Tennessee extends contract with GTECH

GTECH Corp., a unit of Italy-based Lottomatica, has signed a contract amendment with the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation to continue providing online lottery technology for an additional four years. GTECH expects to receive revenues of approximately $50 million over the four-year period, beginning in April 2011. GTECH has been the online lottery technology and services provider to the Tennessee Lottery since its inception in 2004. Under the amendment, GTECH will provide the Tennessee Lottery with up to 800 “Instant to Go” instant ticket vending machines, as well as field service associated with these machines. The company will continue providing services including central system operation and maintenance; terminal maintenance; retailer training; marketing support; field service; hotline management; and telecommunications network management and maintenance.

Westerly bridge project may be shelved

Officials are considering whether to abandon efforts to fix a bridge in Westerly despite spending nearly $900,000 already on repairs. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation has said fixing the 75-year-old West Street Bridge is too costly to continue, according to the Associated Press. Since the overpass was closed in 2001, the town spent about $488,000 and the state about $400,000 to remodel it. Department engineer David Fish told Westerly town officials in a letter Monday that fixing the bridge was no longer economically feasible. New estimates show repairs costing $3 million more than officials originally believed after inspectors found unexpected deterioration in some sections. It could now cost about $200,000 to demolish the bridge.

Meeting to examine T.F. Green’s challenges

Kevin Dillon, who is struggling to keep passengers flying at T.F. Green Airport, will discuss the airport’s challenges today at a meeting with Governor Carcieri’s top economic advisers. Dillon, appointed president at chief executive by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation a year ago, inherited a slumping operation. Before his arrival, the airport suffered a revenue drop for the first time this decade, brought about by a 9-percent decline in passengers. The airport is not the only topic to be discussed at the Economic Policy Council meeting, at 10 a.m. at 315 Iron Horse Way in Providence. The governor’s advisers will also hear a report about the Community College of Rhode Island and a presentation from the chief operating officer of Deepwater Wind Holdings, the New Jersey company that plans to construct a $1.5-billion wind farm off Rhode Island’s coast.

Textron unit unveils new aircraft

Providence-based Textron Inc.’s AAI Corp., of Hunt Valley, Md., has announced that it will unveil its newest small unmanned aircraft surveillance system at the 2009 Australian International Air Show in Avalon, Victoria, this month. The aircraft successfully completed test flights at Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz., last month. The vehicle uses miniaturization of sensor technology while incorporating a larger wing and fuselage to conduct missions in excess of 12 hours. The aircraft is compatible with NATO standardizations and is capable of shipboard operations.

EMC to digitize museum’s collections

EMC Corp., of Hopkinton, Mass., a developer of information infrastructure system, has announced that the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art has been working with the company to digitize the museum’s collections as well as audio and video interviews with leading artists to make the information more easily and inexpensively accessible to arts communities, scholars, students and the general public. The MCA, in Sydney, is consolidating all of its storage on an EMC network-attached storage system that includes exhibit design, digital asset library, catalog design studio, Microsoft Exchange e-mail, finance, fundraising and data backup.

N.H. fishermen’s group to brand product

An industry group that represents New Hampshire fishermen is working on a campaign to strengthen the market for local seafood. The New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen’s Association has hired a design firm to create a brand and logo that can be printed on packages of seafood to show the fish was caught in local waters. It will be the first time New Hampshire fishermen have used a state brand to separate their product in grocery stores. The campaign is a response to fishermen saying they have been stifled by state and federal regulations that limit their catches, high fuel prices and reduced consumer demand.

New UMass science center put on hold

The credit crunch has put the brakes on a $90-million science center planned for the Lowell campus of the University of Massachusetts. Officials said Friday that the university’s building authority has been unable to borrow the $35 million needed to begin construction on The Emerging Technology and Innovation Center. The research facility was expected to boost the regional economy by creating up to 500 jobs and launching start-up technology firms. UMass-Lowell President Martin Meehan said he wasn’t giving up on the project and would lobby for money from the federal stimulus package or other alternative sources of financing.

New Hampshire utility hints at bankruptcy

Public Service Company of New Hampshire says it could go bankrupt if the legislature doesn’t allow it to charge customers to pay for an emissions-control project at its Bow power plant. A House committee heard testimony on Thursday on a proposal to cap the amount the utility could recover for a scrubber project at $250 million. That’s what the company estimated the project would cost when the legislature mandated it in 2006. The estimate now is $457 million and critics say it could go higher. A PSNH executive told the hearing the company would sue to prevent any cap from being imposed.

Molly Carney, first female ship captain, dies

Molly K. Carney, who as Molly Kool was the first woman in North America to become a licensed ship captain, has died in Bangor, Maine. She was 93. Known in Canada by her maiden name, Molly Kool won her captain’s papers in 1939 and sailed the North Atlantic between Alma, New Brunswick, and Boston for five years. Ken Kelly, president of the Fundy Beautification and Historical Society, said she moved to Maine after her love of a man proved stronger than her love of the sea. He says that at the time of her death, on Feb. 25, Molly Carney was living in an independent retirement community in Bangor, where there was a lighthouse and a captain’s wheel outside her room. He said residents there called her “Captain Molly.”

Job-recruiting expert to host workshop

Glenn Gutmacher, a job-recruiting expert, will offer a two-hour workshop at the Rhode Island School of Design tomorrow on how to use what’s known as Web 2.0 — which includes sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook — to help people focus their job searches. Gutmacher said the big job boards such as Monster.com or Yahoo.com are the wrong places to find the best job opportunities. A lot of companies, Gutmacher said, don’t use those sites to post their best jobs. Gutmacher recommends using the Internet first to research growing companies to get the best idea of where the jobs are, and then turn to the social networking sites to find the people who actually do the hiring. He’ll be speaking tomorrow at RISD from 7 to 9 p.m. Cost for the workshop is $25. To register, or find more information, go to RISD’s continuing education Web site at www.risd.edu/ce or call 401-454-6209.