Fenway Remy's: Play ball

Jerry Remy's Sports Bar & Grill, the Fenway restaurant that abruptly closed earlier this month, is slated to reopen under new ownership and management on April 13 — the day of the Red Sox home opener against the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park.

The Boston-based Cronin Group is buying the restaurant from Red Sox Nation president and NESN color analyst Jerry Remy and his partners, founder Jon Cronin confirmed yesterday.

Cronin, who had been an investor in the restaurant, owns and operates the Jerry Remy's location in the Seaport District under a licensing agreement with Remy. The Fenway restaurant also will operate under a licensing agreement.

"It's a good area with a lot of development going on, so we see big potential there for a nice restaurant," Cronin said. "We're going to do a quick makeover, implement a whole new made-from-scratch menu and upgrade the food and beverage offerings."

Cronin hopes to sign a new lease with the building's owner, a Boston Red Sox affiliate, next week. He is also applying to have the restaurant's liquor license transferred to his company.

Remy's namesake restaurant closed without warning March 3, and Remy and his primary partner, John O'Rourke, have been silent about what happened.

Reached yesterday, Remy still wouldn't talk about why it closed, but said he "couldn't be more ecstatic" that Cronin is taking over.

"We feel like it's going to be in very stable hands now that he's going to be the owner and operator," Remy said. "John was our major investor, and I'm glad it is in his hands. We're pleased that it turned out the way it did."

Jerry Remy's Sports Bar & Grill opened in the shadow of Fenway Park in March 2010 after a $5 million build-out. A large roof deck was later added.

There's a lot of work before it reopens, including hiring 200 employees, according to Cronin, who encouraged former employees to apply. The revamped menu will include business lunch options for small and large groups.

The Cronin Group owns a string of other restaurant/bars in Boston, including Tia's Boston, Market, the Atlantic Beer Garden and Whiskey Priest in the Seaport District, and the Playwright and Boston Beer Garden in South Boston. It also owns Temazcal Tequila Cantinas in the Seaport District and Lynnfield, and Tony C's Sports Bar & Grill in Somerville and Burlington.

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Car Smart: Murano gives more features for less money

Newly redesigned for 2015, the Nissan Murano is an attractive mid-sized crossover that has almost everything you could want for less money.

While it doesn't wow you with its power, it earns some nice style points for its features and upscale appearance.

The Murano has a 3.5-liter V6 engine with a continuously variable-speed automatic transmission (CVT). The CVT takes awhile to get used to as it seems to feel like a slipping clutch, revving hard but not taking off. Drivers looking for a fast hole-shot will find this feature lacking. For others, the transmission is something they may notice at first, but soon forget.

The one-speed CVT does pay dividends — it helps this car achieve 21 miles per gallon in the city and 28 mpg on the highway.

The Murano has the look and feel of a higher-priced luxury vehicle without the expensive price tag. The aerodynamic exterior is sleek and sharp with nice lines along the side complemented by a chrome accent at the base of the door. The Murano looks somewhat like a spaceship from a few vantage points.

The SV AWD trim level, with an MSRP of $37,305, has a classy interior even though it is equipped with cloth, not leather, seats. It also did not have a heated steering wheel or heated seats, which in winter seems a bit of a must here in the Northeast.

The all-wheel drive performs very well in the snow, with the Murano starting and stopping with predictably good results. The vehicle is also equipped with a remote start feature, which is necessary in the cold weather.

The Murano's 11-speaker Bose audio system has good sound and there's a touch screen on the head unit that also controls the GPS and Bluetooth. The electronics layout needs some tweaking, however. The volume controls are hard to find on the steering wheel and even after a week of driving, the layout failed to make sense.

This crossover sports a quiet cabin that insulates highway noise pretty well, but engine noise somehow still manages to get through. The ride is very comfortable.

With 69.9 cubic feet of cargo space, the Murano has plenty of storage, even more than the previous model year. The Murano seats five comfortably with front seats that employ zero gravity technology and back seats that fold flat. The cabin feels even roomier with its super-sized panoramic moonroof.

