Governor reassures leaders local aid won’t get cut

Gov. Charlie Baker has vowed not to cut local aid to close a $765 million budget gap, and the head of the Massachusetts Municipal Association says he expects the state's chief executive will leave alone the money that is vital to cities and towns in coming years too.

"Certainly the governor and lieutenant governor have made their impressions and their thoughts known," said Kevin Dumas, the mayor of Attleboro and president of the MMA. "That would have to be a dire last circumstance. That's not something that's even being discussed right now."

Baker yesterday spoke to a crowd of roughly 900 local leaders at the MMA's annual meeting. He reiterated his pledge not to plunder local aid as he grapples with how to eliminate the 
$765 million budget shortfall.

"We've made very clear from the beginning, and we're pleased to see the Senate president and the speaker support us on this, that the path to balancing the commonwealth's budget is not going to run through local aid for the cities and towns," Baker said.

The governor also announced that Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito will head up a new community compact cabinet to cut red tape for cities and towns.

"Sometimes it takes the commonwealth four, five, six, seven, eight months to respond to cities and towns on relatively simple requests that (cities and towns) need to be able to move and make decisions on," Baker said.

Dumas said he expects Baker to follow through and to be a strong partner for local communities.

"I think the governor's going to be fantastic to work with really building that strong partnership between cities and towns in Massachusetts," he said.

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Train operator fines piling up

MBTA commuter rail operator Keolis Commuter Services continues to rack up fines for delayed trains and other performance issues, with penalties totaling $1.62 million for November and December.

The MBTA, which awarded the French transportation giant an eight-year, $2.7 billion contract last January with a July start date, said 
84.37 percent of commuter rail trains arrived on time in November, with a rate of 89.82 percent in December, resulting in maximum contractual penalties of $434,425 each month.

Keolis penalties for other infractions, including station maintenance, train capacity, cleaning and staffing, were the maximum allowable $434,425 in November and $325,750 in December.

The new fines are in addition to the more than $800,000 in penalties Keolis racked up in its first five months of operations.

"While certain indicators are trending in the right direction, the penalties make it clear that there is much room for improvement," MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said. "The MBTA will continue to work with its commuter rail partner to improve service delivery and enhance our customers' overall experience."

In a statement, Keolis said it is focused on improving the reliability of the service.

"We are seeing increases in on-time reliability system-wide and will continue to work on all levels to strengthen that performance," Keolis spokesman Mac Daniel said.

It's not acceptable that Keolis' performance has been so poor, according to Greg Sullivan, former state inspector general and now the research director for the Pioneer Institute.

"They've got the management skills and ability to have our system run on time," he said. "I'm confident that they will improve their performance after paying this kind of money."

But Sullivan gave kudos to the MBTA for including a zero-tolerance policy in Keolis' contract.

"Under the prior contract, more than half of the late trains were forgiven and not reported as late even though the commuters were late for work," he said. "Under the new contract, the MBTA is holding the commuter rail operator's feet to the fire, and it should. It's the only way to get the attention of the company."

Keolis won the contract over Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., which had run the commuter rail since 2003.

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The Ticker

Bill would regulate sites like Airbnb

A bill filed in the state House of Representatives seeks to regulate the short-term rental industry made popular by websites such as Airbnb, requiring hosts to register with the state, obtain liability insurance and pay an excise tax.

"There would be a registration process to make sure consumers felt safe during their stays," said state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston), co-author of the bill. "It's trying to create a safe and secure environment while allowing these operations to continue to thrive."

A spokesman for Airbnb said the company is reviewing the proposed legislation. The company claims short-term rentals through its website are responsible for $51 million in economic impact in Boston.

S&P settles with SEC, two states

Standard & Poor's agreed yesterday to pay the U.S. government and two states more than $77 million to settle charges tied to its ratings of mortgage-backed securities.

In its first enforcement action against a major rating agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused S&P of misconduct, saying the company loosened standards to drum up business in recent years. The agreement requires S&P to pay more than $58 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, $12 million to New York and $7 million to Massachusetts. S&P said in a statement that it did not admit or deny any of the charges.

As part of its agreement with the SEC, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, a division of McGraw Hill Financial, will take a "time out" from rating certain types of mortgage-backed securities for a year.

Power grid shifting to natural gas

New England's power system is increasingly shifting from aging oil- and coal-fired plants to natural gas, which relies on pipelines experiencing bottlenecks that drive up prices, the region's electric grid operator said yesterday.

