Jeb beats the bushes for Boston donations

Likely Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush quietly swooped into Boston yesterday for a fundraising lunch with business bigwigs as he builds his 2016 campaign war chest.

Bush, the former Florida governor, was hosted by Robert Reynolds, chief executive of Putnam Investments.

Laura McNamara, a Putnam spokeswoman, described the event as a "fundraising luncheon," but did not provide any other details

Former Bay State U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who told the Herald on Thursday that he would be meeting with Bush, tweeted out a picture from the luncheon and said they were "discussing 2016 possibilities."

Bush is likely to be a favorite of the Boston business community, according to Marc Landy, a Boston College political science professor.

"Certainly because the Boston money community and ... the monied Republicans (in Massachusetts) are not as conservative, he's probably going to make some good hay," Landy said.

Bush has formed the Right to Rise PAC to lay the groundwork for a presidential bid, and has been making trips across the country to raise money.

He also met privately this week with donors in Connecticut and Manhattan.

Aides to the former governor yesterday shot down a Bloomberg News report that Bush aims to raise $100 million by April.

Bush was the third potential Republican presidential contender to come to Boston in two days. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and repeat candidate Mitt Romney attended Gov. Charlie Baker's inauguration on Thursday.

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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

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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.

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It’s a Whole new story at 
old Herald site

Whole Foods Market debuted its newest Boston store in the South End yesterday — its second largest in the region and considered a flagship for its North Atlantic division — and co-CEO Walter Robb sees room in the Hub for another of its size.

"We've seen the city evolving, so we have lots of plans," the Boston native said. "The opportunity to come in here and get 50,000 square feet — that's hard to do these days, and I do think there's another one (in the future pipeline)."

The Austin-based natural and organic food company entered Massachusetts in 1992 with its $26.2 million purchase of the former six-store, Boston-based Bread & Circus.

Its South End supermarket is in National Development's $200 million Ink Block project, the former Boston Herald headquarters site for more than half a century, and it memorializes the newspaper's history throughout its decor.

"It will be a great part of the community, but I'm also blown away by how much recognition of the Herald has been preserved," said Herald Publisher Patrick J. Purcell, a minority investor in the Ink Block project.

Newton's National Development worked for five years to bring a supermarket there, according to managing director Ted Tye.

"But no one quite got this neighborhood and what we were trying to do," Tye said. "Is it Chinatown? Is it the South End? Is it safe? There was a little risk at the time. (Whole Foods) set the tone for what we're trying to do here — nice, upscale development."

South End resident John Young was shopping at the new Whole Foods just after its opening yesterday.

"We've had a wonderful Foodie's (Urban Market in the South End), but we've been hankering for a Whole Foods," he said. "Now I don't have to get deep lines in my hands carrying heavy bags all the way from (the Symphony Whole Foods)."

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Reebok stands by UFC fighter in rehab

Reebok is sticking by Jon Jones, its newly signed Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter, who has entered a drug treatment facility after testing positive for the primary metabolite of cocaine.

"We commend Jon for taking the necessary steps to address this issue, and we will support him in any way we can," Canton-based Reebok said. "The status of Jon's relationship with Reebok has not changed."

Jones was drug-tested Dec. 4, but escaped penalties because benzoylecgonine isn't a prohibited substance out of competition under World Anti-Doping Agency standards. The UFC light heavyweight champion defended his title for an eighth time Jan. 3 by besting Daniel Cormier.

His rehab announcement came less than a month after Reebok signed the mixed martial artist. Reebok in December also inked a deal to become the UFC's exclusive outfitter.

"Brands are standing by athletes who make mistakes and then take the appropriate action to correct their missteps," NPD Group analyst Matt Powell said, pointing to Nike sticking with golfer Tiger Woods after his 2009 wife-cheating scandal, even while other sponsors dumped him.

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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.

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Markey: Honda fines a ‘warning’

Reforms are "urgently needed" to prevent more auto deaths, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey said yesterday after Honda was hit with a record $70 million in fines for not reporting to regulators 1,729 complaints that its vehicles caused deaths and injuries.

"This fine is a warning signal to all auto companies that they should take their safety reporting system into the shop for a tune-up," the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement. "Reforms are still urgently needed to hold car companies accountable and provide more information to the public so they can be protected from fatal vehicle defects."

