Seasonal, full-time work adds 321,000 jobs in Nov.

Hiring surged in November, with employers adding 321,000 jobs — the best month in nearly three years and the third best month since the end of the recession.

The unemployment rate kept steady at 5.8 percent, the Labor Department said yesterday.

A portion of the growth can be attributed to above-average seasonal hiring and consumers spending their savings from low gas prices, said Doug Handler, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington.

"But it shows the economy is still adding jobs at a fairly aggressive pace," said Handler, who forecast an acceleration in real gross domestic product from 2.2 percent this year to 2.7 percent in 2015.

Retailers added 50,200 jobs, about double the average over the past year, suggesting they are expecting above-average holiday sales, he said.

But the gains the Labor Department reported were not just from seasonal workers. Construction and manufacturing jobs were also up, as were jobs in business services and health care, while the numbers of long-term unemployed and of people working part time because they couldn't find full-time jobs fell.

"Now, not only are there more jobs, there are more full-time jobs," said Andre Mayer, senior adviser at Associated Industries of Massachusetts. "It won't take very much more growth for people who are willing and qualified to find a job readily."

Average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 9 cents — the best gain since January 2011 — although average hourly earnings growth among production and non-supervisory workers was a more typical 4 cents.

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Gas pipeline would skirt Mass. towns

The Houston-based company vying to build a controversial gas pipeline through Massachusetts is shifting its proposed route amid heavy local opposition by snaking miles of it through New Hampshire and bypassing more than a dozen Bay State towns.

But the revised plan, which Kinder Morgan officials say they'll officially file with federal regulators Monday, still isn't sitting well with residents and environmental activists who for months have fiercely fought the $5 billion project.

"It really doesn't change anything," said Ken Hartlage, president of the Nashoba Conservation Trust. "There's still going to be more pipeline coming through the neighboring towns. It may not be a problem outside my front door, but it's still going to be somebody else's problem. And it's still going to contribute to climate change by bringing in a lot of carbon-based fuel."

Hartlage said a group opposing the pipeline is already growing in New Hampshire, where some are planning a Dec. 13 meeting in Mason to discuss Kinder Morgan's proposal. "There are groups of people who have mobilized and who are active," he said.

Allen Fore, a Kinder Morgan spokesman, yesterday briefed reporters on its revised plans, which include cutting 14 Bay State towns from its original 127-mile path that weaved from the New York border through Massachusetts.

In the new proposal, 64 miles will still stretch through the state, with roughly 70 miles of pipeline going through 17 New Hampshire towns before weaving back down into Dracut. The new path would also cut through four new Massachusetts towns — Cheshire, Hancock, Lanesboro and Shelburne.

Kinder Morgan officials say the project will help cut into New England's monstrous demand for energy and lower costs. Fore said 90 percent of the project would also be built near or along existing utility paths.

Kinder Morgan officials have been pitching their plans to lawmakers and the Patrick administration. The Herald reported last month that several high-ranking company officials also had donated the maximum $500 to Gov.-elect Charlie Baker's campaign account on Election Day after Baker had publicly come out against the plan during the campaign.

Tim Buckley, a Baker spokesman, said the Republican will review the new proposal after he takes office in January.

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Range Rover Evoques urban luxury

The Range Rover Evoque, with its attitude for pavement with loads of off-road fortitude, is the most urban-oriented sport utility vehicle in the British automaker's lineup.

Our tester included an all-wheel-drive system that automatically switches to two-wheel-drive for improved fuel economy when the vehicle exceeds 22 miles per hour on a smooth surface. The Evoque also has a selectable terrain response system that allows the driver to dial in modes for general, snow, mud, and sand conditions. Both are features that come standard on the 2015 model.

Our tester, which topped out at more than $60,000, included a $15,000 Dynamic premium package.

The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the Evoque is $41,130.

At the heart of the Evoque is a Ford-supplied 2.0-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine that cranks out 240 horsepower. Acceleration was swift in the lightweight SUV. A nine-speed automatic transmission equipped with paddle shifters and a manual shift mode allowed for spirited driving. The engine and transmission combined to yield 21 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway.

The Range Rover proved to be streetwise maneuvering throughout the city. A parallel park assist function that takes charge of the task of maneuvering into a spot on a busy street gets it done on the first try. I found ample visibility when checking for traffic at intersections. A surround camera system and sensors that monitored the Evoque's blind spot and detected traffic while in reverse helped me steer clear of trouble.

Monstrous 20-inch Blizzak tires seemed to restrict the Evoque's handling at the extremes when cornering. Despite the oversized wheels, the Range Rover was quiet and comfortable on the highway. Adaptive cruise control made for an easygoing drive on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Two-tone black and ivory leather seating with conspicuous stitching highlighted our metallic black Evoque's swanky interior. An 825-watt, 17-speaker Meridian surround sound system seemed like overkill for the audio books and podcasts that I listen to while commuting, but delivered great sound when I cranked up the earworms from the satellite radio stations.

While the Evoque's rear seats were of the same luxurious quality as the front, they lacked foot and head room. A fixed panoramic roof did help to open up the otherwise cramped backseats. A power tailgate provided convenient access to the rear storage area.

