Hotel builder changing up plans again

The company behind a proposed hotel in Boston's Theatre District has again switched its development strategy, this time reverting to plans for a microhotel, with increases in the number of rooms and the building's height.

Amherst Media Investors now is planning a 23-story microhotel with 346 smaller rooms and a rooftop bar at 240 Tremont St.

The microhotel concept attracts younger, mobile guests who rely to a greater degree on walking and public transportation, the Summit, N.J.-based outdoor advertising company said in a Boston Redevelopment Authority filing, arguing the project's effects on traffic and parking therefore would be "negligible" despite its increased size.

Amherst also has new development partners: Dallas' Highgate Capital Investments, which has a hospitality arm, and New York real estate investment firm Faros Properties.

"These changes are needed to allow a promising but challenging development site to become an economically feasible hotel," Amherst said in the filing.

The changes follow a string of project revisions since the BRA named Amherst as the city-owned site's developer in 2007, when it proposed a 14-story condo building.

The last changes came in August 2013, when Amherst said it wanted to reduce the hotel rooms from 240 to 202 to increase room sizes and increase the building from 19 stories to 22. Amherst's plans for a three-story, Times Square-like digital video billboard on the hotel's facade were consolidated to the building's corner at Tremont and Stuart streets, and the rooftop bar was removed from the design. Amherst never proceeded with permitting approvals for those changes, however.

The three-story corner digital video billboard remains in the current plans.

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Marty Walsh, mayors to focus on finance

Mayor Martin J. Walsh will join mayors from around the country tomorrow to discuss wage inequality and financial literacy as City Hall says nearly half of Bostonians would struggle to live above the poverty line for three months after a job loss or significant medical expense.

"There's a tremendous need for this in the city of Boston as far as the literacy we have, but it goes deeper than that. People don't have the means for employment and we have to work on that," Walsh said in an interview. "It's a pretty big issue. You hear a lot about people being priced out of the city of Boston."

Close to half of Boston residents do not have enough money saved to survive above the poverty level for three months if they lost a job, Walsh's office said. That number jumps to 
69 percent for African-American households and 75 percent for 
Hispanic households.

"Our unemployment rate is about 5 percent, but in areas like Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan, our unemployment rate is higher," the mayor said.

Walsh, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and others in town for a U.S. Conference of Mayors leadership meeting will speak at UMass Boston on a panel moderated by Boston Federal Reserve president Eric Rosengren.
"It's not just a Boston issue, it's a nationwide issue," Walsh said. "It's an opportunity to bring mayors to the city of Boston to be able to hear testimony from residents of our city, but also talk about sharing best practices on how different cities are handling the issue."

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Icy return of boats not all its quacked up to be

The launch of the duck boats is a rite of spring, but this year even the amphibious vehicles have fallen victim to the unseasonably cold and snowy winter.

Boston Duck Tours will begin its 21st season today, but with some special measures to avoid frozen feathers. The duck boats will either not go in the water at all or make an abbreviated swim thanks to ice still clogging the Charles River.

"Any time you go in the water with ice, it's not a good idea. The Titanic is a good example," said Bob Schwartz, a spokesman for Boston Duck Tours. "It would just not be the safe thing."

The land-water tour company actually pushed back its opening date this year to try to avoid an iced-over Charles, but it wasn't enough of a delay, Schwartz said.

The average temperature in February was more than 12 degrees colder than normal, according to the National Weather Service, and March temperatures have been below normal too.

Duck Tours will be 50 percent off until the amphibious vehicles can make the full water run, which usually lasts around 20 minutes, Schwartz said. For now, if the duck boats take a dip at all, it will last around 10 minutes. If the water is not frozen where the duck boats splash in, the vehicles will make the trip around the mouth of the Charles, but not up the river.

Schwartz said not going in the water will be tough for riders.

"It's such a big draw, that's who we are," he said. "It's the thing that people really want to experience when they come."

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Tests may be breakthrough against Azheimer's

An experimental Azheimer's drug from Biogen Idec dramatically slowed the disease's progression in a small study — a stunning finding that analysts and doctors say could save millions of lives and lead to a financial boon for the Cambridge biotech firm.

"The results are incredibly promising," said Ravi Mehrotra, head of Global Biotechnology Research at Credit Suisse in New York. "What's very interesting with Alzheimer's is it's obviously a huge market, and because of the aging population, that number is going to continue to grow."

The 166-person study showed a significant decrease in both cognitive decline and amyloid plaque — the sticky substance that builds up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients — in those who took the drug aducanumab rather than a placebo.

Biogen's stock soared after the findings were announced yesterday, spiking briefly to a record high of $480.18 per share, before closing up 9.76 percent.

If the drug's success holds up in later trial phases, Biogen has the potential to produce a $10 billion worldwide drug, and see as much as a 50 percent increase in revenue, said Michael Yee a San Francisco-based analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

"The big picture is that these results are very exciting," said Yee. "Obviously that's tremendous because it could be transformative for the company."

Biogen Idec said the initial results were so promising that it will skip Phase II and go directly to Phase III of the trial, which will involve a participant pool of at least 1,000 people.

This is "relatively rare" in the research world, according to Dr. Tinatin Chabrashvili, neurologist and director of the Dementia Clinic at Tufts Medical Center.

"Something like this only happens when there are quite convincing results," Chabrashvili said. "The results look very good."

There are more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease, and that number could triple by 2050 without medical innovations, according to Jim Wessler, president and CEO of Alzheimer's Association Massachusetts New Hampshire chapter.

It's the only disease on the list of the top 10 causes of death in the United States that does not have a treatment that slows or stops progression, he said.

"Alzheimer's is the most expensive disease in America, more than heart disease and cancer, because you have both medical care and care-giving requirements," he said. "People on average after diagnosis will live for eight years and the range can be up to 20 years. It's a long, slow, deteriorating disease."

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Potent groups take sides on bipartisan House Medicare plan

WASHINGTON — A budding bipartisan deal to shelter physicians from Medicare cuts, championed by the House's two top leaders, is drawing powerful allies including the American Medical Association and a rainbow of conservative and liberal groups.

House aides released an outline of the emerging measure late Friday, and it confirmed what lawmakers, aides and lobbyists have described for days. The package is studded with provisions that draw many Democrats, including two more years of money for the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health centers, plus language boosting Medicare costs for some beneficiaries that appeals to Republicans eager to retool the costly program's finances.

The effort to resolve a problem that has exasperated Congress for years has been pressed by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Their rare alliance has given the proposed deal momentum among lawmakers of both parties eager to be rid of the issue.

The proposal is also attracting powerful foes and its fate is not guaranteed. A House vote seems likely late next week, shortly before Congress begins a two-week spring recess, but what will happen in the Senate is less clear.

Citing the plan's increased Medicare premiums for high earners and other increased costs for beneficiaries, AARP — the senior citizens' lobby — said the package "is not a balanced deal for older Americans." With most of the measure financed with deeper federal deficits, the conservative Club for Growth urged lawmakers to vote "no" because it "falls woefully short" of being paid for.

