Five things: MIT's big bond, Seaport's Summer Market, and the busiest subway stations
Good morning, Boston. Here are the five things you need to know in local business news to start your busy Monday.
1. Is Boston ready for housing with no parking? Board says no.
A proposed 70-unit development in South Boston without dedicated parking spaces for residents could have been a model for transit-oriented housing in the city, but Grant Welker reports that the city of Boston had other ideas.
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2. MIT borrows $750M as it faces potential research funding cuts
MIT issued a $750 million bond on Friday that it said was for 'general corporate purposes,' echoing a similar step a month ago taken by Harvard University to help with costs when federal grants and contracts are at risk.
3. Seaport Summer Market to return
Isabel Hart reports that the Seaport Summer Market makes its return on May 10, plus Seaport x Black Owned Bos. Market returns for its sixth year — and more retail news.
Do you like Five Things? Make sure to subscribe — free — to our Morning Edition emails so you have it in your inbox each day.
4. Editorial: Time to step on the gas, ramp up T funding
The Business Journal's latest editorial calls on lawmakers to maintain support — and even increase it — for the T, which has seen success under the leadership of Phillip Eng.
5. Pay raises for 2025 are falling
Pay raises are so far this year slightly lower than originally projected by employers, the latest evidence of a slowing job market and a turbulent economy.
What else you need to know
By the numbers
$445.5 million — venture capital funding raised by local startups last month, as reported by BostInno
raised by local startups 220 — speed restrictions in effect on the MBTA's subway over the previous two decades, all of which have been removed
all of which have been removed 33 years —
tenure that Stephen Costello spent as president and CEO of the Bank of Canton; a successor has been chosen
to replace him
Weekend box office
The Marvel movie "Thunderbolts" led the box office this weekend with $76 million in its domestic debut.
Where's the money?
Small-business grants you can apply for in May — and where to find them.
New England Business Report
Did you hear Don Seiffert on the New England Business Report with Joe Shortsleeve and Kim Carrigan on WRKO yesterday? If you missed it, you can listen here.
Today in history
On this day in 1643, John Winthrop Jr. paid for the passage of skilled ironworkers from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where they began the first successful iron works in the American colonies in Saugus in the following years. (Read more at MassMoments.org)
What's good on WERS-FM
Shaking the Tree, by Peter Gabriel
What I'm reading
Make Russia Great Again, by Christopher Buckley
What I'm watching
American Idol, on ABC/Hulu
You think your T station busy?
The Business Journal for the second year has analyzed transit data from the MBTA in order to rank ridership trends across the city and determine the subway system's busiest train station.
Last year's data showed that more passengers passed through the Red Line gates at South Station than any of the 71 gated stations where passengers have to swipe a transit card or use tap-to-pay on their phone. This past year, the MBTA's busiest station is where the Green and Orange lines meet: North Station.
The ranking by Jess Aloe and Sean McFadden can be seen here, while Grant Welker's reporting shows that the development on and around Causeway Street helped boost transit swipes at the North Station in 2024. Despite the growth in ridership at North Station, the number of riders entering nearly every T station in the MBTA network decreased compared with pre-pandemic 2019. In fact, 2024 passenger counts remain down 46% from 2019 — meaning nearly 67 million fewer passenger entries at all stations last year compared to five years ago.
For more charts, graphs and interesting facts about your favorite T station — as well as six projects coming down the track at the MBTA, check out the cover story in the latest Weekly Edition.
PARTING SHOT
Yesterday was Star Wars Day — May the Fourth (be with you). Below, Carl Sagan takes the fun out of "Star Wars: A New Hope," speaking with Johnny Carson in 1978 about the reality of physics in science fiction. But Sagan's not wrong about the anti-Wookiee discrimination.
