Bow-front duplex is decked out

This stylish duplex condo in the Eight Streets area of the South End has had a recent high-end makeover and includes two private decks as well as an outdoor parking space.

The three-bedroom condo at 38 Upton St. No. 4, on the market for $1,995,000, occupies the top two floors of a 1899-built bow-front brownstone that was redone into four condos in 2012.

Unit 4 has a reverse layout, with the living spaces on the top floor — leading up to a private roof deck —and the bedrooms a floor below. The levels are connected by stylish oak staircases with modern iron railings.

The top floor is a contemporary-style open kitchen/dining/living area with new walnut-stained oak floors and recessed lighting.

The high-end kitchen, with two windows and a skylight, features 16 custom white cabinets, including large pantry ones, honed Absolute black granite counters and a glass-mosaic-style backsplash. There's a separate island that seats three with a prep sink, a U-Line wine cooler and built-in microwave. Stainless-steel Thermador appliances include a double-door refrigerator, gas cooktop and wall oven. There's also a cabinet-faced Bosch dishwasher.

Off the kitchen is a half bathroom with a wall-­mounted sink and there's an adjacent utilities/storage closet.

The living/dining area has a built-in gas fireplace with black-honed granite surround, and there's a dining nook in the bow-front with three windows. The far corner of the room has a full wall of built-in bookcases and a window seat with storage.

Stairs lead up to a skylight door opening onto a 25-by-14-foot private roof deck with panoramic Boston views. The deck has gas, electric and water lines.

The unit's three bedrooms are on the third floor, all with walnut-stained oak floors. The front-facing master bedroom has a bow-front window, as well as a large walk-in closet with built-in storage. The en-suite master bathroom has radiant-heated marble-tiled floors as well as marble walls and surround for a glassed-in steam shower. There's a double-sink vanity topped with white quartz countertops.

The rear-facing second bedrooms are off an oak hallway with two closets, one for storage and the other­ holding a stacked Frigidaire washer and dryer.

The second bedroom, which has a built-in Murphy bed, is on the small side. And the narrow third bedroom, which has a built-in desk and bookcase, is even smaller, better suited to its current use as a home office. But there is a glass door from this bedroom out to a private balcony with views over the South End.

A second full bathroom features slatted marble floor tiles and surround for a deep soaking tub, as well as a floating vanity.

The unit has a new two-zone gas-fired heating system with Nest thermostats and a porthole central air-conditioning system. It has a central humidification system as well as a security system.

Unit 4 also comes with a deeded oversized parking space behind the building with access to an electric charging station.

Home Showcase

• Address: 38 Upton St. No. 4, South End
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: Two full, one half
• List price: $1,995,000
• Square feet: 1,784
• Price per square foot: $1,118
• Annual taxes: $16,246
• Monthly condo fee: $286
• Location: Block from restaurants and shops along Tremont Street, the South End's main retail district; one block in other direction to offerings on Washington Street and Silver Line stop
• Built in: 1899; redone in 2012
• Broker: Michael Harper of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage at 617-480-3938

Pros:

• Stylish kitchen with custom cabinets, center island, Thermador, Bosch appliances
• Open living area with gas fireplace, bow-front dining nook and library area
• Private roof deck with panoramic city views and second deck off guest bedroom
• Comes with one outdoor parking space near electric charging station

Cons:

• Lots of stairs to climb
• Guest bedrooms on the small side

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Train operator fines piling up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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DAVOS WATCH: Week of meetings, speeches enters last day

DAVOS, Switzerland — The World Economic Forum held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos has the official goal of "improving the state of the world." In practice, it's a massive networking event that brings together 2,500 heads of state, business leaders, philanthropists and artists.

Here are some glimpses of what's happening and being discussed at Davos on Saturday, the forum's last day:

STATE OF MIND

Sitting in silence on a chair and thinking of nothing is not something you'd think people come to do at Davos.

But that's what dozens of business leaders, politicians and power brokers do every morning at a meditation session that kicks off the daily schedule.

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present, to the sensations in the body and calming the mind. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who has helped popularize the practice around the world, based on Buddhist and Yoga traditions, leads the sessions.

The meditation helps, among other things, to reduce stress — something a lot of participants at the World Economic Forum can use after a long week of back-to-back meetings.

-By Carlo Piovano, Twitter: www.twitter.com/cpiovano

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The Ticker

Sales of existing homes fall in '14

Sales of existing homes in the U.S. fell last year for the first time since 2010, despite several factors that typically help the market, including low mortgage rates.

For all of 2014, existing home sales dipped to 4.93 million sales, a 3.1 percent decline from 2013, the National Association of Realtors reported.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the drop in sales last year was "mildly disappointing," but said he expects sales to rebound this year.