Some House liberals and Senate Democrats have criticized the measure for not extending the children's health program for four years, raising Medicare premiums and restricting abortions at community health centers.

The measure got a boost Friday from the liberal Families USA, which cited the importance of financing the children's health program and providing for the 8 million children it serves. "Keeping the program's funding extension is essential so we don't move backwards," said Ron Pollack, the group's executive director.

Also voicing support was Robert Wah, president of the American Medical Association, who said it was time for Congress "to seize the moment and finally put in place reforms" that would end the constant threatened cuts and strengthen Medicare.

At its core, the plan would block a 21 percent cut in doctors' Medicare fees looming April 1. It would replace a 1997 law that has threatened similar reductions for years — which Congress has repeatedly blocked — with a new formula aimed at prodding doctors to charge Medicare patients for the quality, not quantity, of care.

In a first hint of some of the measure's fine print, Friday's summary said it would let the government withhold 100 percent of any delinquent taxes providers owe from their Medicare reimbursements.

As for winners, the agreement would prolong federal payments to Tennessee hospitals that treat low-income people through 2025.

It would also help major producers of durable medical goods and prosthetic devices by penalizing low-ball bidders for Medicare business. That provision comes from a House-passed bill sponsored by Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, whose state is home to Invacare Corp., one of the country's largest makers of home medical devices like wheelchairs.

The one-page document provides no price tags and few specifics. But as lawmakers, congressional aides and lobbyists have said for days, it would cost roughly $210 billion over a decade, with around $140 billion financed by adding to federal deficits, aides said Friday. The remaining $70 billion would be split about evenly between Medicare providers and beneficiaries.

In a letter to House Democrats on Friday, Pelosi hailed the measure for "providing certainty to our seniors and stability to providers." On Thursday, Boehner said it was a chance to "solve this problem once and for all."

According to the summary and aides familiar with details:

—About 2 percent of the country's highest-earning Medicare recipients would face higher premiums for doctor and prescription drug coverage. The higher premiums would apply to individuals earning between $134,000 and $214,000 and couples earning between $267,000 and $428,000.

—Starting in 2020, some people buying Medigap plans — they insure expenses Medicare does not cover — would pay higher out-of-pocket costs up to the Medicare deductible for doctors' coverage, currently $147 annually.

—A 3.2 percent increase in Medicare payments to hospitals in 2018 would instead be phased in over six years.

—Nursing homes, hospices and home health providers would be held to a 1 percent Medicare increase in 2018.

—Scheduled cuts in payments to states for hospitals treating poor patients would be delayed a year to 2018 but also extended through 2025.

—Programs that help poor seniors pay Medicare deductibles and help some families keep Medicaid coverage as they move from welfare to jobs would become permanent.

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The Ticker

New Bedford inks 
casino, developer dealer reach casino deal

The developer of a proposed casino in southeastern Massachusetts has reached an agreement with New Bedford as the company competes for the state's final resort casino license.

New York City-based KG Urban Enterprises said yesterday that the agreement calls for a $4.5 million upfront payment to the city, followed by $12.5 million in annual payments once it opens its doors. The proposed casino would be managed and operated by Foxwoods in Connecticut.

The New Bedford development is among three plans vying for the southeastern region casino license. It's going up against proposals in Somerset and Brockton.

The Gaming Commission already has deemed Mass Gaming & Entertainment's initial application for casino on the Brockton fairgrounds "substantially complete."

Residents in that city are to vote on the casino proposal May 12.

Wonderland Ballroom for sale

The owner of the Wonderland Ballroom in Revere has put the property up for sale as a possible transit-oriented development site.

The 28,056-square-foot parcel, which includes the nightclub with available space of more than 30,000 square feet, could potentially accommodate up to 100,000 square feet of development, according to Boston broker TR Advisors.

Allowable uses include multi-family residential, general and professional office, hotel, restaurant and retail projects.

Owner Robert Merowitz previously eyed selling the site for a hotel development if a casino had been approved for the nearby Suffolk Downs.

The ballroom hosts mostly Latin and reggae music events on weekends.

FAA says Amazon can test drone

Amazon.com Inc. has won federal regulators' approval to test a delivery drone, as the e-commerce giant pursues a vision of speeding packages to customers through the air.

The FAA said yesterday that under the provisions of the experimental airworthiness certificate, the flights must be conducted at 400 feet or below during daylight hours.

The drone must also remain within the line of sight of the pilot and observer.

The person flying the aircraft, meanwhile, must have a private pilot's certificate and current medical certification

• Nickerson, a full-service communications agency offering an integrated blend 
of marketing and public relations, announced that Kevin 
McMahon, left, photohas joined its growing team as director of social media and digital content. McMahon is responsible for developing and growing comprehensive social media programs to reach specific target audiences across a broad range of social and digital channels.

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Boston firm unveils latest in ‘collaborative robots’

A Boston robotics company has unveiled the latest in what it says will be a "family" of manufacturing robots that work alongside humans.

"We've always envisioned a family of smart, collaborative robots," said Jim Lawton, an executive with Rethink Robotics. "Sawyer is smaller, more compact, and easier to integrate into manufacturing."

Sawyer is the company's second manufacturing robot, and it is designed to automate routine, monotonous tasks including what's known as machine tending, which includes actions as simple as pushing a button and then waiting. Rethink's first robot, Baxter, can do the same thing, but it has two arms and is more suited for tasks such as packing and organizing.

"Sawyer's designed to do a whole new set of tasks," Lawton said. "We'll have Sawyers and Baxters operating next to each other, with each other."

Retailing for $29,000, Sawyer has one arm and the same friendly computer face as Baxter. Called "collaborative robots" by the company, Sawyer and Baxter can work next to humans, and are easy to teach and program by moving them and showing them what to do.

Sawyer and Baxter are part of Rethink's efforts to have robots rather than people do the mindless, boring jobs in manufacturing rather than people, and Lawton said Rethink is already working on its next robot.

"You'll see more people supervising robotics technology and less people doing these dangerous and repetitive tasks," Lawton said. "Instead of being the person standing in front of the test, I'm the person managing a dozen robots."

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Target breach settlement on track for $10M

A Boston lawyer, whose suit against Target Corp. over its staggering 2013 data breach was consolidated into a national class-
action complaint, endorsed a 
$10 million settlement that yesterday won preliminary approval.

Preston W. Leonard said the settlement in federal court in Minnesota is a "good result for consumers."

"This case and others like it hopefully will encourage retailers to do more to safeguard consumer data when they check out," Leonard said. "I was encouraged that under the settlement, Target will appoint a chief information security officer. That is a responsible approach to handling data in this climate."

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson scheduled a Nov. 10 hearing for final approval of the settlement.

Leonard and numerous other lawyers across the country filed class-action complaints after about 40 million Target customers' credit and debit card accounts were compromised by hackers between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15, 2013 — the height of the holiday shopping season.

