Greater Worcester

Gov. Maura Healey's plan to rescue five bankrupt Steward Health Care hospitals could cost Massachusetts taxpayers $700 million by 2027, the Boston Globe reported Saturday, citing "people with direct knowledge of the bailout plan."

Mindful of how difficult it is to grow much of anything in the outdoor climate of Massachusetts, never mind growing a crop that is legal here but still entirely prohibited at the federal level, the Cannabis Control Commission traveled to Great Barrington on Thursday to hear from outdoor growers about the challenges they face.

Massachusetts Chambers Policy Network members include regional chambers for Greater Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Western Massachusetts, the North Shore, the South Shore, the South Coast, the Berkshires and Cape Cod.

The fatal incident drew a wide variety of first responders to the scene, including multiple local fire departments, the Massachusetts State Police, and officials from the U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration. 

The Town of Shrewsbury has developed an new plan for state-mandated multifamily zoning.

Three Worcester nonprofits have been named among the first recipient cohort of Massachusetts’ new grantmaking program Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership, an initiative providing funding to grassroots organizations working to reduce harm caused by the ongoing opioid epidemic within communities disproportionately affected and historically underserved. 

A state fund meant to open the legal marijuana industry up to more entrepreneurs from communities most harmed by prohibition and enforcement now has more than $27 million at its disposal.

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have received a $2-million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to develop tools for research and law enforcement in an effort to combat the multi-billion-dollar illegal wildlife trade.

Grafton-based Homefield Credit Union has named returning employee Sarah Miller as the financial institution’s new senior vice president and chief lending officer.

Unemployment rates in Central Massachusetts’ metro areas in July reached their highest points in a year and had steep year-over-year increases.