KRAFT

Nolan featured in national magazine

Anne Nolan, president of Crossroads Rhode Island, is featured in a full-page profile in a recent issue of U.S. News & World Report.

The story reports that Nolan’s early career included a stint as a university professor and nearly 30 years as an executive working for big companies such as Fleet Financial Group and Digital Equipment.

She changed her career path in 1999 because back then she decided her everyday world was “flat…there was no passion,” she told the magazine. “I’m not going back to the corporate world. I’m going to get a job at a not-for profit.”

Nolan, 60, went on to expand Crossroads Rhode Island into the state’s largest provider of care and shelter to the homeless. And she has used her business acumen in the day-to-day operation of the nonprofit and in expanding its range of services.

Nolan also told the magazine she’s not done yet, and she has more plans for Crossroads.

Tribes eye casino expansion plans

The Indian tribes that run casinos in Connecticut have expansion plans.

Mohegan Sun has leased land in western Massachusetts for a casino development, if state lawmakers approve licenses for legalized gambling. The Mohegan Tribe signed a 50-year lease on 152 acres in Palmer with options to renew it for another 49 years. The land is in a private lot just off Route 32. The cost of the lease was not disclosed. Mohegan representative Paul Brody said the tribe is spending millions now as an investment. This year, state lawmakers turned back a drive to approve casino gaming, but they may reconsider it next session. Mohegan officials said if lawmakers approve gaming next year, the new Palmer casino could open by 2012. State regulators would still have to grant Mohegan a state license.

The Mashantucket Pequots, who run the Foxwoods Resort Casino, are pursuing plans to put a casino in a downtown mall in Philadelphia, with support from local investors. Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter endorsed the slots parlor.

Carcieri gets ‘B’ for tax-cut efforts

Governor Carcieri was given a “B” while his colleagues, Massachusetts Governor Patrick earned a “C and Connecticut Governor Rell was given an “F” in the latest report card issued by the Cato Institute, the conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. The institute’s ratings usually reward governors who try to cut taxes and spending.

Carcieri’s grade was based, in part, on his efforts to create an optional flat income tax, under which Rhode Islanders can now pay income tax under the regular system with a top rate of 9.9 percent or they can take fewer deductions and pay at a flat rate of 7.0 percent. The flat rate is scheduled to fall to 5.5 percent in 2011. The Cato Institute also said Carcieri has cut motor vehicle taxes and been restrained on the spending side of the ledger.

Patrick was cited for signing into law a corporate tax bill that substantially widened the tax base, but also phased in a small cut to the corporate tax rate. The Cato Institute also said he signed into law a $1-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes, which will raise $175 million annually.

Rell flunked because of a series of proposed tax hikes for cigarettes, gasoline and various business taxes while also recommending several spending increases, according to the Cato Institute.

Kraft proposes biotech park

Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, wants to build a 1.6 million-square-foot biotech office park with adjacent parking garages on land owned by The Kraft Group across Route 1 from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. At that size, the office park would dwarf Emerald Square mall in North Attleboro, which is about 1 million square feet. Foxboro officials last week said the Krafts are looking for a tenant and may be eligible for a piece of $55 million in state grants set aside to build economic development projects. No timetable was set.

After the bell:

•Dione D. Kenyon, president of The Jewelers Board of Trade, was elected to serve as the 54th president of the Boston Jewelers Club. She is the club’s first woman president, and was inducted at the annual membership dinner meeting at the Union Club of Boston on Nov. 6.

•Organizers of the Hospital Trust/BankBoston reunion made check presentations of $1,800 each to Crossroads Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Community Food Bank from the proceeds from the June event.

•There was some good-natured ribbing between graduates of competing Jesuit colleges in Massachusetts at last week’s Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce breakfast. Jim Skeffingon, a lawyer and Boston College graduate, introduced Timothy Babineau, head of Rhode Island Hospital and a Holy Cross grad by saying, “That’s the school 60 miles west of B.C.” Babineau concluded his remarks by shooting back, “B.C. is the school you go to when you can’t get into Holy Cross.”

John Kostrzewa is the Journal’s business editor. Share an anecdote from the world of business by sending it to pjbiz@projo.com.