Fitchburg

The Greater Worcester Community Foundation and Worcester Regional Research Bureau have teamed up to launch a new platform designed to provide data regarding the quality of life in Worcester County. 

Donna Souder Hodge’s hiring is contingent upon approval by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and a successful contract negotiation.

Four Central Massachusetts organizations working to afford individuals with disabilities job training, workforce placement, and post-placement support are amongst nine awardees statewide receiving $900,000 in grants.

Owners will have to pay $100 to register their properties, with the annual renewal fee escalating to $250 for the first renewal, $2500 for the second, and $3,500 for the third year and every year after that.

Applewild School, a private, co-ed boarding and day school located in Fitchburg and Devens, has received an $11-million tax-exempt bond from MassDevelopment to upgrade its Fitchburg campus. 

A Fitchburg property owner is involved in two separate proposals to see a Main Street property host a new retro arcade bar and eight residential units. 

Current rules require two employees to be in any vehicle that is transporting cannabis, but commissioners voted in December three to one to approve a change to eliminate that requirement. Business owners are waiting for the commission to formally rewrite and approve the regulations, a process that has taken four months.

The move will not impact the Wachusett brand, said Kevin Brick, vice president of regulatory and community affairs for Utz.

Prospective home buyers in Central Massachusetts are still largely dealing with record high prices and limited inventory, as the average cost of a home purchase in Middlesex and Worcester counties is up around 10% in the last year. 

As the Massachusetts cannabis industry battles declining cannabis prices, lawsuits, and a number of other growing pains, a new business association has emerged.