It’s a Whole new story at 
old Herald site

Whole Foods Market debuted its newest Boston store in the South End yesterday — its second largest in the region and considered a flagship for its North Atlantic division — and co-CEO Walter Robb sees room in the Hub for another of its size.

"We've seen the city evolving, so we have lots of plans," the Boston native said. "The opportunity to come in here and get 50,000 square feet — that's hard to do these days, and I do think there's another one (in the future pipeline)."

The Austin-based natural and organic food company entered Massachusetts in 1992 with its $26.2 million purchase of the former six-store, Boston-based Bread & Circus.

Its South End supermarket is in National Development's $200 million Ink Block project, the former Boston Herald headquarters site for more than half a century, and it memorializes the newspaper's history throughout its decor.

"It will be a great part of the community, but I'm also blown away by how much recognition of the Herald has been preserved," said Herald Publisher Patrick J. Purcell, a minority investor in the Ink Block project.

Newton's National Development worked for five years to bring a supermarket there, according to managing director Ted Tye.

"But no one quite got this neighborhood and what we were trying to do," Tye said. "Is it Chinatown? Is it the South End? Is it safe? There was a little risk at the time. (Whole Foods) set the tone for what we're trying to do here — nice, upscale development."

South End resident John Young was shopping at the new Whole Foods just after its opening yesterday.

"We've had a wonderful Foodie's (Urban Market in the South End), but we've been hankering for a Whole Foods," he said. "Now I don't have to get deep lines in my hands carrying heavy bags all the way from (the Symphony Whole Foods)."

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SpaceX launches for NASA, no luck with rocket landing at sea

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX pulled off another successful launch of supplies to the International Space Station on Saturday, but its revolutionary attempt to land the leftover booster on an ocean barge fared less well.

The company's billionaire founder Elon Musk said the first-stage of the unmanned Falcon rocket made it to the platform floating a couple hundred miles off Florida's northeastern coast. But the booster came down too hard and broke apart, he said.

"Close, but no cigar this time," Musk said via Twitter. He said it bodes well for the future, though.

It was the first time anyone tried anything like this. Musk maintains that recovering and reusing rockets is essential for bringing down launch costs and speeding up operations.

The primary mission for SpaceX was delivering more than 5,000 pounds of supplies ordered up by NASA, including hasty replacements for experiments and equipment lost in the destruction of another company's cargo ship last fall, as well as extra groceries. Belated Christmas presents were also on board for the six space station astronauts.

"Hurrah! A #Dragon is coming to visit bringing gifts," Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti said in a tweet from orbit.

Without interfering with the $133 million delivery, Musk had fins for guidance and landing legs installed on the first stage of the rocket, and positioned a modified barge off the coast of Jacksonville. A ship with SpaceX staff watched from a safe 10 miles away as the 14-story booster approached the platform, marked with a giant X.

Musk reported that the platform itself — 300 feet by 100 feet, with wings stretching the width to 170 feet — was fine following the attempted touchdown well before dawn. But he said some of the equipment on deck will need to be replaced. There ended up being no good video of the "landing/impact," he said in a tweet, noting it was "pitch dark and foggy" out in the ocean.

"Will piece it together from telemetry and ... actual pieces," he said.

Brief TV images from booster cameras, broadcast by NASA, showed water bubbles.

In the weeks preceding the landing test, Musk had estimated there was a 50-50 chance, at best, that the Falcon's first-stage booster would land vertically on the platform. A pair of attempts last year to bring boosters down vertically on the open ocean went well, but company officials conceded before Saturday's try that a platform touchdown was considerably more challenging.

Once separated from the upper stage of the rocket Saturday, the main booster re-ignited as planned for the flyback, according to SpaceX. Automatic engine firings maneuvered the booster down toward the autonomous, modified barge. The Air Force maintained the ability, as always, to destroy the booster if it strayed off course.

NASA watched the post-launch drama with keen interest, but its biggest focus was on the Dragon racing toward the space station. The capsule is due to arrive there Monday.

The shipment — the sixth by SpaceX since 2012 — is needed more than usual because of the recent loss of another company's supply ship.

Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket exploded seconds after liftoff in October, destroying the entire payload and damaging the Virginia launch complex. That rocket is grounded until next year.

This SpaceX delivery was supposed to occur before Christmas, but was delayed by a flawed test-firing of the rocket. Then a problem with the rocket's steering system cropped up at the last minute during Tuesday's initial launch attempt.

NASA is paying SpaceX and Orbital Sciences to keep the space station stocked in the wake of the retired shuttle program. The $1.6 billion contract with SpaceX calls for 12 flights; the $1.9 billion contract with Orbital calls for eight. SpaceX also returns items to Earth; Orbital cannot.

Russia and Japan will make their own supply runs this year.

SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, also has been contracted by NASA to develop beefed-up Dragons for astronaut rides to the space station, beginning as early as 2017. Boeing also is hard at work on a manned capsule. In the meantime, NASA is paying tens of millions of dollars to Russia for each U.S. astronaut launched aboard the Soyuz spacecraft.

___

Online:

SpaceX: http://www.spacex.com/

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

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Stylish townhouse resides 
in Somerville

This stylishly designed four-level contemporary townhouse between Davis and Teele squares in Somerville comes with a number of smart-home-enabled features.

An apps package lets you use your mobile device to control the unit's fireplace, lighting, built-in Sonos surround system and Nest thermostats. The doorbell rings on your device and an entry camera lets you see who's at the door and open it.

The three-bedroom Unit 3
at 41 Elmwood St. is one of eight townhouses in three buildings. It has an attached garage and a private top-floor deck, and is on the market for $1,249,900.

You enter the attached HardiePlank-sided townhouse into a foyer with a coat closet. A few steps up is an open living/dining area with 14-foot ceilings with recessed lighting and built-in speakers. This space has three tall 9-over-9 windows with transoms above, stained oak floors and a built-in stone-faced gas fireplace with storage shelves on one side.

You step up from the living area into a stylish oak-floored kitchen with 20 dark-stained custom 
locally made wood cabinets and white quartz countertops, including an island/breakfast bar that seats four. Stainless-steel appliances include a built-in Sub-Zero refrigerator, a Bosch wall oven, microwave and dishwasher, and a Wolf electric induction cooktop with a glass-mosaic tile backsplash. The kitchen has four windows as well as a built-in white quartz-topped desk area.

Off the kitchen sits a ceramic-tiled half bathroom.

A turning oak staircase leads up to two bedrooms on the second level, with a closet off the hallway holding a stacked stainless-steel Asko washer and dryer.

The master bedroom has oak floors, two windows, and two closets with built-in storage, one a walk-in. The en-suite master bathroom features porcelain-tile floors and surround a walk-in shower with a rolling glass door. A digital shower controller warms up the water, displays temperature and has a timer. There's a double-sink wood vanity topped with light-brown granite.

Across the hall is a smaller second bedroom with oak floors, five windows and a double-door closet. There's also a second full bathroom with a porcelain tile floor, a white-quartz-topped vanity and white subway tile around a tub shower.

Stairs to the third level open onto a flex space — a third bedroom or home office with two windows and a skylight. A glass door leads out to a decent-sized private deck.

The fourth level leads down from the living area. Halfway down is direct access to an attached one-car garage. And there's a glass door out to a rear passageway but no private or common yard space.

The lower level has a carpeted family room with a full-size window. Off this space sits a half bathroom with a pedestal sink.

A utility room holds a tankless water heater and the unit's forced-air heating and central air-conditioning systems.

Home Showcase

• Address: 41 Elmwood St., Unit 3, Somerville
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: Two full, two half
• List price: $1,249,900
• Square feet: 2,199
• Price per square foot: $568
• Annual taxes: To be determined
• Monthly condo fee: $195
• Location: A half mile to restaurants, retail and Red Line T station in Davis Square; quarter mile to offerings in Teele Square.
• Built in: 2014
• Broker: Stephen Bremis of Bremis Realty at 617-828-1070

Pros:

• Living dining area with 14-foot ceilings, tall windows, horizontal gas fireplace
• Smart-home technology with Sonos sound system with built-in speakers, Nest thermostats
• Stylish kitchen with white quartz counters, custom-made cabinets, high-end appliances, built-in desk
• Master bedroom suite with two closets, bathroom with digital-controlled shower
• Top floor flex room opens out to private deck

Cons:

• No private or common yard space

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Jaguar sedan’s power doesn’t pounce

The 2015 Jaguar XF Sport delivers a highly refined driving experience worthy of its price.

Built to compete with the Audi A6, BMW 5 series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class vehicles, the Jaguar XF is an excellent choice for those who want to stand out from the crowd. With an MSRP of $59,875, it could even be considered a good value as it comes packed with standard features.