"The criminal element out there is growing, it's sophisticated, and it's hard to stay ahead of," said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, whose office is continuing its multi-state investigation into the 
Target breach.

Under the class-action settlement, affected consumers can file for up to $10,000 with proof of their losses, including unauthorized charges, higher fees or interest rates, and lost time dealing with the problem.

John Chapman, undersecretary of the state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, said its website, www.mass.gov consumer, will walk people through the process once the settlement is final.

The settlement would also require Minneapolis-based Target to keep a written information security program, offer security training to its workers, maintain a process to monitor for data security events and respond to such events deemed to present a threat.

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Hot Property: Southie church split up into 20 luxury condos

Luxury condos in the former St. Augustine's Church in South Boston have hit the market, offering buyers an opportunity to live in new, modern units amid high Victorian Gothic architecture, with soaring ceilings and arched windows.

Twenty two- and three-bedroom condos are taking shape in the former Catholic church on Dorchester Street — each of them two or three levels — and another nine one-bedrooms will occupy the attached former rectory. Prices range from $649,000 to $1.29 million for the roughly 1,000- to 2,000-square-foot units.

After four months of demolition work, the property is still under construction, with an Aug. 31 scheduled completion date by owner Brenco Construction of Milton.

Condo interiors won't have exposed brick or stained glass windows, but the ornate arched frames will be preserved and fitted with new custom windows — including a massive one in the penthouses' lobby that will provide views of the Boston skyline and landmark buildings such as the John Hancock tower.

"It's going to have a contemporary feel inside," said Jacob Carlin, the property's exclusive listing agent and the owner of JW Brokerage in South Boston. "The church was in such disrepair that it was hard to try and save some things."

Features will include hardwood floors, tile bathrooms, professional-grade, stainless steel appliances, granite kitchen countertops, surround sound, walk-in closets and in-unit laundry hookups. Master baths will have walk-in showers with glass surrounds, while the guest baths will have soaking tubs and showers.

Garage parking is being added underneath the church in its former function hall, and residents will have an elevator and access to a clubroom with a kitchenette, surround sound and a flat-screen television.

Built in 1874, the church was designed by Patrick Charles Keely, an Irish-born architect heralded as the most prolific designer of Catholic churches, with more than 600 to his credit, including the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End and more than 30 others in Massachusetts. Under mounting financial pressure, the Archdiocese of Boston closed St. Augustine's in 2004, and the city's Landmarks Commission denied a petition to designate it as a landmark.

The former church's red-brick facade is being preserved and will be repointed, and the slate roof will be maintained. The massive center entrance with its wooden doors and ornamental iron fixtures also will be preserved.

"Obviously the architecture of the church is something we could never replicate now — it would be too expensive," Carlin said.

Carlin has two of the condos under agreement for $775,000 and $1 million — close or at asking prices, he said — and has offers for another four units.

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BRA chief touts disclosure rule

If Massport adopted the same policy as the BRA on requiring developers to divulge names of equity partners, it would shed light on the silent investors on bids to build an $800 million mega hotel in the Seaport District, the head of the city authority said yesterday.

"People should know who is having a significant development interest going in their neighborhood and how they have behaved.

There are community groups and neighbors who might be OK with a development proposal but not happy with the development team," Boston Redevelopment Authority Director Brian Golden said in interview after an appearance on Boston Herald Radio.

"They deserve to know what their reputation is, what their history has been, are they solid citizens, and solid performers."

Golden explained that one of the driving forces behind the disclosure requirement his agency adopted last year is that it aims to expose any conflicts of interest among investors in a development project, particularly among BRA staffers or their relatives.

"One important reason for that is to do a conflict-of-interest scrub," he said. "We need to know who is investing in projects for our own parochial interests so we could identify conflicts of interest between investors who might be related or have some kind of connection to BRA staff."

Massport is overseeing the bid process for the proposed 1,200-room headquarters hotel on Summer and D streets that is part of the $1 billion expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

The authority has not released the six bids by developers to build the hotel and does not have a policy requiring equity partners to be divulged.

But Massport CEO Thomas Glynn told the Herald this week that the BRA edict is a "good idea" and he hasn't "ruled out" adopting a similar policy.

The Herald reported earlier this week that two former board members of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority — former U.S. Sen. William "Mo" Cowan, who also served as chief of staff for former Gov. Deval Patrick, and developer Dean Stratouly — are part of a development team looking to land the hotel deal.

The MCCA board and Massport's board will each vote to choose the winning bid.

Golden, while appearing on Herald Radio's "Morning Meeting," also blasted the controversial deal that gave the Boston Red Sox the right to use Yawkey Way forever as the "consummate behind-closed-doors, opaque transaction."

Golden said a new policy, requiring the agency to hold public meetings and a 10-day open comment session before giving away city-owned land, will greatly increase transparency and prevent what happened in September 2013, when the agency kept the public in the dark on the terms of its deal with the Red Sox up until just before the board's vote on the $7.3 million pact.

No public forum was ever held.

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Hospitals prescribe more data security

Local hospitals are boosting their health data security as medical records move from paper files to online databases — a trend that's attracting hackers to an industry previously undisturbed by breaches.

"Historically, health care organizations have in­vested less in security than other industries," said Dr. John Halamka, chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "However, over the past few years, the visibility of major breaches, increased enforcement and escalating threats have led boards to focus on increasing security protections."

Premera Blue Cross announced Tuesday that data belonging to 11 million people could have been exposed in a security breach discovered Jan. 29 — the same day Anthem uncovered a breach that affected about 1 million Bay Staters.

Beth Israel has added 14 IT security-related hires and $3 million in funding over the past two years, more than doubling its security budget and staff, Halamka said.

Hospitals are scrambling to adopt electronic health record systems to comply with the Affordable Care Act, which mandates that doctors who see Medicare patients move patient information online or see reimbursement rates slashed.

The digital systems are still in a "growth stage," making them gold mines for hackers looking to access heaps of personal information, said Tad Oelstrom, director of the National Security Program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

"The health industry and the pressures that have been on it to digitize rec­ords has been very strong, and with this pressure they are attempting to do a very, very complex task," Oelstrom said. "The more complex, the easier it is for folks who want to get into the system."

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Fed redefines the unemployment range it considers acceptable

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve was in a tough spot: The February U.S. unemployment rate of 5.5 percent is right where the Fed had been saying inflation would likely start to accelerate. Yet inflation remains even lower than the Fed wants it to be.

So on Wednesday, the Fed simply moved the goalposts.

It now says unemployment could fall as low as 5 percent to 5.2 percent before inflation pressures would probably start to build. That's down from its previous range of 5.2 percent to 5.5 percent.

That shift is a big reason many analysts think the Fed has in effect postponed the date when it will start raising the short-term interest rate it controls. Many now expect it to start raising rates in September or even later after having previously predicted June.

Investors welcomed the possibility of lower rates for longer, sending the Dow Jones industrial average up 227 points.

