Boston Globe, MA
May 11 2007

Ex-official, bar association settle discrimination suit
May 11, 2007

THE REGION

A former executive director of the Massachusetts Bar Association has
settled a gender-discrimination lawsuit against the organization for
an undisclosed amount. Abigail A. Shaine sued the bar and
then-president Kathleen M. O’Donnell in 2004, alleging that she and
other senior female administrators had been wrongfully fired. Bar
officials said Shaine was removed for incompetence and called her
accusations "hollow." As part of the settlement, Shaine wrote a
letter of apology to O’Donnell, saying she had "come to believe that
I was mistaken in making those charges." O’Donnell, a Lowell
attorney, called the settlement "a very nice resolution." Shaine, who
lives in New Hampshire, declined to comment. (Sacha Pfeiffer)

Senate passes bill aimed at preventing data theft
The Massachusetts Senate passed a bill designed to better protect
consumers against data theft. The bill mirrors one the House approved
Wednesday. Both would require companies to promptly notify customers
if personal data are stolen. Credit-reporting companies would be
required to lock consumer credit reports upon request. A majority of
states have similar requirements. Some House-Senate differences
remain, such as fees reporting companies could charge, but Senator
Michael Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat and one of the sponsors, said he
expects to reconcile the differences quickly. (Ross Kerber)

Finance chief dismissed, company names successor
3Com Corp., a Marlborough maker of computer-networking equipment,
fired chief financial officer Don Halsted and named Gerber Scientific
Inc. finance chief Jay Zager to succeed him. Zager, 57, will get an
annual salary of $400,000, a signing bonus of $200,000, and
restricted stock and options, 3Com said in a regulatory filing.
Halsted will remain with 3Com through the transition and get
severance equal to one year’s salary. (Bloomberg)

Armenian memorial wins support for Greenway site
More than 120 people attended a North End meeting Wednesday about the
future of a half-acre near Christopher Columbus Park on the Rose
Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The crowd overwhelmingly supported a
proposed gift from the Armenian Heritage Foundation for a park,
designed with a labyrinth and sculpture by a team including Boston
architect Donald Tellalian, that would memorialize the 1915 Armenian
genocide. Greenway officials, including conservancy chairman Peter
Meade and mayor’s task force cochairman Rob Tuchmann, said the
process followed by other future occupants of the parks has been
violated in this instance. They seek a moratorium on memorials on the
Greenway. (Thomas C. Palmer Jr.)

Moody’s gives CareGroup bond rating upgrade to A3
CareGroup Inc., a nonprofit corporation that holds debt for Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Mount Auburn Hospital, and New
England Baptist Hospital, received a bond rating upgrade from Moody’s
Investors Service, to A3 from Baa1. The upgrade follows a financial
turnaround of Beth Israel Deaconess and the other entities in
CareGroup, Moody’s said. Other than holding debt, the group no longer
acts as an organized healthcare network, but Moody’s still considers
it one because the hospitals associated with it collectively hold
$572 million in debt. (Christopher Rowland)

Commerce Group sued by Calif. insurance bureau
Commerce Group Inc. said a California organization has sued it for,
among other things, allegedly misusing trade secrets. The California
State Automobile Association Inter-Insurance Bureau sued in a
California Superior Court April 25, the Webster automobile insurer
said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. CSAA claims
Commerce, by hiring several former employees of the insurance bureau,
misappropriated trade secrets or other information about the bureau
and engaged in unfair business practices and competition. "The
company intends to vigorously defend itself against CSAA’s
allegations," Commerce Group said in the filing. (Dow Jones)

Inverness Medical tops Beckman Coulter bid
Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a Waltham maker of home pregnancy
and fertility tests, raised its offer for Biosite Inc. to $1.91
billion, topping Beckman Coulter Inc.’s bid for the maker of
emergency-room medical tests. The cash offer of $92.50 a share
exceeds the company’s earlier $90 bid. Biosite said it is "reasonably
likely to lead to a superior proposal" from Beckham Coulter, a
producer of diagnostic tests and equipment that had bid $90 on May 2.
(Bloomberg)