Mass Roundup: Budget off $3 Billion
Nancy Reardon of the Patriot Ledger reports that the outlook for next year’s state budget is a bit rosier than state leaders expected, but the chances of a full recovery anytime soon are dim.
Read More »Subway to Launch Major Bay State Expansion
Officials at the Subway sandwich chain said yesterday that they plan to open 130 new stores in Massachusetts over the next five years. There are already 175, according to Bob Hurley, a Subway development agent. “As far as Subway is concerned, it’s just underdeveloped,’’ Hurley said yesterday of the Massachusetts sandwich market. “There’s only one store for every 25,000 people. If you look at surrounding areas, states like Rhode Island and Maine, there’s one store for every 12,000.’’
Read More »Hundreds Turn Out to Build Home for Disabled Vet
Jeannie Nuss reports in the Boston Globe that hundreds of contractors, students, and other volunteers are turning out in Middleborough this weekend to build an accessible home for a veteran who lost both legs in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan. Homes for Our Troops, a Taunton-based non-profit group, organized a three-day building brigade to raise a house for Staff Sergeant Mike Downing.
The house will have wider hallways and accessible doors to allow 43-year-old Downing to get around in his wheelchair. The kitchen will feature lower cabinets and the bathrooms will have roll-in showers. Donations from organizations like the Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation cover the cost of the houses, which go to the veterans for free, according to Vicki Thomas, a spokeswoman for Homes for Our Troops.
Restaurants at the Crossroads: A State-by-State Summary of Key Wage-and-Hour Provisions
A new Roundtable Retrospective from Cornell’s Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) seeks to unravel the remarkable tangle of wage-and-hour regulations throughout the United States. Based on an investigation that began with the center’s Labor and Employment Law Roundtables, authors Carolyn Richmond, Martha Lomanno, and David Sherwyn developed this guide to wage-and-hour regulations in all fifty U.S. states, as well as other jurisdictions, such as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. They were assisted in this research by Darren Rumack and Jason Shapiro.
Read More »Citizens Bank Sale Subject to Speculation
Tim Mclaughlin reports in the Boston Business Journal that Citizens Bank could get a new owner if the European Commission forces parent company Royal Bank of Scotland to sell more assets than what executives originally anticipated.
RBS, whose shares fell as much as 13 percent Monday, said in a brief statement that negotiations with the EC will include some divestments not initially contemplated.
Dunkin’ Brands Makes Top-Level Marketing Shift
Karlene Lukovitz writes at MediaPost.com that Dunkin’ Brands’ Thursday announcement that it is “strengthening” its senior leadership team by putting veteran retail executive John Costello in the new position of chief global customer and marketing officer also carried the news that Frances Allen, brand marketing officer for Dunkin’ Donuts for two years, has concurrently “decided to step down.”
Read More »Dunkin’ Donuts Could be Open In Marion, MA by Thanksgiving
Ricky Pursle reports at Wicked Local Rochester reports that Marion Planning Board brought the nine-year-old Dunkin’ Donuts saga to a conclusion on Oct. 5 by amending both the special permit and site plan review approval that the board had issued earlier this year to change the permitted time for delivery of baked goods from 5 a.m. to as early as 4 a.m. The action is expected to bring an end to the case before the board.
Read More »Eastern is the Top SBA Lender
Jon Chesto reports at the Patriot Ledger that Eastern Bank has edged out perennial leader Citizens Bank as the state’s top Small Business Administration lender based on loan volume. Boston-based Eastern, the state’s fifth largest retail bank, originated 156 SBA-backed loans in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, totaling $7.3 million, including 28 loans totaling $1.6 million on the South Shore. Eastern easily topped Providence-based Citizens’ 130 SBA-backed loans, although Citizens loaned nearly $7.9 million.
Read More »Independent Joe & Jim Videos
There are three videos to watch: Scroll down to view all three! What a Hoot! [flv:https://ddifo.org/movies/WorcesterMeeting.flv 570 318] [flv:https://ddifo.org/movies/DressingRoom.flv 570 318] [flv:https://ddifo.org/movies/PostMeeting.flv 570 318]
Read More »DDIFO Paints a Bright Future at DCU Center Meeting
Dunkin’ Donut franchise owners who attended the members’ meeting in Worcester, MA on September 22 learned about plans to double the size of the group’s membership, were exhorted to get involved with the government legislative process for their own benefit and heard a battle cry to fight against apparantly aggressive legal tactics by the brand against the franchise owners.
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