"With the stroke of a pen, rather than being at the top end of full employment ... we're farther away," said Allen Sinai, chief economist at Decision Economics.

As the unemployment rate falls, it typically reaches a level at which employers must raise pay to find qualified workers to hire. Those employers then raise prices to offset the higher wages they're paying, which usually accelerates inflation. The unemployment rate that triggers higher prices is generally considered "full employment."

At her news conference Wednesday, Chair Janet Yellen said the Fed's new lower range for acceptable unemployment "suggests that (Fed officials) are seeing more slack in the economy now than they previously did."

That, in turn, implies that rates will rise more slowly than many had assumed. Separate forecasts by Fed officials show they now expect the Fed's short-term interest rate to be much lower at the end of this year and next than they thought in December.

The Fed had little choice but to make the change to acknowledge economic reality, analysts said. Paychecks for most Americans have barely kept up with inflation since the recession officially ended 5½ years ago.

"If we were even close to full employment, we would be seeing more pressure on hourly earnings by now," said Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial. "They are just adjusting to that reality."

The Fed had lowered the upper end of its full-employment range as recently as June 2014. But the lower end had stood at 5.2 percent since April 2011, according to Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays.

There are no clear guidelines for what the full employment rate is. In the late 1990s, the Fed chose not to raise rates even as the unemployment rate fell. It eventually touched 3.9 percent without igniting inflation.

It "does move around a bit and is unobservable," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. "It is a genuine puzzle."

The Fed made other changes to its forecasts Wednesday after its latest policy meeting ended. It now predicts:

— Growth will be much slower through 2017 than it predicted in December. It now foresees growth of roughly 2.5 percent this year and next, down from 2.8 percent and 2.75 percent, respectively. Growth will then slow to about 2.2 percent in 2017, down from 2.4 percent, it predicts.

— Even with slower growth, unemployment will keep falling. The Fed now forecasts that the unemployment rate will be about 5.1 percent at year's end, down from its previous estimate of 5.25 percent. Next year, it will drop to 5 percent and in 2017 to 4.95 percent, it predicts.

— Inflation will be even lower this year, between 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent, down from the 1 percent to 1.6 percent it forecast in December. But Fed policymakers didn't cut their outlook as much in later years: They still project that inflation will be near their 2 percent target in 2016 and 2017.

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GOP defense hawks, fiscal conservatives battle over budget

WASHINGTON — A battle between GOP defense hawks and fiscal conservatives prompted the GOP chairman of the House Budget Committee late Wednesday to delay a vote on his party's budget blueprint.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., called off a vote on a move by GOP leaders to loosen restrictions on using war funding to skirt tight limits on the Pentagon budget. That delays a vote on the underlying budget, which would set up a veto struggle over the fate of the health care law and promises a whopping $5 trillion in spending cuts to erase deficits by the end of the coming decade.

Billions more for the Pentagon were Republican priorities in both House and Senate, but pushback from fiscal conservatives against spending increases appeared to force Price's hand.

At the same time, there were significant differences between the day-old proposal in the House and the one unveiled Wednesday by Senate Republicans.

Defense spending aside, Medicare was chief among them. Senate Republicans, already eying the 2016 elections, balked at a politically sensitive House plan to turn health care coverage for seniors into a voucher-like program for those who enroll beginning in 2024.

Republicans claimed a balanced-budget, no-tax-increase approach, but the House Budget Committee had to scuttle a vote Wednesday. The Senate Budget panel was set to convene Thursday morning with a vote planned for the afternoon.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the Republicans promise a plan "that will support economic growth and more opportunity for hardworking families, while protecting our most vulnerable citizens."

By contrast, McConnell said President Barack Obama's budget from earlier in the year raised "taxes by nearly $2 trillion, and increased the national debt by more than $7 trillion. In other words, it was more of the same old tired, failed policies of the past."

Obama leaned in.

Claiming credit for the improving economy, he said Republicans offer "a path to prosperity for those who have already prospered." Reprising a criticism he leveled in his winning 2012 campaign against Mitt Romney, he said in Cleveland that the GOP budget "doubles down on trickle-down."

It will be weeks or months — if then — before Republicans can turn their non-binding blueprints into legislation and send it to the White House for Obama's signature or veto.

Before that, they will concentrate on pushing the rival budgets through the two houses. Next, they will try to agree on a compromise that they concede will stand as a test of their ability to govern.

Republicans promised during last fall's campaign they would try to balance the budget if they won power. They also said over and over they would work to eradicate the health care law that Obama has pledged to defend and the administration now says has provided coverage to more than 16 million individuals who previously lacked it.

Details contained inside the budgets make a veto struggle with Obama over the health care law a virtual certainty, although the Supreme Court could largely render that moot in a ruling is expected this spring on the constitutionality of a key portion of it. Senate Republicans said they intend to use legislation that Democrats cannot block to accomplish their goal of repeal.

Both budgets envision a significant campaign to cut spending, with much of the projected savings coming from Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and welfare.

Defense spending remained a work in progress. The House proposal, if amended as pro-Pentagon members would like, recommended hiking existing funding by $38 billion next year along the lines of Obama's February budget. Parliamentary tangles blocked them from simply increasing core Pentagon accounts like Obama proposed; instead they pad an overseas account that has financed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As drafted, the Senate budget recommended the same total as Obama, although defense hawks including Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., worked behind the scenes to engineer a rewrite that would raise it to roughly the same level as the House and Obama.

Both Republicans and the White House have indicated they would like to ease cuts to the Pentagon and domestic agencies both for the next couple of years and replace them with longer-term cuts and, perhaps, new revenues, much as was the case in 2013.

To achieve their core campaign commitment, Republicans in both houses resorted to a series of sleights of hand.

Both budgets assume that dozens of popular tax breaks will be allowed to expire. One allows businesses to offset the cost of research and development, and another allows individuals and families to deduct the cost of sales tax in states with no income tax. Together, the cost of renewing all of them totals $900 billion, money not in either budget.

Both budgets also estimate large savings from the economic benefit of implementation of their spending proposals — $164 billion over a decade in the Senate, $147 billion for the House.

Without these amounts, the Senate budget would be unable to show even its minuscule $3 billion surplus for 2025, or the House its $46 billion in black ink in 2024 and 2025 combined.

In addition, the Senate budget offers no explanation for a sudden $191 billion jump in savings from benefit programs in 2025.

____

Associated Press writer Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.

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USA Today offering buyouts to 90 veteran staffers age 55 and older

USA Today will offer buyout packages to about 90 employees who are 55 and older with more than 15 years of experience across all units, its parent company Gannett announced Wednesday.

The company said the buyouts are part of a cost-cutting measure in order to facilitate investment in more digital products. The move is part of a plan to spin off Gannett's publishing business as a separate company. Ninety of the newspaper's 600 staffers are eligible for what the company is calling an "Early Retirement Opportunity Program;" USA Today is not sure as of yet how many will accept the buyouts.

