, white, and blue.
Now that he has wrapped up a successful career in educational software, Waldron’s philanthropic efforts revolve around various historical initiatives. As the country’s 250th birthday approaches, Waldron wants to spark the kind of excitement and interest in the next generation of students that he had for the Bicentennial.
Waldron has dreamed up and bankrolled a new video contest for eighth-grade social studies classes dubbed the “We Declare! Challenge” and organized by Cambridge-based nonprofit iCivics. Teachers can create a video of students reading from the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence, and submit the video for prizes, including scholarships and premier seating at the Boston Pops July 4 celebration. Videos are due by May 15.
“I was worried, particularly having grown up with the history [of the state], that the history is not necessarily getting out there,” Waldron said. “What can I do in my philanthropy, in my time, to get the kids engaged again?”
ICivics will narrow down the finalists, and then a panel of more than a dozen judges will pick the top three. They include Pam Everhart at video-contest cosponsor Fidelity Investments, Vertex CEO Reshma Kewalramani, Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, and Boston Foundation president Lee Pelton.
Ever since Waldron stepped down as chief executive of Curriculum Associates at the start of 2025, he has followed his passion for history. (Kelly Sia took over at the Billerica firm, and Waldron remains its chairman.) He joined the boards of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Adams Presidential Center, and launched a startup with Dean Serrentino called Historiq that uses AI to help accelerate archival processing and digitization.
“History matters,” Waldron said. “It teaches us how we should be as citizens, and what we’re going to hand the next generation.”
Talking tax cuts
Let’s make a deal.
That was House Speaker Ron Mariano’s message to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, regarding the income tax cut question currently headed to the ballot in November.
Mariano sees the proposal to cut the income tax rate to 4 percent as catastrophic to the state’s budget. Proponents, including some business groups such as the Massachusetts High Technology Council, think otherwise, and argue it would improve the state’s competitiveness.
Mariano wants a deal this spring that would be good enough to persuade proponents to pull the question from the ballot — although it’s not clear what that deal would entail.
So Mariano publicly turned to the chamber and its chief executive, Jim Rooney, for help. The chamber has remained neutral, at least up to this point, and it has board members on both sides.
“We’re on the precipice,” Mariano told the crowd at the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel. “We need the help of the business community that is watching this unfold.”
Mariano said the state simply can’t afford such a big tax cut that will translate to a major loss in services and cuts to school budgets, economic development, and infrastructure spending.
“The House shares your concerns about affordability and competitiveness, but the ballot question simply isn’t an answer to either of those challenges,” Mariano added. “It’s my hope that the folks who are pushing this ballot question are willing to sit down with us and consider alternatives to their current approach.”
Wondering about growth
Wonder Group is opening as many as 30 “food hall” locations in Greater Boston this year, but CommonWealth Kitchen won’t be celebrating its arrival.
New York-based Wonder, a venture-backed business that offers multiple food brands under one roof, sparked unusual pushback from CWK soon after its first Boston-area openings in February.
Normally, CWK’s blog and email newsletters promote food startups fostered by the Dorchester-based nonprofit incubator. But in this email, executive director Jen Faigel did something unusual by expressing concern about Wonder’s authenticity.
Faigel said she spoke up because she views Wonder as exemplifying the “commodification” of food, and how private investments can enter a market, outspend local businesses, and upend a business model. “If small and independent restaurants and caterers had Wonder’s marketing resources,” she added, “Boston’s food scene would be on much sounder footing.”
Launched in 2018 by former Walmart executive Marc Lore, Wonder is in the midst of a major growth spurt — thanks in part to a $600 million investment round last year. Boston-area executive Courtney Lawrie, formerly with Wayfair, is helping lead this push. She says Wonder now is up to more than 100 locations in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, up from 35 in early 2025, with an eye on reaching 200 by the end of 2026.
Wonder combines aspects of a food hall and a ghost kitchen; diners can choose from up to 20 different menus, including some with ties to celebrity chefs, with take-out, delivery, and dine-in options. The company also acquired several food startups in the past few years: the Grubhub delivery business, Blue Apron meal kits, and the Boston-born Spyce robot salad maker.
Lawrie said CWK’s commentary doesn’t reflect Wonder and its mission, to “make great food more accessible.” She said Wonder’s approach is rooted in “flavor-driven, chef-inspired meals” and has received warm welcomes in the communities where its stores have opened.
Taking a back seat
Around Greater Boston, it’s hard to miss that Jordan’s Furniture sure looks different in its latest ad campaign.
The logo was significantly redesigned for the first time in decades with a more modern look. The “J” is in lower-case now. The word “Furniture” is gone. The new tagline is: “We get you. We got you.”
But the biggest change might be this: Eliot Tatelman’s role as the Taunton-based chain’s spokesperson has been diminished.
That’s not necessarily a surprise. Tatelman retired last year, at age 79, leaving his sons Josh and Michael in charge. (Now, Josh Tatelman is the sole CEO.) Tatelman is willing to participate in the ads, but we won’t see as much of him now.
He’s still considered part of the on-camera cast, though sometimes he only handles the voiceovers. In one TV ad, Tatelman narrates with his instantly recognizable Boston accent. However, we don’t see him. Instead, we see anonymous actors celebrating life’s moments, and maybe considering a sofa or mattress for purchase.
Expect more of these ads in the coming days, weeks, and months. An internal team led by Jordan’s marketing executive, Linda SanGiacomo, designed the campaign, working with Tim Vaccarino and others at TBWA\Chiat\Day Boston (formerly MullenLowe). Pretty Awesome, a production business in Boston, helped out.
SanGiacomo said the Jordan’s marketers are trying to keep alive the spirit of fun and friendliness that Tatelman embodies. He’ll continue to appear in ads, she added, “until he tells us he doesn’t want to anymore.”
Ides of March?
Massachusetts employers in general still seem gloomy about the economic outlook, but not the executives at Citizens Financial Group.
CEO Bruce Van Saun told investors in January that he sees solid GDP growth in 2026, stable unemployment, and maybe even a slide in inflation. Of course, that was before the Iran war upended assumptions a bit.
Still, Van Saun largely remained optimistic in his remarks to employees, provided the Iran situation gets resolved soon, as he completed his annual tour last week of 14 major Citizens markets by meeting with around 600 employees at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
“Every year, you hope you get a calm year,” Van Saun said. “It’s usually by March [that] the hope dies.”
The COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, while Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023. Last year, the Trump administration’s tariffs kept executives up at night. This year? The United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Feb. 28, and the bombing and chaos were relentless in the month that followed, with a tenuous peace coming into place only last week. “March,” Van Saun conceded, “has not been my favorite month.”
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.