Overall, the Nissan 
Murano SV AWD is a great buy as long as you are looking for features and comfort over performance.

2015 Nissan Murano SV AWD

• MSRP: $35,105
• As Tested: $37,305
• MPG: 21 city, 28 highway

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Home Showcase: This colonial has drive-in appeal

Less than an hour's drive from Boston, this updated contemporary colonial in Medway looks unusual at first, with an attached, two-car garage that juts out of the front, but the inside is well lit and spacious with hardwood floors, four bedrooms and plenty of bathrooms.

"It's a bright, welcoming home with a floor plan that is wonderful for entertaining, as well as for raising children," said broker Paul Yorkis of Patriot Real Estate in Medway.

Built in 1988 on 1.11 fenced-in acres on a quiet suburban street, the first floor includes a living room with a wood-burning fireplace, a dining room, and a remodeled kitchen with an informal dining area. There is plenty of cabinet space in the kitchen, along with granite countertops, an island, a pantry, a five-burner Bosch stove and a hood, and stainless steel appliances, including a microwave, a combination oven-confection oven, and a Bosch refrigerator.

A laundry area is off the kitchen, which leads to a large family room with a cathedral ceiling, exposed beams, skylights, a wood-burning fireplace and access to the garage. A slate patio with a fire pit can be accessed from both the family room and the kitchen. Off the family room, is a half bath and a hallway with ample closet space.

Upstairs, each of the four bedrooms has recessed lighting, a ceiling fan and closet space. The master bedroom has a walk-in closet and a full bath with a jacuzzi/soaking tub and a shower. A second full bath upstairs has a tub and shower and a double vanity with a granite top. In the hallway is a linen closet.

The finished basement is carpeted and has a half bath and two rooms, one of which has a door to the yard. There are also two mechanical rooms in the basement.

The house has central air conditioning and four heating zones: three oil and one electric.

HOME SHOWCASE

• Address: 14 Rockwood Road
• Bedrooms: Four
• Bathrooms: Two full and two half
• List price: $629,900
• Square feet: 3,128
• Price per square foot: $201.37
• Annual taxes: $9,870 in 2014
• Location: About 20 minutes to the Norfolk commuter rail station if you drive to Medway Middle School, where you can park for free and take the shuttle bus
• Built: In 1988
• Broker: Paul Yorkis of Patriot Real Estate at (508) 533-4321

THE APPRAISAL

Pros:

• Ample storage space
• Modern kitchen
• Fenced-in yard

Cons:

• Suburban location, driving distance to shops

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Uber, insurance companies agree on bill

Ride-sharing company Uber has reached an agreement with major insurance companies on a model bill that would cover drivers anytime they are working.

"It's a national agreement with a number of major insurance carriers to come together and agree on some negotiated insurance language for state legislation of transportation network companies," said Meghan Joyce, general manager of Uber East Coast. "We can use (the agreement) to provide clarity to insurance across the nation."

Uber and Lyft — which also signed the agreement — have been criticized for gaps in insurance coverage, as well as blurring the line between personal and commercial insurance policies. The agreement, which will be sent to state legislators across the country, provides lawmakers with a compromise both sides have already agreed to.

"Auto insurance carriers, Transportation Network Companies, and trade associations stand together in support of this insurance legislation, and encourage you to utilize this language," the letter to legislators says.

Uber and Lyft have faced scrutiny from cab drivers and local governments that want regulations for ride-sharing companies to put them on a level playing field with taxi companies.

Gov. Charlie Baker's administration is in the middle of its own regulatory process, and expects to file a bill in the coming weeks.

Bill Pitman, a Baker spokesman, said: "The administration continues to engage with municipalities, industry leaders and public safety advocates as it works to draft a statewide regulatory framework that embraces innovation and enhances the safety of riders and drivers."

