Greater Worcester

Whole Foods, which will soon move its North Atlantic headquarters to Marlborough, is closing nine of its 400-plus stores, all in the Midwest, South and West.

The merger of UMass Memorial - HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster and UMass Memorial - Clinton and a proposed emergency department expansion were both approved yesterday by the Massachusetts Public Health Council, the healthcare system announced Thursday.

Two post-doctorate hires at the UMass Medical School who were expected to start work within the next month are among those caught in the limbo of the federal immigration ban.

Hopkinton solar installer Solect Energy had a record-breaking 2016, completing 115 sites and installing more than 26 megawatts of total solar output, the company said Wednesday.

Walden Behavioral Care, an eating disorder treatment provider with operations in Central Massachusetts, has acquired an Atlanta company specializing in the same area of medicine.

The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission will not conduct a formal review of a proposed joint venture between UMass Memorial Health Care and ATI Physical Therapy Services.

The owner of a Sutton gun dealership has surrendered his license to sell firearms in an agreement announced Wednesday by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.

Holliston sensors manufacturer Nanmac Corp. was purchased in 2014 by the Patriot Worldwide, also based in Holliston. Since the acquisition, the company has been selling its products to the likes of Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Saint-Gobain, trying to grow its market share for temperature-sensing devices.

National Grid on Tuesday said it is looking for volunteer companies for its pilot program where business, including manufacturers, in Massachusetts and Rhode Island can earn up to $3,500 by reducing their energy use during peak times.

A team of Worcester Polytechnic Institute students, faculty and staff are among 20 finalists in a NASA-sponsored robotics challenge -- the only such team from a university, the space agency announced Tuesday.