After pushing a button located on the dashboard to wake up the Range Rover, I was greeted by a shift knob that automatically rises out the center console. In addition to conventional navigation, the Evoque had an off-road mode that allowed me to retrace my route if I needed to turn around. Both were accessed via an eight-inch touchscreen.

The 2015 Range Rover Evoque suits the driver not willing to compromise on capability or luxury. The nimble SUV, which is also available as a coupe, is equipped to handle New England driving conditions, in the city or on a trip up north.

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Leather District loft an open book

This redone New York-style Leather District loft was designed for book lovers, with built-in bookcases lining walls and dividing the open space into distinct rooms.

The two-bedroom loft condo at 134 Beach St., Unit 3B, has white-painted wood-beam ceilings, columns, and brick walls as well as exposed ducts and pipes that attest to the 1889-built former leather works building's industrial feel. There's also lots of wall space for artwork.

Completely redone in 1999 with bleached maple floors, custom built-ins, a raised central kitchen and track lighting, the unit is on the market for $1,395,000.

The condo has 12-foot ceilings and 2,836 square feet of living space all on one floor, but it was re­designed with different elevations for the kitchen, living room, study/home offices and second bedroom.

An entryway with original industrial wood floors has a large storage room as well as a closet holding the unit's water heater and heating and central air-conditioning systems.

Entry into the main living spaces is via a long, narrow foyer with built-in cabinets and three windows.

At the end of the foyer sits a reception area with built-in bookcases and cabinets as well as a study desk and a home office nook.

A passageway from the reception space flows into a living room, whose edges are defined by low-slung bookcases. The living room has white-painted brick walls and three windows.

Several steps up to the left is the central kitchen, redone in 1999 with open oak shelving and three floor-level pantry cabinets. It features a white-tile backsplash and black matte Formica countertops, in­cluding an island with pendant lighting. Stainless-steel appliances include a Frigidaire refrigerator and gas stove and a Bosch dishwasher and microwave. There's a separate dining area with a polished granite-topped counter and a granite kitchen table in the same color.

A step up from the kitchen is a second bedroom currently used as a study, which steps down into a library space with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on one side and down to a walk-in closet/half bathroom on the other. Off this bedroom sits a full white tile bathroom with a pedestal sink and walk-in shower.

One step up from the living room is a home office space with even more built-in bookcases.

The unit's master bedroom is off the front reception hall, and features white-painted brick walls, one window, a large walk-in closet and a dressing area with built-in storage and wardrobe space. A few steps up is an en-suite master bathroom with white-tile floors and walls with a walk-in shower. There's a pedestal sink, as well as a closet that holds a full-size Hotpoint washer and dryer.

The condo does not have an on-site parking space, and the options are either a residential parking permit or one of several Leather District garages, which charge about $450 a month.

• Address: 134 Beach St., Unit 3B, Leather District
• Bedrooms: Two
• Bathrooms: Two full, one half
• List price: $1,395,000
• Square feet: 2,836
• Price per square foot: $492
• Annual taxes: $14,366
• Monthly condo fee: $626
• Location: In the city's Leather District a half block from South Station and offerings on South Street; three blocks to downtown
• Built In: 1889; updated to condos 1980; redone 1999
• Broker: Rob Cohen of Engel & Volkers at 617-962-0142

Pros:

• Space nicely divided into distinct rooms with slightly elevated levels
• Floor-to-ceiling custom bookcases and cabinets throughout
• Kitchen with open shelving, pantry cabinets, granite dining table
• Big storage space off front entryway

Cons:

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Panel waits on Wynn’s IRS flap

State gaming commissioners stopped short of faulting Wynn Resorts for failing to disclose an IRS request for documents a month before it won the Boston-area casino license — a probe the commission acknowledged Wynn only brought to its attention after a newspaper report.

Commissioner James F. McHugh said the gaming panel's Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) needs to report back on the nature of the IRS inquiry — which the Wall Street Journal reported is linked to a federal money laundering probe — to determine if Wynn should have notified them earlier.

"There's a difference between an inquiry about customers and an inquiry about them," McHugh said yesterday, after the commission's investigative chief gave her first public report on the matter. "There's an inquiry about them that's routine, there's an inquiry about them that is not routine. Until we know the answers to those kinds of questions, we're not in a position to make a judgment about whether or not we should have known."

IEB director Karen Wells said yesterday the IRS inquiry was brought to the commission's attention when Wynn's general counsel emailed her the Nov. 20 Wall Street Journal article. Wells said her agency's review has not yet turned up any summonses or subpoenas of Wynn employees.

"To my knowledge, at this time, one does not exist," Wells said.

Under the state's gaming law, licensees must "upon receipt of a criminal or civil process compelling testimony or production of documents in connection with a civil or criminal investigation, immediately disclose such information to the commission."

McHugh said, "It sounds to me like a process was not served … the statutory and regulatory obligation to report was not triggered."

