ESPN suspends Bill Simmons for NFL comments

ESPN has suspended analyst Bill Simmons for three weeks over a profanity-laced rant in which he called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a "liar" and challenged his bosses at ESPN to punish him for criticizing the league's recent handling of its domestic violence issues.

The network made the announcement on Wednesday.

"Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN's journalistic standards," the company said in a statement. "We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria. Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast, and as a result we have suspended him for three weeks."

Simmons, a Holy Cross grad who got his online sports journalism start with his The Boston Sports Guy blog, made the Goodell remarks on his Monday podcast.

"I'm just saying it. He is lying," he said on the B.S. Report. "I think that dude is lying. If you put him up on a lie detector test that guy would fail. For all these people to pretend they didn't know is such f-king bullsh-t. It really is. It's such (explitive) bullsh-t. And for him to go in that press conference and pretend otherwise, I was so insulted. I really was."

Goodell has claimed that nobody from the NFL saw the video of Ray Rice assault his fiance in a casino elevator last February until TMZ posted it on Sept. 8.

"I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I'm in trouble for anything I say about Roger Goodell," Simmons said. "Because if one person says that to me, I'm going public. You leave me alone. The Commissioner's a liar and I get to talk about that on my podcast. . . . Please, call me and say I'm in trouble. I dare you."

ESPN suspension of Simmons was quickly denounced on Twitter, where #FreeBillSimmons was the top trend in the U.S. late Wednesday.

It is the second time ESPN has suspended Simmons. Last year for criticizing one of the network's football segments on Twitter

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Renters show appetite for luxury

Renters are snapping up the first wave of new luxury apartment buildings in the Hub even as a second wave of high-end rentals are starting to pre-lease.

"People ask how many more people can afford these rents, but there are a lot of well-paid, dual-income households who can," said Travis D'Amato, a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle who focuses on multihousing. "We've gained 67,000 new jobs since the bottom of the recession and Boston's population is growing 1 percent a year. The rental base is increasing."

D'Amato believes that 8,800 new Hub apartments already completed or scheduled to be by 2017 will not be enough to meet demand. First-wave projects such as 315 on A and the Kensington are nearly full, but other buildings are offering concessions to stay on target for leasing up within a year of opening.

"It's marketing magic," D'Amato said. "You get people in the door with one or two months free but they're still getting the high monthly rents over the life of the lease."

High-end buildings such as Avalon Exeter have been attracting empty nesters.

"Many of these renters still own properties on the Cape or in Florida, but want to rent in the city," said Dennis Gramolini, community manager of Avalon Exeter.

Avalon Exeter, which is about 55 percent leased, has rents ranging from $2,600 to more than $13,000. A 1,621-square-foot 27th-floor two-bedroom penthouse with panoramic views of the Back Bay and Charles River on two sides just rented for $12,800 a month

"The first wave of luxury apartments in Boston is doing well because it addressed the pent-up demand from the years that there was no new production," said Michael Roberts, vice present of development for AvalonBay Communities. "The second wave is all about the new demographics of the city and the growth of the local economy."

Along with baby boomers, a big part of new urban demographic is the millennials, young professionals between 25 and 35.

"Millennials are willing to pay a higher percentage of their income for rent because many don't have cars, but they need apartments near public transportation," D'Amato said.

Avalon Bay is targeting millennials with its new Ava brand in a 398-unit Theater District project under construction as well as a nearly completed 250-apartment building in Somerville's Assembly Row. The Ava brand features Twitter walls, modern interior design and social spaces that encourage networking.

The upcoming 378-unit Troy Boston in the South End will have an eco-friendly focus much like 315 on A.

The neighboring Ink Block's 392 apartments, on the former site of the Boston Herald, will be in three buildings, each with a unique look.

"1 Ink will have sophisticated Euro-style interiors, 2 Ink will be more edgy and colorful and 3 Ink will use a lot of natural materials," said Ted Tye, managing partner of National Development, who said pre-leasing will start next week for an early 2015 opening. "We are taking a different approach to appeal to a wide variety of renters."

