Watchdog dredges up private-funding idea for Boston harbor project

Massport and members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation say taxpayers will see a return on their $310 million investment in a Boston Harbor dredging project in the form of economic development, but one watchdog said the quasi­public agency should look to the private sector to come up with the additional $200 million it now says it needs to handle the expected increase in container shipment traffic.

"What's relevant is whether we want taxpayers to be on the hook for more money, particularly with all the uncertainties." said David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute, a Suffolk University think tank.

Matt Brelis, a Massport spokesman, said the state's so-called Pacheco law could make privatization difficult. U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch and state Rep. Nick Collins have called for Massport to back off privatization, while U.S. Sen. Edward Markey said he would be open to private, state or federal funding, or some combination of the three. Massport also is considering opening up a real estate zone for private developers to build on Massport property near the Conley Terminal, Brelis said.

At a lavish party yesterday to thank lawmakers for the $310 million they secured to dredge the harbor to attract mammoth vessels, Markey said when the Army Corps of Engineers completes the project in 2017, Boston will see a "dramatic" increase in cargo moving through the port. Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn said the agency already has secured contracts with Mediterranean Shipping Company, Evergreen and Costco, as well as smaller companies, for their ships to use the harbor.

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Powdered alcohol? Not so fast, lawmakers say

DENVER — Powdered alcohol hasn't even arrived in stores yet, but states already are moving to ban the product touted by its inventor as an easy way to mix a drink on the go.

Colorado is the latest state considering prohibiting "Palcohol" amid concern it will increase underage drinking. The product is marketed as an ounce of rum or vodka in powdered form, which is then added to water.

Each serving is the equivalent of a shot of liquor, according to Lipsmark, the company that owns Palcohol.

"I think being proactive and jumping out in front of the problem is probably the right thing to do," said Chris Johnson, executive director of the County Sheriffs of Colorado. "It really doesn't have any place in our society, powered alcohol. We have enough problems with the liquid kind."

Johnson said he fears powdered alcohol will make it easier for children to "sprinkle it on top of their Wheaties for breakfast" and increase the potential for alcohol poisoning.

"It can be a very dangerous thing," he said.

The company's website notes various instances where they argue the product would be convenient, including on flights and as an antiseptic on remote locations. Palcohol's creator, Mark Phillips, said he thought of the idea because it would be easier to carry powder for a drink during a long hike or other outdoor activities.

Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vermont already have banned powdered alcohol, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Minnesota, Ohio, and New York also are considering bans, the organization said.

In a video posted on the company's website, Phillips dismisses the concerns about underage drinking, noting the product would be sold only at liquor stores to people 21 and older. In the video, he also argues it would be impractical for people to snort the powder, as some critics fear, because it would be painful to do and the amount of powder in a package fills about half a glass tumbler.

The company doesn't expect Palcohol will be available in stores until spring 2015 at the earliest. They're still waiting for labeling approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The Food and Drug Administration said it does not have a legal basis to block the product after examining the non-alcoholic ingredients in the powder.

Lynne Barbour, director of communications for Palcohol, said states should control the product instead of banning it.

"We believe it should be regulated and taxed," she said in an email.

In addition to making Palcohol available as powdered rum and vodka, the company plans four cocktail varieties — Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Lemon Drop, and Powderita.

Republican Rep. JoAnn Windholz is sponsoring a bill to ban powdered alcohol in Colorado during the legislative session that begins next month. She said it's prudent for states to ban the product until they know how it can affect people if it happens to be stronger than liquid alcohol — another concern Phillips contends is unfounded.

Windholz said states should make sure they have a regulatory system in place before allowing powdered alcohol to be sold.

"It can be taken into schools, it can be taken into sports (events), Broncos games, whatever," she said.

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Find Ivan Moreno on Twitter: http://twitter.com/IvanJourno

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China imprisons businesswoman in rail graft case

BEIJING — A Beijing court on Tuesday sentenced a businesswoman linked to China's fallen ex-railway minister to 20 years in prison for bribery and interfering with bids for rail projects.

Ding Yuxin, formerly known as Ding Shumiao, illegally helped 23 companies win bidding for 57 projects and personally received 2 billion yuan ($330 million) for her efforts, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said on its microblog.

Her actions severely disrupted the bidding system for railway contracts, the verdict said.

Ding, who only finished primary school, has been portrayed as a key intermediary for then-railways boss Liu Zhijun's corrupt dealings. Between 2004 and 2011, Ding offered some 49 million yuan in kickbacks to Liu, who helped her "illegally gain huge economic benefits," the court said.

Liu, known as the driving force behind China's bullet train network, was convicted last year of taking bribes and steering contracts to associates and received a suspended death sentence. A suspended death sentence in China is usually changed to life in prison after two years.

