Environment

Framingham and Boston-based utility company Eversource have agreed to a $500,000 settlement after the town claimed the company failed to cleanup a contaminated site it acquired nearly a decade ago.

Cape Wind is ceasing development of its wind farm and giving up its federal lease, according to the Cape Cod Times.

Milford's Consigli Construction and a Framingham environmental consulting firm are among the four companies paying up to $300,000 in penalties.

Worcester development company Hampton Properties, LLC, will pay a $100,000 settlement after it was alleged to have performed illegal asbestos work on two Worcester rental properties.

French building materials manufacturer Saint-Gobain, with a location in Worcester, scored a 90 percent on the Human Rights Campaign's 2018 Corporate Equality Index, which measures companies on their efforts to make the workplace friendly for the LGBTQ community.

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce has begun its Community Leadership Institute, which includes 22 emerging leaders.

A Central Massachusetts sand and gravel company agreed to pay a $120,000 penalty and come into compliance with clean air laws, the U.S. EPA.

About two-thirds of the Legislature has signed onto letters to prohibition utility companies from making electric ratepayers help finance the construction of gas pipelines.

Manufacturers and distributors gathered at the State House Monday to highlight their economic impact and ask lawmakers for relief from the Toxic Use Reduction Act.

Dentists complained to the Legislature on Monday that they felt coerced into joining Delta Dental's new, lower-cost insurance plan, called Total Choice.