Davis eyes security deals with Sox, Globe

Former Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis is in talks with Red Sox principal owner John Henry to provide security for the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Globe, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Henry and Davis have not yet hammered out a final deal, said Henry spokeswoman Zineb Curran, but discussions are ongoing.

"There have been talks with Ed Davis and his security firm about providing security consulting services for the Red Sox and Fenway Park, however, no formal agreement has been reached at this time," she said in a statement.

Similar discussions are ongoing with the Boston Globe, Curran said.

Henry would not confirm a price for providing the security services.

The deal is on top of Davis' recent other work that includes acting as a security commentator for a local news outlet, as well as a consulting business for national and international police departments.

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Going the preowned route a smart move

Americans typically buy about 15 million to 16 million new cars each year. But it's only a fraction of the nation's used-car sales, which, save for a few down years after the 2008 recession, usually surpass 40 million annually.

"If you think about it," said Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds.com, "we all drive used cars. The second we drive a new car off the lot, we're driving a used car."

The reasons to get, as Bruce Springsteen said, a "brand new used car" are many. Chief among them: cost. According to auto resource Kelley Blue Book, the median sales price of a new car is $32,342. Most of that cost will often be financed, and loan terms are becoming longer and longer.

The median used-car price is a little more than $18,000.

"People have a restricted budget," Reed said. "A lot of people either can't qualify or don't want to take on a loan, especially younger people who haven't established credit yet. That makes used cars a great option."

Here are some pros and cons of going the preowned route:

PROS

• Price. Monthly payments are much more affordable to buyers on a budget.

• Many preowned vehicles still carry factory warranty coverage.

• Reliability issues aren't what they once were. There are millions of great used-vehicle choices available to the patient, informed buyer.

• Certification programs. As long as these are manufacturer-sponsored programs, these allow consumers to buy with confidence.

CONS

• Are you "buying someone else's trouble," asked Reed. "Has a seller disguised something wrong with a car?"

• Used cars won't have the latest technological innovations. Accident-prevention systems top this list.

• A used car may not have the desired prestige for image-conscious owners.

• The average age of cars on the road is about 11 years old, according to AAA. Older cars usually require more repairs.

"The days of buying a used car carrying a stigma are over," said Michelle Krebs of AutoTrader.com. "In fact, quite the contrary. Buying used is seen as the smart money move by many."

A quick and easy way to determine the viability of a used-car purchase is to use Edmunds.com's "Affordability Calculator." Plug in a few numbers and targets, and the tool quickly spits out a shopping price range. Advanced shoppers can go to their lender beforehand and prequalify for a loan; at that point, the process turns to hitting dealerships, finding the right vehicle and negotiating the price.

Before buying, it's a good idea to check out the vehicle's history. Once that hurdle is cleared, take a test drive and arrange a pre-purchase inspection.

It's a bit of a grind, but worth it when committing thousands of dollars. Probably the most important consideration for shoppers: Be patient.

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Savin Hill rebuild has flair to spare

This Savin Hill property, redone in 2010, has been transformed into a stylish home with high-end finishes and design flair.

Carved out of an 1859 former carriage house, 62 Grampian Way is a legal two-family, with a three-­level two-bedroom unit as well as an income-­generating studio apartment on the ground floor. It's on the market for $729,000.

Located over the Expressway bridge high atop Savin Hill, the house has cedar shingles on the front and sides and HardiePlank clapboard in the rear. The home has stained mahogany floors and built-in surround sound throughout.

The owner's unit is reachable via a stone staircase down to a front paver courtyard. There's a frosted glass front door into a hallway with a half bathroom and a wall of Brazilian tiger­wood cabinets.

To the right is a kitchen with tigerwood cabinets and white Italian marble-topped counters with glass-mosaic tile backsplash. There's a Jenn-Air gas cooktop and oven and cabinet-enclosed refrigerator. There's a waterfall-­style Italian marble island with a dishwasher as well as a breakfast bar that seats three. An adjacent dining area has glass doors out to a front courtyard.

Off the kitchen is the home's showpiece space, a double-height recessed-lit living area with a rolled bamboo ceiling and slatted wood loft space halfway up. In one corner of the room sits a marble-faced horizontal gas fireplace. There's a wall of windows and glass doors out to a treetop mahogany deck.

Mahogany stairs with slatted rails lead to the loft home office space on the second floor that overlooks the living room. There's also a small bedroom on this floor with an en-suite porcelain tile bathroom with a marble-topped vessel sink vanity and a deep soaking tub. Adjacent is a laundry room with full-size washer and dryer and the unit's gas-fired heating and central air conditioning.

The entire third floor is taken up by a master suite with a track-lit vaulted-­ceiling bedroom with a built-in gas fireplace and two frosted door closets with built-in wardrobe systems. The large, stylish en-suite bathroom has porcelain and glass-mosaic surrounds for a deep soaking tub and a walk-in shower with a white marble bench. There's also a marble-topped vanity with a long porcelain sink.

The 350-square-foot ground-floor studio rental unit, down a flight of stone steps, has a separate entrance. It features black ceramic tile floors, a kitchen area with Frigidaire appliances and a bedroom/­living space with glass sliders­ out to a paved-stone patio. Its white tile bathroom has a deep soaking tub and shower.

There's parking for two vehicles in a driveway at the top of the main entry stairs.

Pros:

• Double height living area with wall of glass and marble gas fireplace
• High design Italian marble and Brazilian tigerwood kitchen
• Top-floor master suite with stylish en-suite bathroom
• Treetop rear deck and stone front courtyard
• Ground level studio apartment for extra income

Cons:

• Not much yard space
• Second bedroom in owner's unit on the small side

Home Showcase

• Address: 62 Grampian Way, Dorchester
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: Three full, one half
• List price: $729,000
• Square feet: 2,059
• Price per square foot: $354
• Annual taxes: $4,996
• Location: About a half mile to Savin Hill Red Line T station and to restaurants and retail along Savin Hill and Dorchester avenues.
• Built in: 1859, gut renovated in 2010
• Broker: Anne and Craig Galvin of The Galvin Group at 617-426-2000

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AG gets partners deal delay

A judge has again delayed a hearing on the state's controversial settlement with Partners Healthcare over its merger with three smaller hospitals after Attorney General Martha Coakley asked for more time to renegotiate the pact, as a health panel warned the mega-deal could jack up medical costs by as much as $50 million a year.

