Chips still on web gambling

Online gaming proponents are vowing to push ahead despite a leading casino industry lobbying group's withdrawal of support for expanded Internet gambling, which has proved to be a divisive issue among Las Vegas gaming titans.

State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Steven Grossman said the reversal by the American Gaming Association does not chill his interest in exploring online gaming to boost the state Lottery.

"They can have their squabbles out there all they want," Grossman said. "We'll continue to move forward … to study this issue and how it can potentially affect us, one way or another. Any smart business of any kind, public or private, would study that. You have to change to survive and flourish."

The AGA announced this past week it would no longer push to expand online gaming into new states, an issue that has pitted opponents such as Sands chief Sheldon Adelson and Wynn Resorts head Steve Wynn against supporters such as MGM and Caesars Entertainment.

Grossman said the near $5 billion state Lottery still wants to explore if online gaming can help preserve its market share, so long as credit cards can't be used to play and if it doesn't increase gambling addiction or hurt Lottery retailers.

"I hear the differences of opinion out there," Grossman said. "We're not going to get dragged one way or another into that debate. We'll simply study and be very careful with any approach to online gaming that doesn't protect the people of this commonwealth appropriately."

A bill is pending in the Legisla-

ture that would clear the path for the Lottery to experiment with online gaming.

Adam Krejcik, managing director at Eilers Research, which tracks online gambling, said the AGA's move dampened the prospects for new states jumping into the arena, particularly in the wake of poor returns in New Jersey.

"I think a state would much rather have the AGA support … someone needs to be leading the charge," Krejcik said. "It's hard to put a positive spin on it."

Krejcik said online gaming revenue this year in New Jersey, where casinos run gambling sites, "will come in below the most conservative estimates out there," about $140 million. Projections were as high as $1.2 billion, he said.

The state Gaming Commission — whose chairman, Stephen Crosby, called a forum in March to discuss online gambling, saying "the time is now" to discuss legalizing it — said the AGA decision does not change its posture.

"The AGA's decision to withdraw from discussions regarding online gaming reinforces the commission's position on this topic," the commission said in a statement. "The commission believes that a slow and deliberate approach to this issue is the most responsible way to move forward given the significant varying opinions on this matter."

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Starting 2012 Chrysler van gives driver a jolting jump

Recently I purchased a 2012 Chrysler Town & Country SXT V6 van with 39,000 miles. It is a one-owner vehicle with no Carfax issues. When starting out anytime, the accelerator pedal moves about an inch down before the vehicle responds from idle. When it does it jumps forward rather than a smooth reaction. This makes me let up on the pedal and then it jumps again when I reapply the throttle. This may be an inherent characteristic. I can describe the issue like this: If it is idling at 800 rpm at a stop, it jumps to 2500 rpm to get going, then adjusts to the pedal position. I called the dealership and they want to do a diagnostic and test drive for more than $100.

You are correct that some of the transmission's characteristics may be inherent. The software that controls the transmission is programmed to maximize fuel economy by tailoring shifts to specific driving conditions. The "ECO" button, for example, will cause the transmission to shift directly from first to third gear, softening acceleration to improve fuel economy.

Chrysler has issued two software updates that address shift quality from the 6-speed automatic transmission in this vehicle. One of these is called the "enhanced pedal" update which, according to the bulletin, "will make the vehicle more responsive with less pedal input and take less effort to maintain a constant cruising speed."

You didn't mention where you purchased the vehicle, but it's worth asking the dealer if your vehicle is affected by the bulletin, and if the update was done at no cost to the original owner. If not, even though the vehicle is just a few thousand miles out of warranty, this may be covered as a goodwill adjustment.

I have a 2007 Ford Focus with a trunk release issue. When I push the trunk release button on the dash and when I push the trunk release button on the remote, it sounds like a loud machine gun firing and always causes heads to turn in the parking lot. This occurs about 90 percent of the time. Usually the trunk does release, but occasionally it doesn't work and I have to repeat the process or unlock it with the key. Also, the dash light appears, indicating that the trunk isn't locked after I close it even though usually it is locked.

The most likely cause is a poor electrical connection or ground in the trunk release solenoid circuit. Ford issued service bulletin #10-5-9 in March 2010 outlining a diagnostic procedure for the trunk release. The bulletin deals with an inoperative solenoid and identifies the possibility of a poor connection between the trunk release harness connector and the solenoid. Even though your symptom is a bit different, this is the place to start.

