Booze forecast for Boston ’burbs: Drizly

A local alcohol delivery startup is making a major Boston-area expansion, adding nine new towns to its delivery area.

"We're taking the full dive into the Boston suburbs," said Nick Rellas, CEO of Drizly.

Drizly will begin delivering alcohol today to towns including Quincy, Newton and Arlington, the latest in the Boston company's nationwide expansion.

Calling itself the "Amazon of alcohol," Drizly's app and website connects users with local liquor stores, who then deliver the alcohol.

Founded at Boston College, the company has expanded quickly.

Drizly has started service in Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles, Denver and New York City this year, and is preparing for more cities soon.

"You're going to see us in 12 to 14 cities total by the end of this year," Rellas said.

Still, Drizly's suburban service will work slightly differently. Because liquor stores are more spread out, users can expect deliveries within 90 minutes, rather than 40. The minimum order has also been raised, to help the economics make sense for the liquor stores.

"There are a lot of challenges to being in the suburbs," Rellas said. "If you're in Lexington, there's a good chance you could be as much as 10 miles from our store."

Rellas said pilot tests in Wellesley, Weston and Wayland showed an appetite for on-demand alcohol delivery, though many other on-demand services such as Uber and Instacart, which delivers groceries, have had trouble expanding into the less-dense suburbs.

"It's a different type of store, it's a different type of selection, it's a different type of consumer," Rellas said.

Though alcohol and other so-called vices can scare off investors, Drizly has raised close to $5 million in venture financing.

Walt Doyle, one of Drizly's investors, said the company stands out by getting the OK from regulators before starting service in an area. The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission has given the green light to Drizly, largely because of its identification verification software that the company says ensures the buyer is over 21. Rellas said the company has had no issues or incidents, and added they will not deliver to college campuses.

"We're looking at a white space in the industry that is completely compliant," Doyle said. "From a consumer perspective, I think we make the experience safer."

Other companies, including Uber and AirBnB, have been criticized for their tendency to enter markets without regulatory approval.

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US firm in China meat scandal lays off 340 staff

BEIJING — A U.S. meat supplier said Monday it is laying off most of the workforce of a Chinese subsidiary accused of selling expired beef and chicken to McDonald's, KFC and other major restaurant chains.

Shanghai Husi Food Co. has been under investigation since a Shanghai TV station reported in July it repackaged and sold old meat. Six employees were arrested in August on suspicion of producing substandard products.

Its owner, OSI Group of Aurora, Illinois, said it will lay off 340 people at the Shanghai unit. It said a small number of employees would be kept on while the investigation is underway. The website of Shanghai Husi says it employs about 500 people.

"Over the past two months, Shanghai Husi has experienced significant financial and customer losses," said an OSI Group statement. "It is very unlikely that production will be resumed soon."

The scandal has alarmed Chinese diners and disrupted operations for fast food brands.

Product safety is unusually sensitive in China following scandals over the past decade in which infants, hospital patients and others have been killed or sickened by phony or adulterated milk powder, drugs and other goods.

KFC owner Yum Brands Inc. and McDonald's Corp. said they immediately stopped using products from Husi.

Burger King Corp., Starbucks Corp., pizza chain Papa John's International Inc. and a Dicos, a chain of sandwich shops, withdrew products with ingredients from suppliers that dealt with Husi.

OSI has announced plans for a "quality control center" in Shanghai and said it will spend 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) on a food safety education campaign.

The company announced Sept. 1 it was turning over management of a separate facility in the southern city of Guangzhou that produces vegetable and fruit products to KanPak China, owned by Golden State Foods of Irvine, California.

KFC has broken all ties with OSI Group in China, the United States and Australia.

McDonald's, which has bought meat from OSI in the United States since the 1950s, complained it felt deceived but has said it will stick with the company, possibly because Chinese food processors cannot match OSI's scale and technology.

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Booting Up: 6 is Apple’s perfect fit

With the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has acknowledged that great phones don't need to be a piece of jewelry. Two of their predecessors — the iPhone 5 and 5s — were just that: more like a gorgeous accessory, too stunningly delicate for daily wear.

Everyone puts a case over their phone anyway, so why was Apple making smartphones with premium metal finishes?

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are smartphones that you won't feel guilty covering with a rubbery protective sleeve. They are almost inviting to hold, with the 6 Plus virtually guaranteed to pull some consumers away from Android phablets, and the 6 bound to satisfy Apple fans who were tired of one of the smallest smartphone screens on the market.

So while these new phones aren't as visually distinct as in past, they put more focus on things that count, like the screen. It's gorgeous — much brighter and shinier and less scuff-prone than previous iPhones.