The next hearing on the deal was pushed back from Aug. 5 to Sept. 29 yesterday after Coakley filed a motion asking for a delay until the state's Health Policy Commission issues a final report on Partners' proposed merger with South Shore Hospital and Hallmark Health System, which operates Lawrence Memorial and Melrose-Wakefield hospitals.

Coakley suggested yesterday her office could negotiate another agreement with the health care goliath, which employs 6,500 doctors and runs eight acute-care hospitals, including Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's.

"Our office always retained the option to seek to renegotiate portions of this agreement as it relates to Hallmark following a final report by the Health Policy Commission," said spokesman Brad Puffer.

Meanwhile, the state health panel yesterday warned in public comments sent to Coakley that the Partners takeover of the three hospitals would boost costs by between $38.5 million and $49 million for the state's top three insurance companies.

Partners disputes the South Shore Hospital numbers, arguing that savings associated with privately insured patients that the commission failed to calculate would save $158 million.

Coakley's office insists the settlement will control health costs better than any lawsuit could.

Coakley, the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, has come under fire from her two rivals over the Partners deal.

Pediatrician Donald Berwick launched an online petition against the settlement this week, which his campaign claims garnered 1,000 signatures in just 24 hours. State Treasurer Steve Grossman yesterday wrote a letter to Coakley, saying: "Your rhetoric as attorney general has emphasized transparency and the lowering of health care costs. But in negotiating this current deal, you have fallen far short of each of those objectives."

Coakley's campaign fired back, saying, "Steve Grossman ... is playing politics by changing his position by the day in a desperate attempt to find another way to attack Martha Coakley, regardless of the facts."

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BRA blasted for failing to collect rents

The BRA and one of its affiliates — owed a combined $5.6 million in outstanding rent as of April, according to a recent audit — were criticized yesterday as lenient landlords that are far too "cozy" with the businesses that lease space from the agencies.

But several tenants defended the Boston Redevelopment Authority and its offshoot, the Economic Development Industrial Corp., saying their mission is to promote business growth.

Former state Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan, a longtime BRA critic, said the agency has an obligation to Boston taxpayers to manage its assets and collect the money due.

"The BRA has a dismal record of collecting the full amount due from its licensees and grantees," said Sullivan, now the research director at the Pioneer Institute. "What we have been seeing is that the BRA is way too cozy with business owners, and they cut them slack and coddle them and do everything but what they are supposed to be doing, which is to get value for the taxpayers... It's an outrage."

But Michael Labadie, president of National Color, a printing company that is behind on its rent for space in the EDIC-controlled Boston Marine Industrial Park, said carping on unpaid rent misses the point.

"It's tough to be a manufacturing company in Boston right now," Labadie said. "I think people do get behind in their rent, and they do try to work with people. The whole program was instituted to keep manufacturing jobs in Boston."

According to the KMPG audit of the BRA released Wednesday, National Color owed the EDIC $93,118 as of April, but the BRA said yesterday the amount in back rent now stands at $24,874.

The audit also contended that as of April, Geekhouse Bike owed the EDIC $86,162, of which $62,704 was 90 days past due. The BRA said yesterday the rent that is three months past due has climbed to $86,162.

Geekhouse owner Marty Walsh said the debt applies to a separate company he owns, Headquarters Boston, that rents EDIC space on Channel Street.

"We're on the right track now ... but we got behind, and now we're trying to fix it," he said. "The BRA is working with us. They want us to stay here and do well."

The two companies are among more than a dozen the audit highlighted for owing the BRA and EDIC large amounts. Copy Cop, a print shop, as of April owed $213,859, of which $197,658 is now 90 days past due; while Pappas Enterprises, a real estate developer, owes $295,908, all of it 90 days past due. Neither company returned messages.

The auditors criticized the BRA for lacking a policy to deal with delinquent tenants and a process to evict them.

"We are trying to support businesses and don't want to force anyone out before negotiating an agreement (on back rent)," said BRA spokesman Nicholas Martin. "But at the same time it's clear there was a lack of a standardized protocol on what do to in these situations where the rent goes unpaid for so long."

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Cutting-edge condos dock in Eastie

An unlikely team of a developer and a contractor from Revere and a Harvard-trained architect is bringing cutting-edge lofts to the East Boston waterfront.

The Marginal Street Lofts, which are adjacent to the Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina in Jeffries Point, are the first new Eastie water­front condos in decades.

The contemporary design by Elizabeth Whittaker of Boston's Merge Architects has an unexpected exterior — black corrugated metal, red cedar planks and steel-boxed exterior frames with sides wrapped in stainless-steel mesh. Large front windows maximize un­obstructed views of Boston Harbor from all units.

The nine one-bedroom condos, which are 1,126 to 1,191 square feet, cost $549,000 to $679,000. The higher-priced, upper-floor units have private roof decks with harbor views. Each unit comes with a garage space under the building.

"We're hoping this captures the demographic of Boston buyers who don't want to pay $1 million for a condo with the same square footage as our units, but without views and without parking," Whittaker said.

Revere contractor Anthony DelVecchio, who built some commercial work that Whittaker designed, recommended her to Revere developer Michele Catalano of Tay's Realty LLC.

"I was a little gun-shy about the design, but now that it's done I think it's beautiful," Catalano said.

Realtor Paul Campano brought Catalano the three-lot site, where the developer could have built a row of three-families. But Campano, whose niche is unique properties, prevailed on her to be open-minded about a more contemporary design.

"High design and high quality sell," said Campano of Keller Williams.

Trying to put nine units on a tight site required building up and over central corridors to access rear-facing bedrooms.

"It was a challenge to build, something completely out of the box compared to the work we normally do," said DelVecchio. "It takes more time and it's more expensive."

