Linda Dorcena Forry

My co-chair Senator Moore and I are holding a state wide listening tour to better connect with small businesses around the state. We had previously stopped in Worcester and the Fall River/Dartmouth area and yesterday we spent the afternoon meeting with business leaders around the Cape. It was great to hear from them because the interests of the Cape are a bit different than the rest of the Commonwealth.

One hotel owner put it to us straight, “Why wasn’t there a hotel bailout?” With the economy in such dire straits families are being forced to cut back on nights out and on vacations. This has hurt Cape businesses badly. Despite the economy and the housing bust, business leaders also told us about how hard it is retain a work force because of the high cost of housing. They gave us a lot to think about and I’m going to see what we can do. However, with so little money in the State’s coffers, our options right now are a bit limited. Increasingly the state’s tourism budget is currently not realistic.

At the end of the tour we are going to compile all our notes and create a working document which will outline steps to help our small businesses thrive in the Commonwealth. In the meantime, I am thoroughly enjoying meeting with business leaders and hearing their concerns. Sometimes we are able to connect them with resources that the state already offers so thus far it has been a wonderful two way conversation.