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Hotel bid process seen as ripe for collusion

Massport is allowing development groups seeking to build an $800 million Seaport District hotel to team up with the same hotel partners, creating an unusual situation that critics say could be exploited and lead to collusion if a hotel chain was to share one bidder's sensitive financial information with its competitor.

"If a bidder is clued in on another's bid, the integrity of the process could be compromised and the public may wind up with a raw deal," said Mary Z. Connaughton, director of government transparency for the Pioneer Institute. "I would hope there would be some type of firewall. The hotels themselves would be privy to two different bids and each one will be asking for some form of public subsidy ... They need tight controls to make sure collusion does not exist."

According to Massport, it has received six bids from developers to build the new headquarters hotel on two Massport-owned parcels at Summer and D streets as part of the planned $1 billion expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

One development group, Boston-based Fallon Co. and Capstone Development of Washington, D.C., has submitted three separate bids, each with a different hotel brand: Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels and Marriott International.

Another development team, Boston-based Accordia Partners and RIDA Development of Houston, has submitted two bids, one with Hilton Worldwide and another with Marriott International.

A third group, New Boston Hospitality, has teamed up with only one hotel partner, Omni.

Massport spokesman Matthew Brelis defended its request-for-proposals process, saying it will spur more bids and greater options for the authority.

"This is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country and the more bids we receive, the greater the competition and ability to negotiate on behalf of the public. Four different hotel brands expressed interest, including Hilton and Marriott, with more than one developer. That speaks to the strong market, and the national hotel brands' eagerness to win," Brelis said. "Each of the hotel bids are unique. If any evidence of collusion by national hotel brands surfaces in our review, then we will take appropriate action."

David Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute said the "potential clearly exists" for hotel operators to share information between the different bidders, raising the issue of how the hotels could uphold a fiduciary responsibility to competing clients. It could also weaken Massport's leverage, he said.

"It seems to me they have already lost bargaining power when they have permitted bids from companies that are sharing hotel operators in their proposals," he said. "It creates a downward pressure because it is in the interest of the bidders to bid as little as possible."

Fallon, Capstone and Marriott did not return repeated messages. Kirk Sykes, manager of Accordia, and RIDA both declined to comment.

A spokeswoman for Hilton defended its decision to partner with competing developers, saying in a statement, "This process was mandated by the MCCA and Massport ... All parties involved were simply following the rules they've outlined."

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New Balance gives Boston its sole

New Balance is releasing a new running shoe with a distinctive Boston flavor just in time for next month's 119th Boston Marathon.

The limited-edition Fresh Foam Zante Boston sneaker features the Boston skyline on its insole and the word "Fastah" on the sole — that's "faster" in Boston parlance. New Balance also inscribed its logo with "Boston."

"With its extraordinary culture of both sports fanatics and fitness fanatics, it's safe to say that nobody runs like Boston," the company said in a statement.

The sneakers go on sale for $114.95 at New Balance's Boston store and on newbalance.com on April 6.

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Rates drop for summer

The price of electricity is going down this summer for National Grid cus­tomers, but rates will remain higher than a year ago — with no relief in sight.

"It's a little higher than last summer," said Jake Navarro, a spokesman for National Grid. "This is a market-­based phenomenon and over time, because of the natural gas constraints in the region, these power supply prices are going to continue to creep up."

National Grid this week announced a 26 percent rate cut for its electric customers, or about $32 on a typical bill, and a 25 percent to 30 percent cut for natural gas customers, or $9 to $12 on a typical bill, starting May 1. The Department of Public Utilities yesterday approved the new rates.

Eversource, the state's major electricity delivery company, has said it hopes to be able to file for a rate decrease in a few months.

Last fall, the DPU approved a 37 percent rate hike for National Grid electric customers. At the time, National Grid blamed the increase on insufficient natural gas pipeline ca­pacity to fuel power plants. Gov. Charlie Baker has thrown his support behind efforts to add a new natural gas pipeline in the region.

"The region as a whole has become more reliant on natural gas, but without building the highways to get natural gas here," Navarro said. 'We need additional gas capacity in the region and until we get it, it looks like the power supply prices will continue to trend up."