This British-made sedan possesses plenty of power — enough to maintain interest, but not so much that it overwhelms. It has a responsive and peppy 340-horsepower, 3.0-liter V6 engine with acceleration that doesn't lurch or intimidate. The XF Sport's engine is in the middle of the XF lineup, which ranges from a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder to a 5.0-liter V8 engine.

The XF Sport has an intelligent all-wheel-drive system that keeps the power on the rear wheels until needed, providing sure footing even in slick road conditions. For further control in adverse weather conditions, it also has winter and dynamic modes.

Our tester had an aerodynamic exterior coated in Italian racing red metallic paint, a charcoal interior and 20-inch dark grey wheels. It comes equipped with heated leather seats and a heated steering wheel, which were both tested on a raw, cold day and proved strong enough to use instead of the climate control system. It also had a heated windshield.

Retractable air vents automatically open on ignition for a James Bond effect when using the car's push-button start. Access to the car is gained by a keyless entry system, so you only need to have the key in your pocket to open the locked doors.

Xenon headlights present clear definition even on back streets at night. Signature LED lights outline the headlights, giving this Jaguar an even more distinctive look.

The steering is impressive. Tight spots are easily navigated and parking is incredibly easy. The XF also has a blind spot monitor to alert you to oncoming vehicles in other lanes.

Like its recent Jaguar and Range Rover predecessors, the XF has "intelligent stop-start," which is annoying in that it can only be overridden on a trip-by-trip basis.

Jaguar (and Range Rover for that matter) could use a revamp of the electronics/entertainment cluster. It is a very capable 380-watt touch screen GPS/entertainment system with great sound, but it is not customizable and cannot be configured to match your preferred mode as a default.

A four-year, 50,000 mile warranty with roadside assistance matches the other vehicles in its class. The only drawback when considering a Jaguar is its reliability reputation and lower than average resale value.

In the end, the Jaguar XF Sport is a thoroughly enjoyable vehicle that boasts both style and performance.

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Massachusetts investment adviser, companies charged by SEC

BOSTON — Officials with the Securities and Exchange Commission say they've charged a Massachusetts investment adviser and his companies on allegations they misappropriated at least $16 million belonging to a fund managed by some of the defendants.

The SEC announced the charges Friday against 40-year-old Daniel Thibeault of Framingham and several companies the agency said he controls, including Graduate Leverage LLC, GL Capital Partners LLC and GL Investment Services LLC, all based in Waltham.

The SEC alleges Thibeault and GL Capital Partners were the investment advisers to a fund called the GL Beyond Income Fund and misappropriated at least $16 million from the fund to use for personal expenses and to run other businesses.

Thibeault and his lawyers didn't immediately return messages Friday.

Thibeault also was charged with securities fraud last month.

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Report: Natural gas prices to spike in Mass.

Bay Staters will be paying "spiking" prices for natural gas for the next four years thanks to insufficient supply, according to a new report released by the state.

"From 2015 through 2019, electric generators have insufficient supply of natural gas, which results in spiking natural gas prices," according to the forecast, prepared by Synapse Energy Economics for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs says.

Earlier this year, Nstar and National Grid filed for supply rate increases of 29 percent and 37 percent, citing increasing demand.

The rate increases will mean long, cold winters for low-income residents, said John Drew, president and chief executive of Boston-based advocacy organization ABCD.

"If this stays the way it is, more and more people who are poor are going to have a much more
difficult time getting by," Drew said. "Basic commodities are increasing in price but their incomes are stagnant."

The bleak forecast drives home the need for a swifter transition away from fossil fuels, said the state energy department said.

"This study demonstrates the need to continue investing in energy efficiency and pursuing clean, base load power, like large hydro and wind, to ensure affordability and reliability for Massachusetts ratepayers," EEA spokeswoman Mary-Leah Assad said.

Between 2020 and 2030, Synapse forecasts, the burden will be eased by increasing efficiency in buildings and appliances and a surge in wind power and biomass power production.

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Reebok stands by UFC fighter in rehab

Reebok is sticking by Jon Jones, its newly signed Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter, who has entered a drug treatment facility after testing positive for the primary metabolite of cocaine.

"We commend Jon for taking the necessary steps to address this issue, and we will support him in any way we can," Canton-based Reebok said. "The status of Jon's relationship with Reebok has not changed."

Jones was drug-tested Dec. 4, but escaped penalties because benzoylecgonine isn't a prohibited substance out of competition under World Anti-Doping Agency standards. The UFC light heavyweight champion defended his title for an eighth time Jan. 3 by besting Daniel Cormier.

His rehab announcement came less than a month after Reebok signed the mixed martial artist. Reebok in December also inked a deal to become the UFC's exclusive outfitter.

"Brands are standing by athletes who make mistakes and then take the appropriate action to correct their missteps," NPD Group analyst Matt Powell said, pointing to Nike sticking with golfer Tiger Woods after his 2009 wife-cheating scandal, even while other sponsors dumped him.

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Harvard, Brigham partner up on Ebola drug

A Canadian pharmaceutical company is partnering with Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital to develop an oral drug that blocks the Ebola virus and could be tested on humans as early as this year, according to researchers and the company's president.

"Even if this current epidemic passes, Ebola has been back and forth over the past 40 or so years now," said John Huss, president and CEO of H&P Labs Inc. "It's not something that's always there, but it comes and goes. We weren't ready for this outbreak, but we could be ready for the next outbreak."

H&P Labs announced a licensing agreement with Harvard and Brigham and Women's for two compounds that prevent both the contraction of the Ebola virus and its spread within the body, according to Dr. James Cunningham, a physician at Brigham and Women's and lead researcher on the project.

"The current evidence suggests that the Ebola infection pathway is a complex, multistep process, and our lab has developed compounds that interfere with a couple of those steps," Cunningham said.

One of the compounds, he said, prevents the initial entry of the virus into cells, while the other prevents the transport of the virus.

The research was conducted by Cunningham and collaborators at the Cunningham lab at Brigham and Women's and at Harvard Medical School's New England Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Centers of Excellence for Translational Research. According to Cunningham, the research has been progressing for about 10 years.

Huss said H&P Labs will use the findings to develop an oral treatment against the virus and will begin testing on animals during the second quarter of this year.

"If everything pans out as we expect it to, then we bring it into humans late 2015, early 2016," he said.

The announcement of the licensing agreement comes as researchers and pharmaceutical companies work overtime to find a marketable way to battle the deadly Ebola outbreak, which has claimed more than 8,000 lives, mostly in West Africa.

Also yesterday, the World Health Organization announced that the final-stage trials of several experimental vaccines will begin this month or next. About 90 experts met at WHO headquarters to discuss plans for clinical trials in Liberia, 
Sierra Leone and Guinea.

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The Ticker

Dun & Bradstreet buys NetProspex for $125M

Dun & Bradstreet, the world's leading source of commercial information and insight on businesses, announced yesterday it has acquired NetProspex, a Waltham-based company offering contact data and data management service, for $125 million. NetProspex, which employs 125, will continue to operate out of its Waltham office with CEO Michael Bird becoming general manager of the new Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex division.

J.C. Penney to shut 40 stores, 2 in Mass.

J.C. Penney Co. said yesterday that it will close about 40 U.S. stores this year, including two in the Bay State, at the Hanover Mall in Hanover and the Silver City Galleria in Taunton. The nationwide closings would cut about 2,250 jobs. Most of the stores will close by April 4, the Plano, Texas-based department store operator said.

MIT gets $118M gift for real estate lab

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology yesterday announced it has received a $118 million gift from an alumnus to advance socially responsible and sustainable real estate, with a focus on China.

The gift from Samuel Tak Lee, who earned two degrees from MIT in the early 1960s, is one of the largest in the school's history.

The money will be used to establish the Samuel Tak Lee MIT Real Estate Entrepreneurship Lab, and will fund student fellowships and support research on real estate and urbanization.

Coca-Cola to cut up to 1,800 jobs

Coca-Cola Co. will cut as many as 1,800 jobs, or about 1 percent of its global workforce, as the world's largest beverage company reduces costs amid a sales slump.

The first employees to be fired were notified yesterday and more jobs will be eliminated in the coming months, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The cuts will stretch across Coke's corporate headquarters and North American operations, both based in Atlanta, as well as its international units.

Today

• Labor Department releases employment data for December.
• Commerce Department releases wholesale trade inventories for November.
• The Charlestown, R.I.-based Randall Family of Cos., which includes Kinlin Grover Real Estate on Cape Cod as well as Page Taft and Randall Realtor in Rhode Island and Connecticut, has announced the appointment of Kathy Forrester, left, as marketing director. Forrester has previously held marketing management positions at Hydroid, AMA Nantucket, Talbots and Walt Disney World.

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Markey: Honda fines a ‘warning’

Reforms are "urgently needed" to prevent more auto deaths, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey said yesterday after Honda was hit with a record $70 million in fines for not reporting to regulators 1,729 complaints that its vehicles caused deaths and injuries.

