Central Mass. South

Central Massachusetts was already facing deep-rooted challenges with poverty. Add a pandemic forcing more than 800,000 Massachusetts residents to file for unemployment, and Central Massachusetts human services have been sent into overdrive.

The United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge and Charlton has merged with the United Way of Webster and Dudley, the nonprofits announced last month.

Oxford's IPG Photonics reported Tuesday a nearly $66 million, or 21%, drop in first quarter revenue, a figure the laser manufacturer said was at the high end of its expectations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Monica Busch, who has written for publications in Fitchburg, Martha's Vinyard and New York City, has joined the Editorial Department of Worcester Business Journal to be its primary digital reporter.

As the second round of Paycheck Protection Program funding is starting to be dispersed, bankHometown has 250 loans totaling about $15 million from customers who missed out on the first round.

Companies like Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Worcester Fitness, Worcester Art Museum and Tegra Medical had recent hires and promotions.

Four multigenerational Central Mass. businesses owners underscore the importance of mixing up both their goods and their services, as well as an overwhelming willingness to adapt to customer requests and market demands.

Arnold Arsenault Jr., the president of  A Arsenault & Sons, Inc. landscaping company in Spencer has purchased the building adjacent to his company's headquarters for $665,000, according to Massachusetts land and corporate records.

VERC Enterprises, a convenience store and gas station chain, has opened a new location at 137 E. Main St. in Webster, the company announced in a press release on Tuesday.

During an interview on the WBJ podcast, the business partners working on a Worcester location of Sturbridge BBQ restaurant B.T.'s Smokehouse said they are hoping to open by mid-May and can do so even if Massachusetts' non-essential business shutdown over the coronavirus remains in effect until then.