Christine Morin takes over Cradles to Crayons from founder Lynn Margherio

Morin takes over for founder Lynn Margherio, who stepped down after more than two decades. Over time, Margherio expanded C2C into the Philadelphia and Chicago metro areas, by opening warehouses, and then in New York City and San Francisco, by launching an online platform that allows people to donate clothes directly to local social service providers. Now, Morin will chart a course for more growth at the donor-funded organization, which employs 107 people and has a $20 million annual budget.

Before joining the Trustees, Morin worked for 15 years at City Year, the Boston-based educational nonprofit.

“I’ve always held a deep commitment for supporting the success of young people and doing anything we can to remove barriers so they can thrive,” Morin said. That means “making sure every kid is proud of who they are and dreaming big of what they want to become.”

While considering the C2C opportunity, Morin volunteered at its “Giving Factory” in Newton. Spending that time with strangers packing donated clothes left an impression.

“There was a sense of joy and connection and empathy,” Morin said. “I walked out feeling, ‘This is it.’ This is putting all of the pieces together in terms of my passion.”

Board chair Dean Athanasia said Morin stood out because of her experience running and expanding nonprofit operations.

“We have such a strong foundation with Cradles to Crayons. We thought she could take it to the next level,” said Athanasia, president of regional banking for Bank of America. “She’s got the personality, the relationship skills, [and] she’s got some great experience that married well with everything we need to accomplish.”

For more than two decades, the mayor of Boston has shown up at the Boston Municipal Research Bureau’s annual lunch, to talk about the city’s fiscal health and new initiatives.

But this spring, Mayor Michelle Wu will break from tradition. She’s skipping the $3,000-per-table fund-raiser for the business-backed watchdog group on April 10 at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza. She was scheduled to attend but decided to drop it from her schedule. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll has taken her place as keynote speaker.

The decision appears to be about taxes. The bureau, led by interim president Marty Walz, has been outspoken for the past year during the debate over Wu’s efforts to temporarily shift more of Boston’s property tax burden onto commercial taxpayers. The mayor is concerned that declining office tower values will translate to more pain for homeowners, whose property values have largely increased in recent years.

“We spent much time with the Bureau over the last year in a good faith effort to deliver modest, balanced tax relief to Boston residents that was ultimately shaped by the Bureau’s misrepresentations and focus on optics rather than impact,” Wu said in a statement. “The City cannot continue to provide exclusive access or early previews for this group over other corporate entities and voices.”

When asked about the statement, Walz produced one of her own, pointing out the nonpartisan bureau’s 93-year history of data-driven analysis.

“As a municipal watchdog, we have not always seen eye to eye with every mayor, but we have always worked together to ensure that Boston is a vibrant, livable, and world-class city,” Walz said. “We are disappointed that Mayor Wu has chosen not to participate in our annual meeting because of a single policy disagreement.”

Walz still hopes for a productive relationship with City Hall. “More conversation, not less, is needed to move Boston forward,” Walz said.

Suffolk Construction’s Pat Lucey helped oversee some of the most prominent towers to go up around Boston lately: Millennium Tower, Winthrop Center, Encore Boston Harbor. His most complex project today? The skyscraper rising above South Station.

After about 20 years with Suffolk, Lucey will now have an even broader landscape to oversee. Suffolk chief executive John Fish promoted Lucey to be general manager of the Boston company’s Northeast region.

Lucey has essentially grown up in the firm, ever since his days as a Williams College quarterback. Like Fish, Lucey went to high school at Tabor Academy in Marion. He began interning at Suffolk while in college and joined full-time after graduating in 2008. Among his early roles: assistant to the chief executive, working closely with Fish and attending high-level meetings.

“Pat’s been like a son to me,” Fish said. “He understands ... the construction business from the ground up. What he learned very quickly is, it’s not about building buildings, it’s about building people.”

Lucey’s previous boss Jeff Gouveia has relocated to Suffolk’s Southeast market, based in Miami. Lucey now reports directly to Fish, as do Gouveia and nearly 10 others. Fish, who owns the company, estimates 1,200 employees fall under Lucey’s purview now.

“What I’m really looking forward to is to continue to work with some amazing people,” Lucey said, “[and] looking to grow our existing client base.”

Health care is a big business — for Boston’s lobbying shops.

The sector again dominated Massachusetts lobbying firms’ focus in 2024, per records released by the secretary of state’s office, as total lobbying spending rose 5 percent to $104 million.

Of the five biggest corporate spenders on lobbying, three are in health care. Again. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state’s largest health insurer, led the way again, spending $460,000 (down from $495,000 in 2023). Hospital chains Beth Israel Lahey Health and Mass General Brigham traded places, with BILH spending $417,000 compared with MGB’s $390,000. The other biggest corporate spenders were train operator Keolis ($427,500) and simulcasting hall owner Sterling Suffolk Racecourse ($420,000).

Blue Cross spokesperson Amy McHugh said 2024 was extremely busy with many health care bills debated at the State House. In particular, she said Blue Cross lobbyists engaged with lawmakers in drafting a bill aimed at curbing pharmaceutical costs and another one for strengthening oversight of the state’s health care system.

Health care also dominated trade group lobbying. Most health insurers other than Blue Cross belong to the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, which had the biggest lobbying spend of any business group last year, $1.3 million, overtaking new runner-up, the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association ($1.1 million).

And Smith, Costello & Crawford held onto the top spot among Boston’s busiest lobbying firms, reporting $6.2 million in lobbying revenue, up from $5.5 million in 2023. No surprise, then, that some of its key clients are in health care, including Tufts Medicine, Shields Health, and UMass Memorial Health.

If Boston commuters haven’t noticed Hunneman before, they probably will now.

Last week, Hunneman embarked on a six-figure ad campaign revolving around digital billboards owned by Outfront Media. Key locations include spots along the Mass. Turnpike in Allston, Route 1 in Chelsea, and the Southeast Expressway. It’s unusual for a commercial real estate firm in Boston to use billboards to advertise.

“We like to say that we’re not tied to any specific marketing mandates that the national companies are,” Hunneman executive Peter Evans said. “We have the ability to think outside the box a little bit.”

Steve Prozinski, Hunneman’s chief executive, said his team has been talking about doing this for years. The prices for billboard space recently became more reasonable, so Hunneman jumped on the opportunity.

It might seem strange to spend more on advertising when commercial real estate is in the doldrums.

“We tell the brokers ... that their services have never been more valued than it is right now,” Evans said. “You need a trusted adviser to help you navigate the difficulties that are out there.”

Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.