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Thu. Oct. 18, 2012 John Wentzell will head Delaware North’s $750m concessions business Delaware North Cos., the Buffalo, N.Y.-based hospitality management company that owns and operates the TD Garden in Boston, said that former TD Garden president John Wentzell will become president of Delaware North Cos. Sportservice, with responsibility for managing the company’s $750 million food service and retail business. Sportservice operates concessions at more than 50 venues in North America, including Lambeau Field of Green Bay Packers fame and Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles play baseball.	Advertisement
Roche Bros. supermarket chain launches seafood traceability program with Foley Fish Roche Bros., the family run supermarket chain, is launching a seafood traceability program with their supplier, Foley Fish. Customers will be able to scan the QR (Quick Response) codes for select species to see a photo of the fishing boat, the location fished, and a description of the fishing gear used. The new “Sea Trace” program is intended to provide shoppers with more transparency about the seafood supply chain.
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies: Home improvement spending is projected to rise Spending on home remodeling projects is set to accelerate through the end of the year and into the first half of 2013, thanks to such factors as an improving housing market and record low interest rates, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University said Thursday. The center has a Remodeling Futures Program, which has developed the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity, or LIRA, to track spending on home improvement efforts. The program’s research now points to an acceleration in home improvement spending in the coming months.
Massachusetts unemployment rate rises for third straight month, edges up to 6.5% in September The Massachusetts unemployment rate edged up slightly to 6.5 percent in September from 6.3 percent in August as the state’s economy added 5,100 jobs last month, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported Thursday morning. The state’s unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in July and 6 percent in June. Meanwhile, the current US unemployment rate is 7.8 percent, its lowest level in nearly four years.
Carbonite agrees to buy Zmanda for $15m Carbonite Inc., a Boston-based provider of online backup services for consumers and for small to medium sized businesses, said Thursday that it has agreed to buy Zmanda Inc. of California for $15 million. In a statement, Carbonite chairman and chief executive David Friend said: “Zmanda is a great strategic fit for Carbonite. Carbonite has focused on backing up computers and mobile devices, while Zmanda has focused on backing up servers and databases. In the small to medium business market, most companies need both.”
Neurovance raises $7m to advance drug candidate for adult attention deficit disorder Cambridge-based Neurovance Inc. said Thursday it has secured $7 million in funding to advance the development of an experimental drug that aims to treat adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Series A1 funding round was led by existing investor Novartis Venture Fund, Neurovance said in a press release. All existing investors participated in the round including Venture Investors, H&Q Healthcare Investors and H&Q Life Sciences Investors, GBS Venture Partners, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, and Timothy J. Barberich.
Salvation Army holds ribbon-cutting ceremony for upgraded community center in the South End The Salvation Army has scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Thursday morning to celebrate the completion of a $5 million renovation and expansion of its community center in Boston’s South End neighborbood, one of the group’s busiest community centers in the region. The 16-month-long project has expanded the center’s usable space by 40 percent. The space will help the Salvation Army carry out its mission of engaging in such activities as youth and adult education programs and social services programs.
Satcon files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Satcon Technology Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following years of financial struggles and a severe downturn in the solar power industry. CEO Steve Rhoades says filing for Chapter 11 will help the company keep operating while it reorganizes. The Boston company, which makes products for large-scale solar power installations, said Wednesday that it filed its petitions in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware after defaulting on some of its debt earlier this month.
AstraZeneca taps Charles River Laboratories to test early-stage experimental drugs Charles River Laboratories International Inc. said Wednesday that it has been selected by AstraZeneca PLC to perform early-stage experimental drug testing for the Anglo-Swedish drug maker. Headquartered in Wilmington, Charles River provides a range of products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies, and academic institutions to accelerate their research-and-drug development efforts. AstraZeneca has a big research center in Waltham.
Mass. Secretary of State William F. Galvin charges Putnam Investments unit with deceiving investors The office of Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin said Wednesday that it has charged a unit of Boston-based Putnam Investments with deceiving investors about $3 billion in investments that were loaded with mortgage-related securities that were destined to lose money. Putnam denied the allegations. The complaint contends that Putnam Advisory Co. allowed a prominent hedge fund, Magnetar Capital, to be involved in picking sub-prime and mid-prime mortgage-backed securities that went into the fund with the intention of taking short positions that would profit when those investments lost money.
Lemelson-MIT Program salutes high school inventors The Lemelson-MIT Program has invited 16 teams of high school inventors to its EurekaFest event, where students will have a chance to showcase their inventions. The program calls this initiative InvenTeams, and its goal to engage students through invention projects that focus on STEM-subjects – science, technology, engineering, and math. Noting a continuing gender gap in employment in STEM fields, the Lemelson-MIT Program added that it is awarding grants of up to $10,000 to three all-girl schools that were among the 16 invitees.
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