Low-wage protests planned in Massachusetts cities

SPRINGFIELD  — Hundreds of low-wage workers from various industries are planning to gather in three Massachusetts cities to demonstrate for higher wages and protest wage inequality.

The protests will be held Thursday in Boston, Springfield and Worcester.

Workers in the fast food, retail, transportation, home care and health care fields are expected to attend.

In Boston, a rally is planned at Copley Square, followed by a downtown march and protests.

In Worcester, organizers are planning a protest at Wal-Mart. In Springfield, a rally is planned at Mc. Calvary Church followed by a protest at McDonald's.

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Springfield site may sway issue

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission's anticipated vote Friday to license the state's first casino in Springfield may spur economic activity experts say could boost public confidence in expanded gaming and counter the negative view pushed by the repeal campaign.

"We've heard a lot of discussion about the potential negative impacts, but we haven't seen any of the benefits," said Clyde Barrow, a gaming expert at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. "It's been an asymmetrical debate up to this point. I think it becomes very important to see some of the benefits starting to occur, with construction jobs and hiring. It will certainly shift it back to the direction of where it was two years ago, when most of the discussion was about the benefits."

The commission will decide whether to license MGM, the only player left for a western Massachusetts casino after four others shifted sites or pulled out of the state. Chairman Stephen Crosby called the upcoming vote the culmination of "a tremendous amount of work" that "was required to take this several-page law and turn it into an industry."

"It's very exciting," Crosby said. "This is the beginning of the jobs and the revenue, and that's what it's all about."

MGM says it can break ground in Springfield as early as July if it receives approval Friday. The company expects to generate $500 million annually — a quarter of which will flow to the state — and pay $25 million a year to Springfield. The project, which has a 2017 completion date, is expected to create 3,000 permanent jobs and 2,000 construction jobs.

"The MGM team and the City of Springfield have worked cooperatively and diligently to reach this point in the licensing process," MGM President Michael Mathis said in a statement. "Springfield and its people have earned this moment, and MGM looks forward to sharing this milestone with them."

The casino repeal campaign — which is awaiting the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling on if a repeal question will be allowed on the November ballot — says "momentum is clearly on the side of repealing this wrong-headed law" and "investing instead in sustainable economic development for Springfield and the rest of Massachusetts."

"Springfield is struggling and we know it can do better than a casino to sap local jobs, kill local businesses and profit on the backs of local residents," a repeal spokesman said. "MGM is obviously worried about our momentum — their local leaders sat in on the SJC arguments and they have asked for a delay in the awarding of their license until voters have a chance to vote on repeal."

But Boston College professor and gaming expert Richard McGowan said construction in Springfield will provide a powerful example of the stimulating effect a casino can have in a community that wants it.

"I think it's going to make it even harder for the repeal to go through to be quite blunt, especially in the western part of the state," 
McGowan said of Friday's vote. "What might change things is if MGM doesn't deliver on what they say they're going to do out there. That would hurt."

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Grocers try out cart for special-needs kids

People taking care of children with disabilities can grocery shop with more ease thanks to Caroline's Cart.

The shopping cart, 
specially designed to accommodate children and adults with special needs, is now at a number of Massachusetts supermarkets, including certain Wegmans, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Big Y and Whole Foods stores.

"It's been very successful," Wegmans spokeswoman Jo Natale said. "We're getting tremendous feedback from our customers. They get used quite frequently."

Wegmans has two carts at its Northboro store, and a pair is headed for its Chestnut Hill location.

The chain had tested the cart in Rochester, N.Y., but took it out of commission when customers without special needs children were using it. It then put an Americans with Disabilities Act label on the cart to ensure its proper use. And in the last couple of months, it's ordered the carts for all of its stores.

Feedback from parents kept Caroline's Cart creator Drew Ann Long going when she started pursuing the idea six years ago after dealing with the challenge of grocery shopping with her daughter Caroline. Once Caroline grew out of fitting in the seat of a conventional shopping cart, the Alabama mother found herself unable to push her in a wheelchair while also pushing a shopping cart.

"I said, 'Well this is what I think is needed, let me put it out there,' " Long said. "It went viral so fast. I knew, clearly, that I wasn't the only mom in America who had a disabled child. We're in every neighborhood in America."

