Central Mass. South

After an eight-month search for a replacement to retired President Charles Monahan, MCPHS announced on Wednesday it has promoted Richard Lessard to the position permanently, after he has served as interim president since Monahan left in January.

Former WBJ Editorial Intern Devina Bhalla and News Editor Grant Welker discuss Bhalla's two-month deep-dive into slavery's history and legacy into the Central Massachusetts economy in this episode of the WBJ Podcast.

Two Massachusetts residents, including a man in Brookfield, who were charged with unemployment fraud will pay almost $64,000 in restitution to the Department of Unemployment Assistance, Attorney General Maura Healey announced on Tuesday.

The coronavirus pandemic has been not only a health challenge to hospitals in Central Massachusetts and beyond, but also a financial one. Fortunately for the larger Central Massachusetts hospitals, they came into 2020 with healthy financials.

B.T.’s Smokehouse in Sturbridge has officially opened its second location, B.T.'s Fried Chicken & BBQ in Worcester, for business, opting for a soft opening this week before having a more public grand opening in the coming weeks.

People are on the move at Blackstone Valley Education Hub, bankHometown, College of the Holy Cross and more.

The coronavirus pandemic and the economic pain it is causing has brought a flood of new deposits to banks in Central Massachusetts and nationally.

While the economy was growing into the longest economic expansion in the nation’s history, most Worcester County neighborhoods missed out – not only failing to capture rising income and attracting new residents but even going backward in many cases.

The modern Massachusetts economy has been growing for 400 years, since settlers first landed in Plymouth in 1620. And for 245 of those 400 years – more than 60% – the Massachusetts economy was tied to the legal institution of slavery.

The two largest corporations Central Massachusetts corporations by market capitalization — Boston Scientific and TJX Cos. — did not do too well on a new review of how well companies match their actions with words to be more inclusive of society and less to shareholders.