June 26, 2017Edition

Atlantic Union College in Lancaster is at an impasse, and it would be easy to predict the school will soon join the ranks of Central New England College of Technology and Worcester Junior College as institutes of higher learning forced to shut the doors.

Organizational change, whether adding a new division, software or personnel, means everyone has to adjust.

Always lock your screen. Unlocked phones are always going to dangerously accessible. The first line of defense is a PIN, password, pattern or a biometric measure like your fingerprint.

At a time when many small schools have closed, been forced to merge or not expected to survive, Atlantic Union is trying to re-establish itself after shutting down classes for four years once it lost its accreditation and ability for students to use federal financial aid.

How do we know we can trust the intentions expressed by prospective customers? The secret is to not be fooled by polite, even sincere, communication and to trust, but verify, along the way.

Despite having high school and college friends who smoked pot, been physically passed a joint at a Metallica/Kid Rock concert, toured a marijuana growing facility, and lived in Massachusetts for five years under legal medical marijuana and for seven months under legal recreational pot, I have never smoked marijuana, nor ingested it in any other way.

The Worcester Redevelopment Authority is turning more proactive in helping to remake downtown and beyond, including what would be the first two properties taken as part of a sprawling revitalization plan.

Voters statewide approved a new law legalizing recreational marijuana last November, but cities and towns aren't waiting for the legalization of pot shops to go into effect before taking action to delay or ban indefinitely any such stores.

Distributors make investments to promote and market beers – only when beers succeed do distributors succeed. In 2016, Massachusetts ranked 12th in the United States in barrels of craft beer produced per year, and Massachusetts now has more than 100 breweries.

A nurse was stabbed by a patient while working at at Harrington Hospital in Southbridge earlier this month, the latest in a string of attacks of healthcare workers while on the job.

As retailers across the country are expected to close thousands of locations this year, the Greendale Mall may need an unlikely rebound to avoid becoming another mall that couldn't make it through the online shopping trend.

Ten years into running Old Sturbridge Village, Jim Donahue has grown the 71-year-old museum's revenue to $14 million annually, launched a theatrical division, re-opened its hotel and – starting this fall – founded the Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School.

Work is more than a paycheck. This is especially true for people struggling with mental illness and/or addiction.