GTECH signs contract with Chile

GTECH Corp., based in Providence and a unit of Lottomattica, based in Italy, said yesterday it signed a contract with Chile’s Polla Chilena de Beneficencia S.A. to provide a full range of services, including a new online and instant-ticket lottery system, fixed-odds sports betting, risk management, an interactive platform, about 2,200 Altura terminals and a communications network. Polla Chilena administers and operates national online and instant lottery games, and fixed-odds sports betting in Chile. The seven-year contract, with an option to extend for an additional two years, is expected to begin next September.

Providence Open Market set for tomorrow

The Providence Open Market, formerly located on Westminster Street, will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow at a new location in Lippitt Park on the East Side of Providence. The market is the little sister of the established and nationally recognized Sowa Open Market in Boston. While promoted out of Boston, the Providence Open Market is managed by the Providence-based Rhody Girls Art Club, a collaborative of local crafters. The market will feature 50 juried art and craft vendors under tents at the north end of the park and will continue on Sept. 13, 20 and 27. More information can be found at www.providenceopenmarket.com

EMC Corp. partners with Lenovo Group

Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC Corp., a provider of information infrastructure systems, and Morrisville, N.C.-based Lenovo Group, Ltd., one of the world’s largest makers of personal computers, have announced a global partnership to provide an unlimited online data backup service specifically designed for the small-business professional. The new service is available on new Lenovo notebooks and is powered by EMC’s Mozy online data backup service. “We looked to EMC’s Mozy as the premier online data backup and storage service for Lenovo customers. We chose them specifically because of their innovation and industry-leading solutions,” said Henry Hicks, Lenovo vice president of sales and marketing.

Neurotech gets Fast Track OK for implant

Neurotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held biotechnology company headquartered in Lincoln and focused on the development of sight-saving therapeutics for chronic retinal diseases, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation for the company’s cell-containing polymer implant for the treatment of visual loss in retinitis pigmentosa and the dry form of age-related macular degeneration by means of its proprietary encapsulated cell technology. The Fast Track program provides for expedited regulatory review of a drug that demonstrates the potential to address an unmet medical need for the treatment of serious or life-threatening conditions.

Tech Global Partners appoints Steve Davis

North Kingstown-based Tech Global Partners Inc., a services organization with expertise in the retail and hospitality industries that provides assistance to technology organizations, has appointed Steve Davis senior director and practice leader. He will be responsible for expanding and developing the services for retail supply chains, including the merchandising, planning and allocation of retail technology. “Steve is widely considered an expert in the industry related to retail supply chain solutions,” said Brandt Kerkhoff, company vice president of technology.

Robotic gorilla taken from Maine flea market

An eight-foot mechanical gorilla that’s been a longtime fixture outside a flea market store in East Machias, Maine, has gone missing and its owner is asking that the ape be returned, no questions asked. Lowell Miller didn’t realize that his gorilla had been stolen from Sandy’s Sales on U.S. 1 until closing time Sunday. Miller thought his clerk had wheeled the ape inside, and the clerk thought Miller had. Miller said he was amazed that anyone would steal such a heavy object. Valued at about $1,500, it has a cement platform and is equipped with motors that turn the gorilla sideways and make its arms go up and down. State police have put out an all-points-bulletin on the robotic primate, which they suspect may be holed up in some college students’ apartment.

Laid-off Vt. workers retrained and working

A North Bennington, Vt., company that makes cases and bags for audio visual equipment has come to the rescue of dozens of workers in St. Johnsbury, Vt., who lost their jobs when their employer moved. The owner of PortaBrace was looking for people to help produce his product when he heard in April that W.T. Solutions, which made specialized garments for the military, was moving from to New Jersey, putting 60 people out of work. “It’s been one of our biggest challenges to find folks interested in committing to this as a career,” said president Gregg Haythorn. “We find we have to increasingly train folks with no experience and the work is somewhat complicated, somewhat challenging. Our training program just couldn’t keep pace with the need.” Company officials contacted the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, which helped retrain the sewers. About five weeks after W.T. Solutions closed, PortaBrace opened in St. Johnsbury. PortaBrace now employs about 35 people in St. Johnsbury and about 80 in North Bennington.

Ex-owner of Sugarloaf hired by Saddleback

A former owner of Maine’s Sugarloaf ski resort has been named chief executive officer and general manager of the Saddleback ski area. In his new job, Warren Cook is responsible for all aspects of Saddleback’s operations. Saddleback, located outside of Rangeley, is Maine’s third-largest ski mountain. As president and co-owner of Sugarloaf, Cook helped bring the company out of bankruptcy and presided over its sale to American Skiing Co. Cook takes over for Tom McAllister, who has been general manager at Saddleback for 31 years. McAllister will stay on as an adviser and assist in the transition.

Boston requiring low-emission taxis

Boston is joining other cities in requiring taxis to switch to low-emission vehicles. Mayor Thomas Menino announced Friday that Boston taxi owners will need to make the change by 2015. He called it “an essential step” in improving air quality. New York and San Francisco are requiring taxis to convert to hybrids and other low-emission vehicles by 2012. However, the president of Boston’s Independent Taxi Operators Association, Marckinson Charles, told The Boston Globe that his group of about 360 owners isn’t ready to move to hybrids. Aside from the cost, he said, drivers feel hybrids such as the Toyota Camry don’t have enough trunk space. Boston has approved a taxi rate increase to offset rising fuel costs.

Bates College announces $2.5-million gift

The amount of local and natural food served at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, is growing thanks to a $2.5-million gift that’s earmarked for quality food. An alumnus who wants to remain anonymous agreed in 2006 to give the school $2.5 million, as long as the money was put in an endowment with investment income going to supplement the food budget’s spending on local, natural and organic foods. The final installment was made in June, and the college didn’t announce the donation until Wednesday. Food served at the college dining hall includes grass-fed beef raised in Maine, spring water from a locally owned company, artisanal bread made from organic grain grown in Maine and fruits and vegetables grown on farms a few miles from the Bates campus. Before receiving the first installment of the gift in 2006, the liberal arts school spent 22 percent of its annual food budget on local and natural foods. With the last installment of the gift now in hand, the percentage has risen to 28 percent.