Brockton vocational class teaches business savvy

BROCKTON, Mass. — The design and screen printing program at the Keith Center in Brockton pushes students to use their creativity to produce a product, said Robert Leary, who teaches the course.

He noted, however, that the class does more than just teach students how to design apparel.

"I think it helps them by giving insight into how a small business would run," he said. "They know what things cost and how to meet customers' demands. It also gives them the opportunity to use their creativity when designing the shirts."

The students do good work, he added.

For instance, you might have spotted players and coaches of two high school football heavyweights, Brockton and Bridgewater-Raynham, sporting sweatshirts designed by the budding designers during the Cape Cod Cafe Bowl, he said

The sweatshirts for that event were sponsored by Tuxedos by Merian and Cape Cod Cafe, who also purchased the screens, he said.

The class, at 175 Warren Ave., has enrolled 34 students who attend alternative schools The Goddard School, B.B. Russell and Champion High School.

Before taking it on, Leary taught design and screen printing at Southeastern Regional High School as well as to inmates at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, he said.

In the course, the process of designing and printing the shirts is done by the students, with Leary supervising. First, students create a design, or that of their client's, and enter it into the computer. Then it gets printed, he said.

From there, the artwork is placed on a silk screen for exposure, then washed. It's then put on the press, where Leary said the ink is wiped off. The item is then dried in an oven. Students then prepare the merchandise for delivery.

Besides designing the garb for the football game, students also designed apparel for the South Shore Boxing Club and Brockton Children's Fund.

Still, Leary said he and his class welcome more business.

"I'm hoping that nonprofits and businesses consider us when they're doing events like a walk," he said. "We'd be happy to do them."

Proceeds made from any sale go to the Brockton Educational Fund, he said.-

-DAFNEY TALES, The Patriot Ledger

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Economic bright spots not a sure boost for Obama

WASHINGTON — To a struggling White House, the economy that was supposed to be a political millstone is losing some drag.

An uptick in growth and a downturn in unemployment give the president a stronger story line going into the 2014 congressional election year. They also provide Democrats with a counterpoint to Republican attacks on Obama's health law.

The economy has pushed ahead despite a government shutdown, edge-of-the-cliff deals on the debt, and indiscriminate budget cuts that were supposed to hold back the recovery.

But Obama's fortunes have seesawed for months, marked by ups and downs on foreign and domestic policy.

Whether this economic trend accelerates remains to be seen.

President Ronald Reagan faced remarkably similar circumstances in 1986. Politically, it didn't turn out so well.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fort Point loft is perfect combination

One of the largest condos in South Boston's Fort Point district, this 3,009-square-foot loft was designed by well-known Hub architect David Hacin.

Hacin, who also designed the FP3 condo complex and the District Hall innovation center in the neighborhood, combined two fourth-floor units in Fort Point Place, a 126-unit complex at 21 Wormwood St. that was converted to condos in 2000-01.

The combined Unit 415 was made into a three-bedroom corner loft with a large, open living/kitchen area and adjacent dining room, and a large master bedroom suite with dressing/exercise room. It has original wood beams and exposed brick and ductwork throughout, as well as maple floors. The architect has designed built-ins, room dividers, shelving and pocket doors that enhance the space. The condo, which includes two deeded parking spaces, one in a garage below, is on the market for $1,649,000.

The complex features contemporary art in the lobby and has a semi-industrial look, with jelly jar lighting in the common hallways and stainless-steel doors on the units.

Unit 415 has two entrances and foyers, each with closets for two gas-fired heating and cooling systems as well as built-ins for clothes storage. Both foyers lead to a wide central hallway with wide-plank maple flooring that is featured throughout the unit.

At one end of the hallway sits an open kitchen/living area with eight large windows with Financial District and Seaport District views. The track-lighted living area has wood-beam ceilings, maple floors and exposed brick walls and ductwork.