Dow drops first time this week

A batch of mixed earnings reports yesterday helped push the stock market to its first day of losses this week.

Shares of tissue and diaper maker Kimberly-Clark dropped after the company's earnings fell short of expectations and it gave a disappointing outlook. Package-delivery service UPS plunged after it cut its earnings forecast.

Anheuser buys Seattle brewer

Anheuser-Busch is buying Seattle's Elysian Brewing Co., expanding further its collection of craft brewers. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Anheuser-Busch is the U.S. arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, a Belgian company that is the world's largest brewer. The company, which makes Budweiser and Bud Light, has been combating soft sales by buying up increasingly popular craft brewers.

• Agero Inc., a Medford-based provider of vehicle and driver safety, security and information services, has announced the appointment of Cathy Orrico as senior vice president of client services.

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Joe Kennedy III backs free community college tuition

U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III yesterday praised President Obama's proposal to make community college free for qualifying students, but acknowledged the challenge Democrats face in getting it approved and funded by a Republican-controlled Congress.

"It's a great plan. It's a great starting block," he said yesterday after speaking with students at Middlesex Community College Health and Science Laboratories in Lowell with U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas. "We've got to find a way to get that through Congress and get that paid for."

What also can't be ignored, Kennedy said, is the reality many community college students face of finding a way to pay not only for tuition, but also for fees, books and housing, and of balancing school with the demands of a job and a family.

"If we want to incentivize this alternative pathway — which we absolutely do because we need those skills, we need that talent — we have to recognize the fact that that traditional model of an education ... needs to be rethought," he said.

Community colleges play an important role in the student-to-employer pipeline, connecting many students with internships that give them valuable work experience and a competitive advantage when they graduate, Kennedy said, but most community college students can't afford to work an unpaid internship.

"One of the solutions that comes up time and time again," he said, "is allowing education credits for that work. They may be able to get a stipend or something that may be below your typical wage, but because they're getting credit for it, it enables the student to designate that time ... (and) earn that skill set and that reputation with that employer so that it tightens that pathway from the classroom into a job."

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New Balance steps in to team up with Rockport

Investment firm Berkshire Partners and New Balance are buying the Canton-based Rockport Co. shoe brand from Germany's Adidas Group for $280 million.

The Boston companies have a purchase agreement for the 44-year-old Rockport, which makes dress and casual shoes incorporating sports technology for comfort and "walkability." Other unnamed investors also are involved in the acquisition.

Rockport will be grouped with New Balance affiliate Drydock Footwear's Cobb Hill, Aravon and Dunham casual shoe brands in a new standalone company called the Rockport Group, which will remain based in Greater Boston.

The new company will be led by CEO Bob Infantino, who was president of Drydock, and former president of British shoe brand Clarks' North American operations and senior vice president of product and marketing at Rockport.

The sale is slated to close later this year.

No layoffs are expected. All of the approximately 1,200 Rockport employees and certain shared Adidas employees are expected to transfer to the new company, Adidas spokesman Dan Sarro said.

Of those, 80 are based in Canton, where Adidas' Reebok sneaker brand is headquartered.

Adidas disclosed last May that it was exploring a sale of Rockport — which it acquired with its Reebok purchase in 2006 — because it didn't consider the shoe brand to be a fit with its sports sneakers focus.

"The sale ... will allow us to reduce complexity and pursue our target consumer more aggressively with the Adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade brands," CEO Herbert Hainter said yesterday in a statement.

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Acura TLX more than sporty sedan

The longer I drove this car, the more I liked it. And, as it revealed more of its personality to me, the more I realized the subtle sophistication of the 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD.

From the fuel-efficient yet powerful 3.5-liter 290-hp VTEC V­6 turbo engine to the excellent all-wheel drive to the quiet, tight upscale cabin, Acura has done an excellent job of blending the popular TL and TSX sedans to produce this terrific-driving car.

My first inkling that I was driving more than just a well made sports-styled sedan was when I ran through an hour of heavy rain and noticed how well the car handled in the river of water on the highway. Despite the lower profile 18-inch 225/50 tires, the all-wheel drive kept me connected to the road, not hydroplaning or skittering.

The fantastic steering response and tight cornering came next. The chassis and suspension channeled a racing profile, pulling the car flat through turns and minimizing body roll. Capping the driving experience was the quick and powerful engine mated to a silky smooth 9-speed transmission. I ran the car in all five driving modes from economy, which delivered well over 30 miles per gallon on the highway, to sport, and loved that the engine was spirited in all modes.

Cabin fit and finish also grew on me. The comfortable leather-clad ventilated seats, wood inlays and aluminum trim smartly accented the conservative interior. The textured plastics and dash framed a two-gauge cluster that included the speedometer and tach. Electronic information gauges were embedded on the display and toggled through steering wheel controls.