The two $35 million fines issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was the largest civil penalty ever levied against an automaker. But Markey said NHTSA's $35 million maximum fine should be raised, "so that multi-billion dollar corporations don't get away with the equivalent of a fiscal slap on the wrist when they hide or miss important safety information."

The Honda complaints were related to air bag and other defective parts. Honda blamed its omissions on "errors related to data entry, computer coding, regulatory interpretation, and other errors in warranty and property damage claims reporting."

Markey, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said NHTSA needs to improve its Early Warning Reporting system, which requires auto makers to report deaths, injuries and warranty claims by making the information publicly available in a searchable format so consumers and safety experts can evaluate potential safety defects themselves.

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Report: Natural gas prices to spike in Mass.

Bay Staters will be paying "spiking" prices for natural gas for the next four years thanks to insufficient supply, according to a new report released by the state.

"From 2015 through 2019, electric generators have insufficient supply of natural gas, which results in spiking natural gas prices," according to the forecast, prepared by Synapse Energy Economics for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs says.

Earlier this year, Nstar and National Grid filed for supply rate increases of 29 percent and 37 percent, citing increasing demand.

The rate increases will mean long, cold winters for low-income residents, said John Drew, president and chief executive of Boston-based advocacy organization ABCD.

"If this stays the way it is, more and more people who are poor are going to have a much more
difficult time getting by," Drew said. "Basic commodities are increasing in price but their incomes are stagnant."

The bleak forecast drives home the need for a swifter transition away from fossil fuels, said the state energy department said.

"This study demonstrates the need to continue investing in energy efficiency and pursuing clean, base load power, like large hydro and wind, to ensure affordability and reliability for Massachusetts ratepayers," EEA spokeswoman Mary-Leah Assad said.

Between 2020 and 2030, Synapse forecasts, the burden will be eased by increasing efficiency in buildings and appliances and a surge in wind power and biomass power production.

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Charlie Baker thinks outside box with Pine St.

A business started­ by New England's largest homeless shelter has grown into a thriving enterprise that's even catering some of Gov.-elect Charlie Baker's inaugural events.

Based at Boston's Pine Street Inn, iCater is pro­viding boxed lunches for student volunteers at today's inauguration and cookies at tonight's festivities at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

"We were thrilled when we found out we were catering the inauguration," executive chef Frank van Overbeeke said. "It's quite eye-opening for the shelter guests we train."

Started in 2000 under the name Abundant Table, the business prepared meals for nonprofits before changing its name and branching out into corporate catering in 2011. Since then, iCater has built a growing roster of clients, including Boston Medical Center, Tufts University and the Boston Foundation.

"The food is always fresh, the people are polite, and it's good value for your money," said Linda Brown, resident services coordinator for Morville House, which provides subsidized housing for low-income seniors in Boston. "Plus, it's convenient."

Under van Overbeeke's supervision, iCater's team of four cooks, 25 trainees and five kitchen helpers prepare more than 3,500 meals daily, grossing $1 million a year, which goes to the Pine Street Inn's Food Services Training Program.

"I've learned so much — how to prepare different foods, how to work together," said Tishka Alston, 45, who graduated from the program last fall.

Since 2000, iCater has trained 725 shelter residents, and graduates have gone on to jobs at eateries including Myers and Chang, Legal Seafoods and Flour Bakery.

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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."

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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.

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FBI director: Sony hacker sloppiness helped establish North Korea link

FBI director James Comey, expressing "very high confidence" that North Korea was behind the cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, on Wednesday revealed more details of how the bureau established the link to Pyongyang.

"The Guardians of Peace would send emails threatening Sony employees and would post online various statements explaining their work," Comey said at a cybersecurity conference in New York. "In nearly every case, they would use proxy servers to disguise where they were coming from ... But several times they got sloppy, either because they forgot or because they had a technical problem. They connected directly, and we could see them, and we could see that the IP addresses that were being used to post and to send the emails were coming from IP [addresses] that were exclusively used by the North Koreans."

