Vertex

The company now building its headquarters on the South Boston waterfront today announced a science-education program at Boston Green Academy and Excel High School in South Boston, the mayor's office reports:

[The] programs will aim to increase student participation and achievement in advanced placement (AP) courses and prepare teachers for the national “Next Generation Science Standards” being implemented next year. Vertex also today announced the dedication of a new 3,000 square foot learning laboratory being constructed at its future headquarters in the Innovation District. The learning laboratory will be available for use by BPS and other community groups, allowing students and teachers to conduct scientific projects alongside Vertex scientists.

Up to 20 students at the schools will be selected as summer interns at the company once it moves from Cambridge; the company will also award two scholarships a year and create a research fellowship program for science teachers at the schools.

Man cage to the rescue. Photo by BFD.

The Boston Fire Department reports some shifting rebar pinned two workers and injured a third some 30 feet below ground level around 1:40 p.m. at the Vertex construction site on the waterfront at 50 Northern Ave.

Firefighters used a crane and a "man cage" to get the men, suffering from leg and arm injuries up to waiting EMTs.

The workers are helping to build two 18-story buildings as the $1-billion headquarters of Vertex, a pharmaceutical company now based in Cambridge.

WBUR reports on the groundbreaking for the new Vertex headquarters next to the federal courthouse.

The Herald reports Cambridge is developing its own benefits package to try to keep Vertex in Cambridge, rather than letting it flee to South Boston - such as municipal "financing incentives."

"Cambridge is ready to go toe-to-toe," the Herald quotes Councilor Leland Cheung. Cheung, you may remember, was the guy who helped organize a Boston/Cambridge summit on ways to work together to develop the regional economy. Hmm, Cheung has youth on his side, but Menino has a few pounds on him, not to mention a lot more bare-knuckles experience.

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is looking to consolidate its two Cambridge locations into a single, more centrally-located facility. FierceBiotech reports. The company said in a release that it plans to "enhance its presence" in Cambridge, and to shift "selected resources" up from Groton. That, presumably, translates to more high-caliber biotech jobs for the Boston area. Pfizer already ranked as the tenth-largest employer in Cambridge last year, with 1,300 workers.

After a brief dalliance with cross-river love, the Cambridge City Council is back to fretting about how Boston is conspiring against their suburb. The Crimson reports some Cambridge councilors are in full dudgeon over the news that a biotech company is moving from Cambridge to South Boston:

City Councilor Kenneth E. Reeves referred to the City of Boston as "the major poacher of them all."

The Boston Business Journal reports on a win for the Innovation District - Vertex Pharmaceuticals will move to Fan Pier in a couple years so it can consolidate what are now scattered departments into a two adjacent buildings.