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Asian stocks up as US data boost sentiment

SEOUL, South Korea — Asian stock markets were mostly higher Thursday after a surge in new home sales in the U.S. bolstered sentiment. But gains were limited by worries about Europe's stagnant economy and violence in Iraq and Syria.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan outperformed the region with the Nikkei 225 up 1.2 percent to 16,364.74 after the dollar rose above 109 yen overnight, a fresh six-year high. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 percent to 2,351.39. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1 percent to 5,380.30. Stocks in Southeast Asia rose. South Korea's Kospi drifted 0.1 percent lower to 2,034.80 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged down 0.2 percent to 23,884.90.

HOUSING JUMP: The Commerce Department said new home sales climbed 18 percent in August to an annual rate of 504,000 homes, beating the 430,000 expected by economists. It was the fastest clip since May 2008 and a sign that the real estate market might improve after the recovery from the Great Recession stalled during the past year because of sluggish wage growth and rising prices.

ANALYST TAKE: The unexpected increase in U.S. home sales may "indicate that young people are perhaps now starting to feel economically secure enough to buy their own homes," Chang Wei Liang of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. "Continuation of this strength would provide further concrete evidence that even the labor market for young people is already near normality."

SLOW EUROPE: On Wednesday, data showed that business confidence in Germany, Europe's largest economy, dropped for the fifth straight month. The Ifo institute said its confidence index dropped to 104.7 points for September from 106.3 last month as the mood among executives darkened regarding both the current situation and the outlook for the next six months. The fall was bigger than anticipated.

WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.9 percent to 17,210.06 on Wednesday, its best day since Aug. 18. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.8 percent to 1,998.30 and the Nasdaq composite rose 1 percent to 4,555.22.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil edged down 7 cents to $92.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract rose $1.24 to $92.80 after the government reported a larger-than-expected decline in oil stocks.

CURRENCY: The euro dropped to $1.2767 from $1.2777 late Wednesday. The dollar fell to 109.14 yen from 109.19 yen.

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Bleak future for New England thoroughbred racing

BOSTON — New England's storied thoroughbred racing industry looks like it's trotting to a close.

Suffolk Downs, the region's lone remaining track, is shutting down this year, a victim of changes in a gambling industry that now revolves around lotteries and casinos.

The once-grand track, which hosted Seabiscuit and other premier horses of the day, had hoped to revive its sagging fortunes with a $1.1 billion Mohegan Sun casino project. But after the proposal was rejected last week, operators said they had no choice but to close the nearly 80-year-old facility.

Live racing is set to end Oct. 4. Betting on televised races — or simulcasts — will be offered until about December.

State gambling regulators meeting Thursday said they'll consider proposals to keep the local industry going so long as they meet an Oct. 1 deadline. But with just days to go and no immediate proposals on the table, some industry leaders fear this racing season spells the end of an era for Boston.

"It was a great, great part of the sports tradition we had here," says Anthony Spadea, president of the New England Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. "Now, there's so much competition for the entertainment dollar."

The Thoroughbred Racing Associations says the number of tracks in the U.S. has steadily declined, from around 120 venues three decades ago to 100 or fewer today.

"We're losing more major city tracks as casinos expand," says Christopher Scherf, executive vice president of the Maryland-based group.

As word of Suffolk Downs' likely demise spread, first-time visitors stopped by.

A few dozen people milled around the property earlier this week, snapping photos of the horses near the finish line and wandering through the track's cavernous grandstand and concession area.

"It's so strange walking through here," said Paul Christie, a Somerville resident who was with his wife and two young boys. "It's like one of those post-apocalyptic movies where you walk through the city and everything is as it was, but no one is there."

Industry experts say the track's closing will be felt across the country.

One less track means fewer owners producing thoroughbreds at a time when the number of racehorses being born each year has decreased markedly.

The loss of Suffolk Downs also means fewer jobs for migrant horse workers and fewer bettors for nationally simulcast races.

