Environment

The $1.1 trillion spending bill that cleared the U.S. House Friday with support from Massachusetts delegation members includes tax credit extensions for solar and wind energy industries but those measures are "dramatically overshadowed" by the lifting of a decades-old ban on U.S. oil exports to foreign countries, according to a local environmental organization.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is demanding a Leominster asbestos removal contractor pay a previously suspended $14,312.50 penalty after it found the company violated state asbestos regulations twice in one year.

Environmentalists on Tuesday pressed lawmakers to take further action to keep ecosystems free of potentially toxic plastics by banning tiny plastic particles from body soap, face wash, toothpaste and other personal care products.

State securities regulators issues a subpoena Monday as part of their investigation into a company that officials say specializes in risky bonds and was heavily concentrated in junk bonds, subordinated debt and unrated securities of distressed companies.

Fitchburg-based Workers' Credit Union has partnered with the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School to open its 17th branch.

Venkat Kolluri, CEO of Chitika Inc., has made an art of creating an inviting workplace to employees of his Internet advertising firm in Westborough.

Dr. Eric Dickson never set out to be a hospital administrator, but leadership roles have tended to fall into his lap as he practiced as an emergency room physician over the years, thanks to his take-charge nature.

Brian W. Thompson heads the leading small business lender in Central Massachusetts and the biggest Worcester-headquartered bank -- with $1.7 billion in deposits -- but it is his community connections that make him so intertwined with the business community.

Massachusetts has the potential to generate up to 400 megawatts of wind power by 2020 -- not counting offshore turbines -- if the right government policies are put in place, according to a report from a state environmental group.

Marlborough environmental testing firm Accutest Laboratories of New England has been fined $100,000 for allegedly not complying with a 2014 court judgement that included $1.75 million in fines for alleged environmental violations.