But former state Inspector General Gregory Sullivan, now at the Pioneer Institute, said Wynn should have disclosed the inquiry considering the feds had recently reached a settlement with Las Vegas Sands.

"Since Las Vegas Sands had settled a high-roller money laundering investigation by the IRS for $47 million a year earlier, I would have expected the applicant to disclose to the Gaming Commission an administrative summons from the IRS criminal division for information about high-roller money laundering," Sullivan said.

Wynn VP Robert DeSalvio declined comment yesterday, referring questions to a company spokesman who did not respond to an inquiry.

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The Ticker

Partners teams up with MedSpring

Beginning early next year, patients will have access to health care at multiple walk-in clinics in eastern Massachusetts through a partnership between Partners HealthCare and MedSpring Urgent Care.

The new Partners Urgent Care locations, which will be announced at a later date, will have physicians on site from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, including weekends and holidays, to treat routine illnesses and injuries, from colds and coughs to cuts and broken bones.

Sirius to pay Mass., 44 other states

Resolving claims that the satellite radio company engaged in misleading advertising and billing practices, Sirius XM Radio Inc. of New York has agreed to pay $3.8 million and provide restitution to eligible consumers, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced yesterday. The settlement will bring more than $80,000 to the commonwealth.

Coakley has joined 44 other states and the District of Columbia in the settlement with Sirius XM, resolving allegations that the company engaged in misleading, unfair, or deceptive acts or practices in violation of state consumer protection laws.

• Vantage Builders of Waltham has announced the hiring of construction industry veteran Mark Price, left, as project manager. Price has more than 25 years of experience in construction and property management.

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Globe CEO: Smartphones great for news, but print’s better for ads

Most journalism in the years to come will be delivered on smartphones, Boston Globe CEO Mike Sheehan said yesterday, but print journalism may not be on its way out entirely.

Asked what role smartphones will play in the industry's future, Sheehan said, "Everything."

"It's not going to be an overnight migration, but it's important for us to appeal to 18- to 35-year-olds, and their life is on the smartphone," he said at the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association annual meeting in Boston. "But it'll be easier to do from a journalistic sense than from an advertising sense. That's going to be the challenge."

Because of the difficulty of creating advertising that works well on a smartphone, he said, the industry may see a stabilization in print journalism.

"More and more," Sheehan said, "I talk to advertisers who come back to print because they say, 'You know what? It just works.'"

There is no turning back the clock on digital journalism, however, he said, and to remain viable, more and more newspapers, including the Globe, are charging readers for that content — something he doesn't see as a bad thing.

"It always bothered me that newspapers gave away journalism for free. It killed me," he said. "We just have to make sure the quality is always there, that digitally, it's updated regularly, and it's terrific, relevant, important content ... I know of no other way to build a business than to improve the quality of the product. The great thing about a newspaper is in print you can improve it every 24 hours, and digitally, you can improve it every two minutes."

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East Somerville home rings with history

There are many historic homes for sale around Boston, but only one can claim to be the site of the world's first residential telephone connection.

The 4.958-square-foot house at 1 Arlington St. in East Somerville, on the market for $899,000 — down from the original $995,000 asking price — has a fascinating history as well as mahogany and cherry woodwork, original wood floors and brass chandeliers and sconces.

The 10-bedroom house was built in two phases: the 1858 Italianate main house built for the Tufts family and an Eastlake-style renovation and side addition completed in 1888.

In 1877, then-owner Charles Williams Jr., a Hub telegraph manufacturer who teamed up with his business tenant Alexander Graham Bell to build the first telephones, had the world's first home phone. It was connected via a dedicated line to his office at 109 Court St. with "1" and "2" as the phone numbers.

The home is on the city, state and the national registers of historic places.

The first floor living spaces still reflect the home's grandeur, with original doors, carved window and door moldings, and a grand front staircase.

The living room, to the left of the entryway, is a large space with restored oak floors, bay windows and two original fireplaces with cast-iron grates and carved wood mantels. Two brass chandeliers hang from elaborate plaster medallions, and original sconce lights ring the walls.

The formal dining room has elaborate wood floor patterns, a carved fireplace with an Italian tile hearth, and a large original walk-in pantry with glass cabinets. An adjacent library has tall windows and a carved wood mantel fireplace.

Original hinges and brass door knobs, some with carved lion's heads, add to the authenticity.

The house's exterior has much of its original detailing, with covered balconies on either side topped with iron brackets. There's a pedimented covered front porch and brackets under the roof. But the clapboard has been replaced by vinyl and the original facia boards need work.

The kitchen has two intact pantries, but its appliances need to be replaced.

The bedrooms on the second and third floors are good-sized, but bathrooms — two on the second and one on the third floor — need to be redone.

The electrical systems also need updating, but the heating system was replaced about a decade ago.

Despite its condition, the historic home is starting to connect with potential buyers. Several are considering converting it into a bed and breakfast, a use that the city of Somerville will allow, and the Lincoln-based Telephone Museum is interested in buying the house as its headquarters.

"It's taken awhile to attract offers because it has more space than many people require and it needs upgrading," said broker Thalia Tringo. "But the house has a lot to offer with its intricate wood detailing and wonderful room scale."

