MetroWest

Athol Hospital has risen to the top as the most profitable in Central Massachusetts, according to data released Thursday.

The announcement by Applegreen arrived the night before the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing on the procurement controversy. But that hearing was called off Tuesday due to "MassDOT and Applegreen’s refusal to participate in this week’s hearing," chair Sen. Mark Montigny's office said.

Unemployment held steady or decreased in August throughout Central Massachusetts as the region experiences vacillating employment trajectories that change direction on a monthly basis.

Two other L.L.Bean locations operate in Central Massachusetts: one store is located at The Shops at Blackstone Valley in Millbury, and the other at The Shops at Highland Commons in Hudson, near the town’s border with Berlin. 

Medical and defense optics manufacturer Precision Optics is relocating its corporate headquarters from Gardner to a larger site at the King Street Common mixed-use development in Littleton.

Framingham State University’s STEM, students, faculty, and academic programs just received a major boost in funding as a former university professor and his wife have pledged more than $2 million to the Central Massachusetts school.

Deegan joins the firm from Altra Industrial Motion, a Braintree-based manufacturer of power transmissions.

Central Massachusetts professionals are being hired at organizations including bankHometown, Consigli Construction, and Cornerstone Bank.

The lab is expected to open for more than 250 employees in early 2028, the Healey administration said. The Marlborough site will consolidate existing facilities in Maynard and Sudbury under one roof.

The building is 76% occupied with 12 tenants, including Milford Regional Medical Center, Metrowest Oral Surgery, and Asthma & Allergy Physicians.