Hot Property: Ride Currents to Waltham complex

Developer Hines Interests, best known for its large, big-city projects around the world, has just opened a stylish apartment complex on a former parking lot along the Charles River in Waltham.

The 200-unit Currents on the Charles takes advantage of views of a new park that stretches down to the river, connecting with a Charles River Reservation bike path that's a mile from Waltham center.

"Reduced construction and land costs out here makes it possible to create urban quality with a significant discount to downtown rents," said David Perry, senior managing director of Hines' Boston office.

The first 66-unit phase in the new complex is ready and has studios starting at $1,995, one-bedroom units at $2,055 and two-bedroom, two-baths at $2,575. There are seven studios, 102 one-bedrooms, 87 two-bedrooms and four three-bedroom corner units starting at $3,480. The apartments, which all have in-unit washers and dryers and loft-style windows, range from 609 square feet to 1,420 square feet.

"The amenities are superior to most new complexes in the suburbs and compete with those in the city," said Amy Medugno, regional portfolio manager of Bozzuto Management Co., which is managing the property.

Common spaces include the 10,000-square-foot River­ Club that combines a living­ room, WiFi/computer lounge, a catering kitchen with free Starbucks coffee, a dining room and a library. A double-sided gas fireplace fronts onto a large outdoor deck with views over the new park and the Charles.

There's a gym with a Fitness on Demand setup and yoga studio, a game room with an 80-inch TV, gaming consoles and shuffleboard, and even a dog-washing station.

Apartments wrap around two rear courtyards, one with an in-ground swimming pool and full outdoor kitchen with gas grills, the other with outdoor seating and a fire pit.

A parking space in a 400-car garage on the first two levels of the building costs $35 a month. Pets cost an extra $35 to $65 a month.

We took a look at two model units. Unit 105, a 774-square-foot one-­bedroom for $2,195 a month, and Unit 108, an 1,108-square-foot two-­bedroom for $2,860.

Both have kitchens with islands along with white quartz countertops, tile back­splashes, dark-stained cabinets and Whirlpool stainless-steel appliances. Carpeted bedrooms have walk-in closets and bathrooms with ceramic tile walls for walk-in showers or deep soaking tubs.

The two-bedroom unit's open living/dining space has a glass door out to the central courtyard with the swimming pool.

Hines has two other local apartment projects in development — 244 units at The Fuse, under construction in Cambridge's Alewife area, and 352 units in two buildings planned for Marina Bay in Quincy.

Currents on the Charles has leased 11 percent of its units, and is offering one month's free rent.

"I wish there was a little less competition, but as long as jobs are being created, we should be able to lease out all the apartment complexes coming on," said Perry. "But the leverage has swung toward the tenant."

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Garden complex signs up a star

Star Market is coming to North Station. The West Bridgewater chain signed a long-term lease for a 63,000-square-foot grocery store in Boston Properties and Delaware North's 
$950 million, mixed-use TD Garden project.

The supermarket will be downtown Boston's largest, and will potentially cap a 16-year push by the North End/West End/Beacon Hill Supermarket Committee to bring an affordable grocery to their neighborhoods.

"My committee is very pleased that it includes the supermarket," committee chairwoman Lia Tota said. "We just hope — and this remains to be seen — that Star Market is willing to keep the prices as low as possible, because the idea of fighting for this was not just having a supermarket."

The committee plans to work with Star Market through the design phase.

"It's a great story of community activism and commitment," said Bryan Koop, senior vice president and regional manager of Boston Properties' Hub office. "There is a population of 75,000 people in these…neighborhoods who do not have a grocery store."

The committee formed after learning that the former Stop & Shop on Cambridge Street would be replaced by a more expensive Bread & Circus, prompting concerns about affordability.

When Stop & Shop finally closed in 2003 — it's now a Whole Foods — a free shuttle bus started transporting residents of the three neighborhoods to a Shaw's in Somerville and Stop & Shop in Medford several times per week. The grocery chains continue to fund the service.

An escalator will take shoppers to the new lower-level Star Market, which will emphasize hot prepared foods, alcohol, cut produce and organics, and include a cheese shop, pizza and salad bars, sushi, a seating area, pharmacy and Starbucks.

Shaw's was attracted to the location because of the tremendous amount of building in the area and access to North Station, a spokesman said. The city in 2013 also approved $7.8 million in tax breaks to help lure the company.

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Charlie Baker official says Connector to be more transparent

The Massachusetts Health Connector will enter its busiest period of Obamacare enrollment next week as the Baker administration — vowing a new level of transparency — prepares to reveal just how much the agency's "wildcard" costs will add to a budget deficit expected to top $500 million.

"My staff has been working around the clock the past seven days to try to finalize the number," said Administration and Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore. "We're really close, and we should be announcing that very soon."

Baker has said he expects the state budget gap to be more than $500 million. Still unknown is the total cost of temporary health insurance that Bay Staters were transferred onto last year under the Patrick administration when the state's costly Obamacare website failed.

Lepore, in her first Health Connector board meeting as chairwoman after being sworn in last week, pledged at least one major change to the agency.

"Transparency is No. 1," Lepore said.

Meanwhile, Health Connector officials are racing to get the word out to Bay Staters in those temporary plans to sign up for insurance by Jan. 23 or risk losing coverage altogether.

"Our key continues to be this large group that has coverage that ends," said state Obamacare czar Maydad Cohen. "The critical thing we've really been pushing hard in our outreach and communication is the temporary Medicaid program, the Commonwealth Care program, those are ending for these people Jan. 31. There is no extension. They will have no coverage if they take no action."

Cohen said the Connector is expecting its busiest open enrollment period next week and will have more than 300 call center operators to process applications and answer questions.

The Connector's eleventh-hour outreach blitz also includes a radio ad Sunday during the New England Patriots AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts in which the Connector is sponsoring the "Connection of the Game," highlighting the best pass.

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Heslam: New Boston.com editor needs cred

Boston Globe's beleaguered online sister site, Boston.com, is reeling from its latest viral blunder, and it's high time the rudderless ship finds an experienced captain.

Boston.com yesterday fired Victor Paul Alvarez, an associate editor who posted a story making fun of death threats against House Speaker John Boehner and accusing the Ohio Republican of being a heavy drinker with a "pickled liver" who could survive being poisoned.

Globe CEO Mike Sheehan wouldn't comment on Alvarez's ouster but said no other Boston.com staffers were disciplined over the site's latest mishap.

"It's onward and upward," Sheehan said.

Sheehan, who sent an apology letter to Boehner, said they are in the "final stages" of interviewing candidates to fill the Boston.com editor job, which has been vacant since the end of November.

Boston University School of Communications Dean Tom Fiedler said it's "prudent" that the next Boston.com editor have a strong journalistic background to "avoid the kinds of embarrassments" and "controversy that has come up in recent weeks."

