Greater Worcester

The Hanover Insurance Group of Worcester on Thursday released its fourth-quarter earnings report, posting net and operating income gains over 2012 thanks to strong price increases in both commercial and personal lines, according to the company.

Two robotics engineering professors at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are being awarded a combined $1.04 million over the next three years to study how robots can help out in manufacturing plants and in homes with elderly residents.

Consolidations by some major employers in MetroWest caused the region's office vacancy rates to climb in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to data from global real estate broker Colliers International.

UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) will close one of its MRI imaging labs in April, which could result in the loss of 50 jobs.

UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) is changing the way it manages and staffs its hemodialysis unit at the University Campus in Worcester after it was confirmed that a patient was infected with the Hepatitis C virus there last year.

With 20 sites across the commonwealth – including locations in Worcester, Milford and Ayer - winning initial state approval to open medical marijuana dispensaries, the next step toward approval begins, a process that will focus heavily on local rules.

Latinos are uniquely positioned to help JetBlue succeed in Worcester, but intensive marketing will be needed to make that happen, according to a panel of Hispanic business and civic leaders.

Fallon Community Health Plan changed its name to Fallon Health on Saturday, the Worcester-based health care services organization announced.

A Holden insurance agency has become part of a larger group of Worcester-based agencies.

The Worcester and MetroWest regions will each receive roughly $3 million to 4 million over the next four years to help fight chronic illness and reduce health care costs.