"This fine is a warning signal to all auto companies that they should take their safety reporting system into the shop for a tune-up," the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement. "Reforms are still urgently needed to hold car companies accountable and provide more information to the public so they can be protected from fatal vehicle defects."

The two $35 million fines issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was the largest civil penalty ever levied against an automaker. But Markey said NHTSA's $35 million maximum fine should be raised, "so that multi-billion dollar corporations don't get away with the equivalent of a fiscal slap on the wrist when they hide or miss important safety information."

The Honda complaints were related to air bag and other defective parts. Honda blamed its omissions on "errors related to data entry, computer coding, regulatory interpretation, and other errors in warranty and property damage claims reporting."

Markey, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said NHTSA needs to improve its Early Warning Reporting system, which requires auto makers to report deaths, injuries and warranty claims by making the information publicly available in a searchable format so consumers and safety experts can evaluate potential safety defects themselves.

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Employment lags in some Bay State cities

The job market in Massachusetts is slowly and steadily improving, but some parts of the state are being left behind, according to new federal data.

The unemployment rate for the Lawrence-Methuen metropolitan area was nearly twice as high as the Boston-Cambridge-­Quincy area in October, according to data released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate for the Lawrence area was 8 percent in October, compared to 4.5 percent in the Boston-Cambridge-­Quincy area, which includes dozens of other cities­ and towns. A year ago, the Lawrence area had an unemployment rate of 11 percent.

Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera said the city is working hard to improve job prospects for residents, and is focusing its efforts on adults for whom English is a second language and those aged 17 to 22 who are unemployed.

"We are ensuring that we have a good English as a second language program to help them in their job search and to help them in their job training," Rivera said.

He said he is also working with surrounding towns and cities to improve employment opportunities for the region.

Daniel Hodge, an economist and director of Economic and Public Policy Research at the UMass Donahue Institute, said a number of cities in Massachusetts, including Lawrence, New Bedford and Fall River, are struggling to recover at the same pace as other parts of the state.

"Some of the regions outside of Greater Boston are starting to look better, but when you get to the city level, there's still a lot of disparity," Hodge said.

Pockets of despair:

October 2014 unemployment rates for metropolitan areas in Eastern Massachusetts:

Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, N.H.: 8%

Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton: 5.6%

United States: 5.5%

Taunton-Norton-Raynham: 5.2%

Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford: 5.1%

Massachusetts: 5.1%

Peabody: 5.1%

Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury: 4.7%

Boston-Cambridge-Quincy: 4.5%

Framingham: 4.1%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
 

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The Ticker

Dunkin' plans to open 
1,400 stores in China

Dunkin' Donuts has struck a deal to open more than 1,400 locations in China over the next 20 years.

Parent company Dunkin' Brands Group Inc., which is based in Canton and owns Baskin Robbins, yesterday said it entered into a master franchise agreement with Golden Cup Pte. Ltd.

A year ago, Dunkin' Donuts also announced a separate agreement with Fast Gourmet Group to develop more than 100 stores in eastern China. And on Monday, the chain said it signed a franchise agreement to open more than 100 locations throughout Mexico.

Dunkin' Donuts ended the most recent quarter with about 3,200 international locations. In the U.S., it had about 8,000 stores.

Northeast Utilities gets new name

Northeast Utilities, the parent company of NSTAR, is adopting a new name as part of a rebranding effort.

Beginning Feb. 2, the utility, and all its subsidiaries including Connecticut Light and Power, NU Transmission, Western Massachusetts Electric Co., Public Service of New Hampshire, NSTAR Electric and Gas and Yankee Gas Services Co., will be known as Eversource Energy.

The company said it launched an internal initiative in 2013 focusing on integrating its electric and gas companies and improving customer service. It included options for the utility's brand as it worked to integrate the company in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

NSTAR to refund $44.7M to customers

NSTAR will refund $44.7 million to customers, resolving 11 outstanding cases before the Department of Public Utilities, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced yesterday. NSTAR overcharged customers for various capital improvements, for which the company was allowed to charge before the entire project was completed. NSTAR also charged customers twice for pension benefit costs. The settlement will mean reductions in rates in upcoming bills after DPU approves it.

TODAY

 Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

TOMORROW

 Labor Department releases employment data for December, 8:30 a.m.

 Commerce Department releases wholesale trade inventories for November.

THE SHUFFLE

William J. Bernat has been made partner at Nutter McLennen & Fish. Bernat represents clients in a broad range of industries, including life sciences, technology, social media and consumer products, in connection with private equity, venture capital and angel financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance issues.

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FBI director: Sony hacker sloppiness helped establish North Korea link

FBI director James Comey, expressing "very high confidence" that North Korea was behind the cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, on Wednesday revealed more details of how the bureau established the link to Pyongyang.

"The Guardians of Peace would send emails threatening Sony employees and would post online various statements explaining their work," Comey said at a cybersecurity conference in New York. "In nearly every case, they would use proxy servers to disguise where they were coming from ... But several times they got sloppy, either because they forgot or because they had a technical problem. They connected directly, and we could see them, and we could see that the IP addresses that were being used to post and to send the emails were coming from IP [addresses] that were exclusively used by the North Koreans."

Comey's comments came after private security experts raised major doubts that North Korea was behind the attacks. Last week, officials from cybersecurity firm Norse Corp. met with FBI officials to go through its own evidence of the cyberattack, blaming not North Korea but an ex-employee who calls herself "Lena"and at least six outside hackers.

But the FBI said they had "no credible information to indicate that any other individual is responsible for this cyber incident." The White House announced additional sanctions on North Korea on Friday.

At the conference, Comey said he has "very high confidence about this attribution, as does the entire intelligence community." But he added, "I want to show as much as I can to the American people about the why, and I want to show the bad guys as little as possible about the how, how we see what we see. Because it will happen again, and we have to preserve our methods and our sources."

Comey said he did urge the intelligence community to declassify additional information about how the FBI identified IP addresses.

"It was a mistake [by the hackers] that we haven't told you about before that was a very clear indication of who was doing this," he said. "They would shut it off very quickly once they realized the mistake but not before we saw and knew where it was coming from."

James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, also spoke at the conference, held at Fordham University. He named North Korean general, Kim Yong-chol, as responsible for overseeing the attack. The general heads North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau.

"Cyber is a powerful new realm for them," Clapper said, adding that it provides "maximum influence at minimal cost."

Clapper said over the weekend, he saw "The Interview," the movie said to be the motive for North Korea's action. "It's obvious to me the North Koreans don't have a sense of humor," he said.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Utility pullout leaves Cape Wind becalmed

The Cape Wind energy project could be "dead" because it now stands to lose a critical $150 million federal loan guarantee needed to install 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound after two utilities nixed their contracts with the company, said an energy policy expert.

The controversial offshore wind farm project is in jeopardy of losing a $150 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy because federal law requires companies receiving those loans to provide "a reasonable prospect of repayment" — something Cape Wind no longer has without a reliable revenue stream, according to Nick Loris, a senior energy policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.

"The fact that National Grid and Nstar are backing away from this project is a clear indication to me that this is not economically viable and the DOE shouldn't be gambling with taxpayer money," Loris said. "It's looking more and more likely that this project is dead. It makes it difficult for me to see this come back and start producing power the way it was supposed to do."

The Herald reported yesterday that Nstar — a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities — and National Grid terminated contracts to buy power from Cape Wind, saying the company had missed a Dec. 31 deadline in the contracts for the necessary financing to begin construction and had not put up collateral to extend the deadline.

U.S. Energy officials declined to comment on Cape Wind yesterday but, in a statement, said the agency "works with project developers to ensure any outstanding legal, financial, commercial and technological conditions are met before moving forward with any project."

Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers deemed the contract terminations as invalid, saying a clause in the contract allows the developer to put that deadline on hold for unavoidable circumstances, such as the barrage of court challenges from project opponents.

Rodgers labeled the issue as a contract dispute and said there is a provision in the contract to resolve disputes, but he did not say what that process involves.

Gov. Deval Patrick, a Cape Wind supporter, said, "We've done everything as a state government to get them over the regulatory lines and I've said before, and I say again, after that it's up to the market and up to the leadership of the project and their partners to get it done."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Realty queen Teresa Giudice heads to the Big House and drops price on her house

Monday "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice simultaneously surrendered to the authorities to serve her 15-month sentence for bankruptcy fraud in a Danbury, CT, minimum security Federal prison and slashed the asking price of her flashy faux château in leafy Towaco, NJ, from $3.499 million to $2.999 million. (The property was initially listed in September 2014 at $3.999 million.)