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Ringo Starr re-lists Shoot N' Starr ranch near Aspen

SELLER: Ringo Starr
LOCATION: Woody Creek, CO
PRICE: $3,850,000
SIZE: 3,192 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMA'S NOTES: Two weeks ago Your Mama dissed and discussed the pretty well palatial, 200-acre-plus English country estate that Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has up for sale at an undisclosed price that circumstantial digital evidence suggests is right around £15,000,000. (That's $23,541,600 as per our handy-dandy currency conversion contraption.) Earlier this week, as we first heard from the eagle-eyed kids at Curbed, the vaunted veteran rock star and his long-time wife, former Bond girl Barbara Bach, hoisted their 15-ish-acre spread along the Roaring Fork river in Woody Creek, CO, back on the open market with an asking price of $3.85 million.

Our research shows the Starrs picked up their rustic-luxe Colorado mini-ranch, which they dubbed the Shoot N' Starr ranch according to the wooden sign that hangs on the fence out front, way back in 1991 for $1.164 million. This is not, some of the children may already know, the first time the Starrs have tried to unload their Rocky Mountain retreat; They unsuccessfully had the place on the open market in 2010 for $4.5 million and then again in late 2013 and early 2014 for the (familiar) asking price of $3.85 million.

The equine accommodating property includes a 3,192-square foot main residence decked out in all manner of Americana regalia that Curbed accurately if cattily called "kitchy." There are three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, as per listing details, plus a separate, studio-style caretaker unit. A Mexican paver tiled entry leads to a combination living and dining room with oatmeal-colored wall-to-wall carpeting, a stone-lined arched fireplace and high vaulted ceilings criss-crossed with a version of the rugged wood beams that are almost ubiquitous in a high percentage of the multi-million dollar homes in and around Aspen. The flooring switches to wood in the adjoining, window-lined family room that looks out over the yard and towards the river.

A row of muscular, tree-trunk beams make a bold and rustic statement in the spacious and well-maintained if outdated kitchen where the blue and white ceramic tile countertops are most certainly custom and have a sort of native American pattern thing happening that -- no offense to anyone -- this sometimes sassy property gossip is not so keen about as a countertop design. And, children, let's not even address the wacky wagon wheel "chandelier" over the center island that's laced with chili lights because just the very idea of it makes Your Mama need a nerve pill in the worst way imaginable.

One guest/family bedroom has multi-colored credenza painted in a rather cliché southwestern style and bevy of black and white photographs of what appear to be Native Americans while the other has a clunky television atop a dresser and a bed set -- we're afraid -- at a cattywompus angle. In general, Your Mama does not care for furnishings set at funny angles to a room's geometry but we find the practice particularly objectionable in bedrooms. Just imagine, children, how many times in the middle of the night a person has to reach down and retrieve a pillow that's fallen in to that sad little triangle between the head of the bed and the corner of the room? Anyhoodles, poodles, clunky boob-toobs and angled bed orientations are really neither here nor there when it comes to the real estate matter at hand so let's move on and wrap it up, shall we?

A dining and lounging deck off the back of the house looks out over a vast, tree-dotted lawn that slopes gently down to the rocky river's edge and a charming and perfectly appropriate split rail fence separates the landscaped areas around the house from a multi-acre horse pasture.

We can't confirm it directly but, so the story goes, Mister and Missus Starrs plan to spend more time in Los Angeles where our research shows they own a gated mini-estate near the eastern border of Beverly Hills that they scooped up in May 1991 for $3.2 million.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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The Ticker

Walsh names entirely new licensing board

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh yesterday replaced all three members of the city's Licensing Board, which regulates liquor licenses, restaurants, bars and hotels.

The three-member board now comprises Hyde Park attorney Christine A. Pulgini, a partner with the Law Offices of Joseph J. Pulgini P.C; Lisa Maki, a city of Boston lawyer since 2010; and Keeana Serene Saxon, deputy general counsel to the state's Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development since 2012. They started their six-year terms Monday.

State legislation passed this year moved responsibility for Licensing Board appointments from the governor to the mayor for the first time since 1906.

State's export growth seen lagging

Economists say Massachusetts has been lagging behind the nation as a whole in one key area of international trade.

MassBenchmarks, a journal of the state's economy, said in a report that Massachusetts ranked 49th out of the 50 states in export growth between 2009 and 2013. While U.S. exports have increased 50 percent since the Great Recession, exports from the Bay State have been, in the words of the economists, "fairly anemic," rising by just 14 percent.

Lower income tax for Mass. taxpayers

Massachusetts taxpayers will start paying a lower state income tax rate beginning in January.

Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter confirmed that all the requirements needed to automatically lower the personal income tax rate from 5.2 percent to 5.15 percent beginning Jan. 1 have been met.

As a result, revenue collections for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30, will drop by about $70 million, contributing to an estimated $329 million budget gap.

Today

 Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims

 Selected chain retailers release November sales comparisons.

 European Central Bank's governing council meets to set monetary policy for the eurozone.

TOMORROW

 Labor Department releases employment data for November.