The iPhone 6, starting at $199 for the 16 GB storage version, is a great size. At 5.44 inches tall and 2.64 inches wide, it still stores 
discreetly in a pocket or purse. The A8 processor is faster, there's finally NFC and better Wi-Fi connectivity.

The 6 Plus is even more excellent, but for some it's simply going to feel too large — or perhaps too pricey at $299 for the 16 GB version. At 6.22 inches tall and 3.06 inches wide, this is a phone for people with big hands and big digital tasks. Screen resolution is slightly higher than the 6.

Apple has made a few camera upgrades, such as "cinematic stabilization," which does a great job steadying videos taken without tripods — and that means virtually every video. Slow-motion video is amazing. The iPhone 6 Plus camera has an edge over the 6 in low-light situations and in its new optical stabilization feature, but both cameras are absolutely fab despite Apple's instance on holding firm at 8 megapixels.

Battery life for the iPhone 6 feels about as unimpressive as the 5s, but the 6 Plus is another story: This is a big phone with a big battery. You might feel as if you're in the Twilight Zone when owning an iPhone with a battery that lasts for two days with regular use, but this is real.

Both smartphones have better viewing angles and polarization that allows you to see the screen in sunlight.

One of the coolest improvements to iOS 8 is Continuity, which allows users to use their iPads and Macs like a phone — allowing you to send and receive SMS and MMS text messages to your iPhone contacts. Apple has finally acknowledged the need to communicate with people who use Android and Windows!

Unlike Apple's previous device rollouts, the new isn't meant to replace the old this time. Go to the Apple Store or the website and you'll see that Apple now offers a full slate of smartphone options — the 5c, 5s, the 6 and the 6 Plus. Apple has finally realized that one size does not fit all when it comes to smartphones, and that's good news for consumers and for competition in general.

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NASA's Maven explorer arrives at Mars after a year

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's Maven spacecraft arrived at Mars late Sunday after a 442 million-mile journey that began nearly a year ago.

The robotic explorer fired its brakes and successfully slipped into orbit around the red planet, officials confirmed.

"I think my heart's about ready to start again," said Maven's chief investigator, Bruce Jakosky of the University of Colorado. "All I can say at this point is, 'We're in orbit at Mars, guys!'"

Now the real work begins for the $671 million mission, the first dedicated to studying Mars' upper atmosphere.

Flight controllers in Colorado will spend the next six weeks adjusting Maven's altitude and checking its science instruments, and observing a comet streaking by. Then in early November, Maven will start probing the upper atmosphere of Mars. The spacecraft will conduct its observations from orbit; it's not meant to land.

Scientists believe the Martian atmosphere holds clues as to how Earth's neighbor went from being warm and wet billions of years ago to cold and dry. That early wet world may have harbored microbial life, a tantalizing question yet to be answered.

NASA launched Maven last November from Cape Canaveral, the 10th U.S. mission sent to orbit the red planet. Three earlier ones failed, and until the official word came of success late Sunday night, the entire team was on edge.

"I don't have any fingernails any more, but we've made it," said Colleen Hartman, deputy director for science at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "It's incredible."

The spacecraft was clocking more than 10,000 mph when it hit the brakes for the so-called orbital insertion, a half-hour process. The world had to wait 12 minutes to learn the outcome, once it occurred, because of the lag in spacecraft signals given the 138 million miles between the two planets on Sunday.

"Based on observed navigation data, congratulations, Maven is now in Mars orbit," came the official announcement. Flight controllers applauded the news and shook hands; laughter filled the previously tension-filled room.

Noted NASA project manager David Mitchell: "Wow, what a night. You get one shot with Mars orbit insertion, and Maven nailed it tonight."

Maven joins three spacecraft already circling Mars, two American and one European. And the traffic jam isn't over: India's first interplanetary probe, Mangalyaan, will reach Mars in two days and also aim for orbit. Jakosky wished the team well.

Jakosky, who's with the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder, hopes to learn where all the water on Mars went, along with the carbon dioxide that once comprised an atmosphere thick enough to hold moist clouds.

The gases may have been stripped away by the sun early in Mars' existence, escaping into the upper atmosphere and out into space. Maven's observations should be able to extrapolate back in time, Jakosky said.

Maven — short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission — will spend at least a year collecting data. That's a full Earth year, half a Martian one. Its orbit will dip as low as 78 miles above the Martian surface as its eight instruments make measurements. The craft is as long as a school bus, from solar wingtip to tip, and as hefty as an SUV.