The adjacent kitchen has a large built-in at one end, as well as a central custom-made bi-level wood island with a breakfast bar that seats four. There are white-painted wood cabinets, including several that are pantry-sized, above and below Uba Tuba granite counters. Appliances are Jenn-Air stainless steel, including a refrigerator, dishwasher and four-burner gas stove with microwave above.

Behind the living area is the third bedroom, now used as formal dining room, a long narrow space with brick walls and one window and a pocket-door entrance. The room feels a little claustrophobic, especially with the pocket door closed.

But the other two bedrooms are open and airy, particularly the master bedroom suite off the far end of the hall, which has pocket doors to close it off from the rest of the loft if desired. The sunny master bedroom has four large windows with nice views of Fort Point and the Seaport District. It also has maple floors, wood-beam ceilings, brick walls and has track lighting and built-in storage areas. A curving custom-made room divider has bookcases on the bedroom side and wardrobe storage shelves on the other, which has been partitioned off into a dressing/exercise room. Adjacent to the dressing area sits the maple-floored master bathroom with two large closets, one of which holds a stacked Asko washer and dryer. There's a white ceramic-tiled shower with glass doors and rainhead fixture and a cultured marble-topped vanity.

The second bedroom, currently used as a den/family room, is also good-sized with exposed brick walls and built-ins as well as a divider that creates a dressing area. There's a home office area fronting on the hallway, and this whole area can also be closed off if desired.

Across the hall is a second full bathroom with a pocket-door entrance and maple floors. This bathroom has a stainless-steel vessel sink, a white subway-tile shower with glass doors and two large closets.

The unit comes with two deeded parking spaces, one in a garage below the building and the other in an outdoor lot behind the building. There is no common outdoor space, but there is a pocket park across the street and a small urban market on the building's first floor.

Broker: Richard Greer of Kimball Borgo Real Estate at 857-919-4368.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gov seeks Asian partners

Over the next 10 days Bay State executives will tour some of the state's biggest trade partners in Asia, hustling for new business and looking for partnerships that could bring home jobs and investment.

Gov. Deval Patrick, who is leading the delegation, pointed to companies that brought employment and new products to Massachusetts after his trips to Britain, Israel, Brazil and Chile in 2011, and to Colombia and Canada this year.

"In order for Massachusetts to create lasting growth and opportunity for our residents, we must compete for jobs on the global playing field," Patrick said before leaving yesterday for the trip. "This mission offers us a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our relationships with Asia's fastest growing economies."

The trip includes stops in the Japanese cities of Kyoto and Tokyo, as well as Singapore and Hong Kong.

"This mission provides us with the opportunity to share Massachusetts' thriving entrepreneurship culture and leading technology sectors with business and policy leaders across Asia, while helping to open new markets for technologies made in the commonwealth, said Pamela Goldberg, CEO of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, one of the members of the mission.

Patrick and members of the delegation are scheduled to meet with top government and industry leaders, and learn more about transportation technologies at work in the Far East.

"We are bringing representatives from government who handle the innovation sectors, the life sciences and biotech, IT through the Mass Tech Collaborative, and clean alternative energy community, and we'll be meeting with our counterparts there," Patrick said.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sturdy Swede quite sporty

Always on the fringe of the sports sedan market, Volvo hurtles into the mix with the impressively reworked 2014 S60 T6 R-Design.

When mentioning the class led by luminaries BMW, Audi and Mercedes -Benz, the sturdy Swede rarely gets a nod. But the S60 R needs to be considered when test-driving the field.

Sporting a 3-liter inline six cylinder twin-scroll turbo producing 325 horsepower and all-wheel-drive geared through a six-speed automatic transmission, the Volvo is a quick and powerful machine. Spinning on blacked-out 19-inch Platinum Edition Ixion spoked wheels, the low-profile tires confidently cut into the road, gaining traction from the race-inspired front MacPherson struts and multilink rear suspension. The firm driver feedback through the rack-and-pinion steering not only gives the driver a confident ride but also makes handling the car a breeze.

