News

As community resource centers, nonprofit organizations saw the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the community first-hand. While experiencing a huge increase in demand for services, nonprofits had to navigate providing resources while staying socially distanced. 

WBJ on Monday announced the recipients of its annual 40 Under Forty awards, honoring up-and-coming business professionals who've already made a significant impact on the Central Massachusetts economy and community.

Much like the hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and construction industries right now, the social service nonprofit sector is facing a staffing shortage. Particularly for human services caregivers, the pay is low, the job is hard, and the coronavirus pandemic compounded an already strained situation.

This year, WBJ received 207 nominations for 131 nominees. To pick the winners, the nominations were sent to judges Abed Hamid, Brian Treitman, and Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham, who were each selected for their expertise and background.

From 2010 to 2020, Worcester's population grew at a faster rate than any of the other 10 largest cities in New England, according to the U.S. Census, which released the local community data for the 2020 Decennial Census on Thursday.

Attorney General Maura Healey will now require that all staff in her office get vaccinated against COVID-19, broadening a policy she announced in May that required certain public-facing employees be vaccinated when they return to in-person work.

The Biden administration on Monday called on states without bans, such as Massachusetts, to put in place evictions moratoria for at the least August and September. The state law blocking evictions during the pandemic expired last October and the federal moratorium came down over the weekend.

The Baker administration is "likely" to continue programs that help hard-hit communities access COVID-19 testing and vaccines for the foreseeable future, Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday.

The transmission rate of COVID-19 is now considered to be "high" or "substantial" in more than half of the state's 14 counties with residents of and visitors to Barnstable and Nantucket counties considered to be the most at risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Not that long ago, the nonprofit Legendary Legacies was little more than just a whiteboard idea from Co-founder Ron Waddell, at the time an employee of the Worcester Community Action Council.