Stylish townhouse resides 
in Somerville

This stylishly designed four-level contemporary townhouse between Davis and Teele squares in Somerville comes with a number of smart-home-enabled features.

An apps package lets you use your mobile device to control the unit's fireplace, lighting, built-in Sonos surround system and Nest thermostats. The doorbell rings on your device and an entry camera lets you see who's at the door and open it.

The three-bedroom Unit 3
at 41 Elmwood St. is one of eight townhouses in three buildings. It has an attached garage and a private top-floor deck, and is on the market for $1,249,900.

You enter the attached HardiePlank-sided townhouse into a foyer with a coat closet. A few steps up is an open living/dining area with 14-foot ceilings with recessed lighting and built-in speakers. This space has three tall 9-over-9 windows with transoms above, stained oak floors and a built-in stone-faced gas fireplace with storage shelves on one side.

You step up from the living area into a stylish oak-floored kitchen with 20 dark-stained custom 
locally made wood cabinets and white quartz countertops, including an island/breakfast bar that seats four. Stainless-steel appliances include a built-in Sub-Zero refrigerator, a Bosch wall oven, microwave and dishwasher, and a Wolf electric induction cooktop with a glass-mosaic tile backsplash. The kitchen has four windows as well as a built-in white quartz-topped desk area.

Off the kitchen sits a ceramic-tiled half bathroom.

A turning oak staircase leads up to two bedrooms on the second level, with a closet off the hallway holding a stacked stainless-steel Asko washer and dryer.

The master bedroom has oak floors, two windows, and two closets with built-in storage, one a walk-in. The en-suite master bathroom features porcelain-tile floors and surround a walk-in shower with a rolling glass door. A digital shower controller warms up the water, displays temperature and has a timer. There's a double-sink wood vanity topped with light-brown granite.

Across the hall is a smaller second bedroom with oak floors, five windows and a double-door closet. There's also a second full bathroom with a porcelain tile floor, a white-quartz-topped vanity and white subway tile around a tub shower.

Stairs to the third level open onto a flex space — a third bedroom or home office with two windows and a skylight. A glass door leads out to a decent-sized private deck.

The fourth level leads down from the living area. Halfway down is direct access to an attached one-car garage. And there's a glass door out to a rear passageway but no private or common yard space.

The lower level has a carpeted family room with a full-size window. Off this space sits a half bathroom with a pedestal sink.

A utility room holds a tankless water heater and the unit's forced-air heating and central air-conditioning systems.

Home Showcase

• Address: 41 Elmwood St., Unit 3, Somerville
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: Two full, two half
• List price: $1,249,900
• Square feet: 2,199
• Price per square foot: $568
• Annual taxes: To be determined
• Monthly condo fee: $195
• Location: A half mile to restaurants, retail and Red Line T station in Davis Square; quarter mile to offerings in Teele Square.
• Built in: 2014
• Broker: Stephen Bremis of Bremis Realty at 617-828-1070

Pros:

• Living dining area with 14-foot ceilings, tall windows, horizontal gas fireplace
• Smart-home technology with Sonos sound system with built-in speakers, Nest thermostats
• Stylish kitchen with white quartz counters, custom-made cabinets, high-end appliances, built-in desk
• Master bedroom suite with two closets, bathroom with digital-controlled shower
• Top floor flex room opens out to private deck

Cons:

• No private or common yard space

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jaguar sedan’s power doesn’t pounce

The 2015 Jaguar XF Sport delivers a highly refined driving experience worthy of its price.

Built to compete with the Audi A6, BMW 5 series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class vehicles, the Jaguar XF is an excellent choice for those who want to stand out from the crowd. With an MSRP of $59,875, it could even be considered a good value as it comes packed with standard features.

This British-made sedan possesses plenty of power — enough to maintain interest, but not so much that it overwhelms. It has a responsive and peppy 340-horsepower, 3.0-liter V6 engine with acceleration that doesn't lurch or intimidate. The XF Sport's engine is in the middle of the XF lineup, which ranges from a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder to a 5.0-liter V8 engine.

