Greater Worcester

Country Bank named 30-year banking veteran Steven Musso to its board of directors.

The Worcester Planning Board approved a six-story, 108-unit apartment and retail building to be built on a parking lot at 35 Portland St. in downtown Worcester.

Massachusetts businesses got a break on the high-cost front Wednesday with news that workers' compensation rates will drop an average of 10 percent.

A former top official at Keolis Commuter Services pleaded not guilty to a slew of federal charges Wednesday after prosecutors alleged that he and another man stole more than $8 million from the company that operates the MBTA's commuter rail system.

The directory is a list of organizations with a location in Central Massachusetts that support the life sciences industry, including contract research organizations, contract development and manufacturing organizations, and companies providing custom products, technologies, or other services.

Kristen Billiar, researcher and department head for biomedical research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, has received a $430,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to research how blood flow impacts engineered heart valves.

Microbiology professors Jun Xie and Guangping Gao at UMass Chan Medical School have received $74,000 from Tennessee foundation EndAxD to fund their research into a treatment for Alexander disease, a fatal neurological disease.

The New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill is on pace to complete its six-year, $28-million fundraising campaign by the end of the year.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council granted $2,500 each to 69 Central Massachusetts organizations as part of $1.85 million doled out statewide in 2023 Festival Grants Projects.

The Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District named Kate McEvoy and Joffrey Smith as new members of the organization’s board of directors.