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Busiest MBTA Train Stations
Estimated gated entries for calendar-year 2024
Rank Prior Rank Station
1
4
North Station
2
1
South Station
3
2
Downtown Crossing View this list
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Business Insider
3 minutes ago
- Business Insider
A YouTuber created a $75 grill scrubber to experience the challenges of making stuff in the US — and it sold out
A really nice grill brush will cost you about $25 at your local big box store, but YouTuber Dustin Sandlin is betting he can get customers to shell out three times that amount for a Made-in-America version. Sandlin traces his passion for US manufacturing to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when he was bothered by the lack of American-made essential goods. "Everybody wanted N95 masks and face shields, and they couldn't get it," he said in a recent YouTube video. "This revealed to me how anemic our manufacturing capacity in America has become, because I was waiting on some billionaire to come save us, and it didn't happen." So began a yearslong deep dive into the challenges of making products in the US, which Sandlin documented for his series on YouTube called "Smarter Every Day." After working with John Youngblood, the owner of a local specialty grill accessories company, Sandlin got excited about the idea of developing a better scrubber. Sandlin and Youngblood wanted to produce it in the US with as many domestically sourced components as possible, and sell it at a retail price. In a video that went live Sunday and has since amassed more than 2 million views, Sandlin shares why he decided to get serious about US manufacturing, explains how he navigated the design process, and makes a sales pitch for viewers to buy it for themselves. On Tuesday, Youngblood told Business Insider the $75 scrubber has sold through its initial production run of several thousand units within a day, and his company is now taking pre-orders. "We're going to have a backlog for a while," Youngblood said. Most grill brushes are meant to be thrown away. This one isn't. Many lower-cost grill brushes aren't typically designed to last more than a year of use — grill-maker Weber recommends changing them after each grilling season. Another problem is that the bristles have been known to come off and can end up in grilled food. Sandlin and Youngblood found that welded chain mail — like the material of a medieval knight's armor — was highly effective at cleaning grill grates without breaking. There was one problem: "We could only find it in China." After a few tries, the team managed to find a US supplier who could make about 2,000 units a month and a supplier in India to augment the rest. Attaching the chain mail to a handle proved to be another adventure. Sandlin said the average one-inch industrial bolt costs around 9 cents when imported, but that jumps to 38 cents for versions made in the US. "Most machine shops I talked to directly, they said, 'Yeah, we can't even get the material for the price of the finished bolts that you're getting from a foreign supplier,'" Sandlin said. Then there was the process of making injection-molded parts to provide support and flexibility, which required machining custom tools and dies (the metal forms that shape a material) for shops to use in production. "This is the moment where this whole experiment came into focus for me," Sandlin said. "I realized at that moment we're screwed." American manufacturing has exported the smart part of making stuff The reason for Sandlin's pessimism is that many of the shops he spoke with send tool and die design files to China to be made and imported for use in US production lines. "I don't want my intellectual property in China, I want to make it here," he said. "And they said, 'Good luck.'" The problem illuminated by this episode goes far beyond a seemingly simple grilling accessory. "We're screwed as a nation if we can't do the intelligent work of tool and die: making the tools that make the things," Sandlin said. "We have flipped it. We are now to the point where the smart stuff is done somewhere else." Sandlin and Youngblood eventually found US suppliers for all of their custom components. They're working to get every piece sourced here. The video shows two instances where Sandlin was surprised by the apparent country of origin being different from what he says he was led to believe: The first batch of knobs arrived in packaging stating they were made in Costa Rica rather than the US. Several boxes of chain mail (ostensibly from India) had markings that suggested they were instead from China. "I'm shocked," Sandlin said. "It's pretty weird to set out to try to make a thing completely in America and to find out towards the end of the process that you made something in China anyways." Sandlin says he's not interested in having America be the dominant world player — he wants more opportunities for people here to have good jobs that allow them to take care of their communities. "If you are ever, ever in a position to make a decision about where your thing is manufactured, take a second and consider making a little less profit, maybe in order to invest in your local community," he said.