Comey's comments came after private security experts raised major doubts that North Korea was behind the attacks. Last week, officials from cybersecurity firm Norse Corp. met with FBI officials to go through its own evidence of the cyberattack, blaming not North Korea but an ex-employee who calls herself "Lena"and at least six outside hackers.

But the FBI said they had "no credible information to indicate that any other individual is responsible for this cyber incident." The White House announced additional sanctions on North Korea on Friday.

At the conference, Comey said he has "very high confidence about this attribution, as does the entire intelligence community." But he added, "I want to show as much as I can to the American people about the why, and I want to show the bad guys as little as possible about the how, how we see what we see. Because it will happen again, and we have to preserve our methods and our sources."

Comey said he did urge the intelligence community to declassify additional information about how the FBI identified IP addresses.

"It was a mistake [by the hackers] that we haven't told you about before that was a very clear indication of who was doing this," he said. "They would shut it off very quickly once they realized the mistake but not before we saw and knew where it was coming from."

James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, also spoke at the conference, held at Fordham University. He named North Korean general, Kim Yong-chol, as responsible for overseeing the attack. The general heads North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau.

"Cyber is a powerful new realm for them," Clapper said, adding that it provides "maximum influence at minimal cost."

Clapper said over the weekend, he saw "The Interview," the movie said to be the motive for North Korea's action. "It's obvious to me the North Koreans don't have a sense of humor," he said.

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

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Narcan price spike seen hurting overdose prevention

The president of the Massachusetts Medical Society yesterday called a nearly 
79 percent increase in the cost of drug kits used to reverse the effects of heroin and opioid painkiller overdoses a "huge step backward" that could interfere with families' and first responders' ability to save lives.

"Naloxone is a proven method of saving lives," said Dr. Richard Pieters. "The possibility that communities and first responders would be denied use of this drug is a huge step backward ... This cannot be overstressed."

Last November, the price the state pays per kit, which contains two doses of naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, and two atomizers, jumped from approximately $42 to about $75, said Anne Roach, a Department of Public Health spokeswoman.

Since Gov. Deval Patrick declared a public health emergency last March, naloxone has helped reverse nearly 700 opioid overdoses in the spring and summer alone — double the number over the same period in 2013, said Roach.

DPH recently announced grants totaling $600,000 to Boston and 22 other communities with high incidences of fatal opioid overdoses to help pay for naloxone kits and training for first responders, Roach said. But that money will go only so far.

The formulation used in the kits is made by California-based Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, and it is combined with an atomizer to create an "off-label" nasal spray.

Jason Shandell, president of Amphastar, said "manufacturing costs for our entire portfolio of products, including naloxone, have been steadily increasing."

Attorney General-elect Maura Healey said that after she takes office, she will investigate cost increases in the naloxone market.

"The marked increase of the anti-overdose medication naloxone is concerning," Healey told the Herald yesterday, "especially after media reports that kits used by first responders jumped ... only after government entities started discussing its use by teams in the street."

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Everett mayor waves off Boston suit

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria insisted yesterday that Boston's lawsuit to repeal the Wynn resorts casino license is a retread of settled legal questions, and contains what he called a questionable claim to the road that leads to the future casino site.

"I think we've passed the hurdle of the host and surrounding community, that's already been adjudicated. I really was hoping that we could all work collaboratively," DeMaria said at a press conference that was called yesterday to celebrate Wynn's $35 million purchase of the 33-acre Everett site. Because the state Gaming Commission has already decided Boston is not a host community to the casino, DeMaria said, Boston doesn't get to vote on whether it's built, as Mayor Martin J. Walsh has demanded.

The Gaming Commission deemed Boston is not a host to the $1.6 billion casino on the Charlestown border, and later stripped the city of its status as a surrounding community after Walsh and Wynn failed to reach a deal.

A lynchpin of Walsh's claims, contained in a lawsuit filed Monday, is that the Everett site's access road, Horizon Way, is partly in Boston. DeMaria disputed Boston's claim, saying Everett has responsibility for the street, and at one point even renamed it from Chemical Lane without consulting Boston.

"For as long as I've been mayor and been on the City Council and a resident of Everett, Horizon Way ... was plowed by the city of Everett, was salted by the city of Everett, shoveled, cleaned by the city of Everett," DeMaria said.