The XF Sport has an intelligent all-wheel-drive system that keeps the power on the rear wheels until needed, providing sure footing even in slick road conditions. For further control in adverse weather conditions, it also has winter and dynamic modes.

Our tester had an aerodynamic exterior coated in Italian racing red metallic paint, a charcoal interior and 20-inch dark grey wheels. It comes equipped with heated leather seats and a heated steering wheel, which were both tested on a raw, cold day and proved strong enough to use instead of the climate control system. It also had a heated windshield.

Retractable air vents automatically open on ignition for a James Bond effect when using the car's push-button start. Access to the car is gained by a keyless entry system, so you only need to have the key in your pocket to open the locked doors.

Xenon headlights present clear definition even on back streets at night. Signature LED lights outline the headlights, giving this Jaguar an even more distinctive look.

The steering is impressive. Tight spots are easily navigated and parking is incredibly easy. The XF also has a blind spot monitor to alert you to oncoming vehicles in other lanes.

Like its recent Jaguar and Range Rover predecessors, the XF has "intelligent stop-start," which is annoying in that it can only be overridden on a trip-by-trip basis.

Jaguar (and Range Rover for that matter) could use a revamp of the electronics/entertainment cluster. It is a very capable 380-watt touch screen GPS/entertainment system with great sound, but it is not customizable and cannot be configured to match your preferred mode as a default.

A four-year, 50,000 mile warranty with roadside assistance matches the other vehicles in its class. The only drawback when considering a Jaguar is its reliability reputation and lower than average resale value.

In the end, the Jaguar XF Sport is a thoroughly enjoyable vehicle that boasts both style and performance.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Harvard, Brigham partner up on Ebola drug

A Canadian pharmaceutical company is partnering with Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital to develop an oral drug that blocks the Ebola virus and could be tested on humans as early as this year, according to researchers and the company's president.

"Even if this current epidemic passes, Ebola has been back and forth over the past 40 or so years now," said John Huss, president and CEO of H&P Labs Inc. "It's not something that's always there, but it comes and goes. We weren't ready for this outbreak, but we could be ready for the next outbreak."

H&P Labs announced a licensing agreement with Harvard and Brigham and Women's for two compounds that prevent both the contraction of the Ebola virus and its spread within the body, according to Dr. James Cunningham, a physician at Brigham and Women's and lead researcher on the project.

"The current evidence suggests that the Ebola infection pathway is a complex, multistep process, and our lab has developed compounds that interfere with a couple of those steps," Cunningham said.

One of the compounds, he said, prevents the initial entry of the virus into cells, while the other prevents the transport of the virus.

The research was conducted by Cunningham and collaborators at the Cunningham lab at Brigham and Women's and at Harvard Medical School's New England Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Centers of Excellence for Translational Research. According to Cunningham, the research has been progressing for about 10 years.

Huss said H&P Labs will use the findings to develop an oral treatment against the virus and will begin testing on animals during the second quarter of this year.

"If everything pans out as we expect it to, then we bring it into humans late 2015, early 2016," he said.

The announcement of the licensing agreement comes as researchers and pharmaceutical companies work overtime to find a marketable way to battle the deadly Ebola outbreak, which has claimed more than 8,000 lives, mostly in West Africa.

Also yesterday, the World Health Organization announced that the final-stage trials of several experimental vaccines will begin this month or next. About 90 experts met at WHO headquarters to discuss plans for clinical trials in Liberia, 
Sierra Leone and Guinea.

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

City permits may delay casino

A member of the state gaming panel that approved the $1.6 billion gambling resort Wynn plans to build in Everett said yesterday the permitting process — not the lawsuit Boston has filed in a last-ditch effort to allow Charlestown residents to vote on the plan — could delay the project.