"Losing Suffolk is kind of like wiping out a region," Scherf says. "You'll lose a good portion of the New England and Boston bettors. They'll leave the sport and become slots players, poker players or fantasy football players. ...That's not good when you're looking around the country at how we survive."

Horse breeders and owners say it's critical the state find a way to hold races in 2015. Otherwise, many horse farm owners and breeders may simply move on.

"Once that happens, it's going to be hard to get them back," says George Brown, chairman of the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association. "They're not going to wait two years for a proposal to materialize. We've got to keep them here."

George Carney, who owns Raynham Park, a simulcast facility south of Boston, says he expects to meet the Oct. 1 deadline with a plan to return thoroughbred racing to the Brockton Fairgrounds.

Suffolk Downs' owners, which include prominent casino developer Richard Fields, say they're also open to proposals for their track.

But after losing nearly $60 million over the last seven years, they're not interested in running the races themselves and are eyeing other development options for the property, which is served by two subway lines.

In the meantime, horse owners and others working at Suffolk Downs' stables face an uncertain future.

Regulators say they're committed to finding ways to help displaced workers. The local industry is estimated to provide some 1,200 permanent and seasonal jobs.

Kevin McCarthy, a Pembroke resident who has owned and trained racehorses for only a few years, says he'll send some of his horses south for the winter to compete, as he normally does. Beyond that, he's not sure.

"The shame of it is there are horsemen here that are as good as horsemen from around the country," he said. "They're just New Englanders, so they stayed here."

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Massachusetts needs 100K new workers in manufacturing

Massachusetts will need 100,000 new manufacturing workers in the next decade just to keep employment levels where they are today and stay competitive, according to the state's head of economic development.

"We're at a moment in time where either we're going to rise to the challenge in the next 10 to 15 years (or) ...we may lose some things irretrievably," said Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki. "It's big."

There are currently 250,000 people working in the manufacturing sector, a number that has stayed more or less level for the past five years after 20 years of continuous decline.

Bialecki said the state's training programs for manufacturing workers — largely in community colleges and vocational technical schools — will need to greatly expand to supply the manpower to replenish a manufacturing workforce where the average age is 56.

"The industry is going to need everyone that we are producing and more to meet that challenge," he said. "We don't need 10 or 20 percent more, we really need to double (the number of people in training programs)."

Bialecki said the industry can remain competitive — particularly in advanced manufacturing producing products such as medical devices — as long as the workforce is there.

Steve Sawin, president and CEO of Operon Resource Management, a manufacturing staffing firm, said one of the most difficult things will be convincing new workers — especially younger workers — that manufacturing is a desirable industry.

"We need to initiate some type of public relations initiative that really changes the perception of manufacturing and brings young people to the door," Sawin said. "It's not their grandparents' manufacturing factory anymore, it's not a dirty, dank, unsafe environment."

Next week, Bialecki will be going across the state for Manufacturing Week, promoting the industry, especially to new and recent graduates. He will be going to community colleges and vocational and technical schools to showcase the opportunities in manufacturing.

"Our target audience is young people," Bialecki said. "There are good-paying jobs available, it is a good career, it's not a dying industry."

Still, manufacturing workers soon will start to leave the workforce faster than they can be replaced.

"It's going to get worse before it gets better," Sawin said. "Attrition in the next few years is going to create a tremendous number of job (openings)."

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Boston has designs to spruce up ‘Avenue of the Arts’ on Huntington

It's home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory, Huntington Theatre Co., Northeastern University, Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Wentworth Institute of Technology.

And now the Boston Redevelopment Authority wants the Huntington Avenue area, known as the "Avenue of the Arts," to live up to that institutional weight in terms of urban design.

The city's planning and economic development agency is seeking proposals to develop design guidelines that will elevate the area's character in terms of future development and a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape.

Its solicitation comes in the wake of zoning relief and conceptual approval granted last year for future projects — individual components of which still need BRA approval — that will effect the Avenue of the Arts, which runs from Massachusetts Avenue to Longwood Avenue, and the immediate surrounding area.

