Greater Worcester

As the House and Senate prepare for budget negotiations to get underway in a few weeks, a coalition advocating for debt-free public higher education is making a final push for historic investments into the sector with the advent of newly available surtax funds.

The number of single-family homes sold in Worcester County in April dropped nearly 31% compared with April 2022. Prices continue to climb slowly county-wide while prices statewide in April dropped for the first time since 2018, by 1.2%.

CVS Pharmacy has reached an agreement with state Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office to pay $6.15 million to settle allegations it failed to follow prescription pricing procedures in several Massachusetts locations, including Worcester.

A former Girls Inc. of Worcester employee began a lawsuit against the organization and its CEO for discriminatory treatment in January 2022, more than a year before top leadership were placed on administrative leave amid program closures and a petition was launched claiming widespread racial discrimination at the nonprofit.

Sustainable Comfort, a Worcester-based real estate and development firm, purchased a seven-unit multifamily building at 3 Irving St. in Worcester for $1 million.

Gov. Maura Healey has named Edward Augustus as state housing secretary, according to a source familiar with the process, turning to a former state senator and Worcester city manager to serve as point person on one of her top priorities.

People are on the move at UMass Memorial Medical Group, the City of Worcester, and Tighe & Bond.

Community Harvest Project’s food donations have become more critical than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they remain so now as pandemic emergency declaration-related federal and state emergency allotments end and the costs of food continue to rise.

Local brokers are optimistic they can fill that space as the industry experiences a post-COVID resurgence and innovative new concepts for retail space are hitting the marketplace.

The stretch of Park Avenue in Worcester between Pleasant Street and Elm Park is returning to life after closures since the COVID-19 pandemic.