ISO-New England officials said wind and solar resources are a small but growing part of the region's energy mix, though they are not always available when needed by the region's 14 million residents — peak demand for power in winter typically occurs after the sun has set.

"There's plenty of natural gas," said Gordon van Welie, president and CEO of Holyoke-based ISO-New England. "The problem we've had in the region is we've not matched the need for natural gas with infrastructure."

The proportion of natural gas in the region's energy mix was 44 percent in 2014, up from 15 percent in 2000. At the same time, coal- and oil-fired generation dropped to 6 percent from 40 percent.

TODAY

 
Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.

 Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates.

TOMORROW

 National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for December.

THE SHUFFLE

Christopher McLean has joined Boston-based Vanderweil Engineers as a project director for critical facilities. McLean most recently was director of data center design and construction with The Markley Group, where he was responsible for the design and construction of data centers and their infrastructure.

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Kickass Cupcakes stales, files bankruptcy

Another local cupcake company crumbled this week, filing for bankruptcy after closing its Somerville store in August.

Kickass Cupcakes filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a proceeding used to liquidate a company's assets to pay off its debts. The company owes its creditors $263,000, according to court documents filed late Tuesday.

Kickass opened in Davis Square in 2007 and had moved to a new location on Highland Avenue in May before shutting down. It also had expanded to a food truck and was involved in several food truck "throwdowns."

Sara Ross, the company's owner who formerly wrote for the Herald's Fork Lift blog on food, fun and drink, could not be reached for comment.

The bankruptcy still leaves many cupcake options available in the crowded Boston-area market. Hub-based Sweet has six shops in Boston, Harvard Square and Chestnut Hill; Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown Cupcakes has a single Boston store on Newbury Street; and Treat Cupcake Bar has Natick and Chestnut Hill locations.

Cohasset's Wicked Cupcakes — which sells cupcakes in a jar and whose owners appeared on ABC's "Shark Tank" and paired with one of its investors, Kevin O'Leary — operates at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Crumbs Bake Shop also reopened in Boston last fall after the formerly public New York chain filed for bankruptcy in July and was taken over by Marcus Lemonis, an entrepreneur and host of CNBC's reality series "The Profit."

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Business Protocol: Don’t wed business with personal events

Today, when many of us traverse in and out of companies and continents, the need to establish connections from business-related events and social settings is indispensable, but at personal events such as a wedding it can be hazardous.

Tact and discretion are absolutely key here. You are attending this wedding for a purpose. Engage your target with something pertaining specifically to the event — the reason you are both here. Make the conversation, your curiosity and excitement all about that event you are experiencing together. Look for points of connectivity with the other person through the prism of the event.

• Never ask for a business card — only at social events with a business undercurrent, such as charity auctions or softball tournaments, may cards be exchanged freely without concern of impropriety.

• Tell your target you have enjoyed meeting them and would like to stay in touch.

• Do not be one of those hangers on. Walk away!

• Ask your host — after the event — to connect you with the person of interest. Your host will no doubt delight knowing they were able to help forge a connection.

When you do follow up, mention the wedding; reference the connector. Remember, it's not about the business, it's about the connection.

Keep initial contact brief and reflective back to the event you both attended, with personal notes about where you met, where you shared the fact that you both always cry at weddings, where you enjoyed the beautiful music, admired the imported flowers, or laughed at the hysterical toasts. The wedding is your common denominator. Only then, explore business interests.

Underscore what's in it for them. Determine their receptivity level and proceed accordingly. If not, you'll always have Paris!

If you merely exchange contact information, subtly and quickly, by smartphone, you risk losing the opportunity to engage and connect on all the above points of confluence.

Judith Bowman is president and founder of Protocol Consultants International and author of "Don't Take the Last Donut: New Rules of Business Etiquette" and "How to Stand Apart @ Work … Transforming "Fine" to Fabulous!" Email her at Judith@protocolconsultants.com.

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Eateries to donate brunch proceeds

Nearly 20 Boston-area restaurants will give customers the chance to both eat well and do good this weekend by donating all of the proceeds from the 33rd annual Super Hunger Brunch to The Greater Boston Food Bank.

Diners can order from menus designed especially for the fundraiser and priced at $25, $35 or $50 per person. Every dollar spent will pay for three nutritious meals for people in need.

"For us, it's very simple just to do our part to help feed hungry people," said Jim Solomon, chef and owner of The Fireplace in Brookline, where the price will be set at $25 Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

"Super Hunger Brunch provides not only an opportunity for people to give back in a fun way," said Catherine D'Amato, president of The Greater Boston Food Bank, "but also a way for the chefs and restaurant community to come together to end hunger here in our community."