It's also important, Fiedler added, that the next editor run Boston.com "in alignment with the journalistic values of the company in general."

Alvarez confirmed his ouster yesterday but said he was surprised by the firing. He declined to elaborate. As for Boehner, Alvarez said, "I'd like to apologize to the man in a way that is sincere, and I don't think a tweet would do it. He deserves more than that."

In an emailed statement, Boston.com's GM Corey Gottlieb said, "We do not comment on individual personnel matters. Any decisions made are far less about one employee than they are about the collective Boston.com team and maintaining and strengthening the standards and values they share."

Sheehan said he has "100 percent confidence" in Gottlieb leading the site.

Last month, then-deputy editor of Boston.com Hilary Sargent was suspended after hawking T-shirts that mocked a Harvard professor embroiled in a $4 flap with a Chinese restaurant owner — a story she doggedly covered. Sargent, now a senior columnist, also posted a piece that was quickly taken down that accused the professor of sending a racist email.

A contrite Alvarez took to Twitter to address his firing — and critics.

"The story I wrote was awful. Tasteless. Mean. Bosses felt it was inexcusable. They fired me," Alvarez wrote in a tweet. "I did not pine for murder. I made a tasteless joke that I clearly regret. Before I was fired and now."

Alvarez tweeted: "Also, in case it wasn't abundantly clear, I'm looking for a job. I doubt there will be any offers. But I am available."

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Google discontinuing first Google Glass wearables

Google is shutting down its Glass Explorer program and ceasing consumer sales of the $1,500 initial wearable devices on Jan. 19, as the Internet giant revamps its approach to the market.

The company announced the move in a post on Google+. The wearables project is exiting the Google X R&D group and will become a standalone unit under Nest Labs, the smart-home device company Google acquired for $3.2 billion in February 2014. Google Glass will continue to be headed by Ivy Ross, a former retailing exec and jewelry designer.

The Google Glass devices have a small screen embedded in the right lens to let users search the web, pull up maps, read text messages, snap photos and record video. That last feature concerned the movie industry: Last fall, the MPAA and the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) updates anti-piracy joint policy to prohibit recording by users equipped with Google Glass or other wearables in theaters.

Google, in its note to Google Glass beta users about the end of the Explorer program, said "we're continuing to build for the future, and you'll start to see future versions of Glass when they're ready."

The overall wearable-computing device market -- including glasses, smartwatches and fitness bands -- is expected to grow dramatically in the next few years. Retail sales of smart wearable devices are projected grow from $4.5 billion in 2014 to $53.2 billion by 2019, according to British research firm Juniper Research.

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

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The Ticker

Amazon Prime to show WGBH-made kids pilot

The latest animated children's show from the WGBH producer behind "Curious George" and "Arthur" will be hitting the screen today, but not the airwaves.

The GBH-produced show "Sara Solves It" is among the latest batch of pilot episodes released on Amazon Prime for viewers to give feedback on. The best-received pilots will be turned into full series.

"We want to be where kids are, and if Amazon is a place where kids are consuming media, that's where we should be," said Carol Greenwald, executive producer of the show. "Everybody who is making content for kids realizes that we have to start thinking about other platforms."

"Sara Solves It" is a musical mystery show that follows Sara and her brother as they solve mysteries using math and logic. In the first episode, Sara is hot on the trail of a mysterious, pizza thief.

Greenwald executive produced the show along with Out of the Blue Enterprises, the production company led by the creator of "Blue's Clues." She said the show was originally developed for PBS, but the pilot was not picked up.

U.S. retail sales slump in December

U.S. retail sales recorded their largest decline in 11 months in December as demand fell almost across the board, tempering expectations for a sharp acceleration in consumer spending in the fourth quarter.

Economists, however, cautioned against reading too much into the surprise weakness, noting that holiday spending made it difficult to smooth December data for seasonal fluctuations.

Developer plans Brighton apartments

Boston developer and restaurateur Jon Cronin has filed notice with the city to build a 23-unit apartment building at 386-388 Market St. in Brighton. The $6.2 million project, which would include ground-floor commercial space, would be on the site of the Brighton Beer Garden.

Today

 Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

 Labor Department releases the Producer Price Index for December.

 Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates.

TOMORROW

 Labor Department releases Consumer Price Index for December.

 Federal Reserve releases industrial production for December.

THE SHUFFLE

Burlington-based data recovery company Unitrends announced Kevin Weiss as the company's new president and chief executive officer. Weiss previously held leadership positions with Bertram Capital, McAfee, Ariba, BindView, BMC Software and IBM.

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Quincy hospital ER will remain open

The emergency room at the Quincy Medical Center will stay open for up to two years under a deal between Steward Heath Care and the Attorney General's Office.

"Maintaining emergency room care services and access to high-quality health care in Quincy is a priority for my office," Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

The 124-year-old hospital closed last month after Steward Health Care said it was losing $20 million a year. Under the settlement announced yesterday, Steward can close the emergency room after a year if it can show state health officials the services are not being used sufficiently by the public.

Steward can be fined $30,000 a month, up to $360,000, if it fails to provide emergency services.

"We believe that the conditions of the agreement are fair and consistent with the goals of maintaining access to high-quality health care services in the city of Quincy," said Steward spokeswoman Brooke Thurston in a statement. "We are committed to providing a convenient network of health care options to patients in Quincy."

The abrupt closure of the hospital appeared to violate Steward's 2011 agreement with Coakley to maintain services there for 10 years after it bought Quincy Medical in a bankruptcy auction. Quincy officials and residents have criticized the shuttering of the hospital and Chris Walker, a spokesman for Mayor Thomas Koch, yesterday said the city is still exploring its legal options.

The new settlement also requires Steward to relocate a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic that had operated at the hospital and to provide primary care and specialty physician services in Quincy through Oct. 1, 2018.

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Globe CEO apologizes for Boston.com story mocking Boehner death threat

The Boston Globe's CEO apologized to U.S. House Speaker John Boehner yesterday for a "tasteless" Boston.com story that mocked death threats aimed at the Ohio Republican and sparked outrage on social media over its insensitivity.

The apology came after the article was revised numerous times and editor's notes were added — including one stating Boston.com was "sorry" for the entire ordeal.

"I thought it was tasteless, insensitive, unnecessary and regrettable," Mike Sheehan, chief executive officer of Boston Globe Media Partners, said of the story.

Sheehan told the Herald he sent an apology to the speaker. That letter came after Boehner's office called to complain about the article yesterday morning while it was still posted online.

"It should be obvious to any sentient human being that an item mocking threats against the Speaker and his family is completely insensitive and inappropriate," Boehner's press secretary, Michael Steel, wrote in an email to the Herald.