The table up turning "housewife" and cookbook entrepreneur and her muscle-bound husband Joe, who will serve his four-year sentence after his wife is released, purchased the 3.77-acre property that backs up to Interstate 287 in 2002 for $540,000. The (in)famously spendthrift pair -- they filed bankruptcy in 2009 but withdrew their case in 2011 after investigators started poking around looking for the exact sorts of financial malfeasance that eventually got them both convicted -- proceeded to erect an exceptionally garish, marble encrusted manifestation of their apparently ersatz wealth.

Listing details show the 10,044-square-foot pile -- an architectural hot mess of the highest order -- has six bedrooms and six bathrooms including a vast master suite with fireplace, three custom-fitted walk-in closets and an onyx-tiled bathroom with -- natch -- gold-plated fixtures. Not surprisingly, there's a double staircase in hotel lobby-scaled foyer which listing details kindly call a "Cinderella staircase. The formal living and dining rooms both have fireplaces and the former a melodramatically double height ceiling. Slightly less ostentatious family quarters include a library/office and a granite countered kitchen with high-grade appliances and an adjoining dining area. In addition to a good-sized family room there's well-stocked children's play room with pink walls and a leopard print sofa and a roomy game room where a built-in bar does battle with several pieces of exercise equipment. Somewhere there's a wine making room with burnt orange walls.

Outside, the gated grounds include large and largely featureless lawns, a small pond, and a grimly over-scaled porte-cochere stuck like a barnacle to one end of the house. There's also, or at least once, a chicken coop as well as a chain link fenced dog run, an attached garage and a two-car detached garage with attached office.

As far as Your Mama can tell, the couple still own a ragged looking house in Lincoln Park, NJ, currently listed for $179,000 -- just over the $170,000 they paid in 2005 -- as well as canal-front house along the Jersey Shore in Manahawkin, NJ, that's currently listed at $315,000, well under the $347,000 they paid in 2005.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Health Connector to feel disconnect

The impending departure of Health Connector Executive Director Jean Yang signals a coming tidal wave of change — but one that could face strong resistance from a board still filled with members hand-picked by Gov. Deval Patrick — once Republican Charlie Baker is sworn in as the state's chief executive, an expert said.

"It shows the change in philosophy at the connector and desire to go in a different direction, no question," said Joshua Archambault, a health care expert at the Pioneer Institute. "I suspect if the board membership doesn't change, there will be a lot of disagreement in board participation at the meetings about the different directions laid out."

A new leadership team at the connector could create fireworks at the usually tame board meetings and set up a showdown between Baker's new connector staffers and board members appointed by both Patrick and outgoing Attorney General Martha Coakley.

"They all hold different ideological positions and will not be shy about voicing them," said Archambault of the holdover board members. "The question is whether new staff and leadership at the connector can build the case for change."

Baker's Secretary of Administration & Finance Kristen Lepore will automatically serve as chairwoman of the 11-member connector board and Baker will get to select a few other ex-officio members.

But his first crack at replacing any of Patrick's picks won't come until July 1, when MIT professor Jonathan Gruber's term expires. Baker has called Gruber's controversial Obamacare comments, which landed him before a congressional committee that grilled him last month, "stupid and inappropriate."

Gruber declined to comment to the Herald yesterday about his or other board members' futures.

The rest of Baker's picks won't come until 2016 and 2017.

The incoming Baker administration has not said who it will name to replace Yang.

"I think the next director of the connector obviously needs to regain the public confidence that the connector works and is effective," said incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders.

State Obamacare czar Maydad Cohen, who is staying on temporarily, said the Baker administration plans to find Yang's permanent replacement around Feb. 15, when open enrollment for Obamacare ends, then determine the connector's future staffing.

Yang announced yesterday she is stepping down after two years as head of the troubled Massachusetts Health Connector. She oversaw both the disastrous rollout of the state's failed Obamacare website last year and the costly rebuilding of the new portal.

Yang, who said she has no position lined up when she leaves Jan. 16, indicated the Baker administration also wanted her to depart.

"I would say that there was definitely some mutual expectation from all parties," said Yang. "It was a fairly straightforward discussion that we rapidly got to agreement."

Lindsay Kalter contributed to this story.

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5 categories set to grow consumer electronics biz to record levels in 2015

The consumer electronics industry is expected to enjoy a record year of sales in 2015, driven by a handful of categories, according to projections by the Consumer Electronics Assn.

The industry could generate an all-time high of $223.2 billion in the U.S. alone, the CEA said Tuesday, as the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas and runs through Friday.

Emerging technologies -- which the CEA says encompasses 3D printers, 4K ultra-high definition TVs, connected thermostats, drones and home robots, cameras and wearables -- are expected to grow 108% in revenue this year. The category will represent less than 5% of the entire consumer electronics industry forecast, however, earning $11 billion.

"Our forecast underscores that consumers' love affair with technology shows no signs of slowing any time soon," said CEA president and CEO Gary Shapiro. "Consumer technology is all about continued innovation. In the blink of an eye, consumer demand has taken off for emerging categories such as wearables, unmanned aerial vehicles and 4K Ultra HD - categories that were too small to track just three years ago. Expect to see these burgeoning categories, as well as innovations across the full spectrum of consumer technology, on display this week at the 2015 International CES."

Smartphones: The most popular consumer electronics category, smartphone unit shipments are projected to reach 169.3 million this year, up 6% over 2014, and generate $51.3 billion in 2015, a gain of 5%. The most poplar devices will feature screen sizes between 5.3 inches and 6.5 inches.

4K Ultra High-Definition: Unit shipments of 4K UHD displays are projected to reach 4 million in 2015, up 208% over 2014, with revenue from such displays expected to exceed $5 billion in 2015, 106% more than last year. Larger screen sizes and smart TV features will have consumer upgrading their current displays, the CEA predicts.

TV sales remain critical as the industry's third-largest contributor to the total revenue with sales of TV sets and displays projected to reach $18.3 billion in 2015, down 2% from 2014.

Tablets: An estimated 80.7 million tablets are expected to ship to retailers this year, a 3% increase from 2014. Revenues for tablets will reach $24.9 billion this year, down 1%.

Wearables: Health and fitness devices are expected to dominate the wearables market in 2015 with a projected 20 million units shipped to retailers, generating more than $1.8 billion in revenue in 2015. The overall wearable biz will see unit sales reach 30.9 million, up 61%, and generate $5.1 billion in revenue in 2015, a 133% increase. The sector includes fitness activity bands and other health and fitness devices, as well as smartwatches and smart eyewear.

Car Tech: Automotive electronics will see continued growth due to new vehicle sales in 2015, reaching $14 billion in revenue, a 3.3% increase.

CEA's forecast reflects U.S. factory sales to dealers and covers more than 100 consumer electronics products. The twice-annual report serves as a benchmark for the industry.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Watch Chris Evans star in Chinese 'Call of Duty Online' campaign

Chris Evans is promoting the launch of Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty Online" in China by starring in a three-minute live action commercial for the videogame maker.

Evans, who already suits up as Captain America in Marvel Studios' superhero films, goes into combat again in the ad that was produced exclusively for the Chinese market.

In the video, he appears guns blazing as he rescues soldiers pinned down by enemies.

"Who does he think he is? Some kind of Hollywood action hero?" asks one of the soldiers.

Chinese filmmakers Longman Leung and Sunny Luk directed the spot. They also helmed the Hong Kong thriller "Cold War."

Activision is releasing "Call of Duty Online" through Chinese Internet giant Tencent.

The free-to-play online version of the military actioner was Activision's workaround in a country that had long banned videogame consoles.

Evans joins a growing roster of celebrities who have appeared in Activision's "Call of Duty" campaigns, including Robert Downey Jr., Jonah Hill, Megan Fox and Taylor Kitsch.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Woman sues over use of her school photo on novelty flask

SANTA FE, N.M. — A New Mexico woman is suing a novelty products maker over a flask that includes her likeness and the phrase, "I'm going to be the most popular girl in rehab."

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports (http://goo.gl/j8MdZk) Veronica Vigil alleges in her in federal court that Anne Taintor Inc. obtained and used her high school graduation picture from 1970 without her permission.

The lawsuit says the Brooklyn, New York-based company then defamed Vigil by linking her image to a product that makes light of substance abuse.

Court documents say the Chimayo, New Mexico, resident is an active church member and doesn't consume alcohol or drugs.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

A spokeswoman for Anne Taintor Inc. said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

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Al Getler named new publisher of Burlington Free Press

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Al Getler, group publisher of the North of Boston Media Group, has been named publisher of the Burlington Free Press.

In taking over at the Free Press, Getler returns to Gannett Co. Inc., where he spent nearly a decade with the Newspaper Network of Central Ohio in various marketing and circulation roles. He also was publisher of The Advocate.

Getler also has worked for The Record in Troy, New York, The Press of Atlantic City in New Jersey and the North Jersey Media Group.

