Greater Worcester

A number of local companies have announced new hires and promotions, including bankHometown in Oxford, SALMON Health and Retirement in Milford, NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs in Worcester, and Rollstone Bank & Trust in Fitchburg

Companies are sounding the alarm on the state’s inconsistent product safety testing standards.

The saga over the proposed closure of the Leominster maternity center is part of a national struggle beset by doctor shortages, rising maternal morbidity, and money-losing operations.

Mary Munson, a UMass Chan Medical School professor, is an accomplished scientist and a champion for women in science.

Worcester has a hodgepodge of branded office towers resulting from the shifting office market, acquisitions, and a move to work-from-home policies.

The state on Thursday gave more flexibility to cities and towns required to have at least one zone in which denser, multi-family housing is permitted, but also expanded the list of state grant opportunities that can be denied to any town that does not comply with the law meant to spur badly-needed housing production.

Massachusetts lags behind 40 other states when it comes to increasing its housing stock, a new report said this week, and the pace of new construction last year was just barely ahead of where it was in the depths of the pandemic in 2020.

The Massachusetts unemployment rate dipped even lower in July after establishing a record low point in June.

The Hanover Insurance Group in Worcester promoted Charles Hamann to the role of president of small commercial.

Utah real estate giant The Bridge Investment Group has acquired six Massachusetts multifamily developments, including two in Marlborough and one in Shrewsbury from Virginia-based Harbor Group International, totaling 1,722 units.