Channel 5 deal moves it into to digital world
BOSTON – The owner of Channel 5, (WCVB-TV) announced a $10 million agreement with Geocast Systems Network of California to use new digital television airwaves to transmit TV shows and other select content to subscribers’ computers. Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., owner of Channel 5, said it believed the deal is the first in the country involving new digital TV spectrum. Big market television stations are being required by government regulators to be prepared for digital broadcasting later this year. Channel 5 said it expects to begin Geocast service by 2002.
Data General merger wins stockholder OK
WESTBOROUGH – Data General Corp. announced that it had won shareholder approval to complete its proposed merger with EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, Mass. The two companies have also won approval for the merger from the European Union. The merger involves the purchase by EMC of Data General for $1 billion in stock. Still lacking is Justice Department approval, expected to come through in the next few months, according to reports.
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Jordan’s sold to Berkshire Hathaway
BOSTON — Jordan’s Furniture, a Boston retailing legend known for its owners’ campy radio and television advertisements, is being sold to a subsidiary of billionaire Warren Buffett’s company, it was announced. Jordan’s, which sells more furniture per square foot than any company in the United States, is approaching $250 million in annual sales. The price of the sale was not disclosed. The four-store chain is co-owned by Eliot and Barry Tatelman, whose grandfather, Samuel Tatelman, incorporated it as a small furniture store in 1928 in Waltham. The brothers took over the business in the early 1970s, bringing it from eight employees to over 1,200 today. The company has a reputation for treating its employees well. In May, for example, the Tatelmans chartered four jumbo jets and took all 1,200 employees to Bermuda for a day. They announced today they are rewarding every employee with 50 cents for every hour they have worked for the company “to celebrate the excitement of the merger,” Eliot Tatelman said in a prepared statement. That could mean a bonus of $10,000 to $20,000 for each longtime employee.
Walgreen to pay state for allegedly overbilling
BOSTON — Walgreen Co. will pay the state $322,761 as part of a $7.6 million national settlement stemming from allegations the drug store chain overbilled Medicaid, Medicare and other federal programs for prescription drugs, Attorney General Tom Reilly announced. The Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen’s had faced allegations that it knowingly billed in full for prescriptions that were only partially filled.
Raytheon lowers expectations for Pentagon
LEXINGTON — Defense giant Raytheon Co. says it expects the Pentagon to spend 20 percent less on bombs and missiles to replenish those used over Serbia and Kosovo than the company previously predicted. Raytheon anticipates that replenishment orders will total about $800 million, down from an earlier company forecast of $1 billion. Raytheon spokesman Dave Shea said the Pentagon has slowed the pace of orders, The Boston Globe. A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment.
Big Dig contractor cited for safety violation
BOSTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed $35,000 in fines for a Boston contractor in connection with the August death of a worker on the “Big Dig” work site. OSHA found an alleged repeat safety violation by Perini Kiewit Cashman, a subcontractor on the downtown Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project after an investigation into the falling death of Fook Choi Kan. Kan, 56, of Springfield, was working on a construction site under South Station when he fell 15 feet into a pit. Kan was a carpenter for Perini Kiewit Cashman. OSHA officials found Kan had been standing on a support beam that did not have adequate fall protection, said Brenda Gordon, OSHA’s area director for Boston and Southeastern Massachusetts. Perini Kiewit Cashman was previously cited in 1997 for a serious violation of fall protection standards on a different “Big Dig” site.
Gillette loses legal war against rival Norelco
BOSTON — A federal judge recently ruled against shaving giant Gillette Co., which had sued rival Norelco over commercials depicting traditional wet razors as animated ferocious creatures. Gillette took issue with the ads — which had titles such as “Twin Blade Serpent” — for Norelco’s electric Reflex Action Razor, and filed suit in 1996 claiming the spots were false and disparaging. Though they never mentioned Gillette by name, Gillette alleged the commercials maligned the entire category of wet, or non-electric, razors. The ads stopped airing two years ago.
Southern Union to buy Fall River Gas
AUSTIN — Southern Union Co. says it will acquire Fall River Gas Co. of Fall Riverfor $75 million, including assumption of debt. Fall River Gas serves about 48,000 customers in Fall River and the towns of Somerset, Swansea and Westport, all in southeastern Massachusetts. The merger, already approved by the boards of both companies, remains subject to the approval of Fall River Gas shareholders, the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy, and state regulations in Pennsylvania and Missouri, where Southern Union also has gas utility interests. Under the agreement, Fall River gas shareholders will get $23.50 per share in Southern Union common stock or cash.
HMO signs $700m. deal with computer company
BOSTON — Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has agreed to a $700 million dollar, 10-year contract with a Texas company to fix and manage the HMO’s computer systems. Nearly 1,000 employees will be transferred to Perot Systems Corp., but will continue to work in the same offices, said Charles D. Baker, Jr., the HMO’s chief executive. About 95 percent of the Harvard workers who applied for jobs at Perot received them, Baker said. If employees had not applied for jobs with Perot, they faced layoffs. Baker said revamping Harvard Pilgrim’s computer systems is a critical part of efforts to turn the company’s financial problems around. Harvard Pilgrim lost $54 million last year and another $5 million in the first six months of this year.