The article, which was first posted prominently on the Boston.com's home-page "Top News" section Tuesday evening and remained there for about 12 hours, was headlined: "Would Anyone Have Noticed if Bartender Succeeded in Poisoning John Boehner?"

The article, written by Boston.com associate editor Victor Paul Alvarez, insulted the speaker and said if he had been poisoned, his "pickled liver could have filtered out the toxins."

The episode also sparked sharp comments from U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, who said the article "crossed the line."

"It's disgraceful, and I'm disappointed but I'm not surprised," the South Boston congressman told the Herald. "That type of — I don't know what you would call it — that type of story has absolutely no place in our discourse."

Although Boston.com was silent for hours amid a furor of criticism over the article, Corey Gottlieb, Boston.com's general manager, issued an apologetic statement yesterday afternoon.

"Last night, an opinion piece was published on Boston.com that has since been adjusted to what is currently on the site," Gottlieb wrote. "The original column made references to Speaker Boehner that were off-color and completely inappropriate. It reflected the opinions of one of our writers; what it did not reflect, by any standards, were the site's collective values.

"Rather than remove any reference to it or pretend it didn't happen," he added, "we are handling with transparency and self-awareness. We are sorry, and we will do better."

Michael R. Hoyt, 44, of Deer Park, Ohio, was indicted in federal court last week on charges he threatened to kill the speaker by shooting him and poisoning his wine. He had tended bar at the Wetherington Country Club in Ohio, where Boehner is a member.

As the Herald reported yesterday, Hoyt — who told police the devil was talking to him through his car radio — is now under observation at the Bay State's Devens Federal Medical Center.

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Salvatore LaMattina: Stop Wynn permits

City Councilor Salvatore LaMattina is calling on Mayor Martin J. Walsh to hold off issuing roadwork permits vital to the Wynn Resorts casino in Everett until the Hub's lawsuit against the Gaming Commission is resolved, even if it means costly delays to the $1.6 billion project.

"If I was the mayor, I would not allow my Public Improvements Commission to review or approve plans that Wynn is submitting until the courts have made a decision on the City of Boston lawsuit," said LaMattina, who represents Charlestown and East Boston. "Charlestown is going to be the most impacted neighborhood, and they never had a seat at the table."

Walsh sued the commission earlier this month, alleging it used a deeply flawed licensing process that disenfranchised Boston and illegally benefited landowners who are under indictment.

Wynn has to make improvements to roads in and around Charlestown's Sullivan Square to handle traffic its project will bring. The company says it needs a single permit for the work.

"We plan to submit our application to the Public Improvements Commission for Sullivan Square roadway improvements in February, as scheduled," Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver said. "The city's lawsuit does not change our project's plans or timeline."

In a submission to the commission during the licensing process, Wynn noted it would "vigorously pursue all mitigation, including initiating legal proceedings, if necessary, to obtain necessary permits."

Asked about LaMattina's request, Walsh spokeswoman Bonnie McGilpin said the city "reviews all permitting requests that are submitted and decisions are made on a case-by-case basis."

"Every remedy was exhausted to date and now this matter is in the hands of the litigators seeking to present this case in court on behalf of the city," McGilpin said.

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria issued a stern rebuke to LaMattina.

"If the councilor wants to blindly obstruct a project that could bring millions of dollars in benefits to his constituents in Charlestown, that's his choice," DeMaria said. "Wynn Everett will open responsibly, on time and with the support of the city of Everett."

Gaming commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the panel "will continue to encourage all parties to move forward with the implementation of the casino license and to resolve implementation challenges as quickly as possible."

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Massachusetts labor groups plan to outline priorities

BOSTON — Labor groups are planning to converge on Beacon Hill to outline their goals for the new two-year legislative session.

Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, said those priorities include better protections for vulnerable employees like temporary workers and day laborers.

She said labor groups, including the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, want to make 2015 a banner year for halting workplace deaths and injuries.

Also Wednesday, supporters of a $15 minimum wage in Massachusetts are planning to launch the first of what they say will be a series of protests on the 15th of every month to press for what they call a living wage.

The first protest is planned for Logan Airport.

The state's minimum wage just jumped from $8 to $9 per hour, the first increase since 2008.

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UMass Lowell receives $4M tech collaborative grant

Gov. Charlie Baker yesterday announced a $4 million Massachusetts Technology Collaborative grant to UMass Lowell to develop a printed and flexible electronics industry cluster, an emerging field with the potential to become a $76 billion global market over the next decade.

The new Printed Electronics Research Collaborative will position both large and small employers in Massachusetts to capitalize on the printed and flexible electronics field, which entails printing circuits on a base, or substrate, to create semiconductors and other electronics that are extremely thin, lightweight and flexible.

"Technical advances will enable us to generate 3-D drawings on the computer and directly print conductive and nonconductive components as easily as we now print with red, green and blue ink," said Julie Chen, vice provost for research. "We envision applications ranging from printed portable power and communications to novel drug delivery and diagnostic devices."

The four-year grant, which will be matched by $12 million in industry funding, will allow the Printed Electronics Research Collaborative initially to focus on supporting the state's defense cluster in printed electronics and branch out from there. Companies that have signed on include Raytheon of Waltham, MicroChem of Westboro and Rogers Corp. of Burlington, Chen said, and more are expected.

"The success of collaboration between the public and private sectors has been bearing fruit here for a number of years," Baker said. "This is exactly the sort of thing that should not only make us proud, but that we should do more of."

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Apple has patent to produce a rival to GoPro

Apple secured a patent to produce its own small mountable sports camera, causing GoPro's stock to take a significant tumble on Tuesday.

GoPro's stock lost 12% of its value, down $6.91 a share as news emerged from blog Patently Apple of details of the camera.

The device, which is designed to be attached to a helmet, handlebars or surfboards, used underwater and controlled remotely with a smartwatch, like the upcoming Apple Watch.

While Apple has not announced plans to produce a GoPro rival, just having a patent doesn't mean it ever will. Companies like Apple routinely secure numerous patents that doesn't result in products.

But the patent, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and whose application was originally filed in 2012, specifically mentions GoPro, that clearly sent shivers up the spines of shareholders and traders on Wall Street.

In the documents, Apple notes how the design of GoPro's HD Hero2 camera creates "excessive wind resistance" that is "susceptible to damage" from vibrations when mounted.

The patent also includes another that Apple purchased from Kodak when the camera company went bankrupt in 2013.

As its brand continues to take off with sports enthusiasts and broaden into more of a full-fledged entertainment company, GoPro is facing increased competition from other consumer electronics manufacturers.

Sony used last week's Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, to promote its new Action Cam, which now records in 4K HD video, while LG and Polaroid have cheaper versions for non-pros.

GoPro's stock has lost half its value since its peak in October.

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

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Uber steering data to Boston

Boston will be able to mine a treasure trove of data on every Uber trip in the city to help craft transportation polices after the ride-sharing company yesterday said it had agreed to share the information in a ground-breaking partnership.

