Mood: disappointed

Did anyone catch the Boston Globe article in Thursday's paper (buried on p B9) about the recently-released list of "bio-ready" communities?

The Boston Globe: 'Bio-ready' communities in state named

These are places that have "positioned themselves as destinations for [biotech] labs or manufacturing plants." The top-rated places have appropriate zoning and a permitting process and available sites or buildings. In addition to places like Cambridge, Waltham and Boston, the top-rated places include (on the North Shore) Beverly, Haverhill, and North Andover. Second-tier places in the region (again, on the North Shore only) include Lynn, Newburyport, Reading, Everett, Lawrence, and Salem. Forty-four of the 351 communities in MA are on the list.

What are we, chopped liver? We have an industrial park with lots of space, a highway strip (Route One) crying out for something better than chain restaurants and cut-rate hotels, good infrastructure, a host of medical-related facilities, and a highway-oriented location that is one of the best in the state. Did Peabody even apply to the Mass. Biotech Council for consideration?? Readers, enlighten us here at the Roundtable!