Units have different configurations. Unit 3, on the market for $599,000, has a kitchen/dining area that steps up to a living room with harbor views. Another half flight up leads to a loft-style bedroom.

Unit 9 has a large open kitchen/living/dining area overlooking the harbor and a rear-facing bedroom. This unit and three others have 500-square-foot private roof decks.

Kitchens have quartz or honed-granite countertops, KraftMaid or Ikea cabinets, GE Cafe stainless-steel appliances and Grohe faucets. Living rooms have built-in gas fireplaces. Bathrooms have porcelain tile floors and white tiled tub and showers. There are white oak floors throughout.

Whittaker, who also teaches­ at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, said the Jeffries Point neighborhood and the Boston Re­development Authority were supportive of her design, and she hopes the project will lead to more contemporary design and perhaps a future brand for Catalano's projects.

"I'm a hands-on devel­oper, on site every day," said Catalano. "It's taken a lot of work to get this done but it's come out looking just like the renderings."

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Sepia in on ground floor of red-hot condo market

With 60 percent of its condos sold before shovels hit the ground yesterday, the 83-unit Sepia at Ink Block project on the former site of the Boston Herald has timed the city's hot real estate market well.

"When we decided to build 83 luxury condos there, everyone was asking why we would do that in this part of the South End," said Ted Tye, managing partner of Newton-based developer National Development, at Sepia's groundbreaking yesterday. "Now they're asking us to build more condos."

There are still two more sites on the 6.2-acre property and Tye said he is considering building more condos in the rapidly changing area.

The Ink Block complex already has three luxury apartment buildings with 392 units under construction, along with a ground-floor 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market that will open early next year. Sepia's one- to three-bedroom condos, ranging from 510 to 2,000 square feet, are slated to open in the late fall of 2015.

Sue Hawkes, president of The Collaborative Cos., which is handling the sales and marketing for Sepia, said a lot of buyers are South End residents moving up from older properties as well as empty nesters from the suburbs.

"We are averaging about $1,000 a square foot, which is pulling up pricing in the entire neighborhood," Hawkes said.

The eight-story building designed by Boston Elkus Manfredi Architects has a jewel-box look with its projecting balconies and terraces. Amenities include a common rooftop deck, garage parking, a clubroom with kitchen, fitness facility and access to the Ink Block's outdoor pool. Sepia also will have ground-floor retail and restaurant space.

Boston Herald Publisher Patrick J. Purcell, who sold the site to National Development, is a minority investor. Tye said the former Herald outdoor sign will be incorporated into the Ink Block.

The Herald moved to new office space in the Seaport District.

The South End neighborhood was torn down in the 1950s as Boston's first urban renewal project and industrial companies relocated there. "This was once a vibrant neighborhood and we are bringing that back," said Tye.

The district revival also includes the 378-unit Troy Boston apartment project as well as about 600 apartments planned for the former Graybar Electric Co. property.

"This area had become something of a no man's land," said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. "Now its transformation is happening quickly. It's having a new chapter with new residents and new businesses."

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Dow hits 2nd record close in July

The Dow Jones industrial average surged to its second record close this month as major stock indexes rebounded yesterday.

The Dow added 77.52 points to close at 17,138.20. Its previous record high was 17,068.65, set July 3.

Investors had lots of market-moving news to consider, but trading appeared to get the biggest jolt from the latest batch of corporate deal news.

Investors drove Time Warner's stock up 17 percent on news that Twenty-First Century Fox made a takeover bid for the media giant. Other deals involving Apple and IBM as well as slot machine maker International Game Technology also helped lift the market.

"It's a continuation of what we've really been seeing this year, and it's almost a record amount of (mergers and acquisitions) going on," said David 
Chalupnik, head of equities at Nuveen Asset Management.

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Asia stocks surrender gains before earnings, data

SEOUL, South Korea — Asia's major stock markets abandoned earlier modest gains, trading mostly lower on Thursday ahead of the release of U.S. economic data and corporate earnings reports.

Most of the region's markets finished in negative territory or were little changed with the optimism from China's growth report the previous day proving to be short-lived.

South Korea was the only major market that finished higher. The Kospi in Seoul rose 0.4 percent to 2,020.90. The market was boosted by expectations that the country's new pro-growth finance minister would introduce measures to ease housing market regulations and encourage domestic spending.

Japan and Australia were little changed. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed 0.1 percent lower at 15,370.26 and Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1 percent to 5,522.40.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.1 percent to 23,497.81 while China Shanghai Composite declined 0.6 percent to 2,055.59.

For the rest of the week, earnings reports from Google and IBM are key events on the corporate side. Investors cheered Intel's report of a 40-percent jump in its bottom line, a sign of recovery in PC demand.

The U.S. government is also set to release economic data including unemployment claims and home construction.

The escalation of the U.S. sanctions against Russia appeared to have no immediate impact on Asian markets, although the move hit Russian stocks. The new rounds of U.S. sanctions targeted two major energy firms, a pair of powerful financial institutions, eight weapons firms and four individuals. The U.S. penalties are meant to increase pressure to end the insurgency in eastern Ukraine believed to be supported by Moscow.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was up 32 cents at $101.52 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $1.24 to settle at $101.20 on Thursday.

In currencies, the euro inched down to $1.3526 from $1.3528. The dollar fell to 101.50 yen from 101.65 yen late Wednesday.

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Asia stocks lukewarm after China growth report

TOKYO — Asian stock markets were lukewarm Wednesday after China met expectations of solid but unspectacular growth in the second quarter.

The world's second-largest economy expanded 7.5 percent over a year earlier in the April-June quarter, picking up slightly from 7.4 percent growth in the first quarter, and suggesting the government's mini-stimulus measures had helped to offset a housing slowdown.

The Nikkei 225, the benchmark for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was little changed at 15,379.30, closing down 0.1 percent after zigzagging in a short range throughout the day.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1 percent to 23,489.78, while Seoul's Kospi inched up 0.04 percent to 2,013.48.

China's Shanghai Composite reversed earlier gains to fall 0.2 percent to 2,067.17 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1 percent to 5,518.90.