Features of the $850 cart, which can hold up to 250 pounds, include swinging handles for easy access to the seat, the back of which has a 5-degree tilt to increase comfort for children with low muscle tone. There's a harness to help keep the child secure and an abductor in the seat to help keep the child upright.

"Anything that improves the ability to have people with disabilities in the community — participating in shopping and other things — is absolutely great," said Christine Griffin, executive director of the Disability Law Center in Boston. "This cart may not be for every kid with a disability that a parent wants to take shopping, but it certainly would work for some kids."

Hannaford has the carts at its Waltham, Leominster, Dracut and Lunenberg stores. "We have been getting customer requests in some stores for this, and it's certainly a service that we want to try to provide where it's needed, as much as possible," spokesman Eric Blom said.

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Educational session planned on prescribing opioids

WORCESTER  — More than 100 doctors and other medical professionals are expected to attend an educational session on prescribing opioids.

The session is part of a FDA-supported educational initiative created by Boston University's School of Medicine. It's set for the University of Massachusetts Medical School on June 14.

The daylong event will feature some of the nation's leading experts on opioid analgesics and addiction. Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health Cheryl Bartlett will participate in a panel discussion.

Through online and live programs, BU has educated more than 20,000 prescribers nationwide.

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Startup tests resistance to HIV drugs

A simple, fast, affordable test developed by a Boston-based MassChallenge finalist is able to determine which drugs HIV is resistant to, saving money and lives.

Using a technology called Pan Degenerate Amplification and Adaptation, Aldatu Biosciences allows doctors to match patients with drugs the HIV won't be resistant to, based on the genetics of the virus.

"If resistance is present, switching people to effective drugs improves quality of life and saves money by reducing the risk of new infections," Aldatu CEO David Raiser said. "If resistance is not present, money is saved by not switching patients to more expensive drugs unnecessarily. There are clear economic and public health benefits to performing the test, regardless of the result."

Aldatu's test produces results in about two hours, compared to roughly two days for current tests, Raiser said, and the price is $99, about one-third the cost of other tests.

"Ours is a simple 'sample in/answer out' format, whereas the current tests have multiple steps and require several pieces of equipment," he said.

Raiser and co-founder Iain MacLeod, Aldatu's chief scientific officer, plan to bring their test first to Botswana, where one in four adults has HIV and about 10 percent of those receiving treatment don't respond to it, but the price of the prevailing drug-resistance test prevents most doctors from using it.

"Presently, (doctors) give everyone the same drugs and wait for them to fail to see if they're resistant to the drugs," Raiser said.

If they are, they are put on a second line of drugs, which typically costs four times as much as the first, he said. And if they're resistant to that, they're put on a third line, which can cost 15 times as much.

"In some cases, people are being switched to a second or third line of drugs because doctors don't realize the virus isn't resistant; the patients just aren't taking their meds correctly," Raiser said.

"There's the ethical question of leaving people on ineffective drugs when their quality of life is poor and they're at risk of infecting other people with drug-resistant HIV," he said.

There is also the economic question, one that countries around the world are wrestling with.

"What happens in Botswana can and will impact what happens in the U.S.," said John Hallinan, chief business officer at the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. "What's happening is a drain on the entire global health system. We think (Aldatu) has a very promising technology."

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Drones fly with Mass. users

Some Bay State businesses are already putting drones in the air to boost their bottom line as the Federal Aviation Administration hints it may be open to some commercial uses of the hovering craft.

"It's a novelty now, but I think it will become more of a mainstay," said Missy Cummings, a drone expert at MIT. "These drones can really improve business processes."

Lexington Realtor Jonathan de Araujo has been using a drone to take aerial shots of properties he is listing since last summer, and the birds-eye view has quickly found a place in de Araujo's real estate arsenal.

"The end result is just unparalleled," he said. "Everything we can do to give a more positive impression means more people at the open house. The idea is to just give a better, more positive, a more thorough impression of what you're looking at."

De Araujo uses his drone, a model outfitted with a camera and available to any consumer, to give his homes more context, including offering a complete view of a backyard, or showing how close the park down the street is.

"When you're taking stills from ground level, you're seeing one angle, one shot," he said. "It just made sense to add that extra dimension."

Last week, the FAA said it is considering letting seven movie and television filming companies use drones. Now, the only commercial drone flights permitted by the FAA are those by one company off the Alaskan coast. The FAA has been working for the past decade on potential safety regulations that would allow widespread commercial drone use, but those regulations have been repeatedly delayed. Most recently, the FAA has said it will release proposed regulations for operating small drones by November. That would be followed by a potentially yearslong process to finalize the regulations.

