Greater Worcester

After a more than two-year tenure in which she charted the state's path through the tumultuous Steward Health Care collapse, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh will step down, the Healey administration announced Friday.

Leaders at the Cannabis Control Commission have been busy meeting with senators, including Senate President Karen Spilka, as a House-approved bill overhauling the CCC awaits Senate action.

One month after the dean of Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s business school stepped down, the university has named Kwamie Dunbar as interim dean.

In an effort to enhance access to quality care, UMass Memorial Health in Worcester will merge its Marlborough Hospital with the system’s flagship UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Following the planned retirement of Preservation Worcester’s long-time executive director, the historic preservation nonprofit has named Patrick Maloney as its incoming leader.

Massachusetts experienced a more than 36% decrease in opioid-related overdose deaths in 2024, the state Substance Addiction Services Bureau reported Wednesday.

Public health regulators approved the merger of UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) and Marlborough Hospital on Wednesday, with the licensing overhaul deepening an existing affiliation that's expected to improve patient care and reduce operating costs.

While workers at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester once again made up the largest percentage of the state’s highest-paid state employees in 2024, UMass men’s basketball Head Coach Frank Martin once again topped the list.

"For people living paycheck to paycheck, this policy turns poverty into a crime," Diana Williams, legislative policy counsel for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, said. "When someone loses their licenses due to unpaid debt, they face an impossible choice: stop driving and risk losing their job and ability to get around, or keep driving and risk arrest. A civil fine can quickly spiral into a criminal record."

The project will involve other site improvements, including the construction of outdoor patios, landscape improvements. A portion of Research Drive will be relocated to segregate pedestrian and truck traffic.