Other Asian stock markets were mostly higher, including shares in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

Communist leaders in China have been trying to boost domestic consumption to drive the economy as its longstanding engines of exports and industrial investment lose momentum. They have acknowledged that growth won't return to the double-digit rates experienced for much of the preceding decade.

"The results were merely in line with expectations. There was relief but nothing was new," said Nobuhiko Kuramochi, head of the investment information department at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo.

In Tuesday's trading, markets drifted as U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen did not deviate too much from previous comments and following some lackluster U.S. retail sales figures.

The main focus had been on Yellen, who was delivering her half-yearly testimony to Congress. She largely stuck to her previous script telling lawmakers that the Fed intends to keep providing significant support to the U.S. economy to boost growth and improve labor market conditions.

Her comments didn't dislodge market expectations that the first interest rate increase from the Fed will come next summer. Yellen said the Fed's current monthly bond purchases will likely end in October.

Yellen spoke after figures showed U.S. retail sales grew by only 0.2 percent in June, less than the 0.6 percent expected. However, May's figures were revised up to show a 0.5 percent increase, so the net effect was negligible.

"Today's retail sales report, while not terrible by any means, just isn't all that great," said Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 0.5 percent at 6,710.45 and the CAC-40 in France fell 1 percent to 4,305.31. Germany's DAX fell 0.7 percent to 9,719.41.

In the U.S., stocks finished the day mixed, with the Dow Jones industrial average eking out a tiny gain.

The Dow added 0.03 percent, to 17,060.68 while the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,973.28. The Nasdaq composite shed 0.5 percent to 4,416.39. The three stock indexes are all up for the year.

In currencies, the euro slipped to $1.3558 from $1.3571 late Tuesday. The dollar edged up to $101.73 yen from 101.68 yen.

Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery was up 51 cents at $100.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at twitter.com/yurikageyama

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China growth edges up in possible sign of recovery

BEIJING — China's economic growth edged up in the latest quarter and more than 7 million new jobs were created in the first half of the year, easing pressure on communist leaders as they try to prevent a precipitous slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Economic growth rose to 7.5 percent over a year earlier in the three months ended June 30 from the previous quarter's 7.4 percent, data showed Wednesday. The first quarter matched a downturn in late 2012 for the slowest rate since the 2008 global crisis.

Communist leaders are trying to steer China toward growth based on domestic consumption instead of trade and investment. But the unexpectedly sharp slowdown raised fears of politically dangerous job losses. Beijing responded with mini-stimulus measures based on higher spending on construction of railways and other public works.

"A lot of the June data looks quite strong, stronger than expected," said economist Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics. "I think it should vindicate policymakers' approach to targeted measures to stimulate growth."

China's steady decline from the explosive double-digit growth rates of the past decade has had global repercussions, cutting demand for iron ore, copper and other commodities that helped to fuel its expansion.

The latest growth was in line with the ruling Communist Party's 7.5 percent target for the year. Analysts say Chinese leaders are willing to accept even slower growth so long as the economy generates enough new jobs to prevent unrest.

A relatively healthy 7.4 million urban jobs were created in the first half, according to a government spokesman, Sheng Laiyun. He said just over 3 million rural migrants moved to cities during that period to work, a sign of demand for labor.

"In the first half of the year, economic growth was stable. Employment was stable," said Sheng at a news conference.

Second-quarter consumer spending rose 12.1 percent over a year earlier, though that was down 0.3 percentage point from the previous quarter, Sheng said. He said investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets rose 17.3 percent.

In other positive signs, foreign direct investment in China rose 0.2 percent in June, rebounding from a decline in May, the government reported earlier. June bank lending grew faster than expected, suggesting growing business activity.

The top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, had promised earlier the second quarter would show an improvement, though he warned the economy still faced "downward pressure."

Trade growth this year has been well below the 7.5 percent level forecast in the ruling party's plans. That has raised the threat of job losses in export-driven manufacturing industries that employ millions of workers.

The economy also has suffered a blow from a slump in real estate prices and sales due to government controls imposed to cool a surge in housing costs and encourage developers to build more low-cost housing. That has sent shock waves through construction, steel and other industries that rely on real estate and employ millions of people.

Despite the latest uptick in growth, analysts expect China's expansion to cool further over the coming year.

The International Monetary Fund expects growth to slow to 7.3 percent next year and to below 7 percent in 2016. Some analysts expect an even deeper decline, with growth as low as 6.8 percent this year. That would be stronger than the United States, Japan or Europe but China's weakest annual growth in two decades.

The latest data show the economy's reliance on higher government spending to offset weakness in real estate investment, a key growth driver, said Evans-Pritchard.

"We don't think this is a sign that growth is stabilizing," said Evans-Pritchard. "The stabilization has been largely a result of government stimulus measures."

The ruling party has promised sweeping reforms to make the economy more competitive and productive. They include opening more industries such as health care and transportation to private and foreign competition, simplifying taxes and regulation and directing the state-owned banking industry to provide more credit to entrepreneurs that create most of China's new wealth and jobs.

"The Chinese leadership plans to rely on faster reforms to unleash new sources of growth during the period of structural adjustment," said UBS economist Tao Wang in a report this week.

___

National Bureau of Statistics of China (in Chinese): www.stats.gov.cn

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Naver says Line messenger app mulls IPO

SEOUL, South Korea — Line Corp., the operator of a popular mobile messaging app, has submitted an IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange but might also seek a New York listing, its parent company Naver Corp. said Wednesday.

Naver, South Korea's largest Internet company, said the plan for an initial public offering in Tokyo is not final. Line, which is also the name of the app, could list in either New York or Tokyo, or both.

The move highlights the growth of Asian mobile messaging apps, driven in large part by the popularity of smartphones and connecting to the Internet through mobile devices. The apps have been a threat to longer-established Internet companies, which have responded by taking a stake in the upstart industry through acquisitions.

As of last month, Line had more than 450 million users. It has tens of millions of users in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Spain.

If listed, Line's market capitalization will be at least 23 trillion won ($22.2 billion), according to Lee Chang-young, an analyst at Tongyang Securities Co. That would be the same level as the market cap of Twitter Inc.