A Walsh spokeswoman declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

DeMaria welcomed Wynn as official Everett landowners yesterday at Everett City Hall, presenting Wynn Everett President Robert DeSalvio with a residential city trash can as a tongue-in-cheek house-warming gift.

"With this land transaction and our arrival into the city of Everett, nothing gets in our way in terms of bringing this project to fruition," DeSalvio said.

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5 categories set to grow consumer electronics biz to record levels in 2015

The consumer electronics industry is expected to enjoy a record year of sales in 2015, driven by a handful of categories, according to projections by the Consumer Electronics Assn.

The industry could generate an all-time high of $223.2 billion in the U.S. alone, the CEA said Tuesday, as the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas and runs through Friday.

Emerging technologies -- which the CEA says encompasses 3D printers, 4K ultra-high definition TVs, connected thermostats, drones and home robots, cameras and wearables -- are expected to grow 108% in revenue this year. The category will represent less than 5% of the entire consumer electronics industry forecast, however, earning $11 billion.

"Our forecast underscores that consumers' love affair with technology shows no signs of slowing any time soon," said CEA president and CEO Gary Shapiro. "Consumer technology is all about continued innovation. In the blink of an eye, consumer demand has taken off for emerging categories such as wearables, unmanned aerial vehicles and 4K Ultra HD - categories that were too small to track just three years ago. Expect to see these burgeoning categories, as well as innovations across the full spectrum of consumer technology, on display this week at the 2015 International CES."

Smartphones: The most popular consumer electronics category, smartphone unit shipments are projected to reach 169.3 million this year, up 6% over 2014, and generate $51.3 billion in 2015, a gain of 5%. The most poplar devices will feature screen sizes between 5.3 inches and 6.5 inches.

4K Ultra High-Definition: Unit shipments of 4K UHD displays are projected to reach 4 million in 2015, up 208% over 2014, with revenue from such displays expected to exceed $5 billion in 2015, 106% more than last year. Larger screen sizes and smart TV features will have consumer upgrading their current displays, the CEA predicts.

TV sales remain critical as the industry's third-largest contributor to the total revenue with sales of TV sets and displays projected to reach $18.3 billion in 2015, down 2% from 2014.

Tablets: An estimated 80.7 million tablets are expected to ship to retailers this year, a 3% increase from 2014. Revenues for tablets will reach $24.9 billion this year, down 1%.

Wearables: Health and fitness devices are expected to dominate the wearables market in 2015 with a projected 20 million units shipped to retailers, generating more than $1.8 billion in revenue in 2015. The overall wearable biz will see unit sales reach 30.9 million, up 61%, and generate $5.1 billion in revenue in 2015, a 133% increase. The sector includes fitness activity bands and other health and fitness devices, as well as smartwatches and smart eyewear.

Car Tech: Automotive electronics will see continued growth due to new vehicle sales in 2015, reaching $14 billion in revenue, a 3.3% increase.

CEA's forecast reflects U.S. factory sales to dealers and covers more than 100 consumer electronics products. The twice-annual report serves as a benchmark for the industry.

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

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Watch Chris Evans star in Chinese 'Call of Duty Online' campaign

Chris Evans is promoting the launch of Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty Online" in China by starring in a three-minute live action commercial for the videogame maker.

Evans, who already suits up as Captain America in Marvel Studios' superhero films, goes into combat again in the ad that was produced exclusively for the Chinese market.

In the video, he appears guns blazing as he rescues soldiers pinned down by enemies.

"Who does he think he is? Some kind of Hollywood action hero?" asks one of the soldiers.

Chinese filmmakers Longman Leung and Sunny Luk directed the spot. They also helmed the Hong Kong thriller "Cold War."

Activision is releasing "Call of Duty Online" through Chinese Internet giant Tencent.

The free-to-play online version of the military actioner was Activision's workaround in a country that had long banned videogame consoles.

Evans joins a growing roster of celebrities who have appeared in Activision's "Call of Duty" campaigns, including Robert Downey Jr., Jonah Hill, Megan Fox and Taylor Kitsch.

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

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I kid you not, LG’s GizmoPal a good idea

GizmoPal by LG ($79.99 with a two-year Verizon contract)

One of the first wearable devices for children, this small wristband can make and receive calls with just one button. Available in pink or blue, GizmoPal works with an accompanying app that allows parents and caregivers to locate the child wearing the device on a map.

