Mattress Company Could Bring 100 Jobs to City

The Finance Committee on Wednesday eagerly endorsed a request by Mayor Richard Alcombright to designate the nearly 100,000 square-foot building and property in the industrial park an economic opportunity area and the accompanying five-year special property tax assessment. A resolution and tax incentive will go before the City Council on Aug. 23.

The incentive is part of a package to sweeten the deal over a competing site in Manchester, Vt.

"[Owner] John Wilkinson really likes North Adams, he's made that very clear," said Alcombright, who was knowledgeable about what Vermont was offering. "I looked at the numbers that he had ... we certainly seemed to be very, very competitive; in fact, I think we're more competitive."

The mayor said the condition and size of the building, the city's lower property prices and taxes, significantly lower state workers compensation rates and state tax credits, and McCann Technical School and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts were all attractors. It also hasn't hurt that Housing and Economic Development Secretary Gregory Bialecki has spoken to the Wilkinsons on the city's behalf.

In a letter of intent to the mayor, WCW President Jeffrey Wilkinson wrote, "this project would involve the purchase of an existing building suitable to allow the relocation of our entire operation and staff. This would involved relocation of approximately 100 jobs with an annual payroll in excess of $4 million."

Local and state officials have been working with the company to bring the deal to fruition over the past six weeks.

"This is by far he most exciting, encouraging thing since ... Mass MoCA," said Councilor Keith Bona.

Michael L. Vedovelli, regional director for the state Office of Business Development, said the City Council's approval will be necessary to wrap up a package including state tax credits by a September deadline for the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council.

"It's viewed as a three-way partnership with all parties coming together," he said, describing the state's package as "aggressive."

Where a TIF, or tax increment financing, agreement allows reductions on capital investments, the STA provides for property tax discounts over the entire value. That's important, said Alcombright, because investment into the building is expected to be small while the assessment on the property is $2.2 million.

Montreal launches campaign to fight bedbugs

The city of Montreal has launched a new campaign against bedbugs, coinciding with moving season when the bugs tend to spread more easily.

Thousands of people across Quebec move on July 1 because it is the official end date for rental leases.

This year, the city is urging people to take precautions to ensure they are not spreading pests when discarding old furniture or bedding.

City councillor Alain Tassé said infestations spread easily and that moving day can make things worse.

"Bedbugs could travel on people, bedbugs could travel in a moving truck. So it is recommended to be as careful as possible," he said.

The city suggests using a knife to slash old mattresses when throwing them out, so others don't take them from the curb. After that, the mattresses should be placed in large plastic bags provided by the city.

Pest control worker Pierre St. Louis said moving vans can cause pest problems too.

"A good prevention could be to pass the vacuum in the empty truck before you store your storage," he said. "It's going to really prevent... bed bugs."

On top of that, the city suggests placing bedding, furniture and clothing in plastic bags before putting them in a moving truck.

The Quebec Landlord Association said preventing the spread of bedbugs is something all tenants need to take responsibility for. Spokesperson Hans Brouillette said the insects can easily spread between apartments.

"You can clean the apartment and do all you can to exterminate all the bedbugs but the problem will come over again if tenants do not collaborate," he said.

If you suspect you have bedbugs in your apartment, the city says to contact your landlord immediately to arrange for a certified exterminator to come in.

Love Royal Caribbean's bedding? Now you can buy it

Add Royal Caribbean to the list of hotel and cruise companies that will sell you the bedding they use in their rooms.

The Miami-based line this week launched the Royal Caribbean Bedding Collection, which includes the same mattresses, pillows, duvets and sheets found on Royal Caribbean's 22 ships.

"The new bedding collection offers consumers a little Royal Caribbean cruise vacation at the end of every day," Royal Caribbean senior vice president Lisa Bauer said in making the announcement.


Royal Caribbean says the bedding is made exclusively for the line in Italy by Matermoll & Emmebiesse. Full size mattresses cost $999; king size mattresses cost $1,499 (or $1,799, if you want a king size version of the mattresses found in Royal Caribbean suites).

A complete bedding set including 230-thread-count sheets with a Royal Caribbean Crown & Anchor logo start at $360 for a full size bed.

More information and pricing is online at RoyalCaribbeanBeddingCollection.com.

Royal Caribbean is following in the footsteps of such lines as industry giant Carnival and Holland America, which have been selling bedding for several years (visit carnivalcomfortcollection.com and shophollandamerica.com for more information and pricing). Major lines that have yet to begin selling bedding include Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises and Princess.

Cruise Loggers, are you interested in buying a mattress and/or bedding set from a cruise lines on which you've sailed? Take our quick poll below and then tell us why you voted the way you did in the comment area.