Dan Kara, a robotics and drone industry analyst with Myria Research, said the FAA is under pressure to clarify the guidelines because many, from individual real estate agents to Amazon.com, are using or expressing interest in making drones part of their toolkit.

"It's happening organically," Kara said.

Marcella Hoekstra, who runs wedding video company Heirloom Pictures, is planning on buying a drone soon.

"I've seen what these drones can do, and I've seen some really beautiful, sweeping shots of landscapes and architecture," Hoekstra said. "It's a wonderful way to explore ... and give the bride and groom a bird's-eye view."

Kara said some are looking to drones for the novelty — a club in Las Vegas is delivering high end champagne to its high-rollers by drone.

But others are advocating for the permitted use of drones for search and rescue missions, to get a good view of wildfires and to help farmers track their crops.

"There's no question drones can revolutionize (agriculture)," Cummings said.

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MGM poised to become state's 1st casino operator

BOSTON — MGM Resorts International is nearing a final ruling on its bid to become Massachusetts' first licensed casino operator, with a proposed $800 million project in Springfield.

Starting Tuesday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will hold a series of meetings in Springfield and Boston leading up to a Friday vote in Springfield on who receives the western region casino license.

MGM, which owns the Mirage, Bellagio, MGM Grand and other casinos, is the lone operator standing in a once-crowded field.

Plans by Penn National Gaming and Ameristar Casinos never went before Springfield voters, while proposals by Mohegan Sun in Palmer and Hard Rock International in West Springfield were defeated in local referendums.

MGM's plan for a casino, hotel, shopping and entertainment complex on 14 1/2 acres straddling the city's downtown and South End neighborhood was approved by Springfield voters last July.

Still, commission members have been reluctant to describe MGM as a shoe-in, noting the panel has reserved the right to not issue a license now or to impose stipulations or conditions on issuing the license.

Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said recently he doesn't expect the five-member commission will need all four days to make its decision. Each commission member is expected to present findings on one of five areas of MGM's 236-page application that they have been tasked to review.

Crosby, for example, will give an overview of the proposal, including how it "manifests an appreciation" for the Massachusetts "brand," ''leverages Massachusetts' existing assets" and enhances the state's existing tourism and leisure venues, according to the commission's evaluation guidelines.

Other commissioners will look at the project's finances, economic impacts, building and site design and impacts on local traffic patterns, gambling addiction and the state lottery.

One open question is whether the commission will take up MGM's request to delay formal "awarding" of the license at least until early July, when the state Supreme Judicial Court decides whether a voter referendum to repeal the casino law outright should be allowed on the November ballot.

Michael Mathis, CEO of MGM Springfield, has said the Las Vegas-based casino giant is concerned about some $200 million in fees and payments that effectively come due if it is awarded the license.

Those payments could be lost if the casino law is ultimately repealed.

Crosby and other commissioners have declined to say whether they support the delay. But MGM Springfield spokeswoman Carole Brennan says the casino is hopeful.

"The license isn't going to be awarded, we hope. We will be designated the licensee," she said.

The western region casino license is one of three authorized under the 2011 casino law.

In the eastern region, Mohegan Sun is proposing a more than $1 billion casino on the Revere side of the Suffolk Downs horse racing track, and Wynn Resorts has proposed a $1.6 billion casino on a former chemical plant in Everett. The commission anticipates awarding that license by the end of August, at the earliest.

In the southeastern region, Foxwoods and other casino operators have expressed interest, but no proposal has yet been put before local voters. The commission will likely not award that license until February.

The commission has already awarded the state's sole slot parlor license to Penn National Gaming. That slot facility, located at the Plainridge harness racing track in Plainville, is expected to open by June 2015.

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When there’s white smoke, check first for coolant leak

I own a 2003 Honda Accord. In April a large amount of white smoke came out of the front of the car when I started it. It has happened three more times, coming from the rear of the car. Three times the engine was cold, once warm. The Honda dealer found nothing, but told me to keep track of these instances. Nothing has leaked on the garage floor.

White smoke from an automobile can be caused by three things: condensing moisture, heated coolant and vaporized fuel. In your case I'd be suspicious of an external coolant leak that collects on some part of the exhaust system and is heated into smoke as the exhaust system heats up, leaving no evidence on the garage floor.