The good: It's rare to be blown away by a new device that is well-executed and seamless to use, but that's what this is. Although it's specified for ages 4 and up, my 3 year-old tested it out and loves it. I feel safer knowing I can find his precise location when he's with a babysitter or a family member.

The bad: Nothing to see here!

The bottom line: Why get your child a smartphone if you can avoid it? GizmoPal is a great answer to that phone dilemma faced by so many parents today.

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Booting Up: Zipcar to tap home base

For a company founded right in our backyard, Zipcar has been surprisingly absent from spheres of Boston influence. But that may soon change.

Founded in Cambridge and now located in the Innovation District, the car-sharing pioneer is looking to raise its profile as an iconic Boston success story that rivals the likes of companies such as Hubspot, WayFair and even those famous community pillars, Liberty Mutual and State Street.

"We're part of Boston's vibrant innovation economy, but as Bostonians, we're relatively humble," said Brian Harrington, Zipcar's executive vice president and chief marketing officer. "Many people are surprised to learn the sharing economy was born here and continues to call 
Boston home."

In the last year — and even amid a global expansion — Zipcar made a point to invest in a sort of local expansion, focusing on areas such as Mattapan and Roslindale. It also made a key local hire, tapping a top city hall cabinet member and Dorchester native, Justin Holmes, to run its corporate communications operation.

If you live in a Boston neighborhood, chances are that in the last year, you've seen a Zipcar or two pop up nearby, especially at MBTA stations. Zipcar added 41 cars to T stations in 2014, bringing the total to 80. In the past six months, Zipcar doubled the number of cars in Dorchester and launched two new spaces in Mattapan. Following a successful streak there, the company is now looking for additional opportunities nearby, hoping to land spots at visible, less traditional locations such as churches and community centers. A dozen new Zipcars also popped up last year in Roslindale, where there had been previously just one.

Two years after being acquired by Avis, Zipcar's corporate story is unfolding as a sort of model of brand preservation, in which the younger company has been encouraged to stay true to its geographic and demographic roots.

Besides the renewed focus on local ties, the best evidence of Avis seeing the value in Zipcar's autonomy is about to hit airwaves today — in the form of a new marketing campaign, a collaboration between Zipcar and the state of Vermont.

The campaign features a series of fun, tongue-in-cheek online ads titled, "I'd Tap That," using innuendo to showcase the simplicity of the tap-enabled unlocking mechanism on its fleet of cars. It's quintessentially Zipcar; undoubtedly not Avis. The campaign also harnesses a hallmark of millennial humor, the faux newscast, enlisting Vermont's top forestry official to insist that the state's maple sugar-makers "tap it" better than anyone. You can cast your vote at zipcar.com/WhoTapsItBest.

"We've been a disruptor without acting disruptive," said Harrington. "We're fun, witty and take risks."

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Raise your home's IQ: smart gadgets take center stage at CES

LAS VEGAS — Imagine a world in which your garage door opens automatically as you pull into the driveway. The living room lights and heater turn on — perhaps the oven starts warming up, too. In the so-called "smart home," cars, appliances and other devices all have sensors and Internet connectivity to think and act for themselves, and make your life easier.

We're not there just yet, but we're getting closer.

The smart-home concept is known in tech circles as the Internet of Things. Current iterations primarily include our ability to control gadgets such as lights and security alarms or view data remotely through a smartphone app. At the International CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week, manufacturers will promote more devices and functionality. Some gadgets will be able to talk directly with one another, not just to an app. The four-day show opens to the public Tuesday.

The Internet of Things could mean big business for gadget makers. The Consumer Electronics Association projects sales of smart energy and security systems alone will total $574 million this year, a 23 percent increase from 2014. Although that pales by comparison to the $18 billion spent on TVs and displays, growth has been swift. In terms of people smartening up their homes in earnest, though, it will probably be another two years before devices are cheap and widespread enough for the typical consumer, says Eduardo Pinheiro, CEO of Muzzley, which makes a hub that allows devices to talk to each other.

