Greater Worcester

A new partnership between the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. and the Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce will offer microloans to new businesses in the Assabet Valley.

Ranked by their total earnings in 2016, the top 20 highest paid Massachusetts state employees are all affiliated with the University of Massachusetts, according to WBJ research.

Although Massachusetts foreclosure starts were down for the fifth straight month in comparison to last year, the number in Worcester County increased 5 percent, according to Boston real estate data firm The Warren Group.

Fiske Hill Plaza, a small Strubridge commercial plaza that once housed a karate center, has sold for $750,000.

The Worcester City Council unanimously voted to oppose UMass Memorial Medical Center's plan to reduce its number of psychiatric-unit beds.

Travel guide publisher DK Eyewitness Travel has called Worcester the 11th most overlooked -- or, in other words, underrated -- destination city in the United States.

"UMass-Dartmouth, the best is yet to come. It's possible," Johnson told UMass trustees after he was appointed as the next UMass Dartmouth chancellor.

Facing opposition from the Worcester City Council, UMass Memorial Health Care said it will redirect psychiatric patients to sites in Marlborough, Clinton and Worcester.

The Worcester Ice Center has another new tenant, and this one will create a first-time hockey program in the process.

Crust Artisan Bakeshop in Worcester has received a $15,000 loan from the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp., the first such loan since the agency said it would begin expanding south.