For a complete list of participating restaurants and prices, visit www.gbfb.org/events/super-hunger-brunch.php/.

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China shares plunge on margin trade curbs for 3 brokerages

TOKYO — Chinese shares plunged 6.3 percent Monday after the country's securities regulator imposed margin trading curbs on several major brokerages, a sign that authorities are trying to rein in the market's big gains. Other Asian stock markets were mostly higher.

KEEPING SCORE: The Shanghai Composite Index was down 6.3 percent at 3,163.72. Its dive rubbed off on Hong Kong where the Hang Seng was off 1.1 percent at 23,840.91. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.6 percent to 16,957.86 and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.9 percent to 1905.44. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 percent to 5,323.50. Shares were also higher in Taiwan, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

CHINA CURBS: The China Securities Regulatory Commission imposed curbs late Friday on margin financing, or borrowing to purchase stocks, following an investigation of the industry. The three affected brokerages, Citic Securities Co., Haitong Securities Co. and Guotai Junan, were forbidden to lend money and shares to new customers for three months after they allegedly were caught extending margin trading contracts in violation of the rules. The Shanghai Composite has surged almost 60 percent in the past year. The regulator's action has unnerved investors and might be a sign that authorities think the market has risen too much recently.

THE QUOTE: Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities in Hong Kong, said regulators wanted to rein in some of the riskier financing practices underpinning the mainland Chinese stock market's astonishing surge that began half a year ago. "The recent bull market is mainly driven by margin financing," he said. With the rally "overdone," regulators want to "simply give pause" to the brokerages. Mainland Chinese regulators allowed margin financing and short selling only in recent years and Wong said many mainland investors may still be unaware of the risks involved.

CHINA, ECB: Investors are awaiting China's economic growth data due Tuesday, which is likely to show a further slowdown in the fourth quarter, and are also anticipating possible stimulus moves by the European Central Bank. Markets generally settled down after volatility provoked by the Swiss central bank's shock decision Thursday to untether the Swiss franc from the euro. Japan's central bank is not expected to make any major moves in a policy meeting that wraps up Wednesday.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 37 cents at $48.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $2.44 on Friday to settle at $48.69. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, was down 12 cents at $50.05 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The euro was little changed at $1.1560 from $1.1561 late Friday. The dollar dropped to 117.04 yen from 117.57 yen.

___

AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong contributed.

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Wynn, Jay Ash try to make nice

Boosters for the Wynn casino in Everett have found themselves in the awkward position of having to make nice with one of their most vocal former opponents — former Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash, who backed the defeated Mohegan Sun proposal in Revere and now serves as Gov. Charlie Baker's Secretary of Housing and Economic Development.

Ash, who took office with Baker last week, battled Wynn tooth and nail in arbitration over millions in impact payments and harshly criticized Wynn publicly for its dealings with Chelsea. Both sides now say it's all water under the bridge.

"I butted heads with them, but I've always been in support of expanded gambling in Massachusetts," Ash told the Herald. "I thought Suffolk Downs was the place that it should be, but this is not inconsistent at all with where I've been. And now, as incoming secretary of the commonwealth, anyone who wants to spend $1.8 billion or more is a group that I want to get know."

Ash attended a celebration last week at Everett City Hall to mark Wynn closing on its Mystic River site, and received glowing words and hearty congratulations from the dais by Wynn and city officials. Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver said the company has "absolutely no concerns about working with Secretary Ash."

"We are looking forward to working with him and believe he will be helpful and supportive as we move forward to create jobs and generate incremental tax revenue for the commonwealth," Weaver said.

Just a year ago, Ash was fretting publicly that he was "befuddled and incensed" with Wynn after the company did not name Chelsea a surrounding community to its casino, a seeming jab for his Mohegan support. The lack of designation deprived Chelsea of the right to a mitigation agreement like the one it cut with Mohegan worth $2.5 million a year.

At the time, Wynn said Chelsea would not be negatively impacted by its casino despite its proximity. Wynn eventually agreed to grant Chelsea the status, but the sides couldn't reach a deal. They then entered arbitration, where Ash drove a hard bargain. Wynn, for instance, proposed paying Chelsea a $300,000 upfront fee for traffic improvements, while Ash asked for $1.55 million. The arbitrator sided with Wynn.

Ash said he remains concerned about traffic impacts from the Wynn project, which will need a bevy of state permits for road modifications and environmental cleanup.