"This is going to be a useful tool to help inform policy planning and operation," said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, the Hub's chief information officer. "This data provides interesting sorts of insight to transportation patterns in the city."

Uber said it will give Boston data on where a person is picked up and dropped off, the time of day and the distance traveled. The data will be aggregated and will be anonymous, identified only by ZIP code.

"Boston joins Uber in a first-of-its-kind partnership to help expand the city's capability to solve problems by leveraging data provided by Uber," the company said in a blog post. "The data will provide new insights to help manage urban growth, relieve traffic congestion, expand public transportation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

City Hall will get the first batch of information in two weeks, and then it will be released quarterly.

"One of the most interesting things we'll be able to get from this data set is travel time between neighborhoods in the city of Boston, looking at how long it takes to get from Mattapan to downtown," Franklin-Hodge said. "This is going to give us really useful data about travel patterns and travel time."

Franklin-Hodge said one of the first things his office will do is develop a baseline for things like travel time and congested routes so future policy discussions have a starting point. The city will then be able to use that baseline to see, for example, the impact of new development on travel times.

"In Boston, data is driving our conversations, our policymaking and how we envision the future of our city. We are using data to change the way we deliver services, and we welcome the opportunity to add to our resources," Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement. "This will help us reach our transportation goals, improve the quality of our neighborhoods and allow us to think smarter, finding more innovative and creative solutions to some of our most pressing challenges."

Uber has been the subject of regulatory battles across the country and state, including in Boston, where Walsh has created a Taxi Advisory Committee to examine possible regulations on ride-sharing companies.

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Boston researchers test drug that will try to slow down Alzheimer’s

Hub researchers are testing a pill that could protect the brain against the ravages of Alzheimer's disease — a treatment that could be the first to slow the progression of one of the nation's most common killers, they say.

"It's the only cause in the United States in the top 10 causes that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed down," said Dr. Robert Stern, Boston University's principal investigator for the trial. "The goal of this new medication going into clinical trials is really to try and slow down the advancement as well as trying to protect the cells that still exist."

Alzheimer's disease wreaks havoc on nerve cells in the brain until they cease to function, eventually causing death, Stern said. Boston University is one of 50 sites across the country conducting the Phase 2 clinical trial, which will study the effect of the experimental drug T-817MA on 450 Alzheimer's patients over about 14 months.

According to Stern, the medication is expected to slow down the advancement of the disease by protecting the brain cells from damage. It also may create more connections between them, making them more resistant to the disease.

"The medications available do not alter the underlying disease. All they do is provide a little bit of symptom relief in a relatively small percentage of patients, and for a relatively short period of time," Stern said.

He said five of those medications exist, and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved a drug for Alzheimer's disease since 2003.

Toyama, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, and the National Institutes of Health are funding the research.

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The Ticker

Job openings climb in Nov.

Job openings climbed in November to the highest level in almost 14 years as the strengthening U.S. economy fueled demand for labor.

The number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 142,000 to 4.97 million in November, the most since January 2001, a report from the Labor Department showed yesterday. The pace of hiring cooled and fewer Americans quit their jobs.

Gains in hiring, waning dismissals and rising confidence underscore a vibrant labor market that in 2014 marked its strongest performance since 1999.

Seesaw Dow ends down again

Stocks swung from gains to losses and almost back again yesterday.

The U.S. market opened the day higher, getting a boost from encouraging news on hiring and small business confidence. The market then swooned in the afternoon as oil closed lower. The pendulum then swung back late in the day as oil gained in after-hours trading and stocks ended with small losses.

From peak to trough, the Dow Jones industrial average swung 425 points. The Dow fell 27.16 points, to 17,613.68. The Nasdaq composite slipped 3.21 points, to 4,661.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 index eased 5.23 points to 2,023.03.

Oil prices continue to tumble

Oil tumbled 5 percent to near six-year lows before recovering ground yesterday, and Brent briefly traded at par to U.S. crude for the first time in three months as some traders moved to take advantage of ample storage space in the United States.

Traders were searching to store the glut of oil, which has knocked prices down 60 percent in the last six months. So far this week, Brent has lost 7 percent and U.S. crude 5 percent.

Brent crude settled down 84 cents at $46.59 a barrel, after falling to $45.19, its lowest since March 2009. U.S. crude oil closed down 18 cents at $45.89, after hitting an April 2009 low of $44.20.

Today

 Commerce Department releases retail sales data for December.

 Commerce Department releases business inventories for November.

 Federal Reserve releases Beige Book.

TOMORROW

 Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

 Labor Department releases the Producer Price Index for December.

 Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates.

THE SHUFFLE

Re/Max Leading Edge, with offices throughout Greater Boston, has announced the appointment of Christine George to executive vice president of marketing and business development. George will be responsible for setting the overall direction of the company's marketing and business development strategy.

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Business Protocol: People skills becoming a lost art

At a time when casual attire and casual dining are all the buzz, there is no such thing as casual manners.

Manners speak to who we are and where we came from. Moreover, those who have manners notice those who do not. Being well presented and demonstrating respect and courtesy sets you apart.

Next generation leaders lack interpersonal and communications skills, which eventually plagues them at hiring and promotion time and interferes in developing business and even social relationships.

Etiquette is more than just knowing which fork to use. Etiquette, knowledge of business protocol and displaying gestures of respect buoys social skills and helps build more successful relationships.

Showing you know "the difference" can lead to advancement in business and in life, and begs the question: What else do you take the time and make the effort to learn about and master?

Many years ago, David Chag, general manager of The Country Club in Brookline (the oldest country club in the United States), turned to my company for protocol expertise. I had visited TCC and remember saying I assumed the staff was "over the top" in terms of professionalism and personalized service.

"Precisely why I am calling, Judy … because other people expect us to be; it is my job to make sure we are," David told me.

It should be all of our "jobs" to make sure America's future leaders know — and are taught — technical skills, business expertise, leadership skills, social acumen, interpersonal communication skills and cross-cultural diversity.

People skills are required to succeed in our high-tech global business climate today, yet they are quickly becoming a lost art.

Given expectations of management and staff at all levels, companies have a responsibility to help shape leaders of the next generation.

And while a casual environment is acceptable here at home, if you want to compete globally, showing you know "the difference" will set you apart anywhere in the world.

Finely tuned people skills and specific nuances — both acquired and learned — will make a lasting impression. It's never too early (or too late!) to start, and regular reinforcement is key.

Judith Bowman is president and founder of Protocol Consultants International and author of "Don't Take the Last Donut: New rules of Business Etiquette" and "How to Stand Apart @ Work … Transforming "Fine" to Fabulous!" Email her at Judith@protocolconsultants.com.

