Sensata Technologies lays off 100

Sensata Technologies Inc., of Attleboro, is laying off 100 workers after another 50 accepted voluntary buyout offers. Linda Megathlin, spokeswoman for the manufacturer of sensors and controls, said Tuesday that the job cuts are effective immediately. The move was triggered by a significant decline in orders driven by the slowdown in the worldwide automotive and housing markets, she said. The company has pushed aggressively to cut costs for most of last year, she said, including restricting overtime, travel and discretionary purchases, ordering compulsory time off for employees and closings plants. Megathlin added that the company will continue to monitor market conditions and may consider additional cuts.

Customer saves life of car wash worker

A quick-thinking customer saved the life of a 19-year-old car wash worker in Easthampton, Mass., who lost consciousness when her scarf got caught on a spinning scrubber brush. Stephanie Carpluk, of Chicopee, was released from a Springfield hospital Tuesday with black eyes and welts on her neck. She told The Republican newspaper she tried to free the scarf herself “but it wouldn’t go anywhere.” She said she remembers being scared, then blacking out. That’s when John O’Leary, a state wildlife biologist from Southampton, jumped out of a vehicle on the car wash rails, used a pocketknife to cut Carpluk loose and gave her mouth-to-mouth. Another customer called 911. Carpluk was the only employee at the Golden Nozzle Car Wash at the time.

Maine high court denies cigarette appeal

The Maine Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a member of an Indian tribe in western New York state who ran afoul of Maine law by selling cigarettes by mail-order and over the Internet without a retail tobacco vendor license. The Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s finding against Scott Maybee of the Seneca Nation of Indians, who was fined $33,500 after being targeted by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The justices rejected Maybee’s arguments that Maine courts lacked jurisdiction because he runs his tobacco delivery business on an Indian reservation in New York. He contended that Maine’s vendor license requirement is preempted by federal law.

Forecast for maple syrup not so sweet

Massachusetts’ maple syrup producers say December’s ice storm is ensuring a not-so-sweet sugaring season that will drive up retail prices. Massachusetts Maple Producers Association executive director Thomas McCrumm told The Recorder of Greenfield that production is expected to drop 20 percent statewide this season because of ice and snow damage. Massachusetts is the number-four syrup-producing state in New England, behind Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. Brooks McCutchen, operator of Berkshire Sweet Gold Maple Farm in Heath, Mass., said storms damaged sugar maple trees and left miles of syrup pipeline buried under snow and virtually inaccessible, especially at higher elevations.

Conn. considers Sunday liquor sales

Supporters of allowing liquor sales on Sundays in Connecticut say their proposal may have a chance at legislative approval this year because it would give the state extra tax revenue in a time of big budget deficits. The plan is being pushed by owners of package stores along the state’s borders, but they’re facing opposition again from owners of stores in Connecticut’s interior who say many stores can’t afford to open for a seventh day each week. Three Enfield lawmakers — Sen. John Kissel and Representatives Karen Jarmoc and Kathleen Tallarita — are proposing bills that would give liquor store owners the option of opening on Sundays. Supporters say it would give local stores extra money and the state more tax revenue, because state residents wouldn’t be going to neighboring states to buy alcohol on Sundays.

MAM completes portion of wind project

MAM Utility Services Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Maine & Maritimes Corp., has completed construction of an electrical collector system for the Stetson Wind Power Project near Danforth, Maine. The 57-megawatt wind facility at Stetson Mountain is owned and operated by First Wind of Newton, Mass. MAM engineers and technical subcontractors built 7.5 miles of overhead distribution line and 1,900 feet of low-voltage underground conductor to connect 38 General Electric 1.5-megawatt wind turbines to the New England electrical transmission network. The Stetson Project officially began generating power on a commercial basis Jan. 22.

Groups express concern about wind project

Both the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and the Appalachian Mountain Club are voicing concern about a proposed wind farm in the far northern part of the state. Granite Reliable Power LLC wants to build 33 turbines capable of generating enough electricity to power 33,000 homes. But Fish and Game biologists say doing so would harm the habitat of at least four rare wildlife species, including the Canada lynx, the three-toed woodpecker, the Bicknell’s Thrush and the American pine marten. The Appalachian Mountain Club says it supports wind power development but some of the proposed turbines would create an unacceptable risk to wildlife. A spokesman for Granite Reliable Power says the company shares some of the concerns but believes many can be remedied.

N.H. business owners offer survival ideas

Small-business owners came together in Concord, N.H., Tuesday to say that a partnership between state government and business is needed to ensure survival. Gov. John Lynch said that one of the major challenges facing business owners is finding the right workers for the jobs. Lynch said the state is looking to assist in that by investing in education. Small-business owners offered some suggestions to a panel of legislative leaders. Restaurant owner Tom Boucher said he believes that the state needs to invest more in travel and tourism. Others suggested that the state needs to reform the tax structure, specifically, the business enterprise tax. Jason Purdy of Riverglen Assisted Living says the tax is imposed on small businesses whether they’re making money or not.

New pharmacy college to open in Vermont

A New York pharmacy college is branching out to Vermont. The Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences’ satellite campus in Colchester, which opens Aug. 31, will be the only one in Vermont to offer a four-year doctor of pharmacy degree. Seventy students are expected, and seven faculty members have been hired. The college announced plans for a Burlington-area campus in 2007. Robert Hamilton, chief administrative officer for the Vermont campus, says pharmacy schools are gaining in popularity because of a national shortage in pharmacists.

Court clears way for N.H. logging projects

A federal appeals court has rejected an attempt by environmental groups to block two logging projects in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. The Sierra Club, Wilderness Society and Center for Biological Diversity argued that the U.S. Forest Service violated several federal laws as it reviewed two timber-cutting options. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said many of the groups’ arguments were too general and that disagreeing with Forest Service conclusions is not enough to warrant a more thorough review. The Than and Batchelder Brook projects involve logging on about 1,300 acres.