LIN TV to lose audience in Eastern Conn.

Providence-based LIN TV Corp. (TVL:NYSE), yesterday confirmed the recent announcement by MetroCast, a cable provider with about 39,000 subscribers in Eastern Connecticut, that negotiations appear unlikely to result in an agreement for continued carriage of LIN’s broadcast signals, which include the area’s top-rated station, WTNH-TV News Channel 8, along with WCTX-TV MyTV9 and Providence’s WPRI-TV Channel 12. As a result, LIN expects MetroCast to discontinue carriage of its TV stations when its contract expires Oct. 7.

Cessna nears deal with union

Providence-based Textron’s Cessna aircraft unit, the world’s largest maker of business jets, has reached an agreement with union negotiators representing machinists in Wichita, Kan. Workers will vote on the company’s offer Saturday, Cessna said. The proposed contract would give workers a $3,000 lump-sum bonus, leave insurance premiums unchanged and boost wages by 5 percent, 4 percent and 4 percent over the three years of the agreement, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 774 said on its Web site.

Providence Chamber targets small business

The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce has unveiled a new forum for small-business professionals to voice views on issues affecting jobs, economic growth and work-force readiness. The President’s Circle, composed of leaders from a diverse group of industries, will reach out to small-business members of the Chamber to gather data on several key indicators, including new hiring and general business conditions. The information gathered will be used to craft the Chamber’s small-business agenda next year. The data will also be reported on a monthly basis to develop a snapshot of small-business momentum in Rhode Island.

AVTECH gets more business from U.N.

AVTECH Software, of Newport, has been selected to provide the United Nations Mission in Liberia with information technology and products to monitor 40 critical data centers in Liberia and surrounding African nations. The U.N. is already an AVTECH customer at its worldwide headquarters in New York City and other locations around the world. Under the new contract, the company will provide 40 of its new Room Alert units to monitor environment conditions in IT data centers and provide alerting, data logging and automatic corrective actions.

Insurance company adds agency

The Narragansett Bay Insurance Co. (NBIC), a member of the Blackstone Financial Group has announced that Thorp & Trainer Insurance has joined Mansfield Insurance, Woodmansee Insurance and Babcock & Helliwell Insurance as authorized NBIC agencies.

Kohl’s sets Mansfield, Mass., opening

Kohl’s Department Stores will officially open its Mansfield, Mass., facility Wednesday, Oct. 3. One of 95 stores to open nationwide this fall, the Mansfield store will create about 150 jobs in the area. The store is the 21st to open in Massachusetts and is located at 208K School St.

Navy modifies Electric Boat contract

General Dynamics’ Electric Boat division has received a $7-million contract modification from the Navy to manage and support nuclear-maintenance work for submarines based in Groton, Conn. The contract being modified was initially awarded in December 2005 and has a potential value of $62 million over three years. Under the terms of the modification, Electric Boat will continue operating the Nuclear Regional Maintenance Department at the submarine base. The company provides project management, planning, training and radiological-control services to support maintenance, modernization and repairs for operational submarines. About 25 Electric Boat employees are assigned to the NRMD.

Junior’s to bring Brooklyn to Foxwoods

Junior’s Restaurant, a New York eatery famous for its cheesecake, will open at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., next spring as part of the casino expansion, officials said Wednesday. It’s the first Junior’s to open outside of New York City. The 250-seat, 8,100-square-foot Junior’s will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and have a bar, takeout counter and bakery. The new restaurant will pay homage to Junior’s home borough, with murals along the walls of the Brooklyn Bridge, Ebbets Field, the Dodgers and the Cyclone roller coaster at Coney Island.

Mass. seeks to ensure safety of toy jewelry

Massachusetts health officials are proposing a ban on toy jewelry with high levels of lead. The move would bar the manufacture, transport or sale of toy jewelry containing dangerous levels of the toxic substance. High lead levels have been found in samples of children’s jewelry collected from vending machines, children’s toy sections of retail stores and jewelry counters. Although the percentage of toy jewelry samples containing lead is on the decline, more than 1 in 10 samples collected this year had high enough levels to pose health concerns to children, officials said.

N.H. smoking ban begins Sept. 17

New Hampshire’s restaurant and bar patrons have less than a week to light up their cigarettes indoors before a smoking ban goes into effect. The ban starts Sept. 17, prohibiting smoking in all restaurants and bars, as well as at any public event, such as a bingo night, at an otherwise private social, fraternal or religious club. The law carries a $100 fine for smokers who ignore the ban. Restaurant and bar owners face a $100 fine for the first offense and a $200 fine for multiple offenses.

Mill switches process after algae bloom

A Millinocket, Maine, mill that was blamed for an unusually large algae bloom in the Penobscot River last month has stopped using the chemical that caused the bloom, mill officials said. Katahdin Paper Co. stopped using phosphoric acid at the start of the month after identifying a suitable alternative to whiten the mill’s paper products, said spokesman Glenn Saucier. The company has no plans to go back to using phosphoric acid, which was the primary cause for the 75-mile blue-green algae bloom that prompted the Penobscot Nation to advise tribal members to stay out of the river until further notice. Department of Environmental Protection officials criticized the mill for not notifying the agency that phosphorus was being discharged into the river. After a 2004 algae bloom, Katahdin Paper had agreed to limit phosphorus discharges, but discharge levels were never written into its permit.

Mass. network provider grows

RNK Communications, a full-service network communications provider headquartered in Dedham, Mass., is expanding its telecommunications network footprint along the East Coast. Last month, it opened a switching facility to serve Washington D.C., Southern Maryland and Northern Virginia. This fall, RNK is planning to expand its network further by opening switching facilities to include coverage throughout Delaware and areas of Pennsylvania, including the Philadelphia region.