Greater Worcester

Unemployment in Central Massachusetts fell significantly over the past month but is still higher than at this point last year.

Global integrated technology company Siemens, which has operations in Worcester, will supply wind turbines for the planned offshore wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, known as Cape Wind, according to both companies.

A new report on the compensation of chief executives at large public charities in Massachusetts describes payment arrangements as “complex,” with compensation of CEOs at 25 of the state's biggest non-profits ranging from $487,000 to $8.8 million over a three-year period: 2009 to 2011.

Eight public high schools in Central Massachusetts received a combined $685,000 to purchase life sciences training equipment and supplies, the Patrick administration and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) announced today.

UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC) has signed a letter of intent to sell Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers in Palmer to Springfield-based Baystate Health for an undisclosed sum, UMass Memorial said.

The City Council unanimously approved tax breaks Tuesday for a $38 million project to build two Downtown area hotels -- a Renaissance by Marriott at CitySquare and a Hampton Inn at Gateway Park.

The Worcester City Council narrowly voted after a heated debate Tuesday to hold the business tax rate virtually flat in 2014 while increasing the residential tax rate by 5.2 percent.

A report issued by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) today shows that questionable insurance claims that could be fraudulent increased 57 percent between 2010 and 2012 in Massachusetts, with Boston, Springfield and Worcester producing the highest numbers of questionable claims.

Worcester-based Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (MassDiGI) at Becker College received a $25,000 grant to expand high school participation in its annual MassDiGI Game Challenge, and to launch a series of workshops focused on game development.

Boston-based First Wind announced a 25-year agreement to provide wind-generated power, at cost, to 17 Massachusetts towns, including eight in Central Massachusetts.