Hospitality

A new study looking at hundreds of agreements between municipalities and marijuana businesses licensed to operate in those cities and towns found that cannabis companies have paid at least $2.46 million more than required under law, and that communities often have no plan for how to spend the money they collect.

When the first pitch goes out at 3:05 p.m. Tuesday for the Worcester Red Sox's first game at Polar Park, it will mark the end of a long journey and the beginning of a new era for the city.

Looking back over the past year, Erica Grinkis, owner of Leominster eateries The Gazbar and Central Cup, reflects on how operations changed but management remained the same when the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Power dynamics in the Central Massachusetts business community made two major shifts in 2021, due to the two major events upending the entire global community.

As Tuesday's Opening Day for the new Polar Park baseball stadium approaches, the Worcester Red Sox have said they will put single-game tickets on sale for the first time starting Friday afternoon, making about 200 tickets available for each of the first 12 games.

A collection of animal rights organizations and commercial egg farmers, once opponents, are joining forces to urge prompt reform of the state's cage-free standards law before it takes effect in January while warning of price spikes on the horizon.

The Worcester Red Sox and the City of Worcester jointly announced parking plans for Polar Park on Monday in advance of the team's first home game on May 11, including a variety of publicly and privately-owned parking options spanning up to a 10-minute walk away from the stadium.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources released updated guidance on Wednesday making way for more than 70,000 acres belonging to its Agricultural Preservation Restriction and Farm Viability Enhancement programs to be used to grow cannabis and hemp.

The Commonwealth Cannabis Co. of Millis, more commonly known as CommCan, will become the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution partner for San Francisco cannabis, CBD and non-hallucinogenic mushroom company Cookies.

L.L. Bean is planning to open a shop in the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury, the famed Maine retailer announced on Thursday.