Business briefs
Bill would require drugmakers to justify price hikes
Sparked by widespread outrage over price increases for Mylan’s EpiPen emergency allergy treatment, three U.S. lawmakers Thursday introduced a bill that would require drugmakers to provide justification for price hikes of more than 10 percent for certain drug products. The bill’s sponsors said the bill would not prohibit any price increases, but was aimed at bringing transparency to the market for prescription drugs.
Consumer alert posted for Oakland’s Las Palmas
The Allegheny County Health Department posted a consumer alert at the Las Palmas taco stand and market on Atwood Street in Oakland after finding multiple food safety violations. Some of the problems included food being held at unsafe temperatures, unsafe cooling practices, inadequate sanitization of food equipment and a high number of house and fruit flies. The location also was hit with two consumer alerts last year. Inspection reports for food facilities in the county are available at www.achd.net.
State approves higher charge on Duquesne Light customers
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved a higher charge on customers so Duquesne Light can accelerate its
infrastructure improvement projects the next five years. The Downtown-based electric utility, with 590,000 customers in Allegheny and Beaver counties, spent about $84 million a year from 2011 to 2015, and plans to spend $109 million a year from 2017 to 2022. Effective Oct. 1, customers will pay a slightly higher distribution service improvement charge, or DSIC, amounting to 0.36 percent of a customer’s distribution charges. That would amount to 36 cents on a $100 monthly bill.
Companies add to North Side’s Nova Place
Expedient, a cloud computing and data center company, is expanding its presence at Nova Place on the North Side. The company is spending $14 million to increase its raised floor computer room space from 18,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet and add other amenities at the center. The expansion should be finished by the fourth quarter of 2017. A Ross laboratory testing company is moving its headquarters to Nova Place. Microbac will be taking about 11,000 square feet in the converted Allegheny Center Mall, nearly doubling its footprint in the region. Cabot Earle, Microbac CEO, described the move as “genuinely in line with our strategic growth plans.” Nova Place is owned by New York-based Faros Properties.
Greensburg Bypass work to benefit Elliot Group
Elliot Group will benefit from a $1.1 million state grant that will be used to modify portions of the Greensburg Bypass, also known as PA Turnpike 66, in order to accommodate large trucks traveling from the turbomachinery company’s plant in Jeannette. The improvements will limit disruptions to other traffic caused by the oversized trucks, state officials said. The funds will be used to modify the South Mainline toll plaza and add a bypass lane for the big rigs at the northbound exit ramp at Route 130.
Dominion subsidiaries end weeklong lockout
An agreement has been reached to end a weeklong lockout at Dominion’s natural gas and interstate transmission subsidiaries. Dominion Hope and Dominion Transmission agreed to end the lockout involving 915 workers in six states, while the United Gas Workers Union Local 69 vowed not to strike. The agreement runs through April 1, 2017. The statement says union members are scheduled to report for their regular shifts on Saturday. Bargaining on a new contract is set to resume early next month. The lockout began Sept. 7 for workers in Ohio, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. A union official had said a union committee rejected an earlier contract agreement in part over medical insurance and pension proposals for new hires.
Golfsmith bankruptcy brings fresh woes to Under Armour, Nike
The bankruptcy of Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. brings another round of suffering to the world’s biggest athletic brands, which are still reeling from the shutdown of Sports Authority Inc. earlier this year. Nike Inc., Adidas AG and Under Armour Inc. have substantial business with Golfsmith, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday. The chain is the largest dedicated golf retailer in North America. One winner is likely to be Findlaybased Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. If Golfsmith closes a lot of stores, that competitor has the best chance to win those customers, said Chen Grazutis, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Dick’s also might benefit from buying some of Golfsmith’s locations, a strategy it took in the Sports Authority bankruptcy, he said. Dick’s operates big-box stores under its name and also owns the Golf Galaxy chain, which has about 70 stores in 29 states.
Hyundai recalls SUVs; software flaw may stop acceleration
Hyundai is recalling about 41,000 small SUVs in the U.S. because a software glitch can stop the vehicles from accelerating. The recall came after pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It covers 2016 Tucson models with seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions made from May 20, 2015 to May 31, 2016. Hyundai says it started getting reports in June that the engines would rev but the SUVs wouldn’t move after coming to a stop. Engineers traced the problem to the transmission control computer that monitors driving to refine gear shifting.