I have a 2005 Mercury Mariner that I purchased new. The vehicle is in showroom condition with 47,000 miles on it. Here's the issue. The tachometer on the left has a little window that displays information such as direction, door open, oil change needed, etc. This has dulled to the point of being barely visible. The dealer states that the whole section of the dash must be replaced at a cost of around $700. Is there not a less expensive way? I like everything to be just right!

The dashboard on your vehicle is back-lit with a number of small light bulbs. The individual bulbs are replaceable by removing the dashboard to gain access. The real question is whether the "dulled" display is due to a burned-out bulb or failed module supplying the info to the display. If you can read the specific information displayed, even when dulled, I suspect the lamp behind it is burned out.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number.

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Iran billionaire executed over $2.6B bank fraud

TEHRAN, Iran — A billionaire businessman at the heart of a $2.6 billion state bank scam in Iran, the largest fraud case since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution, was executed Saturday, state television reported.

Authorities put Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, also known as Amir Mansour Aria, to death at Evin prison, just north of the capital, Tehran, the TV reported. The report said the execution came after Iran's Supreme Court upheld his death sentence.

Khosravi's lawyer, Gholam Ali Riahi, was quoted by news website khabaronline.ir as saying that the death sentence was carried out without him being given any notice. Death sentences in Iran are usually carried out by hanging.

"I had not been informed about the execution of my client," Riahi said. "All the assets of my client are at the disposal of the prosecutor's office."

State officials did not immediately comment on Riahi's claim.

The fraud involved using forged documents to get credit at one of Iran's top financial institutions, Bank Saderat, to purchase assets including state-owned companies like major steel producer Khuzestan Steel Co.

Khosravi's business empire included more than 35 companies from mineral water production to a football club and meat imports from Brazil. According to Iranian media reports, the bank fraud began in 2007.

A total of 39 defendants were convicted in the case. Four received death sentences, two got life sentences and the rest received sentences of up to 25 years in prison.

The trials raised questions about corruption at senior levels in Iran's tightly controlled economy during the administration of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mahmoud Reza Khavari, a former head of Bank Melli, another major Iranian bank, escaped to Canada in 2011 after he resigned over the case. He faces charges over the case in Iran and remains on the Islamic Republic's wanted list. Khavari previously admitted that his bank partially was involved in the fraud, but has maintained his innocence.

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Famous farm sells last of its prized Holsteins

EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Vermont farm considered by some to be the "Mercedes" of the cattle world has sold the last of its famous Holsteins.

Lylehaven Farm in East Montpelier held a final auction Friday. The farm is also for sale.

Jerry Rappaport, 87, a Boston philanthropist and real estate developer, is getting out of the business of cattle breeding after more than 30 years.

"I got fascinated with the idea of breeding the perfect cow," Rappaport told NECN (http://bit.ly/1jJdSJF).

Nearly a decade ago, Lylehaven sold a cow for more than $1 million.

On Friday, the cows went for several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.

"They're good quality cows," said Adolf Langhout, who came from the Netherlands to attend the auction. "Lylehaven is recognized in breeding as like a Mercedes or Audi."

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Levine, Hasbro exec who helped create GI Joe, dies

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Donald Levine, the Hasbro executive credited as the father of G.I. Joe for developing the world's first action figure, has died. He was 86.

He died of cancer early Thursday at Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, said his wife, Nan. They were just about to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

Levine shepherded the toy through design and development as Hasbro's head of research and development. He and his team came up with an 11½-inch articulated figure with 21 moving parts, and since the company's employees included many military veterans, it was decided to outfit the toy in the uniforms of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, with such accessories as guns, helmets and vehicles.

Levine, who served in the Army in Korea, said he got the idea for the moveable figure as a way to honor veterans.

G.I. Joe hit the shelves in time for the 1964 Christmas shopping season and soon became a big seller at $4 apiece.

"Don Levine and his team took it from a good concept to a great concept," said Alan Hassenfeld, Hasbro's former CEO whose father, Merrill, oversaw G.I. Joe's development when he ran the company.

G.I. Joe remained popular until the late 1960s, as opposition to Vietnam intensified and parents shied away from military-related toys. Hasbro countered in 1970 by introducing "Adventure Team" G.I. Joes that played down the military connection. Into the '70s, G.I. Joes featured "lifelike hair" and "kung-fu grip" and were outfitted with scuba gear to save the oceans and explorer's clothing for discovering mummies.

Hasbro said in a statement that Levine's "influence on the toy industry was profound" as his team developed the concept of an action figure.

"His work forever changed the way kids play with toys, and in particular helped birth the G.I. Joe brand which has been a part of the American fabric for 50 years," the company said.