Do you smell the semi-sweet odor of antifreeze/coolant? Before you start the cold engine next time, open the hood and visually inspect for any coolant in the engine compartment. Make sure you are monitoring the coolant level in the radiator/reservoir.

If the white smoke is exclusively from the exhaust pipe, a leaking cylinder head gasket would be a suspect. In this case the coolant would end up being heated in the combustion chambers and blown out the exhaust as the engine starts.

White smoke from the exhaust on a cold morning start is normal condensation of moisture that has collected in the exhaust system overnight, and is of no concern.

White smoke from vaporized but unburned fuel — unlikely in this case — can be caused by a failed or stuck fuel injector allowing raw fuel to be carried through and vaporized in the exhaust system as it is heated.

My 2011 Subaru is squeaking so loudly I'm ready to tear my hair out! It started on the driver's side just behind the driver's seat, moved to under the driver's seat near the middle, and then under the console. All three areas are squeaking! It's been on a lift and nothing that can be seen is an issue, according to the mechanic. A body shop owner with 40 years experience found that the back of the rear seat hadn't been put in place properly and the spare tire was not tightened down securely. The noise lessened, but is still a major nuisance.

The most common causes of body squeaks and rattles are something flexing or something loose. The entire exhaust system and its hangers should be inspected for evidence of flexing, movement or contact. Next, all engine, transmission and drive shaft mounts should be checked.

If the squeaking is rhythmical and varies with engine or road speed, the noise may be coming from the transmission or drive shaft CV joints. Subaru issued a service bulletin addressing a high-pitched sound originating in the transmission extension housing. Thermal expansion can potentially damage a pre-loaded bearing, causing the noise.

I have a 2007 Dodge Caravan with the automatic door lock feature. When I drive in the rain, the locks start locking and unlocking rapidly for 60-90 seconds then quit for a while, then do it again. This continues even after removing the key, but quits after being parked for a while. I tried to disable the auto lock, using the instructions in the manual, but was unsuccessful. There is no separate fuse that controls this. Any thoughts?

Water/moisture is grounding the electrical circuit that operates the locks. A scan tool should be able to identify specific fault codes with the power door lock system, but you could try "watering" each window for a minute or so, one at a time, with a garden hose. Water may be getting by the window seals, running down the inside of a door and grounding the circuit, causing the rapid cycling of the locks. This may help you pinpoint which door or cylinder lock switch or connector is getting wet.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number.

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Patrick to push for ban on non-compete deals

BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick praised an economic development bill proposed by Democratic House leaders but said Friday he planned to urge lawmakers to restore a provision that would discourage non-compete agreements in the private sector.

Patrick had proposed eliminating the agreements which restrict workers at cutting-edge technology firms from quitting their jobs and taking their knowledge to other companies, saying they stifle competition. He instead sought to beef up trade secret protections.

"This is an issue that we didn't dream up," Patrick said. "It came to us directly from the tech community."

Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, did not include the language to eliminate non-competes in the legislation he and other House lawmakers introduced earlier this week. The bill, which has yet to go to the House floor, would focus more state investment on computer education, startup technology firms and affordable housing.

Supporters of non-compete clauses said employers who spend money training and educating employees have legitimate concerns if an employee then opts to work for a competitor.

Though "delighted" in general with the House economic development bill, Patrick said he would continue to meet with legislators to urge them to include the language on non-competes along with the companion proposal to implement the Uniform Trade Secrets Act in Massachusetts.

"I do want to be clear that nobody is talking about a license to carry intellectual property from one company to another," the governor said.

Patrick met with reporters on Friday one day after returning from a nine-day trade mission to Israel and the United Arab Emirates that he described as demanding but productive.

He also had praise for a wide-ranging gun control bill that was recently unveiled by House leaders, saying it reflected many of the proposals made by his administration in recent years. But he noted the bill did not include a proposal to bar individuals from purchasing more than one gun in a single month.

He said a one gun per month clause could help address the problem of guns being legally purchased in bulk and then distributed through illegal channels.

Also Friday, Patrick described as "careful and thoughtful" a decision by the state parole board to grant parole to a man who had been imprisoned since age 17 on a first-degree murder charge for his role in a deadly 1994 robbery. Frederick Christian was the first inmate in Massachusetts to be granted such a ruling since the state's highest court struck down life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles.