For now, the smart home is more about possibilities than practice. Many companies exhibiting at CES are laying the foundation for what a smart-home system will eventually do, hoping to entice consumers to start thinking about upgrading to smart gadgets. It's not always an easy sell.

Consider wearable devices that track fitness and other activities. In many cases, the novelty wears off quickly, and devices end up in drawers. But what if a wearable device that tracks sleep could tell the coffeemaker to start brewing as soon as you awoke? When the coffee's done, what if the sprinklers on the front lawn automatically turned off so you didn't get wet walking out the front door to work?

For example, Lucis Technologies will soon ship a smart-lighting device called NuBryte that can learn your behavior, such as what time you tend to come home. Sensors can turn on the night light if you wake up to use the bathroom but switch on brighter lights during the day. A coffeemaker from Smarter will soon use data from fitness trackers such as Fitbit. If you had a bad night of sleep, the coffeemaker will know to make the java stronger that morning. Other products focus on better notifications: a battery for a smoke detector to alert you on your phone when the alarm goes off, or a bracelet that vibrates when the baby cries in its crib. (Moms rejoice: the bracelet is even smart enough to alternate which parent it alerts to get up.)

"It's got to be something people are seeing it can do and want it to do," says Chris Penrose, AT&T's senior vice president for the Internet of Things. "It's got to make their lives better and be incredibly easy to use."

"True consumer value will come when devices work in concert with one another and in many cases across manufacturers," adds Brett Dibkey, a Whirlpool Corp. vice president. "The home adapts to the way consumers live rather than the other way around."

At CES, Whirlpool will showcase dryers that can run at a slower, energy-saving cycle if you aren't home and thus aren't in a rush. The dryer integrates with Google Inc.'s Nest smart thermostat, which has sensors to figure out that no one's home and then lowers the heat automatically. Meanwhile, a smart-home hub called DigitalStrom plans to take cues from Nest. If Nest is trying to cool down the house, for instance, DigitalStrom will lower automated window shades to block out sunlight.

These are the building blocks for an eventual automated home. Once those building blocks are in place, services can better predict what you want. For example, Netflix is already good about recommending movies to watch based on your preferences, but it might suggest something different if it could read data from a wearable device or camera and tell that you're with friends, or stressed out, says Shawn Dubravac, senior director of research with the Consumer Electronics Association.

As we get closer to being able to live like the Jetsons, manufacturers will have to convince consumers that the technology is secure from hackers — and that convenience and peace of mind are worth any risks.

Ann Poletti, who now uses the Nest thermostat at her home in San Francisco, said her first apartment burned down, so she is sensitive to making sure all her appliances are off. The Internet of Things would let her check remotely.

"Toothbrushes and ironing boards, one day it will all be connected. I think that's great," says Poletti. "Some people don't want all the data out there. I'm worried about access to my bank account, less so about whether my heat is going on or off."

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Hedge fund founder, 70, slain in New York City apartment

NEW YORK — A 70-year-old hedge fund founder has been found shot dead inside his Manhattan apartment.

Police say Thomas Gilbert was shot in the head at his Beekman Place residence on the East Side. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said early Monday they were questioning his 30-year-old son, Thomas Gilbert, Jr. No charges have been filed.

Police say a handgun was found near the body.

The elder Gilbert founded Wainscott Capital Partners Fund in 2011. The fund has $200 million in assets and focuses on the biotech and health care industries.

Gilbert previously co-founded Syzygy Therapeutics, a biotech asset acquisition fund.

The shooting was a rare act of violence on Beekman Place, a tony enclave just north of the United Nations in the Sutton Place neighborhood.

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Divers try to reach suspected AirAsia wreck site

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia — Divers were grappling with light rain and rolling waves Sunday as they tried to reach what is believed to be the fuselage of AirAsia Flight 8501, resting on the ocean floor near three other large objects.

So far, only 30 bodies have been recovered from last week's crash and officials believe many of the remaining 132 passengers and crew are strapped to their seats inside the plane, said National Search and Rescue deputy chief Tatang Zainudin.

"We are racing with time and weather in running this mission," he said, as early morning clear skies slowly became overcast.

The plane went down in the Java Sea on Dec. 28, halfway into a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore. Minutes before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control that he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.