 Commerce Department releases international trade data and factory orders for October.

THE SHUFFLE

Codeship, a continuous delivery platform for software developers, announced the appointment of Jim Schley to vice president of engineering. Schley brings more than 15 years of successful product delivery experience to lead Codeship's expanding engineering team, with eight engineers across its Cambridge and Vienna offices.

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U.S. patients get Genzyme drug for MS

An injectable multiple sclerosis drug developed by Cambridge biotech giant Genzyme was made available to patients in the U.S. for the first time yesterday, less than a month after federal regulators reversed course and approved the medication.

"Lemtrada has changed my life," said Harold Johnson, 44, of Swansea, Ill., who was among the 1,500 MS patients who participated in the drug's clinical development program. "I'm working full time now, I'm married, I can ride my bike on the weekends, I can work out, I can finally be happy."

Johnson, who was diagnosed with MS in 2005, said he "felt almost reborn" just two weeks after receiving his first clinical dose of Lemtrada in March 2009.

"I felt like a new man," Johnson said. "I had a lot more energy, my depression immediately went away and it was replaced with the happiness that continues to this day."

Lemtrada, which is already sold in Europe, Canada and Australia, was initially rejected by the FDA last December after medical experts raised concerns about its safety and the quality of clinical studies. Two new studies comparing Lemtrada to EMD Serono's drug Rebif led to the medication's approval Nov. 14 for the treatment of American patients with relapsing remitting forms of the debilitating disease.

"My experience with Lemtrada as an MS center director has been quite positive," said Johnson's neurologist, Dr. Barry Singer of Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo. "We have really seen the impact where people's lives are more under control — that their lives are regained."

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, autoimmune condition that affects more than 2 million people worldwide and up to 400,000 in the United States.

Bill Sibold, head of Genzyme's Multiple Sclerosis business, said: "Since approval, we have been singularly focused on providing access as quickly as possible for those patients awaiting Lemtrada by ensuring drug availability, completing required REMS training and certifications, and establishing appropriate patient support."

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Sony hackers reveal Seth Rogen and James Franco's pay for 'The Interview'

The cyber-attack targeting Sony Pictures uncovered a few more confidential details on Wednesday in what has turned into a publicity nightmare for the entertainment company.

Seth Rogen was reportedly paid $8.4 million for "The Interview," according to new data obtained by Bloomberg, while his co-star James Franco earned $6.5 million for the comedy.

The film, which allegedly cost $44 million, also paid Britney Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline $5,000 for a cameo.

"The Interview," about two journalists tasked with assassinating North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un, is at the center of a recent hack attack at Sony, which this past week saw several new films leak online in addition to personal data and salary information about the company's top executives.

The FBI is investigating the corporate hacking, one of the worst in recent memory.

The hackers, identifying themselves as "The Guardians of Peace," have claimed that more information will be released about the movie distributor in the coming days.

North Korea, meanwhile, hasn't denied its involvement in the computer breach, simply telling the media to "wait and see" if the country is retaliating for Rogen and Franco's new comedy, which opens Christmas Day.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Roslindale group battles Petco store in Village

A Roslindale Village group is trying to stop a pet store chain from opening amid its small, locally owned stores, and is seeking city regulations to cap the number of big-box stores and national restaurants in its neighborhood business district.

"We believe that national chains like Unleashed by Petco degrade the community character and make it difficult for local mom-and- pop businesses to thrive," said Christina DiLisio, executive director of Roslindale Village Main Street.

Unleashed, Petco's neighborhood version, is eyeing a new location at 745 South St., the former JB Edwards uniform store near Adams Park, but has faced stiff opposition from residents.

"People understand Roslindale Village to be something special," DiLisio said. "Chains are soulless."

The Roslindale Village Main Street is the oldest neighborhood business district in the city, established in 1985 thanks in part to then-city councilor Thomas M. Menino. There are now 20 Main Streets districts in Boston, whose aim is to revitalize and promote the city's neighborhood commercial centers.

While DiLisio and Roslindale Village Main Street battle Petco, they are also calling on the city to pass an ordinance to cap the number of so-called formula businesses — chain stores and restaurants — that could open in the future.

"Chains are never going to be able to have the face of a person and a real, live business owner putting their heart, sweat and tears to keep that business alive," DiLisio said.

City Councilor Tim McCarthy, who represents Roslindale, doesn't dismiss outright the idea of limits on chain stores in Roslindale Village, but said it would be complicated.

"We've kicked this around," McCarthy said. "If we're going to venture into this, we've got to do it right."

He said any ordinance would have to be specifically tailored.

"We may want to tweak it to make it Main Street specific," he said. "It can't be a general, sweeping regulation or ordinance."

Each Main Street program is an independent nonprofit overseen by the city's Department of Neighborhood Development.

"While we encourage innovative thinking about these issues, a formula business ordinance would have citywide implications, and will require thoughtful analysis," Neighborhood Development spokeswoman Lisa Pollack said.

