BOSTON

Governor, Fidelity to meet to discuss company’s move

Gov. Deval Patrick says he plans to meet with officials of Fidelity Investments to discuss the company’s announcement this week that it plans to move more than 1,000 jobs from Massachusetts to other New England locations.

The governor acknowledged Friday that he was “not hopeful” of reversing Fidelity’s decision, but he wants company leaders to “say that to my face.” He said the state wasn’t given a chance to “compete” to keep the Fidelity jobs. 

Archdiocese takes church off market after complaints

The Boston Archdiocese has pulled the real estate listing of a closed Roman Catholic church, saying it was causing confusion about its intent.

Former parishioners at Holy Trinity Church asked the Vatican on Monday to stop any sale of the building, after it was listed at $2.3 million.

They argued the archdiocese hadn’t completed a process to convert it to secular use, required before sale to a secular buyer.

On Friday, spokesman Terry Donilon said the listing meant to gauge the market or attract a buyer from a Catholic organization. He said the archdiocese never intended to prematurely sell the property to a secular buyer.

WORCESTER, Mass.

Health insurer suspends pay for its board of directors

Massachusetts’ fourth-largest health insurer has joined the state’s largest nonprofit service provider in suspending pay for its board of directors.

Fallon Community Health Plan announced Friday that its directors have voluntarily suspended their compensation effectively immediately.

Spokeswoman Christine Cassidy says Fallon’s directors’ compensation is the “most modest among Massachusetts-based insurance carriers,” averaging between $13,900 and $23,425 annually in 2010. Last year, the board voted to cut its pay.

Fallon’s announcement came after the state’s largest nonprofit health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, said it will suspend payments to its directors at least through this year, and consider changing its legal structure.

CONCORD, N.H.

Three loggers face penalties for environmental damage

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says three loggers are facing penalties of up to $100,000 for allowing wetlands and streams in Webster and Groton to fill with mud during logging operations.

The state says Gary Bardsley, David Porter Jr. and Linda Griffin violated state wetlands laws and regulations by failing to follow best management practices.

Half of the $100,000 penalty will be suspended if the three do not significantly violate state wetlands laws within five years.

The state says violations resulted in numerous wetlands and streams filling with mud and sediment, and other wetlands and streams being damaged by logging equipment.

BRENTWOOD, N.H.

Woman sentenced for role in drivers’ license fraud

A Massachusetts woman is going to spend eight to 16 years in a New Hampshire prison for charging illegal immigrants $2,000 to help them get fraudulent drivers’ licenses.

New Hampshire prosecutors say 30-year-old Angie Paola Patrone of Lawrence told federal agents the “majority” of the people she helped get licenses were involved in the drug trade.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young says all Patrone cared about was “the cold, hard cash that was going into her pockets.”

GREENLAND, N.H.

Drug, alcohol ed program for young people closes

A nonprofit program in New Hampshire that diverts young people from the courts through drug and alcohol education and anti-bullying programs has closed because of a lack of funding.

The Greenland-based Community Diversion Program, in operation since 1995, closed on March 11. It’s helped more than 20,000 youths and has been available to five high schools, 18 middle schools, 19 police departments, three district courts and two family courts.

MONTPELIER, Vt.

High court overturns ruling that blocked jobless benefits

The Vermont Supreme Court says a man who was disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits for saying no to a job offer in Albany, N.Y., should get them.

The court ruled Friday in favor of Eric Piper, an electrical helper who was ordered to give back a $297 unemployment benefit payment and barred from getting more benefits after he turned down the work because it was a five-hour drive from his Derby home.

Piper, who formerly worked for Mike’s Electric, was laid off in January 2009. In September, he was offered the work in Albany and turned it down. He said he couldn’t be away from home for a week and have no one at his property, according to the court opinion.

A state Department of Labor claims adjudicator found he’d refused suitable work without a good cause.

An administrative law judge overturned that ruling, but Mike’s Electric appealed it to the state Employment Security Board, which found for the employer, saying industrial work in rural areas often requires lengthy travel.

But the high court justices said the Employment Security Board erred because no evidence had been submitted to bolster that finding.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Officials scramble to apply for funds for rail projects

Rhode Island officials are working to beat an April 4 deadline to apply for a portion of $2.4 billion in federal money for rail projects.

Several states want a piece of the money, which had been earmarked for high-speed rail projects in Florida until Gov. Rick Scott turned it down.

Transportation officials are reviewing a list of projects to see which ones are eligible for the funds.

Possible projects include repairs to the parking garage at the Providence station, upgrades to the Pawtucket station and the station in South Kingstown, R.I., and improvements to the line serving T.F. Green Airport.

 

 

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