The turbo purrs to life and needs little prompting to get you scooting comfortably and quickly down the road. The upgraded blue digital display lets you know when the turbo is demanding more, although the seat of your pants is a better indicator. Premium gas mileage for this sporty Scandinavian is 18 miles per gallon around town and 25 on the highway.

Aside from the mechanicals, what helps separate this car from wannabe sports sedans is the interior refinements highlighted by elegant piped leather seats — perhaps some of the more comfortable I've sat in — clean intuitive controls, brushed aluminum trim, and a robust 160-watt 8-speaker sound system. A 7-inch LCD monitor with back up camera, blind spot monitoring, Xenon active bending headlights and a sunroof round out some of the details of the car.

Sweeping body lines flow from the rakishly lowered front end with a small grille into a well-tied-together revamped rear end accented with a small spoiler, giving the sedan a striking presence on the road. The rear seats suffer some though and passengers will be a touch cramped. The trunk space is limited but both rear seats can fold down to make for extra room. There's also a ski slot through the armrest.

The base MSRP of $42,700 for the R-Design quickly gets to $49,315 with the Platinum Package, blind-spot monitoring and heated seats added in, and this is the one spot I'll pick on. Oddly, a car that has always led the industry in safety innovation and includes "City Safe" stopping does not include blind-spot monitoring or back-up warnings as part of its base cost. And extra for heated seats? In a car from the north country? After all, these are quite common features in even lower-priced cars.

The R-Design is the top of three trim levels although you can get a nice driver in a base S60 for about $33,000. I really enjoyed driving this car and, despite some expensive options, this is a good value if you're considering a sports sedan.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hiring splurges, but consumers stay frugal

The economy still has some trouble spots, but analysts are seeing signs of a gathering rebound that could lift off if consumers decide to open their wallets and jump in with both feet.

"The economy is improving and corporate profits are strong. They grew a little more than 8 percent in the third quarter," said Paul Edelstein of Lexington-based IHS Global Insight.

The job market also is showing signs of gains, with the Labor Department reporting yesterday that employers added 203,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to
7 percent, a five-year low. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 198 points.

Boston University School of Management executive-in-residence Mark T. Williams, a former Federal Reserve Bank examiner, said stock market prices are indicators of future expectations in the economy.

"The stock markets across the board are hitting new highs, suggesting blue skies ahead," Williams said.

A key factor, though, is how willing consumers are to spend. Consumer confidence in December hit its highest level in five months, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary report released yesterday. But retail numbers show shoppers spent less over the Thanksgiving weekend than the year before.

"In general, consumers can express frustration, but keep on spending as if nothing is wrong," said Edelstein. We've seen that many times."

Edelstein said the improving job numbers can hide some dark clouds, as well.

"The unemployment rate is one number and it is falling more than expected, but it's falling because people are leaving the job market," Edelstein said. "It's schizophrenic, but overall the labor market is improving."

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chinese firm paid US gov't intelligence adviser

WASHINGTON — A longtime adviser to the U.S. Director of National Intelligence has resigned after the government learned he has worked since 2010 as a paid consultant for Huawei Technologies Ltd., the Chinese technology company the U.S. has condemned as an espionage threat, The Associated Press has learned.

Theodore H. Moran, a respected expert on China's international investment and professor at Georgetown University, had served since 2007 as adviser to the intelligence director's advisory panel on foreign investment in the United States. Moran also was an adviser to the National Intelligence Council, a group of 18 senior analysts and policy experts who provide U.S. spy agencies with judgments on important international issues.

The case highlights the ongoing fractious relationship between the U.S. government and Huawei, China's leading developer of telephone and Internet infrastructure, which has been condemned in the U.S. as a potential national security threat. Huawei has aggressively disputed this, and its chief executive, Ren Zhengfei, has said the company has decided to abandon the U.S. market.