"I don't think necessarily the suit will delay it; I think it is the various permit-granting authorities that really hold the timing keys now," Commissioner James F. McHugh told the Herald, pointing to permits under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act and the Boston Transportation Department as just two of the "slew" of approvals Wynn still needs. "What their reaction to the lawsuit is — and what the city's participation in the permitting process is — really is going to determine how fast it's going to go forward."

Former Bay State Gov. William Weld, who represents the casino giant, yesterday said the resort will likely open on schedule, despite the lawsuit.

"I don't see any blocker to the casino. Everything that had to be done has now been done. We got the land on Monday. I think it's full-speed ahead, and the issue in the lawsuit has been adjudicated several times already, and we'll see," Weld said on Boston Herald Radio yesterday. "Nothing is more than 75 percent sure in litigation — that I'm sure of ... We'll see how it turns out in court, but I don't see any obstacle to it opening on time."

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh this week announced the lawsuit, which seeks to block the Gaming Commission's approval of the casino so Charlestown residents can vote on the deal.

But yesterday, McHugh said: "The statute's clear as to who gets the vote, and the host community gets the vote, and the surrounding community doesn't, and the commission has concluded Boston is a surrounding community. I just don't foresee any other action the commission can take."

Walsh has long argued that Boston is a host community because gamblers en route to Wynn's casino would use Boston's airport and roads, particularly in Charlestown.

But his administration failed to convince the commission or reach a deal with Wynn that Walsh considered fair compensation for the casino's impact on Boston.

Weld said Walsh "is doing what he feels he needs to do for his constituents in Charlestown, and that's fine. That's completely understandable."

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boston rolls dice on suit

Boston appears poised to turn back millions of dollars it is due from Wynn Resorts because it has sued the state Gaming Commission challenging the validity of the license issued to the Las Vegas gaming giant's planned casino in neighboring Everett.

Wynn attempted to deliver a check to Boston for $1 million, an up-front payment due this month as a condition of its license, but it was rejected by the city's corporation counsel, Eugene O'Flaherty.

"Pursuant to the content of the complaint filed by the City of Boston and the disagreement over the lawful issuance of the license award you reference, we will not accept the check," O'Flaherty wrote Monday night in an email obtained by the Herald to Wynn lawyer Jacqui Krum, who'd written O'Flaherty asking how the money should be delivered.

The denial raises the question of whether the city will also reject other money intended to lessen the impact of the planned casino, including a piece of a $17.5 million fund for communities that, like Boston, aren't deemed casino host or surrounding communities. Wynn paid $7.5 million into the fund, which Boston expressed interest in pursuing in November. Applications for the money are due Feb. 1.

Asked if the city plans to turn down other money owed by Wynn, Bonnie McGilpin, spokeswoman for Mayor Martin J. Walsh, said the city "is now engaged in litigation and therefore cannot comment on specifics related to the lawsuit."

"Mayor Walsh is taking­ this action to protect the city and the neighborhood of Charlestown," she said. "Every remedy was exhausted to date and now this matter is in the hands of the litigators seeking to present this case in court on behalf of the city."

Wynn's $1 million payment was technically made to an escrow fund controlled by the Gaming Commission for dispersal, but Boston is declining to collect it. Spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the commission isn't sure how long it will hold on to the funds.

"At this point, we will hold that in escrow until they are ready to claim it," Driscoll said.

The conditions on Wynn's license say the $1 million up-front payment was to cover additional public safety resources to handle increased traffic, facilitate water transportation to the casino and support community programs in bordering Charlestown.

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hingham beach outpost on Sullivan’s menu

Sullivan's, a landmark South Boston food stand that's been selling hot dogs and other fare on Castle Island since 1951, is exploring a Hingham outpost.

Hingham Bathing Beach trustees are in talks with the third generation of Sullivan's operators to open a seasonal concession offering the same food and affordable prices as in Southie.