Ding was also fined 2.5 billion yuan ($410 million) and had assets worth 20 million yuan ($3 million) seized. She is at least the fourth person to be sentenced in relation to the Liu corruption scandal.

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Sales of macadamias soar in Korea after nut rage

SEOUL, South Korea — Nut rage imploded the career of a Korean Air Lines executive and embarrassed her family and country. Now South Korean retailers are experiencing the unexpected upside: a boom in sales of macadamias.

The flavorful macadamia nut was unfamiliar to many South Koreans until Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air's chairman, ordered a flight attendant off a Dec. 5 flight from New York City after she was served them in a bag, instead of on a plate.

She resigned from executive roles including head of cabin service last week amid a storm of criticism about the tantrum that forced the flight to return to the gate. But macadamias are now a household name in South Korea and with curiosity about their taste piqued, sales are booming.

Auction, a South Korean unit of eBay and South Korea's second-largest e-commerce website, said Monday that sales of macadamias surged nearly 12-fold during the previous five days without any promotions. It said macadamias previously made up 5 percent of its nut sales but were now accounting for almost half.

South Korea's largest online shopping retailer, Gmarket, also owned by eBay, said Macadamia nut sales jumped 20 times during the six days to Sunday compared with the previous week.

The website of e-commerce firm Coupang showed Mauna Loa macadamia nuts were out of stock, with about 100 users asking on the comments section for the product to be quickly restocked.

One Coupang user asked if Mauna Loa macadamia nuts are the same brand that delayed the Korean Air flight. Another person who identified themselves as a seller replied that they probably are because orders have shot up.

One user parodied Cho's behavior on the plane, leaving a comment that asked the seller to ship the macadamia nuts on plate, or get out.

Cho's over-mighty behavior hogged headlines around the world and spawned various parodies on the Internet.

Cho made a publicly apology last week. Her father also publicly apologized and said he should have raised her better.

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Union calls 3-day strike at German Amazon centers

BERLIN — A union has launched a three-day strike at five Amazon.com distribution centers in Germany, the latest in a string of walkouts in a long-running wage dispute with the American online retailer.

The ver.di union called workers at Bad Hersfeld, Leipzig, Graben, Rheinberg and Werne out on strike from early Monday until late Wednesday. It didn't say how many people would be involved. Amazon has more than 9,000 full-time employees in Germany.

The union has been pushing for higher pay, arguing Amazon workers receive lower wages than others in retail and mail-order jobs. Amazon says its distribution warehouses in Germany are logistics centers and employees earn relatively high wages for that industry.

Amazon said customers can expect punctual deliveries despite the walkouts in the pre-Christmas period, news agency dpa reported.

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Europe stocks higher; Asia falls amid Sydney siege

European stocks inched higher Monday while Asian markets fell as weak Japanese data, slumping oil prices and a hostage situation in Australia's largest city induced caution.

KEEPING SCORE: In early European trading, France's CAC 40 was up 0.3 percent at 4,120.44 and Germany's DAX gained 0.1 percent to 9,600.89. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.1 percent to 6,307.59. Futures pointed to a rebound on Wall Street after Friday's decline, which produced the worst weekly loss in U.S. shares in more than two years. Dow futures were up 0.6 percent at 17,288 and S&P 500 futures gained 0.6 percent to 2,002.60.

OIL SLUMP: Oil inched higher after another rout on Friday that was sparked by the International Energy Agency saying that global demand will grow less than previously forecast next year. Oil has now fallen 47 percent since reaching a peak of $107 in June this year. On Monday, benchmark U.S. crude was up 41 cents at $58.22 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Lower oil prices should be positive for many countries but there are also worries the recent plunge is a sign of a sickly global economy.

JAPAN ELECTIONS: Japan's ruling coalition won a convincing victory in lower house elections Sunday, giving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democrats up to four more years to pursue economic and political reforms. But the "tankan" business survey released Monday highlighted challenges facing Abe's government which is using lavish monetary and fiscal stimulus to end two decades of economic stagnation. More than two-thirds of the large and medium-sized companies surveyed said they viewed the outlook for the coming quarter as "not so favorable."

THE QUOTE: "While the (Japan election) result was largely expected, I still feel there is room for buying dips in USD/JPY and the Nikkei given Prime Minister Abe is only likely to ramp up his strategy," said market strategist Stan Shamu at IG in Melbourne, Australia. "The fact that many continue to doubt whether Mr Abe is capable of delivering a successful economic strategy goes a long way toward contributing to the subdued price action. This only means Abe has to be even more aggressive to prevent failure."

