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Tue. Mar. 20, 2012 Citizens Bank boosts checking fees Citizens Bank, the state’s second-largest retail bank, plans to boost some of its checking account fees and make other key changes next month. The Providence-based regional bank plans to double the monthly charge for its popular Green Checking account from $4.99 to $9.99 on April 23. Customers can avoid the fee by maintaining a balance of at least $1,500 or making five qualifying transactions, such as using a debit card, each month.	Advertisement
Suffolk Construction to build bioprocessing center for UMass Dartmouth Suffolk Construction has been has been awarded a $21.5 million contract to manage construction of a new bioprocessing facility for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Located on a four-acre site, the 38,000 square-foot facility will be an incubator space for small life science companies in Fall River’s SouthCoast Biopark. Plans call for the facility to feature a variety of laboratories including one that can be used for cell culture production. Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston is also working on the project.
TerraTherm gets federal contract to work on clean-up project for Da Nang Airport TerraTherm Inc., a Fitchburg company specializing in the thermal remediation of contaminated soil, has been awarded a federal contract to do design work for a clean-up project proposed for the Da Nang Airport in Vietnam. Financial terms of the contract are not being disclosed. The Da Nang Airport is one of the major dioxin hotspots remaining from the storage and handling of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, and the US government is working with the Vietnamese on a clean-up project.
Allen & Gerritsen is picking up three new clients Watertown ad agency Allen & Gerritsen, also known as a&g, said it is adding Boston Interiors, Bank Rhode Island, and Museum of Science, Boston to its client roster. The three accounts were previously handled by Gearon Hoffman, a Cambridge ad agency that is winding down operations. Billings for the accounts are not being disclosed. Kathy Carino is joining a&g from Gearon Hoffman, and she will manage the Boston Interiors, Bank Rhode Island, and Museum of Science accounts.
Welch’s will toast Fenway Park centennial with grape juice cocktail The 100th anniversary of Fenway Park might seem worthy of a champagne toast, but the folks from Welch’s are proposing the next best thing: Having fans lift a glass of its Sparkling Grape Juice Cocktail at a Red Sox game set for April 20. According to Welch’s, representatives from Guinness World Records will be on hand to verify whether this grape juice cocktail salute is worthy of the record books.
Local housing market index: Confidence is up among real estate agents A monthly index that seeks to measure confidence in the local housing market rose for the seventh straight month in February, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said. Relying on monthly responses from a random sampling of its membership, the association uses a 100-point index to plot confidence levels. A 100-point reading signifies a torrid market, a zero reading a frosty one. In February, the association’s market index posted a reading of 39.47, up from the February 2011 reading of 28.1.
Amazon buys Kiva Systems for $775 million Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to buy robot maker Kiva Systems Inc. for $775 million, the online retailer said on Monday.
Ohio fires BNY Mellon, State Street The state of Ohio today fired Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Boston-based State Street Corp. as custodian banks for $41 billion in the state’s public pension funds, in the wake of allegations that both firms have overcharged clients for foreign exchange services. BNY Mellon said in a statement, “We’re disappointed by the treasurer’s actions because we believe we have provided the state with valuable services at competitive prices.”
Mullen’s mediahub lands account for National Geographic TV channels Boston ad agency Mullen said its media-buying unit, known as mediahub, has been awarded the business of National Geographic TV channels after winning an agency review. Financial details of the new account were not included in mediahub’s press release. The budget for the work that mediahub will handle is estimated at around $40 million. According to mediahub, it will be responsible for media planning and buying across all traditional and digital media platforms as National Geographic looks to grow its viewership with ads that it mostly created on its own.
Verizon wins in $7.5m tax dispute with Boston, Newton A Massachusetts appeals court ruled on Monday that the cities of Boston and Newton should refund $7.5 million in property taxes collected from telecom company Verizon New England Inc. The court vacated a 2008 order by the state’s Appellate Tax Board which allowed cities to levy taxes on telephone poles and cables that pass over publicly-owned land. The court also ruled that Boston and Newton acted prematurely in levying the taxes on Verizon while the tax board’s order was under appeal.
US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is set to visit Cambridge start-up Sun Catalytix US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu is scheduled to meet with executives from Massachusetts clean energy companies Monday afternoon, the office of US Senator John Kerry said. One stop on Chu’s local itinerary is Sun Catalytix, a Cambridge start-up. Focused on energy storage and renewable fuels technology, the company looks to commercialize the scientific discoveries of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology research lab headed by professor Daniel Nocera.
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