Patrick noted the parole board decision came with several conditions that Christian must meet before his release.

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Key ways the US job market has changed since 2007

WASHINGTON — Six and half years later, nearly everything about the job market is different.

When the Great Recession hit in December 2007, 138.4 million people were working at U.S. businesses, nonprofits and government agencies. By February 2010, that figure had cratered to 129.7 million. Fifty-one months later, the economy is back to 138.5 million jobs, the government said Friday.

Yet consider what's changed.

FEWER WORKING OR SEEKING WORK

The economic storms of the past several years have driven many people to the sidelines. Just 62.8 percent of those 16 and older are part of the workforce, which includes people who either have a job or are looking for one. That's down from 66 percent in December 2007 and is the lowest level in 35 years.

Economists estimate that about half the decline is related to demographics: The leading edge of the baby boom generation has started to retire, a trend that will likely intensify in coming years. And Americans 24 and younger are more likely to be in school than they were 6½ years ago.

But much of the exodus has occurred because more Americans have become discouraged about their job prospects and have stopped looking. The government doesn't count people as unemployed if they aren't actively looking for work. Nearly 700,000 people were classified by the government as "discouraged" in May. That's far below the 1.3 million peak in December 2010. But it's still about twice the total when the recession began.

WHITHER THE PRIME-AGE WORKERS?

Economists are worried about an exodus among those ages 25-54. Those are prime working years, when employees typically start to reap the wage gains that come from greater skills and experience.

Yet the percentage of those ages 25 to 54 in the workforce fell to 80.8 percent in May, down from 83.1 percent in December 2007. In October, the figure fell to 80.6 percent, the lowest since 1984, when women began entering the workforce in greater numbers.

The biggest drivers of the decline, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta: A jump in the number of people receiving government disability aid and an increase in those who have left the workforce for schooling or training.

WHEN WILL THEY RETURN?:

All this matters because it sets up a big question for the economy and the Federal Reserve: How many of those people will resume their job searches as the economy strengthens?

If many people flood back, it would likely keep wages low. But if most don't resume looking for work, pay could climb because of a shortage of qualified job-seekers. If sustained, widespread pay raises could fan inflation. That could eventually force the Fed to raise interest rates to prevent an inflationary spiral.

Some economists think retirements will offset the return of those who'd grown discouraged about the job market. That would leave the percentage of adults in the workforce largely unchanged.

Americans who have been receiving education or training will likely return to the workforce once the economy picks up. Those on disability are much less likely to do so, the Atlanta Fed said.

The federal disability rolls jumped from 7.1 million in 2007 to 8.9 million last year. But the gains slowed in 2013. And they fell in the first three months of this year.

LOWER-PAYING JOBS:

Job-seekers now have fewer higher-paying jobs to choose from than in 2007, while lower-paying ones have replaced them.

There are about 2 million more jobs in low-paying industries such as restaurants, temporary help agencies and retail than at the start of the recession, according to the National Employment Law Project. Meanwhile, middle- and high-wage industries have shed nearly 900,000 jobs each.

While low-paying jobs typically return faster than others after a recession, the disproportionate gains have lasted longer this time than after the last recession in 2001, NELP found.

FEWER GOVERNMENT JOBS

A big reason it's taken so long for the workforce to return to its pre-recession level is that governments continued cutting jobs even after businesses started to hire.

Tax revenue shrank after the recession, forcing state and local governments to lay off workers. Property taxes are a key source of revenue for localities, and the collapse of home prices forced cuts in school systems. There are 500,000 fewer government jobs now than when the recession began. About half those losses have been teachers and other local education jobs.

Another source of middle-income jobs has taken a huge hit: The U.S. Postal Service has slashed its payrolls by a quarter since December 2007.

MORE TEMPS AND PART-TIMERS

Compared with when the recession began, nearly 2.5 million more people are working part time. And there are still 2.9 million fewer people working full-time jobs. That means a chunk of the new jobs don't provide paychecks as large as those they replaced.

That trend has started to reverse. The number of part-time workers has fallen 500,000 in the past 12 months, while full-time workers have climbed by more than 2 million.

But about 10 percent of jobs added since February 2010, when employers started hiring again, have been at temp agencies. Nearly 2.1 percent of all jobs now are at temp agencies, a record high. Temp jobs typically pay less and offer fewer benefits than full-time jobs.

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Contact Chris Rugaber on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber .

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