Franklin

The unemployment rate in the Worcester area improved to 10.3% in August, down from 14.9% a month earlier, according to new data Wednesday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some freshmen at Worcester Polytechnic Institute will spend the fall living at a hotel just off campus. Clark University and Framingham State University have plans in place to isolate students in their dorms while awaiting coronavirus test results.

MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources announced last week financing is now available for funding energy improvements on commercial, industrial and multi-family buildings, as well as buildings owned by nonprofits. 

67 Degrees Brewing Co., a microbrewery in Franklin, opened just a month and a half before having to shut down because of COVID-19.

Dean College in Franklin has changed plans for the fall semester, electing to hold all classes and activities online for the fall semester as the coronavirus pandemic has worsened across the country over the summer.

Medical device manufacturer Tegra Medical has purchased a 120,000-square-foot new building across the street from its Franklin headquarters, the company announced in a Wednesday press release.

Lever of North Adams announced 13 finalists, including three from Central Massachusetts, for the first round of its COVID-19 Intrapreneur Challenge on Tuesday.

Dean College in Franklin is joining an increasing number of colleges in Central Massachusetts and elsewhere planning to hold classes on campus this fall despite risks from the coronavirus pandemic.

Jule Gomes Noack officially took over as president and CEO of Franklin human services agency Horace Mann Educational Associates on Friday, making her the third person to head the 58-year-old agency, according to a press release. 

Mark King, CEO of Franklin medical device manufacturer Tegra Medical, will retire on Aug. 1, the company announced on Wednesday.