"Regardless of the acceptance level of the Early Retirement Opportunity Program, we cannot rule out other actions that we may need to take in the future because of economic and business conditions," USA Today publisher Larry Kramer wrote in a memo to the staff.

"To remain highly competitive and aggressively keep in front of shifting consumer trends, we need to continue to ensure that our resources are best applied across the organization," he wrote. "While we've accomplished much already to transition the business, more remains to be done and we need to continue to ensure that staffing meets our current needs."

According to USA Today, offers will be made to staffers across the paper who are at least 55 years old and have worked at Gannett for at least 15 years. The buyouts will include a maximum of one year of pay and health benefits.

The paper's print edition has been reducing staff in recent years. As TheWrap previously reported, USA Today cut 70 jobs in September, including 35 editorial staff, due in large part to decreasing ad sales. Its focus has instead turned to digital, where circulation increased more than 30 percent in just six months last year.

2015 TheWrap news inc. All rights reserved.

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Yahoo to close China operations

Yahoo is to close its last operations in China and to shed up to 300 jobs in the country, according to reports.

The company said on Wednesday that it would close its research center in Beijing and shift some of those functions into its offices in the U.S.

"We will be consolidating certain functions into fewer offices, including to our headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.," it said in a statement.

Previous rounds of cost cutting have reduced Yahoo's operations in Bangalore, India and in Canada.

The move sees Yahoo moving in the opposite direction to many entertainment companies, which are seeking expansion in China. But, like other North American Internet firms, Yahoo has struggled to get a strong foothold in China. It has clashed with government over censorship, and been sued -- for disclosing too much to the Chinese government -- by two journalists who were jailed.

Yahoo made tens of billions of dollars from its relationship with e-commerce giant Alibaba, before that relationship too soured. It continues to hold a 15.4% stake in Alibaba and has announced plans to spin off the holding into a separate holding company.

China is next month set to introduce new requirement covering foreign technology companies operating in the country. They must hand over source code to authorities, locate servers in China and build 'back doors' into software.

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

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First direct flights between New York and Cuba taking off

NEW YORK — The first direct charter flights between New York City and Cuba are now taking off.

Cuba Travel Services has started offering a weekly Tuesday charter between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Havana. The flights are operated by Sun County Airlines, and cost $849 round-trip. The price includes airfare, Cuban medical insurance and U.S. departure taxes.

In January, the Obama administration announced it would be easing travel restrictions.

Despite improving relations, tourism is still banned. Travelers must still declare a purpose that fits into one of the 12 approved categories, including family visits, government work and journalism. But most visitors no longer need to apply for a special license and wait for U.S. government approval.

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Massport boss: No hotel bid info for now

The head of Massport told the Herald yesterday he has no intention of publicly releasing the six bids to build an $800 million "headquarters hotel" on 
authority-owned land as part of the $1 billion Boston Convention & Exhibition Center expansion — at least until after the developer is selected later this summer.

"Should the bids be made public at this early stage, it would undercut the public sector's ability to negotiate a good deal," Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn said in an interview after his authority, citing state law, turned down a Herald public records request seeking copies of the bids. "If each of the bidders knew what the other had bid … you would lose leverage."

Glynn, however, left open the possibility of releasing the names of equity partners and other silent investors hidden behind limited liability corporations that are among those vying to build the 1,000- to 1,200-room hotel across from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

"I certainly have not ruled it out," said Glynn, calling the Boston Redevelopment Authority's new policy of forcing developers to disclose investors in a project a "good idea. We have not requested that information from the bidders. We don't have a fact base to have an opinion on that yet."

The Herald reported yesterday that two former members of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority's board, former U.S. Sen. William "Mo" Cowan and Congress Group founder Dean Stratouly, are part of a development team behind an Omni Hotel and Resorts-backed bid.

Cowan, former Gov. Deval Patrick's chief of staff and chief legal counsel, served on the MCCA board for two years, until 2010. Stratouly served on it for 12 years. State law provides for a one-year cooling off period before investing in a project that fell under their official purview — both Cowan and Stratouly have passed that period.

"When high-ranking officials leave office and return seeking contracts and approvals from the agencies they led, it creates a genuine vulnerability to unfair influence and skepticism in the minds of the general public and business competitors," said Gregory W. Sullivan, former state Inspector General and now at the Pioneer Institute. "The Legislature should toughen the anti-revolving door laws."

Sullivan, whose testimony last June at a state Senate hearing helped lead to the stripping of $110 million he alleged was a hidden state subsidy to build the hotel as part of the $1 billion convention center expansion bill, said MCCA deals need "to be free of any political influence."

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Attorney General Maura Healey, lawmakers file e-cig regulations

Attorney General Maura Healey yesterday took the first step toward regulating e-cigarettes to keep them out of the hands of children as other lawmakers vowed to push ahead with more rules for the nicotine delivery devices.

"It's very important that we be ahead of this issue here in Massachusetts, and that we take the necessary steps to protect our young people," Healey said. "There are significant and well-documented concerns about the common effects of nicotine."

Healey filed proposed regulations that would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under 18, prohibit free giveaways and promotions, and require them to be kept behind the counter in stores.

State Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez (D-Boston), who has filed a bill to ban smoking e-cigarettes on school grounds, in public spaces or in workplaces, said more needs to be done.

"We need to consider the impacts of smoking e-cigarettes in public and the workplace and in schools, we need to continue to set an example for our children," Sanchez said.

There are no federal or state regulations on e-cigarettes, but 152 communities, including Boston, have passed their own rules, according to the AG's office.

Jen Borucki, who uses e-cigarettes, said she supports age restrictions and other safeguards.

"What we don't support is classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products," she said. "Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals ... this is more on par with nicotine-replacement therapy."

The AG's office will hold a public hearing on the proposed rules April 23 and will accept public comment until April 24.

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China announces audit of state company assets abroad

BEIJING — The Cabinet agency that oversees China's biggest banks, oil producers and other government companies has announced plans to have outside auditors examine their foreign assets in a new move to tighten control over state industry.

The announcement comes amid a spreading anti-corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping in which executives of companies including PetroChina Ltd. and China Mobile Ltd. have been detained.

The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission announced Monday it was soliciting tenders from outside auditors for contracts to examine the companies. It said the firms chosen must be incorporated in China and local branch offices are ineligible, which would rule out the use of foreign firms.

State-owned banks and oil, mining and other companies are quickly expanding their investments abroad, especially in buying resource assets in Africa, the Americas and Australia.

The audit is intended to "address growing concerns about lack of transparency" about the assets of state companies, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The foreign assets of the 110 state companies directly controlled by the Cabinet were estimated at 4.3 trillion yuan ($700 billion) at the end of 2013, according to Xinhua.

This week, the party announced the vice chairman of PetroChina, Asia's biggest oil and gas producer, was under investigation for what the company was a possible discipline violation, the party's term for corruption.

The company and its parent, China National Petroleum Corp., are among China's biggest foreign investors. At least four other executives of PetroChina or CNPC have been detained.