Over the decades, G.I. Joe has spawned comic books, cartoons, two movies starring Channing Tatum, and a G.I. Joe Collector's Club and its annual convention — GIJoeCon — held in Dallas in April.

Levine's funeral will be held Sunday morning at Temple Beth-El in Providence. He is survived by his wife, three children and four grandchildren.

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Startup lets clean water flow

When you are tackling one of the biggest problems on the planet, you need as many people on your side as possible.

That is the strategy Drinkwell, a Cambridge-based startup, is using to help provide clean water to the Third World.

"You really want to work with locals and have local ownership of the problem," said Minhaj Chowdhury, CEO and co-founder of Drinkwell.

Drinkwell, which has developed a cheap, reusable system of removing toxins such as arsenic, fluoride and iron, partners with people in third-world villages to treat and sell clean water to their neighbors.

"What you really want to do is create a true opportunity for the community to maintain the system and, while you're at it, create some kind of economic opportunity," Chowdhury said. "What we wanted to do is come up with a solution that actually lasts. It's really life and death for a lot of these folks."

Nearly 800 million people do not have access to clean water, and as many as 8 million people a year die from water related illnesses, according to the United Nations.

Drinkwell's model is designed to create a permanent solution. Many programs that have tried to bring clean water to the Third World have fizzled when funding waned. Drinkwell will not have this issue, Chowdhury said, because towns and villages will rely on local employees instead of an international group.

Drinkwell's water purifying system fits over existing wells, making a liter of clean water available for half a penny.

The system cleans water using ion-exchange technology, stripping toxins from the water using reusable resin beads, to provide enough water for 600 households. It produces 99 liters of clean water for every 100 liters of water put in, much more than established methods.

Drinkwell systems are connected to Twitter, so they can be monitored remotely. Because many people have basic access to cellphones and Twitter in the countries Drinkwell is serving, information about the levels of toxins in certain systems and even how long the line is for clean water can be shared in real-time.

Announced as a MassChallenge finalist last week, Drinkwell currently has 200 systems in place in India, Laos, Nepal and Cambodia through various partnerships, but is hoping to put its own model in place soon.

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The Ticker

Hub Bulfinch Triangle building sold for $13.5M

Avison Young announced the sale of 151 Merrimac Street, a boutique 42,500-square-foot office building situated in the Bulfinch Triangle near North Station in Boston.

Transatlantic Investment Management, Inc. purchased the property for $13.5 million.

A six-story office building with ground floor retail, 151 Merrimac is currently 80 percent leased to three long-term tenants, with anchor tenant, Massachusetts General Hospital, leasing 58 percent of the total building square footage.

Lorillard to sell Blu e-cigs in Europe

Lorillard Inc. plans to sell its Blu electronic cigarettes in continental Europe as early as this year, challenging British American Tobacco Plc, which is preparing its own expansion and may also be involved in talks to acquire Lorillard.

Lorillard will start selling its e-cigarettes in France, Germany and the Netherlands, Jacob Fuller, Blu's U.K. chief executive officer, said in an interview yesterday.

MONDAY

• U.S. stock and bond markets are closed for Memorial Day.

TUESDAY

• Commerce Department releases durable goods for April.
• Standard & Poor's releases S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices for March and the first quarter.
• The Conference Board releases the Consumer Confidence Index for May.

THURSDAY

• Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.
• Commerce Department releases first-quarter gross domestic product.
• Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates.
• National Association of Realtors releases pending home sales index for April.

FRIDAY

• Commerce Department releases personal income and spending for April.

•  PowerOptions, the state's premiere energy-buying consortium for nonprofits and government entities, announced that John G. Cochrane, left, a former CFO of National Grid USA, is joining its board of directors. Cochrane, a Hingham resident, has worked in high-level positions for both National Grid USA and National Grid PLC in London during a 32-year career with the company. He also has served on the boards of several energy and pipeline companies, including Nexus Energy, an energy monitoring company. Cochrane most recently served as the chairman of the board of directors of Millennium Pipeline Co., a 
$1.1 billion interstate pipeline company.

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New FHA rules making condos no-lending zones

WASHINGTON — For young first-time buyers, people with modest down payment cash, or seniors who want to tap their equity using a reverse mortgage, it's a growing problem: They cannot use Federal Housing Administration financing in condominiums.

It's not that these buyers and unit owners can't qualify on credit and income grounds for a loan personally — they often can. Instead, it's because the entire condominium development is ineligible. As the result of policy changes at the federal level and decisions by condominium boards of directors, thousands of communities have essentially become prohibited lending zones for FHA in the past several years.