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Obama calls for data theft rules

Companies would be required to notify consumers of data breaches involving their personal information within 30 days of discovering a breach under new federal legislation proposed by President Obama yesterday.

"Almost every state has a different law on this, and it's confusing for consumers, and it's confusing for companies — and it's costly, too, to have to comply to this patchwork of laws," Obama said at the Federal Trade Commission. "Sometimes, folks don't even find out their credit card information has been stolen until they see charges on their bill, and then it's too late."

The legislation also would make it easier for the United States to pursue criminals who buy and sell people's personal and financial information overseas.

Sony, Staples, JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, Shaw's Supermarkets, Star Market, Tufts Health Plan, American Express and Eastern Bank were among companies that reported breaches last year affecting millions of consumers.

"(It's) very reasonable and very important for consumers to get the notice as soon as possible," said Barbara Anthony, former Massachusetts undersecretary of consumer affairs and business regulation, who is now a senior fellow at the Kennedy School's Center for Business and Government.

Under current state law, companies must notify consumers "as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay." Anthony added it's "not at all unusual for companies to wait weeks and sometimes months before they make the notification."

Obama's speech came as hackers purportedly aligned with the Islamic State militant group breached the Twitter and YouTube accounts of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Obama is scheduled to unveil legislation giving legal protections from lawsuits to companies that share cybersecurity information with each other and the government.

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Sculptor sues Macy’s over frog display

A shiny bronze frog is now the subject of a federal suit.

David Phillips, the Medford artist who in 2003 created six frog sculptures in the Boston Common near Frog Pond, is suing Macy's for exhibiting a replica of his "Fishing Frog" at its Downtown Crossing store during the Christmas season.

"Macy's ... copied Phillips' Fishing Frog sculpture without permission or authority from Phillips, and it used a copy of said statue in a Christmas window display facing Summer Street in its downtown Boston store," Phillips' attorney wrote. "Such copying, use and public display of the 'Fishing Frog' sculpture without Phillips' permission or authority ... constitutes an infringement of Phillips' copyright for which he is entitled to damages."

Phillips is asking Macy's to refrain from using the fishing frog. He also wants "all gains, profits and advantages derived by" Macy's from its use of the frog. If Macy's willfully violated Phillips' copyright, he wants up to $150,000.

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The Ticker

Peabody man charged in $1M Apple tech theft

The director of technical and development operations at a South Boston-based media technology company was charged yesterday in connection with his alleged theft of nearly $1 million worth of iPads and other Apple products from his employer.

Michael S. Denning, 33, of Peabody was charged by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office with mail fraud and filing false tax returns.

The U.S. attorney alleges that in late 2010, Denning began working at a South Boston-based media technology company where his job responsibilities included purchasing computer equipment, software and other technology-based products for use by employees.

Shortly after he was hired, Denning allegedly began ordering extra Apple computer equipment, primarily iPads, from a wholesale computer vendor. Denning then allegedly intercepted these packages and sold them for cash, initially on eBay and Craigslist, and later to eBay resellers.

116 Huntington Ave. bought for $152M

Atlanta-based real estate investment trust Columbia Property Trust Inc. has acquired the 274,218-square-foot, Class-A office 15-story building at 116 Huntington Ave. in Boston's Back Bay from Broadway Partners for a purchase price of $152 million, inclusive of capital credits. The 15-story building was built in 1991.

Philadelphia real estate co., Nordblom acquire office building in South End

Affiliates of Philadelphia-based Rubenstein Partners, in partnership with Burlington's Nordblom Co., have acquired 1000 Washington St., a 242,000-square-foot office building located in the South End, for $75 million.

The 11-story, 242,000-square-foot building — the former headquarters of Teradyne — sits across the street from the new Ink Block residential development. The 2-acre site includes a 300-car garage, penthouse cafeteria and lower-level fitness center.

Today

 Labor Department releases job openings and labor turnover survey for November.

 Treasury releases federal budget for December.

TOMORROW

 Commerce Department releases retail sales data for December.

 Commerce Department releases business inventories for November.

 Federal Reserve releases Beige Book.

THE SHUFFLE

The South Shore Chamber of Commerce, the region's largest chamber, has announced that Alan Macdonald director of public policy and community benefits officer with South Shore Hospital, has been named an officer of the chamber's board of directors.

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Prospect of Chinese cars in US still remain years away

DETROIT — Another Chinese automaker is showing vehicles this year at the auto show in Detroit, raising the perennial question about when these companies might sell in the United States.

The answer: Years from now, according to carmakers and industry observers alike.

Chinese manufacturers have announced plans over the past decade to export to the U.S. only to postpone them when faced with passing U.S. safety and emissions tests and building a dealer network. They also must overcome big hurdles in convincing U.S. car buyers that Chinese cars have the quality they demand. Still, Chinese companies remain interested in eventually selling in the prestigious — and potentially profitable — market.

"The fact that they're showing in Detroit doesn't really signify that they're coming soon," said Michael Robinet, managing director of IHS's automotive group. "They're showcasing that they're in the game, looking to expand beyond the home market."

Any Chinese-made cars sold in the U.S. likely would come in at the bottom segment of the market for different types of vehicles, Robinet said, where they would compete in the already lively market for used cars. Buyers would need to decide whether it's better to buy a used car made by General Motors or Toyota, for example, or a new car from a company that just arrived on American shores.

John Humphrey, senior vice president of global automotive operations at J.D. Power and Associates, said the quality of Chinese-built vehicles has improved, but they still generally lack the fit-and-finish that U.S. car buyers expect. And consumers' experience with waves of Chinese-made products that they encounter daily at stores would color their expectations about new cars.

"There's a general perception of goods coming out of China, being fair or unfair, that they are relatively sub-par," Humphrey said.

Chinese companies are in their first decade displaying vehicles at the North American International Auto Show. In 2006, a lone Geely Automobile sedan sitting outside the main exhibit halls marked the first time a Chinese automaker showed a car in Detroit. Last year, the Chinese companies skipped Detroit.

This year, Guangzhou Automobile is showing vehicles including a fuel-efficient small SUV that will be sold in China starting in April and parts of the Middle East, Africa, South America and eastern Europe in late 2015. The company known as GAC said 2017 is a possible year it would like to enter the U.S. market, but there is no concrete timetable.

"Before entering the North America market, we'll have a full understanding of the culture and consumption features of the North America auto market and release according models," Wu Song, GAC Group general manager, said in an email interview.

In 2007, Chrysler and Chery Automobile, China's biggest independent brand, announced plans to produce a Chinese-manufactured small car for export to the U.S. as soon as 2010 under Chrysler's Dodge brand. They ended the venture due to the global financial crisis.

Other companies pegged 2009 as a year where Chinese-made vehicles would be offered for sale in the U.S., but that year passed without any coming on the market.

