TECHNOLOGY
MIT to spend $1b on new school for computing and AI
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology says it will devote $1 billion to a new college for computing and artificial intelligence, a sum that the institute said would help it “rewire” the way it teaches in a world where digital shifts are changing every field of study. MIT president L. Rafael Reif said the college would encourage students to go beyond the technology and consider its effects. The effort is also emblematic of MIT’s ambitions to lead the way into a new era of computing dominated by artificial intelligence. The institute has announced a series of eye-popping plans in the past year, including a massive new schoolwide research collaboration to seek AI breakthroughs. MIT has already brought in $650 million for the new college announced Monday, with $350 million from Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman and chief executive of the giant asset management firm Blackstone. The new college will bear his name. MIT said the Schwarzman College, which launches next fall, will eventually be located in a “signature new building” on campus and allow the “future of computing and AI to be shaped by insights from all other disciplines.” — ANDREW ROSEN
RESTAURANTS
Best pizza in the country? TripAdvisor says it’s here
TripAdvisor announced Tuesday that Regina Pizzeria in the North End takes the cake — er, pie — for the best pizza in America, beating out No. 2, New York City’s Bleecker Street Pizza. According to Needham-based TripAdvisor, the rankings are based on the quality and quantity of reviews from TripAdvisor diners. Reviews from the past year carried the most weight. According to the rankings, diners appreciate Regina Pizzeria’s fresh ingredients, as well as the “perfectly chewy, thin crust.” The brick-oven pizzeria also has a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, an indication of consistently great reviews. Another New England restaurant made the top 10 list: Modern Apizza in New Haven, Conn., came in at No. 3, celebrated for its thin crust, savory sauce, and for piling on the toppings. — KAYA WILLIAMS
RENTAL REGULATIONS
Short-term rental rules remain in limbo
A bill that would establish statewide regulations for short-term rentals through Airbnb and other platforms is stalled on Beacon Hill, complicating efforts by several cities to rein in the booming industry. Since early August, state lawmakers and Governor Charlie Baker have been in a standoff over legislation passed to tax and regulate short-term rentals. Baker sent the bill back for changes he said would make the rules less onerous for hosts who occasionally use Airbnb and other platforms as a way to supplement their income, not as a full-time business venture. The bill would require short-term rental hosts to register with the state, carry insurance, and collect taxes equivalent to those on hotel stays, while allowing cities and towns to assess their own taxes on such rentals. Baker’s tweaks were modest, but the timing of his move — just after the legislative session ended in July — put the bill into legislative limbo. As a result, cities that had hoped a state law would buttress their local regulations are waiting on the sidelines. In Boston, for example, city officials are honing regulations, set to take effect Jan. 1, that would bar many properties from being rented for more than 30 nights a year. Boston’s registration requirements would be stricter than Cambridge’s, and the Walsh administration says it is confident hosts would comply. But it’s worried about a clause that Baker inserted into the state legislation that would exempt hosts who rent their homes for 14 or fewer nights a year from having to register. That, they fear, would create an incentive for unscrupulous full-time hosts to say they rent only 14 nights a year, dodging taxes and regulation, with little way for cities and towns to prove otherwise. Baker counters that he’s simply trying to help occasional hosts avoid labor-intensive paperwork, as well as costly insurance requirements and fees. — TIM LOGAN
UTILITIES
Healey sues energy company, alleging bait-and-switch tactics
Attorney General Maura Healey has sued a Connecticut company that allegedly used deceptive bait-and-switch tactics to get more than 100,000 Massachusetts residents to switch energy suppliers and then overcharged them for electricity. In the legal action against Starion Energy in Suffolk Superior Court Monday, Healey said the company overcharged more 117,000 Massachusetts customers by at least $30.6 million above what they would have paid at their local utility’s standard rate. This translates to an average of about $260 per residential account. The suit also names two Starion executives, and several affiliated telemarketing firms. The legal action is a twist in Healey’s campaign to police the so-called competitive energy market in which alternative electricity suppliers offer to undercut local utilities’ basic service. Healey had previously settled with two other competitive suppliers, but this is the first time her office has taken one to court without a settlement in place. The attorney general is seeking a court order to freeze $30.6 million in accounts that utilities National Grid and Eversource are holding for future disbursement to Starion. The goal of that order would be to ensure there’s enough money to distribute to affected customers if Healey wins her case, which essentially accuses Starion of ensnaring unsuspecting Massachusetts consumers in a bait-and-switch scheme. A spokeswoman for Middlebury, Conn.-based Starion declined to comment, citing a company policy against commenting on pending litigation. — JON CHESTO
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Sanofi Genzyme looking for more space in Cambridge
Drugmaker Sanofi Genzyme is planning a major expansion in East Cambridge, the latest in a line of life sciences heavyweights to grow in the booming neighborhood. Real estate industry brokers say the company has been looking for about 400,000 square feet of office and lab space — enough to house around 2,000 employees — and is reportedly zeroing in on Cambridge Crossing, the 45-acre former rail yard being redeveloped north of the Lechmere Green Line MBTA station. It is not clear if a deal has been reached. Neither Sanofi nor Cambridge Crossing developer DivcoWest would comment, and several people with knowledge of the search offered conflicting accounts on whether a formal agreement has been signed. But the search by Sanofi highlights the desire of major domestic and global companies to be heavily invested in the Boston area — especially its biotech cluster. Real estate brokers and others familiar with Sanofi’s search say the company — which has about 5,000 employees in Massachusetts — is aiming to consolidate smaller facilities scattered around Cambridge, and perhaps move some jobs from its operation in Framingham, while also locking down room for future growth. — TIM LOGAN
CLIMATE CHANGE
Walsh unveils citywide plan to deal with rising sea levels
In a bid to prepare Boston for the threat of rising sea levels, Mayor Martin J. Walsh is betting big on waterfront parks as a defense against damaging floods. Walsh on Wednesday rolled out a citywide plan that centers around creating new parks — and making improvements to existing ones — to help plug low-lying spots along Boston’s 47 miles of coastline and to act as a buffer for residential neighborhoods. It would add 67 acres of public open space in all, and it calls for building sea walls along privately owned sections of the Harborwalk, as well as raising low-lying streets such as Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester and Main Street in Charlestown. In addition to offering protection from storms, Walsh said, the plan would make more of the waterfront accessible to the public. He pledged to dedicate 10 percent of the city’s capital budget — about $16 million a year — to the climate change projects, a small fraction of what will be needed. City officials say it’s too soon to estimate costs of projects that will likely roll out over decades, though a neighborhood plan released Wednesday that covers much of South Boston estimated improvements there alone will require as much as $1 billion. Walsh said he plans to work with the state and will also seek federal funding. But businesses and private foundations will likely also need to contribute, Walsh said. — TIM LOGAN