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Mon. Sep. 24, 2012 Dewey Square, with Boston office, to become part of global communications firm Hill+Knowlton Dewey Square Group, a communications company with Boston roots, is becoming part of Hill+Knowlton Strategies of New York as part of a corporate reorganization.	Advertisement
Watch out, Angry Birds. President Obama masks could be big this Halloween, iParty says In the all-important Halloween-costume poll, it’s shaping up to be President Obama in a landslide, according to iParty Corp., a Dedham-based chain of party-goods stores that counts Halloween as its most important sales season. In many years, popular movies can influence costume choices for trick-or-treaters. Spider-man has had a Halloween heyday, and Batman too. But given the proximity of Election Day to Oct. 31, recent presidential campaigns often play a role when adults think about which celebrity they want to impersonate on Halloween.
Mass. gas prices fall 7 cents a gallon The average price for gas in Massachusetts is $3.839 a gallon in the latest weekly survey from AAA, 7 cents lower than the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said Monday. The current national average is $3.80 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average price was $3.55, AAA Southern New England said. AAA’s weekly surveys focus on self-serve regular unleaded gas.
Charley’s on Newbury Street closes, saying it was unable to renew its lease The Charley’s restaurant on Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood closed after its last day of business Sunday, its owner said. The owner, Tavistock Restaurants of California, said it was unsuccessful in negotiating a new lease at 284 Newbury St. and decided to close the location when its previous lease expired. Just over a year ago, Tavistock Restaurants acquired the Back Bay Restaurant Group, whose restaurant name-plates included Abe & Louie’s, Atlantic Fish Co., Joe’s American Bar & Grill, Charley’s, and Coach Grill.
Optics from Boston Micromachines are deployed at the Palomar Observatory Boston Micromachines Corp., a Cambridge company specializing in deformable mirrors, said that one of its products is currently deployed in a telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California. The company said that is Multi-DM product is being used in an autonomous laser adaptive optics instrument called Robo-AO. This combination enables researchers to enhance celestial images that might otherwise be blurred by the earth’s atmosphere.
Jim Adkins is the new GM of Burlington Mall Jim Adkins has assumed the position of general manager of Burlington Mall in Burlington, said the mall’s operator, Simon Property Group Inc. Burlington Mall is anchored by Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, and Sears. Its retail line-up features more than 185 stores. Adkins was most recently the general manager at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
TA Associates completes buyout of SpeedCast Ltd. TA Associates, a private equity firm with offices in Boston, said Monday that it has completed a buyout of SpeedCast Ltd., a global network and satellite communications service provider, from Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. TA’s press release did not include financial terms of the transaction. The deal was completed with the support of SpeedCast’s management team. SpeedCast is headquartered in Hong Kong, and it provides its services in more than 30 countries that are primarily in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Many local McDonald’s plan to give away some free coffee next week McDonald’s said participating New England restaurants will be giving away some free coffee next week in honor of National Coffee Day. The plan calls for the restaurants to offer the chain’s Newman’s Own Organics coffee from Sept. 23 through Sept. 29. The free coffee will be served in the chain’s small size cups. Only hot coffee is being given away. No purchase is necessary.
Groundbreaking held for apartment building near Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Boston city officials joined developers to mark the groundbreaking of a 26-story residential building with 240 apartments on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, the Boston Redevelopment Authority said Friday. The $130 million project is located at 120 Kingston St., the BRA said.
No ethics charge for Democratic Calif. Rep. Waters California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters won’t be charged with ethics violations following allegations she steered a $12 million federal bailout to a bank where her husband owns stock. (The bank is OneUnited, which has offices in Boston.) House Ethics Committee members said Friday at a hearing their investigation found no violation by Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. The panel’s acting chairman announced the tentative findings at the hearing but noted the committee had not issued a final report.
Steinway & Sons CEO to retire by year’s end Steinway Musical Instruments says the president and CEO of its Steinway & Sons Worldwide division will retire by year’s end. Thomas Kurrer, 63, became president of the unit, which concentrates on pianos, in 2008. He has worked for the company for 23 years. Steinway Musical Instruments Inc., which also makes trumpets, saxophones, and other instruments, said Friday that since it is already assessing its strategic options, SMI CEO Michael Sweeney will take on the additional role of president of Steinway & Sons Worldwide.
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