Elsewhere, Chery and brands including Great Wall Motors export sedans, minivans and SUVs to Russia, Algeria, Chile and other developing markets. Still, Chinese automakers mostly sell at home, where the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reports they had 41.2 percent of the market in 2014. They're being pressured in China by established global automakers, the same companies that dominate the U.S. market.

"They basically compete on price, and in the past several years have started to upgrade their design," said Yale Zhang, managing director of Automotive Foresight, a research firm in Shanghai.

Quality has improved but "it's not there yet to enter mature markets like Western Europe and the U.S.," Zhang said. In the U.S., challenges include setting up distribution in an unfamiliar market in which local laws prohibit direct sales to customers, Zhang said.

While Chinese-built vehicles have faced continued obstacles in the U.S., BYD Auto had success in its plans to put U.S.-built vehicles on the road. BYD, which stands for "Build Your Dreams," is a major battery maker and last year opened a California factory to produce plug-in electric buses.

Robinet said it's more difficult now than ever for automakers to make their first steps into a developed market such as the U.S. It's expensive to ship from China, he noted, and it took decades for South Korean automakers, for example, to fully establish themselves in the U.S.

"It's a massive undertaking and you can't get it wrong," said IHS's Robinet. "You might only have one chance."

___

AP Business Writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.

___

Follow David Runk on Twitter: http://twitter.com/runkdavi

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Foreign money floods Boston real estate market

Foreign investment in Greater Boston real estate has skyrocketed to record heights, more than tripling in the past year and bringing new ownership to some of the area's premier addresses.

Foreign buyers spent $4.2 billion in deals for office properties that included buyers from Canada, Norway, Japan, Chile, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. That was up from $1.3 billion in 2013.

"My prediction is that more than half of the investment sales coming up this year will be foreign investors," said David Begelfer, CEO of NAIOP Massachusetts, a commercial real estate development trade group. "We've been discovered. Some of these larger deals are pension fund money, sovereign funds."

The proportion of foreign investment has nearly doubled in the past year: Foreign investors accounted for about 30 percent of the approximately $14.4 billion in real estate transactions that were $2.5 million or greater last year, excluding homes, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York commercial real estate data firm. That's up from about 16.5 percent of the $11.02 billion in 2013 transactions.

Almost half the money spent on office buildings in 2014 was by foreign investors, accounting for 46 percent of the $9.17 billion in deals — up from 27 percent in 2013.

Among the biggest were a September trifecta by Oxford Properties Group, the real estate arm of Canada's Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Oxford snatched up three top addresses from Blackstone Group: 60 State St. for $817.49 million and 225 Franklin St. in Boston for $590 million, and Cambridge's 1 Memorial Drive for $405 million, according to Real Capital.

In October, Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, paid $715.17 million to Boston Properties for 45 percent of 100 Federal St. and Atlantic Wharf in Boston. In July, Norges and MetLife had bought 1 Beacon St. in Boston for $562 million.

"It's becoming more costly for local buyers to buy property," Begelfer said. "The limited supply of properties to buy and a much larger demand from international players is pushing up the cost."

NAIOP Massachusetts will tackle the issue in a panel discussion tomorrow titled "From the Outside In: How Boston Is Fueled by Foreign Capital."

Boston's booming economy and job creation in biotechnology, technology, health care, research, education and financial services make it attractive to foreign capital, said Riaz Cassum, senior managing director of HFF in Boston, which arranges debt and equity capital for commercial real estate owners, developers and operators.

"It's viewed as a safe dollar-denominated investment," he said. "It has a good diversified economy, low unemployment rate, strong barriers to entry, and Boston's become more accessible just literally in terms of direct flights. ... It's always been attractive to European investors, and now it's expanding to the growing Asian and Middle East capital."

The increasing foreign ownership of properties has broad implications — not all positive, according to Begelfer, who likened the trend to the loss of corporate headquarters in Boston.

"Mayor Menino had … relationships with all the major property owners in Boston and could count on them civically and charitably," Begelfer said. "With this whole new influx of (foreign) buyers, we may not see as much money flowing into civic and charitable initiatives that the new mayor has and that the charities count on. We have some absentee owners who might not be concerned about being the good neighbor."

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Inspector Gadget: The Ubi is a good concept with bad execution

The Ubi: Voice of the Internet ($299, theUbi.com)

Ubi is short for "ubiquitous computer," which is what this device seeks to be. Billed as a voice assistant and smart-home add-on, Ubi connects wirelessly to certain home automation devices as well as your computer.

The good: What a great idea. A voice assistant that will tell me how many ounces are in a cup while I'm cooking or call my husband without having to pick up the phone.

The bad: If only it worked well. It's often a struggle to get Ubi to recognize commands, and this is more of a beta device than something that should cost $299 and be billed as a real product.

The bottom line: I'll definitely try the next iteration of Ubi because any company with a concept this good should eventually get it right. It just hasn't done so yet.

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Obama to call for laws on data hacking, student privacy

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants Congress to pass legislation requiring companies to inform customers within 30 days if their data has been hacked.

Obama will also propose a bill that would prevent companies from selling student data to third parties.

A White House official says Obama will unveil the proposals Monday during a speech at the Federal Trade Commission. The announcement is part of the White House's efforts to preview components of the president's State of the Union address in the lead-up to the Jan. 20 speech.

The official was not authorized to be named and insisted on anonymity to discuss the proposed legislation ahead of Obama's announcement.

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Booting Up: LinkedIn isn’t connecting with its aspirations

LinkedIn's just-announced expansion of its publishing platform is a bid to become more than just a professional stalking tool. And it's a sea-change for a company that two years ago claimed its goal was to become "a digital representation of every economic opportunity in the world — temporary or full-time jobs."

That was a crock, and so are these new aspirations.

As someone who works in the social media and digital world, I'm supposed to embrace LinkedIn, keep it updated with recent writings, leave all manner of endorsements and recommendations for people I barely know and congratulate those same people every time they spend another year in a job they hate. 
I can't do it.

LinkedIn is a company that earned more than $500 million last quarter, compensates its CEO to the tune of $50 million a year and has 320 million members worldwide. Its public debut on Wall Street in May 2011 made a lot of people a lot of cash. Therefore, you might think this service — the largest professional network in the world, with a declared intention to be the planet's digital representation of economic opportunity — might try to connect with under-represented masses or the underdeveloped world. You might think LinkedIn would spin off a version of its app for unskilled workers looking for a shot, or give free job-seeker subscriptions to the unemployed.

You would be wrong.

Scratch below the surface of all those recruiting tools and subscription plans and you find a company that simply exists to make rich people richer.

My profile has been viewed by just 6 people in the last 15 days and my rank for profile views is down by 11 percent in the last 30 days. Apparently I have to pay $30 or $60 a month to "unlock the full list."