Lee said the number of monthly average users at Line is growing faster than that of Facebook or Twitter.

Other mobile messaging apps have also been involved in big deals. Facebook Inc. paid $19 billion to acquire WhatsApp and Viber Media was bought by Japan's Rakuten Inc. for $900 million.

For Internet companies that started when PCs were the predominant gateway to the Internet, messaging apps have provided a way to expand their reach to mobile phone users.

Naver owns South Korea's most-visited online search portal but is little known abroad. It reversed its fading fortunes with Line.

As the messaging app became a household name in many Asian countries, its revenues from sales of big emoticons known as stickers surged. It has diversified its revenue by courting advertisers and offering games.

Technology research company Ovum said the IPO would boost Line's presence outside Asia where most of Line's users are based.

"The IPO will not only help them get further visibility in markets outside Asia, but the resources can also be put to further marketing efforts and product innovation to grow their user base internationally," said senior analyst Neha Dharia.

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Federal Reserve's Yellen giving Congress good news

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will have some good news to tell Congress this week about the health of the labor market. But lawmakers will likely press her to provide more information on just how the central bank intends to react to the good news.

Yellen is scheduled to deliver the Fed's twice-a-year report to Congress on interest-rate policy and the economy. She testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and will follow that with testimony Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee.

She delivered her first monetary report to Congress in February, just a week after being sworn in to succeed Ben Bernanke as the first woman to head the central bank.

While unemployment stood at 6.7 percent in February, it has now fallen to 6.1 percent, the lowest point since September 2008, reflecting strong job growth in recent months. The economy has created an average of more than 200,000 jobs a month over the past five months, the strongest stretch since the late 1990s.

That will be the good news that Yellen will relate. But lawmakers are certain to quiz her about what the performance of the labor market will mean for the Fed's handling of interest rates in coming months.

In recent comments, Yellen has stressed that while jobs are now being produced at a faster clip, the economy still needs the Fed's help in the form of low interest rates because a variety of indicators, from measures of long-term unemployed to wage growth, still remain weak.

Yellen's comments will be followed closely to see whether there are any shifts in her view that inflation, while rising at a slightly faster pace than back in February, remains low with no danger that it is about to get out of hand.

The Fed's twin goals are to promote maximum employment while keeping inflation under control.

Lawmakers will want to hear Yellen's views on both goals and on related subjects such as whether she has any concerns that the Fed's prolonged period of low interest rates could be setting the stage for financial instability once the central bank starts raising rates.

And lawmakers will also be looking for insights on how the Fed plans to unwind its massive holdings of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities, which are approaching $4.5 trillion, more than four times the amount on the balance sheet when the financial crisis struck in the fall of 2008. The Fed's bond purchases were aimed at keeping long-term interest rates low to give the economy a boost.

Minutes of the Fed's June discussions released last week show that Fed officials are now in broad agreement that they will likely announce an end to their monthly bond-buying program in October with a final $15 billion reduction in the bond purchases.

The minutes showed that the Fed had a lengthy discussion on just how it planned to accomplish that reduction in its balance sheet. No final decisions were made, although officials expect to produce a plan before the end of this year.

The Fed has kept a key short-term interest rate at a record low near zero since December 2008. At its June meeting it kept language signaling that it plans to keep short-term rates low for a "considerable time" after the bond purchases end.

But the minutes showed there is a split between Fed officials who are still worried about low inflation and economic weakness and those concerned that the Fed may need to start raising interest rates more quickly than investors now expect.

Most private economists believe the Fed's first rate hike will not occur until next summer, although some believe the move could occur a few months sooner if the labor market continues to show healthy gains in employment.

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Study: US Alzheimer's rate seems to be dropping

The rate of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias is falling in the United States and some other rich countries — good news about an epidemic that is still growing simply because more people are living to an old age, new studies show.

An American over age 60 today has a 44 percent lower chance of developing dementia than a similar-aged person did roughly 30 years ago, the longest study of these trends in the U.S. concluded.

Dementia rates also are down in Germany, a study there found.

"For an individual, the actual risk of dementia seems to have declined," probably due to more education and control of health factors such as cholesterol and blood pressure, said Dr. Kenneth Langa. He is a University of Michigan expert on aging who discussed the studies Tuesday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen.

The opposite is occurring in some poor countries that have lagged on education and health, where dementia seems to be rising.

More than 5.4 million Americans and 35 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia. It has no cure and current drugs only temporarily ease symptoms.

A drop in rates is a silver lining in the so-called silver tsunami — the expected wave of age-related health problems from an older population. Alzheimer's will remain a major public health issue, but countries where rates are dropping may be able to lower current projections for spending and needed services, experts said.

Recent studies from the Netherlands, Sweden and England have suggested a decline, and the new research extends this look to some other parts of the world.

THE UNITED STATES

The federally funded Framingham study tracked new dementia cases among several thousand people 60 and older in five-year periods starting in 1978, 1989, 1996 and 2006. Compared with the first period, new cases were 22 percent lower in the second one, 38 percent lower in the third and 44 percent lower in the fourth one.

The average age at which dementia was diagnosed also rose — from 80 during the first period to 85 in the last one.

During that time, there were declines in smoking, heart disease and strokes, factors linked to dementia, and a rise in the number of people using blood pressure medicines and getting a high school diploma, which reduce the likelihood of developing the condition.

"The results bring some hope that perhaps dementia cases might be preventable, or at least delayed" by improving health and education, said the study leader, Claudia Satizabal of Boston University.

Dallas Anderson, epidemiology chief at the National Institute on Aging, agreed.

"For those who get the disease, it may come later in life, which is a good thing. Getting the disease in your 80s or 90s is a very different than getting it in your early 70s," he said.

GERMANY

Researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases say that claims data from Germany's largest public health insurance company suggest that new cases of dementia declined significantly between 2007 and 2009 in men and women.

Dementia prevalence — the proportion of people with the disease — also declined dramatically in women ages 74 to 85. There was a trend toward a smaller decline in men but the difference was so small researchers couldn't be sure of it.