What caused the disaster remains unclear, but Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency released a report, saying "Flight 8501 appears to have been trapped in bad weather that would have been difficult to avoid."

While the plane's black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — have yet to be located, the discovery of the wreckage would greatly benefit the investigation.

Sonar equipment identified four giant chunks on the sea bed in the target search area on Friday and Saturday, but no images have been captured confirming they are part of the AirAsia plane.

The biggest object, measuring 18 meters (59 feet) long and 5.4 meters (18 feet) wide, appeared to be part of the jet's body, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Other chunks of debris measured up to 12 meters (39 feet) long. Suspected plane parts also were seen scattered on beaches during an aerial survey.

Generally, aviation experts say the more passengers, luggage and parts of the aircraft that remain intact, the more likely the plane hit the water in one piece. That would signal problems like a mechanical error or a stall instead of a midair breakup due to an explosion or sudden depressurization.

___

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos, Margie Mason and Robin McDowell in Jakarta, Eileen Ng in Surabaya, Indonesia, and Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed to this report.

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Federal tax filers must show health insurance status for first time

Tax season is here, and the federal Affordable Care Act mandating minimum health insurance coverage nationwide brings with it what's labeled as the biggest group of changes to the U.S. tax code in 20 years.

Massachusetts filers used to dealing with the state's mandated health-care coverage requirement on their state income taxes since the 2007 tax year now must address their insurance status on their federal income tax returns for the first time.

"What's most important is to be aware if your taxes are impacted," said Nancy Lebeau, master tax adviser and an enrolled agent for H&R Block in North Andover. "There are so many moving parts to the Affordable Care Act that H&R Block started preparing in 2010 and training all of its tax professionals."

The impacts on individuals' federal income tax returns depend on whether they have health insurance and when they obtained it, and if they purchased it through the state insurance marketplace known as the
Massachusetts Health Connector.

Individuals with private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid should see no impact and simply have to check a box on their federal tax returns.

Those who don't have insurance may be subject to a penalty on their federal income taxes just as they are on their state returns.

But there are more than 30 exemptions that could help, including exemptions if you're uninsured for less than three months of the year, for households whose income level is below the minimum filing amount or for non-U.S. citizens without valid immigration documentation.

The federal penalty — called a "shared responsibility payment" — is the higher of either a flat-fee $95 for each adult and $47.50 per child under 18 up to $285 per household or 1 percent of your annual household income, less the minimum filing amount. The penalties increase significantly for the 2015 and 2016 tax years.

Individuals who face both the federal penalty on their federal tax returns and a Massachusetts penalty on their state returns will see the latter reduced.

For individuals who purchased insurance through the health insurance marketplace, their tax liabilities/benefits also will depend on whether they qualified for an advance premium tax credit — government assistance to lower their monthly health insurance premiums — and if their estimated household income at the time held through for the year.

Those who did receive tax credits will receive a 1095-A tax form from the marketplace indicating the amount.

Filers may forget about the tax credits because they didn't directly receive them, as they were instead paid right to their insurance providers, according to Lebeau.

"In some cases, people may break even — they got the proper amount based on what they estimated (for household income)," Lebeau said. "Others may have estimated incorrectly or there could have been a job change or income change the rest of the year, and they may have gotten too much of a credit … and they may have to pay it back. It's taken from the tax refund."

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Foundation sends posses of Hub students to college

For 60 Boston students, the road to college just got a little easier.

Chosen by the Posse Foundation, these urban public school students are set to receive a full four-year scholarship, as well as a support system freshmen rarely get.

"I almost literally cried — like shed a tear," said Delano McFarlane, one of this year's scholars from New Mission High School in Hyde Park. "I never expected this."

Founded in New York City in 1989 after a student said, "I never would have dropped out of college if I had my posse with me," the organization sends groups of 10 students, who might be overlooked during the traditional application process, to partner schools across the country. This year's Boston scholars will go to Bucknell University, Centre College, Denison University, Bryn Mawr College, Union College and Hamilton College.

"I hope to meet other people that could be like me," said McFarlane, who heads to Union College this fall. "I have friends here who definitely helped me get through four years of high school and having this group of people around me at college will remind me of home and remind me of where I came from."

