Diversity & Inclusion

Caroline’s Cannabis in Uxbridge, the first woman-owned small business cannabis shop to open in Massachusetts, received final licensure from the state Cannabis Control Commission on Sept. 17 to move forward with plans to open a second adult-use location in Hopedale.

Latino business and community leaders are working together to plan a celebration focused on highlighting the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on Latinos.

The Greater Worcester Community Foundation is launching a new six-month financial wellness and sustainability program for Worcester artists of color or artists who identify as low-to-moderate income, funded through the foundation’s Creative Worcester Initiative, according to a Monday announcement.

Resource Management, Inc., a family-owned human resources outsourcing company in Fitchburg, announced founder and current CEO Rey Lopez will step into a new role as director of sales while his daughter and current company president, Rachel Lopez, takes on the CEO.

Stop & Shop presented Framingham State University with $100,000 to establish a scholarship for diversity in the food & nutrition, an endowed fund to provide financial assistance for students studying to become registered dietitians.

Old Sturbridge Village announced on Monday it has named Jasmin Rivas to fill a new position at the living museum: director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

On July 1, Debbie Hall took over leadership of YWCA Central Massachusetts, succeeding Linda Cavaioli, who retired after leading the nonprofit and being an outsized voice in the Central Massachusetts community for 30 years. Hall was promoted from within, as she most recently was YWCA’s director of domestic violence services.

Holes in health insurance coverage are causing major disparities, as well as a growing burden on Central Massachusetts healthcare providers.

The homogeneity among news editorship in Central Massachusetts is not unique to the region, but it does bring with it inherent questions about who decides what stories are newsworthy, and who decides how they are told.

Inequalities in the industry persist, and large multistate operators continue to dominate the cannabis market, even in the face of several Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission programs designed to give certain groups of people a leg up in entering the industry.