Ayer

Central Massachusetts communities have received roughly $44.3 million in loans and $5.6 million in loan forgiveness grants from the state treasurer to go towards improvements to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, according to a Thursday release from the office of State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who is also chair of the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust.

American Superconductor Corp. an energy and power company based in Ayer, announced on Tuesday a partnership with Chicago electric utility Commonwealth Edison Co.

Catania-Spagna Corp., an edible oil maker in Ayer, plans to build a 51,500-square-foot manufacturing facility, using a 10-year tax-increment financing break valued at $783,673.

Home prices are soaring, and there’s virtually no inventory on the market. It’s a phenomenon not at all unique to Central Massachusetts.

Nearly $16.4 million in MassWorks funding will be spread across nine Central Massachusetts towns and cities to help cover infrastructure projects during economic recovery, state officials announced on Thursday.

The coronavirus pandemic has been not only a health challenge to hospitals in Central Massachusetts and beyond, but also a financial one. Fortunately for the larger Central Massachusetts hospitals, they came into 2020 with healthy financials.

Energy technology company AMSC of Ayer reported increased revenues of $21.2 million for the company’s first quarter of fiscal 2020, according to an earnings report released Wednesday, even as its net loss remained steady at $3.4 million.

Hospitals across Massachusetts showed significant financial losses in the first quarter of the year, capturing a time mostly before the coronavirus pandemic hit in full force, according to new state data released Thursday.

Companies like Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Worcester Fitness, Worcester Art Museum and Tegra Medical had recent hires and promotions.

The Gov. Charlie Baker Administration has leaned on the state’s manufacturers, creating the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team under the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to coordinate manufacturers’ move toward pandemic-related materials.