Petco representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

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Steve Grossman blasts $65G raise for state pension chief

The salary of the state pension fund's executive director could catapult past $500,000 after its board yesterday gave him a $65,000 raise, prompting a warning from outgoing board chairman Treasurer Steve Grossman about the pay hike's optics amid financial unrest on Beacon Hill.

"We are ultimately spending taxpayer dollars and (it comes) at a time when cuts are taking place and budgetary belt-tightening is going on," said Grossman, who voted against boosting director Michael Trotsky's salary to $360,000, which, when combined with a bonus of up to 40 percent, could send his pay past a half-million dollars.

The state, Grossman noted, is trying to fill a $329 million budget gap, and the treasurer said he wanted to see a phased-in raise for Trotsky, who he still lauded for "outstanding" work.

Trotsky, who also serves as the $60.2 billion fund's chief investment officer, told the board that the fund's balance was up 9.4 percent in the year ending Oct. 31, but also warned of waves of market volatility amid the recent gains.

"We think this signals the late stage of the boom that we've been in for the past five years and we have prepared for," Trotsky said, according to the State House News Service.

A representative of Glen Shor, Gov. Deval Patrick's administration and finance secretary, was the only other board member to vote against Trotsky's raise.

Treasurer-elect Deb Goldberg said in a statement while a "significant raise" is well-deserved, the spike was "uncomfortable and not necessarily appropriate at this time."

Trotsky said in a statement he's "extremely proud" of the gains the fund has made.

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Reebok to outfit all UFC fighters

Reebok is expanding its fitness focus by stepping into the Octagon under a six-year deal as the new exclusive outfitter of the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts organization.

The Canton athletic brand also will be the official clothing provider for fans of the 21-year-old UFC and will develop a new line of training gear for the 35 million people worldwide who use MMA, boxing and kickboxing in their exercise regimes.

"It's a very significant commitment, and we think it will generate significant commercial opportunity," said Reebok president Matt O'Toole, who declined to put a dollar figure on the deal. "It's one of the few sports that's popular in every continent, and its viewership numbers keep climbing — similar to ... the NBA or other sports leagues."

The alliance is the biggest non-broadcast deal signed by the Las Vegas-based UFC and will further professionalize the sport, chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said. "Working with another global brand with such a strong history in training and fitness will deliver long-term value for UFC athletes and their brands by elevating and further professionalizing the events and the sport," he said in a statement.

UFC athletes will be required to wear Reebok gear at all official UFC events starting in July and will no longer be permitted to exhibit other sponsors' logos during them. In turn, the UFC will compensate them based on their rankings during event weigh-ins.

Reebok currently sponsors UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and expects to add more UFC fighters to its roster.

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Obama to discuss economic ideas with CEOs

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is meeting with leading CEOs to discuss ways to promote the economy and create jobs during his last two years in office.

Obama on Wednesday will attend the quarterly meeting of the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs. Obama plans to give a speech and take questions.

The White House says Obama will use the meeting to promote bipartisan opportunities to grow the economy and the middle class, such as tax reform, infrastructure spending and trade agreements.

In the weeks since the midterm elections, Obama has cited those three issues as examples of where Democrats and Republicans might be able to compromise. Heavy Democratic losses in the elections diminished Obama's prospects for passing most of his other legislative priorities before leaving office.

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FBI probes hack of Sony Pictures as some eye North Korea

The FBI has confirmed it is investigating a 
cyberattack last week that knocked Sony Pictures Entertainment's computer systems offline.

Sony workers reportedly saw a message appear on their computer screens that said "Hacked by #GOP," which may be the initials of a group calling itself the Guardians of Peace.

The FBI said in a statement that "the targeting of public and private sector computer networks remains a significant threat."

However, it would not confirm reports that the attack demanded a ransom.

It was also still unclear yesterday whether the incident had any connection to the pirating of five Sony movies — "Annie," "Fury," "Mr. Turner," "Still Alice" and "To Write Love on Her Arms" — which appeared online days after the attack.

"Either (the hackers) are one of the organizations that want to be disruptive for some particular cause, or they just want money," assuming they did in fact use ransomware, said Keith Squires, president of 
Pathmaker-Group.com.

Several media outlets have speculated that North Korea may have played some role in the attack because Sony this month is due to release "The Interview," a comedy in which U.S. spies recruit a television host and a producer to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

But Anthony Roman, president of Roman & Associates, a global investigative and security consulting firm, said the Sony incident "doesn't fit the profile of a government attack, which is generally not detectable for a significant period of time."

Herald wire services contributed to this report.

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Haslet-Davis promotes #GivingTuesday

Marathon bombings survivor and dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, determined to triumph over tragedy, has become a driving force behind the Limbs for Life Foundation, which is taking part in #GivingTuesday today for the first time.

Haslet-Davis, 34, who lost her lower left leg in the April 15, 2013, blasts but returned to dancing, says in a promotional video: "Giving someone a prosthetic is giving them back control of their life. Give the gift of mobility. Give the gift of independence. Give a limb for life."

Shelley Dutton, development director of the Oklahoma City-based organization, said, "Her influences and willingness to be there and support Limbs for Life has been phenomenal.

