Going back a full year now, when Gov. Charlie Baker first started reopening this state in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has taken a slow (some would say too slow) and cautious (many would say overly cautious) approach to the process. And this pattern continues with his recent announcement that restrictions on many types of gatherings and businesses will be eased later this month, and that they will be lifted completely on Aug. 1. From a glass-half-full perspective, this is the news all those in the business community have been waiting for — movement back to something approaching normal when it comes to where people can go and what they can do. In the class-half-empty category, ‘normal’ is coming to other states much sooner.