I currently have 436 connections to people I barely know and more than 100 requests to connect with people I know even less. More emails than I will ever read have piled up in my "InMail," including some that appear to be automatically generated by networking bots who do nothing all day but post on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn's earnings announcement for its fourth quarter and annual outlook was just set for Feb. 5. I expect the stock to soar after earnings beat expectations. I do not expect the company to do better at curating content, enabling offline meet-ups or reaching a lesser-skilled demographic.

My New Year's resolution was to stop detesting LinkedIn. But clearly, that's a job I just don't excel at.

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Area pharmaceutical companies make acquisitions

Lexington's Shire said yesterday it will pay $5.2 billion to acquire NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc., which specializes in drugs for rare conditions.

The acquisition will expand Shire's portfolio of specialty drugs, medications for niche diseases and conditions that typically command much higher price tags than conventional medications. The best-selling medications of the Irish drugmaker — which bases its U.S. operations in Lexington — currently include the attention deficit disorder drugs Vyvanse and Adderall XR.

Shire Chief Executive Officer Flemming Ornskov said he would keep looking for more deals to grow the company into a biotech powerhouse.

"This is about growth and rare diseases, and it fits hand in glove with our strategy and our franchise," Ornskov said.

NPS currently has one drug on the market in the U.S. and Europe: Gattex, which is used to treat short bowel syndrome, a potentially life-threatening chronic condition that prevents patients from absorbing nutrients from food. The drug had sales of $67.9 million for the first nine months of 2014.

NPS is awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a second drug, Natpara, which is designed to treat a rare condition called hypoparathyroidism. The FDA is slated to decide on the Natpara application by Jan. 24.

The takeover continues the breakneck pace of deal-making in 2014 in the pharmaceuticals sector, as companies jockey for promising assets amid a wave of new drugs emerging from research laboratories.

Also yesterday, Cambridge-based Biogen Idec announced that it has agreed to acquire U.K.-based Convergence Pharmaceuticals. Biogen Idec plans to leverage Convergence's expertise in chronic pain research.

"Neuropathic pain is an area of significant unmet need and represents a natural complement to our current neurology portfolio," said Douglas Williams, executive vice president of research and development at Biogen Idec. "The team at Convergence has pioneered some of the most innovative science in pain management. We believe their industry-leading talent, capabilities and pipeline of candidates, starting with CNV1014802, will provide a strong foundation upon which to expand our neuropathic pain portfolio."

Under the terms of the deal, Biogen Idec will pay Convergence shareholders an upfront payment of $200 million. Convergence shareholders are eligible to receive additional payments up to $475 million contingent on future milestones. Convergence will continue to operate out of Cambridge, U.K.

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City eyes rules for Airbnb

Boston is turning its attention to Airbnb, scheduling a public hearing later this month to help determine what, if any, regulations are needed for the booming short-term rental service.

"This is a fast-growing industry here in the city of Boston; we just want to make sure it's operated safely and appropriately," said Jerome Smith, the city's chief of civic engagement, who will host the hearing. "The goal is information gathering. There are a lot of residents in the city of Boston who may use Airbnb."

Smith said it is unclear if the city will push for regulations after the Jan. 26 hearing.

"We're not saying that we're definitely regulating the industry; we're just saying that because it's a growing industry here in the city of Boston we should take a look at it," he said.

San Francisco-based Airbnb, which lets people rent out their homes nightly to strangers through its website, has steadily gained popularity nationwide and internationally. Between July 2014 and June 2014, Airbnb customers stayed in Boston homes 1,080 times, the company said.

"We want to work with leaders in Boston to make sure residents can continue to share their homes and the city they love with the world, while also creating sensible regulations that work for Boston," said Marie Aberger, an Airbnb spokeswoman.

San Francisco and Portland, Ore., have set up regulations to charge hotel taxes to private home rentals and Amsterdam last month penned an agreement with the home-rental service to collect a tourist tax. And New York's attorney general formed a city-state task force last year to investigate illegal hotels after he issued a report alleging that nearly three-quarters of Airbnb's listings in that state were illegal, a charge the company denied.

Boston has taken a more cautious approach to Airbnb, with Mayor Martin J. Walsh telling the Inspectional Services Department last summer not to fine people who rent out their homes through the service.

But City Councilor Salvatore LaMattina wants to take a closer look at Airbnb's practices after hearing complaints about apartments where people cycle through like through revolving doors. LaMattina said he refiled a bill for a hearing on Airbnb before the City Council.

"I really do think they need to be regulated, and we'll look at other cities across the United States and what they're doing to address the issues," said LaMattina. "They're not paying any hotel tax to the cities and towns, and I think there's something we really need to look at."

He said his biggest concern is potential investors buying homes or condos specifically to rent out on Airbnb.

Airbnb has also spurred the creation of Neighbors for Overnight Oversight, a national group pushing for regulation of the rental service.

"At this point we're just glad the city is having this hearing; it's an important first step," said Conor Yunits, a spokesman for the group. "The end goal will hopefully be some sort of oversight of this, so if people are abusing the laws with illegal hotels, that there's some kind of check on that."

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX sent a supply ship soaring flawlessly toward the International Space Station on Saturday, but the booster rocket ended up in pieces in the Atlantic following a failed attempt to land on a barge.

"Close, but no cigar this time," the company's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, announced via Twitter shortly after the unprecedented touchdown effort.

Despite the high-profile flop in the dark ocean, Musk said he was encouraged. The 14-story booster managed, at least, to fly back to the floating platform from an altitude dozens of miles high.

"Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard," he said in a tweet. "Bodes well for the future tho."

He's already planning another landing test next month.

Musk, who also runs electric car maker Tesla Motors, maintains that recovering and reusing rockets is essential for bringing down launch costs and speeding up operations.

Until Saturday, no one had ever tried anything like this before.

The modified barge — nearly the size of a football field — was positioned a couple hundred miles off Florida's northeastern coast. The uncrewed platform was spared serious damage from the impact, although some equipment on deck will need to be replaced, according to Musk. A recovery ship with SpaceX staff was a safe 10 miles away.

SpaceX's primary mission was delivering more than 5,000 pounds of station 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 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 unmanned Falcon rocket.

Once separated from the upper stage of the rocket, the main booster reignited as planned for the flyback. 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.

There was no good video of the "landing/impact," Musk said, noting the "pitch dark and foggy" conditions. Brief TV images from booster cameras, broadcast by NASA, showed only water bubbles.

"Will piece it together from telemetry and ... actual pieces," said Musk, one of the co-founders of PayPal.

Later in the day, Musk said the fins on the rocket ran out of hydraulic fluid right before touchdown. Regardless, he praised his team "for making huge strides towards reusability on this mission."

"Upcoming flight already has 50% more hydraulic fluid, so should have plenty of margin for landing attempt next month," he said.