"Adrianne has been willing to help, offering her time and energy for the campaign. Currently we just went over the $20,000 mark through our online site and we're getting more donations through the mail," said Dutton.

Typically, prosthetics range from $15,000 to $100,000. The Limbs for Life Foundation, with 235 amputees waiting for replacement limbs, promises "every $2,500 will fund another limb for an amputee on our waiting list," Dutton told the Herald.

To see the video and to donate, visit www.limbsforlife.org.

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It's City Hall Plaza on ice

Boston's City Hall Plaza, usually a barren windswept expanse in the colder months, is poised to become a winter wonderland with an Olympic-sized ice skating rink and a large glass restaurant and lounge overlooking it.

"Winter's Landing" is slated to open on the red-brick plaza with the "Frozen Harbor" skating rink and the 20,000-square-foot "Polar Bar," according to a Craigslist help-wanted ad and a Winter's Landing Facebook page.

"Winter's Landing transforms City Hall Plaza into the centerpiece for autumn and winter public gatherings and events," the help-wanted ad states.

The two-story, full-
service Polar Bar restaurant and lounge would have 46-foot ceilings and 360-degree glass walls. It would be open seven days a week, serving a contemporary menu for brunch, lunch, dinner and late-night noshing, according to the ad seeking bartenders, line cooks and other workers for immediate hire. Additional satellite concessions would be located throughout the venue.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Martin J. Walsh declined to disclose details about the project yesterday.

"Mayor Walsh has consistently spoken about exploring creative ways to activate the space in City Hall Plaza," spokeswoman Kate Norton said. "We don't have any news to report specifically about an ice rink, but we will share information as it is available."

Permits have yet to be issued for the proposed project.

Anthem Entertainment, a Boston company that runs the New England Dessert Showcase and multi-city Anthem International Music Festival, among other events, is in line to run Winter's Landing for the city. Corporate partners, including a presenting sponsor, have been lined up, according to Winter's Landing Facebook page.

Anthem is hosting a Dec. 5 open house for prospective employees. CEO Chris Sinclair could not be reached for comment.

A full calendar of programming and events is planned for Winter's Landing, as well as future additions for following winters.

Since taking office, Walsh has sought to find attractions for City Hall Plaza, where events this year included a Donna Summer roller disco tribute party, World Cup broadcasts and the Downtown Throwdown snowboarding event. Walsh also has expanded City Hall Plaza's mobile food truck program through the winter.

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Contract talks resume for West Coast dockworkers

LOS ANGELES — Labor strife on the West Coast waterfront isn't going to steal Christmas.

Dockworkers at 29 sea ports from San Diego to Seattle have worked without a contract since July. Negotiations over a new one turned contentious this fall.

On Tuesday, full negotiating teams are meeting for the first time in nearly two weeks.

Public pressure has been mounting, especially because the movement of cargo — several billions dollars' worth on an average day, mostly to and from Asia — has been slowed. Those issues ripple through the economy, including truckers who don't get paid as much because they're hauling fewer loads and importers who are being charged fees to store containers in dockside yards.

An association representing transoceanic shipping lines and operators of port terminals accuses dockworkers of orchestrating work slowdowns at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and north to Oakland and Washington state. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union says they have been working safely and that the bigger factor is a shortage of truck beds to carry containers from the docks in Los Angeles and Long Beach — by far the nation's largest — into commerce.

At the Southern California port complex, for example, the time it took between when a ship docked and when a container was available for pickup more than doubled to about 80 hours between September 2013 and September 2014, according to data from INTTRA, which tracks global trade for shipping lines.

While both work pace and equipment shortages are a factor, retailers say most holiday goods are safely through the ports. Most likely affected would be the restocking of "must-have" toys or other surprise sellers.

In those cases, importers might opt for air delivery, which is about 10 times more expensive than delivery by ship, according to Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain at the National Retail Federation.

Those stores are "pretty much eating the cost at this point," Gold said.

___

Contact Justin Pritchard at http://twitter.com/lalanewsman.

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Businesses in dark over Affordable Care Act

Beginning Jan. 1, Affordable Care Act reporting requirements will get underway for businesses, opening the floodgates to potentially billions of dollars in penalties nationally for companies that fail to comply.

To help them navigate their way through the intricacies of the ACA, Cross Insurance, one of New England's largest independent insurance providers, will host a free seminar for businesses with 50 or more employees at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Atlantic Wharf's Fort Point Room at 290 Congress St. in Boston.

"We don't think most businesses are aware of the reporting requirements," said Keith Ferdinando, Cross Insurance's senior vice president of benefits. "The myth is Obamacare is going to go away now that the Republicans are going to have control of Congress. But they're going to have a very difficult time taking away health care from millions of Americans who have just received subsidized insurance. Employers need an action plan."

Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said his group will educate its businesses about the reporting requirements.

"But we have 4,000 members," Hurst said. "I think it needs to be a joint effort with state and federal officials, brokers and local chambers of commerce."

The reporting requirements and penalties will be particularly onerous, Hurst said, for small businesses.