"That's something we've prided ourselves on since my grandfather opened in 1951 — to provide quality food at reasonable prices," Brendan Sullivan said.

It would be Sullivan's first expansion. "We always thought about it the last few years, but never made any moves until this opportunity arose," Sullivan said. "It's a very similar situation from what we have now and what the trustees would like, so I think we are a perfect match for them."

For the trustees, it's an opportunity to give beach-goers regular access to rest­rooms not provided by the current bathhouse, open from July to Labor Day for three or four hours around high tide, trustee Alan Perrault said. "The concessionaire is responsible for keeping them open during the hours it's open, so we'll get that coverage," he said.

Sullivan's at Hingham Bathing Beach would be smaller than the Castle Island stand, where throngs of people line up for half-price dogs on opening weekend, usually the last weekend in February. It would operate on the same timetable, weather permitting, through the last weekend of November.

The next step is negotiating a lease and permitting.

"We're at the very beginning stages," Sullivan said. "I would love to have it open by the end of next summer, but that might be pushing it."

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Startup taking off with tiny propulsion systems

A MIT-born startup has raised $2 million in seed funding for product development and initial sales of its propulsion system for small orbiting satellites that's the size of a pack of gum.

"It's a type of in-flight propulsion system for satellites that can enable things like orbit transfers," said Natalya Brikner, chief executive and co-founder of Accion Systems. "You can use it to accurately point cameras. The smallest complete system we have built is about the size of a pack of gum."

The MAX-1 system uses electric propulsion with charged particles to control small satellites under 220 pounds. Those satellites, Brikner said, are exploding in popularity, but most do not have propulsion systems.

Based in Somerville, Accion Systems will use the money to add more employees — it only has three right now — and begin taking pre-orders. Accion will also use the money to literally launch its product.

"We are going to be launching our first product into space," Brikner said.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Health Connector to feel disconnect

The impending departure of Health Connector Executive Director Jean Yang signals a coming tidal wave of change — but one that could face strong resistance from a board still filled with members hand-picked by Gov. Deval Patrick — once Republican Charlie Baker is sworn in as the state's chief executive, an expert said.

"It shows the change in philosophy at the connector and desire to go in a different direction, no question," said Joshua Archambault, a health care expert at the Pioneer Institute. "I suspect if the board membership doesn't change, there will be a lot of disagreement in board participation at the meetings about the different directions laid out."

A new leadership team at the connector could create fireworks at the usually tame board meetings and set up a showdown between Baker's new connector staffers and board members appointed by both Patrick and outgoing Attorney General Martha Coakley.

"They all hold different ideological positions and will not be shy about voicing them," said Archambault of the holdover board members. "The question is whether new staff and leadership at the connector can build the case for change."

Baker's Secretary of Administration & Finance Kristen Lepore will automatically serve as chairwoman of the 11-member connector board and Baker will get to select a few other ex-officio members.

But his first crack at replacing any of Patrick's picks won't come until July 1, when MIT professor Jonathan Gruber's term expires. Baker has called Gruber's controversial Obamacare comments, which landed him before a congressional committee that grilled him last month, "stupid and inappropriate."

Gruber declined to comment to the Herald yesterday about his or other board members' futures.

The rest of Baker's picks won't come until 2016 and 2017.

The incoming Baker administration has not said who it will name to replace Yang.

"I think the next director of the connector obviously needs to regain the public confidence that the connector works and is effective," said incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders.

State Obamacare czar Maydad Cohen, who is staying on temporarily, said the Baker administration plans to find Yang's permanent replacement around Feb. 15, when open enrollment for Obamacare ends, then determine the connector's future staffing.

Yang announced yesterday she is stepping down after two years as head of the troubled Massachusetts Health Connector. She oversaw both the disastrous rollout of the state's failed Obamacare website last year and the costly rebuilding of the new portal.

Yang, who said she has no position lined up when she leaves Jan. 16, indicated the Baker administration also wanted her to depart.

