Greater Worcester

Multifamily residential developers have been proposing thousands of apartments throughout Central Massachusetts, but communities are resisting the push for more housing to protect their resources and what residents and officials see as their town’s character.

Clark University in Worcester received a gift of $1 million to design, develop, and launch an honors program at the school. The donor is a Clark alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous.

Senate Democrats on Thursday advanced a long-awaited tax relief package, and both branches and the governor have now all rolled out proposals to cut costs for Massachusetts residents and make the state more competitive.

Massachusetts regulators delivered one of their most forceful warnings yet that health care prices are spiraling out of control, ramping up the pressure on lawmakers who have been unable to wrangle the trend and fulfill a consensus vision of cost control.

The Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts board has selected Vincent Rougeau, president of The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester as its next board chair, effective July 1.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts saw its annual spending on mental health care services for members reach $1.3 billion in 2022, according to newly released data from BCBS. In 2019, annual spending for the same services was $610 million.

Julie Orozco has been named executive director at the Abby Kelley Foster House. She is the first person of color to lead the organization.

While Beacon Hill searches for solutions to the serious housing shortage that fuels affordability concerns in Massachusetts, a real estate industry organization wants to see the Community Preservation Act program retrofitted to put a greater emphasis on housing production.

As was the case for the first two years of debt payments, the saving grace for the current fiscal year 2023 and the next fiscal year 2024 is a $3-million property sale from 2021.

Gov. Maura Healey plans to continue a high-dollar commitment to the life sciences sector that began under former Gov. Deval Patrick, and her administration is also launching a new platform to recruit diverse hires to the sector and provide training opportunities.