At the Free Press, Getler succeeds Jim Fogler, who left in September to become vice president of business development for Party City.

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Mercedes-Benz debuts concept driverless car of future at CES

LAS VEGAS — The car of the future according to Mercedes-Benz is one that drives itself, has seats inside that swivel to face each other and features a computerized brain that can watch a pedestrian walk by and even offer a digital projection of a crosswalk to help the person cross the road.

The carmaker unveiled the sleek concept car that it is calling F 015 Monday night at the International CES showcase for consumer electronics.

Mercedes-Benz turned a stage inside The Cosmopolitan on the Strip in Las Vegas into a scene usually reserved for annual car shows attracting a swell of photographers on stage afterward.

The company's leader Dieter Zetsche says there are still questions about driverless cars that require answers but the time is right to think about the car of the future.

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Casino spoiler: What's behind Marty Walsh's lawsuit

Arguing the Hub will bear the brunt of traffic and public safety woes from a planned Wynn casino in Everett, City Hall has filed a potential game-changing lawsuit, looking to block the state gaming panel's approval of the $1.6 billion gambling resort so Charlestown residents can vote on the deal.

"It always has been our belief that Boston is a host community to the Wynn-planned casino," Mayor Martin J. Walsh said yesterday, noting his administration failed to reach a deal with Wynn that Walsh considered fair compensation for the casino's impact on Boston. "My number one concern is making sure the people of Charlestown have an opportunity to vote on something in their backyard."

City Hall sources said that Wynn, who originally wanted to give the city $650,000, was ready to cut a $1 million check to Boston this week, but the Walsh administration considered that too low, and that Wynn lacked an effective plan to address traffic in Sullivan Square and other Charlestown arteries.

Richard McGowan, a Boston College gaming expert, said the city may be using the suit to get Wynn to "sweeten the pot," but "some irregularities" behind the sale of the Everett site to Wynn could give Boston legal ammo.

Indictments last fall charged three men with trying to conceal a convicted felon's onetime ownership stake in the polluted riverfront parcel that the group finally sold to Wynn Resorts yesterday for $35 million.

"They seemingly overlooked who was selling the land in Everett," McGowan said of the commission. "It could all be aboveboard, but who knows."

Commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said in a statement: "The Commission believes that we have reviewed these issues thoroughly, objectively and fairly, and that exhaustive review helped lead to the decision to award the Wynn license with appropriate conditions. The Commission continues to believe that our resolution was appropriate but also fully understand that parties who are disappointed in our decisions may want to test that belief through litigation."

Wynn declined to comment yesterday.

Boston's legal action follows a similar suit filed in October by Revere — whose mayor backed a failed bid by Mohegan Sun to land a casino at Suffolk Downs racetrack. That suit accused the commission of violating the state Gaming Act by granting the Greater Boston license to Wynn, and potentially benefiting criminal interests. The city of Somerville has also sued.

Thomas C. Frongillo, an attorney hired by Boston in its casino battle, called the land sale an "illegal contract" used by the sellers to "perpetrate a fraud."

"Under the gaming statute, all people with a financial interest in the gaming establishment have to be deemed suitable. They are not," he said. "We raised this issue back in May. And the Gaming Commission pretty much tried to sweep it under the rug."

Boston Corporation Counsel Eugene O'Flaherty also argued that Wynn failed to meet the requirement of getting access to its site through Everett within 60 days of being issued its license.

"The only legal way today into the Wynn site is through the city of Boston," O'Flaherty said. "They represented they were going to do is solely through Everett."

Frongillo said talks have "stalled" between Wynn and the MBTA to buy several parcels of T-owned land in order to create an entranceway through Everett, adding: "It's been our position that that's been a hypothetical road all along. It was represented to the Gaming Commission to avoid Boston's status as a host community."

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TV makers design for streaming video to stay relevant

LAS VEGAS — Does anyone just watch TV anymore? The dramatic shift toward online and mobile viewing is driving television set makers to design as much for streaming video as for watching broadcast or cable channels.

Traditional TV is far from dead, but these days viewers care less about watching shows live and even prefer saving certain series to watch all at once in an evening or weekend of binge-watching. Broadcast networks and hundreds of cable channels share viewer attention with thousands of online services, including amateurs creating their own series on YouTube. Already, Netflix has outbid traditional channels for hits such as "House of Cards." And Dish this week announced it will sell online access to a bundle of channels including live sports network ESPN for just $20 a month. Online video will account for a third of all video viewing in 2020, up from about 10 percent in 2013, predicts The Diffusion Group, a research firm that specializes in Internet video.

So how to keep the television set, that focal point of the American living room for decades, relevant? Design for online video.

At the International CES gadget show this week in Las Vegas, TV makers unveiled new models with 4K resolution, or four times the clarity offered by today's high definition TVs. They are pushing the features even though not a single TV channel is yet available in 4K. But Internet services such as Netflix, Amazon and M-Go are starting to offer 4K video.

Sony on Monday promised to create more 4K content to watch on those sets. Four popular shows from its entertainment division — "The Goldbergs," ''The Blacklist," ''Masters of Sex" and "The Night Shift" — will soon be available in 4K and it's working with partners including Netflix and YouTube to deliver more 4K streaming video.

"It's going to be the first format primarily driven by streaming," says Jim Funk, a senior vice president at Roku Inc., which makes streaming TV devices.

Beyond 4K, Sharp developed an engineering trick to make its high-end set look even sharper. Samsung added a nanocrystal semiconductor layer to make colors purer and the screen brighter. LG is pushing organic LED screens with richer colors and pure black — the kind typically limited to smaller displays such as phones because of price.

And Internet connectivity is becoming standard in sets, the way all TVs are color now. LG and Samsung also have ways to easily switch video between TV and mobile devices, so that if you're watching a movie on a phone, you can continue it on your TV as soon as you get home.

The Consumer Electronics Association expects TV sales to increase 2 percent to 251 million units this year. The average screen size is projected to be 40 inches, up from 31 inches in 2007. CEA predicts more than 23 million of the units will be 4K TVs this year, about 2.5 times the shipments in 2014. That's even with the explosion of viewing on tablets and smartphones.

People tend to use phones and tablets while traveling or for shorter video, says Tim Alessi, head of new product development for home entertainment at LG Electronics USA. For a full-length movie, viewers want to replicate the theater in the home. That's only done through a big TV set.

"When I want a full home-entertainment experience, especially with my family and friends, the TV is still the best way to do that," agrees Tim Baxter, president and chief operating officer of Samsung Electronics America.

And just as TV makers are hopping on the online train, so are content providers. Traditional channels are becoming available without the need for a cable or satellite subscription. Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp. is the latest, offering its Sling TV package of channels, including ESPN and CNN, for delivery entirely over the Internet. The availability of ESPN addresses a major reason people still keep their TV service — live sports. Sony also has an Internet television service expected to debut by the end of March — PlayStation Vue — and HBO and Showtime plan to debut Internet-only subscription offerings this year. The packages are aimed at the millions of so-called cord-cutters or "cord-nevers" that find cable and satellite bundles too pricey and don't subscribe to either, turning instead to Hulu, Google's YouTube and Amazon.

Lesley H. Stahl, 31, is one potential customer of an Internet-only offering. She and her husband never considered cable when they bought a new house in Sunnyvale, California, figuring they had been mostly watching video online anyway. But Stahl says she would be cautious about subscribing to new channels, as she's used to just waiting until Hulu or Amazon gets the show. She said costs for individual subscriptions add up, and there's only so much time to watch.

"There's not any one TV show I'm so addicted to that I'm going to pay extra," she says. "At a certain point, we're just spending a whole lot of money."

These Internet offerings alone won't accelerate cancellations of cable or satellite services, says Joel Espelien, senior analyst for The Diffusion Group. But they might get more people to downgrade to lower tiers, he says, and use the savings to buy specific channels or services of interest.

Or a brand-new 4K TV?

___

AP Technology Writer Brandon Bailey contributed to this report.

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Hyundai Motor to spend $74B over 4 years on facilities, R&D

SEOUL, South Korea — Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automaker, said Tuesday it plans to spend 81 trillion won ($73.7 billion) over the next four years on factories, research and a new headquarters.

The announcement comes after Hyundai Motor Co. last week forecast the slowest annual sales growth in more than a decade. The South Korean government has pressured businesses to stop hoarding cash reserves and instead invest and hire more.

Hyundai said the average annual spending during the four years is a 35 percent increase from 2014.

The company plans to build two new factories in China, which will start operating in late 2016 and 2017 as its existing factories reach full capacity. Its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. is also expanding the capacity of its existing Chinese factory.

The group will also build new headquarters including auto-themed exhibition halls, hotels and shopping malls in Gangnam, a trendy district in southwestern Seoul. It said in September that it would pay $10.1 billion for a 79,342 square meter (854,030 square foot) plot of land for the new headquarters that the auto group believes will burnish its brand.