Acura engineers have not forgotten safety in the TLX. The standard Tech and Advance Packages include lane departure, back-up camera, adaptive cruise control, heads-up warning when someone gets too close, blind-spot monitoring, rear pedestrian crossing alerts and collision mitigation braking for in-town driving.

The center 
console-mounted push-button gear selector for the automatic transmission took some getting used to and even after a few days into the test period I still occasionally went looking for a gear shifter. I also found the infotainment center a bit confusing to use despite the touch screen panel.

The trunk was spacious despite the visually shorter lid, but some rear seat legroom suffered for it. The car has superb curb appeal and Acura has reclaimed some of the angular lines of the popular mid 2000s TL, sharpening the softer, rounded fenders from the previous car. The trademark chrome beak, a design that drew so much criticism in the previous generation TL it forced a mid-cycle rework, is much smaller. With the new LED headlamps, the entire nose of the car is much more sporty and aerodynamic.

A base model TLX starts at a MSRP of $31,445 while our loaded version hit $45,595, making this a must drive when comparing sporty sedans such as the BMW 328 and Audi A4. Acura may have hit on a worthy competitor.

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Governor reassures leaders local aid won’t get cut

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Nevada considering strict condom regulation for porn films

LAS VEGAS — Adult film production migrated from California to Nevada after voters in Los Angeles County approved a law requiring condom use on set. Now, a condom use requirement could follow.

Nevada health officials said Friday that they're considering strict brothel-style regulations for a booming adult film industry following the announcement last month that two male performers tested positive for HIV following a video shoot in the state.

"The potential exists to require condoms and other barrier options in all sexual contact," state Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Mary Woods said in a statement.

The idea that porn stars might have to wear protection in productions filmed in Nevada generated a buzz among some of the 25,000 attendees collecting autographs from porn stars posing in fishnet stockings and bustiers at this week's Adult Video News Expo at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

"I prefer no condoms," said Rob Tatka, a 29-year-old tourist from Chicago who collected a bag full of posters of his favorite stars to take home. "Porn is about fantasy," he said, "and honestly, no man wants to use one in real life."

Condoms can cause friction, irritation or even infection during scenes that take hours to film before being edited, said Keiran Lee, a veteran male performer who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children.

Lee, 31, said he sometimes shoots 22 scenes a month. "I have the option to use them, but I don't," he said.

Woods, in the health department statement, said it could take up to two years to collect data and public comment about the Nevada proposals, and she called it too early to know the outcome of the process.

But for conference attendees enjoying a city synonymous with sin — and a state home to the only legalized prostitution in the nation — the idea of putting condoms on actors and categorizing adult entertainment production with brothels drew criticism.

Porn actors aren't prostitutes, said Diane Duke, chief executive of the Free Speech Coalition, an industry trade group that administers strict HIV testing and a database showing pass-fail results. Duke said the database lists 6,000 porn performers since 2011.

"In a brothel, you're talking about people coming in from outside," she said. "We have performers on a closed set who go through a testing protocol."

Duke said that since 2004, there have been no documented cases of HIV transmission during scenes between professional actors in the FSC database.

The two men involved in last year's case weren't in the FSC database, Duke said. Authorities have said it appeared likely one infected the other during an unprotected gay sex scene. Details haven't been made public.

Actress Ariana Marie, 21, said she trusts the results. She said she's been in scenes with and without condoms, and called it distracting to have her partner stop to take one off at the end.

"We get tested every 14 days," Marie said. "I trust my performer."

Prostitution is legal in rural Nevada counties but not in Las Vegas and Reno. Nevada health officials say a strict testing regimen prevents transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and has never resulted in a documented case of HIV transmission in a brothel.

If porn production is regulated under the same rules, condom use would be required for all sex acts, including oral sex. Adult film performers, like Nevada's licensed prostitutes, would be required to undergo weekly testing for the sexually transmitted diseases chlamydia and gonorrhea, and monthly testing for HIV and syphilis.

Nevada currently has no rules specifically covering pornography production. And no permit is needed to film on private property, a home or in a hotel room, according to the state film office.

That made Nevada attractive to West Coast adult film producers worried about losing fans like Tatka following the adoption in Los Angeles of strict rules requiring condom use in adult film sex scenes filmed there.

After voters in Los Angeles County approved the condom requirement in 2012, the number of permits for adult films in Los Angeles dropped dramatically, from 485 in 2012 to 40 in 2013.

Meanwhile, the number of general permits for all film productions in Clark County, including Las Vegas, jumped more than 50 percent, from 226 in 2012 to 343 in 2013.

