Hospitality

In a move that will have funding and tourism implications at historic sites throughout Central Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Congress has voted to create a new national park in the Blackstone River valley.

Boston-area institutions are teaming up to bring to the city what is being billed as a "first-of-its-kind" event for the fall of 2015 that will attempt to showcase the strengths of the region and bring together thought leaders, researchers and the public to tackle problems.

The House of Representatives Thursday approved legislation to make the Blackstone River Valley National Historic Corridor a unit of the National Park System.

The Beechwood Hotel will undergo what it calls a “major” multi-million-dollar refurbishment that its owners say will upgrade the Worcester facility into a “modern, state-of-the-art, upscale boutique” hotel with the goal of making it the “most luxurious” west of Boston.

Boston is on the shortlist of potential U.S. host sites for the 2024 Olympic Games. (The others:...

A proposed six-story, 120-room hotel next to the Washington Square rotary in Worcester would fill a need in the city and complement its downtown economic development strategy, the hotel's developers told a neighborhood group Thursday night.

The fate of casino gambling in Massachusetts is far from certain as a ballot question that could nix it looms closer. But developers of the Plainridge Park Casino aren't faltering. “We are already underway with construction … In fact, we are a little more than halfway done,” said Eric Schippers, senior vice president of public affairs for Penn National Gaming, the Pennsylvania-based firm that was awarded the state's single slots parlor license by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

The state continued its roll-out of a first-in-the-nation commercial food waste ban aimed at increasing food donations and boosting renewable energy and composting.

While stumping Wednesday with his party's candidate for lieutenant governor, Steve Kerrigan, Gov. Deval Patrick stopped in Hudson to enjoy a flatbread.

Nine months away from its planned opening, Plainridge Park Casino operators are now accepting applications for 500 new jobs.