The expansion of factories at home and abroad and the construction of the new headquarters in Seoul will account for more than half of the four-year investment at 49.1 trillion won.

The group will spend 31.6 trillion won on research and development for low emission vehicles, smart cars and other technologies. By 2018, its affiliated companies will hire 7,345 employees in R&D including about 3,000 workers to develop low emission and smart car technologies.

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Samsung calls on a friend in Hollywood to help sell more TVs

With increased competition from Chinese brands stealing away a larger percentage of its market share, Samsung called in one of its friends in Hollywood to help make its new hardware at the Consumer Electronics Show a little more attractive.

Only minutes into its press event in Las Vegas, on Monday, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment president Mike Dunn took the stage to throw his support behind Samsung's SUHD TV.

"We are focused on breaking down barriers and innovating across our business so we can deliver a movie experience for consumers that's richer and deeply immersive. Samsung UHD provides stunning picture quality and true-to-life colors that are delighting consumers at home," Dunn told a massive gathering of international press, a turnout so large that it made Samsung look as if it was giving a presentation at San Diego's Comic-Con.

Perhaps those in the audience were hoping for another Michael Bay moment, in which the director abruptly left the stage when a teleprompter didn't work during Samsung's CES press event last year, creating an awkward but highly buzzed about scene.

They didn't get that this year.

Instead, a smooth presentation showcased new 4K TVs -- Samsung's latest entry into the smart TV biz, with the new line of high-end SUHD flatscreens expected to be released sometime this spring.

The electronics is throwing considerable weight behind UHD TVs this year, with lower prices and larger screens expected to help replace aging flatscreens in homes and be especially embraced in emerging markets.

Fox and Samsung formed a relationship last year as part of the studio's inhouse innovation lab, which is focused on embracing digital platforms as a way to make homevideo releases more attractive -- especially to consumers' wallets. If they're spending more time at home, why not get them to spend more money on movies and TV shows, goes the thinking.

And without content, electronics like home theater systems just look cold.

Samsung plans to release nine SUHD LCDs this year, with the curved JS9500 -- measuring 65- and 85-inches in width -- serving as its flagship (see above).

The units use nano-crystal technology to present the best color and contrast while using very little power. The TVs provide viewers with 64 times more color expression than conventional TVs, and produce images with much darker blacks and an elevated brightness up to 2.5 times brighter than other flatscreens, as well as double the color adjustment points for the most accurate color display, according to Samsung. As for the 'S' in SUHD, it doesn't stand for anything.

The company said it achieved all that with Fox's help, remastering scenes from Ridley Scott's "Exodus: Gods and Kings."

To hype the capabilities of its new SUHD LCD TVs, Samsung turned to film colorist Stephen Nakamura, who worked on "Exodus," as well as Fox's "X-Men: Days of Future Past," with Nakamura taking the stage to call Samsung's SUHDs "the best TVs I've ever seen. They are a big leap forward for the consumer experience."

Samsung, of course, isn't trying to relinquish its stronghold over the home entertainment biz, having dominated sales of TVs and other hardware for nearly a decade. It controlled 60% of the flatscreen market in 2014, the company said, with half of it made up of curved screens.

During its presentation, Samsung also noted that all of its smart TVs will now be run using Tizen, a Web-based software designed to be faster and enable more apps to be designed for its screens. The software was used to design a new user interface for its smart TVs, being unveiled at CES, that Samsung considers more "playful."

Samsung also promoted its UHD Video Pack, in partnership with M-GO, a joint venture between Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation. Fox distributes DWA's films and homevideo titles.

The company also made a big push for its Milk streaming service. After starting with music and moving into video, Milk VR will soon offer up content for Samsung's Gear virtual reality headset.

Samsung's press event came the same day that the company joined Fox to become part of a new UHD Alliance, made up of electronics manufacturers and the major studios to promote 4K content, and "deliver a consistently excellent viewing experience at home," Dunn said.

"We have to make it easy for consumers to know which products and what content will give them the true UHD experience," Dunn added. "The UHD Alliance will help consumers and content creators identify high-quality UHD technology. This space is evolving rapidly, with many features, such as resolution, high dynamic range, wide color gamut and immersive audio. The UHD Alliance is a huge step forward for our industry."

(C) 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Booting Up: Zipcar to tap home base

For a company founded right in our backyard, Zipcar has been surprisingly absent from spheres of Boston influence. But that may soon change.

Founded in Cambridge and now located in the Innovation District, the car-sharing pioneer is looking to raise its profile as an iconic Boston success story that rivals the likes of companies such as Hubspot, WayFair and even those famous community pillars, Liberty Mutual and State Street.

"We're part of Boston's vibrant innovation economy, but as Bostonians, we're relatively humble," said Brian Harrington, Zipcar's executive vice president and chief marketing officer. "Many people are surprised to learn the sharing economy was born here and continues to call 
Boston home."

In the last year — and even amid a global expansion — Zipcar made a point to invest in a sort of local expansion, focusing on areas such as Mattapan and Roslindale. It also made a key local hire, tapping a top city hall cabinet member and Dorchester native, Justin Holmes, to run its corporate communications operation.

If you live in a Boston neighborhood, chances are that in the last year, you've seen a Zipcar or two pop up nearby, especially at MBTA stations. Zipcar added 41 cars to T stations in 2014, bringing the total to 80. In the past six months, Zipcar doubled the number of cars in Dorchester and launched two new spaces in Mattapan. Following a successful streak there, the company is now looking for additional opportunities nearby, hoping to land spots at visible, less traditional locations such as churches and community centers. A dozen new Zipcars also popped up last year in Roslindale, where there had been previously just one.

Two years after being acquired by Avis, Zipcar's corporate story is unfolding as a sort of model of brand preservation, in which the younger company has been encouraged to stay true to its geographic and demographic roots.

Besides the renewed focus on local ties, the best evidence of Avis seeing the value in Zipcar's autonomy is about to hit airwaves today — in the form of a new marketing campaign, a collaboration between Zipcar and the state of Vermont.

The campaign features a series of fun, tongue-in-cheek online ads titled, "I'd Tap That," using innuendo to showcase the simplicity of the tap-enabled unlocking mechanism on its fleet of cars. It's quintessentially Zipcar; undoubtedly not Avis. The campaign also harnesses a hallmark of millennial humor, the faux newscast, enlisting Vermont's top forestry official to insist that the state's maple sugar-makers "tap it" better than anyone. You can cast your vote at zipcar.com/WhoTapsItBest.

"We've been a disruptor without acting disruptive," said Harrington. "We're fun, witty and take risks."

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I kid you not, LG’s GizmoPal a good idea

GizmoPal by LG ($79.99 with a two-year Verizon contract)

One of the first wearable devices for children, this small wristband can make and receive calls with just one button. Available in pink or blue, GizmoPal works with an accompanying app that allows parents and caregivers to locate the child wearing the device on a map.

The good: It's rare to be blown away by a new device that is well-executed and seamless to use, but that's what this is. Although it's specified for ages 4 and up, my 3 year-old tested it out and loves it. I feel safer knowing I can find his precise location when he's with a babysitter or a family member.

The bad: Nothing to see here!

The bottom line: Why get your child a smartphone if you can avoid it? GizmoPal is a great answer to that phone dilemma faced by so many parents today.

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Hedge fund bets on Uber, Lyft

A new Boston hedge fund is betting that the rise of Uber and Lyft will mean disaster for an obscure lending company that provides loans to taxi medallion owners.

HVM Capital has shorted the stock of publicly traded Medallion Financial — which uses the ticker symbol TAXI — betting that taxi medallions will lose value and owners will stop making payments on their loans. A shorted stock is one in which a speculator borrows, then sells stocks — hoping to repurchase them if the price drops and return them to their owners, pocketing the profit.

"If you have a $700,000 medallion that's worth 400K, why would you keep making payments?" asked Gordon Gossage, an analyst with HVM Capital and an Uber and Lyft driver who has driven more than 2,400 passengers. "(Medallion Financial) has these loans on the books as assets and they will become worthless, long before medallions become worthless."

As an annual average, Boston medallions continued to climb in value in 2014, with the 41 sales averaging roughly $672,000 each, according to Boston taxi industry newspaper The Carriage News. However, only five medallions were sold in the last six months of 2014, for an average of $599,000. A number of medallions sold for $700,000 last year, but none after April.

"The license itself becomes superfluous. Why would any rational player be willing to pay a premium for a license, medallion, that doesn't confer the right to do anything more than any ride-sharing vehicle?" said James Hickman, the chief investment officer of HVM. "If medallion values on the secondary market go to near zero, borrowers will default and lenders against those assets will have to write down the loans."

