Greater Worcester

A pandemic-era program that paused roughly 10,000 eviction cases while tenants sought financial aid could return as a permanent tool if Gov. Maura Healey joins lawmakers in support.

While the bills were intertwined, a breakthrough on an overdue annual state budget on Sunday did not coincide with a pact on a tax relief bill, whose contents have now been debated across parts of three fiscal years and two governors.

MedStar Ambulance, along with its parent company Critical Systems, reached a $2.6-million settlement with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office over allegations of false MassHealth submissions.

Toro Loco Taqueria has opened its doors at the DCU Center in Worcester at the location left vacant when specialty donut shop Glazy Susan closed in January.

Construction on the revived transmission project expected to tap into Quebec hydroelectric power to benefit Massachusetts will resume next week and the project's price tag -- which Bay State utility customers are on the hook for -- has ballooned to $1.5 billion, project officials said this week.

Legislative negotiators filed a compromise $56.2 billion annual state budget Sunday night, packing major education, transportation and health care policy measures and spending into an overdue fiscal 2024 accord that is expected to win House and Senate approval on Monday.

Worcester-based behavioral healthcare provider Community Healthlink has received a $208,000 grant from the City of Worcester for its Shower Program, which is part of CHL’s Homeless Outreach and Advocacy Project.

The executive director of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, Shawn Collins, will vacate his role by the end of the year, exacerbating problems at the already under-fire state agency based in Worcester.

Worcester Community Action Council is using $250,000 in funding to launch a pilot program providing basic income to 52 participating households.

A UMass Chan Medical School professor and assistant vice provost for health equity has been elected as president of the American Society for Cell Biology.