A legislative committee is investigating the increases in electricity prices in Massachusetts, and a DPU spokeswoman said it has started looking into "ways to improve the retail electric competitive supply market."

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The Ticker

Smart meters come to Hub

Boston will replace all 8,000 parking meters in the Hub with "next generation" smart meters.

The Back Bay and Innovation District will get multispace meters, which allow more vehicles to fit in a block of spaces, the city said. The rest of the parking meters will be replaced by meters that will accept change, credit cards and cell phone payments. The smart meters also will collect real-time data about whether a space is occupied.

The move, announced yesterday as part of Mayor Martin J. Walsh's transportation initiatives, is expected to cost $5 million. Replacement of the parking meters will begin by the end of the year.

Heinz buy of Kraft just latest merger

Wall Street's deal-making renaissance shows no sign of ending.

Heinz's $45 billion acquisition of Kraft Foods, announced yesterday, has helped maintain the momentum in the market for mergers and acquisitions.

So far this year, companies globally have struck deals worth $802 billion, according to data provider Dealogic. That compares with $733 billion in the first quarter of 2014 and makes it the best first quarter for deal-making in at least five years.

Other big deals in the works include Simon Property's bid to buy rival Macerich, and AbbVie's deal to buy Pharmacyclics.

• Tufts Health Plan announced the appointment of Marc Backon, left, to senior vice president and chief sales and marketing officer for its commercial products division. Backon brings more than 25 years of health care ex­perience to this position.

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$17M fraud penalty rocks state biotech co.

A Bay State biotech company will pay more than $17 million to settle charges that its executives lied to investors and used their money for personal expenses, including massages and leasing a BMW.

"They were lying about what they had to sell, how soon it was likely to get to market, how and whether it was under the governmental approval processes and how much their company might be worth," said Paul Levenson, regional director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Boston Regional Office.

Danvers-based BioChemics was accused of defrauding investors from 2009 until mid-2012, falsely claiming that:

• The company had partnerships with other drug companies.

• Two drugs were under FDA review.

• The company had been valued at more than $1 billion when it had an internal valuation of $200 million.

BioChemics raised more than $15 million from at least 70 individual investors for a transdermal drug delivery system it claimed it was developing.

John Masiz, the founder of BioChemics, Gregory Kroning and Craig Medoff also were named in the initial SEC complaint.

"Investor funds were used to pay for personal expenses of Masiz (such as meals, massages, clothing and sporting goods) and Kroning (such as a leased BMW automobile)," the complaint said.

BioChemics must pay more than $17 million to the SEC, including "ill-gotten gains," interest and a $750,000 penalty, the SEC said. The SEC will then seek to repay investors.

A lawyer representing BioChemics did not respond to requests for comment.

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HubSpot connects with Rekindle’s dating app

Cambridge marketing and sales software company HubSpot is turning to social and dating app Rekindle to help its customers make better connections.

"Instead of being in a romantic relationship, it's a business relationship," said Brad Coffey, vice president of product for HubSpot, which yesterday announced it had acquired Rekindle.

Rekindle uses phone contacts to connect friends who may have drifted apart or want to restart a relationship. Rekindle recently rolled out a way to understand connections between friends of friends.

At HubSpot, Rekindle's team will focus on making those connections work for salespeople by adding context to potential leads, including revealing connections to other leads. HubSpot recently jumped headfirst into sales after focusing on software for marketers for years.

"(Salespeople) get so much value out of understanding the relationships between their customers and their prospects," Rekindle co-founder Matthew Grace said. "There's so much value in those relationships."

Grace said his team will be doing more to integrate and connect all the information the HubSpot software already collects, including social media,

"All the data HubSpot has ... it's an order of magnitude bigger, it's kind of like a playground," Grace said.

Grace and Coffey both declined to say how much HubSpot paid for his company, but Grace said, "All my investors are happy, I'll leave it at that."

Grace and the four other employees at Rekindle have already started at HubSpot.

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