Majoring in sociology, McFarlane hopes to go into law enforcement after gradation and become a homicide detective.

"The idea that you can send a team or a group together to college — it just made sense," said Debbie Bial, founder of the Posse Foundation. "It means they are less likely to turn around and come home."

After taking nominations from public schools throughout Boston, potential scholars go through a vigorous group and individual interview process where they're asked to do things like build a robot out of Legos, or lead a discussion on genetic testing.

"Historically, schools have a very traditional way of identifying how they're going to admit students," said Bial. "But there is an incredibly talented pool of young people who wouldn't show up on their radar screen because they didn't go to a high school ranked high enough or didn't get the right test scores."

With more than 6,000 scholars placed, and a 90 percent graduation rate, Posse hopes to highlight these students.

"The big vision is to develop a national leadership network in the U.S. that represents the diversity of the country," said Bial, who's connected Posse Scholars to internships and post-college jobs at well-known companies such as Viacom, Goldman Sachs and Disney.

Celebrating its 15th year in the Hub, Bial says Boston was the first city where Posse replicated its program. It has since grown to 10 cities across the country. "Menino and Deval were big supporters," she said of the late Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Gov. Deval Patrick. "They believed in the power of these young people and their love and support really helped us grow in Boston."

Over the next eight months, the Posse members will participate in two-hour weekly training sessions with their peers, focusing on skills to help them succeed in college and beyond. On Jan. 8, the Boston scholars get official recognition in a ceremony at 7 p.m. at the Fairmont Copley Plaza.

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U.S. home growth slows for 11th consecutive month

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose in October at a slightly slower pace, as real estate sales have fallen and affordability has increasingly become a challenge for potential buyers.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 
4.5 percent in October from 12 months prior.

The figures mark the eleventh straight month of price gains decelerating and the smallest gain since October 2012.

The slowdown in price growth comes after surging double-digit increases for much of 2013. Home values climbed as the market recovered from bottoming out in 2011 in the aftermath of the housing bust and the Great Recession. But home prices have outpaced lackluster wage growth, leaving many potential buyers unable to afford homes and causing both sales and price growth to stall this year.

The recent decline in mortgage rates has yet to bring more buyers into the market. Simultaneously, there are fewer distressed properties and bargains coming onto the market that attract investors as buyers.

All of that has occurred despite an improving U.S. economy that has generated 2.65 million new jobs so far this year, as the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.8 percent from 6.7 percent at the start of 2014.

Prices barely budged over the past 12 months in Cleveland (up 
0.9 percent), Chicago (1.9 percent), New York (2 percent), Phoenix 
(2.1 percent) and Washington, D.C. (2.2 percent).

Still, there are signs that broader improvements in the U.S. economy may be causing prices to rise faster in some cities.

Compared to September, eight cities reported stronger year-over-year prices growth in October.

This includes San Francisco (up 9.1 percent), Denver (7.2 percent) and Tampa (6.1 percent).

"We are seeing hints that prices could end 2014 on a strong note and accelerate into 2015," said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The October figures are the latest available.

Other housing reports confirm a broader slowdown.

The National Association of Realtors estimate that 2014 sales will end up below 2013 levels.

The trade group forecasts that 4.94 million existing homes will be sold this year, down 3 percent from 5.09 million in 2013.

Analysts say sales of roughly 5.5 million existing homes are common in a healthy real estate market.

The Commerce Department said last week that new home sales slid 1.6 in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 438,000. That remains significantly below the annual rate of 700,000 seen during the 1990s.

The real estate brokerage Redfin reported Monday that its market tracker found that home sales plummeted 5 percent in November compared to 12 months earlier.

Nearly a third of the buyers surveyed by Redfin said that their biggest obstacle to purchasing a home was affordability.

Stan Humphries, chief economist at the real estate data firm Zillow, noted that slower price growth should ultimately be helpful for the economy. When prices rise at levels closer to wages, more people are usually able to buy a home.

"A slower-moving housing market is inherently more stable, more balanced between buyers and sellers and more sustainable over the long-term," Humphries said.

Buying could be helped by average 30-year mortgage rates staying closed to a 19-month low.

Rates nationwide averaged 3.83 percent last week, according to the mortgage company Freddie Mac.

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