In the weeks preceding the 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.

The platform measures 300 feet by 100 feet, with wings stretching the width to 170 feet — a relatively puny spaceport in the vastness of the sea.

NASA watched the post-launch drama with keen interest, but its primary 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 especially crucial given 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 2016. Orbital Sciences plans to shift some of the backlog to an Atlas rocket later this 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.

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Online:

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

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

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The Ticker

Southie housing
next to Doughboy

Evergreen Property Group has proposed a six-story contemporary glass residential building with 33 rental units and ground-floor retail space at 248 Dorchester Ave. in South Boston, on a lot next door to Doughboy Donuts and Deli.

Burlington to get 
Bauer hockey shop

Bauer Hockey, the leading manufacturer of ice hockey equipment and a subsidiary of Performance Sports Group Ltd. announced today that it will open its first-ever Bauer retail shops beginning this summer, with six to eight more opening in key markets, including Minneapolis. The shop will house an indoor ice rink.

TUESDAY

• Labor Department releases job openings and labor turnover survey for November
• Treasury releases federal budget for December.

WEDNESDAY

• Commerce Department releases retail sales data for December. L Commerce Department releases business inventories for November.
• Federal Reserve releases Beige Book.

THURSDAY

• Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.
• Labor Department releases the Producer Price Index for December.
• Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates.

FRIDAY

• Labor Department releases Consumer Price Index for December.
• Federal Reserve releases industrial production for December.

Nathaniel Silver has been named assistant curator of the collection at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

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Use an automatic battery charger when storing a car

I am the proud owner of a restored 1969 Pontiac GTO. This past summer I purchased a new battery from Sears. The salesman said for winter storage to remove one lead and leave it in the car. I have always believed in removing the battery and recharging it every so often. This year I left the battery in the car with one lead off and purchased an automatic battery charger that monitors the battery and keeps it at full charge with a display showing its condition. What do you think about these chargers and storage method?

For a minute there, I thought I was reading a question I wrote! Like you, I've followed the "old school" method of battery preservation by disconnecting, removing and periodically charging the batteries from my summer cars and recreational vehicles.

But the older I get the lazier, eh, make that more efficient, I am. So, I now have several Battery Tender automatic battery chargers connected to the disconnected batteries in my seasonal-use stuff. I've had no issues doing this over the past four years.

Well, make that one issue. My C6 Corvette has electric door locks, so when I carefully prepared it for storage, my final step was to disconnect the battery, hook up the charger and close the hood. Sounds perfect, eh? Except for the fact that with the doors, hood and rear hatch closed and the battery disconnected, there was no way to unlock the doors!

Here's the funny part. I never even thought about the issue until I tried to unlock the doors the next spring! Thankfully, the owner's manual with the little black plastic emergency key was in the house. It unlocked the rear hatch, where I could lean in and pull the emergency driver's door release so I could open the door and unlatch the hood to reconnect the battery. Live and learn.

I have a 2003 manual-transmission Honda CRV with about 100,000 miles. Ever since I bought it used with 90k it has high idle RPM when it starts up. The engine idle RPM hunts between 2,000 and 3,000 until the engine warms up. Then the idle drops to below 1,000 RPM. Any thoughts?

Whenever trying to diagnose a driveability issue, apply the KISS principle first — keep it simple. Start with the basics, which in this case is to check carefully for any type of vacuum leak in the induction system. Any air entering downstream of the MAF sensor (mass air flow) is not metered and can create a lean air/fuel ratio. Until the engine warms up to the point of switching to "closed loop" operation where the air/fuel ratio is monitored and trimmed by feedback from the oxygen sensor, the idle speed can be high and fluttery/unstable.

The IAC (idle air control) regulates air entering the induction system. If it is sticking or binding it may be contributing to this issue. And a scan tool check for DTC fault codes might help pinpoint the problem.

My 2010 Chevrolet Colorado will not start all the time. When I put the key in the ignition all accessories light up and the radio plays but the starter will not engage. Turn key off, take key out of ignition, wait 10 minutes, try again, and it will start. This has happened in all weather, approximately 10 times since May. The dealership could not find anything wrong. Can you help with this problem?

Your vehicle is equipped with a vehicle immobilizer system which will not allow the engine to start until and unless the BCM (body control module) sees the correct voltage through the ignition key resistor circuit. If the voltage generated through the resistor in the key doesn't match, the engine won't start.

Try your spare key first. Have the dealership scan the BCM for fault codes. And again, remember the KISS principle. Check the battery and starter/solenoid cables and connections.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

20.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wind energy shifts direction

With the Cape Wind project on the ropes, the industry's future in Massachusetts may rest on a federal wind power auction later this month for a sprawling area off Martha's Vineyard.

Twelve companies have qualified to bid Jan. 29 as the federal government auctions four commercial leases for 742,000 acres of sea roughly 14 miles south of Martha's Vineyard. The power generated, if leased and used by the industry, could provide electricity for about 1.4 million homes, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said.

The Massachusetts Wind Energy Area that is up for auction is farther offshore than Cape Wind's estimated $2.5 billion project to install 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound, but that's not enough to silence some critics.

"Offshore wind is a nonstarter. I can't imagine circumstances under which it would be justifiable from an environmental or economic standpoint," said David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute, who's been a vocal opponent of Cape Wind. "There never was any economic justification for the Cape Wind project, and now with the falling fossil fuel prices, there's even less justification for those projects."

The auction comes as Cape Wind's $150 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy is in jeopardy after National Grid and Nstar backed out of their contracts with the company, saying it had missed a Dec. 31 deadline for the necessary financing and had not provided collateral to extend the deadline.

From the beginning, the Cape Wind project was fraught with criticism from environmental advocates and economists alike, who said that it would disrupt fisheries in the area and create higher energy costs for Massachusetts residents.

"Anyone who bids on these tracts and puts up money to obtain them must be assuming that they're going to be allowed to charge even higher rates than Cape Wind got National Grid and Nstar to charge," Tuerck said. "Because however expensive it was, these projects will be more because they're farther out to sea."

But Audra Parker, president of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and a Cape Wind opponent, said both the lease area in question and the steps taken by the government to look out for the public's best interest already make this endeavor superior to Cape Wind.

"There's a right way and a wrong way of identifying areas. Cape Wind's fight was driven to maximize profit," Parker said. "This process has involved science and stakeholder input."

Although she said that it "does not address the high cost of offshore wind," it is still better "in terms of site and the process it's taken."

That process has involved tools like Coastal Marine Spacial Planning, used to avoid environmental and financial costs in ocean management, she said.

Christopher Boelke, field office supervisor for the national Marine Fisheries Services, said the lease area was reduced by a third in part to protect the fisheries. He added that people may view this project as "less intrusive" than Cape Wind, given that it's farther offshore in a lower-traffic area.

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