"I think there's still a lot of questions we heard about traffic, and I think that all of the parties recognize that traffic needs to be dealt with, and there are environmental issues that need to be dealt with," Ash said. "We're ready to work with Wynn provided that they can get these things resolved."

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said he is "excited" at Ash's appointment and that the two have "been friends for a long time." He said Ash sent encouraging signals after Mohegan lost the license race to Wynn and a repeal of the state's casino law was on the ballot.

"He was on that side of the Suffolk Downs group and then when they were no longer successful he actually worked very hard on the 'No on 3' campaign," DeMaria said. "He always saw it the way I saw it."

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Dodgers star Yasiel Puig buys home in Sherman Oaks

Anyone who knows a thing about Your Mama knows we don't know a damn thing about professional baseball. So, when good ol' Yolanda Yakketyyak got in touch to let us know that Dodger outfielder Yasiel Puig quietly (and via trust) dropped $1.8 million on a gated micro-mansion in Sherman Oaks, CA, we said, "Ya-who?"

Turns out Mister Puig, just 24 years old, was a star player on Cuba's junior and national teams and -- so the scuttlebutt goes -- an occasional state informant. After a handful of thwarted attempts, a clearly very determined Mister Puig -- along with a boxer, a pinup girl and a Santeria priest -- was successfully smuggled out of Cuba in June 2012 by some pretty nefarious sounding characters and almost immediately signed by the L.A. Dodgers to a seven-year contract worth $42 million. By all accounts the franchise, now owned by the high-powered investment consortium Guggenheim Partners, is getting its money's worth from Mister Puig who was named to the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star team.

• BUYER: Yasiel Puig
• LOCATION: Sherman Oaks, CA
• PRICE: $1,800,000
• SIZE: 4,663 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms

According to a report in L.A. Magazine, once signed to the Dodgers and flush with his new-found wealth, young Mister Puig initially moved in to a loft space in downtown Los Angeles but, so swears Yolanda, now has a big new house set behind elaborately scrolled iron gates in a leafy and affluent if nondescript Sherman Oaks neighborhood. Listing details call the 4,663-square-foot residence a "Grand Contemporary Mediterranean" -- we'd call it a quintessential and architecturally challenged San Fernando Valley macmansion -- with half a dozen bedrooms and as many bathrooms.

A stone-floored center hall entry has beige walls, beige inlaid stone tile floors and curved, wrought iron railed staircase that sweeps up to a circular second floor gallery with domed sky light. The pretty much all beige open plan living spaces at the rear include a built-in wet bar, a roomy dining area, formal sitting area and family room with bookshelf flanked and television surmounted fireplace and a built-in aquarium. The (also very beige) adjoining kitchen has a sizable center island, room for a breakfast table next to a sizable center island, speckled granite counter tops, completely average although probably custom-crafted raised panel cabinetry and medium-grade stainless steel appliances.

The second floor has an informal lounge area, four guest/family bedrooms -- two with private balconies, and a spacious master suite with sitting area, fireplace, elevated bed platform, two walk-in closets, a slender wrought iron railed balcony, and an all-beige bathroom with jetted garden tub separate stall shower.

The main living spaces on the lower level open to a fairly compact backyard with stamped concrete terracing around a circular spa that spills in to a small free-form swimming pool and a built-in barbecue center with stone-countered bar, wine fridge and warming drawer.

Listing photos: Sotheby's International Realty

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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New Hampshire delegation requests openness in pipeline plan

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire's congressional delegation is calling for an open and transparent process before a final decision is made about a proposed natural gas pipeline route in the state.

Texas-based Kinder Morgan wants to construct about 70 miles of pipeline through southern New Hampshire. About 90 percent of the project would be along an existing power line corridor.

In letters to Kinder Morgan and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte and Reps. Frank Guinta and Annie Kuster requested that New Hampshire residents have ample opportunity to express their views.

The letter, dated Wednesday, notes Kinder Morgan filed its latest proposal Dec. 8, which shifts much of the pipeline out of northern Massachusetts into a number of southern New Hampshire towns.

The towns include Winchester; Richmond; Troy; Fitzwilliam; Rindge; New Ipswich; Greenville; Mason; Milford; Brookline; Amherst; Merrimack; Litchfield; Londonderry; Hudson; Windham; Pelham; and Salem.

The delegation requests "that Kinder Morgan provide the public, municipal officials in potentially affected municipalities, and our offices with additional information on the timeline for the current pre-filing phase." It also urges the company "to extend that timeline to ensure that New Hampshire's residents have a full and equal opportunity to understand, assess, and comment on this project before any decisions are made finalizing the project or its route."

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