Greater Worcester

When consumers look at beer and soda bottles on store shelves, they see several brands competing for the same dollars, but to Central Massachusetts firms like Polar Beverages and Wachusett Brewing Co., all those bottles and cans mean money.

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce works to recruit, retain and incubate businesses in the region. We must understand the region's assets and market for business looking to move or expand.

HEIDI M. LANDERS and REBECCA LYNCH were hired by Worcester social service agency The Bridge of Central Massachusetts. Landers is director of nursing. A resident of Barre, she is a graduate of Worcester State University, with a bachelor's degree in nursing and earned a master's degree in healthcare administration from Salem State University. Lynch was named director of development and marketing. Before joining The Bridge, she worked for Natick Visiting Nurse Association and The Price Center in Newton. Lynch has a bachelor's degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif., and a master's degree from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif., both in English.

Worcester nonprofit The Venture Forum and networking community VentureMeets have teamed up to put on a Dec. 8 event at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Clark University in Worcester was one of 14 organization honored nationally by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for diverting food waste out of landfills.

Worcester State University will be the first higher education campus in New England to make use of a freight farm with a 40-foot shipping container set to yield an acre's worth of fresh produce for the campus' dining hall.

The Classic Toy Shop that has been providing toys and games to the children of Worcester and surrounding communities for the past 35 years will shut its doors before the end of the year.

The nonprofit Molly Bish Center for the Protection of Children and the Elderly located on the campus of Anna Maria College in Paxton has a new leader and plans to be more active and expand its influence, the college announced.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and other officials celebrated the second anniversary of JetBlue at the Worcester Regional Airport while highlighting the continued economic benefit of the airport to the region.

The Reliant Medical Group Foundation has distributed $50,000 in grants to 18 nonprofits across Central Massachusetts in its latest round of giving, the foundation announced Wednesday.