Northeast Resorts yesterday offered up its vision for a resort casino in New Bedford, where it controls a swath of land along the city’s waterfront. Northeast, which includes Leon Dragone as one of its principals, owns or has options for acreage in New Bedford and Palmer, both places the company would seek to build a casino if Massachusetts approves such operations. Northeast holds options on more than 35 acres in the Hicks-Logan neighborhood along the New Bedford waterfront, just south of Route 195 and has dubbed the $1-billion project Revere’s Landing. Plans call for a 600-room hotel, 4,000 slot machines and 150 table games, all serviced by 4,000 employees. Northeast has a development agreement with Pennsylvania Real Estate Trust, which owns the Dartmouth Mall, and has entered into an agreement with the tribal owners of the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut to develop a facility in Palmer. Northeast and the Mohegans have outlined plans for Palmer officials for a $1.1-billion resort. The proposal, for a site a few hundred yards from the Massachusetts Turnpike, calls for 4,000 slot machines, 100,000 square feet of retail space, 11 restaurants and a 600-room hotel. Northeast now owns or controls 250 acres in Palmer.

Cumberland company recalls noodles

Simmering Soup Inc., of Cumberland, is recalling 987 pounds of ready- to-eat chicken-noodle products because they may contain soy, a known allergen, not declared on labels, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. The 12-ounce boxes of “Trader Ming’s Yakisoba Noodles with Sesame Chicken Breast” were produced between July 1 and Aug. 15 and distributed at Trader Joe’s stores in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the USDA said. No illnesses have been reported related to the product, which the company voluntarily recalled after discovering the problem, the USDA said.

Newport Grand will have 400 new slots

Newport Grand casino is installing more than 400 new slot machines and 6 new video blackjack tables in preparation for the opening of its new 22,000-square-foot gaming space next month. Once complete, the facility will offer more than 1,500 slot machines and simulcast wagering. It currently has 1,100 video slot machines and simulcast wagering from thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racetracks around the country along with jai alai from Florida. Since August of last year, Newport Grand has been transforming the former jai alai fronton into two floors of slot machines, video blackjack, enhanced security and back-of-house functions. The company has also been making infrastructure improvements and adding new food and beverage outlets.

Kohl’s in North Kingstown to hire 150

Kohl’s Department Stores is hiring about 150 people to fill the jobs at a new store opening in October in North Kingstown. The company is seeking workers for cash-register operation, department service, customer service, early-morning stocking, truck unloading, housekeeping and evening signage/pricing updates. The new hires will receive competitive wages and medical insurance as well as 401(k) opportunities, employee stock ownership and merchandise discounts.

Allied Waste Services to pay EPA fine

Allied Waste Services of Massachusetts will pay a $195,000 penalty to settle an environmental enforcement case brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice for excessive motor vehicle idling. Last year, an EPA inspector observed more than 60 diesel-powered garbage trucks idling excessively at four Allied depots in Quincy, Fall River, Revere and Brockton. The settlement, filed as a judicial consent decree in federal court, is the latest of nine actions against vehicle fleet owners in New England for idling violations. Allied’s settlement includes an anti-idling program with driver training, posted signs and twice-daily management inspections of the depots’ parking lots. The company will also certify that automatic shut-off devices in its trucks are working and set to a five-minute standard. Diesel engines emit pollutants that can cause or aggravate a variety of health conditions such as asthma, other respiratory illnesses and heart disease.

Family Service of R.I. earns certification

Family Service of Rhode Island has earned certification from the Better Business Bureau. “With public scrutiny of charity accountability continuing to grow, the BBB Charity Seal gives an important acknowledgment of Family Service of Rhode Island’s exemplary ethics and responsibility,” said Paula Fleming, vice president of communications and marketing, Better Business Bureau. As noted on the BBB Web site, the Standards for Charity Accountability were developed to assist donors in making sound giving decisions and to foster public confidence.

Chamber offering help to entrepreneurs

The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce is looking for entrepreneurs to participate in a new series of coaching sessions designed to boost profitability and improve management skills. The Chamber’s Entrepreneur Launch Pad program is now taking applications. The next session, Essential Skills for the Entrepreneur I, will begin Sept. 22-23 at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. To learn more, go to www.provchamber.com/Launchpad.aspx and download the application. The registration fee is $300 for Chamber members and $575 for nonmembers. Through six months of intensive coaching, the Chamber will provide entrepreneurs with hands-on, real-world specifics and answers to their questions. Entrepreneurs will also have the opportunity to meet investors from throughout the New England region. The Chamber said the ideal applicant will have revenue up to $10 million, 2 to 50 employees and need $1 million to $5 million in growth capital. Market sectors could include hardware, clean technology, alternative energy, health care, medical devices, preventive health, defense, oceanography, financial services, digital media and Web services.

Landfill: Collection of toxics set Sept. 6

The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation will hold an Eco-Depot collection on Saturday, Sept. 6, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Central Landfill, 65 Shun Pike, Johnston. It is free for Rhode Island households, which may turn in materials that are too toxic, explosive, volatile or poisonous to be put in regular trash. Examples are compact fluorescent light bulbs, oil paints, motor oil and filters, propane gas tanks, pesticides, paint thinners, lawn fertilizers and weed killers. To determine if an item is hazardous, simply look for the words “caution,” “danger” or “warning” on the label. To reduce waiting time, an appointment is needed for Eco-Depot drop-offs. Call 942-1430, ext. 241, or sign up online at www.rirrc.org and click on the Eco-Depot logo on the right-hand side of the page.

Nursing-home chains dominate Conn.

Large, for-profit nursing-home chains dominate Connecticut’s market, according to an analysis of federal data released Sunday by the Hartford Courant newspaper. Such facilities have lower staffing levels and higher rates of serious patient-care violations than small chains and independently owned homes, according to the newspaper’s review. The Courant looked at two years of inspection and ownership data from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the more than 240 licensed nursing homes in Connecticut. Adjusted for size, homes owned by large chains provided, on average, 16 percent fewer registered and licensed nurses than small-chain and independent nursing facilities, according to the data. The state’s large-chain homes had a 30-percent higher rate of causing patients harm or putting them in immediate jeopardy, the Courant determined. For the five large chains in Connecticut, which control about one-third of the state’s nursing home beds, such serious deficiencies occurred at a 42-percent higher rate than at homes not controlled by large chains.

Shipping society gives to Maine school

Maine Maritime Academy, in Castine, has been given a $2.5-million gift that it will use to enhance its engineering program. The gift, announced Monday, comes from the American Bureau of Shipping, an international ship classification society based in Houston. Maine Maritime President Leonard Tyler said it is the largest gift in the school’s history. He said the gift will be used as seed money for a new applied engineering and research facility that will be named for the American Bureau of Shipping.