Medallion Financial did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but the company said in its most recent quarterly earnings report filed with the SEC that Uber and Lyft pose a threat to its business.

"In the event Street Hail Livery licenses and increased competition from ride-sharing and car-service apps materially reduce the market for taxicab services, income from operating medallions and the value of medallions serving as collateral for our loans could decrease by a material amount. This could increase our loan-to-value ratios, loan delinquencies, or loan defaults," the company said in the filing.

Medallion Financial's stock has dropped significantly in the last year, dropping by roughly 30 percent over 2014. HVM is also not the only firm counting on a further decline.

As of mid-December, more than 1.7 million shares of Medallion Financial were sold short, three times as many as the year before.

Uber won a key regulatory battle in Massachusetts last week, when the state Department of Transportation filed regulations that require background checks and insurance for Uber and Lyft drivers, both requirements the companies say they already have in place.

Hickman said that will push the prices of medallions down even more.

"This decision is another nail in the coffins of the old industry structure and the secondary market value of the medallions," he said.

The regulations will not take effect until the Department of Public Utilities, which will regulate Uber and Lyft, files legislation and undergoes its own regulatory process.

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Raise your home's IQ: smart gadgets take center stage at CES

LAS VEGAS — Imagine a world in which your garage door opens automatically as you pull into the driveway. The living room lights and heater turn on — perhaps the oven starts warming up, too. In the so-called "smart home," cars, appliances and other devices all have sensors and Internet connectivity to think and act for themselves, and make your life easier.

We're not there just yet, but we're getting closer.

The smart-home concept is known in tech circles as the Internet of Things. Current iterations primarily include our ability to control gadgets such as lights and security alarms or view data remotely through a smartphone app. At the International CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week, manufacturers will promote more devices and functionality. Some gadgets will be able to talk directly with one another, not just to an app. The four-day show opens to the public Tuesday.

The Internet of Things could mean big business for gadget makers. The Consumer Electronics Association projects sales of smart energy and security systems alone will total $574 million this year, a 23 percent increase from 2014. Although that pales by comparison to the $18 billion spent on TVs and displays, growth has been swift. In terms of people smartening up their homes in earnest, though, it will probably be another two years before devices are cheap and widespread enough for the typical consumer, says Eduardo Pinheiro, CEO of Muzzley, which makes a hub that allows devices to talk to each other.

For now, the smart home is more about possibilities than practice. Many companies exhibiting at CES are laying the foundation for what a smart-home system will eventually do, hoping to entice consumers to start thinking about upgrading to smart gadgets. It's not always an easy sell.

Consider wearable devices that track fitness and other activities. In many cases, the novelty wears off quickly, and devices end up in drawers. But what if a wearable device that tracks sleep could tell the coffeemaker to start brewing as soon as you awoke? When the coffee's done, what if the sprinklers on the front lawn automatically turned off so you didn't get wet walking out the front door to work?

For example, Lucis Technologies will soon ship a smart-lighting device called NuBryte that can learn your behavior, such as what time you tend to come home. Sensors can turn on the night light if you wake up to use the bathroom but switch on brighter lights during the day. A coffeemaker from Smarter will soon use data from fitness trackers such as Fitbit. If you had a bad night of sleep, the coffeemaker will know to make the java stronger that morning. Other products focus on better notifications: a battery for a smoke detector to alert you on your phone when the alarm goes off, or a bracelet that vibrates when the baby cries in its crib. (Moms rejoice: the bracelet is even smart enough to alternate which parent it alerts to get up.)

"It's got to be something people are seeing it can do and want it to do," says Chris Penrose, AT&T's senior vice president for the Internet of Things. "It's got to make their lives better and be incredibly easy to use."

"True consumer value will come when devices work in concert with one another and in many cases across manufacturers," adds Brett Dibkey, a Whirlpool Corp. vice president. "The home adapts to the way consumers live rather than the other way around."

At CES, Whirlpool will showcase dryers that can run at a slower, energy-saving cycle if you aren't home and thus aren't in a rush. The dryer integrates with Google Inc.'s Nest smart thermostat, which has sensors to figure out that no one's home and then lowers the heat automatically. Meanwhile, a smart-home hub called DigitalStrom plans to take cues from Nest. If Nest is trying to cool down the house, for instance, DigitalStrom will lower automated window shades to block out sunlight.

These are the building blocks for an eventual automated home. Once those building blocks are in place, services can better predict what you want. For example, Netflix is already good about recommending movies to watch based on your preferences, but it might suggest something different if it could read data from a wearable device or camera and tell that you're with friends, or stressed out, says Shawn Dubravac, senior director of research with the Consumer Electronics Association.

As we get closer to being able to live like the Jetsons, manufacturers will have to convince consumers that the technology is secure from hackers — and that convenience and peace of mind are worth any risks.

Ann Poletti, who now uses the Nest thermostat at her home in San Francisco, said her first apartment burned down, so she is sensitive to making sure all her appliances are off. The Internet of Things would let her check remotely.

"Toothbrushes and ironing boards, one day it will all be connected. I think that's great," says Poletti. "Some people don't want all the data out there. I'm worried about access to my bank account, less so about whether my heat is going on or off."

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Hedge fund founder, 70, slain in New York City apartment

NEW YORK — A 70-year-old hedge fund founder has been found shot dead inside his Manhattan apartment.

Police say Thomas Gilbert was shot in the head at his Beekman Place residence on the East Side. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said early Monday they were questioning his 30-year-old son, Thomas Gilbert, Jr. No charges have been filed.

Police say a handgun was found near the body.

The elder Gilbert founded Wainscott Capital Partners Fund in 2011. The fund has $200 million in assets and focuses on the biotech and health care industries.

Gilbert previously co-founded Syzygy Therapeutics, a biotech asset acquisition fund.

The shooting was a rare act of violence on Beekman Place, a tony enclave just north of the United Nations in the Sutton Place neighborhood.

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Foundation sends posses of Hub students to college

For 60 Boston students, the road to college just got a little easier.

Chosen by the Posse Foundation, these urban public school students are set to receive a full four-year scholarship, as well as a support system freshmen rarely get.

"I almost literally cried — like shed a tear," said Delano McFarlane, one of this year's scholars from New Mission High School in Hyde Park. "I never expected this."

Founded in New York City in 1989 after a student said, "I never would have dropped out of college if I had my posse with me," the organization sends groups of 10 students, who might be overlooked during the traditional application process, to partner schools across the country. This year's Boston scholars will go to Bucknell University, Centre College, Denison University, Bryn Mawr College, Union College and Hamilton College.

"I hope to meet other people that could be like me," said McFarlane, who heads to Union College this fall. "I have friends here who definitely helped me get through four years of high school and having this group of people around me at college will remind me of home and remind me of where I came from."

Majoring in sociology, McFarlane hopes to go into law enforcement after gradation and become a homicide detective.

"The idea that you can send a team or a group together to college — it just made sense," said Debbie Bial, founder of the Posse Foundation. "It means they are less likely to turn around and come home."

After taking nominations from public schools throughout Boston, potential scholars go through a vigorous group and individual interview process where they're asked to do things like build a robot out of Legos, or lead a discussion on genetic testing.

"Historically, schools have a very traditional way of identifying how they're going to admit students," said Bial. "But there is an incredibly talented pool of young people who wouldn't show up on their radar screen because they didn't go to a high school ranked high enough or didn't get the right test scores."

With more than 6,000 scholars placed, and a 90 percent graduation rate, Posse hopes to highlight these students.

"The big vision is to develop a national leadership network in the U.S. that represents the diversity of the country," said Bial, who's connected Posse Scholars to internships and post-college jobs at well-known companies such as Viacom, Goldman Sachs and Disney.

Celebrating its 15th year in the Hub, Bial says Boston was the first city where Posse replicated its program. It has since grown to 10 cities across the country. "Menino and Deval were big supporters," she said of the late Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Gov. Deval Patrick. "They believed in the power of these young people and their love and support really helped us grow in Boston."

Over the next eight months, the Posse members will participate in two-hour weekly training sessions with their peers, focusing on skills to help them succeed in college and beyond. On Jan. 8, the Boston scholars get official recognition in a ceremony at 7 p.m. at the Fairmont Copley Plaza.

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'Godzilla,' Warner Bros. lead the year's top TV ad spend for movies

In this special year-end edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by iSpot.tv, we are ranking the top 10 movies by advertising spend on TV for 2014.

All told, 66 film distributors aired more than 577,000 national TV ads, at the estimated cost of $3.38 billion. Warner Bros. accounted for approximately $727 million of that spend, airing close to 95,000 national ads, followed by Universal Studios, which spent $395 million on 59,000 airings, and Sony at $335 million to air just shy of 55,000.

And in the spirit of "bigger is better," it seems not at all surprising that "Godzilla" led the pack for the biggest advertising spend, with an estimated $61.8 million spent on 5,115 national airings.