Axios
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U.S. races to break China's hold on rare earth magnets
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Vision Marine Secures U.S. Battery Supply Chain Through Strategic Expansion with Octillion Power Systems
U.S.-Assembled 45.36 kWh High-Voltage Packs from Nevada Facility to Promote Accelerated OEM and Consumer Growth Through E-Motion™ Platform MONTREAL, QC / ACCESS Newswire Vision Marine Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:VMAR) ('Vision Marine' or the 'Company'), a pioneer in high-voltage electric marine propulsion systems, today announced a major milestone in its U.S. scale-up strategy: the expansion of its longstanding partnership with Octillion Power Systems, a top-tier U.S.-based lithium-ion battery manufacturer, to produce Vision-branded high-voltage battery packs dedicated exclusively to the American market. Under the terms of the agreement, Octillion will assemble Vision Marine's new proprietary 45.36 kWh battery packs at its state-of-the-art facility in Nevada, aiding in fast, cost-efficient distribution across North America. These batteries are designed to support both Vision Marine's OEM integrations and consumer-facing electric boat offerings, delivering increased power, extended range, and improved performance-while reducing total system cost and simplifying logistics. This renewed and enhanced partnership establishes a partial U.S. supply chain for Vision Marine's proprietary E-Motion™ 180E electric outboard system, unlocking key efficiencies. In addition to supporting factory integration with third-party manufacturers, the partnership provides a reliable and consistent battery supply for Vision Marine's direct-to-consumer electric boat sales, including those produced under formal production agreements with multiple established boat manufacturers. These vessels are sold through Vision Marine's channels while retaining the original manufacturer's branding, enabling broad market reach without altering brand identity. 'Octillion has been an integral technology partner to Vision Marine for several years, powering our most high-performance programs-including multiple electric world speed record boats,' said Alexandre Mongeon, CEO of Vision Marine Technologies. 'With this expanded partnership and the support of Octillion's Nevada facility, we are positioned to scale commercial deliveries and prepare for our next record-setting performance with more power and higher efficiency.' Founded in 2009 and headquartered in California, Octillion Power Systems is a global leader in lithium-ion battery technology, with over 2 million battery systems deployed across electric vehicles, industrial equipment, and energy storage sectors. Octillion brings deep technical expertise and proven large-scale manufacturing capabilities-essential components to Vision Marine's growth roadmap. 'Having collaborated with Vision Marine since 2021 on the development of this American-built, marine-dedicated battery platform has been both technically rewarding and strategically significant,' said Paul Beach, President of Octillion Power Systems. 'We are proud to manufacture these 45.36 kWh packs at our Nevada facility and to work in close alignment with Vision Marine's team as they scale delivery and continue to push the boundaries of electric propulsion on water.' In addition to supporting near-term production, Octillion's close proximity and embedded technical collaboration introduce a new phase in Vision Marine's development strategy. By aligning with a team that has delivered over 2 million battery systems globally, Vision Marine is now embracing a more agile, partner-integrated model of innovation, leveraging Octillion's energy systems expertise to guide refinements and influence the evolution of future battery architectures. The battery systems being manufactured by Octillion are integrated with Vision Marine's patent-pending proprietary high-voltage marine propulsion powertrain -the first battery pack purpose-built for electric marine propulsion. Engineered to meet the demanding conditions of marine use, these packs deliver enhanced energy density, ruggedness, and integration simplicity-promoting optimal performance across a wide range of recreational and commercial applications. The packs will be available exclusively with the E-Motion™ 180E outboard and offered as part of a fully integrated, plug-and-play powertrain solution. Designed for rapid OEM adoption and simplified factory installation, this system addresses long-standing industry barriers to electric adoption-namely cost, complexity, and limited performance. By leveraging Octillion's Nevada-based production infrastructure and forward-leaning technical engagement, Vision Marine becomes the first company in North America offering a fully industrialized, high-voltage electric marine outboard system with a U.S.-sourced battery solution -positioning the Company to meet growing demand for electrified boating while supporting regulatory and content compliance initiatives. With domestic battery sourcing secured, enhanced pack performance, and ongoing collaboration with Octillion's technical team, Vision Marine enters the second half of 2025 with the foundation to scale its go-to-market operations and accelerate its innovation agenda. As the Company advances, it remains committed to shaping the future of marine electrification by embracing cross-functional partnerships and leading-edge development models to bring next-generation technologies to the water. About Octillion Power Systems Octillion Power Systems is a U.S.-based global provider of advanced lithium-ion battery solutions for electric mobility and stationary energy storage. With over 2 million battery packs shipped worldwide, Octillion specializes in scalable, safe, and high-performance battery packs for transportation, industrial, and grid-connected applications. Visit to learn more. About Vision Marine Technologies Inc. Vision Marine Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:VMAR) is a pioneer in marine electrification. Its flagship E-Motion™ 180E system is a fully integrated high-voltage electric outboard powertrain built for OEM adoption at scale. Vision Marine designs and manufactures electric propulsion systems and boats to transform recreational and commercial boating into a zero-emission experience. Learn more at Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release constitute 'forward-looking statements.' These statements include, but are not limited to, expectations regarding the benefits of the new patent, its impact on future product development and original equipment manufacturer integrations, and Vision Marine's competitive position. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Factors that could affect results are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Vision Marine undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law. Investor & Company Contact Vision Marine Technologies Bruce Nurse – Investor Relations (303) 919-2913 bn@ Website: Twitter: @marine_vision Facebook: @VisionMarineTechnologies Instagram: @ YouTube: @VisionMarineTechnologies SOURCE: Vision Marine Technologies Inc View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