Maven will have a rare brush with a comet next month.

The nucleus of newly discovered Comet Siding Spring will pass 82,000 miles from Mars on Oct. 19. The risk of comet dust damaging Maven is low, officials said, and the spacecraft should be able to observe Siding Spring as a science bonus.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Maven's maker, is operating the mission from its control center at Littleton, Colorado.

This is NASA's 21st shot at Mars and the first since the Curiosity rover landed on the red planet in 2012. Just this month, Curiosity arrived at its prime science target, a mountain named Sharp, ripe for drilling. The Opportunity rover is also still active a decade after landing.

All these robotic scouts are paving the way for the human explorers that NASA hopes to send in the 2030s.

___

Online:

NASA: http://mars.nasa.gov/maven/

University of Colorado: http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/

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China weighs on markets as silver dives again

LONDON — Concerns over China's economy and a fresh profit warning by British retailer Tesco kept global stock markets in check Monday, while silver fell further to its lowest level in over four years.

KEEPING SCORE: Following broad-based declines in Asia on the back of China worries, markets in Europe were lackluster. Germany's DAX was flat around 9,800 and France's CAC-40 was down 0.1 percent at 4,457. Britain's FTSE 100 underperformed its peers in Europe, falling 0.7 percent to 6,791 after another profit warning from Tesco. U.S stocks were set for a subdued open, with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures down 0.2 percent.

CHINA WORRIES: Investors are nervous about China following a run of soft economic data that suggests growth in the world's second-largest economy is slowing. On Tuesday, HSBC publishes its closely-watched gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity.

THE QUOTE: "There's growing concern over the state of the Chinese economy," said Joao Monteiro, analyst at Valutrades.

ASIA'S DAY: The concerns over China saw the main index in Shanghai drop 1.2 percent to 1,332.22 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fall 1.4 percent to 23,955.67. Elsewhere, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 percent to 16,205 while South Korea's Kospi declined 0.7 percent to 2,039.27.

TESCO TURMOIL IN UK: Tesco was in focus Monday after the U.K. retailer revealed it had overestimated its half-year expected profit by 250 million pounds (about $409 million). Tesco, which has seen its share price plunge 10 percent, has suspended four executive and appointed independent accountants to investigate its fourth profits warning since January 2012.

CURRENCIES: The yen has been trading at six-year lows as the dollar has surged in anticipation the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year while the Bank of Japan maintains its easy monetary policy. On Monday the dollar was flat at 109.03 yen while the euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.2851.

SILVER'S FALL FROM GRACE: Silver continued its recent descent, falling to its lowest level since the summer of 2010. An ounce of silver was down 1.4 percent at $17.59. Precious metals, including gold, have been pressured by the recent strength of the dollar, low global inflation and generally buoyant stock markets. Gold is trading at its lowest level since the start of the year at around $1,214 an ounce.

ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil edged up 15 cents to $91.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Hyundai Santa Fe’s onetime brake lockup is puzzling

Last week I parallel-parked my 2003 Hyundai Sante Fe. I came out to drive away and went about 3 feet before the car stopped like the brakes had locked up. I went back and forth about 3 feet at least three more times with the same results. I left the car and came back the next morning and drove to a garage with no problems. The garage scanned all vehicle control modules for codes — none found. They also found no service bulletins from Hyundai pertaining to this symptom. They inspected all brake components — all are in good condition. Any suggestion?

I'm not often completely stumped by an automotive question, but this one has me really intrigued. Looking at the issue logically, my first thought is something physically stopping the vehicle from moving more than 3 feet.

Do you have any friends — or enemies — who might play a trick on you like a strategically placed pair of cinder blocks? I remember an unnamed friend who, for the fun of it, chained the rear axle of an old Chevy wagon to the adjacent fire hydrant and watched as his friend tried to pull away. I'll leave the results to your imagination!

What kind of mechanical or electronic issue could have caused this and then suddenly disappeared without a trace? I'm open to suggestions, but the only normal "action" that might have somehow compounded into this is initialization of the antilock braking system (ABS). Each time the vehicle is started, in the first few miles per hour of driving, the ABS tests itself by actuating the pump, dump valves and solenoids to make sure they're working. This may be felt as a slight vibration in the brake pedal.

With that said, this initialization only occurs once per key cycle, so it doesn't seem particularly likely to be the culprit. In fact, no brake lockup would seem likely because the vehicle rolls roughly one tire revolution before the lockup.

Anyone else want to take a shot at this?

Oh, almost forgot — was there a parking ticket on the windshield? And did you check for a wheel lock to disable the car?

