MCCA to hire alternate caterer for Green meeting

In a bid to soothe labor tensions, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and its sole concessions provider, Aramark Corp., have granted the US Green Building Council's request to hire an alternate caterer for its Nov. 19-21 conference at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the MCCA said. The agreement should clear the way for about 30,000 people to attend the annual conference without UNITE HERE's Local 26 protesting. The union representing food and beverage workers has for the past year been in bitter contract negotiations with Aramark. (Nicole C. Wong)

Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray's office said his trade mission to Ireland and Northern Ireland Oct. 5-11 will focus on life sciences, information technology, and tourism. The delegation will also include Senate President Therese Murray and representatives from state government, industry, and higher education. The delegation will visit Galway and Dublin in Ireland and Belfast and Derry in Northern Ireland. Several local companies, including Boston Scientific Corp., EMC Corp., and Cognex Corp., have major manufacturing operations in Ireland. And Creganna, an Irish medical device company, recently opened a manufacturing plant in Marlborough, creating 100 jobs. (Todd Wallack)

Logan International Airport improved its on-time record for departures and arrivals in July, but not as much as other airports did, according to US Department of Transportation data. Logan ranked 24th among the biggest 32 airports, with an on-time departure rate of 73.7 percent, compared to a rank of 18 with 71.2 percent in July 2007. For arrivals, Logan ranked 28th, with an on-time rate of 67.5 percent, compared to ranking 27th a year earlier, with an on-time rate of 63.4 percent. (Nicole C. Wong)

Caritas Christi Health Care, the financially troubled six-hospital chain owned by the Archdiocese of Boston, appointed Robert E. Guyon Jr. chief operating officer. Guyon is the current chief executive and president of St. Anne's Hospital, a Caritas Christi hospital in Fall River. Effective Oct. 1, Guyon will replace Richard Cunningham, who served as the system's chief operating officer for the past four years. Joseph E. Ciccolo Jr., the current senior vice president of support services at Caritas Christi, will replace Guyon at St. Anne's, Caritas Christi said. (Chris Reidy)

Repligen Corp. of Waltham said it has received $1.125 million in research grants to support the development of new treatments for Friedreich's ataxia, an inherited neurodegenerative disease. The research grants are made up of $1 million from the Muscular Dystrophy Association and $125,000 from the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Foundation and the National Ataxia Foundation, the company said. (Chris Reidy)

Surgeons have been told not to use a growth-stimulating protein from Medtronic Inc. on the upper spine, after US health officials learned of complications that hindered breathing, speaking, or eating in 38 patients. The product, Infuse Bone Graft, was approved in 2002 to fuse diseased vertebrae in the lower spine, not the upper, or cervical, spine. In July, the Food and Drug Administration told surgeons to seek alternatives to Infuse or join studies appropriate for that use. Cervical care accounts for about 10 percent of Infuse sales, according to analysts. Medtronic began a study of the cervical use of the product last year, said Larry Biegelsen, an analyst with Wachovia Capital Markets in New York. Infuse is expected to account for about 6 percent of Medtronic revenue and about 3 percent of profit in fiscal 2009, he said. (Bloomberg)

Sony Corp. is recalling 440,000 Vaio laptop computers worldwide because of a wiring flaw that could cause overheating. Sony said the recall involves 19 models in the Vaio TZ series made from May 2007 to July 2008. Sony cited improperly placed wires near the hinge connecting the body of the laptop and its display. Sony has received 209 reports of overheating worldwide. (AP)