The trends corresponded with fewer strokes and better treatment of high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes, and more education, they said.

ASIA, AFRICA

An updated study of dementia prevalence by Alzheimer's Disease International in 2009 concludes that its previous estimates for the disease worldwide were too low. The group now says dementia prevalence appears to have increased from about 5 percent to about 7 percent in East Asia, and in Sub-Saharan African from between 2 percent and 4 percent to nearly 5 percent.

The estimates were revised based on studies in China and sub-Saharan Africa, and the latest United Nations population projections.

COLOMBIA

Researchers from the Universidad Icesi in Colombia used current population and other sources of information to update a 20-year-old study on dementia and determined that current projections might underestimate dementia cases by up to 50 percent.

In countries where dementia appears to be declining, the rise in obesity and diabetes threatens to undo progress.

"It may be that what we have now is a sweet spot," where people with these problems are still relatively young, said Anderson, of the National Institute on Aging. "They're not in the dementia range yet, but what's going to happen? We know they're all in the pipeline."

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Online:

National Institute on Aging: http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers

Patient, family info: http://www.alzheimers.gov/

Alzheimer's Association: http://www.alz.org

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Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

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FCC receives more than 677,000 comments on net neutrality proposal

The FCC has collected more than a half million comments on its latest proposal to establish rules of the road for the Internet, with a deadline on Tuesday for weighing in on how or if the agency should adopt regulations prohibiting Internet providers from blocking, slowing or prioritizing web traffic.

An FCC official said that they have received 677,000 comments as of Monday. By contrast, the FCC received some 1.4 million comments following the notorious Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Superbowl halftime show and, according to the Wall Street Journal, the agency received more than 2 million comments over a 2003 order on rules for media ownership.

"Believe it or not, every single #netneutrality comment will be read by @FCC staff. Staff will sort & summarize," Gigi Sohn, the FCC's special counsel for external affairs, wrote in a Twitter chat on Monday.

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler proposed rules in April that would prohibit Internet providers from "commercially unreasonable" practices in the way that they deliver content to the consumer.

Critics blasted the proposed rules as too weak to prevent Internet providers from prioritizing content, such as websites or video that pay for such special access to consumers. Wheeler has said that he believes that such "paid prioritization" would be prohibited under the rules, but the FCC is also asking for comments on whether such "fast lanes" should be banned outright. The FCC also is asking whether the rules should apply to wireless providers, not just wireline, and whether the FCC should consider a bolder regulatory step. That would be to classify the Internet like a utility, a move that would give the commission greater oversight over broadband.

After Tuesday's deadline, the FCC will take reply comments until Sept. 10, with the expectation that the commission will rule by the end of the year.

Among those submitting comments on Monday was the Internet Assn., which represents Google, Facebook, Netflix, eBay and a host of other Internet giants.

The Internet Assn.'s Michael Beckerman called for "simple, light-touch rules to ensure that the Internet remains open, dynamic and spontaneous." He called for rules that prevent providers from blocking or discriminating against certain types of content, and that the regulations should apply "regardless of whether a consumer accesses the Internet from a fixed wireline or a mobile wireless access provider."

Beckerman wrote that that the "commercial reasonable" proposal would fall short of preventing providers from discrimination or blocking of content. Instead, he wrote that the association supports rules that are "clearer and more straightforward prohibitions against blocking and paid-prioritization."

"Charging for enhanced or prioritized access -- essentially, charging to discriminate against or degrade competing content -- undermines the Internet's level playing field," he wrote.

Berckerman also wrote that the FCC should find ways to prevent Internet providers from "market abuses" when it comes to establishing "peering" arrangements. The interconnection issue is the subject of a separate FCC investigation, but the Internet Assn. said that it "should not be used as a choke point to artificially slow traffic or extract unreasonable tolls from over-the-top providers."

The association, however, stopped short of endorsing a reclassification of the Internet as a utility.

Meanwhile, the National Cable and Telecommunications Assn., which represents major Internet providers like Comcast and Time Warner Cable, said that it planned to file comments that warn the FCC against reclassifying the Internet like a utility, suggesting that it "would likely fail to survive judicial scrutiny" and impose costs and regulatory restrictions "that would deter ongoing investments and innovation."

"If further action is necessary, it can be done in a manner that will avoid the tangible harms of [reclassification], that can be firm enough to prevent unreasonable discrimination, that can be flexible enough to consider new facts and circumstances as the Internet continues to grow and evolve, and that can be both platform and application agnostic," the NCTA said.

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

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Samsung suspends China supplier over child labor

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics Co. said it has suspended business ties with a Chinese supplier that allegedly hired children.

The South Korean company, which is the world's biggest smartphone maker, said in its blog Monday that it had found possible evidence of child labor and illegal hiring at Dongguan Shinyang Electronics Co.

Samsung said last week it would urgently look into the Chinese supplier following a New York-based watchdog's report that it hired at least five children under the age of 16.

China Labor Watch said children as well as minors under 18 worked at Shinyang for three to six months to meet production targets during a period of high demand. The watchdog said the child workers were paid for 10 hours a day but worked 11 hours.

The report detailed 15 labor violations discovered during its undercover investigation. They included child labor, the absence of safety training, no overtime wages and no social insurance for temporary workers, who constituted at least 40 percent of 1,200 employees at the Chinese cellphone parts supplier for Samsung.

China Labor Watch's report came shortly after Samsung said its audit found no child labor at hundreds of Chinese suppliers. Samsung began inspecting its Chinese suppliers after the labor watchdog raised the child labor issue in 2012.

Samsung said Chinese authorities are investigating the case and if the investigation finds child labor, Samsung will permanently stop doing business with Shinyang.

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Samsung's statement: http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=38650

Full report by China Labor Watch: http://chinalaborwatch.org/pdf/2014.07.10_Shinyang_Electronics_report__FINAL.pdf

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China indicts US, British corporate investigators

BEIJING — Chinese authorities have indicted British and American investigators hired by GlaxoSmithKline on charges of illegally obtaining and selling private information, state media reported Monday, as the Briton blamed the pharmaceutical company for misleading and using him.