"The system is rigged against them because they aren't self-insured," Hurst said. "Larger companies that have human resource departments and legal staff (to handle the reporting) — they're doing pretty well. We just hope there's some leniency with how the law is phased in."

As of Jan. 1, all businesses will be required to track whether they are offering their employees insurance and whether it's affordable — that is, whether it costs 9.5 percent or less of each employee's gross income, said Bill Fields, president of Health Plan Solutions in Boston and Mashpee.

If it costs more, companies will be required to notify their employees that they can sign up for health insurance through the state's Health Connector website and receive a subsidy, Fields said.

In addition, businesses with 50 to 99 employees will be required to fill out two forms: one for employees, noting month by month whether they worked full time, whether they were offered health insurance, whether they accepted it, and how much it cost; the other for the IRS, compiling that information for all of the company's employees.

Businesses with 100 or more workers will be required to fill out all three forms and could face one of two penalties: Companies that choose not to offer health insurance will be subject to a $2,000 yearly fine per full-time employee; and businesses that offer insurance that isn't affordable to all of their workers will be subject to a $3,000 yearly fine for each employee who can't afford the insurance, Fields said. Beginning in 2016, both penalties also will apply to businesses with 50 or more workers, he said.

Fields estimated that fewer than 30 percent of companies understand the penalties or the reporting requirements, even though they will take effect in one month.

"As a result, the fines are going to put some companies out of business," he said.

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No bomb found on Spain-to-NY flight after threat

NEW YORK — Authorities at John F. Kennedy International Airport said they found nothing dangerous Sunday on an American Airlines plane after a bomb threat was phoned in and the aircraft arrived from Spain.

Flight 67 from Barcelona landed safely in New York City about noon, according to Laura Masvideo, a spokeswoman for the airline.

The aircraft was taken to a location near the tarmac where the 200 passengers plus crew members were taken off the aircraft, according to Joe Pentangelo, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police.

Jacob Rosenberg, a New York City resident returning from a vacation in Spain, said the flight had been making good time across the Atlantic, slightly ahead of the scheduled landing.

"The plane pulled up to the side of the runway," he said. "Then Port Authority police vehicles pulled up, along with a police bomb squad, fire trucks and K-9 units."

Rosenberg said passengers were evacuated and taken in buses to pass through customs.

Police and K-9 unit dogs then swept the plane and its cargo.

Pentangelo said all was clear after the bomb threat.

He said authorities were investigating the source of the call.

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Booting Up: Google Glass shows some cracks

This was a bad year for Google Glass.

The creator of the augmented-reality bifocals has left Google for Amazon, the device remains out of reach for most consumers, and being lucky enough to score a prototype makes you just about as hip as a fanny pack these days.

Though Google has repeatedly stated its commitment to the project, it's time to face the harsh, unaugmented reality: 2015 will not be the year of Google Glass either, and it's probably time to put this project to bed.

Two-and-a-half years after Google promised the world a hands-free, screen-free fantasy, backlash against the company is growing. Techies dubbed the Glass beta-testers a certain impolite name not suitable for a family newspaper. A German artist wrote a computer program that shuts off Wi-Fi to Glass-wearing visitors. Bars and movie theaters in various cities have banned Glass, and websites such as Stop
theCyborgs.org offer downloadable signs and merchandise to help people establish Glass-free zones. Pretentious, intrusive, and a $1,500 curiosity are just some of the ways that Google Glass has been described. Glass-wearers report being harangued in public because of the popular misconception that the device is always recording.

Google deserves credit for its novel, risky strategy of crowdsourcing the vision for a product that was not yet on the market. But as it turns out, Glass could have been successful if it had remained stealth for a few more years. Had Google waited for a generalized consumer release — and found a way to price the device just under $1,000 — it would have had the hottest innovation since the iPad. History would have dubbed Google as the forefather of wearable technology.

In its words, Google promised to change the world with a screen-free, augmented reality future. But in its deeds, Google seemed to focus that future on a small segment of the population — largely elites.

There are highly successful stories of Glass Explorers (aka beta-testers) — like the celebrity chef who uses them to record recipes, the paralyzed woman who uses Glass to help her be more independent — but those stories are overshadowed by a chorus of mockery that has even included shots from "The Daily Show."

Make no mistake: We are probably about a decade away from a world in which wearable devices will record nearly everything we do — and have the capability to replace many of the functions performed by smartphones. But it's looking less likely than ever that Google will lead the charge.

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Network booster widens your Wi-Fi

TP Link Universal Wi-Fi 300Mbps Range Extender ($24.99 and up)

Wi-Fi boosters are becoming a necessity now that Ethernet cords have gone the way of the dodo.

This device uses the electrical wiring in your house to extend your wireless network, an intriguing solution for anyone who has struggled for a signal.

The good: It actually works. Create one unified network throughout your entire house by plugging as many of these devices as you need into your electrical outlets. Unlike wireless repeaters (which don't work as well) this allows you to create just one network for your entire house.

The bad: It'll never be quite as fast as the original wireless network it's connected to.

The bottom line: I have several of these devices in my house and it's revolutionized our wireless connection. A great stocking-stuffer.

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