SYDNEY SIEGE: A hostage situation is unfolding inside a cafe in Sydney, Australia with the nation's prime minister saying it may be "politically motivated." Five people have been able to flee from the cafe in downtown Sydney where a gunman took an unknown number of hostages at the height of Monday morning rush hour. Two people inside the cafe were earlier seen holding up a flag containing an Islamic declaration of faith that has often been used by extremists, raising fears that a terrorist incident was playing out in the heart of Australia's biggest city.

ASIAN SCORECARD: Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 1.6 percent at 17,099.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1 percent to 23,027.85 and Seoul's Kospi shed 0.1 percent to 1,920.36. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.6 percent to 5,186.10. China's Shanghai Composite reversed losses to close up 0.5 percent at 2,953.42. Markets in Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia fell.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 118.39 yen from 118.83 yen late Friday. The euro fell to $1.2443 from $1.2464.

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Charlie Baker’s goal to hike Mass. bond rating to AAA

Hiking the Bay State's bond rating to AAA — the highest possible — is a top goal of the next administration, Gov.-elect Charlie Baker told a group of investors yesterday.

"We're certainly going to focus on solving whatever short-term financial problems we may face, but we're also going to continue to pursue strategies for the long term to protect and preserve the commonwealth's financial credibility," Baker said at the state's annual investor conference. "That fundamental thing would be how we would go about pursuing and eventually earning AAA credit."

Standard & Poors has issued AAA ratings to 15 states, although only nine have received AAA ratings from S&P and Moody's, two of the top rating agencies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

"There are a lot of things we can do," Baker said. "But, it won't be easy. Like every state, we have challenges."

Massachusetts has pulled its credit rating up dramatically in the past two decades, from a poor BBB rating to AA+ today. Baker credited a rainy day fund created in the early 1990s for the state's progress.

"When we've seen two significant downturns, the availability of that rainy day fund has served as a shock absorber," he said. "It still today is one of those things we need to continue, so whenever the next downturn is, and there certainly will be one at some point, we have the financial capacity to manage our way through."

Hitting an AAA mark won't be easy, though.

David Hitchcock, the rating analyst for Massachusetts for S&P, cited the state's relatively high levels of debt and unfunded pension liabilities as barriers to the AAA rating.

S&P has rated Massachusetts' outlook as stable, meaning the firm does not anticipate raising or lowering the credit rating in the next two years.

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Scientology scrubs Boston hotel HQ

The Church of Scientology is putting the Hotel Alexandra on the market after deciding to pull the plug on its long-stalled plans of restoring the blighted South End landmark into its new Boston headquarters, church officials announced yesterday.

Just recently we've had some changes in our programs — some upgrades have caused a need for more space for course-rooms. With that, our international office told us that the Hotel Alexandra will not work because we need at least 50,000 square feet," said Kevin Hall, a spokesman for the Church of Scientology Boston.

Hall said the overall project would have yielded only about 42,000 square feet, including 25,000 from the hotel and another 17,000 from the erection of a new building on a vacant adjoining lot — the site of the "Ivory Bean" brick row house that the church tore down in 2012 after parts of it collapsed.

But Marc LaCasse, a lawyer for the church, said the cost of rehabilitating the five-story hotel and overcoming a multitude of engineering hurdles were also factors in the decision to sell the building.

The once grand Victorian Gothic edifice — it was built in 1875 as a luxury hotel for long-term guests at the crossroads of Washington Street and Mass Ave. — fell into terrible disrepair, suffering from neglect and fire while remaining vacant for decades.

LaCasse said estimates for the project — all work needs to meet strict city historic preservation requirements because the former hotel is located within the South End Landmark District — ranged from $24 million to a scaled-back $12 million.

"That's why they decided to sell and look for something that is not as labor intensive. They are not real estate developers," LaCasse said, adding he "absolutely" believes the church will receive considerably more for the two properties than the $4.5 million it paid for them in January 2008.

"It's a different market than it was in 2008. Read any report. There's no inventory in Boston now. There's awesome demand, but no inventory," said LaCasse, who declined to reveal an asking price or when he plans to put the site up for sale, except to say: "As soon as possible."

The church in August 2013 sold its longtime headquarters at 448 Beacon St. in Back Bay for $10.5 million and moved to a temporary location in Quincy Center.

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Jeep’s built to cross the Rubicon

Since the first Jeep was made in 1941, few other vehicles have been able to excel off road quite like it. The Wrangler Rubicon X is no exception to this legacy. It is "trail rated" by the Nevada Automotive Test Center, meaning that it is ready to maneuver off-road, climb rocks, and ford streams.

