News and Advice

The common wealth of Mass.
After spending years developing plastic solar energy cells, Konarka Technologies Inc. of Lowell was ready to begin full-scale production of flexible films that could be incorporated into purses and backpacks to create solar chargers for electronic devices. Needless to say, several states were interested in having the company build a factory there. (By Robert Gavin, Boston Globe)

Co-worker’s actions equal harassment
Q. I am a happily married straight male and am having a problem with a co-worker. “Gil’’ is a self-proclaimed bisexual. Even though he is fully aware of my orientation, he constantly makes lewd comments to me. He also invites me to his home for dinner on a regular basis - without my wife, of course. Gil is senior to ... (Boston Globe)

Beverly Hospital, site in Danvers losing jobs
Pressed by growing uncertainty in the health care industry, Northeast Hospital Corp., parent company of Beverly Hospital and an outpatient affiliate in neighboring Danvers, said it has eliminated 22 jobs in an effort to become leaner and more efficient. (By Robert Weisman, Boston Globe)

Bay State’s jobless rate ebbs, bucking national trend
The Massachusetts unemployment rate dropped last month for the first time in two years, and job losses slowed - signs the state’s beleaguered job market may be stabilizing. (By Robert Gavin, Boston Globe)

From Chelsea to Lawrence, jobless residents fight uphill battle against stalled economy
It’s 10 o’clock on a Monday morning and about 100 solemn-faced people crowd into a gray-walled waiting room in an old brick building hard by the railroad tracks in Lawrence. The group is nearly silent and the faces are glum and filled with tension. The room could serve as the epicenter for unemployment in Massachusetts. In Lawrence the rate has ... (By Steven Rosenberg, Boston Globe)

Leadership talk at Suffolk University
We make bad decisions every day (fewer than everyone else, of course), but our bads don’t usually effect lots of people. At tonight’s Ford Hall Forum, Sydney Finkelstein will explain why powerful folks with powerful cognitive abilities make bad decisions (think Wall Street), and how wise leaders avoid them. “Think Again: Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions and How to ... (By June Wulff, Boston Globe)

Out of the region’s thousands of unemployed, one woman’s story
LAWRENCE - Irma Rendon says the bad luck began 11 months ago. That’s when her factory boss in North Andover told her that after four years of assembling cables she was no longer needed. (By Steven Rosenberg, Boston Globe)