A few items of note from the top 10 list:

Warner Bros. handily owned the top 10 list, with six of the entries all under the movie studio's umbrella, including the top four. No other movie studio had more than one title on the list, with Marvel, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures all making an appearance.

Digitally speaking, official trailers from Warner Bros. generated close to half a billion earned video views on YouTube and iSpot.tv, and more than 14.5 million digital actions across Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, all explicitly linked to commercial airings.

Only three of the movies on the list were among the 10 top-grossing movies of the year: "The LEGO Movie" (No. 4), "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (7), and "Godzilla" (10). Most of the remaining had respectable showings, however, with all but two in the top 50: "Neighbors" (19), "300: Rise of an Empire" (25), "Noah" (27), and "The Monuments Men" (38). "The Judge" trailed at No. 65, while "Winter's Tale" lagged further behind at 122.

Of all the movies advertised during the 2014 Super Bowl, only "Noah" made the top 10 list for the year, at No. 8. For a full list of all of the movies (and other ads) that aired during the big game, visit iSpot.tv's Super Bowl Ad Center.

$61.8MM - Godzilla

Studio: Warner Bros.

National Airings: 5,115

$55MM - Edge of Tomorrow

Studio: Warner Bros.

National Airings: 5,220

$47.9MM - 300: Rise of an Empire

Studio: Warner Bros.

National Airings: 4,058

$46.7MM - The LEGO Movie

Studio: Warner Bros.

National Airings: 6,597

$44.9MM - X-Men: Days of Future Past

Studio: Marvel

National Airings: 5,819

$42.8MM - Winter's Tale

Studio: Warner Bros.

National Airings: 4,368

$40.6MM - Neighbors

Studio: Universal Pictures

National Airings: 4,347

$38.8MM - Noah

Studio: Paramount Pictures

National Airings: 4,733

$38.2MM - The Monuments Men

Studio: Sony Pictures

National Airings: 3,073

$37.6MM - The Judge

Studio: Warner Bros.

National Airings: 4,598

Variety has partnered with iSpot.tv, a company that catalogs, tags and measures activity around TV commercials in real time, to bring you this weekly look at what studios are spending to market their movies on TV. Learn more about the iSpot.tv platform and methodology.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Divers try to reach suspected AirAsia wreck site

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia — Divers were grappling with light rain and rolling waves Sunday as they tried to reach what is believed to be the fuselage of AirAsia Flight 8501, resting on the ocean floor near three other large objects.

So far, only 30 bodies have been recovered from last week's crash and officials believe many of the remaining 132 passengers and crew are strapped to their seats inside the plane, said National Search and Rescue deputy chief Tatang Zainudin.

"We are racing with time and weather in running this mission," he said, as early morning clear skies slowly became overcast.

The plane went down in the Java Sea on Dec. 28, halfway into a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore. Minutes before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control that he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.

What caused the disaster remains unclear, but Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency released a report, saying "Flight 8501 appears to have been trapped in bad weather that would have been difficult to avoid."

While the plane's black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — have yet to be located, the discovery of the wreckage would greatly benefit the investigation.

Sonar equipment identified four giant chunks on the sea bed in the target search area on Friday and Saturday, but no images have been captured confirming they are part of the AirAsia plane.

The biggest object, measuring 18 meters (59 feet) long and 5.4 meters (18 feet) wide, appeared to be part of the jet's body, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Other chunks of debris measured up to 12 meters (39 feet) long. Suspected plane parts also were seen scattered on beaches during an aerial survey.

Generally, aviation experts say the more passengers, luggage and parts of the aircraft that remain intact, the more likely the plane hit the water in one piece. That would signal problems like a mechanical error or a stall instead of a midair breakup due to an explosion or sudden depressurization.

___

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos, Margie Mason and Robin McDowell in Jakarta, Eileen Ng in Surabaya, Indonesia, and Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed to this report.

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Federal tax filers must show health insurance status for first time

Tax season is here, and the federal Affordable Care Act mandating minimum health insurance coverage nationwide brings with it what's labeled as the biggest group of changes to the U.S. tax code in 20 years.

Massachusetts filers used to dealing with the state's mandated health-care coverage requirement on their state income taxes since the 2007 tax year now must address their insurance status on their federal income tax returns for the first time.

"What's most important is to be aware if your taxes are impacted," said Nancy Lebeau, master tax adviser and an enrolled agent for H&R Block in North Andover. "There are so many moving parts to the Affordable Care Act that H&R Block started preparing in 2010 and training all of its tax professionals."

The impacts on individuals' federal income tax returns depend on whether they have health insurance and when they obtained it, and if they purchased it through the state insurance marketplace known as the
Massachusetts Health Connector.

Individuals with private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid should see no impact and simply have to check a box on their federal tax returns.

Those who don't have insurance may be subject to a penalty on their federal income taxes just as they are on their state returns.

But there are more than 30 exemptions that could help, including exemptions if you're uninsured for less than three months of the year, for households whose income level is below the minimum filing amount or for non-U.S. citizens without valid immigration documentation.

The federal penalty — called a "shared responsibility payment" — is the higher of either a flat-fee $95 for each adult and $47.50 per child under 18 up to $285 per household or 1 percent of your annual household income, less the minimum filing amount. The penalties increase significantly for the 2015 and 2016 tax years.

Individuals who face both the federal penalty on their federal tax returns and a Massachusetts penalty on their state returns will see the latter reduced.

For individuals who purchased insurance through the health insurance marketplace, their tax liabilities/benefits also will depend on whether they qualified for an advance premium tax credit — government assistance to lower their monthly health insurance premiums — and if their estimated household income at the time held through for the year.

Those who did receive tax credits will receive a 1095-A tax form from the marketplace indicating the amount.

Filers may forget about the tax credits because they didn't directly receive them, as they were instead paid right to their insurance providers, according to Lebeau.

"In some cases, people may break even — they got the proper amount based on what they estimated (for household income)," Lebeau said. "Others may have estimated incorrectly or there could have been a job change or income change the rest of the year, and they may have gotten too much of a credit … and they may have to pay it back. It's taken from the tax refund."

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U.S. home growth slows for 11th consecutive month

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose in October at a slightly slower pace, as real estate sales have fallen and affordability has increasingly become a challenge for potential buyers.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 
4.5 percent in October from 12 months prior.

The figures mark the eleventh straight month of price gains decelerating and the smallest gain since October 2012.

The slowdown in price growth comes after surging double-digit increases for much of 2013. Home values climbed as the market recovered from bottoming out in 2011 in the aftermath of the housing bust and the Great Recession. But home prices have outpaced lackluster wage growth, leaving many potential buyers unable to afford homes and causing both sales and price growth to stall this year.

The recent decline in mortgage rates has yet to bring more buyers into the market. Simultaneously, there are fewer distressed properties and bargains coming onto the market that attract investors as buyers.

All of that has occurred despite an improving U.S. economy that has generated 2.65 million new jobs so far this year, as the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.8 percent from 6.7 percent at the start of 2014.

Prices barely budged over the past 12 months in Cleveland (up 
0.9 percent), Chicago (1.9 percent), New York (2 percent), Phoenix 
(2.1 percent) and Washington, D.C. (2.2 percent).

Still, there are signs that broader improvements in the U.S. economy may be causing prices to rise faster in some cities.

Compared to September, eight cities reported stronger year-over-year prices growth in October.

This includes San Francisco (up 9.1 percent), Denver (7.2 percent) and Tampa (6.1 percent).

"We are seeing hints that prices could end 2014 on a strong note and accelerate into 2015," said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The October figures are the latest available.

Other housing reports confirm a broader slowdown.

The National Association of Realtors estimate that 2014 sales will end up below 2013 levels.

The trade group forecasts that 4.94 million existing homes will be sold this year, down 3 percent from 5.09 million in 2013.

Analysts say sales of roughly 5.5 million existing homes are common in a healthy real estate market.

The Commerce Department said last week that new home sales slid 1.6 in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000. That remains significantly below the annual rate of 700,000 seen during the 1990s.

The real estate brokerage Redfin reported Monday that its market tracker found that home sales plummeted 5 percent in November compared to 12 months earlier.

Nearly a third of the buyers surveyed by Redfin said that their biggest obstacle to purchasing a home was affordability.

Stan Humphries, chief economist at the real estate data firm Zillow, noted that slower price growth should ultimately be helpful for the economy. When prices rise at levels closer to wages, more people are usually able to buy a home.

"A slower-moving housing market is inherently more stable, more balanced between buyers and sellers and more sustainable over the long-term," Humphries said.

Buying could be helped by average 30-year mortgage rates staying closed to a 19-month low.

Rates nationwide averaged 3.83 percent last week, according to the mortgage company Freddie Mac.

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