Ayer

More than 120 registered nurses at Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer have voted overwhelmingly to join the state's largest nurses' union, the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), the union said. The 123 RNs at the hospital, owned by Steward Healthcare, cast their ballots last week.

State public health officials on Friday announced 11 approved medical marijuana dispensaries – including two in Central Massachusetts - will move to the inspectional phase after completing a verification level that included background checks.

Ayer-based Optometrics Corp. has received a $300,000 equipment loan from MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development agency.

With 20 sites across the commonwealth – including locations in Worcester, Milford and Ayer - winning initial state approval to open medical marijuana dispensaries, the next step toward approval begins, a process that will focus heavily on local rules.

Since the Great Recession of 2009, business tenants in Greater Boston, including MetroWest towns along Interstate 495, have enjoyed low commercial rents and the upper-hand in negotiations with landlords. But is that starting to change? It's highly possible, according to data released this month in indSTATus, the industrial real estate market publication by TranswesternRBJ, the Boston-based commercial real estate firm that services clients between Boston and the 495 corridor.

Dilon Technologies Inc., a medical imaging products company, has acquired a subsidiary of Dynasil Corp., a Massachusetts company with operations in Ayer. According to a statement, Virginia-based Dilon acquired the assets of the Navigator gamma probe business from RMD Instruments Corp., a subsidiary of Watertown-based Dynasil. The acquired products are used in cancer surgeries, according to Dilon.

Vitasoy USA of Ayer, a processor of soybeans, will pay a state fine of nearly $11,000 and install a sophisticated industrial wastewater pre-treatment system after complaints were lodged over odors, according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Ayer-based Cambrooke Foods, which provides medically appropriate foods to people with metabolic disorders, announced Wednesday it has formally changed its name to Cambrooke Therapeutics.

The Patrick administration has awarded more than $240,000 in grants to Central Massachusetts communities to boost composting, recycling and waste reduction.

Eight Central Massachusetts hospitals and community health centers are among 57 Bay State recipients of grants aimed...