Greater Worcester

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.

Moody's Investor Service has downgraded UMass Memorial Health Care's credit rating in light of deteriorating operating performance and a host of other factors over several years, according to the credit rating agency.

A new report sponsored by biotechnology industry groups and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers says Worcester's long manufacturing history and affordable cost of living help position the city as a manufacturing center for biopharmaceutical products, avoiding the need to send that work elsewhere.

Former Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray's once robust campaign account has been spent down to just $34,620 after the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce's top executive shelled out nearly $200,000 over the past three months in penalties and legal fees.

The South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), which has operations in Worcester, is one of seven organizations to receive money from the Patrick administration to help train and find jobs for some of the city's homeless.

Approximately 40 employees of UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) have been laid off, and more job cuts...