"I would say that there was definitely some mutual expectation from all parties," said Yang. "It was a fairly straightforward discussion that we rapidly got to agreement."

Lindsay Kalter contributed to this story.

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dunkin’ Donuts heads south of the border

Dunkin' Brands Group has signed a franchise agreement with a Utah-based partner to develop the Dunkin' Donuts brand in Mexico, the company said yesterday.

Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' said the pact with Sizzling Platter calls for more than 100 Dunkin' Donuts outlets in Mexico City, and the states of Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Morelos and Queretaro.

"There's a significant demand for what Dunkin' Donuts offers — high-quality food and beverages served fast and at a great value — in Mexico," said Paul Twohig, president of Dunkin' Donuts U.S. and Canada, and Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Europe and Latin America.

As well as Dunkin' Donuts standard drinks, baked goods and sandwiches, "The brand will also offer regional menu items to cater to local tastes," a press release stated.

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mayor files suit to block Wynn project

Arguing the Hub will bear the brunt of traffic and public safety woes from a planned Wynn casino in Everett, City Hall has filed a potential game-changing lawsuit, looking to block the state gaming panel's approval of the $1.6 billion gambling resort so Charlestown residents can vote on the deal.

"It always has been our belief that Boston is a host community to the Wynn-planned casino," Mayor Martin J. Walsh said yesterday, noting his administration failed to reach a deal with Wynn that Walsh considered fair compensation for the casino's impact on Boston. "My number one concern is making sure the people of Charlestown have an opportunity to vote on something in their backyard."

City Hall sources said that Wynn, who originally wanted to give the city $650,000, was ready to cut a $1 million check to Boston this week, but the Walsh administration considered that too low, and that Wynn lacked an effective plan to address traffic in Sullivan Square and other Charlestown arteries.

Richard McGowan, a Boston College gaming expert, said the city may be using the suit to get Wynn to "sweeten the pot," but "some irregularities" behind the sale of the Everett site to Wynn could give Boston legal ammo.

Indictments last fall charged three men with trying to conceal a convicted felon's onetime ownership stake in the polluted riverfront parcel that the group finally sold to Wynn Resorts yesterday for $35 million.

"They seemingly overlooked who was selling the land in Everett," McGowan said of the commission. "It could all be aboveboard, but who knows."

Commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said in a statement: "The Commission believes that we have reviewed these issues thoroughly, objectively and fairly, and that exhaustive review helped lead to the decision to award the Wynn license with appropriate conditions. The Commission continues to believe that our resolution was appropriate but also fully understand that parties who are disappointed in our decisions may want to test that belief through litigation."

Wynn declined to comment yesterday.

Boston's legal action follows a similar suit filed in October by Revere — whose mayor backed a failed bid by Mohegan Sun to land a casino at Suffolk Downs racetrack. That suit accused the commission of violating the state Gaming Act by granting the Greater Boston license to Wynn, and potentially benefiting criminal interests. The city of Somerville has also sued.

Thomas C. Frongillo, an attorney hired by Boston in its casino battle, called the land sale an "illegal contract" used by the sellers to "perpetrate a fraud."

"Under the gaming statute, all people with a financial interest in the gaming establishment have to be deemed suitable. They are not," he said. "We raised this issue back in May. And the Gaming Commission pretty much tried to sweep it under the rug."

Boston Corporation Counsel Eugene O'Flaherty also argued that Wynn failed to meet the requirement of getting access to its site through Everett within 60 days of being issued its license.

"The only legal way today into the Wynn site is through the city of Boston," O'Flaherty said. "They represented they were going to do is solely through Everett."

Frongillo said talks have "stalled" between Wynn and the MBTA to buy several parcels of T-owned land in order to create an entranceway through Everett, adding: "It's been our position that that's been a hypothetical road all along. It was represented to the Gaming Commission to avoid Boston's status as a host community."

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More