I have a 2014 Acura RDX that is a very nice vehicle except for the fact that the passenger seat cannot be raised vertically. My wife is fairly short and sits too low compared with the driver's side, which has an electric lift. The dealer said that there is no fix for this. It seems like a simple problem. Have you heard of any electric, or manual lifts for this ? Or, simply some wedges installed under the seat mounts?

You could try a mobility store to find a booster for her seat, or perhaps an auto upholstery shop could build up the seat with thicker or firmer foam.

The reason it seems simple yet there's no solution from the dealer is that any change that alters a motor vehicle creates a liability issue for the dealer and carmaker.

Personally, I have installed spacers under the seat mounts on a couple of my personal vehicles, but like I said, I'd suggest a visit to a mobility store.

When I was topping off the oil in my car I accidentally put in half a quart of DEX/MERC automatic transmission fluid. Can I drive it? If yes, how far before changing the oil? Or do I need to change it now?

Automatic transmission fluid is primarily a high-quality lubricating oil with special additives for the transmission, so you probably don't have an immediate problem. But the fact that you were topping up the oil means it's been in the crankcase for a while, so why not get the oil changed now and put the worry aside?

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 paul brand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number.

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Pet care comes to Walgreens

A Florida veterinary company is partnering with Walgreens to offer lower-cost, walk-up clinics for dogs and cats in the parking lots of about 50 of the drugstore chain's Massachusetts stores.

Starting this weekend, ShotVet is offering preventative care services — including rabies and other vaccines, heartworm and Lyme disease tests, and micro-chipping — by state-licensed veterinarians.

"The price is probably about a 70 percent savings (from traditional vet offices)," said Jen Borgman, CEO of ShotVet, which has been offering its services in conjunction with Walgreens in Florida and Georgia for several years. "It's challenging for people to afford veterinary care, and many, many pets are going without. That's not good for the communities, and that's not good for the animals."

ShotVet will visit each participating Walgreens for an hour each month with a vet, technician and "client educator" who explains its packages. No appointments are required.

"There's usually a long line … so we advise people to get there early," Borgman said. "It's no exam fees. What customers say over and over again is this was fast, convenient, easy. And the experience is much less stressful for the pet as well as the owner."

The service is aligned with Walgreens' mission "to help people get, stay and live well," said Phil Caruso, spokesman for the Deerfield, Ill.-based company. "Pets are valued members of many families, and an opportunity to provide a service like this in our parking lots just helps us reiterate our mission," he said.

But the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association finds ShotVet's services "very problematic," according to executive director Susan Curtis. "We want what's in the best interest of the animals and public health, and we want to see all animals properly vaccinated, but this issue is very concerning," she said.

State law requires a "veterinary-client patient relationship" be established before any vaccination is given, Curtis notes. That requires sufficient knowledge of an animal by a vet to "initiate at least a general or preliminary diagnosis" of its medical condition. This means the vet has recently seen and is personally acquainted with the keeping and care of the animals by virtue of an examination and/or by medically appropriate and timely visits to where the animal is kept, the law states.

"In this type of environment, there isn't that relationship," Curtis said. "There should be a physical exam, there should be an assessment, there should be a knowledge of the animal and the animal's living situation, and there should be a relationship."

But ShotVet founder Dr. Wesley Borgman counters that ShotVet vets examine every animal before preventative action is taken.

"Many animals are going unvaccinated," he said. "We go out and service clients that many times aren't going to see a veterinarian. We don't replace the (animal hospital) services. In fact, we refer cases to our colleagues at the animal hospitals … to take care of things we can't handle."

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GM recalls 221,558 sedans for fire risk

DETROIT — General Motors is recalling 221,558 Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Impala sedans because the brake pads can stay partially engaged even when they're not needed, increasing the risk of a fire.

The recall involves Cadillacs from the 2013-2015 model years and Impalas from the 2014 and 2015 model years. There are 205,309 vehicles affected in the U.S.; the rest of the vehicles are in Canada and elsewhere.

GM says the electronic parking brake arm that applies pressure to the back of the brake pads may not fully retract after use. If the brake pads stay partially engaged with the rotor, excessive brake heat may result in a fire.

GM says it knows of no accidents or injuries related to the defect.

GM will notify owners and repair the vehicles for free.

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EdTrip’s a field day for teachers

For most students, field trips are something to look forward to as a day away from the classroom and, every so often, as a chance to see for themselves something truly transformative, something they've only heard about in school or read about in books.

But for teachers, coordinating these trips can be a logistical nightmare of finding the right destination, drawing up an itinerary and collecting dozens of parental-consent forms — all things that take time away from teaching.