Beijing has encouraged state companies to expand abroad and has eased controls on their activities as part of efforts to diversify the Chinese economy.

That has led to complaints managers of politically influential state companies might be misusing their assets.

Among other things, Chinese economists believe a big share of foreign investment into China really comes from units of state companies abroad that are improperly trying to take advantage of tax breaks and other incentives.

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Stock markets cautious as investors brace for Fed, oil drops

HONG KONG — Global stock markets were cautious before the conclusion of a key Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday, while the price of oil fell further. Chinese shares jumped to their highest level in seven years on expectations of new economic stimulus.

KEEPING SCORE: European stocks were tepid in early trading, with France's CAC 40 down 0.3 percent to 5,015.10 and Germany's DAX down 0.9 percent to 11,865.30. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent to 6,883.11. U.S. stocks were poised to edge lower, with S&P 500 futures down 0.4 percent and Dow futures 0.5 percent lower.

FED WATCH: Investors are awaiting a Federal Reserve policy statement expected later Wednesday after the central bank wraps up a two-day meeting to discuss rates. Many economists expect it to change how it describes the time needed before it raises rates and signal that the first move will come in June, but others predict it will wait until later in the year.

ANALYST VIEW: "Given the influence of central bank policy within the current environment, and the U.S. position as top dog, this (Fed) event has the potential to set the tone across all markets globally," Will Leys, CMC Markets sales trader in Sydney, said in a commentary. "Ultimately, it all boils down to a matter of timing: when will the Fed commence the tightening cycle. The recent behavior of markets suggests that 'later' is the preference."

CHINA BOOST: Chinese stocks are still riding high after Premier Li Keqiang said on the weekend that policymakers have enough room and tools to shore up economic growth if it falters. The latest sign of turbulence for the world's No. 2 economy came in the form of monthly housing data. Average private housing prices fell February in 69 out of 70 cities over the year ago period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China was the star performer, leaping 2.1 percent to end at 3,577.30, the highest close since May 2008. Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.6 percent to 19,544.48 and South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.1 percent to 2,028.45. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.9 percent to 24,120.08 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended unchanged at 5,842.30. Southeast Asian indexes were mostly lower.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil was at its lowest in more than six years, falling $1.14 to $42.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 42 cents to $43.46 a barrel on Tuesday.

CURRENCIES: The dollar weakened to 121.18 yen from 121.34 in late trading Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.0611 from $1.0595.

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Analysts fret over cuts to hep C budget

Gov. Charlie Baker's attempt to trim spending with cuts to hepatitis C prevention could be penny-wise and pound-foolish, boosting the demand for costly treatment, forcing the state to shoulder perhaps a larger financial burden, health care watchers say.

"State prevention works and it saves a lot of money on expensive drugs," said Barry Bloom, of the Harvard School of Public Health. "Then, if you don't spend money on expensive drugs, you end up spending even more money on things like liver transplants down the line. Prevention is ... a lot cheaper than both of those options."

He added, "The benefits of prevention are financially — as well as personally — incredibly important."

Baker cut $2.3 million in prevention and care for AIDS/HIV and hepatitis C in his budget proposal earlier this month — a $38 billion plan that includes $1 billion in new net spending at MassHealth.

But hepatitis C is on the rise in Massachusetts, according to Mass.gov, with 200,000 patients in the state and at least $8,000 new diagnoses every year.

Hepatitis C medications can cost nearly $100,000 per 12-week regimen, according to AbbVie, a research-based bio-pharmaceutical company.

Rhonda Mann, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said, "MassHealth currently pays for treatment for its members, recognizes the importance of the benefits of these treatments and is looking at all options to make them more cost-efficient."

However, she did not say whether federal funds will replace the state cuts, and it is unclear how the 
$2.3 million in cuts will be divided between HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C funding.

Dr. Raymond Chung, director of hepatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, said hepatitis treatments are highly curative — about 
95 percent — but the limitation lies in the astronomical costs.

Viekira Pak, a commonly prescribed medication for patients, runs about $83,000, according to maker AbbVie. Harvoni, another common treatment, costs $94,500.

"The main challenge now that we've got the science is the implementation. That's our most vexing challenge for sure," Chung said. "Preventive measures are helpful in the big picture. Treatment is very expensive, and with prevention you require less money per patient to bring about all over better public health."

He added that MassHealth is "on the hook for a lot of drug costs."

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Fish fraud program unveiled

In an effort to eradicate illegal fishing and seafood fraud, the Obama Administration is launching a fish tracking system that would eventually tell consumers where their fish was caught, processed and stored.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews announced the initiative at the Seafood Expo conference in Boston yesterday, describing an action plan to stamp out imports of illegally caught fish.

"The steps the United States has taken to be a leader in environmental stewardship are paying off," he said. "However, our nation's fisheries remain threatened by illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and seafood fraud, which negatively affects our markets."

While seafood industry groups are skeptical about potentially onerous and expensive tracking mandates in some fisheries where there are no problems, environmental organizations lauded the new rules that will roll out over the next few years.

"Today's announcement is proof that the Obama administration is committed to stopping seafood fraud and ending global illegal fishing," said Beth Lowell, a senior campaign director of nonprofit Oceana.

An Oceana study found between 20 to 32 percent of wild-caught seafood imported to the U.S. comes from illegal fishing, either fishing in closed areas, catching threatened or endangered species or using banned gear, that damages marine ecosystems. The illegal takes cost an estimated $32 billion a year.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator Kathleen Sullivan told U.S. seafood industry leaders the Administration does not want to add an additional burden to industry, and said they plan to work with the Department of Homeland Security to create a trusted trader program.

Ninety percent of seafood in the U.S. is imported, and about 1 percent of seafood imports are inspected, according to NOAA.

The new strategy does not require changes in legislation, but instead will involve interagency and international collaboration. Sullivan said they will also tighten enforcement of existing laws that already ban importing 
illegally caught seafood.

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Booting Up: Chang’s embrace of technology intrigues

Tommy Chang, Boston's incoming superintendent of schools, wants to talk about something called the three-screen day — where students are focused on learning content, producing content and sharing content on a computer, tablet and smartphone — nearly all day long.

"I'm not saying this is what Boston Public Schools is moving toward," said Chang, 39, a top Los Angeles administrator with a background in charter school innovation, 
recently chosen for the top job in Boston. "I'm saying this is something we should be discussing: How do we create an education system that leverages technology?"

I called Chang on Friday wanting to chat about the three-screen day concept, and I had my arguments at the ready. Chang got back to me almost immediately. But he didn't just make his case: He cited books, education researchers and a specific institution in Los Angeles, the Incubator School, that embodies his philosophy. And I realized something: The three-screen day idea is meant to be provocative. It's Chang's way of getting people talking about innovation in education.

I went in fearing that Chang wanted to shove tablets and smartphones in the hands of kindergarteners, and came out believing that Boston's incoming school chief wants schools to be more like incubators, and each classroom like a startup, where students are the entrepreneurs of their own education, tinkering and testing as they would in a laboratory.