"The idea is to really give a more coherent urban character for this most important avenue," said Kairos Shen, director of planning at the BRA, who conceded it's "not particularly beautiful" now.

Projects set to affect the area include Wentworth's redevelopment of Sweeney Field at 500 Huntington Ave. into a 650,000-square-foot research and academic complex. Northeastern's master plan includes 2 million-plus square feet of new academic, student life, housing and athletic space. The final location and appearance of those buildings, open spaces and public amenities still are subject to BRA approval.

"There could be better coordination among the projects," Shen said. "These guidelines will help us coordinate the specific design and development review."

Future MFA projects include infilling or enclosing the west courtyard, a new wing on the west side of the museum, upgrading the School of the MFA, a new underground parking garage and landscaping.

The BRA study is in line with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh's focus on the arts and culture in his administration and the city. Walsh this week named Julie Burros as Boston's first cabinet-level chief of arts and culture, who will oversee the creation of a long-term cultural plan for the city and increase diversity and inclusion in the arts and secure funding.

The planned study was welcomed by the MFA, which asked the BRA to implement a collaborative approach to the future planning of the Avenue of the Arts in August 2013, according to spokeswoman Karen Frascona. "The MFA is pleased that Mayor Martin Walsh and the BRA have authorized a comprehensive planning process, and we look forward to working with our neighbors on a long-term plan for the area," she said.

A spokesman for the BSO said it is "very encouraged by the renewed focus on this incredibly vibrant neighborhood."

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Partners HealthCare agrees to price caps in new deal

Lawrence Memorial and Melrose-Wakefield hospitals would cap prices for 61⁄2 years under a revised agreement between Attorney General Martha Coakley and Partners HealthCare, which is planning to acquire the two medical centers along with South Shore Hospital.

Partners also agreed to maintain the same level of psychiatric and behavioral health at its Hallmark and North Shore hospitals for five years, according to Coakley's office.

"These additional concessions will mitigate the potential for higher prices related to this transaction and ensure that mental health treatment remains fully accessible to the surrounding community," Coakley said in a statement.

The state's Health Policy Commission has warned that the Partners takeover of the three hospitals would spike costs by between $38.5 million and $49 million for the state's top three insurance companies.

"I commend the attorney general for pushing Partners to mitigate the price impact of the Hallmark transaction, one of the major concerns identified in our report," said Dr. Stuart Altman, chairman of the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. "I look forward to learning more details as we review the amended consent judgment and the attorney general's response to the public comments."

Partners — the health care behemoth that owns Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women's and six other acute care facilities and employs some 6,500 doctors — has entered into a settlement with Coakley to avoid an antitrust investigation by her office.

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Architects eye ‘Allston Esplanade’ with Pike redo

Boston Society of Architects members are promoting an "Allston Esplanade" along the Charles River as an offshoot of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's planned $260 million Mass Pike Allston interchange realignment.

A pair of Boston Society of Architects (BSA) teams developed two plans for the three-plus acres of parkland to spur MassDOT to consider the larger implications of its project — beyond roadway changes — once it opens up new land for redevelopment, according to architect and BSA vice president Tim Love.

"They're both proposals that have lots of advantages and lots of interesting ideas that we think MassDOT should consider very seriously," he said. "Their mission is to redesign the highway interchange. We're saying, 'Here are some issues we think you should think about, too.'"

The proposals involve relocating Soldiers Field Road away from the Charles, creating a river crossing for cyclists and pedestrians and a new MBTA station.

"It was a useful exercise for us to come in and show MassDOT what kind of neighborhood could result from what they're doing," Love said. "The visions … are realistic and financeable through the value of the real estate."

The interchange project is set to start in early 2017. MassDOT did not respond to Herald inquiries.

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The Ticker

Apple miscue triggers big stock market rout

A stumble by Apple yesterday set off the worst rout in the stock market since July.

Apple dropped nearly 4 percent after its announcement late Wednesday that it had pulled a software update that prevented users from making phone calls. Other technology stocks also slumped.

