Athol

Employees are on the move at Akoya Biosciences, Milford Regional Medical Center, and MutualOne Bank, with new hires joining operations and promotions happening within organizations.

The North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. in Fitchburg loaned $150,000 to Adams Farm and Slaughterhouse in Athol to help run the company and purchase equipment.

Hannaford Supermarkets has begun installing defibrillators at all 185 of its stores to save the lives of customers and employees in case of a sudden cardiac event, the Scarborough, Maine-based food retailer said.

With new building codes on the horizon, battles will be fought in the name of progress, as developers and various interest groups are hesitant to make sweeping changes.

Months after Heywood Healthcare, one of the few Central Massachusetts independent community healthcare systems, entered formal non-binding discussions to affiliate with UMass Memorial Health of Worcester, the merger has been called off.

Lowell-based grocery store chain Market Basket will open its new Shrewsbury location on Friday, Jan. 13.

People are on the move at MutualOne Bank, Friendly House, and more.

The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts distributed $154,000 among 25 area nonprofits for community enrichment projects and operational effectiveness.

The L.S. Starrett Co. in Athol has hired manufacturing industry veteran Matthew Wells to a newly created position of director of operations and continuous improvement.

Eastham’s Hometown Financial Group, Inc., parent company of Oxford’s bankHometown, and Randolph Bancorp, Inc. of Quincy have received regulatory approval for their proposed merger and announced Tuesday a target date of Oct. 7 for closing.