Prosecutors in Shanghai filed charges of illegally obtaining and selling private information against British investigator Peter Humphrey and his wife Yingzeng Yu, a U.S. citizen, at the city's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The move paves the way for the couple to stand trial.

The official Xinhua News Agency said it is the first time foreigners have faced such charges in China. Humphrey, 58, and Yu, 61, are part of an industry of investigators who help corporate clients screen potential partners and employees or watch for embezzlement and other employee misconduct.

The couple's arrest last year coincided with a Chinese investigation of accusations that GlaxoSmithKline paid bribes to doctors and officials to use its medications. Glaxo said it hired Yu and Humphrey last year to investigate a security breach involving a top manager.

The indictment received prominent coverage in China. Reports by state broadcaster CCTV showed Humphrey and his wife being separately interviewed by Chinese reporters. In CCTV's footage, they were shown seated and wearing orange vests that are typical uniforms of detainees, as they spoke to reporters.

According to Xinhua, the couple are accused of illegally selling a "huge amount" of personal information on Chinese citizens, including home addresses, information about family members, details about real estate and vehicles and records of travelers entering and leaving the country.

The investigators are accused of obtaining such information by illegally buying it from others as well as with hidden cameras or by following people, Xinhua said.

Yu and Humphrey would compile the information gathered on the subjects of their investigations and sell the reports to clients that were mainly multinational companies based in China such as GSK China, the report said. They ran the Shanghai-based corporate intelligence and consulting firm ChinaWhys Ltd.

In Chinese media reports on Monday, Humphrey said he had been contacted in April last year by GSK's then-China manager, Mark Reilly, who wanted him to find out who leaked allegations of bribery at the firm to Chinese authorities and senior executives at the firm.

Reilly, who is British, is at the center of a major investigation into corruption in China's medical industry. In May, he was accused of leading a sprawling scheme to bribe doctors and hospitals to use GSK's drugs. Reilly's case has been turned over to prosecutors.

Humphrey said on state television that he found out during his investigation that the bribery claims were true and if he had known that earlier he would not have carried out the probe. Humphrey said he felt "betrayed and used" by the pharmaceutical firm.

GSK did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

The British Embassy in Beijing said it was providing consular help to Humphrey and his family and have told Chinese authorities they would like to attend the trial, which the court has said will be closed. A trial date hasn't been announced yet.

"We have made clear to the Chinese authorities that we would like Embassy staff to attend the trial and the need for a transparent and fair process," the embassy said in an emailed response to questions.

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Singapore ad backfires thanks to Germany Cup run

SINGAPORE — An ad campaign warning of the perils of gambling that began as just another bland public service announcement by Singapore's government has turned into fodder for international mockery, and left authorities scrambling after Germany's World Cup victory.

In the TV version of the ad, which debuted last month when the World Cup kicked off, a sullen young boy named Andy tells his friends in the playground that his father had used all of Andy's savings to bet on Germany to win the tournament.

Sad piano music is cued and a message is displayed: "Often, the people who suffer from problem gambling aren't the gamblers."

The PSA wasn't lampooned until Germany won its first match against Portugal, 4-0. As the World Cup progressed and the Germans looked more and more like favorites to win the title, the mocking of the ad intensified, with many wondering if little Andy and his dad were going to make a killing on the bet.

After Germany's stunning 7-1 semifinal drubbing of Brazil, the ad prompted ridiculing on "The Tonight Show."

"Cheer up, kid, your dad bet on Germany," host Jimmy Fallon said. "He's so rich you don't even need to go to college anymore."

Even Singapore's usually stoic politicians could not resist taking a few pot shots. Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin wrote on Facebook: "Looks like the boy's father who bet all his savings on Germany will be laughing all the way to the bank!"

But Singapore's National Council for Problem Gambling refused to back down and withdraw the campaign, which also included radio spots, posters around the country and banners on the council's website. In a statement, it said selecting Germany "injected a sense of realism in our messaging, since no one will bet on a potentially losing team."

On Monday, following Germany's 1-0 win over Argentina in the final, Facebook pages were full of congratulatory messages for Andy and his dad. A few suggested the two were off to Germany for a holiday, while another showed Andy wearing a suit, accompanied by the caption, "Who's your daddy?"

The council, meanwhile, rushed to post a new ad on its website. It features Andy's friend asking him: "Your dad's team won. Did you get your savings back?"

Andy replies: "No, Dad never stops ... he wants to bet one more time."

Singapore has a strong gambling culture, even though it only opened its casinos in recent years. Government-run sports betting and the lottery are hugely popular in the tightly controlled Southeast Asian city-state of 5.4 million people.

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Quincy lures tech firms

Quincy is throwing its hat into the Massachusetts technology ring, trying to lure growing high tech and life sciences companies — and the coveted jobs they bring with them — to the City of Presidents.

"We've really been working hard to put the pieces together to make Quincy more attractive for investment," said Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch.

Koch said Quincy can be a good fit for companies that need a bit more space than Boston offers, particularly for light manufacturing.

Recently, Quincy sent two economic development officials to a global biotechnology conference in San Diego to pitch Quincy as a good home, and joined the newly created Life Sciences Corridor, a joint effort with Cambridge, Boston, Somerville and Braintree to market the region to companies.

Medical device company RasLabs, a former MassChallenge finalist, unveiled its new office and lab space in Quincy Thursday.

It is moving from Boston's Innovation District.

"This is a magnificent spot," RasLabs CEO Eric Sandberg said, referring to the new office. "It was everything we were looking for, there's room to expand."

RasLabs had been working out of MassChallenge and looked for office space in the Innovation District, but did not find a good fit.

RasLabs, which makes synthetic muscles, joins Boston Scientific and Bluefin Labs, makers of underwater drones, in Quincy.

Bluefin, which came into the spotlight when its underwater drones were used in the search for the missing Malaysian airliner, was offered tax incentives to move to Quincy, Koch said.

Bluefin CEO and president David Kelly said the company chose Quincy because of a supportive Quincy government as well as "the Fore River Shipyard, which offers water access and ample factory space."

