Athol

From July 2013 through June 2014, nearly 5,000 people sought treatment for substance abuse in Worcester. For...

Plans are moving forward for Heywood Healthcare of Gardner to open an in-patient facility providing detox and behavioral care services at the Sisters of Assumption property in Petersham.

New York-based Soltas Energy Corp. has agreed to pay $330,000 over allegations it caused two Massachusetts towns and two nonprofit organizations to lose thousands of dollars in energy savings when it failed to honor agreements to sell them net metering credits, Attorney General Maura Healey said Thursday.

Toolmaker L.S. Starrett recorded net income of $2.4 million, or 35 cents per share, in the second quarter of its 2015 fiscal year, the Athol-based company announced Thursday.

Solid North American business helped offset lower international sales for Athol-based tool manufacturer L.S. Starrett for its first quarter of 2015, which ended on October 30.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association has been on the move in Central Massachusetts in recent months. In July, registered nurses at Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer voted to join the union. Two months later, RNs at Athol Hospital did the same.

Several Central Mass. organizations were among the 28 community hospitals to receive awards totaling $60 million from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC), it announced on Wednesday.

There's no question that the health care landscape is shifting — for patients, doctors and medical centers, as well as insurers. As one way to adapt, Harrington HealthCare System in Southbridge and Heywood Hospital in Gardner have formed a partnership that is the first of its kind in the state, and, according to experts and those involved, could serve as a local and national model for community healthcare systems.

Increased demand helped put tool manufacturer L.S. Starrett of Athol in the black for its 2014 fiscal year, which ended on June 30.

Three area companies were among seven in New England that paid penalties ranging from $3,000 to $9,500 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month to settle claims that they violated federal laws meant to prevent oil spills, the agency said.