Nevada Film Office analyst Kim Spurgeon in Las Vegas said officials don't tally the number of adult film productions by category. There were 400 film production permits issued in Clark County in 2014, she said.

Problems were inevitable, said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that serves California and Nevada.

Although the foundation was a catalyst for passage of the Los Angeles law, Weinstein professed no desire to kill the adult film industry.

"We're not against porn," Weinstein said in a telephone interview. "We want it to be safer. We think porn sends the wrong message to young people that the only kind of sex that's hot is unsafe sex."

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Fake schools draw scrutiny of federal investigators

SAN FRANCISCO — From her hometown in India in 2010, Bhanu Challa said she had no reason to doubt that Tri-Valley University was a legitimate American school where she could pursue a master's degree. Its website featured smiling students in caps and gowns and promised a leafy campus in a San Francisco Bay Area suburb.

Months later, her hands were in cuffs as federal investigators questioned her motives for being in the U.S. Authorities told her that Tri-Valley was a sham school. It was selling documents that allowed foreigners to obtain U.S. student visas, and in some cases work in the country, while providing almost no instruction, according to federal investigators.

"I was blank, totally blank ...," she said, recalling her shock. "I didn't know what to do, who I could approach."

Tri-Valley is among at least half a dozen schools shut down or raided by federal authorities in recent years over allegations of immigration fraud. Like Tri-Valley, they had obtained permission from U.S. immigration officials to admit foreign students.

But most offered little or no instruction or didn't require all students to attend classes, instead exploiting the student visa system for profit, investigators said.

"If there's a way to make a buck, some people will do it," said Brian Smeltzer, chief of the Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Last year alone, Smeltzer said, his office flagged about 150 of the roughly 9,000 schools certified to accept foreign students for investigation as potential visa mills.

Meltzer said many of the schools the agency investigates are in California, which has the highest number of foreign students and schools certified to accept them. New York has the second most.

Government watchdogs say the recent visa fraud cases have exposed gaps in ICE's oversight of schools that admit foreign students — a problem the agency says is being corrected. And experts say the scams hurt the reputation of the U.S. higher education system, which currently enrolls about 900,000 foreign students.

"If anybody has any illusions there was one just bad apple, that's not the case," said Barmak Nassirian, director of federal policy analysis with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. "There are plenty of them out there."

At California Union University in Fullerton, owner Samuel Chai Cho Oh staged phony graduation ceremonies as part of a visa scheme, according to immigration officials. He pleaded guilty to visa fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to a year in prison in 2011.

At College Prep Academy in Duluth, Georgia, president Dong Seok Yi conspired to enroll some women with the understanding they would not attend classes, but work at bars, prosecutors alleged. He was convicted of immigration document fraud and sentenced last year to 21 months in prison.

Investigators say Tri-Valley, with more than 1,000 students, many Indian nationals, was among the largest school fraud scams they have encountered. The school's founder and president, Susan Xiao-Ping Su, used more than $5.6 million she made in the scam to buy commercial real estate, a Mercedes Benz and multiple homes, federal prosecutors said.

She was sentenced in October to 16 years in prison after a conviction on visa fraud and other charges. The school is now closed.

The Tri-Valley case also sparked protests in India, where officials objected to U.S. authorities placing ankle monitors on former students. Investigators say they believe some students were cheated out of an education, but others were happy to be in the U.S. whether they learned much or not.

Jerry Wang, CEO of another San Francisco Bay Area school, Herguan University in Sunnyvale, is also facing visa fraud charges. Prosecutors say he provided federal officials with false employment information about students, transcripts and a letter purporting to show another school accepted Herguan's credits. He has pleaded not guilty, and the school remains open.

His attorney, James Brosnahan, said the allegations against his client are completely untrue. "It is a very real university," he said, noting that it recently was accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

The organization confirmed that the school was accredited.

To be certified by immigration officials to accept foreign students, schools must be accredited by a Department of Education-approved organization or have their courses accepted by at least three accredited schools.

A 2012 Government Accountability Office report said ICE was not always verifying letters purporting to show the school's courses were accepted elsewhere. It also said ICE was failing to analyze schools for patterns pointing to fraud. The agency now verifies every school credit letter and has developed a tool to assess the seriousness of any school violations.

"We've put in a greater system of checks and balances," said Carissa Cutrell, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security Investigations' Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

At Tri-Valley, Challa said she paid nearly $3,000 for her first semester, but never received an assignment or an exam. She was unhappy that she wasn't learning and was taking steps to transfer when the school was raided in 2011. She later completed her MBA and is now working in the U.S.

"I had to pursue my studies here, I had to get a job," she said. "I was the first person in my family to come to the U.S."

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