Greater Worcester

A Ware-based financial institution will have its first woman president in the 174-year history of the business, as Mary McGovern has been named the next president of Country Bank. 

Gov. Maura Healey's push to increase state support for the MBTA could help the agency navigate the year ahead, but it would not be enough to solve a projected budget gap, officials said Thursday.

The Residence at Orchard Grove in Shrewsbury is under new management, following its purchase by a Chicago-based real estate investment firm. 

Cheney was one of several small business owners who told WBJ in December the combined forces of lower consumer spending and higher costs were threatening the future of small businesses in Central Massachusetts. 

Students at Nichols College studying data science will soon have more resources at their disposal, following a $1-million donation to the school from an anonymous donor.

The Healey administration wants to tap new revenue sources and keep spending growth somewhat constrained in a $58.15 billion state budget that officials pitched as putting Massachusetts on a "glide path" toward potentially better financial conditions further down the road.

While the bill has a long path ahead of it, advocates for more government transparency are encouraged that a House-Senate committee on Tuesday gave a favorable report to a bill whose sponsors say it will bring needed "sunlight" to the legislative process and subject the governor's office to the public records law.

Applications for the first grants from a new fund meant to support cannabis entrepreneurs in communities disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs are due next month, with $2.3 million available to help qualified business licensees with urgent financial needs.

All four metropolitan areas of Central Massachusetts saw significant jumps in their unemployment rates in December.

Overall, Central Massachusetts LEED-certified buildings contributed 1.4 million square feet to Massachusetts’ total, amounting to 6% of the state’s green building square footage.