Blackstone Valley

Worcester may have improbably managed to keep shoppers coming into the city in the age of new highways and suburbanization, but it didn’t last. In the past decade or two, Worcester has seemed to lose its place as the shopping heart of Worcester County.

Open Sky Community Services, a Worcester human services nonprofit, will open a family support center in Whitinsville in February to serve children and adults with intellectual disabilities or autism and their families.

It is impossible to extricate the history of Hopedale, a town which is home to just shy of 6,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, from the Draper Corp., which most locals refer to as the “Draper mill,” or, simply, “Drapers.”

Several Central Massachusetts firms are among the recipients of nearly $4.5 million in grants from MassDevelopment aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of taxi and livery services in the face of the evolving for-hire transportation market.

It's no secret that 2020 was a historic year. From the coronavirus pandemic, to a rapidly fluctuating economy, and even a presidential election, there were no shortage of significant news stories. Here are WBJ's top 10 most read stories of the year.

Sutton's UN1F1ED² Global Packaging Group has paid millions to expand its footprint for the second time in less than two months.

Vaillancourt Folk Art in Sutton, founded by Gary and Judi Vaillancourt, produces chalkware and decorative ornaments featured in higher-end retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

The property housing a nursing care facility in Northbridge has sold for more than $5.8 million to a Wellesley investor, who also bought the nursing home for an undisclosed sum.

A Florida self-storage investment firm has paid more than $15 million for two storage properties in Northborough and another in Uxbridge.

People are on the move at Elevate Counseling Services, Anna Maria College, Open Sky Community Services and more.