The selling started early and picked up strength in the afternoon. By the close of trading, all 30 big companies in the Dow Jones industrial average and the 10 industries in the Standard & Poor's 500 index lost ground.

The Dow slumped 264.26 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 16,945.80. The Nasdaq composite, which is dominated by technology companies, dropped 88.47 points, or 1.9 percent, to 4,466.75.

The S&P 500 index lost 32.31 points, or 1.6 percent, to close at 1,965.99.

It was the worst day for all three indexes since July 31.

Trustees of Reservations picked to program Boston Public Market

The Trustees of Reservations has been selected to handle the programming for the Boston Public Market, the city's first, permanent, year-round indoor market featuring fresh, locally sourced food that's slated to open next summer along the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway.

The Beverly-based Trustees is a nonprofit conservation organization that preserves land and historic places in Massachusetts, including farms. It will oversee educational workshops and events focused on culinary education, health and nutrition, youth engagement, sustainability and conservation, including chef-led cooking demonstrations, nutrition classes and market tours.

"Clearly we see the opportunity that a permanent market would provide in terms of demand," Trustees CEO Barbara Erickson said. "It is a huge win for the farming community in Massachusetts."

The Trustees role is as facilitator, according to Erickson. "We will have an lot of nonprofit collaborators with us, but we will leverage programming experience from our farms, Appleton (in Hamilton and Ipswich) and Powisset (in Dover,) where we have demonstration kitchens."

Today

• Commerce Department releases second-quarter gross domestic product.
•  Frank Grimaldi, left, has been appointed national sales manager of Boston-based Gordon Brothers' valuation and advisory services division, effective Oct. 1. Grimaldi joined the firm in 2011.
•  WiTricity, a Watertown-based pioneer in wireless power transfer over distance, announced that it has named Morris Kesler, Ph.D., as chief technology officer.

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Coakley: Partners agrees to price cap under deal

BOSTON — Attorney General Martha Coakley said Partners HealthCare has agreed to cap prices at Hallmark Health Centers for six and a half years if it's allowed to acquire Hallmark under a revised deal.

Coakley's office renegotiated the agreement after the state's Health Policy Commission criticized part of the original deal to allow Partners to acquire Hallmark, which owns Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford and Melrose-Wakefield Hospital.

The original agreement included a provision that allowed Coakley and Partners to reopen negotiations if the commission determined there would be a "likelihood of materially increased prices" as a result of Partners' acquisition of Hallmark.

Coakley said Thursday that her office pushed for the cap. The agreement is part of Coakley's anti-trust investigation into Partners.

Coakley said Partners also has jointly agreed to maintain the current level of psychiatric and behavioral health services at its Hallmark and North Shore facilities.

"These additional concessions will mitigate the potential for higher prices related to this transaction and ensure that mental health treatment remains fully accessible to the surrounding community," Coakley said Thursday in a written statement.

The revised agreement was filed in Suffolk Superior Court on Thursday. Coakley said the amended consent judgment is expected to be considered by Judge Janet Sanders. The next court date is Monday.

If approved by the court, the consent judgment will also resolve the antitrust investigation by Coakley's office into Partners and its acquisition of South Shore Hospital.

Coakley also said Thursday that her office filed its formal response to the more than 100 comments received as part of the public comment period ordered by the court.

Coakley, who is running for governor, has been criticized over the deal by her political rivals.

Republican candidate for governor Charlie Baker, the former head of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, has said the agreement is too complicated and too hard to enforce.

Baker has said the deal should have focused on two or three items, like requiring Partners to post the prices of its medical services and freezing any expansion of its physician network.

Under the agreement a monitor — selected by Coakley's office and paid for by Partners — will ensure that Partners complies with the terms of the consent judgment for the duration of the agreement.

If Partners violates the terms of the consent judgment, the organization could be held in contempt of court and face penalties, Coakley has said.

Partners HealthCare is Massachusetts' largest hospital and physicians' network.

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