Similar tax incentives could be used in the future to draw new companies to the city.

"We use any tool or resource we can to help...the economy of our city," Koch said.

Quincy, where the unemployment rate is just 4.8 percent, according to the state, is still trying to expand its economy.

"For Quincy, or any community, it's important to do as much as you can to diversify your economy and your commercial base so you're not relying on one industry sector," said Dean Rizzo, president of the Quincy Chamber of Commerce.

Still, growing companies need more than just cheaper office space.

Part of Quincy's effort is creating an attractive ecosystem for companies, as well as a pipeline for future talent.

Quincy College has a new 1,600 square foot biotech lab, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Koch added: "It's been a real concerted effort to open our world a little bit."

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Co. creates machine shop in a box

A MassChallenge finalist founded in a Somerville community work center says it's created the world's first hybrid 3D printer they've dubbed a "machine shop in a box."

The Mebotics Microfactory combines the best of two types of manufacturing machine: one that starts with nothing more than a design and adds layer upon layer of material — usually plastic — to create a prototype, and one that begins with an amorphous material and chips away at it until the machine has sculpted the prototype according to the design's specifications.

"By combining the additive and the subtractive, we're able to work in a huge range of materials that a standard 3D printer can't," said Jeremy Fryer-Biggs, Mebotics' co-founder and CEO.

The result can be the difference between a plastic letter opener that breaks when you try to use it, and one made out of metal with a wooden handle that's not only functional but attractive, he said.

Fryer-Biggs has also used the Microfactory to make a custom speaker, a phone dock, woodblock prints, wax-casting chess pieces and a chess board made of exotic woods.

His fascination with building things began when he was a kid playing with Legos.

"Later on, while other kids were spending their allowances on pizza," he said, "I was buying things at Radio Shack for my next invention."

By the time Fryer-Biggs saw a 3D printer in action for the first time when he was a graduate student at Tufts University, he was hooked. After earning his master's degree in biomedical engineering in 2010, he started his own product-development company.

Sharper Image hired him to make a bagel-slicing device, but Fryer-Biggs was in no position to pay $500,000 for a new professional 3D printer. So he rented time on one.

"The client got angry because it took longer than expected," he said. "I said, 'Something's got to give.'"

At the time, Fryer-Biggs and three friends — Judah Sher, Calvin Domenico and Edison Gieswein — were helping grow a Somerville "maker space" called Artisan's Asylum, and they began kicking around the idea of making a hybrid manufacturing machine, one that, unlike most 3D printers, would be quiet, portable, clean and affordable.

In December 2012, they founded Mebotics, and over the next five months they financed the development of five versions of the Microfactory, each one a refinement over its predecessor.

The current version is a self-cleaning machine that can fit on a kitchen table, print materials in four colors and cut them. Because the Microfactory is connected to the Internet, Fryer-Biggs and his co-founders also are working on innovations that will allow people to remotely start their prints and monitor their machine's status, download content directly to it and network Microfactories together.

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Voltage to the starter is key to non-starting Focus

I found a 2003 Ford Focus with 30,000 miles for my daughter's transportation needs for a few years. After driving to a destination, the engine refuses to turn over unless you wait 20-30 minutes. This only happens in summertime and it simply "clicks" like a battery problem. I've had it analyzed on the computer and got no hits. My mechanic, to his credit, doesn't want to just guess at the problem until he's more sure of the source. Can you help?

Anytime there's an intermittent no-crank issue, the question is whether or not battery voltage is reaching the starter motor. A volt meter across the battery terminals as you attempt to crank the engine will tell you the answer. If voltage immediately drops into the 10- to 12-volt range as you turn the key, current is reaching the starter motor and it is trying to crank the engine. If you can, tap the starter or solenoid with a baseball bat while attempting to crank the engine — with all due caution and safety, of course. If the engine suddenly cranks, it is likely a faulty starter motor or starter solenoid.

If, on the other hand, the volt meter shows no significant change in battery voltage as you attempt to crank the engine, no current is reaching the starter motor. There is likely a poor-quality connection or ground somewhere in the starting circuit.

In either case I'd suggest disconnecting the battery and disassembling/cleaning/resecuring every electrical and ground connection in the starting circuit.

The clutch pedal in my 1988 Dodge Ram 50 was hard to depress after 30,000 km on a replaced clutch kit. I installed a new disc, pressure plate and throw-out bearing. I examined the cable for binding and kinks but found nothing — the cable was smooth in the casing. It is still really hard to depress. I've correctly adjusted the cable free play. I even took off the cable from the transmission and manually swung the clutch fork that moves the throw-out bearing. It is smooth and easy until it contacts the pressure plate, then super resistance. When I had the transmission out I saw no binding of the throw-out bearing sliding on the spindle. Help!

I'll assume you installed a stock replacement clutch assembly — not a heavy-duty clutch that might inherently require more pedal effort to disengage. Dodge recommends lightly lubricating the input shaft splines with wheel bearing grease and the pilot bushing in the rear of the crankshaft with a multi-purpose grease to prevent the clutch disc splines from binding on the shaft.

Years ago I stumbled across an unusual cause for a very stiff clutch pedal. The bushing in the clutch pedal was binding on the shaft the clutch pedal pivots on under the dash. I discovered this only when I accidentally pushed the clutch pedal with the cable disconnected from the pedal assembly. I ended up disassembling, lightly honing, lubricating and reassembling the pedal assembly – problem solved.

Even though the cable isn't binding as you move it by hand, it could have worn a groove in its casing/housing, which may cause binding under the stress of disengaging the clutch.

If I do a fast takeoff from a stop, the transmission on my '05 Buick LeSabre clunks hard shifting through all gears. If I stop and shut the car off it is fine and won't do it again until I have to do a quick takeoff. What do you think?

When this occurs, does the SES (Service Engine Soon) lamp illuminate? Your first step is to have a scan tool check for DTC fault codes. The transmission may be dropping into "limp mode" and operating with higher hydraulic pressure to protect itself. A simple DIY approach is to add half a can of SeaFoam Trans-Tune to the transmission to clean the valve body and hydraulic components.

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. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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