INFRASTRUCTURE
Mass. applies for four federal transportation grants, totaling more than $2b
The Healey administration said Monday that it has applied for federal transportation grants to help fund four major projects across the state. Along with the US Army Corps of Engineers, the state will seek $1.45 billion to re-do the aging Cape Cod bridges (the state has committed $700 million of its own funds as well). The Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the City of Boston are seeking $200 million to help modernize I-90 in Allston, which would free up land near Harvard University’s Allston campus and improve rail service from the west into Boston. The MBTA also applied for $672 million to rebuild the rail drawbridge just north of North Station, which would improve Commuter Rail and Amtrak service north of the city. And MassDOT is seeking $44 million from a rural transportation program to re-do Route 9 in Williamsburg. ― TIM LOGAN
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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Spindrift expands its Newton headquarters
Sparkling water beverage company Spindrift has expanded its headquarters at Chapel Bridge Park in Newton to more than 20,000 square feet. The eight-building campus is located in Newton’s Nonantum neighborhood near the Charles River. The property dates to the 1850s, when it operated as a stocking and hosiery mill, and was renovated in 2013 as a 250,000-square-foot office and research and development campus. Beyond Spindrift, landlord The Bulfinch Cos. has leased 4,000 square feet to Swiss biotech company GlycoEra AG and 8,500 square feet to Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents, or NESCA. It’s the second Massachusetts location for the pediatric neuropsychology practice. Cancer biotech Auron Therapeutics, which landed a $48 million series A fund-raising round last July, has sublet space as well. “Newton provides an ideal location for many companies and Chapel Bridge offers a unique range of suite sizes in multiple buildings, providing flexibility for tenants to grow,” said Mike Wilcox, senior vice president and director of leasing at Bulfinch, in a statement. ― CATHERINE CARLOCK
LIFE SCIENCE REAL ESTATE
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Longtime CFO at Alexandria to step away from the company
Dean Shigenaga, the longtime chief financial officer of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., is resigning from the life-science real estate developer effective Sept. 15 “for important personal family health reasons,” the firm said in a securities filing. Marc Binda, current executive vice president of finance and treasurer, will become the company’s CFO and treasurer. Pasadena, Calif.-based Alexandria is among the largest lab developers in Greater Boston; some current projects include the future headquarters for Moderna Therapeutics in Cambridge’s Kendall Square and a $700 million genetic medicine research center in Boston’s Fort Point for Eli Lilly & Co. The firm is also wrapping up a 1.2 million-square-foot conversion of Arsenal on the Charles, the former Athenahealth headquarters campus in Watertown. Shigenaga has been with Alexandria since 2000 and became CFO in 2004, adding the role of company president two years ago. Alexandria plans for Shigenaga to assist with the transition and stay on to consult. ― CATHERINE CARLOCK
INSURANCE
Long COVID is adding to workers comp claims, study finds
Six percent of workers who filed workers’ compensation claims for catching COVID-19 between March 2020 and September 2021 have also received care for Long COVID, according to a new report. Of these workers, many of them continued receiving medical care for ongoing symptoms a year after their infections, researchers at the Cambridge-based Workers Compensation Research Institute say, citing work that involved data from 31 states. Among all 50 states, Massachusetts was found to have the second fewest amount of workers who filed Long COVID claims, behind Missouri. About 3 percent of workers in the state filed claims for Long COVID care. Oregon, with the most claims in the country, had about 10 percent of sampled workers who continued to be affected by the virus. The cost of Long COVID claims also far outgrew insurance costs to treat initial COVID infections, according to the study; at an average of 18 months of post-infection experience, workers received more than 20 weeks of temporary disability benefits and received about $29,000 in medical care. State Senator Jo Comerford of Northampton bill would create a special commission to study Long COVID related needs in Massachusetts. — STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
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TECHNOLOGY
China fines US research firm in crackdown on information gathering
An American research firm has been fined $1.5 million by China’s government in a crackdown on information-gathering that has rattled foreign investors. Mintz Group was one of a series of foreign consultants that were raided starting in April after Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government announced expanded anti-spying rules that left companies unsure what they were allowed to do. Mintz Group illegally engaged in “foreign-related statistical investigation activities without obtaining approval,” the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics said in a notice dated July 14 on its website. It gave no details of the violation but said Mintz Group was fined $1.5 million. Mintz Group does background checks on employees and business partners and gathers other information for corporate clients. Xi’s government has tightened the ruling Communist Party’s control over the economy and society, including by launching data security crackdowns and expanding restrictions on what information can be moved abroad. ― ASSOCIATED PRESS
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AUTOMOTIVE
Ford facing federal investigation into its Mustang Mach-E recall
Ford Motor Co. is facing a federal investigation of a recall that prompted the carmaker to temporarily halt deliveries of the Mustang Mach-E last year. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is opening a recall query of Ford’s June 2022 recall of 48,924 Mach-Es from the 2021 and 2022 model years, which were made at the company’s plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico. The agency said it received 12 complaints from drivers who said they experienced battery failures after their cars were fixed with a software patch that owners could get over-the-air or at the dealer. NHTSA said in a document posted to its website on Monday it launched the new inquiry to “assess the remedy” prescribed in Ford’s recall. The agency also increased the number of recalls involved in the recall inquiry to 64,727. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS
AVIATION
American Airlines pilots OK contract that includes big pay raises, bonuses
American Airlines pilots have approved a new contract that will raise their pay about 41 percent over four years, their union said Monday. The Allied Pilots Association said that 73 percent of pilots who took part voted in favor of the four-year contract, which it valued at $9.6 billion. American has about 15,000 pilots. Airline unions are enjoying leverage to get big pay raises because a boom in travel is lifting airline revenue. Texas-based American earned $1.3 billion in the second quarter alone, helped by strong ticket sales, record revenue, and a drop in the price of jet fuel. Pilot unions have been in particularly strong position because of a shortage that is being felt most keenly at smaller carriers. Pilots at American rejected an offer last November. They reached another agreement in late July, which was renegotiated again to match a better deal for pilots at United Airlines. Pilots at Delta Air Lines also won big pay raises this year. The Allied Pilots Association said its new contract with American includes $1.1 billion in one-time payments and ratification bonuses and immediate pay raises averaging 21 percent. Annual raises, plus increased company contributions to retirement plans will raise the value of total compensation by 46 percent over four years, according to the union. It also includes more vacation benefits and changes designed to give pilots more predictable schedules, the union said. ― ASSOCIATED PRESS
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