Central Mass. South

A pothole-repair tracking program being expanded statewide shows Department of Transportation crews repaired at least 520 potholes on the MassPike in Central and Western Massachusetts since January 2016.

Ten professionals got hired or promoted at places including Fallon Health, JM Coull and Fidelity Bank.

Wages in Worcester County have been slowly ticking up. Between the rising minimum wage and increasing competition, employers are finding they need to find ways to pay more.

Volunteers from Leominster Credit Union participated in one of the largest meal-packing events for United Way of North Central Mass. More than 100,000 meals were packaged by 400 volunteers for 20 local food pantries at the Double Tree by Hilton in Leominster. Benefitting pantries are in Athol, Leominster, Fitchburg, Gardner, Devens, Pepperell, Templeton, Winchendon and Westminster. Pictured (from left, front row) are Nancy Daigle, Ann Younie, Meghan Thomas and Susan Landry; (middle row) Cindy Holder and Stephanie and Lucas Hyles; and (back row) Stan Hyles.

Webster Square Dental Care, a Worcester dental office, improperly billed patients for about $247,000, the state auditor's office said.

Now that the first major snowstorm of the season has passed, Worcester businesses and residents have a limited time to clear snow off their sidewalks before facing fines.

Raw milk is back on the legislative menu this session, with a majority of the House signing onto a farm bill that Westport Rep. Paul Schmid said would benefit legislative districts from the urban cores to the rolling pastures and forests far from Boston.

Spencer adhesives manufacturer FLEXcon will partner with a Needham company to create new technology for life-support systems, the firm said Tuesday.

Eleven people in Central Massachusetts have found new positions, including at Fidelity Bank, TechSandBox, the Idea Agency and the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.

Profit-driven health care is a growing local and national trend that doesn't necessarily carry ill effects.