What makes this vehicle so capable off road is a locking front and rear axle and a disconnecting front sway bar, which allow its driver to keep wheels in contact longer to take on rugged terrain and hop rocks. Other aspects like plenty of ground clearance and hill descent control also bolster the Rubicon's status as king of the mountain.

The Rubicon evokes a sense of its World War II heritage with a red imprint on its 17-inch polished black wheels featuring the icon of the original Jeep. The imprint, along with the fact that the look of the vehicle stays true to its origins, is a symbolic nod to its predecessor.

This Wrangler features a 3.6-liter V-6 engine rated at 285 horsepower. It has plenty of power, but gets only 18 mpg on average. The Rubicon X is equipped with four tow hooks, in case your off-roading goes a little too extreme and you land yourself in the mud.

There's a loud hum from the 7.5-inch wide tires, which the soft top does little to muffle. Highway and traffic noise also make their way through this thin membrane. The soft top is going to be great in the summer, but practice and patience with zippers are needed to secure cargo in the rear Extra time will have to be spent in order to access the trunk.

The Rubicon X is equipped with very comfortable accent-stitched leather-trimmed seats, but access to the rear seats in this two-door is hampered by clumsy mechanics for the folding seats.

The leather-wrapped steering wheel has audio controls for the Alpine audio system, which features a built-in hard drive, CD, DVD, MP3 and a very good GPS. The system has a 6.5-inch touch screen, but lacks variable volume, which would increase with speed. This feature would be helpful given the amount of road noise while driving.

The Rubicon X is incredibly easy to park. There's no need for a back-up camera as you can see everything that's behind you by merely looking over your shoulder.

The test vehicle was equipped with slush mats, which are nice, but a step below ones offered by Weathertech.

It takes a while to get used to driving the Rubicon on the highway. It goes without saying that it will be more at home off road than on paved roads. At highway speeds, this two-door machine wants to swerve.

The power window controls are hard to find until you remember that the doors are removable. With winter-like weather, removing the doors wasn't tested, but the process seems easy enough.

The lighting inside the Rubicon X is not good. Lose your wallet inside this Jeep at night and get ready to use your smartphone flashlight to find it. Another feature the Rubicon X is missing is a 2-inch receiver hitch, which can always be added later, but seems like an oversight.

Its lack of space means you'll have to choose between passengers and cargo. If you are considering the purchase of a Wrangler Rubicon, the four-door seems to be a better choice than the two-door. It's most likely a trade off of some off-road capabilities by going this route, but better highway stability and increased cargo capacity are going to make it worth it.

The bottom line is that the Rubicon X is an awesome off-road specimen with predictable shortcomings.

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Golden age for Netflix, Amazon

The 72nd Golden Globe Awards may be a month away, but the winners and losers have already been selected.

Winners: Amazon and Netflix. Losers: Cable companies.

The fact that two online streaming services have received such resounding acclaim should put an end to any argument that the networks and cable have the market cornered on the art of acting, writing and directing.

Once just a way to access network shows on-demand, streaming services can now produce award-winning content themselves. An unintended consequence: television sales could dip in favor of tablets and smartphones because, let's face it, you no longer need a TV to watch good TV.

Though Netflix has competed at the Emmys and Golden Globes before, the nod for Amazon's breakout hit "Transparent" as best comedy TV series means that the creative success of Netflix — with seven nominations this year — isn't a fluke. It paves the way for the Hollywood elite to look toward Sony's new PlayStation TV, Microsoft Xbox, Roku and more as legitimate and promising places to lend their talents. Web series — like the Boston-set drama "Beacon Hill" — could also see a rise in interest both with viewers and Hollywood itself.

Such a scenario would act as a shot across the bow of overpriced and customer service-challenged cable providers. I wouldn't be surprised if, by this time next year, some top television shows are shopping themselves to those services as opposed to the networks that cable companies are currently holding hostage.

Of course, the awards also set up a serious faceoff between the two streaming titans-turned-TV-newbies. The seven nominations for Netflix original series shows "House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black" and "Derek" did not come as a surprise.

Amazon's nod for the hilarious show "Transparent," starring best actor in a comedy nominee Jeffrey Tambor, was more of a surprise. But to its huge credit, Amazon aggressively pursued the honor.

There's no doubt that Amazon's roster of 50 million subscribers to its Prime service will rise as a result, more so if Tambor wins. But there's plenty of room for streaming service competition and plenty of untapped market share to be had.

Rather than a monthly cable subscription, increasing numbers of consumers are paying for an a la carte menu of streaming services that allows them to view their own shows and still pay less than a monthly cable bill would cost.

One thing's for sure: Networks and cable companies will care about the 2015 Golden Globes for the first time in a long time.

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