The agency has banned so-called "spot" loans and will only insure mortgages on units in condo projects that have passed a certification process that examines budgets, reserves, insurance coverage, percentage of renters compared with owners in the development and delinquencies on payment of condo fees.

FHA says that its revised procedures weed out fiscally weak, poorly managed developments and reduce taxpayer exposure to future losses. Condominium boards, on the other hand, argue that some of FHA's evaluation criteria are too strict and that the certification process is bureaucratic and costs them money they'd prefer not to spend.

Since toughening its financing rules and requiring certification of entire projects four years ago, the number of condo developments approved for FHA financing has plunged by more than half. As of mid-month, it stood at just 10,020 communities, according to an FHA spokesman. Industry sources estimate the total number of condo projects nationwide is around 144,000.

FHA financing is important because of the special niches it fills. Among the three major federal lending intermediaries — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the other two — FHA is the most flexible on credit issues. It is also lenient on debt ratios and allows down payments as small as 3.5 percent.

As a result, FHA for decades has been the go-to mortgage option for moderate-income purchasers and has been a key resource for African-American and Latino buyers, many of whom have made their first purchase in a condominium development.

FHA also plays an outsized role in the reverse mortgage market for seniors 62 and older. Its insured reverse mortgage product accounts for more than 90 percent of all borrowing in that field, allowing seniors to extract needed cash from their home equity to support their retirement expenses.

But with the sharp decline in FHA-approved condominium projects, many buyers and unit owners are finding themselves financially frozen out. Equally troubling, unit owners who want to sell find the pool of potential buyers reduced — along with the market value of their property — because FHA mortgages are banned.

Seth Task of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Professional Realty in Solon, Ohio, said a condo unit client his firm represented recently was forced to sell for $10,000 below what she had been offered by a buyer who was pre-qualified for an FHA loan — a loss solely attributable to the condominium's non-certified status. Situations like this are becoming more frequent, housing industry experts say, and the lack of FHA financing eligibility for entry-level-priced condo units is partially responsible for the decline in first-time buyer participation in the real estate market.

But now a movement is getting underway to reverse this shrinkage. At this month's spring legislative conference of the National Association of Realtors here in Washington, California brokers and agents unveiled a campaign to convince condo boards to re-think their objections to FHA certification — for their unit owners' sakes.

The primary focus, said Mike DeLeon, president of the Orange County Association of Realtors, which debuted an educational video at the Washington conference, is to show reluctant condo boards of directors "the positive benefits" of certifying with FHA. The video stresses "keeping condo unit values at their highest" by widening the pool of potential purchasers; helping existing unit owners tap their equities for retirement; and the relatively low risk of default presented by today's FHA buyers.

For most condo developments the message is this: Give some thought to the issue. FHA certification has its complications and costs, but it could be more than worth the effort for your current residents and future business.

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Europe's order to mute Google angers US

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Europe's moves to rein in Google — including a court ruling this month ordering the search giant to give people a say in what pops up when someone searches their name — may be seen in Brussels as striking a blow for the little guy.

But across the Atlantic, the idea that users should be able to edit Google search results in the name of privacy is being slammed as weird and difficult to enforce at best and a crackdown on free speech at worst.

"Americans will find their searches bowdlerized by prissy European sensibilities," said Stewart Baker, former assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "We'll be the big losers. The big winners will be French ministers who want the right to have their last mistress forgotten."

Mountain View, California -based Google says it's still figuring out how to comply with the European Court of Justice's May 13 ruling, which says the company must respond to complaints about private information that turns up in searches. Google must then decide whether the public's right to be able to find the information outweighs an individual's right to control it — with preference given to the individual.

The judgment applies to all search engines operating within the European Union. But in practice that means Google, given that 90 percent of all online searches there use Google's search engine.

"The ruling has significant implications for how we handle takedown requests," Google spokesman Al Verney said. "This is logistically complicated, not least because of the many languages involved and the need for careful review. As soon as we have thought through exactly how this will work, which may take several weeks, we will let our users know."

There will be serious technological challenges, said U.S. privacy attorney David Keating in Atlanta.

"It seems aspirational, not a reality, to comply with such a standard," he said. "The reengineering necessary to implement the right to be forgotten is significant."

Google may partially automate the process, as it does with copyright-infringement complaints, but ultimately a human will have to decide when results should be sanitized.

Johannes Caspar, who as Hamburg's Commissioner for Data Protection acts as Germany's lead regulator of Google on privacy issues, confirmed the company is already working on an "online tool" to help people file complaints.