So a MassChallenge finalist offers to do all of that for them, all the while drumming up business for Bay State venues.

"Coordinating field trips is a massive investment of time if you're a teacher," said EdTrips CEO Jakob Garrow, who used to work for an educational travel company with his co-founder, Laura Wallendal. "We realized if there were a way to make it easier for teachers, more of them would take trips."

The two teamed up with Jillian Kando, their chief technology officer, to create a website that, in addition to collecting payments and parents' permission, allows teachers to search for a destination by name, subject or the grade they teach. Or they can use EdTrips' concierge service, which passes along a 20 percent discount off the cost of tickets to their destinations if they choose from a curated list of field-trip matches based on criteria such as their grade, their budget and the distance they want to travel.

Teachers pay nothing to use the website, while venues pay EdTrips a percentage of overall ticket sales for each trip organized through the site.

Since April, the company has partnered with 247 Massachusetts destinations, including Boston PhotoWalks Tours and Scavenger Hunts, Peabody Essex Museum and Woods Hole Science Aquarium, with plans to expand to venues in other states.

Peter McGovern, who teaches Spanish and Mandarin Chinese at Catholic Memorial School in West Roxbury, hopes to use the website to organize trips that would incorporate cultural opportunities such as a show or a tour of Chinatown, where his students could practice their Mandarin.

"Students could see the real-world value of being able to communicate with people in their language," he said. "And having the permission slip collection and payment online would save a lot of time."

Since Labor Day, at least four teachers have used EdTrips to pay by credit card for field trips to the Paul Revere House, which otherwise takes only cash or checks the day of the trip, said Emily Holmes, education director of the Paul Revere Memorial Association, which runs the historic North End site.

"Definitely we're hoping we'll have exposure to a new audience," Holmes said.

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SpaceX launches 3-D printer, other station gear

CAPE CANAVERAL — A SpaceX cargo ship rocketed toward the International Space Station on Sunday, carrying the first 3-D printer for astronauts in orbit.

In all, the unmanned Dragon capsule is delivering more than 5,000 pounds of space station supplies for NASA.

Dragon should reach the space station Tuesday. It's the fifth station shipment for the California-based SpaceX, one of two new commercial winners in the race to start launching Americans again from home soil.

The space station was soaring over the South Pacific when the SpaceX Falcon 9 thundered into Florida's pre-dawn sky. Sunday's weather was ideal for flying, unlike Saturday, when rain forced a delay. The rocket was visible for nearly three minutes as it sped out over the Atlantic, with the Orion constellation as a backdrop.

"What a beautiful morning it was," said Sam Scimemi, NASA's space station division director.

Sunday was a red-letter day for NASA in more ways than one.

Besides the flawless launch, the space agency's Maven spacecraft was on the verge of reaching Mars. The robotic explorer was scheduled to go into orbit around Mars late Sunday night.

The space station-bound 3-D printer was developed by Made in Space, another California company. It's sturdier than Earthly models to withstand the stresses of launch, and meets NASA's strict safety standards. The space agency envisions astronauts one day cranking out spare parts as needed. For now, it's a technology demonstrator, with a bigger and better model to follow next year.

A $30 million device for measuring ocean winds is also flying up on Dragon, along with 20 mice and 30 fruit flies for biological research and metal samples for a golf club manufacturer looking to improve its products.

Much-needed spacesuit batteries are on board as well, along with the usual stash of food, clothes and electronic gear. Routine U.S. spacewalks were put on hold following last year's close call with an astronaut's flooded helmet. That problem was solved, then the battery fuses were called into question. NASA hopes to resume spacewalks next month.

NASA is paying SpaceX and Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. to make regular station deliveries. The SpaceX service began two years ago.

Just this past week, SpaceX — led by billionaire Elon Musk — won an even bigger and more prestigious contract to transport U.S. astronauts to the orbiting outpost, along with Boeing. Dragon rides could begin as early as 2016 or 2017.

NASA's ability to launch its own crews ended with the shuttle program in 2011. Russia has been providing rides on its Soyuz spacecraft for a hefty price.

Another American astronaut is scheduled to blast off from Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz later this week, along with two Russians, one of them a woman, a rarity for Russia. They will join the one American, one Russian and one German already in orbit.

SpaceX was delighted with Sunday's success and the road ahead, and could hardly wait for the party to begin.

"Nothing like a good launch," observed Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of mission assurance for SpaceX. "It's just fantastic."

___

Online:

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

NASA: htttp://www.nasa.gov

Made in Space: http://www.madeinspace.us/

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