Moran, who had a security clearance granting him access to sensitive materials, was forced to withdraw from those roles after Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., complained in September to the intelligence director, James Clapper, that Moran's work on an international advisory council for Huawei "compromises his ability to advise your office."

"It is inconceivable how someone serving on Huawei's board would also be allowed to advise the intelligence community on foreign investments in the U.S.," Wolf wrote.

Moran, who earlier had declined to discuss the matter, said in a statement Friday to the AP, "I was totally transparent." He said he told the National Intelligence Council in 2010 about his membership on Huawei's advisory panel.

"I complied with all conflict of interest reports and procedures of the National Intelligence Council," Moran said.

A spokesman for Clapper's office confirmed Friday that Moran was no longer associated with the intelligence council "effective September 2013" but declined to answer further questions, citing the U.S. Privacy Act.

Moran's resignation also was confirmed by Wolf and two federal officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

"If he wants to make a lot of money advising Huawei, that's his prerogative," Wolf told the AP. "But he shouldn't be on a critical advisory board that provides intelligence advice on foreign investments in our country."

In a policy paper distributed by Huawei, Moran wrote in May that, "targeting one or two companies on the basis of their national origins does nothing for U.S. security in a world of global supply chains." Moran criticized what he described as "a policy of discrimination and distortion that discourages valuable inward investment from overseas, while providing a precedent for highly damaging copycat practices in other countries."

The House Intelligence Committee last year said Huawei and another firm, ZTE, posed a threat that could enable Chinese intelligence services to tamper with American communications networks. The committee said it could not prove wrongdoing but recommended that the companies be barred from doing business in the country.

"To the extent these companies are influenced by the state or provide Chinese intelligence services access to telecommunication networks, the opportunity exists for further economic and foreign espionage by a foreign nation-state already known to be a major perpetrator of cyber espionage," the committee wrote in its report.

Huawei's vice president for external affairs, William Plummer, declined to discuss Moran's resignation, but said U.S suspicions about Huawei have created "a political smokescreen." He said the controversy amounted to a "political game that's holding Huawei hostage to somehow gain leverage with the Chinese government. Huawei is no threat to U.S. networks and data."

Plummer said Moran and other advisers discuss trade, policy and commerce with Huawei's executives.

Earlier this year, as a condition of allowing SoftBank Corp. to buy Sprint for $20.1 billion, the Obama administration forced the companies to promise not to use Huawei equipment and seek approval for future vendors.

In 2007, Huawei joined with Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, to buy 3Com Corp., an American computer equipment firm. Romney had left the firm by then. The bid collapsed amid national security concerns cited by Congress and the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an inter-agency panel that scrutinizes financial moves by foreign firms inside the U.S.

Last month, two Senate committee chairmen asked Clapper about the potential national security threat posed by Huawei's growing partnership with South Korean telecom firms.

The intelligence director's office would not describe Moran's duties for its panel on foreign investment or the National Intelligence Council. It was not immediately clear whether Moran's previous work was being reviewed for possible bias or if the government was investigating whether other intelligence advisers also may have been paid by foreign companies. It also did not explain why Moran was forced to step down now, three years since he had been hired by Huawei and after he had disclosed his affiliation as early as 2011 in biographical material published as part of his participation in a conference in Vienna.

Wolf, in a letter to the intelligence director, asked for a list of other members and advisers to the National Intelligence Council and a copy of its conflict-of-interest policy but he never received the information.

___

Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler contributed to this report.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama calls on Congress to extend jobless benefits

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed before they expire at the end of the year.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says more than one million Americans will lose benefits if lawmakers don't act. He says unemployment insurance is one of the most effective ways to boost the economy and that providing benefits does not stop people from trying to find work.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said he is willing to consider extending the jobless benefits.

