Twin River: No deal yet

LINCOLN — Despite Twin River’s push to finish financial negotiations with lenders by the end of the work week, the owners of the gambling parlor had no announcements yesterday. The slot-parlor’s owner, UTGR Inc., has negotiated for months with its lenders to rework $577 million in financing. The company said earlier this week that it was “pushing hard” to conclude negotiations by yesterday. Twin River’s spokeswoman, Patti Doyle, announced in an e-mail late in the afternoon yesterday: “Just got word there will be no announcement today — hopefully on Monday.” State officials have hired two consultants to advise them on operations at Twin River, since gambling is the third-largest source of state revenues. Negotiations over Twin River’s debts came after the slot-parlor’s owners missed a loan payment in March.

A.T. Cross going to Nasdaq

LINCOLN — A.T. Cross Co. announced yesterday that its board of directors has approved the decision to switch the listing of its common stock from the American Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq stock market, effective Sept. 16. The company will continue to trade under the symbol ATX. “This decision was reached after careful consideration of capital market alternatives and analysis of the electronic market model, which provides added visibility to our investors,” said David G. Whalen, company president and chief executive officer. “We believe that Nasdaq’s electronic multiple market-maker structure will provide our company with enhanced exposure and liquidity, while at the same time providing investors with the best prices, the fastest execution and the lowest cost per trade.”

Water rates to increase

PAWTUCKET — Water rates could rise 17.6 percent, or $63 per year, for the average residential customer, as a result of an agreement between the state agency that reviews requests for rate increases and the city department that sells water to Pawtucket, Central Falls and part of Cumberland. The agreement, which still requires the approval of the Public Utilities Commission, settles the rate case that the Pawtucket Water Supply Board brought before the PUC five months ago. It was worked out during the summer by Water Supply Board officials and the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, and unveiled at a hearing in Warwick before the PUC. The PUC is expected to reconvene to vote on the settlement at a meeting later this month. If the PUC approves the settlement, effective Oct. 1, the cost of water for the average household in Pawtucket, Central Falls and the Valley Falls section of Cumberland will rise from $358 to $421 a year. That’s $28 per year less than the Water Supply Board sought in March, when it filed its original request for a rate increase.

Plan for Ninigret proposed

CHARLESTOWN — Acting Town Council President James M. Mageau has proposed a plan to build a concert and festival center on 11.2 acres in the northeast corner of Ninigret Park. The project would cost an estimated $1.5 million and would be paid for through event fees. The plan is expected to be discussed Monday at the Town Council’s meeting. Also on the agenda is a proposal by the Parks and Recreation Commission, which manages the 227.4-acre park, to change the fees charged to special events to 3 percent of “total gross receipts” and require organizers to “provide revenue statements to be certified” by a certified public accountant. Organizers of the four largest events that are held in the park — the Seafood Festival, the Big Apple Circus, Rhythm & Roots, and the Reggae Festival –– have objected to opening their books to the town. Some promoters have discussed moving their events elsewhere if the new requirement is imposed.

Liquor license approved for sushi bar

PROVIDENCE — There will be one more liquor license on Thayer Street, despite the objections of a neighborhood group, the police, owners of adjacent real estate and others. The city Board of Licenses has approved a full liquor license with a 2 a.m. closing on Fridays, Saturdays and the nights before legal holidays for Shark Sushi Bar & Grill, 275 Thayer St. The vote was 3 to 0 with one member abstaining. Prior to the vote, city License Administrator Richard H. Aitchison advised the board that the owners of 36.9 percent of the property within a 200-foot radius of the premises to be licensed were opposed to the granting of the license. If the owners of more than 50 percent of that property were opposed, the application would have had to be rejected as required by law.

Wind turbine on track in Barrington

BARRINGTON — The Town Council will get a recommendation for a wind turbine builder at its Oct. 6 meeting, the chairman of the Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington told the council Tuesday night. David Baum said the committee is in talks with the developers of two of the five turbine proposals submitted to the town. A site at the end of Legion Way, next to Brickyard Pond, is widely regarded as the best location, although many neighbors are opposed. Final approval will come from the council if it is convinced that the project is safe and economical. Council President Jeffrey Brenner has said no decision will be made without a full public hearing after the Oct. 6 meeting.

N. Providence City Council fines lounge

NORTH PROVIDENCE — Citing complaints from neighbors of the Golf Restaurant & Lounge that noise from the establishment has not diminished since they brought up their concerns two months ago, the Town Council has imposed a $500 fine, with a warning that the lounge’s license will be revisited in another 60 days. In an informal meeting to review what happened since the complaint was filed, lounge owner Thomas J. Poliselli said he felt that he was being harassed. He said he has tried to accommodate the wishes of area residents, but the police are often called to answer complaints of noise that are generally unfounded. He said that since the lounge, at 1601R Mineral Spring Ave., has been under review, there has been no criminal activity and no one arrested on charges of disorderly conduct. He said that apparently the sound of people talking is fine with some people, but too much to bear for others. David Riley, of Douglas Avenue, took a different view, saying that the situation has only gotten worse. He said he has been subject to the sounds of trash being dumped at 1 in the morning, people talking on cell phones and revving motorcycles. He said he had evidence of late-night carousing on videotape, which apparently had been seen by at least two members of the council — Frank A. Manfredi and Raymond Douglas.

Lincoln’s recycling rewarded

LINCOLN — The town has received $56,071 from the state’s recycling agency, a reward for increasing its recycling rate from 19 percent of all trash to 22 percent, state and local officials said. The grant is the town’s share of a new profit distribution program run by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, the independent state agency that operates the Central Landfill and its recycling plant in Johnston. When the agency’s profits on the sale of recycled material increase, that increase is shared with the municipalities that sent recyclable trash to the plant. Recycling rates among the state’s cities and towns ranged from Providence’s 11 percent to North Kingstown’s 34 percent, said Sarah Kite, recovery corporation director of recycling services.

Providence dance clubs’ licenses suspended

PROVIDENCE — The city Board of Licenses has suspended the liquor licenses of two downtown dance clubs, Elements and Level II, for ignoring fire safety and allowing severe overcrowding on certain nights in May and June. In the process, the board gave the licensees a collective tongue-lashing for apparently flouting the orders of the board and apparently continuing to violate certain regulations even as the licensees’ initial violations had been under consideration. The board voted unanimously to suspend the liquor license of Elements for two days, Sept. 5 and Sept. 6, and to impose a $500 fine. Level II’s license was suspended for one day, Sept. 12, and that club was also fined $500. After initially resisting, the licensees acknowledged the facts underlying the complaints of overcrowding by the Police and Fire Departments that provoked the sanctions by the board.