"The mayor has called on all of us to drive innovation," Chang said. "And to ask how we reinvent our schools to be vastly different, and how does Boston become a model for what public education looks like."

Technology has a leading role at the Incubator School that Chang mentioned. But it's equally about making learning relevant to students' lives. They develop prototypes and create their own little businesses. And in online testimonials, they talk about finding friends and acceptance.

If you're a luddite — the type of person who thinks that wooden toys were good enough for Thomas Jefferson, so why not our kids? — then Chang won't be your favorite superintendent.

But if you think technology must be woven though all aspects of education so that our classrooms are laboratories that nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs, then Chang is your man.

And if you're wrestling between those two extremes, like most people — if you know Boston Public Schools need to change and you know that innovation must play a central role — then you'll find Chang's ideas bold, thought-provoking, and you'll want to continue the conversation with him.

"Twenty years from now, should learning exist with a kid going to school at 8 a.m. and going to school six periods a day and going home and doing work?" asked Chang. "Is that really what learning should look like? I don't think so. And I think Boston can lead that conversation."

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Inspector Gadget: Don’t snooze on this sleep tracker

Withings Aura ($299, various retailers)

There are lots of sleep-monitoring devices on the market these days, but this is one that is supposed to actually help you fall asleep and wake up. With a light-emitting bedside alarm clock and a connected sensor that monitors your movements and heartbeat, this is a very intriguing piece of technology.

The good: Well-
designed, futuristic-
looking and easy to use, the Aura lulls you to sleep with peaceful nature sounds and a melatonin-inducing red spectrum light.

An iOS app collects all of your data on REM and deep sleep. And it does a good job of waking you up at the right time in your sleep cycle.

The bad: If there's someone else in the bed, your tracker may be skewed by their movements. Also, the price is a bit steep.

The bottom line: If you're an insomniac who sleeps alone, then this sleep tracker is one to consider.

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Stocks rise on Chinese stimulus hopes, ahead of Fed

HONG KONG — Chinese stocks led global markets higher on Monday on hopes of new stimulus in the world's second-largest economy. Investors were also looking ahead to a Federal Reserve meeting this week that may set the stage for the first U.S. interest rate hike since the global financial crisis.

KEEPING SCORE: In early European trading, Germany's DAX rose 1.1 percent to 12,036.12, the first time it has traded above the 12,000 level. France's CAC 40 was up 0.8 percent to 5,049.09, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent to 6,775.73. U.S. stocks were poised to open higher, with Dow and S&P 500 futures both climbing 0.4 percent.

CHINA CHEER: Chinese stocks surged 2.3 percent to their highest level in about 5 ½ years a day after Premier Li Keqiang was quoted by official news agency Xinhua as saying policymakers have "fairly ample room" and a "host of policy instruments" to boost economic growth if it slows more than expected. Speaking at the close of China's annual legislature on Sunday, Li said authorities have that leeway because they held off on bringing in sweeping stimulus measures since the major stimulus in response to the 2008 global financial crisis.

FED IN FOCUS: Investors elsewhere hunkered down ahead of the Fed's two-day meeting that begins Tuesday. A growing number of investors expect the U.S. central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate sooner rather than later and they will be watching to see whether officials signal through their language whether that's the case. Global stock markets have been lifted for several years by ultralow rates and other monetary stimulus but a Fed rate hike would mark the start of a return to more normal levels for borrowing costs.

THE QUOTE: The Fed meeting will "undoubtedly" be the week's highlight for investors, said Michael Every, head of Asia-Pacific financial market research at Rabobank, in a commentary. "We might well say goodbye to the key term 'patience', which has become a rolling rule of thumb for 'a few more months'. In other words, March could officially open the door to a potential June rate hike."

ASIA'S DAY: China's Shanghai Composite jumped 2.3 percent to 3,449.30, its highest since August 2009, on Li's comments. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped less than 0.1 percent to close at 19,246.06 while South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent to 1,987.33. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent to 23,949.55. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3 percent to 5,797.70. Markets in Southeast Asia were mixed.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 60 cents to $44.24 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling earlier to its lowest level in six years. The contract fell $2.21 to close at $44.84 a barrel on Friday.

CURRENCIES: The euro strengthened to $1.0534 from $1.0497 Friday. The dollar weakened to 121.31 yen from 121.40 yen.

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Juries in the drivers' seats

Two federal lawsuits brought by a Boston labor attorney are going to trial thanks to rulings by federal judges in California last week — with vast implications for Uber and Lyft.

"The judges soundly rejected the companies' arguments that they are not in the car business, they are a technology business," said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney who brought the suits.

Two judges both denied a motion for summary judgment, ruling that the cases would have to be decided by juries.

The suits center on how Uber and Lyft classify their drivers. The companies claim the drivers are independent contractors, but Liss-Riordan and her clients say the drivers should be treated as full employees. By classifying drivers as independent contractors, Uber and Lyft avoid having to pay for benefits including unemployment insurance, worker's compensation and overtime. If the companies are required to pay their drivers as employees, it would mean a huge change to their business model.

"Companies like Uber and Lyft save enormously on their labor costs by calling their workers independent contractors," she said.

The problem, the two federal judges said separately, is that neither the legal definition of employee or contractor seems to describe Uber and Lyft drivers.

Uber and Lyft drivers can choose their own hours and accept or reject ride requests, like independent contractors. However, like employees, the drivers are subject to control and potential termination at will by the ride-for-hire companies.

"The jury in this case will be handed a square peg and asked to choose between two round holes," Judge Vince Chhabria wrote of the Lyft case.

"The application of the traditional test of employment — a test which evolved under an economic model very different from the new 'sharing economy' — to Uber's business model creates significant challenges," wrote Judge Edward Chen in the Uber case. "Arguably, many of the factors in that test appear outmoded in this context."

The lawsuits will only apply to California right now, but another case that would apply to Massachusetts is ongoing. The companies have come under fierce fire in Massachusetts, largely by taxi companies and cab drivers who claim they are being driven out of business.

Traditional employment laws have a long way to go to catch up with the rise of the so-called gig economy, said Pat Petitti, chief executive of HourlyNerd, which connects freelance consultants with companies looking for outside expertise.

"Neither the employee or contractor definition fits what an Uber driver does," he said. "The traditional definitions for an employee and contractor are not correct — they don't work in a world like this, where technology is changing the workforce."

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Gigaom writer says tech blog's abrupt shutdown was about debt and hubris

The abrupt shuttering of Om Malik's leading technology blog, GigaOm, on Monday caught many by surprise — even its own media writer didn't see it coming.

"Like many of my former colleagues, I am still trying to process all of the feelings and thoughts its closure has triggered and understand why and how it happened. I consider this post part of that process — I'm certainly not claiming to have any definitive answers, if there are any," GigaOm's media writer Matthew Ingram wrote on Saturday.

Ingram wasn't alone. According to Recode, the company had been struggling financially for two months but had not made that public. It all came to a head when last weekend, GigaOm's investors failed to sell the company and then decided to take it over.