In the Republican weekly address, North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers calls on Obama to delay his health care law's requirement that all Americans purchase insurance. She says the law is particularly impacting women, who often make health care choices for their families.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

APNewsBreak: Feds balk at paper health application

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Federal health officials, after encouraging alternate sign-up methods amid the fumbled rollout of their online insurance website, began quietly urging counselors around the country this week to stop using paper applications to enroll people in health insurance because of concerns those applications would not be processed in time.

Interviews with enrollment counselors, insurance brokers and a government official who works with navigators in Illinois reveal the latest change in direction by the Obama administration, which had been encouraging paper applications and other means because of all the problems with the federal website. Consumers must sign up for insurance under the federal health overhaul by Dec. 23 in order for coverage to start in January.

"We received guidance from the feds recommending that folks apply online as opposed to paper," said Mike Claffey, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Insurance.

After a conference call earlier this week with federal health officials, Illinois health officials sent a memo Thursday to their roughly 1,600 navigators saying there is no way to complete marketplace enrollment through a paper application. The memo, which Claffey said was based on guidance from federal officials, said paper applications should be used only if other means aren't available.

Federal health officials also discussed the issue during a conference call Wednesday with navigators and certified counselors in several states.

"They've said do not use paper applications because they won't be able to process them anywhere near in time," said John Foley, attorney and certified counselor for Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, who was on the call.

That contradicts what federal health officials told reporters during a national media call this week, during which they said there were no problems with paper applications.

"There is still time to do paper applications," Julie Bataille, communications director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told reporters on the call Wednesday.

A CMS spokesman declined to comment directly on the issue Friday when asked whether they discouraged navigators from using paper applications.

"With the recent fixes to the website, we are encouraging consumers to use healthcare.gov since it's the quickest way to get coverage, but paper applications remain an option for consumers and navigators if they choose," said spokesman Aaron Albright.

In early November, President Barack Obama himself encouraged paper applications as one of several alternatives to the federal website.

"I just want to remind everybody that they can still apply for coverage by phone, by mail, in person," Obama said on Nov. 4 in remarks to Affordable Care Act supporters at a Washington hotel.

The paper application problem comes as insurance agents and brokers are dealing with a massive backlog of applications that they can't process because of problems with the federal website, including incomplete enrollment files sent electronically to insurance companies.

Paper applications seemed like a safe bet in early October as agents and navigators struggled with online applications. Once federal health officials receive a paper application, they check with other federal agencies to determine whether an applicant is eligible for a subsidy to help pay for a portion of their health coverage. But the process, which includes verifying incomes and immigration status, is taking longer than expected.

"This timing concern is enormous," said Jessica Waltman, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Association of Health Underwriters.

Her organization, which represents insurance brokers and agents, is in daily contact with CMS on enrollment issues. In several recent conversations, Waltman said CMS has expressed concerns about paper applications but stops short of saying they can't be used.

"We've gotten concerns from them saying, 'I don't know about the paper applications. That's a really slow go or I don't know if that's the best idea,'" she said.

Kelly Fristoe, an insurance agent in Wichita Falls, Texas, has submitted 25 paper applications since early October and hasn't received a response from federal health officials yet.

"At this time, we are not using any paper applications," he said.

That also contradicts what CMS told reporters this week.

Bataille, the spokeswoman for the federal agency, said all paper applications received during October have been processed.

__

Follow Kelli Kennedy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kkennedyAP

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More

Former Obama aide returning to work on health law

WASHINGTON — A former top aide to President Barack Obama is returning to the White House to coordinate policy aspects of the health care law.

Phil Schiliro was Obama's top liaison to Capitol Hill when he helped push the law through Congress in early 2010.

He left the White House about two years ago and moved to New Mexico, where he opened a business consulting nonprofit group.

In a statement provided by the White House, Schiliro says he wants to help the effort to put the law in place because it's important to Obama and because it's "worth fighting for."

The New York Times first reported on Schiliro's return.

00.48 | 0 komentar | Read More