Because the court's ruling applies only within Europe, it will mean some fragmentation of search results. That is, Europeans and Americans will see slightly different versions of the Internet. A worst-case scenario would be if Google decides it must err on the side of caution and removes links liberally in order to avoid lawsuits, critics of the ruling said.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, who has been an outspoken critic of the ruling, summarized it for The Associated Press as a "technologically incompetent violation of human rights." He said it amounts to censorship, and he predicted it will ultimately be scrapped.

"The danger is that search engines now are faced with an uncertain legal future which may require them to censor all kinds of things when someone thinks it is 'irrelevant'," Wales said.

In the wake of the decision, some Europeans are already asking to clean up their online history, though there may not yet have been a "flood" of hundreds of requests, including some from pedophiles and politicians, as was reported in the British press shortly after the ruling was handed down.

In Britain, David Murphy of the Information Commissioner's Office said "while we've had some people get in touch around this issue, we're simply telling them to speak to Google."

Officials in the Netherlands said they haven't had any new requests since the ruling.

Caspar, the German official, said his office has received 20 new requests, including some from people who won legal fights with websites to have material taken down — but the sites didn't comply because they were based abroad.

Differences between the U.S. and Europe over privacy have never been greater, sparked by recent revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency secretly broke into communications on Yahoo and Google abroad and targeted overseas telecoms, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel's own cellphone.

Joel Reidenberg, visiting professor of information technology policy at Princeton University, said the ruling was not surprising, "given the current tenor of US-European privacy relations as a result of the Snowden revelations."

A "fundamental divide" between the European and American worldview is becoming evident, he said.

"In Europe, there is a sense that privacy and control over personal data are basic human rights," he said. In America, freedom of speech and free-market solutions tend to prevail, he said.

Nico Sell, who runs San Francisco-based Wickr, an encrypted messaging service, said it would make more sense to let individuals, not tech giants, control their own online presence.

"The right to be forgotten is a great idea philosophically, but it is wrong to put the onus on Google or Facebook," she said. "They have no idea where all your data is, and this is not their job. We need to give consumers tools with the ability to add expiration dates to their personal data."

___

Mendoza reported from Mountain View, California, and Sterling reported from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Lawmakers call for tighter grip on VA hospitals

WASHINGTON — The chairmen of House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees on Sunday decried long waits and backlogs at the nations VA hospitals but stopped short of calling for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.

"You've got an entrenched bureaucracy that exists out there that is not held accountable, that is shooting for goals, goals that are not helping the veterans," said Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House panel

"I think some people may by cooking the books" to suggest waiting times are shorter that they actually are, said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who chairs the counterpart Senate committee.

Both chairmen were interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union."

Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that the Justice department "has to be involved." He said there is "credible and specific evidence of criminal wrongdoing across the country" at VA hospitals.

"We're not rushing to judgment. But the Department of Justice can convene a grand jury, if necessary," Blumenthal said.

Lawmakers from both parties have pressed for policy changes and better management as the Veterans Administration confronts allegations about treatment delays and falsified records at VA centers around the country. The program serves nearly 9 million veterans.

The department's inspector general says 26 VA facilities are under investigation, including the Phoenix VA hospital, where a former clinic director says as many as 40 veterans may have died while awaiting treatment.

Officials also are investigating claims that VA employees have falsified appointment records to cover up delays in care. An initial review of 17 people who died while awaiting appointments in Phoenix found that none of their deaths appeared to have been caused by delays in treatment.

The allegations have raised fresh concerns about the administration's management of a department that has been struggling to keep up with the influx of veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Vietnam veterans needing more care as they age.

"You know, if we are going to send people off to war, we have a solemn promise to make sure that when they come home, we are going to take care of them," Sanders said.

The two committee chairmen appeared a day after the Obama administration agreed to recommendations from lawmakers in both parties and said it would allow more veterans to get care at private hospitals to help ease pressure on backlogged VA hospitals dealing with patients from the wars on terrorism as well as treating old soldiers from prior conflicts including Afghanistan and Iraq.

The problem is not a lack of resources, said Miller. "If money was the issue, this problem would have been solved a long time ago. VA is not using the resources that they're provided appropriately."

The VA says it is taking some of the pressure off its hospital system by allowing more veterans to be treated at private hospitals.

The VA spent about $4.8 billion last year on medical care at non-VA hospitals and clinics, spokeswoman Victoria Dillon said. That amounts to about 10 percent of health care costs for the Veterans Health Administration, the agency's health care arm.

It was not clear how much the new initiative would cost, Dillon said.

Said Sanders: "I think it's unfair to blame Shinseki for all the problems. Can he do better? Yes."

___

Associated Press Writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

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Follow Tom Raum: http://twitter.com/TomRaum

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