From CNN to the New York Times, media writers scrambled to figure out what had gone wrong for the site that attracted more than 6 million readers monthly between Monday morning when articles continued to post and later that same afternoon when Malik announced its closure, which would layoff about 70 employees.

"GigaOm is winding down and its assets are now controlled by the company's lenders. It is not how you want the story of a company you founded to end," the tech blog's founder wrote.

Founded in 2006, GigaOm not only provided consumer-facing content, but it also ran several high-cost tech conferences, performed white paper research and sold advertising. Despite raising $40 million with a recent $2 million more, the company found itself unable to pay vendors for a conference set for next week, which was the impetus for trying to sell the company last weekend.

After having the week to reflect on GigaOm's closing, Ingram explained that it came down to several factors, including its reliance on venture capital funding, taking on debt from bank loans and other lenders, and increased competition for advertisers against "behemoth" sites like Buzzfeed and Vice, as well as a lack of revenue from the research arm of the company that would've helped it stave off its venture capital funders and loan debts. And, maybe, Ingram wonders, the site just grew too fast.

"Some have argued that GigaOm was guilty of an excess of hubris, and that instead of trying to grow into something so quickly, it should have taken the slower approach," Ingram posed.

As for the future of GigaOm, Malik has said that he has no idea what the lenders will do with the company and its assets, but a bankruptcy filing is not being planned. Recode reports that the investors are still looking to sell the publication with individuals attached to GigaOm naming Time Inc., International Data Group and O'Reilly Media as interested parties.

2015 TheWrap news inc. All rights reserved.

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Officials: Listeriosis not cause of 3 deaths, may be factor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A foodborne illness linked to some Blue Bell ice cream products might have been a contributing factor in the deaths of three hospital patients in Kansas, health officials said Saturday.

But listeriosis didn't cause the deaths, according to Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokeswoman Sara Belfry.

Officials have not released the names of the five patients at Via Christi St. Francis hospital in Wichita, Kansas, who developed listeriosis in after eating products from one production line at the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham, Texas.

But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the five individuals were older adults and three of them are women. The CDC did not specify the gender of those patients who died.

The five patients became ill with listeriosis during their hospitalizations for unrelated causes between December 2013 and January 2015. But hospital spokeswoman Maria Loving said she couldn't discuss why the patients were hospitalized, citing patient confidentiality laws.

According to the CDC, information available for four of the five patients shows they had eaten while hospitalized milkshakes made with Blue Bell ice cream product called "Scoops" in the month before the infection.

The FDA says listeria bacteria were found in samples of Scoops, as well as Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Country Cookies, Great Divide Bars, Sour Pop Green Apple Bars, Cotton Candy Bars, Vanilla Stick Slices, Almond Bars and No Sugar Added Moo Bars.

Blue Bell spokeswoman Jenny Van Dorf said the company has recovered all recalled products from all 23 states where they were sold, as well as those that were in storage.

Cincinnati-based supermarket chain Kroger removed recalled Blue Bell products from 860 of its 2,625 stores and the company is alerting customers through its recall notification system, spokesman Keith Dailey said in an email.

"We would not sell any product that we believed to be potentially harmful to our customers," Dailey responded when asked if Kroger has confidence in Blue Bell products not affected by the recall and that remain on store shelves.

Blue Bell says its regular Moo Bars were untainted, as were its half gallons, quarts, pints, cups, three-gallon ice cream and take-home frozen snack novelties.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said facilities like Blue Bell's are inspected on a monthly basis. The agency added that no enforcement action has previously been taken against the facility in Brenham and it is operating in compliance with food safety laws.

"Our last full inspection was February. We cited a couple minor issues but nothing related to this issue," agency spokeswoman Carrie Williams said in an email.

Van Dorf said the machine that the contamination was traced to has been shut down permanently.

It's not unusual to see listeria outbreaks linked to dairy products, including ice cream, said William Marler, an attorney who represented victims of a 2011 listeria outbreak that killed 33 people and was traced to a Colorado cantaloupe farm.

In December, an ice cream company in Snohomish, Washington, recalled nearly a year's worth of ice cream and related products because of possible listeria contamination that sickened two men.

Marler said he thought Blue Bell had responded appropriately once it knew its products were linked to illnesses and deaths. His only criticism was that Blue Bell didn't mention the patients who were sickened or died in Kansas in a statement on its Web site, instead highlighting that this was the first product recall in its 108-year history.

Listeriosis is a life-threatening infection caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes, the CDC said. The disease primarily affects pregnant women and their newborns, older adults, and people with immune systems weakened by cancer, cancer treatments, or other serious conditions.

___

Lozano reported from Houston.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter at www.twitter.com/juanlozano70

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BCEC expansion weighed against other needs

Boston officials yesterday weighed in on the debate over spending $1 billion to expand the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center amid a deep budget deficit and a crumbling public transit system.

"In difficult economic times we have to look at every single thing ... and determine what's best for now and the long term," said Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson. "Everyone has to take a look at their budgets. We need to look at the T not only as transportation, but as critical infrastructure, and it's literally the driver of our economy."

The Herald reported yesterday the convention center authority's expansion committee held an emergency closed-door session over fears the bond offering meant to pay for the expansion would be cut by Gov. Charlie Baker.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh yesterday said he supports the convention center expansion, which backers say will draw bigger — and more lucrative — shows to Boston, but said the T is in desperate need of a fix.

"The governor has to look at the budget, look at the numbers and how they work for him, but I'll be talking to him as well. I think the expansion of the convention center is about economic development and the future of our city, and this region," Walsh said. "Certainly the governor has a big concern with the MBTA ... it's not going to be one easy fix, the governor inherited a big problem here."

During the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority's public meeting on Friday, MCCA head Jim Rooney said he "has a high level of confidence" that the project will go forward.

Baker remained noncommittal on his plans yesterday, saying his administration needs to look at the numbers involved.

"We're just getting started on the capital budget, and until we have a better understanding about where the capital budget sits — not just for this year but for the next year and the year after — we're not going to say much more about it than that," Baker said. "We need to do a thorough deep dive on the capital budget before we talk about specifics or proposals."

Baker said his administration will spend the next 30 days reviewing capital projects.

In January, Baker told the MCCA he would delay the bond offering until March 30, to give the incoming administration time to review the project. The expansion will add 1.3 million square feet to the South Boston expo center.

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UNH hosting 2nd robotics competition

DURHAM, N.H. — Nearly 2,000 high school students from teams in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut are participating in a FIRST Robotics Competition at the University of New Hampshire this month.

The competition pits teams of high school students — mentored by professional engineers — against each other for a shot at the national championships and at scholarships. UNH is hosting for the second year, the weekend of March 21-22.

Each team has six weeks to build a robot from a common kit of parts for the competition. This year's contest is a recycling-themed game played by two teams of three robots each. The robots score points by stacking notes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers and disposing of pool noodles, representing litter.

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