– MANCHESTER, N.H.

Business leaders hosting delegation from England

Business leaders in Manchester, N.H., are hosting a delegation of business leaders from Manchester, England, for several days.

The visit is the result of a three-year-long effort to establish a sister-city relationship with the overseas city.

The local Manchester Chamber of Commerce formally welcomed the delegates Monday.

The delegation, which was formed as a partnership between the British Consulate United Kingdom Trade and Investment Division and the local chamber, is in town through Wednesday.

The delegation represents fields such as compliance control and management, science and technology, publishing, and trade and investment

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.

Mayor will conduct talks with casino developers

Springfield’s mayor has decided to open host community negotiations with each of the two companies hoping to develop casinos in the western Massachusetts city.

Mayor Domenic Sarno made the announcement Monday after an internal review by the city of both casino proposals, one by MGM Resorts International and the other by Penn National Gaming.

The plan to begin negotiations with both companies does not guarantee that agreements will be struck with one or both.

Voters would be required to approve any host community agreement. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will have the final say on awarding the sole resort casino license for western Massachusetts.

BOSTON

Employees of closed lab getting paid for no work

Thirteen employees of a now-closed Massachusetts drug lab are receiving full salaries and benefits even though they have been unable to work as an investigation into the actions of one of their fellow chemists continues.

The investigation which shuttered the lab has focused on chemist Annie Dookhan. Investigators accuse Dookhan of fabricating drug test results and tampering with evidence while testing samples.

WCVB-TV reported that instead of being reassigned to another lab, the 11 chemists and two evidence officers who used to work at the Jamaica Plain lab are being paid a combined total of more than $723,000 a year to sit at home.

The state Inspector General is conducting an investigation into the lab that could take another seven months.

Website launched to help answer liability questions

A new website has been launched to help guide patients, doctors, hospitals and insurers through the process of resolving medical liability questions in Massachusetts.

The website follows approval last year of a new state law requiring doctors who make medical errors while treating patients to disclose their mistakes.

The law includes a 182-day “cooling-off” period as both sides try to reach a settlement, requiring the plaintiff and defendant to exchange information and allowing health care providers to acknowledge making a mistake without it being used as an admission of liability.

—From news service reports